An intellectual property (IP) integrity verification system and method operable with respect to integrating an IP design into a user's embedded IC design. In one embodiment, the IP design is partitioned into a plurality of IP modules based on the requirements of the embedded IC design. For each IP module, a corresponding integrity checker module is provided, wherein each integrity checker module has a port-wise correspondence with its corresponding IP module. The embedded IC design is simulated with the integrity checker modules rather than the IP modules for generating a netlist, which may be verified with respect to any interconnectivity errors associated with the IP modules.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) design. More particularly, and not by way of any limitation, the present disclosure is directed to a system and method for verifying Intellectual Property (IP) components in an embedded IC such as a System-On-Chip (SOC) design.
2. Description of Related Art
Silicon manufacturing advances today allow true single-chip systems to be fabricated on a single die (i.e., System-On-Chip or SOC integration). However, there exists a "design gap" between today's electronic design automation (EDA) tools and the advances in silicon processes which recognizes that the available silicon real-estate has grown much faster than has designers' productivity, leading to underutilized silicon. Unfortunately, the trends are not encouraging: the "deep submicron" problems of non-convergent timing, complicated timing and extraction requirements, and other complex electrical effects are making silicon implementation harder. This is especially acute when one considers that various types of circuitry such as analog blocks, non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory or ROM), random access memories (RAMs), and other "non-logic" cells are being required. The gap in available silicon capacity versus design productivity means that without some fundamental change in methodology, it will take several staff years to develop leading-edge integrated circuits (ICs).
Design re-use has emerged as the key methodology solution for successfully addressing this time-to-market problem in semiconductor IC design. In this paradigm, instead of re-designing every part of every IC chip, engineers can re-use existing designs as much as possible and thus minimize the amount of new circuitry that must be created from scratch. It is commonly accepted in the semiconductor industry that one of the most prevalent and promising methods of design re-use is through what are known as Intellectual Property ("IP") components—pre-implemented, re-usable modules of circuitry that can be quickly inserted and verified to create a single-chip system. Such re-usable IP components are typically provided as megacells, cores, macros, embedded memories through generators or memory compilers, et cetera.
It is well known that complex SOCs of today may contain numerous third-party IP modules, possibly from different vendors. Usually an IP design package comprises multiple modules that are wrapped by the IP's top-level module. The IP package may be verified as a standalone design prior to integration into a SOC. However, in some instances, a user (i.e., system integrator) may wish to partition the IP into separate modules while integrating into its SOC. The necessity of such a partitioning is typically caused by SOC design flow peculiarities, mapping, power planning and place-and-routing considerations, and the like. In this case, the customer (i.e., user) does not use the IP's top-level module; rather, the individual IP modules are directly integrated into user's design hierarchy. After integration of such third-party IP modules into the SOC design net, there is, however, a potential risk of compromising the IP functionality. To be sure that the IP modules are properly functional, the SOC design net between instances of the IP modules must be established exactly in the same way it was established within the IP's top-level module. The violations of interconnections that can appear in the SOC design net are nearly impossible to detect using system-level functional simulation, especially when the IP is deeply embedded into the SOC. Additionally, the functional tests require costly long-running simulations. On the other hand, formal equivalence verification tools may offer a viable alternative to functional simulation. However, use of equivalence verification tools requires investments and deep knowledge of the integrated third-party IP structure.

System and method for verifying IP integrity in system-on-chip (SOC) design


A selective call receiver that receives signals transmitted by orbiting satellites uses certain information transmitted by the satellites to calculate an estimate of its position. Using that estimate and other information, the selective call receiver is able to save power by disregarding certain information contained in transmitted signals that are not intended for it.

A satellite communication system uses satellites in low earth orbit to transmit messages and other signals to SCR's located on or near the surface of the earth. Each satellite can transmit multiple beams of RF (Radio Frequency) energy, with each beam being directed to a different geographic area. Each beam carries scheduling information that tells receiving SCR's when and where to start decoding frames which may contain messages for them.
An SCR generally receives and decodes signals from several beams, some of which may be intended for geographic areas outside the SCR's service area and which contain no messages for that particular SCR. Nevertheless, the SCR will decode the scheduling information contained in all received beams even though one or more of the received beams does not contain scheduling information intended for that SCR. As a result of decoding scheduling information intended for other SCR's, the SCR is erroneously directed to look for messages that are intended for others, thus wasting the SCR's battery life. Battery life could be improved if an SCR could disregard scheduling information transmitted by beams which are intended to serve geographic areas relatively remote from the its position.

Method for a selective call receiver to determine its position and to disregard certain signals from a satellite


In a method for operating a fuel cell including an electrolyte membrane sandwiched by a fuel electrode and an oxidizing agent electrode, the method includes a hydrogen feedback process either before starting operation of the fuel cell or after stopping operation of the fuel cell. The hydrogen feedback process includes the processes of a process for electrically connecting a positive electrode of an external electric power source to the oxidizing agent electrode of the fuel cell, a process for electrically connecting a negative electrode of the external electric power source to the fuel electrode of the fuel cell, a process for oxidizing hydrogen remaining in the oxidizing agent electrode to generate protons, the hydrogen contained in the fuel, and a process for reducing the protons, transferred to the fuel electrode from the oxidizing agent electrode through the electrolyte membrane, into hydrogen.

Some techniques have been disclosed in relation to stopping or starting operation of a fuel cell. JPH10-144334A (document 1) discloses one of such techniques. According to the document, when a fuel cell stops operation, inert gas is introduced into an anode and a cathode, and a dummy resistor is inserted into a circuit of the fuel cell. The dummy resistor consumes cell current and thus lowers circuit voltage. Accordingly, degradation of a catalyst can be inhibited.
JPH2-126565A (JP2621435B, document 2) discloses a basically same technique as in the document 1. According to the document 2, when a fuel cell stops operation, a circuit of the fuel cell and a dummy resistor are electrically connected. The dummy resistor consumes cell current and thus lowers a cell voltage. By doing so, degradation of a catalyst can be inhibited. Further, JPH11-26003A (document 3) discloses a basically same technique as in the document 1. According to the document 3, when a fuel cell stops operation, a circuit of a fuel cell and a dummy resistor are electrically connected. The dummy resistor consumes cell current.
JPH11-191424A (document 4) discloses a method for operating a fuel cell. According to the document 4, after a fuel cell system stops operation, in other words, after supply of a fuel gas is stopped, a circuit of a fuel cell is switched to a storage portion provided in parallel with an electric power load in order for charging the storage portion. By doing so, a voltage between output terminals of the fuel cell can be lowered.
JP2004-253220A (document 5) discloses a following method. According to the document 5, a direct current (DC)-direct current (DC) converter is provided between a fuel cell and a storage portion. By doing so, even when a voltage between terminals of the fuel cell is lower than that of the storage portion, the storage portion can be further charged. Further, JP2001-345114A (document 6) discloses a following method. According to the document 6, when a fuel cell stops operation, a discharge resistor provided between the fuel cell terminals and connected therewith is controlled in order for consuming all of reaction gas. Incidentally, at this time, inert gas is not utilized.
With respect of the document 1, requirements for storing and replenishing inert gas would complicate a system and thus cause to raise costs for such system. This disadvantageous situation would arise in techniques according to the documents 2 and 3, as the techniques according to the documents 2 and 3 are based on similar idea to the document 1, even though some modifications are made.
Further, according to the document 4 described above, as the charging progresses, the voltage between the terminals of the fuel cell is lowered and the voltage of the storage portion is raised. Accordingly, there is a danger that the voltage between the terminals of the fuel cell become equal to the voltage of the storage portion and then electricity generation of the fuel cell is stopped. In other words, there is a danger that hydrogen is not completely consumed, and remains in a fuel electrode side, and oxygen is not completely consumed, and remains in an oxidizing agent electrode side. In such a case, hydrogen in the fuel electrode side would transfer to the oxidizing agent electrode side through an electrolyte membrane. Accordingly, there is a danger that the transferred hydrogen interacts with the oxygen and the interaction cause to chemical short. In this case, there is a danger that an electrolytic component contained in the electrolyte membrane and catalyst layers be damaged by combustion heat, and hydrogen peroxide and OH radicals, or the like, produced by a local cell.
According to the document 5, because the DC-DC converter is provided between the fuel cell and the storage portion, the storage portion can be further charged even when the voltage of the terminals of the fuel cell is lower than the voltage of the storage portion. However, it is difficult for this technique to completely solve adverse effects arisen in the document 4. In the method according to the document 6, if an amount of hydrogen and an amount of oxygen in respective electrode sides are not identical in terms of chemical equivalent, excess amount of gas in terms of chemical equivalent cannot react. As a result, the gas would distribute in both electrode sides in the same concentration by concentration cell effect or gas permeation. Accordingly, when the fuel cell is restarted, such remaining gas would interact with oxygen or hydrogen freshly supplied, and chemical short and local cell phenomena would occur. As a result, there is a danger that the electrolyte membrane is damaged or an electrolyte membrane in the catalyst layer is damaged.
A need thus exists for a method for operating a fuel cell, which is advantageous to reduce possibility of interactions with hydrogen or oxygen supplied to the fuel cell, to inhibit chemical short and local cell phenomena, and to reduce possibility of damaging an electrolytic component contained in an electrolyte membrane and catalyst layers. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides such a method for operating a fuel cell.


A new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant named ‘Balvoyelo’, characterized by its bright yellow-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous and mounded growth habit that becomes spreading in the garden, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant botanically known as Osteospermum ecklonis and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balvoyelo'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Santa Paula, Calif. during August 2006. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Osteospermum cultivars that are freely flowering with unique flower coloration and a freely branching, mounded growth habit that becomes spreading in the garden.
The new Osteospermum cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Osteospermum ecklonis breeding selection designated 10512-1, not patented, characterized by its light yellow-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Osteospermum ecklonis breeding selection designated 10013-1, not patented, characterized by its bright yellow-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, trailing growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during February 2007 in a controlled environment at Santa Paula, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since February 2007 at Santa Paula, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


A radar reflector operating device for indicating an emergency position, capable of permitting a victim to indicate his location by means of a radar reflector even when he is dropped into seawater without a life jacket, easily actuating the radar reflector by pulling or pressing a switch even when low seawater temperature dulls a victim's consciousness and senses of fingers, arms, etc., maintaining an operation of the radar reflector due to safety means even without sustenance of power by a victim that applies power in a predetermined level to operate the radar reflector, allowing an appropriate reflection section and distant recognition by preventing the radar reflector with hydrodynamic wings from being lowered due to wind, etc., and securing a victim, who cannot swim, against dangerous environments by rendering him to use the radar reflector as a life buoy, holding the wings by hands to float on the sea.

1. Field
Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to a radar cross section reflector for indicating an emergency position.
2. Description of Related Art
Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) proposes that a radar cross section (RCS) for recognizing an object on the sea should be 10 m2 and obligates that the RCS should be equipped in vessels so as to prevent a clash between small and large vessels.
An RCS is proposed with its verified result for a typical radar reflector and can be largely extended in a multi-hedral structure such as a di-hedral or tri-hedral structure.
FIG. 11 shows a basic theory about the RCS. According to the theory, it can be seen that in a radar reflector on which a di-hedral or tri-hedral metal films, a tri-hedral radar reflector having one side of 1 for a radar wave of a conventional 3 GHz band is equipped with an RCS over 3500 times of a spherical metal reflective surface having a radius of 1 and even over 3 times of a planar metal reflective surface.
Therefore, when there is emergency at sea, utilizing the characteristics of such a radar reflector helps a victim to effectively indicate his emergency position to a vessel or relief squad, which is passing by, by means of the radar reflector.
With regard to this view, the present applicant made the application (Application No. 10-2008-0050410) at May 29, 2008, entitled "Emergency position indicating device using RCS (Radar Cross Section) characteristics" (hereinafter referred to as 'related art'), which was issued for patent at Dec. 2, 2010 (Patent No. 10-0999442) (see FIG. 12).
The related art is provided to solve a problem that makes it difficult to find a victim's position when there is an emergency on the sea. According to the related art, it is possible to quickly find an emergency position in the daytime or nighttime regardless of marine environments, overcoming the shortness arising from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) that operates a large error bound of 4 mile and a cyalume lightstick limited in indication range. Referring to the related art, to effectively indicate an emergency position, radar emitted from a vessel or relief squad passing by the emergency position is intensively reflected on a balloon-type device embedding a radar reflector on which a di-hedral or tri-hedral metal film is covered to maximize an RCS, or on a self-floating radar reflector, while the device or the self-floating reflector is floating for a long time over the emergency position in a sufficient height 10˜30 m after injecting a gas, which is lighter than air, thereinto.
While the related art, operable by attaching an EPIRB, which includes a radar reflector, to a life jacket, is theoretically capable of indicating an emergency position in the daytime or nighttime regardless of marine environments, there would be inconvenience or limits as follows in operation for actual emergency on the sea.
First, in an actual case of emergency on the sea, victims are usually dropped into seawater without wearing life jackets beforehand. Since most victims are incapable of swimming, the utility of the related art would be lower.
Second, if seawater temperature is low, a victim's consciousness rapidly goes down and senses of fingers, arms and legs dull to cause their movement to be hard. As a result, it would be difficult to operate a device of the related art for indicating his emergency position.
Third, the lack of means for safely operating a device of the related art would cause a victim to be damaged if the device malfunctions in emergency. And, if some important components of the device of the related art get out of order, it cannot be used.
Fourth, while a radar reflector needs to be floated over an appropriate height for providing a proper reflection section and securing distant recognition, the device of the related art may be floated lower than a desired height due to wind.

Radar reflector operating device for indicating emergency position

KOREA INSTITUTE OF OCEAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


The present invention discloses a subscriber identity module connector which places a detecting terminal and a grounding terminal into a same contact area. The above placement of the detecting terminal and the grounding terminal form a circuit to determine if a SIM card is inserted appropriately. As a result, there is no need to set conventional detecting unit, and the space of the subscriber identity module connector are advantageously saved. It not only simplifies the placement of circuit board (PCB) and but also reduces the manufacturing cost.

In the modem life, consumer electronics, such as digital camera, PDA, cellular phone, and electronic components thereof have the characteristics of small size, thin thickness and light weight. With the development of communication industry, the popularity of cellular phone is also increasing. Not only the office workers, the undergraduate students, high school students, but also the teenagers, the elders, and even the kids use cellular phones these days. Cellular phones provide convenient and prompt communications at work and in daily life. Several years ago, the cellular phone is only the tool for voice communication, and short message service; today, we can surf the internet, deliver e-mal, watch TV, and photograph by cellular phone. Cellular phones further satisfy people's needs at work and in daily life.
To identify the users' identity or personal information, subscriber identity module cards (SIM cards) with conductive surfaces are installed in the cellular phones. SIM card connector is installed to provide a quick connection between the SIM card and the cellular phone. The SIM card connector helps to complete checking process and provide wireless communication service by electrical contacting to the conductive surfaces of the SIM cards.
There can be a problem of determining if the SIM card is inserted in the SIM card connector appropriately because the SIM card and SIM card connector are tiny units. Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is the diagram of SIM card connector according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, a detecting terminal 901 is particularly placed on one side of a SIM card connector 90. While the SIM card is inserted into the SIM card connector 90, the detecting terminal 901 determines whether the SIM card is inserted into the SIM card connector 90 appropriately by contacting the SIM card. Hence, the detecting terminal 901 enlarges the size of the SIM card connector 90. Moreover, the manufacturing cost of the SIM card connector 90 increases.


An expandable text messaging service protocol for use with a two-way radio transceiver includes an extension bit field for creating an expandable header for controlling the overall size of data packets used for communicating message traffic. The protocol further includes a control bit field for designing the message as a control message or user message and a protocol data unit (PDU) type field for identifying the message type. A payload field may further be used for carrying message content.

Many differing types of data messaging protocols are known in the art. A communication protocol is a set of standard rules for data representation, signaling, authentication, and error detection required to send information over a communication channel. An example of a simple communication protocol adapted to voice communication is the case of a radio dispatcher talking to a mobile station. Similarly, communication protocols for digital computer network communication have many features intended to ensure reliable interchange of data over an imperfect communication channel. Thus a communication protocol is essentially the rules which allow users in a system to properly communicate between stations.
The majority of the data messaging protocols used today are "server based" protocols. Thus, stations wishing to exchange text messages or other data must first communicate with a server which acts as an intermediary station. This type of operation is often referred to as a "store and forward" operation where the sender station sends a message to the server which stores the message until such time that an intended recipient station is able to receive the message, whereupon the server then forwards the stored message to the intended recipient station. Such protocols include Simple Message Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP), Instant Messaging (IM) and Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), to name a few. These types of protocols are commonly used for transferring messages between users in a networked environment. Existing messaging systems are becoming more and more popular especially with users of wireless devices. Since messaging can be less intrusive than voice communications via phone, messaging continues to be a popular communication mode in small business, government and corporate environments.
One problem associated with these preexisting protocols is that they cannot communicate device-to-device and must rely on system infrastructure to convey message traffic. Additionally, preexisting protocols are relatively large and complex having many bulky fields to send and receive data traffic. These types of protocols are complicated to use especially in mobile environments. Thus, the need exists for a new text messaging service protocol for limiting the number of bytes used to transmit control information and text messaging on communication links having a low data rate.

Expandable text messaging service protocol for use with a two-way radio transceiver


Provided is a carrier module for use in a handler for handling a packaged chip for a test, the carrier module including a body provided, a base plate where the packaged chips are placed, provided to the body, and at least one latch which holds the packaged chips in position in the base plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrier module in which a plurality of packaged chips are held firmly in position and a handler for handling a packaged chip for a test using the carrier modules.
2. Description of the Background Art
At the conclusion of a packaging process, a handler puts packaged chips through a series of environmental, electrical, and reliability tests. These tests vary in type and specifications, depending on the customer and use of the packaged devices. The tests may be performed on all of the packages in a lot or on selected samples.
The handler puts packaged chips into a test tray and supplies the test tray to a tester. The tester includes a test board with a plurality of sockets, performing an electrical test on the packaged chips. The packaged chips are inserted into the sockets of the test board for the electrical test. The handler puts the packaged chips into a test tray, i.e. a jig and connecting the packaged chips contained in a test tray into sockets of the test board. The handler sorts the packaged chips according to a test result. The handler removes packaged chips from a user tray and put the removed packaged chips into carrier modules of the test tray. The handler transfers the test tray to the tester. The handler removes tested packaged chips from the carriers of the test tray and places the tested packaged chips to a user tray.
The test tray is equipped with the carrier modules in which the packaged chips are placed. A distance between the packaged chips in the carrier modules is the same as that between the sockets of the test board.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional carrier module and a conventional test tray equipped with the conventional carrier modules are described.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating how the carrier module 6 is provided to the test tray 1. The test tray 1 includes a rectangular frame 2, and a plurality of supporting bars 3 spaced and arranged relative to each other, connected to the rectangular frame 2 on the inside.
Supporting pads 4 are provided to the supporting bars 3. The carrier module 6 is connected to the supporting pads 4. The number of the supporting pads 4 determines the number of the carrier modules to be provided to the test tray. The distance between the supporting pads determines the distance of the carrier modules. One packaged chip is placed in one carrier module.
As shown in FIG. 2, the packaged chip is placed in a cavity 13 of the carrier module 11. A latch 14, holding the packaged chip in position, is provided to each of both sides of the cavity 13.
One side of the latch 14 is connected to a button 17 which is supported by a spring 15. The fin 14a, which get in contact with the packaged chip, is provided to the bottom of the latch 14.
When the button 17 is pushed, a pair of the latches 14 is rotated about a pin 15. Then the fin 14a opens toward the outside of the cavity. At this point, the packaged chip is placed in the cavity 13. When the button stops being pushed, the fin 14a is moved toward the inside of the cavity 13 and is pressed against the packaged chip, thus resulting in holding the packaged chip firmly in position.
However, one packaged chip is placed in each of the carrier modules. The carrier modules are required to be as many as the packaged chips, which are to be contained in the test tray.
Furthermore, change in a size of the packaged chip requires the existing carrier modules to be replaced with other carrier modules.
It is also difficult to shorten the distance between the packaged chips placed in the carrier modules more shorter than the distance between the carrier modules.

Carrier module for use in a handler and handler for handling packaged chips for a test using the carrier modules


Microprocessor main programs and their interrupt handling routines are written in a high level programming language such as C. Each is compiled separately, and each is compiled invoking a compiler option which commands the compiler to not use a given set of registers in the compiled code. Post-processing is then performed on the compiled interrupt code to replace accesses to a first set of registers with accesses to the given set of registers. The result is that while both the main program and the interrupt handler were written in C, the compiled code for each employs different registers. This allows context switching from the main program to the interrupt handler and back again with almost none of the overhead traditionally associated with context switching register save and restore operations during exception handling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of microprocessor software. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of a register reservation method for context switching in microprocessors.
2. Description of the Related Art
In microprocessors, registers are memory locations which are located on the microprocessor die and which are quickly accessible for data storage, retrieval, and manipulation. Microprocessors use a number of registers. A MIPS processor without a floating point coprocessor for example has 32 general purpose registers. In accordance with register conventions followed by most software compilers, these registers are assigned the functions described below:
______________________________________ Register Number Mnemonic Description ______________________________________ $0 zero Hardwired to zero $1 at Reserved for assembler $2-$3 v0-v1 Return value from functions $4-$7 a0-a3 Arguments for functions $8-$15 t0-t7 Temporaries, not preserved in functions $16-$23 s0-s7 Variables, preserved in functions $24-$25 ti-to Temporaries, not preserved in functions $26-$27 k0-k1 Reserved for exception processinq $28 gp Global pointer for fast addressing of global variables $29 sp Stack pointer $30 fp Frame pointer $31 ra Return address ______________________________________
The processor also has two special registers (HI and LO) used for multiplication and division operations.
Microprocessors also include interrupt capabilities. An interrupt input to a microprocessor is an input pin on the microprocessor chip itself. When a device external to the microprocessor drives the input pin to an active state (usually active low), the controller receives an immediate signal that a device is requesting service. The interrupt source requesting service might be a data port that has received incoming data, an A/D converter that has finished a conversion and therefore has data available for retrieval by the processor, an overtemperature alarm indicator, a mouse, a keyboard, or any other number of devices that need servicing by the processor. Interrupts can also be generated internally upon the occurrence of various conditions.
Interrupts are useful means to deviate the standard control flow of a program in order to service an external or internal event that may occur asynchronously. When an interrupt occurs, the processor temporarily abandons the current program flow and begins to fetch and execute instructions from a different location. This location may be either a static, predetermined address (non-vectored interrupts) or an address supplied by a hardware unit (vectored interrupts). The routine that the processor jumps to after receiving an interrupt is called an exception or interrupt routine or handler. The microprocessor can enable and disable interrupts via software. If an interrupt disable command has been executed, the microprocessor will not recognize the interrupt and jump to the interrupt routine until an interrupt enable command is executed.
When the processor jumps from the main (interrupted) program to the interrupt handler, the interrupt handler does not know what processor resources were being used by the main program. In order to prevent loss of the register data which the main program may have been using and to allow continuation of the main program after the interrupt has been handled and program execution returned to the main program, the interrupt handler has to save the data currently residing in the processor registers that it will be using and restore that data to those registers upon completion of the interrupt routine. The process of saving and restoring registers during exception handling is called context switching. Saving the registers at the beginning of the exception handler is called context saving. Restoring the registers before returning to the main program is called context restoring.
There are several different methods for performing context switching. Some processors, particularly digital signal processors (DSP's), perform context switching via shadow registers. In this method, for each main register there is an associated shadow register. A shadow register is a hardware location which is directly connected to the main register. The main registers are used during normal program execution. When an interrupt occurs, the shadow register contents are swapped with the main register contents and the interrupt handler proper may proceed immediately. Upon completion the main and shadow registers are swapped again and the interrupted program may resume.
This is the fastest interrupt handling method. However, not all processors support register shadowing. Also, due do a limited number of shadow registers, only a limited number of fast context switches may be performed.
A second method of context switching is software context save/restore. In this method, the main registers are saved via software commands at the beginning of an interrupt routine, and restored via software commands at the end of the interrupt routine. If the interrupt handler is being written in a high level programming language such as C which does not allow a programmer to specify which particular registers to use for the routine, an assembly wrapper as illustrated in FIG. 1 is invoked. The assembly wrapper simply saves and restores all of the registers. This is time-consuming. For example, the MIPS processor has 20 registers that must be saved and restored before and after the interrupt handler proper. This method will also be inefficient if the interrupt routine uses only a few registers. This inefficiency will be felt even more acutely if the interrupt routine is called often during program execution.
One variation on this method is to write the interrupt handler in assembly language so that the programmer can control which registers are used for the interrupt handler. The programmer adds register save and restore commands which save and restore only those registers that will be used during the exception routine. Although this is more efficient in terms of processor resources, writing software in assembly is significantly more time-consuming and error-prone than coding in a high level programming language such as C.
A third method of context switching is hardware context save/restore. In this method, hardware automatically performs the context save when the interrupt is accepted, and automatically performs the context restore at the end of the interrupt routine. Although typically faster than software controlled context switching, hardware context save/restore may also require a significant amount of time due to the number of registers to be saved. Furthermore, not all processors support hardware context switching.

Register reservation method for fast context switching in microprocessors


A memory cell array includes a plurality of memory cells arranged at intersections of bit line pairs and word lines. Each memory cell includes a first transistor having one main electrode connected to a first bit line, a second transistor having one main electrode connected to a second bit line, a first node electrode for data-storage connected to the other main electrode of the first transistor, a second node electrode for data-storage connected to the other main electrode of the second transistor, and a shield electrode formed surrounding the first and second node electrodes. The first and second transistors have respective gates both connected to an identical word line, and the first and second bit lines are connected to an identical sense amp. The first and second node electrodes, the first and second bit lines, the word line and the shield electrode are isolated from each other using insulating films.

There are various kinds of commercially-available semiconductor memory devices. Memories with relatively larger capacity and lower power consumption include an SRAM (static random access memory). The SRAM has problems, however, because variations in threshold voltage result in unstable operation, and leakage current flowing in turned-off transistors increases power consumption.
On the other hand, semiconductor memory devices suitable for high integration include a DRAM. A method of forming a DRAM with multi-layered wiring for much higher integration is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-open No. 2002-133892, which is incorporated herein by reference. The DRAM thus formed usually requires formation of capacitors. Since the capacitors needs processes different from a CMOS processes. Accordingly, it is difficult to manufacture the DRAM through CMOS process only.
Therefore, it is advantageous in a semiconductor memory device that a DRAM can be formed through a general CMOS process, and to provide a DRAM-combined semiconductor memory device manufacturable at a lower production cost.


A Bearing and Bushing assembly where the operational mating surfaces of the bearing and bushing components are each formed with grooves, longitudinally extending the length of each component. The grooves formed in the bushing to be attached to a shaft are spiral, at least two in number, one being a reverse spiral to the other. The bearing assembly has a number of longitudinal, parallel grooves again extending the length of the bearing members. The bearing member is of composite construction. The inner component carrying the grooves being of hard rubber.

The invention relates to a bearing and bushing assembly for use primarily, but not exclusively in fluid pumping systems.
One of the most serious problems associated with pumps and indeed any rotating equipment that comes into contact with a fluid material, is wear in the bearings and/or bushings associated with such equipment. This wear, in general, is caused by abrasive particles suspended in, or forming part of the material being pumped. The higher the percentage of abrasive particles in the material, the shorter the working life of these components.
While considerable attention has been paid to the design of specific application pumps, little or no thought has been given to substantially overcoming the basic problem of wear, other than to utilize materials in the construction of components that are less subject to wear. With the slow decline in conventional oil reserves, attention is now being directed to the recovery of heavy oil, which heretofore has been uneconomic to recover.
As is well known in the oil and gas industry, heavy oil is difficult to pump, not only because of its viscosity, but also because this oil contains a high percentage of sand, sometimes up to 60%. The result therefore is that wells are shut down and major reserves are left in the ground.
With such an abrasive product, a very specific type of pump is required, and indeed, it is only recently that such a pump has been designed, capable of handling heavy oil. This particular pump, which is classified as a xe2x80x9cTurbo-Discxe2x80x9d pump is the subject of presently pending Canadian Patent Application Serial #2,185,176, filed Sep. 10, 1996, and is currently assigned to CDM Inc, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The apparatus disclosed in the prior design essentially comprises a cylindrical housing having an intake adjacent to one end to recover the viscous oil and sand mixture and a discharge outlet adjacent to its other end through which the fluid can be pumped. An inner impeller rotationally mounted in the housing generates a xe2x80x9cturboxe2x80x9d effect, namely a spiraling, in this case upwardly moving column of fluid which rotates around the housing and thereby induces a flow of the mixture through the intake. A number of rotating discs are arranged in the housing in a separation zone above the intake. These discs are spaced apart from one another and serve to assist in guiding the flow of fluid to the discharge end of the housing. These discs also serve in the separation of the fluid into at least some of its separate components or phases.
Field and bench testing of this pump have shown that its construction does lessen the previously known problem of blade impingement of solids on conventional pumps and hence substantially reduces the blade or disc erosion.
A problem still however exits with regard to components utilized in connecting with this particular pump, in that the bearings and seals, which are subjected to contact with the highly abrasive mixture, are subject to wear.
When this problem becomes evident, the present inventor, whom also invented the xe2x80x9cTurbo-Discxe2x80x9d pump, designed the bushing and bearing assembly which is the subject of the present application.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to substantially reduce the wear in any bearing utilized on contact with abrasive fluids.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bearing and bushing assembly that permits abrasive fluid to flow through the assembly in a manner which reduces contact with the metal surfaces.
The present invention therefore comprises a bushing and bearing assembly where the outer surface, a bushing component attached to a rotatable shaft, is provided with a pair of spiral grooves extending the length of the bushing, one groove being in a reverse spiral to the other. The bearing component of the assembly is of composite construction having an outer cylindrical, tubular shell and an inner cylindrical, tubular insert of a material different from that of its outer shell. The surface of the insert which will operationally bear against the grooved surface of the bushing having a parallel, longitudinally extending groove formed therein.


Methods, systems, and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are disclosed which provide ATM currency conversion capabilities. In one embodiment, a financial account number associated with a financial account maintained by a customer at a financial institution is received, a foreign currency type associated with the financial account is determined, and a choice is presented to the customer at the ATM to conduct a financial transaction in the foreign currency type. A currency selection is received from the customer and at least a portion of the financial transaction is conducted at the ATM in the selected currency.

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are used by customers to conveniently perform transactions related to financial accounts. One of the most common transaction involves the withdrawal of money from a checking or savings account. The customer enters the desired withdrawal amount and if the transaction is approved, receives the requested amount. The withdrawal amount is deducted from the customer's account. ATM's may also be used for credit card transactions and credit card cash advances, money transfers, payments (e.g., payment of a bill, such as a cellular phone bill or other bill), balance inquiries, item purchase items (e.g., stamps), electronic purse transactions, and other types of transactions involving the making and receiving of payments.
ATM transactions are conducted using the native currency of the ATM. Thus, an ATM located in the United States conducts transactions in U.S. dollars, while an ATM located in France conducts transactions in Euros. If the customer is using an ATM located in the same country as the customer, the transaction amounts (e.g., the withdrawal amount) are presumably well understood by the customer. However, in instances in which a customer is using an ATM in a foreign country, the customer often does not know how the ATM's native currency corresponds to the customer's native currency amount. Additionally, the exchange rate that will be used to perform the settlement on the transaction is not known to the customer. Even if the customer can make an educated guess about the exchange rate, the conversion must be performed manually by the customer. Thus, a customer usually does not know the exact amount of the transaction in the customer's native currency (e.g., the withdrawal amount deducted from his or her account) until a statement is received from the financial institution.

ATM machine and methods with currency conversion capabilities


Provided are an ultrasound apparatus and a method of inputting information into the ultrasound apparatus. The method includes receiving a selection of a control item of the ultrasound apparatus from a user via a control area included in the user input unit; displaying a control window for displaying the selected control item on a screen; adjusting a configuration value of the selected control item based on a touch operation of a touch input which is received via the control area.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to an ultrasound apparatus that is capable of receiving a touch input and a method of inputting information into the ultrasound apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A probe of an ultrasound apparatus is placed in closed contact with a predetermined portion in a body and generates an ultrasound signal having a frequency of 20 kHz or higher. Then, the ultrasound apparatus obtains an image of the predetermined portion via information about the characteristics of a reflected echo signal. Such ultrasound apparatus is used for medical purposes such as detection of foreign objects inside a body, injury diagnosis, treatment observation, etc. The ultrasound apparatus has higher stability compared to an X-ray apparatus and may display an image in real time. Additionally, a patient is not exposed to radiation when the ultrasound apparatus is used. Therefore, the ultrasound apparatus is widely used, along with an X-ray diagnosis apparatus, a computerized tomography (CT) apparatus, a magnetic resonance image (MRI) apparatus, a nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus, or other image diagnosis apparatuses.
Parameters for obtaining an image of an organ by using an ultrasound apparatus are generally set. However, the characteristics of an ultrasound signal reflected from an organ may vary with the characteristics of the organ. Thus, in order to obtain an accurate image for diagnosing a body organ, it is necessary to allow a user to properly adjust parameters of the ultrasound apparatus.

Ultrasound apparatus and method of inputting information into the same


A method of inhibiting the formation of fouling deposits occurring in spent caustic wash systems used for ethylene dichloride (EDC) manufacturing processes. Fouling occurs in these systems when they are in contact with EDC processing streams contaminated with oxygen-containing compounds, such as aldehydes. These deposits are formed in EDC processing streams contaminated with oxygen-containing compounds while in contact with a caustic solution having a pH>7. The invention comprises adding an effective deposit-inhibiting amount of a non-enolizable carbonyl compound to the caustic solution. Preferred non-enolizable carbonyl compounds are formaldehyde, glyoxal, benzaldehyde, p-anisaldehyde, formic acid, glyoxalic acid and paraformaldehyde.

A major problem encountered in the treatment of various hydrocarbon charge stocks is the phenomenon recognized as and descriptively called fouling. This phenomenon is manifested in the form of deposits which frequently form on the metal surfaces of the processing equipment and tend to decrease the efficiency of the intermediate processing operations. The results of fouling appear in the form of heat transfer loss, increased pressure drop and a loss in throughput rate. Fouling also increases the safety risks associated with operating a chemical process. It is therefore a beneficial practice to inhibit the build-up of deposits in processing equipment that would otherwise reduce capacity and overall plant efficiency.
Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is produced by two methods; direct chlorination and oxychlorination. Both chlorination reactions are combined in most production plants to produce EDC by what is known as a balanced process. Hydrochloric acid produced in the direct chlorination process is used as a feedstock in the oxychlorination process.
Oxychlorination is a catalytic process by which ethylene, oxygen and hydrogen chloride are combined to produce ethylene dichloride and water. Any time ethylene, oxygen and a catalyst are combined, the possibility of oxidation exists. Acetaldehyde is an oxidation product of ethylene, and it is a minor by-product of the oxychlorination process.
From the reactor the effluent (crude EDC) is washed with water and caustic to remove as much hydrogen chloride as possible from the stream. It is during the caustic wash step that acetaldehyde undergoes a base-catalyzed polymerization.
Generally, the basic washing entails contacting the ethylene dichloride with an aqueous basic solution in a wash tower to remove hydrogen chloride therefrom. The conditions in the wash tower are conducive for condensation reactions of many enolizable aldehydes (such as acetaldehyde) contained therein.
The term "crude ethylene dichloride" refers to unpurified EDC which leaves the chlorination of oxychlorination units. Crude EDC also refers to the feed stream for the EDC Tar Still. These units may be considered distillation separation units which separate the crude EDC stream into an overhead stream of purified EDC and a bottoms stream of EDC, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, hexachloroethane, hexachlorobenzene, with fouling amounts of chlorinated or oxychlorinated polymeric material. The fouling in the bottoms is severe at EDC levels of below about 30 wt %, and particularly severe at EDC levels of below about 30 wt %, and particularly severe at EDC levels of 20 wt % or below. At high EDC levels in the bottoms, EDC acts as a solvent for the fouling materials.
Materials from the direct chlorination unit often contain not only chlorinated products, but also iron complexes; the iron typically comes from the catalyst (e.g. ferric chloride or tetrachloroferrate salts) used in the reaction or from corrosion of the equipment used in the process. These unwanted species, i.e. extraneous organic chloride/oxygenates and iron complexes, are typically removed through a series of aqueous washings and distillation columns. Columns are used to concentrate and remove the tars (i.e. heavies) formed either during the chlorination step or downstream of the reactors. Tars are generally high boiling polychlorinated by-products with poorly defined compositions. Material lighter than ethylene dichloride (b.p. 83.degree. C.) is also removed through fractionation. After prolonged usage, both types of columns eventually foul due to the accumulation of non-volatile by-products.
Some of the by-products are likely due to unwanted oxidation (e.g. chloral and other oxygenated by-products are known to form). Oxygen is frequently an impurity in chlorine, and oxygen is also used in the oxychlorination process. Infrared analysis of non-volatile components from a heavy ends removal column has revealed that carbonyl moieties do indeed exist.
Serious fouling occurs in the various units handling the liquid EDC. For example, in the primary EDC Recovery Unit, fouling occurs in the distillation trays and the transfer facilities, particularly the retort furnace. EDC fouling is particularly serious in the liquid phase of EDC in the primary EDC Recovery Unit, the EDC Recovery Tar Still, and the EDC Recycle Tar Still.
It is not uncommon for these units to foul within periods of time as short as a few days. If it were possible, by the use of additives, to increase the time before fouling caused shut downs for cleaning a valuable contribution to the art would be made. Not only would run-length of the unit be increased, but there would be a reduction in waste and lower potential exposure to those who clean the unit.
Among the methods for inhibiting carbonyl fouling in caustic scrubbers are U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,489 wherein hydroxylamine and its hydrochloride and hydrogen sulfate salts have been used to inhibit polymer formation caused by condensation reactions of aldehydes contained in caustic scrubber units; U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,301 wherein ethylenediamines and water soluble salt forms thereof have been used to inhibit carbonyl based fouling, particularly aldehyde fouling, that often occurs during caustic scrubbing of liquid or gas phase hydrocarbon streams in the base wash unit; U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,114 wherein the use of amine compounds to inhibit the deposition of foulants during caustic washing is disclosed; U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,425 wherein carbohydrazide has been disclosed as useful for inhibiting polymeric fouling deposits during the caustic scrubbing of pyrolytically-produced hydrocarbons contaminated with oxygen-containing compounds in, hydrazides for the same purpose have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,394; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,143 wherein an acetoacetate ester is used in a method for inhibiting fouling during caustic washing of hydrocarbons. Amide condensation products of monocarboxylic acids and aliphatic polyamines for the same purpose were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,130. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,104 discloses the use of percarbonate salts for the same purpose. Yet none of these references disclose the novel treatment disclosed herein, and the majority would be unsuitable for the ethylene dichloride caustic tower environment.
Antifoulant dispersants have been described for the prevention of fouling in ethylene dichloride streams within the distillation units of the ethylene dichloride manufacturing process. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,240,469 and 5,324,393 disclose the use of a composition comprising an acrylate ester containing C.sub.4 -C.sub.22 alcohol esters and amino alcohol esters, phenylene diamine and a heavy aromatic solvent; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,997 discloses use of an acylated amine, a magnesium sulfonate or a blend of both.
However, dispersants such as those described above as useful for distillation tower treatment would not also serve as antifoulants for caustic tower treatment. This is so because the caustic tower, treated by the antifoulants disclosed herein, is located in front of the distillation units in an ethylene dichloride manufacturing facility. The bottom of the caustic tower contains aqueous sodium hydroxide, and the overhead steam from the caustic tower contains water and crude ethylene dichloride. The caustic tower (also referred to as a spent caustic wash system) is an aqueous environment. This stream goes next to the distillation section, wherein water and light hydrocarbons are removed in the dehydration tower. The bottom of the distillation unit does not contain any water, but rather is organic in nature. Therefore the environment in the caustic tower is different than the environment within the distillation unit, and the ensuing problems and their solutions generated within the distillation tower will be different from those generated within the caustic tower.
Moreover, inhibition of corrosion in halocarbon systems with succinic acid derivatives is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,953. Since corrosion does not occur in caustic towers under normal operating conditions, corrosion inhibitors would not be used in the caustic towers of either ethylene plants or ethylene dichloride plants.
A method for inhibiting ethylene dichloride process stream fouling by preventing polymerization due to aldol condensation of aldehydes such as acetaldehyde that does not interfere with overall plant operations or in the operation of individual process units would therefore be a highly desirable advancement in the art of ethylene dichloride manufacture.

Non-enolizable oxygenates as anti foulants in ethylene dichloride manufacture


A device for a stroller having a driving member, a driven member and a recovery member is able to control folding and unfolding processes of the stroller easily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for readily folding a stroller, and more particularly to a device which allows the stroller to be securely expanded and further to be folded easily.
2. Description of Related Art
Various strollers have been provided all over the world for years. Many types of safety equipment have also been invented for attachment to the strollers to increase the safety of the strollers and to make the strollers become more handy for all users. To be handy, the stroller should be able to provide the user a fixed and strong structure when used, and an easily operated procedure for folding frames of the stroller. However, most of the currently used foldable strollers simply use hooks and lugs respectively located on front supports and rear supports of the stroller to achieve assembly and disassembly thereof. By using the attachable engagement between the hooks and the corresponding lugs, a user is able to expand the stroller to a firm structure for a baby to be seated therein, and also to fold the stroller to a minimized volume. However, disconnecting the hooks and the lugs often causes users a lot of trouble and sometimes confusion about which hook he/she should be using to fold/unfold the stroller.
The present invention provides an improved device for easily operating the folding/unfolding of stroller for a user to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A transmission method and a transmitter and receiver Structure is disclosed which provides for transmission of modulated waves using long pulses with a plurality of frequencies. The method involves two consecutive frequencies being separated by 1/T, where T is the period of the useful transmission intervals. The method and the apparatus are particularly suited to broadcasting and reception of television and radio signals as well as telephone communications between exchanges and between radio telephones and communication stations including terrestrial stations and satellites and local computer networks. Most particularly the method is applicable to high fidelity radio transmissions as well as to high definition television (HDTV).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transmitter as well as a transmission method which are particularly high-performance. The invention also relates principally to a receiver.
2. Discussion of Background
It is known to transmit ion by using modulated waves, such as, for example, electromagnetic waves. It is known to try to increase the transmitted information throughputs. However, the increase in the throughput more often than not comes through an increase in the band of frequencies used. Now, in the case of guided transmissions there is a limitation due to the passband of the channel, for example a coaxial cable or an optical fibre, whilst in transmissions over the air there are no longer sufficient frequencies to satisfy all the needs.
Moreover, the Patent Application FR 86 09622 published under the No. 2,601,210 describes a method of transmission using symbols A (f, t) . Each symbol corresponding to a frequency and a given transmission time. The transmission time not being fixed, the device does not use any means of fine synchronization, which thus limits the spectral response to approximately 0.7 bit/(Hz.s). Moreover, the French certificate of addition 86 13271 published under the No. 2,604,316 describes the use of devices for calculation of the discrete Fourier transform for the demodulation of the signal. This certificate of addition suggest moreover the use of a guard period between the symbols. However, the nonorthogonality of the channels used limits the spectral response, in the best of cases, to 1 bit/(Hz.s).
With the device according to the present invention, it is possible to exceed 5 bits/(Hz.s) under analogous conditions.
The present invention relates to an improvement in the means and of transmission methods described in the Patent 86 13937; 86 13938; 86 13939; 86 13940; 86 13941; 86 18351; 86 18352.
In the devices of known type it has often been tried to increase the information throughput by decreasing the transmission times allocated to each information unit, (or by increasing the number of possible symbols). Thus, a broadened spectrum was generated, whose secondary lobes have to be filtered on transmission, thus creating a distortion in the signal. For a square signal with a period .tau. a spectrum possessing numerous secondary lobes is obtained; the principle has a width of 2/.tau.. In the remainder of this specification this distortion in the signal is called auto-distortion.

Transmitter, transmission method and receiver


The invention relates to a magnetic multilayer system (1) which is arranged on a substrate (6) which is made of a material from the group consisting of a plastic from the group of polymers, metal, metal alloy and paper and/or which is at least one element from the group consisting of a document and packaging. The invention further relates to packaging which comprises such a magnetic multilayer system (1). According to the invention, the multilayer system (1) is used for proving the authenticity of an object. Likewise according to the invention are a method for marking an object with a magnetic multilayer system for proving the authenticity of an object and a method for reading a magnetic multilayer system for proving the authenticity of an object.

WO 01/63554 A2 and US 2003/0107832 A1 teach a marking device for the identification of objects. A carrier film made of polyester is firstly vapour-deposited with a first layer made of NiO and subsequently with a second layer made of NiFe. The marking may be used, instead of a magnetic strip, on cheque cards, credit cards, access cards, electronic keys or the like for checking authenticity.
From A. Ehresmann et al., "On the origin of ion bombardment induced Exchange Bias modifications in polycrystalline layers" 2005, J. Phys. D. 38, 801, there is known a multilayer system having a plurality of magnetic layers arranged one upon another which comprises a ferromagnetic layer having a large number of biased domains with asymmetrical remagnetisation properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,651 discloses magnetic elements containing an object which has a substrate and a thin coating with an amorphous magnetic material. The object can be used as an anti-theft marking.
From DE 196 04 746 A1 there is known a security element for electronic article protection. It solves the problem of modifying a known security element, composed of a plurality of magnetic materials, such that it is detected by a harmonic detection system. This is done by providing a material with a high Barkhausen effect, which is arranged relative to a soft magnetic material in such a way that the two can be coupled to one another via their stray fields, and by providing a medium-hard or hard magnetic material which biases the material with the high Barkhausen effect.
CA 2 451 548 discloses an authenticity feature, in particular a security thread for banknotes, which has optical, electronic and magnetic security features. The security features are applied in a manner overlapping in layers and cannot be optically distinguished from one another. The magnetic security feature can be applied by magnetic ink, and individual regions forming the magnetic security element may differ in their magnetic remanence or in their coercive field strength. The different types of magnetic regions can therefore be distinguished in identifying machines through their different magnetic properties. The different magnetic properties of the regions may be caused by different magnetic materials, by varying the amount of material and/or the pigment distribution, the term pigment distribution referring, for example, to the pigment size or the density distribution of the pigments. As materials, hard and soft magnetic materials are equally suitable.
From US 2008/0193639 A1 there is known a method for marking composite materials. A marking is applied by means of magnetically doped ink between layers of the composite material. The marking can be read by suitable reading devices for magnetic markings, although it is located between two layers of the composite material and is thus invisible or at least hidden to the eye.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,779 B2 discloses a barcode scanning machine with at least two cameras. The at least two cameras scan one after the other a barcode of sheets guided past them. A controller receives signals from the first and from the second barcode scanner and interprets them by means of a predetermined algorithm. The algorithm can be selected, so that different levels of reliability checking are provided.
From DE 600 03 067 T2 there is known a security system for the protection of various articles, and a method for reading a code marking. A main feature of the invention is to provide an appropriate system comprising a magnetic read-only pattern with a high density which is not visible to an individual's eyes and has a reading head suitable for reading this pattern. In addition, another feature of the invention is to provide a reading head which is designed to be adapted to the unique response characteristics of the material of the code pattern. The reading head is provided with magnetic means, so that an effective response of the reading head occurs only in a narrow zone. The magnetic elements are preferably glass-coated microwires made of a soft magnetic material having a very low remanence. The density of the microwire pattern is considerably higher than that which is obtained with known magnetic materials such as magnetic inks. The code patterns formed by the microwires cannot be read with known readers, because the sensing range of known readers is much larger than the distance between the microwire pieces.
DE 103 14 631 A1 discloses a plane sheet material with individual information. The sheet material or the sheet has magnetisable particles, and individual information is incorporated in the sheet material. Substantially unchangeable individual information is stored on the sheet material by the manufacturer by means of the magnetisable particles, and moreover incorporated in the sheet in encrypted form as check information. The individual information and the corresponding check information can be checked for a match using only a corresponding key. The storing of the individual information can be carried out such that while being easily readable it is substantially unchangeable in content, which increases the degree of security against counterfeiting. A suitable testing device comprises decryption software which enables detection of the match between individual and check information.


An optical system provides information about tangential vibration components of a surface at remote location. The optical system includes a light source assembly that emits first and second beams, each having one or more wavelengths and one or two polarizations. The first and second beams are directed to the interrogated surface. A detector system is positioned to detect a third beam formed by at least a portion of the first and second beams being reflected from the interrogated surface. The first, second and third beams having incident and reflection angles relative to the interrogated surface that do not lay in a same plane. The detector system positioned remotely from the interrogated surface, and providing information on a phase change in the third beam relative to the first and second beam. The phase change is indicative of at least one surface vibration vector component of the interrogated surface. The detector system is a 90 degree optical hybrid balanced detector with four photodiodes.

The principles of Doppler Laser vibrometry are well known to the person skilled in the art, the general description can be found for example at the web site of Polytec company, CA. Vibrometers based on this principle can remotely measure surface velocities, or vibrations, with high spatial resolution and over a broad frequency and amplitude range.
A coherent laser beam is projected on to the surface under investigation. Light scattered back from the surface is shifted in frequency by an amount proportional to the velocity of the surface (the Doppler effect). The instrument measures this frequency shift to produce an instantaneous velocity signal, which can subsequently be analyzed.
By adding coordinate control using scanning mirrors, a single point vibrometer sensor can be used to scan across a surface, gathering multi-point data from vibrating objects. See for example, vibrometers produced by company Metrolaser, CA, Laser Doppler vibrometers at: http://www.metrolaserinc.com/vibrometer.htm [2].
The most basic laser Doppler vibrometer is the one with a reference beam, see for example models LV-1100 and LV-1300 produced by Ono Sokki, Japan. Laser light released from the light source is split into two beams, one of which serves as an incident beam directed at the object under measurement, while the other serves as a reference beam fed back within the vibrometer. The beam reflected from the object experiences Doppler shift proportion to the vibrators velocity of the object. This beam is then made to interfere with the reference beam, which is given a frequency shift beforehand by the acouslooptic modulator, so that a beat frequency can be obtained. From this beat frequency signal, only the Doppler-shift component is singled out at the detector circuit and sent to the FM demodulator to be output as a voltage signal that is proportional to the vibratory velocity.
The disadvantage of the described above system is in rather low sensitivity of the signal detection, and further improvement of the detection scheme is required to provide the measurement on longer distances and to improve the reliability of the system.
An object does not always vibrate in one direction only. It max in fact vibrate in a complex manner in three-dimensional directions. The LV-3300 is a vibrometric system comprising three reference-beam laser Doppler vibrometer units. The system performs vector calculations is when signals are received from these three vibrometers to simultaneously measure the X-, Y-, Z-axis vibratory velocity and the direction in which the object under measurment vibrates. One of the three optical heads is arranged so that the direction of its incident light coincides with the direction (Z-axis) in which the object moves, while the other two are arranged so that the directions of their incident light (ZX and ZY) are specific angles away from the Z-axis. Signals from these angled optical heads represent the vibratory velocities and vibrations in the ZX and ZY directions. Consequently, beams reflected from all three optical heads contain signal components for the Z, ZX and ZY directions in which the object vibrates. Thus, we can measure the vibratory characteristics of the object for the X-, Y-, and Z-axis directions simultaneously, by inputting these three signals into a vector calculator.
The sensitivity of described above system is not very high, that's why the measuring is carried out on short distances, usually less than one meter to avoid signal fading due to air turbulence effects as well as random vibrations of various elements in the system. In multiple applications a remote vibration measurement is required. One of the examples is a target recognition based on measured vibration frequencies. A target can be hundreds or thousands of meters away from the detector system, and its vibration frequencies must be measured in order to distinguish friend or foe.

Laser vibrometry with coherent detection


Process for producing an alkyl carboxylate, comprising contacting in an oxidation reaction zone a C2 to C4 alkane, a molecular oxygen-containing gas, the corresponding alkene and optionally water, in the presence of at least one catalyst active for the oxidation of the alkane to the corresponding alkene and carboxylic acid, to produce a first product stream comprising alkene, unreacted alkane, carboxylic acid and water; separating in a first separation means at least a portion of the product stream produced in the oxidation reaction zone into a gaseous stream comprising alkene and unreacted alkane and a liquid stream comprising carboxylic acid and water; and separating by chemical treatment at least a portion of the gaseous stream obtained from the first separation means into respective streams rich in alkene and alkane; wherein the chemical treatment comprises the steps of: (1) contacting the alkene/alkane gaseous stream with a solution of a metal salt capable of selectively chemically absorbing the alkene to produce a chemically absorbed alkene-rich liquid stream, and (2) recovering an alkene rich stream from the metal salt solution. In a second reaction zone, at least a portion of the alkene rich stream obtained from the second separation means and a corresponding carboxylic acid are contacted, in the presence of at least one catalyst active for the production of alkyl carboxylate, to produce a second product stream comprising alkyl carboxylate.

Carboxylic acids are useful feedstocks for the production of alkenyl carboxylates and alkyl carboxylates. Thus, for example, acetic acid is used to manufacture vinyl acetate or ethyl acetate. Acetic acid may be produced by the catalytic oxidation of ethylene and/or ethane.
Vinyl acetate is generally prepared commercially by contacting ethylene and acetic acid with molecular oxygen in the presence of a catalyst active for the production of vinyl acetate. Ethyl acetate is generally prepared by contacting ethylene and acetic acid in the presence of a catalyst active for the production of ethyl acetate.
Integrated processes for producing acetic acid and/or vinyl acetate are known in the art. EP-A-0 877 727 discloses an integrated process for the production of acetic acid and/or vinyl acetate from a gaseous feedstock comprising ethylene and/or ethane. The integrated process comprises a first step wherein ethylene and/or ethane is catalytically oxidised in a first reaction zone to produce a product stream comprising ethylene, unreacted ethane, acetic acid and water. This product stream may be passed directly to a second reaction zone and contacted therein with a molecular oxygen-containing gas in the presence of a suitable catalyst to produce vinyl acetate.
Research Disclosure 2244 of 1992 (June) No. 338 describes a process for the oxidation of ethane and/or ethylene to produce acetic acid in which the by-product carbon monoxide is oxidised to carbon dioxide. According to this document, the unreacted ethane and/or ethylene may be recycled to the oxidation reactor. Alternatively, the ethylene may be reacted with acetic acid to produce ethyl acetate or with acetic acid and oxygen to form vinyl acetate.
In the manufacture of vinyl acetate or ethyl acetate from ethylene and acetic acid, the molar ratio of the ethylene to acetic acid is desirably unity or approximately unity. Thus, in an integrated process in which ethane is oxidised to produce ethylene and acetic acid, the molar ratio of ethylene to acetic acid produced in the oxidation reaction is also desirably unity or approximately unity.
In the partial oxidation of a gaseous feedstock comprising ethylene and ethane, the product stream generally comprises ethylene, unreacted ethane, acetic acid and water. This product stream may be condensed and/or scrubbed to produce a gaseous stream comprising ethylene and ethane and a liquid stream comprising acetic acid and water. The gaseous stream comprising ethylene is typically recycled to the oxidation reactor. Continuous recycling of such an ethylene-containing stream will result in a build-up of ethylene in the oxidation reactor. As the concentration of ethylene increases the oxidation catalyst will become more selective towards acetic acid and the carbon oxides thereby deviating from the desired ethylene to acetic acid molar ratio of unity or approximately unity.

Process for the production of an alkenyl carboxylate or an alkyl carboxylate


A method of forming apertures generally greater than about 0.05 square millimeters in a thin sheet material. The thin sheet material includes a first side and a second side at least one side of the thin sheet material is substantially coated with an adhesive. The method comprises the steps of (a) placing the adhesive-coated thin sheet material on a patterned anvil having a pattern of raised areas wherein the height of the raised areas is equal to or less than the thickness of the thin sheet material and the adhesive; and (b) subjecting the thin sheet material to a sufficient amount of sonic vibrations to aperture the thin sheet material and the adhesive; and whereby the thin sheet material and the adhesive is apertured in a pattern generally the same as the pattern of raised areas on the patterned anvil.

Ultrasonics is basically the science of the effects of sound vibrations beyond the limit of audible frequencies. The object of high power ultrasonic applications is to bring about some permanent physical change in the material treated. This process requires the flow of vibratory energy per unit of area or volume. Depending on the application, the resulting power density may range from less than a watt to thousands of watts per square centimeter. Although the original ultrasonic power devices operated at radio frequencies, today most operate at 20-69 kHz.
Ultrasonics is used in a wide variety of applications. For example, ultrasonics is used for (1) dust, smoke and mist precipitation; (2) preparation of colloidal dispersions; (3) cleaning of metal parts and fabrics; (4) friction welding; (5) the formation of catalysts; (6) the degassing and solidification of molten metals; (7) the extraction of flavor oils in brewing; (8) electroplating; (9) drilling hard materials; (10) fluxless soldering and (11) nondestructive testing such as in diagnostic medicine.
Ultrasonic vibratory forces have also been used in the areas of welding textile sheet materials. U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,357 to Obeda discloses welding sheets made entirely or partially of thermoplastic material or fiber. Obeda discloses sealing an area of material by placing it between an anvil and an ultrasonic horn. U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,033 to Grgach discloses an ultrasonic apparatus for the simultaneous sealing and cutting of thermoplastic textile material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,331 to Gute discloses another ultrasonic cutting and edge sealing apparatus suitable for cutting and sealing semipermeable and at least partially thermoplastic fabric.
Ultrasonic vibratory force has also been used to perforate or aperture sheet materials. U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,519 to Mitchell et al. discloses a method of aperturing nonwoven webs. Mitchell teaches that the amount of ultrasonic energy to which a nonwoven web is subjected can be controlled by applying enough of a fluid to the area at which the ultrasonic energy is applied to the nonwoven web so that the fluid is present in uncombined form. Mitchell teaches that the fibers of the nonwoven web rearrange to form apertures in the web.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,127 to Ostermeier discloses a method of aperturing nonwoven webs by submitting the web to intermittent ultrasonic fusion and then stretching the web to break the most intensely fused regions causing perforations to form in the web.
Ultrasonic force has also been used to aperture nonporous film material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,981 to Jameson, et al. discloses a method of microaperturing thin sheet material which requires applying a liquid to the thin film before subjecting it to ultrasonic vibrations. Jameson further discloses that inclusion of the liquid in the process is essential. Without the liquid, Jameson teaches, that the process is not successful because the thin film is melted without aperturing the film. Jameson teaches that it is believed that the presence of the fluid during operation of the ultrasonic horn accomplishes two separate and distinct functions. First, the presence of the fluid allows the fluid to act as a heat sink which allows the ultrasonic vibrations to be applied to the thin sheet material without the thin sheet material being altered or destroyed by melting. Second, the presence of the fluid allows the fluid to act as a coupling agent in applying the vibrations from the ultrasonic horn to the thin sheet material.
Aperturing thin sheets using ultrasonics is desirable because it allows rapid movement of the thin sheet through the process without creating waste. In the past, methods used to aperture thin sheets have included punching the sheet material. Although punching the aperture out of the sheet material created the desired perforated effect, punching left behind residual waste in the form of cores. The cores often adhered to the thin sheet material and produced an undesirable effect because they interfered with manufacturing of the final product.
Another method of aperturing thin sheets included passing the thin sheet material through a patterned heated roller. This method ultimately melted the apertures into the thin sheet material resulting in an adequately apertured material without additional waste adhering to the thin sheet. Even though it overcame the problems caused by punching the thin sheet, the heated roller method was a slow process. In the nip created between the heated roller and the patterned anvil, the thin sheet material was heated and the apertures were formed in the thin sheet material. The thin sheet material was then cooled to prevent the apertures from melting back together. All of these heating, forming and cooling processes took time and it was required that these processes take place in the narrow area of the nip. Thus, the process proceeded relatively slowly and this method was not a viable method of aperturing thin sheets.
A method of aperturing thin sheet materials is needed which is relatively rapid compared to the heated roller method and is relatively waste-free as compared to the punching method. A method of perforating webs which utilizes ultrasonics overcomes the shortcomings of the previous perforating methods. The present invention uses ultrasonics to perforate webs and obviates the need to stretch the web and also obviates the need to use liquid in combination with the ultrasonic vibrations.

Method of aperturing thin sheet materials

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A burner for exhaust gas purification devices, comprising a base, a first pipe section, and a second pipe section. The first pipe section has a base end section, a tip section, a combustion chamber wherein combustion air and fuel are combusted, and a discharge port from which combusted gas is discharged. The base end section is fixed to the base. An air flowpath through which combustion air passes is provided between the first pipe section and the second pipe section. The burner for exhaust gas purification devices also comprises a compressable blocking section fixed to the first pipe section or the second pipe section, and interposed between the tip section of the first pipe section and the second pipe section. The entire perimeter of the tip section of the first pipe section is supported so as to be slidable relative to the second pipe section, via the blocking section.

Conventional diesel engines include an exhaust gas purification device in the exhaust passage, and the exhaust gas purification device includes a diesel particulate filter (DPF), which captures particulates contained in an exhaust gas, and an oxidation catalyst. Such an exhaust gas purification device treats an exhaust gas to raise the temperature in order to maintain the function of purifying an exhaust gas. The treatment regenerates the DPF by burning the particulates captured by the DPF and activates the oxidation catalyst. A burner that performs the treatment for raising the temperature of the exhaust gas is arranged upstream of the DPF and the oxidation catalyst.
One example of the structure of the burner is a multilayer tube structure. In the multilayer tube structure, a plurality of tubular members is overlapped to be coaxial. A burner having the multilayer tube structure is advantageous for saving space and raising the temperature of air for combustion.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a combustor that includes a combustion tube including an outer tube and an inner tube, a short auxiliary combustion tube arranged radially inside of the inner tube, and a vaporization tube arranged radially inside of the auxiliary combustion tube. The bottom of each tube is fixed to a base. When the combustor is activated, fuel is injected in the auxiliary combustion tube and is vaporized in a premixing region arranged in the auxiliary combustion tube. The vaporized fuel is mixed with air for combustion supplied from the vaporization tube. A flame occurs in a combustion chamber by igniting a premixed air-fuel mixture, in which the fuel and the air for combustion are mixed. In this way, the premixed air-fuel mixture is combusted. An air flow path, through which air for combustion passes, is provided between the inner and outer tubes. The air for combustion supplied to the flame promotes combustion.

Burner for exhaust gas purification devices


A printed circuit board (PCB) connector assembly for a wiring harness is disclosed. The PCB connector assembly may include a PCB, a connector housing disposed on a surface of the PCB, and a plurality of ID resistors for identifying data and limiting voltages through the cordless power tool. The ID resistors are mounted on the surface of the PCB. An encapsulant covers the plurality of ID resistors.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments relate generally to identification resistors in a wire harness for cordless power tools.
2. Description of Related Art
Cordless products which use rechargeable batteries are prevalent throughout the workplace as well as in the home. From house wares to power tools, rechargeable batteries are used in numerous devices. Ordinarily, nickel—cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and/or Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells are used in these devices.
Various battery technologies can be damaged when discharged in excess of the manufacturer's recommendations. Accordingly, circuitry to prevent current flow is required to protect the pack when a battery voltage drops below a given voltage threshold, referred to as an under-voltage lockout. For example, a protection circuit in the battery pack and/or tool can sense the battery voltage, and if the voltage drops below a given voltage level the circuit directs turning off of , a discharge semiconductor device (e.g., a discharge FET) in the pack. As a result, battery cells are still susceptible to charge but will not discharge.
Accordingly, conventional battery unit with charge/discharge control and over-discharge protection is designed primarily for low-voltage portable electronic devices. Such devices are characterized by using battery packs of secondary batteries cells (such as Li-ion, NiCd, NiMH) that provide a maximum output voltage of about 4.2 volts/cell, for example.
However, much higher voltages than described above are required for power electronic devices such as cordless power tools. Accordingly, modified NiCd battery packs that provide the same or greater power at lower weight, and Li-ion battery packs which may provide higher voltage outputs than current Li-ion batteries, and at a much reduced weight (as compared to NiCd or NiMH), are being developed. A characteristic of these battery packs is that both batteries may exhibit substantially lower impedance characteristics than conventional Li-ion, NiCd and NiMH batteries.
However, as these battery technologies advance, the introduction of lower impedance chemistries and construction styles to develop secondary batteries generating substantially higher output voltages (such as at least 11 V and up, for example) can create compatibility issues with existing cordless power tools. Battery packs having lower impedance also means that the pack can supply substantially higher current to an attached electronic component, such as a power tool. As current through a motor of the attached tool increases, demagnetization forces (e.g., the number of armature turns of the motor times the current, ampere-turns) could substantially increase beyond a desired or design limit in the motor. Such undesirable demagnetization could thus potentially burn up the motor.
For example, a lower impedance electrical source could cause damage to a tool's motor when the tool is held at stall condition. During motor stall, the motor and battery impedances are the only mechanisms to limit the current since there is no back-EMF created by the motor. With a lower impedance pack, the currents would be higher. Higher currents through the motor might cause a stronger de-magnetization force than what the tool's permanent magnets were designed to withstand.
Additionally, start-up of the tool could produce excessive starting currents and cause demagnetization of the motor. Thermal overload could also be a result of using a low impedance electrical source in an existing power tool, as the new batteries may be designed to run longer and harder than what the original cordless tool system was designed. Accordingly, over-discharge or current limiting controls may need to be in place before these developing lower-impedance batteries may be use with existing cordless power tools, for example.
One approach has been to use identification (ID) resistors in the tools to identify the information received from the battery pack. The battery pack may be configured for communicating and sensing information from the tool through communication terminals in the pack. Upon communication of this data, the ID resistors act to place restrictions of the maximum power and current through the battery pack. However, most conventional ID resistors are large and take up a substantial amount of space in the power tool.

Remote ID resistor assembly for wiring harness


Novel proteins, novel genes encoding the same, plasmids respectively comprising these genes, transformants respectively comprising these plasmids, antibodies or fragments thereof against the above novel proteins, methods of detecting a bacterial infection, and novel polynucleotides are disclosed. The novel proteins are activated human macrophage-specific proteins.

It is known that a Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a glycolipid existing in an outer membrane of Gram-negative bacterium and activates a macrophage to induce an expression of many genes. Known examples of such genes having expressions that are induced by the LPS are those of interleukin (IL)-1, exhibiting an antitumor function or an inflammatory function, such as a function to cause an inflammation by a bacterial infection, IL-6, IL-12, IL-15, IL-18, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or a chemokine (such as IL-8 or MCP); granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) exhibiting a hemapoietic function, monocyte (M)-CSF, or GM-CSF; or collagenase playing a main role in an inflammation such as that caused by a bacterial infection, cyclooxygenase (COX), or a nitrogen oxide synthase (iNOS) or the like. Almost all of the above proteins encoded by the above genes are physiologically active proteins playing important roles in a body [Annu. Rev. lmmunol., 2, 283-318 (1984); Inflammation: Basic Principles and Clinical Correlates, 637-662, Raven Press Ltd., New York (1992)].
There are about 0.1 million genes in the human chromosome, but only 10 or 20 percentage thereof have been isolated and identified. Therefore, as almost all of the genes have not been isolated or analyzed, it is believed that almost all of the genes having an expression that is specifically induced by LPS are unidentified novel genes.
Septicemia is a systemic disease wherein a festering lesion exists in a body, and many bacteria are intermittently or continuously introduced into the blood from the festering lesion. A diagnosis of the septicemia is carried out by culturing the blood, and when the existence of bacteria is proved, the illness is definitely diagnosed as the septicemia. However, the above method has disadvantages, namely, the method is time-consuming, and when a blood sample is drawn, it may be contaminated with bacteria from skin, such as Staphylococcus epidermidis.
Therefore, the inventors of the present invention made an intensive search for genes having an expression that is induced specifically at a macrophage by an LPS-stimulation, for the purpose of an application for developing a new method of diagnosis and/or medicament for treating a disease such as inflammation, allergy, or cancer, particularly a bacterial infection. As a result, three novel genes were isolated and identified. Further, the present inventors found that these three genes were not expressed in healthy persons, but were expressed in patients suffering from a bacterial infection. The invention is based on the above findings.

Proteins and novel genes encoding the same


A pinwheel includes a first axis, which supports a hub. A plurality of protrusions is connected to the hub and radially extending from the hub. Candy items are attached to a plurality of the protrusions. The candy items may include a plurality of different flavors or colors to concurrently provide a user with a variety of flavors to taste.

It is well known to form lollipops on sticks. These sticks are sometimes inserted into a motion device or shaker, which moves the lollipop when activated. Most lollipops are of a single flavor or may include layers of different flavors. These flavors are not available at the same time however.
It would be advantageous to provide a novel apparatus for selecting a flavor of a candy item and enjoy a plurality of flavors at the same time.


A framing bracket is provided. The framing bracket includes a frame having a leg extending from a support arm. The framing bracket also includes a locking bracket attached to one end of the frame and an anchoring bracket attached to a second end of the frame. The locking bracket is affixed to the frame at a non-normal angle relative to a longitudinal axis extending through the leg such that the locking bracket is locked to a framing member of a building and the anchoring bracket supports the second end of the leg against the framing member when the framing bracket is removably attached to the framing member and the framing bracket is in a locked position.

Construction of buildings, such as homes, requires the use of scaffolding to provide a safe and stable platform for installation of wall studs. One such scaffold includes a pair of spaced brackets coupled to finger jointed studs by fasteners, such as nails. A walker board is placed on top of the spaced brackets to provide a walking surface for carpenters. Although such scaffolding is effective, it is not without its problems.
As a non-limiting example, because the entire weight of the construction worker(s) is supported by the scaffolding, fasteners alone are often inadequate to provide sufficient anchoring capability. Such fasteners often fail, thereby leading to possible significant workplace injury to not only those supported by the scaffolding, but also to those working near the scaffolding. Thus, existing and available scaffolding require additional support structure. This leads to increased expenses associated with the construction of the additional support structure, both in terms of time and materials. As such, there exists a need for framing bracket that provides necessary support for scaffolding at a construction worksite.


A communication system for reproducing a voice and video session includes a call center having a voice server and a video server. The call center also includes agent and supervisor workstations with computers and associated voice instruments. The voice server records and communicates voice segments associated with the session using a voice path. The computers at the agent and supervisor workstations retrieve the video segment captured and stored by the video server, and display the video segment adjusted in time to reproduce the session.

Call centers provide a wide array of services through sessions that include both a voice segment and a video segment. In a particular session, a call center service representative engages in voice communication with a customer to produce a voice segment, and may also generate, retrieve, or manipulate information on a computer display to produce an associated video segment. The combination of the voice segment and associated video segment together provide a record of the session.
Some existing systems include components that can record both the voice and video segments of a session. For example, components may record, digitize, and store a voice file that captures voice communication between the customer and the call center representative. Similarly, components can capture information displayed on the call center service representative's computer display or output.
Efforts to faithfully reproduce a voice and video session may be hampered if the voice segment and video segment are stored in different components of the call center accessible over different communication paths. For example, the propagation delay to communicate a voice segment using a voice path may be different from the propagation delay to communicate a video segment using a local area network. Moreover, different components in a call center may not maintain a synchronized clock, which further exacerbates efforts to faithfully reproduce the session.

Reproduction of a voice and video session