A system of controlling an adjustable spoiler includes an ignition detector configured to detect whether an engine is turned on or off. A vehicle speed detector is configured to detect a vehicle speed. A weight detector is configured to detect a vehicle weight that is changed when the number of passengers or the amount of loaded freight is increased or decreased. A controller is configured to determine variation of the vehicle weight, set an extension reference speed and a retraction reference speed of the adjustable spoiler based on the variation of the vehicle weight, and extend or retract the adjustable spoiler trough an actuator.

When a vehicle travels at a high speed, a lift force is generated in a vertical direction of the vehicle, and a grip force of a tire is reduced because of an aerodynamic force that flows along a surface of the vehicle, thereby adversely affecting traveling stability.
Since an upper portion of the vehicle has a curved shape and a lower portion of the vehicle is a plate shape, a flow velocity of air flowing along the upper portion of the vehicle is faster than a flow velocity of air flowing along the lower portion of the vehicle, and a pressure difference between the upper portion and the lower portion of the vehicle is generated. Thus, the lift force is generated by the pressure difference.
A fixed spoiler disposed at an upper portion of a trunk lid has been developed for reducing the lift force. The fixed spoiler disposed at the upper portion of the trunk lid may provide a compensation operation of the lift force when the vehicle travels at a high speed, such that the traveling stability and stable braking force may be provided by increasing a frictional force of the tire.
However, in the case of using the fixed spoiler, air resistance flowing along the surface of the vehicle is increased when the vehicle travels at a low speed, and thus, fuel efficiency and traveling performance are deteriorated.
In order to solve the problems, an adjustable spoiler that is extended when the vehicle speed is higher than a reference vehicle speed for reducing the lift force and increasing the grip force has been developed. The extension of the conventional adjustable spoiler is performed according only to a vehicle speed condition.
Even though a sufficient grip force of the tire is generated in a case that the vehicle weight is increased by the number of passengers or the amount of loaded freight, the adjustable spoiler is extended when the vehicle speed condition is satisfied, and thus, a drag force due to the aerodynamic force and rolling resistance of the tire due to an unnecessarily tire load are generated. The drag force and the rolling resistance of the tire may decrease fuel efficiency.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

System and method of controlling adjustable spoiler


An ice storage includes a storage body having a storage space for storing ice and a discharge port for discharging ice to the outside, a transferring and breaking part which, by having at least a part thereof provided in the storage space, transfers the ice in the storage space to the discharge port, and if necessary, breaks the transferred ice, and a door part allowing the ice to be discharged through the discharge port as unbroken ice or broken ice unbroken or broken up by the transferring and breaking part. The transferring and breaking part includes a transferring member for transferring ice and a breaking member for breaking ice, and the transferring member and the breaking member are configured such that ice is not stuck therebetween while being transferred.

An ice storage is supplied with ice made in an ice maker and stores the ice, and discharges the ice externally to supply the ice to a user.
Such an ice storage is provided in a refrigerator or a water purifier with an ice maker. An ice storage stores the ice made in an ice maker provided in a refrigerator or a water purifier, and discharges the stored ice to the outside and supplies the ice to a user.
To this end, an ice storage has a transferring member for transferring stored ice to a discharge port to discharge the ice to the outside through the discharge port.
The ice stored in an ice storage is discharged to the outside through the discharge port as it is without being processed, as unbroken ice, for example. Recently, an ice storage has also broken the ice stored therein and discharged the broken ice to the outside through the discharge port.
In the case in which the ice storage breaks ice and discharges the broken ice to the outside, the ice storage has a breaking member for breaking ice, in addition to the transferring member, and the ice transferred by the transferring member is broken up by the breaking member.
In an ice storage disclosed in the related art, the ice transferred by the transferring member may become stuck between the transferring member and the breaking member. If ice becomes stuck between the transferring member and the breaking member as above, to transfer and break the ice, a rotational unit for rotating the transferring member and the breaking member independently or together, and the like, for example, may be under heavy load to operate, may stop operating, or the rotational unit may be broken. Accordingly, the operations of transferring and breaking ice may not be smoothly performed or may stop.


A printing method and apparatus can achieve both of highly reliable detection of a mark and suppression of a sheet consumption amount when a continuous sheet is cut on an image basis after a plurality of images has been printed on the continuous sheet. For this purpose, at the time of arranging a non-image area including a cut mark between two images to be successively printed, the length of the non-image area in a conveyance direction is set on the basis of the length of a precedently conveyed image in the conveyance direction and image data in a rear end part of the image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and printing method that print a plurality of images on a continuous sheet and cut the sheet on a page basis.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been provided a printing apparatus that sequentially prints a plurality of images on a continuous sheet, and cuts the sheet on an image (page) basis. In such a printing apparatus, a conveyance state of the continuous sheet is influenced by an individual difference of the printing apparatus, the type or width of the sheet, use environment, or the like, and therefore a conveyance distance of the continuous sheet per unit time includes a certain amount of error. For this reason, in order to prevent the continuous sheet from being cut in the middle of an image, a method that, between images, provides a non-image area formed with a cut mark indicating a cutting position, and on the basis of the timing when a detector detects the cut mark, cuts the continuous sheet with a cutter is used.
However, in the case where in order to detect such a cut mark, the detector performs a reading operation throughout the continuous sheet, a pattern in an image, which is similar to the cut mark, may also be determined as the cut mark to cut the continuous sheet in the middle of the image.
To address such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-158122 discloses a method that performs a reading operation by a detector only on a non-image area printed with a cut mark. Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-158122 discloses a configuration where by focusing on the fact that an error in conveyance amount of a continuous sheet is increased along with an increase in conveyance distance of the continuous sheet, i.e., an increase in size of a precedently printed image, a size of a non-image area between two successive images is adjusted depending on a size of a precedent image. According to such Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-158122, in a non-image area having length enough to include a conveyance error of the continuous sheet, a cut mark can be detected, and therefore even in the case where a conveyance error occurs, the continuous sheet can be cut in a correct position.
However, with the configuration of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-158122, as a size of an image is increased, a non-image area finally cut off also increases to increase a sheet consumption amount, and therefore to suppress this, further improvement is required.


In a flip shop mounting method by a no-flow underfill in which resin is pre-coated on a substrate 52, and, thereafter, a semiconductor 50 with bump is mounted on the substrate 52 to join a pad electrode 53 on the substrate 52 to the bump 51, a resin 54a highly filed with the filler 55 is applied to a region except for the pad electrode 53 on the substrate 52, a resin 54b being free from the filler is applied to a pad electrode 53 portion on the substrate 52, and, thereafter, the semiconductor 50 with bump is mounted at a predetermined position on the substrate 52.

In recent years, with a reduction in size of electric devices, in order to improve a space-saving property and electric characteristics, semiconductors are frequently mounted on substrates by a flip chip mounting method. In the flip chip mounting method, a projection electrode called a bump is formed on a terminal electrode formed on a rear surface of a semiconductor chip, a semiconductor is fixed to the pad electrode formed on the substrate through the bump to achieve electric conduction.
The bump consists of a solder material or the like. However, since a junction area is small, amounting strength often lacks. In addition, distortion occurs due to a difference or the like between coefficient of thermal expansions of the substrate and the semiconductor, and the bump may be fall off from the pad electrode because of mechanical shock or thermal shock. Therefore, in order to improve the joint strength, after the bump is joined to the pad electrode on the substrate by thermal welding, an underfill process which pours an epoxy-based resin into a gap between the semiconductor and the substrate and then thermally cures the resin is performed.
However, since the underfill process requires heating processes for connection between electrodes by soldering and curing of the resin and includes a large number of heating steps to increase the cost. Furthermore, workability for pouring a resin from a side of the gap between the semiconductor and the substrate is poor, a space for pouring the resin is necessary. The underfill process is disadvantageous to a reduction in size of an electric device.
In order to solve the drawback, the following mounting method by a no-flow underfill is proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). That is, a resin is pre-coated on a substrate, and, thereafter, a semiconductor with bump is pressed onto the substrate to spread the pre-coated resin so as to bring the bump and the pad electrode into contact with each other. In this state, the resultant structure is heated to perform connection between the electrodes and curing of the resin by performing a heating step once.
In this case, powder such as alumina powder or silica powder called filler is mixed in the epoxy-based resin used in the underfill process or the no-flow underfill process to increase the strength of the resin. In the underfill process, since a resin is poured after the bump is joined to a pad electrode, the filler does not adverse affect the resin.
However, in the no-flow underfill process, as shown in FIG. 4, since the bump 51 is brought into contact with the pad electrode 53 of the substrate 52 by only the weight of the semiconductor 50, the filler 55 mixed in resin 54 is sandwiched between the bump 51 and the pad electrode 53, and a gap may be formed between the bump 51 and the pad electrode 53. In the no-flow underfill process, since connection between electrodes and curing of the resin are performed in the same heating step, when the gap is formed between the bump 51 and the pad electrode 53, the gap is filled with the resin 54 not to achieve electric conduction.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the semiconductor 50 is forcibly pressed to the substrate 52 by the heavy weight 56 or the like, the filler 55 is pressed out, or electric conduction between the bump 51 and the pad electrode 53 is assured while convoluting the filler 55. However, in this state, when reflow soldering is performed, after the bump 51 is thermally welded on the pad electrode 53, the weight of the heavy weight 56 continuously operates. For this reason, the bump 51 may be broken by pressure, or the bump may run out of the pad electrode 53 to cause electric short circuit.
As a configuration using a heavy weight in the no-flow underfill process, the following apparatus and method are known. That is, a resin containing spherical particles is applied onto an upper surface of a substrate, and the spherical particles are arranged in a region between pad electrodes, a heavy weight is placed on an upper portion of a semiconductor to perform reflow soldering without any change (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-125724
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-53109

Flip chip mounting method by no-flow underfill


A clutch unit includes a lever-side clutch section provided on an input side, for controlling rotational torque to be input through lever operation, and a brake-side clutch section provided on an output side, for transmitting the rotational torque from the lever-side clutch section to the output side, and interrupting rotational torque to be reversely input from the output side. The brake-side clutch section has a two-layer structure, in which two one-way clutches are arranged side by side in an axial direction. The first one-way clutch interrupts rotational torque in a forward direction, which is reversely input from the output side, through meshing of serrated projection and depression portions, whereas the second one-way clutch interrupts rotational torque in a backward direction, which is reversely input from the output side, through meshing of serrated projection and depression portions arranged in an opposite direction.

In general, in a clutch unit using engagement elements such as cylindrical rollers or balls, a clutch section is arranged between an input member and an output member. The clutch section is configured to engage and disengage the engagement elements, such as cylindrical rollers or balls, between the input member and the output member, to thereby control transmission and interruption of a rotational torque.
The applicant of the present invention has previously proposed a clutch unit to be built into, for example, an automobile seat-lifter section for vertically adjusting a seat through lever operation. This clutch unit includes a lever-side clutch section to which a rotational torque is to be input through lever operation, and a brake-side clutch section for transmitting the rotational torque from the lever-side clutch section to an output side and interrupting a rotational torque to be reversely input from the output side (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
FIG. 32 is a sectional view illustrating an overall structure of the above-mentioned related-art clutch unit disclosed in Patent Literature 1. FIG. 33 illustrates a cross section of the lever-side clutch section taken along the line E-E of FIG. 32. FIG. 34 illustrates a cross section of the brake-side clutch section taken along the line F-F of FIG. 32.
As illustrated in FIGS. 32 and 33, a lever-side clutch section 111 mainly includes a lever-side outer ring 114 to which a rotational torque is to be input through lever operation, an inner ring 115 for transmitting the rotational torque from the lever-side outer ring 114 to a brake-side clutch section 112, a plurality of cylindrical rollers 116 for controlling transmission and interruption of the rotational torque from the lever-side outer ring 114 through engagement and disengagement with respect to wedge gaps 120 formed between the lever-side outer ring 114 and the inner ring 115, a cage 117 for retaining the cylindrical rollers 116 at predetermined circumferential intervals, an inner centering spring 118 for accumulating an elastic force obtained by the rotational torque from the lever-side outer ring 114 and restoring the cage 117 to a neutral state with the accumulated elastic force through releasing of the rotational torque, and an outer centering spring 119 for accumulating an elastic force obtained by the rotational torque from the lever-side outer ring 114 and restoring the lever-side outer ring 114 to a neutral state with the accumulated elastic force through releasing of the rotational torque.
As illustrated in FIGS. 32 and 34, the brake-side clutch section 112 mainly includes the inner ring 115 to which a rotational torque is to be input from the lever-side clutch section 111, a brake-side outer ring 123 restricted in rotation, an output shaft 122 from which the rotational torque is to be output, a plurality of pairs of cylindrical rollers 127 for controlling transmission of the rotational torque from the inner ring 115 and interruption of a rotational torque from the output shaft 122 through engagement and disengagement with respect to wedge gaps 126 formed between the brake-side outer ring 123 and the output shaft 122, and plate springs 128 each having an N-shape in cross section and being inserted between the cylindrical rollers 127 of each pair, for imparting a repulsive force to the cylindrical rollers 127.
In the lever-side clutch section 111 having the above-mentioned structure, when the rotational torque is input to the lever-side outer ring 114, the cylindrical rollers 116 are engaged into the wedge gaps 120 formed between the lever-side outer ring 114 and the inner ring 115, and the inner ring 115 is rotated with the rotational torque transmitted to the inner ring 115 via the cylindrical rollers 116. At this time, elastic forces are accumulated in both the centering springs 118 and 119 along with the rotation of the lever-side outer ring 114 and the cage 117. When the rotational torque is no longer input, the lever-side outer ring 114 and the cage 117 are restored to their neutral states with the elastic forces of both the centering springs 118 and 119, whereas the inner ring 115 is maintained at the given rotational position. Accordingly, the inner ring 115 is rotated in an inching manner through repetitive rotation of the lever-side outer ring 114, in other words, pumping operation of the operation lever.
In the brake-side clutch section 112 having the above-mentioned structure, when the rotational torque is reversely input to the output shaft 122, the cylindrical rollers 127 are engaged into the wedge gaps 126 formed between the output shaft 122 and the brake-side outer ring 123 so that the output shaft 122 is locked with respect to the brake-side outer ring 123. In this manner, the rotational torque reversely input from the output shaft 122 is locked by the brake-side clutch section 112, and thus back-flow of the rotational torque to the lever-side clutch section 111 is interrupted.
In the brake-side clutch section 112, when the rotational torque is input from the lever-side clutch section 111 to the inner ring 115, on the other hand, the inner ring 115 is brought into abutment on the cylindrical rollers 127 and presses the cylindrical rollers 127 against the elastic forces of the plate springs 128. As a result, the cylindrical rollers 127 are disengaged from the wedge gaps 126 formed between the brake-side outer ring 123 and the output shaft 122 so that the output shaft 122 becomes rotatable. When the inner ring 115 is further rotated, the rotational torque is transmitted from the inner ring 115 to the output shaft 122, and the output shaft 122 is rotated.


The invention relates to a novel ski pole set whereby at least two ski poles form a ski carrier having pole disks which function as freely rotatable wheels for the device.

The invention relates to a set of ski poles. Two ski poles are each provided with a grip on their lower end. Each pole has a disk on its end which can turn freely around its axis. In addition, the lower end of the pole forms an extension which can move between a first position in which the pole end forms an extension of the ski pole for a position in which the pole tip is transverse or perpendicular to the axis of the pole element.
A ski pole set with various features is known (CHH 636530). The known ski pole set consists of two ski poles which each have on the lower end of a pole element, a lower pole part which encompasses the pole tip with the disk. The lower ski pole part can swivel around an axis parallel to the axis of the pole tip on the pole element between a first position in which the pole tip forms the extension of the pole element, and a second position in which the axis of the pole tip is transverse or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pole element. On the swivelling ski pole part, on one ski pole, is a sleeve-like connecting element which can be moved axially between an out-of-use position and an in-use position. In the in-use position the sleeve-like connecting element, with one end, stands radially apart from its pole element, when the lower part of the one ski pole is swivelled into the second position. When the lower part of the other ski pole is likewise swivelled into the second position, the lower ski pole parts of the two ski poles can be joined to one another via this connecting element such that the ski poles form a transport aid for the ski in the form of a carriage. In contrast, here, the lower pole parts which have been swivelled to the outside and which are joined to one another via the connecting element form the axis and the disks of the two ski poles form the wheels of the carriage-like transport aid which can turn around this axis.
The object of the invention is to devise a ski pole set which enables simplified handling.


A method for detecting acid stratification in a battery includes the following steps:                determining a first state of charge value during a load period of the battery on the basis of an estimated open-circuit voltage,        determining a second state of charge value during a rest period of the battery following the load period on the basis of a measured open-circuit voltage,        comparing the first state of charge value to the second state of charge value, and        detecting acid stratification when a defined deviation of the first state of charge value from the second state of charge value is exceeded.

In modern motor vehicles, the energy storages for supplying safety-critical electrical consumers, e.g., break-by-wire, steer-by-wire, start-stop systems, or electrohydraulic brake systems, must be constantly monitored and their performance must be tested. An electronic battery management system monitors the performance of the batteries, thereby decisively supporting the demand-oriented control of the vehicle systems. A variable, significant for the performance capacity of a battery, is its state of charge (SOC). Based on the SOC value and the SOH value (state of health), a decision is made as to whether pure comfort functions such as air conditioner, radio, or power windows are to be switched off or whether other measures have to be taken in order to maintain safety-relevant functions such as ABS, ESP, or the brake booster.
Different methods for forecasting the performance of batteries are known from the related art. Variables, significant for the performance capacity of the batteries, such as the state of charge and the battery-internal resistance, for example, are determined by analyzing the open-circuit voltage, as well as via voltage and current measurements during start, or via model-based state observation under continuous measurement of voltage, current, and temperature, and a power output of the battery to be expected is predicted using these variables. Such a model-based method is known from German Patent Application No. DE 101 06 508. Among other things, the state of charge SOC is continuously estimated during vehicle operation or determined on the basis of an estimated open-circuit voltage of the battery.
During rest periods, in which the battery is essentially off-load, the open-circuit voltage is measured and used to draw conclusions about the state of charge (SOC).
Problematic is the occurring acid stratification in the battery. During charging, of a lead-sulfuric acid battery for example, the sulfuric acid emerging on the plates is heavier than the surrounding diluted sulfuric acid so that it sinks into the lower part of the battery due to gravitation. Therefore, during rest periods without electrolyte movement, the acid density is reduced in the upper part of the battery and increased in the lower part of the battery. This results in a sulfuric acid density gradient, which is known as acid stratification. The acid stratification should not be maintained permanently, because it results otherwise in irreversible damage to the battery. Another disadvantage of acid stratification is the fact that open-circuit voltages are measured to be too high in the rest period so that states of charge (SOC values) are determined to be too high. Consequently, the instantaneous state of the battery is evaluated too optimistically so that the vehicle containing the battery is possibly no longer able to be started, even though the state of charge has been previously determined to be sufficiently high.

Method for detecting acid stratification in a battery


A doorstop comprises a unitary body made of a resilient material including an elongate shank having a longitudinal axis, a tip at one end of said elongate shank, and a base at the opposite end of said elongate shank. A flexible wall connects said elongate shank to said base and is designed to flex in response to impact by a door along the longitudinal axis to absorb the impact of said door.

The present invention relates generally to doorstops for preventing a door from swinging back against a wall, and more particularly, to a flexible, wall mounted doorstop to absorb the impact of the swinging door.
One conventional type of doorstop comprises a rigid shank with a cushioned top at one end and a screw at the other end adapted to be threaded into the wall. Such rigid doorstops have a number of disadvantages. If the door swings back against the wall with sufficient force, the rigid doorstop may damage the door notwithstanding the cushioned tip. Further, a rigid doorstop does not yield when impacted from the side. When hit with sufficient force, the doorstop can be ripped from the wall. Another disadvantage of a conventional rigid doorstop is that the cushioned tip can sometimes separate from the shank, which increases the likelihood of damage to the door.
Flexible doorstops are also known. One common type of flexible doorstop is similar to the rigid doorstop, except that the rigid shank is replaced by a coil spring. Flexible doorstops reduce damage to the door, but often bend or buckle under the impact of a door, thus allowing the door to strike the wall. If the impact force is severe, the coil spring may be deformed so that the doorstop does not return to its original position. As with the rigid doorstop, the cushioned tip of flexible doorstops can separate.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved doorstop that can absorb the impact from a swinging door, that will yield when impacted from the side and return to its original position, and is constructed of a single piece so that parts will not separate.


A notebook computer is provided. The notebook computer includes a screen panel, a main body, two connecting members, and two shafts. The connecting members connect the screen panel to the main body. The screen panel rotates relative to the main body. The main body defines two slide channels and a receiving space. A depth of the receiving space is greater than a depth of the slide channel, a pair of guiding grooves is defined in two opposite inner sidewalls of each slide channel, and a hole is defined in each inner sidewall of each slide channel at an end of corresponding guiding groove adjacent to a bottom of the receiving space and communicating with the corresponding guiding groove. The screen panel is slidable relative to the main body on and along the slide channels.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to notebook computers, and more particularly to a notebook computer with an adjustable screen panel.
2. Description of Related Art
Screens of notebook computers are fixedly attached to a main body of the notebook computer and cannot slide relative to the main body. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

Notebook computer with slidable and rotatable screen panel

ShenZhen Goldsun Network Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.


The laser induced liquid jet generating apparatus irradiates a laser beam on a liquid in a main body, guides the generated liquid jet into a catheter via a nozzle, and generates a flow in the direction opposite the liquid jet. Even by the use of a catheter having a small outside diameter, therefore, the apparatus is enabled to effect powerful laser irradiation without being thermally affected by the laser beam and consequently shatter thrombus, for example, and recover by aspiration the shattered thrombus through the distal end of the catheter.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a laser induced liquid jet generating apparatus which serves the purpose of irradiating a laser beam against a liquid thereby generating a liquid jet flow and utilizing the jet flow to shatter a target object such as thrombus, and recovering the shattered object.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as a means to cure the thrombosis which obstructs the human blood vessel, the method which consists in generating a liquid jet flow with a laser beam and physically breaking the clot with the jet flow is prevailing. This method has been awakening a great expectation for the therapy of the thrombosis because it promises early resumption of the blood flow without requiring administration of a large amount of a thrombus-dissolving agent which brings a serious secondary effect. Particularly, when the cerebral tissue remains in the state of ischemia for not less than six hours, it is held that the restoration from the neuropathic symptom is difficult to attain. When the blood flow recurs in a few hours after the crisis, the method brings a very high curative effect.
The official gazette of JP-A-2003-111766, WO00/04838 (the official gazette of International Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-521084), and THE JOURNAL OF JAPAN SOCIETY FOR LASER SURGERY AND MEDICINE, Vol. 22, No. 3 (2001) (refer to page 217) describe a technique which comprises guiding a laser in a pulsating form from a laser oscillator into an optical fiber inserted in a catheter, abruptly heating a physiological saline filling the catheter interior and inducing a liquid jet flow, and shattering and removing the thrombosis by dint of the liquid jet flow.
Since this method guides the catheter having the optical fiber inserted therein close to the thrombosis, for example, and generates the liquid jet flow and, therefore, enables the power of the liquid jet flow to reach the thrombosis without any decline of the power, it is capable of acquiring a high therapeutic effect.
The catheter to be inserted into the blood vessel is very slender. Further, when it is used in the state of having an optical fiber inserted therein, it keeps the optical fiber itself from increasing its thickness, imposes a limit on the intensity of the laser beam, and renders irradiation of a powerful laser beam difficult. The method, therefore, is possibly incapable of generating a powerful liquid jet flow and effecting necessary shattering of the target object such as the thrombosis, for example, sufficiently.
The conventional catheter is a long slender tube formed of vinyl chloride or PCB (poly-chlorobiphenyl) or, as disclosed in WO00-04838 (the official gazette of International Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-521084), of such a material as polypropylene or polyimide. Since it is soft throughout the entire volume so as to be deformed along the meandering blood vessel, it tends to be thermally affected when it is exposed to a powerful laser beam.
Particularly, when the optical fiber having an outside diameter (core diameter) of about 0.4 mm is inserted into a catheter of a small diameter (generally about 0.9 mm), only an extremely small gap is allowed to exist between the inner surface of the catheter and the outer surface of the optical fiber. When they are exposed to a powerful laser beam, the heat of the laser beam is conducted to the catheter and the catheter is consequently fused and deformed and made to obstruct smooth discharge of a liquid jet flow and curtail its own service life.
Further, since the catheter of this nature is only capable of shattering the target object such as the thrombus but is devoid of a means to recover the shattered target object, the thrombus which has been shattered is suffered to float in the blood vessel. When the floating fragments of the thrombus happen to get caught in the blood vessel, they will possible form a main cause for the generation of a new thrombus. It is conceivable to provide the catheter used exclusively for shattering the thrombus with a separate tube used exclusively for absorbing the thrombus. When these catheter and tube are inserted into the blood vessel, they bring the disadvantage of aggravating the burden imposed on the human body.

Laser induced liquid jet generating apparatus


A composite mattress with or without a pillow made of flexible or compressible filling material covered by a pliable transparent polymeric cover material with a visual clarity to allow one to detect, locate, and identify contraband items hidden under the cover material.

This invention relates generally to mattresses, pillows and a combination of both. More particularly, to mattresses composed of a cover material which is generally flame retardant and has a flexible or compressible filling material with or without a pillow composite. See, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,864. Bedding of this type is typically used in institutions such as hospitals, university or school dormitories and in penal or confinement facilities. For use in confinement facilities, this type of mattress does not prevent the concealment of contraband items for juvenile and adult detention facilities, prisons, jails, military brigs, and immigration detention facilities, hereinafter referred to as "confinement facilities".
It is estimated that over two million people are currently serving time in confinement facilities throughout the United States. This number is increasing rapidly and facilities are becoming more crowded. With this increase in population within confinement facilities, safety issues become more important. The use of contraband is a major security problem in the United States and throughout the world. The possession and use of such contraband may include weapons to kill or injure other inmates or correctional personnel, and to assist in escape from the confinement facilities. Often, these contraband items are concealed beneath the mattress or pillow covering materials. Current mattress and pillow covers used in confinement facilities are non-transparent and comprised of breathable fabric covering materials, fluid resistant colored vinyl materials, or other coated fabric materials, all providing ample opportunities to hide contraband items without the notice of security personnel. Such contraband is not easily or quickly detectable by security personnel and facility inspectors.
Accordingly, it is the objective of the present invention to provide improved and safer articles of bedding for confinement facilities and institutions which better prevent concealment of contraband and result in improvements in detection, location, and identification of contraband items. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel mattress composite comprised of a pliable transparent cover which is useful in institutions such as hospitals and dormitories, but is particularly useful in confinement facilities. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a composite mattress using a polymeric transparent material that is preferably pliable, UV resistant, anti-microbial, and flame retardant with fluid resistant or impermeable properties.

Institutional mattress and pillow composite with transparent covering


The present invention relates to a routing analysis method for performing a routing analysis on an integrated circuit from a netlist which is information on a plurality of cells constituting the integrated circuit and routes connecting the cells, and the routing analysis method comprises a step (Step 1) of obtaining the sum of areas of a plurality of cells, the number of cells or the number of routes connecting the cells from the netlist, to be defined as a constant C, and calculating a layout area S which is an area of a square layout region, by dividing the constant C by a predetermined constant U, a step (Step 2) of calculating a total route length L by multiplying a half perimeter length H of the layout region having the layout area S obtained in Step 1 by a predetermined coefficient α, and a step (Step 3) of calculating a routing difficulty index by dividing the total route length L by the layout area S. Thus, the present invention provides a routing analysis method for an integrated circuit, which, allows calculation of routing difficulty index with high accuracy of prediction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a routing analysis method, a logic synthesis method and a circuit partitioning method for an integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Background Art
The present routing analysis method for an integrated circuit is a method for calculating a routing difficulty index which indicates difficulty in routing in a case where routes are placed in a layout region of the integrated circuit, from a netlist which is information on cells constituting the integrated circuit and connection of the cells. As a conventional method for calculating the routing difficulty index from the netlist, a method of calculating the number of nets and the number of connections between terminals, or calculating a ratio of the number of nets and the number of connections between terminals to the number of cells has been proposed.
The general routing analysis method or the like is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette No. 10-116915 (Patent Document 1).
The routing difficulty index obtained from the netlist, conventionally, indicates the number of nets and the number of connections between terminals, or a ratio of the number of nets and the number of connections between terminals to the number of cells. Even if the number of nets and the number of connections between terminals are large in the netlist, however, there is a case where the difficulty in an actual routing is low since the length of a route which is placed shorter than a predicted route length. Therefore, the conventional routing difficulty index has a problem of low accuracy of prediction.

Routing analysis method, logic synthesis method and circuit partitioning method for integrated circuit


A radio terminal switches between a compressed transmission mode and a normal transmission mode based on the current transmit power level of the radio terminal. The radio terminal periodically compares its current transmit power level to a power threshold. The radio terminal transmits in the compressed transmission mode when the current transmit power level is below the threshold, and transmits in the normal transmission mode when the current transmission power level is greater than the threshold. The radio terminal may also operate in a compressed receiving mode.

Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) phones have recently been introduced into the market. While WCDMA phones provide much higher data rates than phones using older technologies, the newer WCDMA phones consume more power and drain batteries more quickly. Consequently, the battery life and "talk times" for WCDMA phones is significantly less than phones using older technology. The reduced battery life and talk time for WCDMA phones is undesirable from a consumer perspective.
When engaged in normal voice communications, a WCDMA phone transmits and receives continuously. This continuous operation is one of the primary reasons for the undesirable current drain in WCDMA phones. Another reason for current drain is the presence of a duplexer in the transmit path. The duplexer introduces an undesirable path loss, but is necessary in WCDMA phones because the transmitter and receiver are on simultaneously. Older phones using time division multiplexing, such as GSM phones, switch off the transmitter and receiver for significant portions of time, which results in less drain on the battery. Additionally, a phone employing time division multiplexing does not need a duplexer because the transmitter and receiver can be turned on at different times.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for new systems and methods to reduce power consumption in WCDMA terminals.

Compressed mode for reducing power consumption


A method, computer program, and system are disclosed for validating query plans for an upgrade. Environment information corresponding to a target system is received. A query used on the target system is received. A target query plan generated by the target system is received. The query and the environmental information are imported into a test system. The test system corresponds to an upgrade of the target system. A test query plan is generated for the query using the test system. The target query plan is compared with the test query plan.

Query optimization is important in relational database systems that deal with complex queries against large volumes of data. Unlike earlier navigational databases, a query on a relational database specifies what data is to be retrieved from the database but not how to retrieve it. Optimizing a query against a relational database is not as important in transaction-oriented databases where only a few rows are accessed either because the query is well specified by virtue of the application or because the query causes the data to be accessed using a highly selective index. In decision support and data mining applications, where the space of possible solutions is large and the penalty for selecting a bad query is high, optimizing a query to reduce overall resource utilization can provide orders of magnitude of overall performance improvement.
When a database system using a version of database management software is often subject to one or more particular SQL queries, an upgrade of the database management software can have substantial impact on the performance of those SQL queries. When one or more of the SQL queries is negatively impacted by the software upgrade, i.e., the estimated cost of system resources for executing the query rises, the value of the database system to the company using it can be reduced until a the problem can be identified and a fix implemented.

Method and system for upgrade validation of database query plans


An electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter includes a first magnetomotive element, a first wire, a second wire, and a second magnetomotive element. The second magnetomotive element forms a closed magnetic loop, which comprises a first portion penetrating a through hole of the first magnetomotive element. Thus, the first wire and the second wire in the Filter filter not only differential mode noise but also common mode noise.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters, and particularly to an EMI filter suitable for filtering common mode noise and differential mode noise.
2. Brief Discussion of the Related Art
Presently, electronic devices are frequently used in daily life, and power is required for operation thereof. When alternating current (AC) power is employed, parasitic capacitance or stray capacitance may occur in the power supply or the high-frequency converter, and noise of stray current in the AC current, leading to electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Generally, noise in the AC current comprises differential mode noise and common mode noise. There are several conventional circuit compositions for filtering the noise. One conventional circuit composition is shown in FIG. 1, in which an AC power supply 10 is connected to a first differential mode EMI filter 11 and a second differential mode EMI filter 12, and the two differential mode EMI filters are electrically connected to the two input terminals of a common mode EMI filter 13 respectively. The two input terminals of the common mode EMI filter 13 are electrically connected to two terminals of a loading 14 respectively, and the loading 14 has a grounding terminal 15 to guide excess current to the ground. The first differential mode EMI filter 11 and the second differential mode EMI filter 12 are employed to filter differential mode noise. Referring to FIG. 3, the first differential mode EMI filter 11 and the second differential mode EMI filter 12 are respectively formed by a column-shaped core wound with a wire 111. The current flows from an input terminal 1111 of the wire 111, circles the core 11 repeatedly and leaves through an output terminal 1112. With magnetic induction of the core 11, differential mode noise is filtered. The common mode EMI filter 13 filters common mode noise. Referring to FIG. 2, the common mode EMI filter 13 is formed by a ring-shaped core 130 wound with first wire 131 and second wire 132. The AC power supply is electrically connected to the first input terminal 1311 and the second input terminal 1321. Current from the first input terminal 1311 encircles a portion of the ring-shaped core 130 and is output through the first output terminal 1312, and current from the second input terminal 1321 encircles another portion of the ring-shaped core 130 and is output through the second output terminal 1322. The first wire 131 and the second wire 132 are wound in the same direction. Thus, the common mode EMI filter 13 does not perform any induction for the differential mode noise due to neutralized magnetic induction, but the flux generated for the common mode noise is doubled, and the common mode noise of the AC current is filtered by the magnetic induction of the ring-shaped core 130. With the above-mentioned circuit, common mode noise and differential mode noise are filtered, and the first differential mode EMI filter 11, the second differential mode EMI filter 12 and the common mode EMI filter 13 can be alternatively disposed without limited thereto. For example, the AC power supply electrically connected to the common mode EMI filter 13 and to the first differential mode EMI filter 11 and the second differential mode EMI filter 12.
In the above-mentioned circuit composition, however, two differential mode EMI filters and one common mode EMI filter are required to filter common mode noise and differential mode noise. As a result, cost of the electrical device is increased, and manufacturing thereof complicated. There is a need to provide an element to filter common mode noise and differential mode noise.


A structure and method are provided which can model and use information in a systematic, domain-independent manner, which can flexibly represent declarative data such as concepts, instances, relations and contexts and data views, and which may serve as a middleware module for user applications. The invention teaches a syntax and functionality of a set of software objects that represent, store and dynamically retrieve information on behalf of user applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a set of software objects that represent, store, and dynamically retrieve information on behalf of user applications, thereby facilitating the implementation of information systems. These software objects model the structural properties of information, independently of semantics.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information systems where agents, human or artificial, interact with interconnected information resources are called "distributed knowledge environments." These systems are the emerging information model of networks, ranging from digital library systems to the Internet and multi-agent cooperative environments. The information resources typically are databases that function as passive file cabinets.
Agents must know the structure of the filing system in order to use it. That is, they must know which cabinet (table or view) contains the data they wish to access and must know or deduce why the data was stored there. For example, to access a database on real estate data, a human real estate agent must know that a table House contains the city and price of houses, and that houses are located in cities, and have prices.
This example is trivial enough. However, when data belongs to a specialized domain or when it needs to be discovered, as often happens in distributed systems, agents do not know the details of the data organization in advance. Also, different agents view and organize data in different ways. For example, a human agent who is a tax attorney might view houses as taxable properties, while a human agent who is a prospective buyer might be more interested in houses as habitation units having attributes such as bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.
Building these open-ended information environments is a daunting task. For example, how can data be modeled when it is not known how it is going to be used? Additionally, how can a human or software agent access data having an organization that is not known in advance? These questions are important to support intelligent agent systems where agents can evolve and share knowledge.
Therefore, there remains an unsolved challenge to model and use information in a systematic, domain-independent manner.
Even though a lot of work has been done in network information systems, such as semantic network and frame systems (KL-One family, like Classic or LOOM), there currently exists no low-level information network that can represent contexts and data views flexibly to meet the requirements above.

Method and structure for unstructured domain-independent object-oriented information middleware

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for imaging and treating a breast of a patient includes: disposing the breast into a bath of medium; physically securing the breast and maintaining the breast in a repeatable position and in a repeatable shape with respect to a chest wall of the patient; scanning the breast with ultrasound signals from transducer arrays to create a three-dimensional image of the breast and to locate a position of a tumor or a lesion in the breast with respect to the three-dimensional image; and further treating the tumor or the lesion of the breast while maintaining the position and the shape of the breast with respect to the chest wall of the patient as during scanning.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for maintaining the position and the shape of a patient's breast during scanning and treatment, such as biopsy, therapy and/or surgery.
2. Related Art
Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, about 215,990 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2004, and about 40,110 women will die from the disease.
Approximately 44.5 million women in the United States are screened for breast cancer each year with 10% or 4.5 million referred for a second diagnostic test. The latest American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Statistics report indicates that 1 in 7 women will get breast cancer during her lifetime. The current standard of care has significant problems, generating unacceptably high rates of false positive tests—between 8% and 10%—and upwards of 15% false negative tests. The result is that many women suffer from unnecessary and invasive biopsies. In addition, each year the U.S. healthcare system spends an estimated $2.1 billion on biopsies, which yield negative results more than 75% of the time.
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that has developed from cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. The female breast is made up mainly of lobules (milk-producing glands), ducts (milk passages that connect the lobules to the nipple), and stroma (fatty tissue and connective tissue surrounding the ducts and lobules, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels). Lymphatic vessels are like veins, except that they carry lymph instead of blood. Lymph is a clear fluid that contains tissue waste products and immune system cells (cells that are important in fighting infections). Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped collections of immune system cells that are found along lymphatic vessels. Cancer cells can enter lymphatic vessels and spread to lymph nodes. Most lymphatic vessels in the breast connect to lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph nodes). Some lymphatic vessels connect to lymph nodes inside the chest (internal mammary nodes) and either above or below the collarbone (supra- or infraclavicular nodes). When breast cancer cells reach the axillary (underarm) lymph nodes, they may continue to grow, often causing the lymph nodes in that area to swell. If breast cancer cells have spread to the underarm lymph nodes, they are more likely to have spread to other organs of the body as well. Thus, it is important to find out if breast cancer has spread to the axillary lymph nodes when choosing a treatment.
Most breast lumps are not cancerous, that is, they are benign. Most lumps turn out to be fibrocystic changes. The term "fibrocystic" refers to fibrosis and cysts. Fibrosis is the formation of fibrous (or scar-like) connective tissue, and cysts are fluid-filled sacs. Fibrocystic changes can cause breast swelling and pain. This often happens just before a period is about to begin. The breast may feel nodular, or lumpy, and, sometimes, a clear or slightly cloudy nipple discharge is noticed. Benign breast tumors such as fibroadenomas or papillomas are abnormal growths, but they are not cancer and cannot spread outside of the breast to other organs. They are not life threatening.
Although widespread use of screening mammography has increased the number of breast cancers found before they cause any symptoms, some breast cancers are not found by mammography, either because the test was not done or because even under ideal conditions mammography cannot find every breast cancer. The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancerous, but some rare cancers are tender, soft, and rounded. For this reason, it is important that a health care professional who is experienced in diagnosing breast diseases check any new breast mass or lump.
Other signs of breast cancer include a generalized swelling of part of a breast (even if no distinct lump is felt), skin irritation or dimpling, nipple pain or retraction (turning inward), redness or scaliness of the nipple or breast skin, or a discharge other than breast milk. Sometimes a breast cancer can spread to underarm lymph nodes even before the original tumor in the breast tissue is large enough to be felt.
If there is any reason to suspect breast cancer, other tests must be performed. After a complete physical exam (including a clinical breast exam), doctors often recommend a diagnostic mammogram or a breast ultrasound. A clinical breast examination (CBE) is an exam of the breasts by a health professional, such as a doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse, or physician assistant. The examiner first looks at the breasts for changes in size or shape. Then, using the pads of the finger tips, the breasts are felt for lumps.
Although mammograms are mostly used for screening, they can also be used to examine the breast of a woman who has a breast problem. This can be a breast mass, nipple discharge, or an abnormality that was found on a screening mammogram. In some cases, special images known as cone views with magnification are used to make a small area of altered breast tissue easier to evaluate. A diagnostic mammogram may show that a lesion (area of abnormal tissue) has a high likelihood of being benign (not cancer). In these cases, it is common to ask the woman to come back sooner than usual for a recheck, usually in 4 to 6 months. On the other hand, a diagnostic mammogram may show that the abnormality is not worrisome at all, and the woman can then return to having routine yearly mammograms. Finally, the diagnostic work-up may suggest that a biopsy is needed to tell if the lesion is cancer.
Ultrasound, also known as sonography, uses high-frequency sound waves to outline a part of the body. High-frequency sound waves are transmitted into the area of the body being studied and echoed back. A computer or dedicated electronic circuitry picks up the sound wave echoes and changes them into an image that is displayed on a computer screen. Breast ultrasound is sometimes used to evaluate breast abnormalities that are found during mammography or a physical exam. One of the most common abnormalities that women have is fibrocystic disease. Ultrasound is useful for detecting fibrocystic disease. It is the easiest way to tell if a cyst is present without placing a needle into it to draw out fluid. It can also find some breast masses. Conventional medical ultrasound uses a single ultrasound array to both transmit and receive echoes and thereby measure the ultrasound reflectivity and distance of various objects under the skin surface. It assumes that the speed of sound is constant through the tissue being imaged. It has difficulty imaging objects with low reflectivity or high absorption of sound. It produces images which are two-dimensional, distorted, grainy, and contain speckle. Foreground objects tend to mask deeper structures.
A biopsy is done when mammograms, ultrasound, or the physical examination finds a tumor. A biopsy is the only way to tell if cancer is really present. All biopsy procedures remove a tissue sample for examination under a microscope. There are several types of biopsies, such as fine needle aspiration biopsy, core (large needle) biopsy, and surgical biopsy. Each type of biopsy has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The choice of which to use will depend on the specific situation. Some of the factors the doctor will consider include how suspicious the lesion appears, how large it is, where in the breast it is located, how many lesions are present, other medical problems the patient may have, and the patient's personal preferences. Statistically, three of four biopsies are benign.
In addition, high rates of recall are currently being experienced in lumpectomy breast surgery. As many as 30-40% of excisional breast biopsies must be repeated due to post-surgical histological findings of malignant cells unacceptably close to the margin of excised breast tissue. The subsequent surgery is extremely costly as well as traumatic to the patient. Current methods in widespread use for guiding the surgeon to the outer margins of a malignant lesion are extremely crude and inaccurate. These methods generally involve the placement of one or more barbed wires under ultrasonic guidance or with no real-time guidance followed by post-placement positional checking with x-rays. Often the lesion cannot be clearly delineated from surrounding tissue and the wire(s) can be anywhere within or near the lesion. The relative position of the wire(s) is communicated verbally or in a report to the surgeon who must translate this information into removal of the malignant tissue while trying to preserve as much normal tissue as possible. The difference in the shape of the breast during wire placement and surgery can result in significant geometrical errors that substantially contribute to "dirty" margins and repeat surgeries.
One relatively new approach to improving surgery staging involves using contrast-enhanced MRI subtraction imaging to determine the location of malignant lesions in 3D. With the patient remaining in the MRI breast retention system, multiple MRI-safe wires are placed, with access to only the lateral side of each breast, at the outer poles of the lesion to guide the surgeon. The method has the benefit of more accurately defining the margins of the lesion and translating that information to the surgeon through the use of multiple wires that remain in position regardless of breast distortion. The downside to such a procedure is the cost of both the initial investment to purchase MRI equipment and, subsequently, the necessity of upgrading that MRI system to enable this procedure. In addition, the time required to image the patient and place the wires routinely exceeds one hour. Notwithstanding these potential barriers to use of MRI-guided wire placement, this procedure is gaining acceptance and local hospitals are budgeting to acquire the enabling MRI hardware and software upgrades at significant cost.
In order to facilitate diagnosis of breast cancer and reduce unnecessary biopsies, an improved and advanced tomography or ultrasonic scanning technology has been developed, referred to as Ultrasound CT™ by Techniscan Medical Systems of Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition, the Ultrasound CT™ system is intended to decrease the incidence of recall surgery due to inadequate margins. Ultrasound CT™ is ultrasound computerized tomography, and is intended to be used as an adjunct to mammography. The Ultrasound CT™ technology generates information using transmission ultrasound which produces two unique images: one of the speed of sound and one of the attenuation (absorption of sound at a sub millimeter resolution) throughout the breast. The underlying proposition is that these unique measurements will correlate to specific tissue properties. Radiologists then use the information to distinguish breast cancer from benign tumors or normal tissues.
Ultrasound CT™ produces a stack of tomography (2-D planar slice) images, similar in appearance and spatial resolution to CT or MR imaging methods, but at a much lower cost. These images are produced using two different techniques—Ultrasound Reflective Tomography (URT) and Ultrasound Inverse Scattering Tomography (UIST). Compared with conventional projection mammography Ultrasound CT™ images are more detailed, easier to read, and do not use potentially harmful ionizing radiation. Unlike conventional ultrasound, Ultrasound CT™ images completely penetrate and sample the entire breast for uniform and better overall resolution. These images are not dependent on the system operator for image quality and consistency. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,222; 5,339,282; 5,588,032; 6,005,916; 6,587,540; and 6,636,584.
Once Ultrasound CT™ has been utilized to identify breast cancer, therapy and/or surgery can be utilized to neutralize or remove the tumor. However, a further biopsy may be required. Multiple testing or treatments, such as a mammogram, an Ultrasound CT™ scan, a possible biopsy, and therapy or surgery, can be stressful for the patient. In addition, the tumor or lesion needs to be relocated at each interval.

Method for imaging and treating a breast


A method of decoding a GPS carrier signal comprising: (A) receiving a phase modulated GPS signal by using a GPS antenna; (B) extracting a GPS data from the received phase modulated GPS signal; and (C) computing a total probability of a current GPS data bit being “one” or “zero” at a GPS time epoch by using a decoding algorithm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of decoding a GPS satellite data, and more specifically, to the field of decoding a GPS satellite data having a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The data stream transmitted by GPS satellites is described in detail in "Global Positioning System: Theory and Applications", Volume 1, pages 121-176, third printing, 1996. The GPS 50 bits/s (Baud) data stream includes an important information used by a GPS receiver to perform a satisfactory navigation, to realize a valuable time transfer function, to obtain a geodetic surveying, and/or to perform a set of satisfactory velocity measurements. These navigation data are uploaded to each satellite by the GPS Control Segment (CS) for later broadcast to the user.
More specifically, the 50 Baud GPS data stream includes (a) Ephemeris information including a detailed information about a particular satellite's orbit position and clock offset, (b) Almanac information including a less accurate information about all satellite orbits and clock offsets, and (c) a satellite health information, that is whether any particular satellite should be used by a GPS receiver to facilitate position calculation. The capability to receive all relevant GPS data from the combination of information obtained from the 50 Baud data stream is one of the aspects that are critical to the receiver's operation in being able to compute position, time and velocity.
In the prior art, in low SNRs applications (for example, in indoor applications) a typical GPS receiver fails to decode 50 Baud data. As a result, in the prior art, the satellites emanating a low SNR data could not be used in a navigation solution.
What is needed is to improve a GPS receiver capability to decode a GPS data stream having low SNR, thus enabling GPS receivers to use a low SNR GPS satellite in a navigation solution.

Decoding GPS satellite data at low signal to noise levels by computing total probability of current data bit at current time epoch


A conveyor belt is made from rows of plastic conveyor belt modules having interfitting end members in adjacent rows connected by a lateral pivot rods extending through aligned holes in the end members. To retain the pivot rods in place an outermost end member of each module is provided with an aperture intersecting its pivot rod hole at a location adjacent one end of the pivot rod. A rotary cylindrical stop member is fitted in the aperture to block the end of the pivot rod. The stop member has a lateral through-bore which can be aligned with the pivot rod hole when the stop member is rotated in the aperture to a release position so that the pivot rod can be removed through the stop member.

This invention relates generally to modular conveyor belts in which a plurality of plastic belt modules having interfitting end members are held together by pivot rods extending through holes in the end members. More particularly, the invention relates to a novel form of retention means for the pivot rods.
Modular conveyors of the kind referred to are very well known in the art and various systems have evolved for retaining the pivot rods in place. One earlier proposal, for example, for plastic pivot rods, comprises expanding or "mushrooming" the ends of the rod over the outer lateral surfaces of the respective conveyor module. This arrangement, however, involves destruction of the rod in the event it needs to be removed, for example to replace a worn conveyor module.
Another earlier proposal involved press fitting the ends of the pivot rods, which, preferably were knurled, into preformed apertures in the laterally outermost end, members of the respective conveyor modules. Again, however, complications arise in removing the rods.
More recent rod retention systems employ removable stop members for the pivot rod ends locatable in the laterally outermost end members of the conveyor modules. Such removable stop members may, for example, comprise axial end caps fitting in the ends of the pivot rod openings, or removable clips adapted to fit or swing across the ends of the pivot rod openings. While these systems reduce problems involved in removing the pivot rods, they tend to complicate the structure and may even introduce additional problems in fitting and removal of the stop members themselves.