The mechanism comprising: a ring body; a plurality of extending/retracting means which are separately provided at the ring body at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the ring body; an arc-shaped retaining body which is provided at each of the plurality of the extending/retracting means and which can retain a bead with a filler; and driving means which applies driving force to the extending/retracting means and synchronously operates the extending/retracting means so as to move and extend/retract the retaining body in the radial direction of the ring body, the extending/retracting means further including: a pair of swing links which are separately disposed in the radial direction of the ring body, and the base end portions of the swing links being rotatably connected to the ring body; and a connecting link which is rotatably connected to each of the distal end portions of the pair of swing links, and the retaining body being provided at the inner end portion of the connecting link wherein, when the extending/retracting means is driven by the driving means and the extending line of the connecting link practically intersects the central axis of the ring body, all of the plurality of the retaining bodies are positioned on the same circle which centers around the central axis of the ring body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism for retaining a bead with a filler.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional mechanism for retaining a bead with a filler, for example, the mechanism disclosed in JP-Application Laid-Open No. 1-190438 is well known. The mechanism comprises: a ring body, a plurality of extending/retracting means which are separately provided at the ring body in the circumferential direction thereof. An arc-shaped retaining body is provided at each of the extending/retracting means and which can retain a bead with a filler. A driving means applies driving force to the extending/retracting means and operates synchronously these extending/retracting means so as to move and extend/retract the retaining body in the radial direction of the ring body. Each of the extending/retracting means includes a linear guide which is mounted to the ring body and a movable rod which is movably supported by the linear guide in the radial direction of the ring body, and the radially extending line thereof intersects the central axis of the ring body, with the inner end portion thereof being provided with the retaining body.
In a case in which a bead with a filler is retained by such mechanism, the movable rod of each of the extending/retracting means is moved by the driving means inwardly in the radial direction of the ring body. Accordingly, the retaining bodies reach the predetermined positions in the radial direction of the ring body and all of the arc-shaped retaining bodies are positioned on the same circle which centers around the central axis of the ring body. Thereafter, a bead with a filler is supplied to and retained by the retaining body. Then, the bead with the filler retained as such is delivered from the retaining body to a tire forming drum. After such delivery, in order to prevent a case in which the retaining body interferes with the filler whose radius is larger than that of the bead, the movable rod of each of the extending/retracting means is moved by the driving means outwardly in the radial direction of the ring body. The retaining body is moved further outward in the radial direction of the ring body than the outer end of the filler in the radial direction thereof.
However, in such conventional mechanism for retaining a bead with a filler, the linear guide itself is expensive. Moreover, because the linear guide has large sliding resistance, it is necessary to use expensive driving means which can generate large driving force. As a result, a drawback arises in that cost of equipment becomes high. Further, in order to operate smoothly the aforementioned linear guide and movable rod, the retaining mechanism must be assembled and adjusted at high accuracy. Additionally, there is a drawback in that high accuracy must be maintained for a long period of time. Further, in the aforementioned retaining mechanism, when the retaining body is moved outermost in the radial direction of the ring body, the outer portion of the movable rod in the radial direction of the ring body projects from the ring body outwardly in the radial direction thereof by a large amount. Thus, a drawback arises in that the entire retaining mechanism becomes large.

Mechanism for retaining bead with filler


A process and apparatus for the winding-up of material webs on winding cores is provided. A material web is fed via a winding drum to a winding core or roll. The winding drum is displaceable, while the roll is blocked against displacement during winding. An adjusting device keeps the winding drum under constant pressure against the roll or with a constant clearance from it. With the roll diameter growing, the winding drum is o displaced against the force of the adjusting device into a limit position. On reaching the limit position, the blocking of the roll is released and the adjusting device pushes the winding drum into another limit position, whereupon the roll is again blocked. This sequence of movements is repeated until the roll is finished.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing rolls from endless, flexible, sheet-form material and, more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for producing rolls at high speeds with different operating systems.
Apparatuses for producing rolls are known. They serve for the initial winding-up or re-winding of woven or non-woven fabrics, papers, films or composite materials, which may be plastically and/or elastically deformable, which may have an adhesive coating or shrinking properties, and which may have dimensions and material properties that are very different in every respect.
A frequent use of such winders is for winding up plastics films which are produced in an upstream blow-molding or slot extruder.
The diameters and lengths of the winding cores and the outside diameters of the rolls may be very different. The thicknesses of the materials to be wound up lie in the range of 5-1000 .mu.m, and the speeds of the material fed in vary between 1 and 1000 m/min.
The requirements for these winders are very varied, corresponding to the properties, dimensions and feed rates of the materials to be wound up as well as to the dimensions and weights of the rolls to be produced.
The rolls must be of high quality, which means, inter alia, that the material being wound must not have any points where there is overstretching or initial tearing, that no folds are formed in the material and that winding is performed firmly enough that the individual turns do not slip over the winding core and shift telescopically in the direction of the winding core axis. Also required is a continuously high working rate, and in order to meet this requirement a changing of the finished roll for an empty winding core while the winder is running is envisaged. Such a change must be carried out to a possible extent without any material loss. Furthermore, the contact pressure or the clearance between the roll and winding drum is to be both constant during a winding operation and able to be set in adaptation to the material to be wound.
EP-A-O 394 197 discloses a winder on which rolls are produced by contact-winding, that is with the winding drum in contact with the roll produced. In the case of this winder, both the winding cores and the winding drum are driven during the winding operation. The winding cores are received in a winding core carrier which is fixed in place during the winding operation, which is referred to as "static" mounting. The winding drum is mounted displaceably, perpendicularly to its axis of rotation, which is referred to as "dynamic" mounting. In a comparison with an arrangement in which the rolls, or the winding cores, are mounted "dynamically" and the winding drum is mounted "statically", this has the advantage that the contact pressure can be kept at a constant value without any problems. This keeping-constant of the contact pressure is made more difficult in the case of a "dynamic" mounting of the rolls due to the fact that their dimensions and weights change during the course of the winding operation and can assume high values. In the case of the winder mentioned, the winding drum is displaced during the production of a roll from a forward position in the vicinity of the winding core at the beginning of the winding operation to a rearward position caused by the growing roll, to be precise against the force of an adjusting device, which serves the purpose of keeping the contact pressure constant between the winding drum and roll, which is necessary for the production of a roll of good quality.
The disadvantage of this winder is that the winding drum is displaced over a distance which is approximately the same size as the radial difference between the winding core and the finished roll. This has the consequence that the material loss which occurs during the changing of a wound winding core for an empty winding core is relatively great. In addition, with this winder, winding can only be performed by the contact process, so that it cannot be used for processing materials which have to be wound by the gap-winding or clearance-winding process, i.e., in which the winding drum and the roll must not touch during the winding operation.

Method and apparatus for producing rolls


A method and apparatus for minimizing the effects of non-stationary high-energy noise sources in magnetic data storage channel through the use of an oversampling and post-sampling filtering anti-aliasing procedure. The initial analog data is sampled at a rate sufficiently above the Nyquist rate to avoid aliasing. The high-frequency sampling stream is then digitally filtered to produce a lower-rate digital data stream having a reduced Nyquist rate introduced by the post-sampling digital filter. Because the anti-aliasing post-sampling filter is digital, no phase distortion is introduced in the readback data signal. Because the post-sampling digital filter lowers the Nyquist rate, late digital processing and decoding is accomplished without aliasing at a data rate below the initial Nyquist rate. High-energy noise pulses are preserved without smearing and can be simply removed by the usual error-correction method.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to magnetic data storage drives, and more specifically to a method and an apparatus for minimizing the effects of noise sources through the utilization of oversampling techniques.
2. Description of the Prior Art
State of the art data storage drives often utilize magnetic data storage media such as tapes and/or disks. These drives employ magnetic read/write heads to perform data access operations on the data storage medium. For example, in the context of disk media, magnetoresistive (MR), thin film, or ferrite (MIG) heads are often employed. Although these read/write heads have provided generally satisfactory results for some system applications, the use of these heads may present significant drawbacks. Read/write heads, especially the magnetoresistive (MR) type, are very susceptible to stray electromagnetic fields emanating from sources other than the disk media. Stray electromagnetic field pickup is undesirable because it adds noise to the signal read by the MR head. If the stray fields cause a significant degradation in signal to noise ratio, data may be lost and/or altered.
One approach for reducing the noise pickup of the read/write head, applicable in the context of MR heads, is to ensure that the shields on either side of the MR head stripe are isolated from the slider body. The connection of one of these shields to the slider body destroys the noise immunity afforded by common mode rejection, thereby rendering the head susceptible to a multitude of noise sources from within the disk drive. The head will also be vulnerable to fields originating outside of the disk drive.
Two major factors cause the shield to short out to the slider body. First, the short may occur during the manufacturing process. Second, even if the head leaves the factory with complete shield isolation, head-to-disk contact may cause a short to occur. These factors are often beyond the control of the head manufacturer and the end user. As a practical matter, it is difficult or impossible to ensure that the MR head shields are completely isolated. Therefore, efforts to improve the shielding of the head may prove futile. Efforts should instead be directed to improved signal processing methods which have the potential for substantially reducing readback signal noise.
One prior art technique for reducing noise in the readback signal is the use of a sampling process in conjunction with a digital filter. A block diagram of such a system is shown in FIG. 1. The analog readback signal received by transducer 39 is amplified by amplifier 101 and fed to the input of a high bandwidth analog lowpass filter 102 to remove high frequency noise from the readback signal. The lowpass-filtered signal is then passed on to an automatic gain control (AGC) 103 circuit which output is connected to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 104. The ADC 104 samples the incoming signal at periodic intervals spaced apart in time by To. The digital signal samples are fed to a partial response digital filter (PRDF) 106. The PRDF 106 serves as an equalizer and has a frequency response providing a relatively high gain over a range of mid-band frequencies, with tapered lower gain at both frequency extremes. The PRDF 106 may be, for example, a response class IV finite impulse response (FIR) filter. The digitally equalized filter output 119 is then ready to be decoded by decoder 108. Decoder 108 could be, for example, a Viterbi decoder cascaded with a run length limited (RLL) decoder. Decoder 108 also provides digital output synchronization lines 141 and 142 that are digital to analog converted by DACs 109 and 110, respectively. The decoder 108 recovers the data from the readback signal and sends it to the host computer on line 140.
The synchronization of AGC 103, ADC 104, PRDF 106, and digital decoder 108 is performed by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) 113. The VCO 113 operates under feedback control from the analog output line 143 of DAC 109. The DAC 109 derives the feedback signal from the digital decoder 108 over the digital output synchronization line 141. The VCO output 120 provides a timing signal that is synchronized and locked to the readback signal. The VCO 113 uses the disk drive system crystal reference oscillator (OSC) 112 for bootstrapping and frequency reference purposes. The AGC 103 is controlled by a feedback signal from the digital decoder 108 over analog line 144.
The frequency of the VCO 113 determines the interval at which samples of the readback signal are to be taken. The VCO 113 provides the analog-to-digital converter 104 with a periodic waveform which controls the opening and closing of an electronic switch 117 within the ADC 104. The ADC 104 samples the signal passing through the electronic switch 117 and arriving at the input port 115 of the PRDF 106. Accordingly, the VCO 113 will adjust its frequency until signals at the desired sampling rate appear at the input port 115 of the PRDF 106. The output of the VCO 113 is also used to provide a synchronization signal for the digital decoder 108 at the decoder sync 121 input.
The system of FIG. 1 is subject to various design constraints. The theoretical minimum sampling rate for To is the bit rate or the Nyquist rate of the readback signal. However, when sampling the readback signal from the recording head 39, the sampling rate should be at least twice the highest expected data rate to avoid noise aliasing into the bandwidth of the recording channel. For example, if the highest data frequency is 10 MHz, and the sampling rate is 30 MHz, noise in the readback signal in the range of 18 to 22 MHz would alias down into the baseband from 8 to 12 MHz.
Noise aliasing significantly limits the performance of prior art disk drive systems employing a sampling process, such as the system shown in FIG. 1. Noise aliasing is of particular concern in state of the art disk drive systems, because a major design objective of these systems is to provide a data rate which is as high as possible. The wide data bandwidth of such disk drive systems increases the potential susceptibility of these systems to noise. Noise aliasing results in the transformation of high frequency noise down into the bandwidth of the data signal. This in-band noise is indistinguishable from the data readback signal, and is therefore impossible to remove.
The system configuration of FIG. 1 places the analog lowpass filter 102 and AGC 103 before the ADC 104 in the signal chain so as to reduce the noise aliasing problem. However, due to the proximity of the data frequencies to the noise frequencies, the lowpass filter 102 must have a relatively steep cutoff. Any phase nonlinearities in the filter will corrupt the readback signal.
Using state of the art analog filter design techniques, it is very difficult to design a practical, economically feasible lowpass filter 102 which has a frequency response providing a steep cutoff, while at the same time providing linear phase characteristics and reasonably low insertion loss. Bessel filter designs provide high insertion loss, but offer the advantages of comparatively sharp frequency cutoff characteristics and good linear phase response relative to other types of filter designs, such as the Chebychev, Butterworth, and Elliptic classes of filters. However, Bessel filters are very expensive to design and fabricate. A Bessel filter constructed to meet the requirements of the circuit shown in FIG. 1 would necessitate the use of many cascaded filter stages. A further disadvantage of Bessel filters is that they are overly sensitive to parameter variations at the input and output ports. The Bessel filter parameters will exhibit unacceptable variations from disk drive to disk drive. Even if the filters are optimized for use with a specific disk drive, the parameters also exhibit unacceptable variations across temperature. Accordingly, Bessel filters are not well suited for application as anti-aliasing lowpass filters in disk drive systems using read/write heads.
At present, there are no suitable alternative filter designs which would overcome the shortcomings of the Bessel filter configuration. The major disadvantage of the remaining filter design configurations relates to nonlinear phase response versus frequency. The nonlinear phase characteristics of alternative steep-cutoff lowpass filter designs cause phase distortions, such as zero-crossing distortion, in the higher frequencies of the readback signal. This type of distortion is often referred to as timing or crossover distortion, and it causes data errors in the detection process.
Design tradeoffs are inherent in Elliptic filter (sharp frequency cutoff) and Bessel filter (linear phase response) designs. Sharp frequency cutoff and linear phase response are mutually exclusive in simple analog filters. This design tradeoff can only be overcome through the utilization of relatively complex cascaded analog filters which are not cost-effective.
As with the lowpass filter 102, the PRDF 106 should also be designed to provide a minimum of phase distortion. However, unlike the situation with analog filters, it is a relatively straightforward matter to design a suitable PRDF 106 having linear phase response. The design of a suitable PRDF 106 for use in the configuration of FIG. 1 is well known to those skilled in the art.
The conventional sampling apparatus of FIG. 1 presents an additional shortcoming. The current trend is towards high bandwidth data channels, which increases the sampling rate required to reduce noise. However, under current state of the art technology, the maximum sampling rate is limited by the cutoff frequencies of existing solid-state devices. For high bandwidth channels, it would not be cost-effective to provide the high-frequency circuitry necessary to implement relatively high sampling rates.
FIG. 2 is a waveform showing the readback signal from an MR head using existing state of the art technology as illustrated in FIG. 1. The signal represents a CORSAIR file and has a baseband frequency of 2 MHz. The sampling rate is 20 nanoseconds, and no oversampling filtering technique is used. Of particular importance is the magnitude of the high frequency noise superimposed upon the readback signal. The noise amplitude is almost equal to the signal amplitude.
The waveform of FIG. 2 provides an illustrative example of magnetic domain noise superimposed on a data signal. This noise is especially visible in the range of 1.25 to 1.5 microseconds, as a damped high-frequency oscillation riding upon the 2 MHz data signal. Magnetic domain noise is caused by random variations in the magnetic domains of the disk occuring across an area traversed by the MR head. The noise exhibits nonlinear characteristics. In order to improve overall system performance, this noise should be reduced or eliminated from the data signal.
Accordingly, there is a manifest need for an improved noise minimization technique for data storage drives. Preferably, such a technique should not require the use of relatively high sampling frequencies, which is an especially important consideration in the context of high bandwidth channels. The technique should minimize or eliminate the problem of high frequency noise aliasing. Phase-linear filters should be employed to provide an accurate rendering of the data signal.

Noise minimization for magnetic data storage drives using oversampling techniques

International Business Machines Corporation


An input port for a network switch includes a cell buffer for receiving incoming unicast and multicast cells and for writing each cell into an internal cell memory. The cell buffer thereafter forwards each unicast cell from the cell memory to one network switch output port and forwards a separate copy of each multicast cell to each of several network switch output ports. When the cell buffer writes a unicast cell to the cell memory, it sends a pointer to the storage location of the unicast cell to a queue manager. When the cell buffer writes a multicast cell to the cell memory, it sends several pointers to the queue manager, one for each output port that is to receive a copy of the multicast cell, with each pointer pointing not to the multicast cell's storage location but to an empty storage location in the cell memory. The cell buffer also maintains a database relating each pointer it sent to the queue manager to an actual storage location of a unicast or multicast cell. The queue manager queues the pointers an order in which cells are to be forwarded from the cell buffer, and thereafter returns a pointer to the cell buffer whenever the cell buffer is to forward a unicast cell or a copy of a multicast cell from the cell memory. The cell buffer applies each returned pointer to the database to determine the actual location of the unicast or multicast cell to be forwarded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a network switch for routing cells derived from network data transmissions, and in particular to a buffer for a network switch input port that can store an incoming multicast cell and then forward copies of the cell to many output ports.
2. Description of Related Art
A network switch routes data transmissions such as for example IP, MPLS, ATM or ethernet packets, between network buses. A network switch typically includes a set of input ports for receiving packets arriving on the buses, a set of output ports for forwarding packets outward on the buses, and a switch fabric such as a crosspoint switch for routing packets from each input switch port to the output switch ports that are to forward them. In systems where packets are of variable size, an input port may convert each packet arriving on a network bus to a sequence of cells of uniform size which can be efficiently stored in uniformly-sized buffer memory storage locations until the input port can forward them in proper sequential order through the switch fabric to one of the switch's output ports. Each output switch port stores each cell sequence arriving from an input port in its own buffer memory. The output port later reassembles them into the packet from which they were derived, then forwards the packet outward on an another network bus.
Such a network switch input or output port includes a "cell buffer" for read and write accessing the cell memory. When the cell buffer stores a cell in a free storage location of the cell memory, it passes a pointer to that storage location, along with other information about the packet, to the port's "queue manager". The queue manager keeps track of where cells assigned to each packet are stored in the cell memory and determines when each cell is to be forwarded from the cell memory. When a cell is to be forwarded from the cell memory, the queue manager sends a pointer to the cell's storage location to the cell buffer and the cell buffer then reads the cell out of the cell memory. In an input port the cell is sent to a switch interface circuit which then forwards the cell through the switch fabric to an output port that is to receive the cell. In an output port, the cell is sent to a "protocol processor" which resembles all cells of the same sequence into the packet from which the sequence was derived, and forwards the packet outward from the switch on a network bus.
In some networks a packet may be either a "unicast" packet destined for a single network station or a "multicast" packet destined for several network stations. Since a unicast packet is destined for only a single network station, a network switch need only forward a unicast packet outward toward a network destination station on only a single bus or bus channel. Thus when a cell buffer in an input or output port reads a cell derived from a unicast packet out of a cell memory and forwards it to a switch interface or a protocol processor, it can immediately free the space in the cell memory that held the cells.
On the other hand, since a multicast packet is destined for several network stations, a network switch may have to forward a multicast packet outward one several different buses or bus channels. Prior art network switches employ one of two strategies for handling a cell derived from a multicast transmission for which N copies or "instances" of the cell are to be forwarded. In a first strategy a multicast cell is stored at a single location in the cell memory and is forwarded N times from that location. The cell memory storage location is freed only after the Nth instance of the cell has been forwarded. The queue manager will therefore have tell the cell buffer to forward a copy of the multicast cell out of the cell memory to the switch interface N times and will have to signal the cell buffer when it can finally free the cell's storage location. One difficulty with such a system is that the logic for keeping track of the number of copies of each multicast cell have been forwarded from the cell buffer complicates the queue manager. The queue manager has to treat unicast and multicast cells differently.
Using the second strategy for handling multicast cells, a cell buffer determines how many instances of a multicast cells are to be forwarded and writes a copy of an incoming multicast cell into a separate cell memory storage location for each output port. The buffer manager sends a pointer to each stored cell copy to the queue manager. The queue manager is then able to treat each instance of a multicast cell in that same way that it treats a unicast cell. This strategy simplifies the queue manager because the queue manager does not have to treat multicast transmissions defiantly. However the need to write several copies of a multicast cell to the cell memory can reduce system throughput, particularly when the time the cell buffer needs to read and write access the cell memory is the main factor limiting the rate at which a network switch port can process incoming and outgoing cells.
What is needed is a way of handling multicast cells that allows it to treat each instance of a multicast cell in the same way that it treats a unicast cell, but which does not require the cell buffer to write multiple copies of a multicast cell to the cell memory.

Multicast cell buffer for network switch


A movable table unit provided here has a simple structure but can increase the precision of detecting the displacement of a movable table, and comprises a quadrangle frame-shaped stationary base a movable table disposed inside the stationary base, spring members interposed between the movable table and the stationary base, and a piezoelectric element fixed to either the stationary base or the movable table and capable of expanding/contracting in the axis direction to exert either an expansion or contraction force on the other, to allow the movable table to move relative to the stationary base. A strain gauge is mounted in a strain occurrence site where strain occurs as the movable table moves, so that the amount of travel of the movable table is detected on the basis of the value detected by the strain gauge.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a movable table unit which uses a piezoelectric element as a drive source to allow a movable table to move infinitesimally.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices which move a table within an infinitesimal range through the use of the expanding/contracting motion of a piezoelectric element are conventionally known. Such devices comprise a movable table coupled to a stationary base through spring members, and cause a piezoelectric element to expand/contract for movement of the movable table relative to the stationary base. For example, in a device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-236166, a movable table can be moved by being mounted on a stationary base through spring members. The movable table is coupled to one end of a piezoelectric element and the stationary base is coupled to the other end of the piezoelectric element. Upon expansion/contraction of the piezoelectric element by the passage of an electric current through it, an expansion force or a contraction force resulting from the expansion or contraction acts on the movable table or the stationary base to move the movable table.
In such a device, a change in voltage applied to the piezoelectric element effects a change in the amount of expansion/contraction of the piezoelectric element, which in turn changes the amount of travel of the movable table. In consequence, the amount of travel of the movable table can be controlled by controlling the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element.
In actual fact, however, the relationship between the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element and the amount of expansion/contraction of the piezoelectric element exhibits hysteresis. Precise control of the amount of travel of the movable table cannot be easily achieved simply by controlling the voltage. To overcome this, a strain gauge is mounted on the piezoelectric element to detect the amount of strain of the piezoelectric element, and then the amount of travel of the movable table is calculated on the basis of the detection.
For obtaining, in this way, the amount of travel of the movable table from the detected value of the strain gauge mounted on the piezoelectric element, the relationship between the amount of strain of the piezoelectric element and the amount of travel of the movable table has previously been measured, and then based on the measured relationship the amount of displacement of the movable table is calculated.
For example, FIG. 9 shows a graph of the relationship between the amount of strain detected by the strain gauge mounted on the piezoelectric element and the amount of displacement of the movable table which is the amount of actual travel of the movable table.
The graph in FIG. 9 appears to be straight, but strictly speaking it is not straight, and is a graph showing varying displacements of the movable table between the directions in which the amount of strain of the piezoelectric element increases and decreases, that is, exhibiting the so-called hysteresis. From such a relationship as shown in FIG. 9, a straight line approximated to this graph is obtained by a least-squares method. FIG. 10 is a graph showing linear error in which the scales on the vertical axis represent the degree of error from the above-mentioned approximated straight line. It is seen from the linear error graph in FIG. 10 that there exists a linear error s1 which shows error from the approximated straight line and a back-and-forth difference s2 which is the difference between the amount of displacement of the movable table caused during the expansion of the piezoelectric element and the amount of displacement of the movable table caused during the contraction of the piezoelectric element.
In this regard, the conventional movable table unit has a strain gauge mounted on the piezoelectric element, and details of the structure of other components are omitted.
As described above, the relationship between the amount of strain of the piezoelectric element and the amount of displacement of the movable table exhibits hysteresis and is not a completely proportional relation. Such a relationship causes disadvantageous difficulties in precisely determining the amount of travel of the movable table.
In particular, some uses of the movable table unit using a piezoelectric element require a resolution of a few tens of nm. In such a case, the conventional movable table unit as described above is incapable of addressing the requirement.
To overcome this, combination with an optical detection means such as a linear scale or the like can be considered for detecting the amount of travel of the movable table and at the same time correcting the error. However, the provision of an optical detection means makes the apparatus complicated, with an increase in size and an increase in cost.

Movable table unit with piezoelectric element and strain gauge


To provide an affinity carrier with a low pressure loss and a large binding capacity even when the linear flow rate of a solution to be made to pass therethrough is high.

In recent years, high precision purification or removal of a specific protein is emphasized in medical and pharmaceutical fields. For example, in order to purify a chemical having a specific function, it is necessary to purify a specific protein highly precisely.
In affinity chromatography, protein A having a specific binding property as a ligand is widely used. Protein A is a protein originating from gram-positive Eubacteria Staphylococcus, specifically binds to the Fc regions of IgGs from various animals, and is widely used to purify IgG. A technique has been widely known in which the protein A is immobilize to an insoluble carrier, and by affinity chromatography using the insoluble carrier, IgG is specifically isolated and purified.
In an affinity carrier employed for affinity chromatography, usually, a structure called linker is interposed between the insoluble carrier and the ligand, and one end of the linker is bonded to the carrier and the other end of the linker is bonded to the ligand, to immobilize the ligand to the insoluble carrier (Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 2 proposes chromatography with an improved dynamic capacity and with a higher flow rate in a shorter residence time, by a solid phase carrier suitable for application to affinity chromatography, containing silica particles having pore sizes larger than 630 Å and smaller than 1,000 Å and having an average particle size larger than 55 μm and smaller than 70 μm. However, in Patent Document 2, the pressure loss tends to increase if the average silica particle size is decreased so as to increase the amount of the silica particles packed, and if the pressure loss is high, the upper limit of the linear flow rate may be restricted.

Abstract: Silica spheres, which satisfy the following conditions:                (a) the average particle size is from 30 μm to 40 μm as measured by a laser light scattering method; (b) the ratio (D10/D90) of the particle size (D10) of smaller 10% cumulative volume to the particle size (D90) of 90% cumulative volume in a particle size distribution as measured by a Coulter counter method, is at most 1.50; and (c) the average pore size is from 85 nm to 115 nm and the pore volume is at least 1.5 mL/g, as measured by a mercury intrusion technique.


Provided are a beam recovery processing method, a beam recovery method, a base station and a terminal. The beam recovery processing method includes: determining, by a transmitting end, a configuration information set for instructing a receiving end to perform a beam recovery; and transmitting, by the transmitting end, the configuration information set to the receiving end.

In a wireless communication system in the existing art, a transmitting end and a receiving end generally use multiple antennas for transmission and reception to acquire a higher rate. One principle of a multi-antenna technology is to use some features of a channel for beamforming to form the transmission and reception that match the features of the channel. The radiation direction of a signal is very specific, which can effectively improve system performance and obtain significant improvement of performance without increasing bandwidth and power. The multi-antenna technology is a very promising technology and is widely applied in current systems. A beamforming technology is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the beamforming technology in the existing art. The transmitting end transmits a directional beam through the beamforming and the receiving end receives the directional beam.
The beamforming is implemented through precoding, which may form beams in a feature space and a physical space. The precoding may include baseband precoding and radio frequency (RF) precoding, which correspond to a baseband beam and an RF beam respectively. Baseband processing mainly acts on an RF path and RF processing mainly acts on an element of the RF path. The baseband precoding is performed on a baseband, and the RF precoding is performed on an RF. A beam mentioned in the present disclosure may be a baseband beam, an RF beam or a combination thereof.
When large-scale antennas are deployed on a base station side, generally, considering that the channel has a relatively high dimension, and the RF precoding and the baseband precoding coexist, measurement, feedback and transmission in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) system are generally performed in the following manner:
beam information measurement and feedback (beam training).
In step 1, a base station transmits beam reference signals in different directions and notifies the receiving end of configuration information.
In step 2, a terminal measures the received qualities of these beam reference signals and selects reference signals of better qualities from these beam reference signals to feed the reference signals of better qualities back to the base station.
In step 3, the base station performs data transmission through the precoding corresponding to the reference signals of better qualities.
Here, the base station continues to transmit narrower beams within the coverage range of the selected beams, and the terminal selects from the narrower beams to refine the beams. The base station obtains more accurate beam direction information through the feedback of the terminal. The steps for the beam training may be performed multiple times.
Alternatively, the base station may further transmit some reference signals based on the beams reported by the terminal for measuring the interference between beams or an optimal weighted combination parameter between beams. The weighting is generally performed on the baseband to obtain more combination gains, which may practically be considered as a more accurate beam (in the feature space).
After acquiring beam selection information, the base station may perform downlink transmission by using the beams. If channel state information (CSI) may be further obtained, transmission performance may be more effectively improved. Both the CSI and beam information may be acquired by measuring the measurement reference signals.
After acquiring the beam information and the CSI, the base station may perform downlink transmission with the beam information and the CSI. With increasingly higher operating frequencies, beams are used for transmission of a control channel, a data channel and the like to enhance coverage. Beam transmission has high transmission efficiency and poor robustness. As the beams are narrow, the quality of a serving beam often decreases when the terminal moves or rotates or a propagation path is blocked or obstructed, so that normal communication cannot be performed. However, after the quality of the serving beam decreases, the beams are not switched in time for the communication between the terminal and the base station, resulting in a poor communication quality and even interrupted communication and the like.

Beam recovery processing method, beam recovery method, and device, system and medium


A power circuit protection device for a vehicle including a storage device, a drive motor, and a charging terminal includes a relaying device, a fuse device and a control device. The relaying device alternatively forms a first circuit that connects the storage device and the driving motor, and a second circuit that connects the storage device and the charging terminal. The fuse device is interposed between the storage device and the relaying device. The fuse device includes a first fuse, a second fuse having a fusing characteristic that is harder to blow than that of the first fuse, and a switching mechanism. The control device controls the switching mechanism such that the second fuse is connected to the power storage device when the control device controls the relaying device so that the second circuit is connected to the control device upon receiving a predetermined charging request.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-290966 discloses a technique related to a power supply protection device for protecting a battery from an overcurrent. In this technique, a first path through a high-current fuse that can be interrupted by a first current and a second path through a low-current fuse that can be interrupted by a second current smaller than the first current and provided in parallel to the first path are formed as a current-carrying path in series with the battery. While power is supplied, the power is supplied through the first path, and while power supply is stopped, the power is supplied through the second path. As a result, while a minute short circuit occurs at the time of stopping the power supply, discharge of the battery is suppressed by cutting off the low-current fuse.


In a system and method for stabilizing a first stack of upper and lower shipping containers with respect to a second stack of upper and lower shipping containers, inter-box connectors are provided for connecting the upper and lower containers of each stack. A container bridging stabilizer is provided which surrounds two of the adjacent inter-box connectors where the two lower containers are laterally adjacent each other to laterally link the inter-box connectors and their respective lower containers together. The container bridging stabilizer laterally stabilizes the first and second stacks with respect to each other.

Freight shipping containers are well known, and are available, for example, in lengths such as 20′, 40′, and 48′. Rail cars known as "well" cars have a bottom well which receives either a single long container or two short containers, such as 20′ containers arranged end-to-end.
It is also known to provide on top of two end-to-end 20 foot containers in a well car a 40′ or 48′ foot container stacked on top, which is linked to the two lower level 20′ containers by what are known as semi-automatic inter-box connectors. A number of companies manufacture such semiautomatic inter-box connectors, including Martec, International of South Plainfield, N.J. When such a single long container is provided on top of the two 20′ containers, stability is achieved since the upper container straddles, and is connected to, both of the lower 20′ containers.
For connecting the upper container to the two lower containers, it is known to provide top and bottom corner castings at, or near, the upper and lower four corners of the containers. These castings provide a locking surface containing an oval cutout. The semi-automatic inter-box connectors are arranged between the top and bottom container corner castings and have rotatable locking elements received in the respective oval holes of the top and bottom corner castings, so as to lock the containers together in a vertical configuration.
When two 20′ containers are placed in the well car at the bottom level, although it would be desirable to place a 40′ or 48′ container at the top level, such a container may not be readily available at the loading site. Although it would be desirable to place two additional 20′ containers at a top level and stacked on top of the two lower level 20′ containers, even with the use of the semi-automatic inter-box connectors, lateral stability of the respective stacks would be a major problem which would preclude such an arrangement.


A wiring board construction includes at least one microvia disposed in a base substrate and includes a deep imprinted cup shaped recess in the top surface thereof. A conductor material is disposed within the recess, and has a portion disposed at the bottom thereof. A conductor disposed at a bottom surface of the substrate opposite to the conductor material bottom portion helps to complete an electrically conductor path through the substrate to help complete an electrically conductive path through the substrate.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to wiring board constructions and methods of making them. The invention more particularly relates to methods of making microvias in wiring boards.
2. Background Art
Plated through holes have been employed in printed wiring boards for establishing electrical connections between the top and bottom sides of the boards. Such plated through holes have also been employed in multiple layer wiring board constructions.
According to the construction of conventional plated through holes, relatively large pads surround the plated through holes according to conventional design techniques, because the plated through holes are created by drilling through the conductor pad and the board. The pad is electrically connected to a conductor trace, and the conventional pads are substantially larger in size than the trace to accommodate any potential layer-to-layer or pattern-to-hole misregistration problems during the construction of the plated through hole. As explained in the book, entitled "Printed Circuit Handbook", Fourth Edition, by Clyde F. Coombs, Jr., published by McGraw-Hill, the misregistration is caused principally by the instability and movement of the base laminate substrate during the process of making the printed wiring board or multilayer board.
By having the large pad surrounding the hole, an unwanted and undesirable waste of valuable space on the wiring board results. As stated in the Coombs book, a reduction in the pad diameter from 55 to 25 mils causing a 55% reduction in an area. Such a reduction would double the overall interconnection density. Thus, it is important to reduce the pad diameters. The reduction of the pad diameters would be highly desirable for increasing greatly the wiring capacity of the modern complex printed wiring boards.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved wiring board construction and method of making it to enable through holes to be provided with little or no surrounding pads.
Additionally, the forming of through holes by drilling through the pads individually is time consuming and expensive. Considering the fact that a large number of such through holes are required according to modern manufacturing techniques, it would be highly desirable to enable the individual drilling to be eliminated.
Therefore, the formation of through holes in printed wiring boards and multilayer boards in one operation without the necessity of drilling each one individually would be highly advantageous for cost saving and through put purposes. Also, it would be highly desirable to form the through holes in a highly precise manner to eliminate or greatly reduce the problem of misregistration.

Wiring board constructions and methods of making same


The present invention generally relates to phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolone compounds and compositions useful for reducing or inhibiting tumor growth. It also relates to methods of use and the preparation of phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolone compounds.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolone compounds and compositions useful for reducing or inhibiting tumor growth. It also relates to methods of use and the preparation of phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolone compounds.
Description of the Related Art
Medicines used by oncologists to treat the majority of solid tumors and various other cancers have not significantly changed in the last twenty years. In fact, nitrogen mustards, antifolates, platinums, nucleoside analogues, taxanes, and anthracyclines are all still first-line or primary therapies despite record increases in R&D spending by the NIH and the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, large scale genomics efforts have yielded results that have contradicted expectations of a future full of targeted therapies. For the majority of solid tumors, targeted therapies must still be given along with more traditional non-selective chemotherapies. Thus, there is a need for new chemotherapeutic agents for use as both monotherapies and for combination with new targeted therapies.
The taxanes and vinca alkaloids are first-line chemotherapies that have robustly proven the superior benefits of inhibiting microtubules for increasing overall survival of patients with advanced stage cancer. Newer microtubule inhibitors have further demonstrated the clinical superiority of microtubule inhibitors in breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers and lymphoma. Microtubule inhibitors have withstood dozens of head to head competitive clinical trials unequivocally demonstrating that this is a preferred mechanism of action for antitumor agents.
The identification of a new microtubule inhibitor, bifidenone, is reported in patent application Ser. No. 14/851,624, filed Sep. 11, 2015, entitled "Bifidenone Compositions and Methods of Use" incorporated herein in its entirety. Bifidenone has a phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolone ("7,7a-dihydro-7a-phenethylbenzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5(6H)-one") scaffold and inhibits tubulin polymerization. The present invention provides analogues of phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolone compounds.

Phenethyldihydrobenzodioxolones and methods of use


Methods, apparatuses, computer program products, and computer readable media are disclosed herein. In one aspect, an apparatus can include a transmission line configured to accept a radio frequency signal from an antenna, wherein the antenna is configured to receive the radio frequency signal from a satellite. The apparatus can further include a system on a chip comprising a direct conversion receiver, a digital signal processor configured to process a digital representation of a baseband receive waveform to determine received information, and a wireless networking interface configured to send the received information to a satellite communications indoor unit.

Satellite communications (SATCOM) transceivers typically employ a superheterodyne architecture. The over-the-air frequencies of typical satellite communications include Ku-band, Ka-band, and other frequencies. Common intermediate (IF) frequencies in satellite communications superheterodyne transceivers include 0.95 GHz-1.45 GHz and other frequencies. The cost of components at these frequencies and the complexity of superheterodyne transceivers cause the cost to be high of user terminals such as satellite television transceivers and satellite based Internet service equipment.

Direct conversion remote satellite communications terminal


A singulated die test socket is presented. The socket allows for die to be fully functional tested and thermal tested before packaging. The socket is created from similar silicon material as the die being tested thereby producing a match of thermal coefficients of expansion between the socket and the die. It is also possible to provide additional circuitry in the socket to aid in the testing of the die. The test socket may also be used as an integrated circuit package by adding a lid, used to seal the die within the package cavity. In both uses the socket cavity may be created with sloping sidewalls, the sloping sidewalls providing for self alignment of the die within socket cavity.

This invention relates generally to test sockets and more specifically to test sockets for Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. As it is known in the art, once a wafer of semiconductor devices has been manufactured it is generally desirable to test individual die before dicing and sawing. In this manner the failing die can be identified and discarded while the passing die are packaged then subjected to more stringent testing. One technique used to test the die at the wafer level is to use either wire probe cards or a polyimid based membrane attached to an aluminum substrate to interconnect the I/O pads of the die to a device tester so that the die can be exercised to determine if the die are functional.
Typical semiconductor manufacturing processes call for the die to undergo a low level functional test while still at the wafer level. The wafer is cut to produce the individual (singulated) die, with the failures from the low level functional test discarded. The die which have passed the low level functional test are packaged and subjected to vigorous functionality and burn-in testing to insure the die are fully functional across their operating temperature and voltage range. This process suffers from several drawbacks among them being the amount of time consumed, failing to provide for the most efficient use of very expensive tester resources, lost value by the packaging of some die which pass the first limited functionality test but fail the more vigorous testing, and delays in the transmission of test results to the wafer fabrication process which serves to impede yield improvement efforts.
Additionally as the circuitry of the die becomes more complex and more dense the number of I/O pads on the die also increases. In order to minimize die size and maximize the number of I/O pads the distance between the I/O pads (pitch) must shrink and the peripheral array I/O pads are supplemented by I/O pads distributed within the central portion of the die (area array). Techniques for testing and burning-in of finer pitch and area array I/O's need be developed.
One approach to reducing the drawbacks of the typical manufacturing process has been to increase the scope of the wafer level test to include the more vigorous functional and burn-in tests as are done on the singulated packaged die. In order to facilitate the fully functional and burn-in testing, it is necessary to interconnect all or almost all of the I/O pads of the die to the device tester. Wire probe cards are used to access all the I/O pads of the die at the singulated die level but are limited by the pitch between the I/O pads as well as being limited to peripheral pads. These constraints eliminate the use of wire probe cards from contacting more than one die at a time, thus all the die of an entire wafer cannot be fully tested and burn-in tested at the same time.
Another approach has been to use a polyimid based membrane to access the I/O pads of the die. The polyimid based cards suffer from a wasting of tester resources unless wafer yields are close to 100%. Since the die are being tested before being separated from the wafer some faulty die take up a portion of the tester time. For example if a wafer contained one hundred die, all one hundred would be interconnected to the device tester and tested at the same time. If twenty of the die were defective, the failing die could not be removed from the testing procedure until the entire wafer had completed it's testing. In this manner one fifth of the available tester time is wasted on defective die.

Socket including centrally distributed test tips for testing unpackaged singulated die


The buttering device is a double walled vessel having an interior chamber containing liquid butter, a lid, and a handle. The vessel has a height sufficient to admit a corn on the cob and between the outer wall and the inner wall, an hollow annular space for heated water. The lid closes the top of the chamber and extends over the outer wall of the vessel. The lid has a center opening with flaps that admits the end of corn on the cob and the flaps glide upon the corn. Heated water placed in the annular space melts butter added to the chamber. Corn on the cob, inserted through the opening, coats itself in butter. Once buttered, the corn on the cob is withdrawn from the lid where the flaps retain excess butter within the chamber.

This corn on the cob buttering device relates to condiment dispensers for food and more specifically to a vessel for coating liquid butter upon corn on the cob. A unique aspect of the buttering device is a lid with flaps for removing excess butter from the cob, and for conveniently keeping the butter melted.
Since the time of the Pilgrims, people have enjoyed corn in many varieties. As a food, corn provides fiber and a few vitamins and minerals. Corn also provides a convenient handle or stump for holding when still on the cob. Unshucked or shucked, corn on the cob can be cooked in various ways and seasoned to taste. Most often, corn on the cob is boiled and then seasoned with salt and plenty of butter. People definitely enjoy buttered corn on the cob.
Corn on the cob is served at home, at picnics, at fairs, and at a host of other places and events. In most places, people individually butter their corn. Butter is applied to the corn by a pad sliced from a stick of butter and held by a knife and the cob is turned beneath. The cob is also placed upon a stick of butter lengthwise and then rotated to pick up butter evenly. Many devices have come and gone to apply butter to corn on the cob.
For other condiments, tanks with plungers dispense a condiment upon food or into a cup. Commonly at large sporting venues, meat foods are sold and consumers apply mustard, ketchup, and the like upon their hot dogs by pressing down a plunger while holding the hot dog beneath. The bun assists in keeping the condiment upon the hot dog. However, butter applied onto corn on the cob from a plunger tends to run off the round shape of the cob.
The present art overcomes the limitations of the prior art. That is, in the art of the present invention, liquid butter is placed and maintained in a vessel and corn on the cob is inserted into the vessel lengthwise to pick up butter.


Provided is a bit line sense amplifier source node control circuit of a semiconductor memory device. The sense amplifier source node control circuit may include a source driver connected between a source node of a sense amplifier and a sense amplifier driving signal line, for driving the source node of the sense amplifier to a set voltage level. The sense amplifier source node control circuit may also include: a floating circuit for floating the sense amplifier driving signal line in a set operating mode; and a controller connected in parallel with the source driver between the source node of the sense amplifier and the sense amplifier driving signal line, for controlling a level of the sense amplifier driving signal line in the set operating mode.

The present disclosure herein relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to the controlling of a sense amplifier source node in a semiconductor memory device such as a dynamic random access memory.
Semiconductor memory devices such as dynamic random access memories (hereinafter referred to as "DRAMs") have been widely used as main memories in electronic systems including computers and portable electronic devices.
A DRAM, almost by necessity, includes a bit line sense amplifier that detects and amplifies data stored in a memory cell.
The active operation of a DRAM, for example, a read operation mode or a write operation mode inevitably consumes a power for accessing data. In the case where data access is not performed, for example, in an operation that is not active, a DRAM may have a power down mode for minimally consuming driving current. In order to further reduce power consumption, a DRAM may receive a power down command from a controller even during active operation, which is commonly referred to as an active power down command.
However, even in the case of an active power down mode, leakage current may continue to flow to a bit line sense amplifier. Thus, power is still consumed.

Circuit for controlling sense amplifier source node in semiconductor memory device and controlling method thereof

Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do


A protective sheath for a winged needle has a hilt with a keyhole for releasably receiving a length of tubing. Methods of the invention include forming a U-shaped bend in the tubing and inserting it into the keyhole prior to packaging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective sheath or safety guard for winged needles and, in particular, to a protective sheath having a keyhole for releasably retaining the flexible tubing of a winged needle set and a method of packaging a winged needle set having such a protective sheath.
2. State of the Art
A well known winged needle (also known as a butterfly needle) assembly is shown in prior art FIG. 1. The assembly 10 includes a needle 12 having a pair of wings 14, coupled to a first end of a length of coiled flexible tubing 16, and a coupling attached to the rear end of the tubing by which this winged needle set or assembly may be attached to, e.g., means for piercing a vacuum bottle for blood collecting or a Luer lock tapered coupling for IV tubing. The winged needle assembly has been used for many years in, e.g., the administration of IV medications and in obtaining blood samples when use in conjunction with vacuum bottles. The purpose of the assembly is to limit trauma to the patient's blood vessel(s), particularly-when multiple samples of blood are to be taken or when multiple types of medication are to be administered. After the needle is inserted into the patient's blood vessel, the wings are taped to the patient's body to prevent movement of the needle when coupling/uncoupling the Luer lock or attaching or disconnecting the vacuum bottle used for blood collecting. Any movement of the needle can cause trauma of the patient's blood vessel. The winged needle assemblies are typically packaged with the flexible tubing wound in a coil such as illustrated in FIG. 1, typically coiled in several loops. It has recently been discovered by the inventor herein that when a winged needle kit is packaged with the tubing coiled, the tubing tends to retain a coiled configuration even after it is unpackaged. It has also been discovered by the inventor herein that when the flexible tubing has retained a coiled configuration, even a slight movement of one end of the tubing will disadvantageously cause immediate movement of the other end.
In the 1980s after the discovery of the HIV virus which causes AIDS, much attention was given to the problem of accidental needlesticks from contaminated medical equipment such as syringes and IV equipment, which poses serious risks to healthcare professionals. Even maintenance personnel who dispose of the used medical equipment are at risk. Hepatitis, AIDS and other diseases can be, and sometimes are, transmitted by accidental needlesticks from needles used on infected patients.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,438 discloses an improved sheath construction (shown in prior art FIG. 2) which significantly minimizes the possibility of improper operation and jamming of the used needle relative to the sheath during the sheathing operation. The IV infusion set 20 includes an IV tube 22, a hollow needle 24 coupled to one end of the tube and two wings 26 adjacent the needle 24. A Luer connector (not shown) is connected to the other end of the IV tube. The IV infusion set 20 also includes a sheath 28 slidably disposed on tube 22. The sheath 28 is adapted to be slid past the flexible wings 26 to cover the needle after the needle has been used.
The sheath 28 preferably includes a knurled, generally cylindrical, annular base 29 by which the sheath may be easily grasped. Base 29 has a central bore (not shown) through which tube 22 may slidably pass and is integrally joined to a hollow generally tubular body 30 having a forward end 32 oriented toward the needle 24 and a rearward end 34 oriented away from the needle. The body 30 preferably has four fingers 35 separated by four longitudinally extending slots 36 extending from the forward end or tip 32 of body 30 to the rearward end 34. The slots 36 are each adapted to receive only one of the wings 26 to allow at least part of the sheath 28 to be slid past the wings 26 to cover the needle 24.
The body 30 also includes cutouts 42 at the rearward end of the slots 36, adapted to receive and engage the wings 26 to lock the sheath in its position covering the needle. The cutouts 42 have a width approximately equal to the width of one of the wings 26. Slot 36 is slightly narrower than the thickness of the wings. As a result, as the wings 26 pass through the slots 36, the fingers 35 will resiliently wedge apart, and upon passage of the wings 26 into the wider cutouts 42, snap back and assume their normal position, thereby trapping the wings 26 in the cutouts 42 behind the forward edges 44 of the cutouts. This prevents the needle 24 from sliding forwardly out of the sheath 28.
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has requested that all safety devices used with needles either change color or produce an audible sound or provide some other easy to recognize evidence that the needle has been rendered safe. My prior application 20020188260 addresses that concern and provides other improvements.
FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the needle sheath of said published application. The sheath 128 is provided in conjunction with a hollow needle 124 with a pair of wings 126. The sheath 128 includes at least a pair of fingers 132, 140 extending from an annular base 130. (FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment 128′ with four fingers 132′, 133, 140′, 141). The fingers define a pair of slots 142 through which the wings 126 of the needle 124 may slide. The slots define an open end 146 and a closed end 154. The slots 142 are provided with a Z-bend 153, 155. The Z-bend is dimensioned such that the wings 126 can pass through it with some deformation, and an audible click is heard as the wings and/or fingers cease to be deformed. As seen in FIG. 3, the fingers 132, 140 terminate in a first annular structure 138 which is separated from the annular base 130 by a hilt 134. As shown in FIG. 3, the hilt 134 has two angled ends 150, 152, although the angled ends may be omitted as shown in FIG. 4 at 134′. The hilt 134 assists in holding the sheath while sliding the sheath and of the wings into the locked position shown in FIG. 3.

Protective sheath for winged needle with keyhole for releasably retaining tubing and packaging incorporating same


An image pickup apparatus includes a lens barrel, a lens holding frame made movable in an optical axis direction inside the lens barrel, a movable lens held in the lens holding frame, a yoke inserted into the lens barrel and attached to the lens barrel, a magnet attached to the yoke, and a driving coil that is attached to the lens holding frame and located to be opposed to the magnet and gives propulsion to the lens holding frame. A pair of first fitting sections is provided in the lens barrel. A pair of second fitting sections is provided in the lens barrel. An interval between the first fitting sections is set larger than an interval between the second fitting sections. A distance from the optical axis to the respective first fitting sections is set larger than a distance from the optical axis to the respective second fitting sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technical field concerning an image pickup apparatus and a lens barrel. More specifically, the invention relates to a technique for contriving a formation position of a fitting section to which a yoke is attached in a fitted state and realizing prevention of backlash in the state of attachment of the yoke to a lens barrel, facilitation of manufacturing of the lens barrel, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among image pickup apparatuses, such as a still camera and a video camera, there is an image pickup apparatus that has a movable lens for zooming or focusing in a lens barrel. In the image pickup apparatus, the movable lens is held in a lens holding frame made movable in an optical axis direction.
In such an image pickup apparatus, a moving mechanism for moving the lens holding frame in the optical axis direction is provided (see, for example, JP-A-2000-147350).
The moving mechanism is arranged inside the lens barrel and includes, for example, a yoke attached to the lens barrel, a magnet attached to the yoke, and a driving coil attached to the lens holding frame and located to be opposed to the magnet at least in a part thereof. The yoke is arranged in a state in which the yoke is inserted in the driving coil. The yoke is formed long in the optical axis direction according to the movement range in the optical axis direction of the lens holding frame.
In such a moving mechanism, when a driving current is supplied to the driving coil, in a relation between a direction of the current supplied and a magnetic pole of a magnet, propulsion corresponding to the energization direction is given to the lens holding frame. The movable lens is moved in the optical axis direction following a movement of the lens holding frame.


The present disclosure relates to music instrument training systems, and more specifically to systems and methods of music playing tools with visual and sound features. In one example of the present disclosure, a music learning system of instructing a first player to play a music playing tool is disclosed. The system includes a first button, when pressed, would play a visual portion archive with the remote computing gadget under a learning mode at regular speed. The system further includes a second button, when pressed, would play the visual portion archive with the remote computing gadget under a practicing mode.

Learning to play music playing tools or instruments is never easy. In fact, it takes a lot of patience, practice, and hard learning. No matter if one wants to practice violin, piano, guitar, that person must practice constantly and it takes a lot of hard work. The key to learn an music playing tool is develop a practice routine and commit to it. In the past, one learn to musical music playing tools is by taking private lessons. A tutor or teacher can plan and prepare lessons in relation to individual pupils' needs and examination syllabuses, acquire appropriate teaching materials and resources. Most importantly, a music teacher can demonstrate precisely how to play a certain music sequence or portion so that the student can pinpoint a certain weak area during practice. With technologies, however, the learning of musical music playing tools can be more effective. With proper tools in technologies, students can practice and improve more often even without the presence of the teacher. This is the ultimate goal so that it makes more economical for both the teacher and the student in a way that the teacher's teaching time can be best utilized. For example, when a piano student learns to play a particular song, the student needs to observe and monitor how the teacher plays as demonstration. The teacher must be present before the student. Often it is a one way communication because the teacher usually dictates the speed and movement of the fingers in playing the song. The student has very little control in deciding how the teacher can conduct the demonstration. For instance, the student may find difficult or embarrassing to ask the teacher to slow down the finger movements of a particular music sequence. With technologies described in this invention, we hope the student to be able to achieve at will without feeling uneasy or embarrassing to the teacher. The student should be in control in deciding if they want to see the teacher play a certain part of music any time and any where. And the student should also be able to control the pace of the demonstration by the teacher. Additionally, the student can stop the teaching at a particular music playing interval to observe the hand or finger movements of the teacher.

Systems and methods for music and moving image interaction


A track assembly having first and second hub assemblies that are operatively connected to a support frame by first and second attachment members, respectively. The first and second attachment members include resilient or movable mounts that are configured so that the track assembly can be attached to vehicles whose axles or wheel flanges are misaligned or have irregular rotational movement such as runout or wobble. The attachment members may be adjustably positioned relative to the support frame to accommodate vehicles having different wheelbase lengths and axle lengths. An endless track encircles the first and second hub assemblies, and the support frame, and is drivingly engaged by one of the hub assemblies. First and second rollers, which define the longitudinal extent of the endless track, are positioned at either end of the support frame. A tensioning member, with at least one upper idler roller, positions the endless track so that it is spaced from one of the hub assemblies in a spaced relation. The track assembly increases traction and stability by providing a vehicle with an independent front suspension, a larger footprint, and a longer wheelbase. In use, each track assembly is bolted onto wheel flanges of a vehicle using existing wheel lugs and nuts.

Skid-steer loader machines are old and well known to the art. Originally designed to operate with only a loading scoop or a bucket, these machines have, with the provision of specifically designed attachments, evolved into multi-purpose machines capable of many diverse operations. Nowadays, a skid-steer loader machine may be configured to operate as a street sweeper, a posthole digger, a trencher, or a forklift, for example. As the number of applications of skid steer loaders increases, they may be found in use in many different environments. Often, they are used in conditions where the surface upon which they traverse is not capable of supporting the weight of the skid-steer loader and they can become mired and/or lose traction.
These drawbacks can be overcome by using vehicles having permanently installed tracks, or by removing the wheels of a wheeled vehicle and replacing them with a unitary tracked undercarriage. A problem with permanent tracked vehicles is that they are not designed to be converted to wheeled vehicles. A problem with undercarriage systems is that they are also designed with permanence in mind, and they are not easily removed after they have been installed. In addition, they are usually designed for use with a particular vehicle make and model, and are not easily transferable from one vehicle to another vehicle.
Other solutions include providing the skid steer loader with a pair of auxiliary endless tracks that are positioned about the front and rear wheels on either side of the vehicle, or replacement the wheels of a skid steer loader with a sprocket and a system of rollers, about which a rubber track is installed. Each of these solutions also has its own set of drawbacks. With the auxiliary track solution, the pneumatic tires, about which the track is positioned, often do not have the same circumference. This can be due to different wear patterns, unmatched sets of tires, or different inflation pressures, for example. Since the front and rear wheel axles rotate at the same speed and direction (for straight line motion) the front and rear wheels, having different circumferences, will have different ground speeds. This means that friction and abrasion will be generated between the wheels and the track, which can lead to undue tire wear and even premature failure. An additional drawback is that such track add-ons are usually designed to fit a particular skid-steer loader having a predetermined wheelbase length, a predetermined axle length, and a predetermined tire size. With the replacement track solution, extensive modifications are often required. Moreover, the removal of the pneumatic tires often results in a harsher ride.
Another related drawback to existing add-on track attachments is that when the front arms of the vehicle exert a downward pressure on an implement to which they are attached, the front end of the vehicle is lifted up. This reduces the ground contact area of the track and the vehicle looses traction. Moreover, when a vehicle is tipped back on its rear wheels it becomes more difficult to control.
There is a need for track assembly that is able to convert a wheeled vehicle into a tracked vehicle. There is a need for a track assembly that can be attached to existing wheel flanges using lugs and bolts, and which requires no modification or disassembly of the vehicle. There is a need for a track assembly that can be adjusted for use with different wheeled vehicles models and makes. There is also a need for a track assembly that can accommodate a vehicle that has misaligned wheel axles, or wheel flanges, or which can accommodate variations in axle or wheel flange rotation such as runout or wobble, and misalignment. There is yet another need for a track assembly that is able to maintain full ground contact while allowing the front end of the body of the vehicle to be elevated. And, there is a need for a track assembly that is able to attenuate jolts and vibrations from being transmitted directly to the vehicle.


A method is provided in one example and can include receiving a source data stream, generating a base layer sub-stream from the source data stream, and generating an enhancement layer sub-stream from the source data stream. The method further includes communicating the base layer sub-stream to a client device using a first communication protocol, and communicating the enhancement layer sub-stream to the client device using a second communication protocol. In a particular example, the one-to-many communication protocol is a multicast communication protocol and the second communication protocol is a unicast communication protocol. In another example, the base layer sub-stream is sent to the client device via a first network connection and the enhancement layer sub-stream is sent to the client device via a second network connection.

As the adoption of portable computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets, by users has increased, there has been a proliferation of wireless heterogeneous networking (HetNet) devices in the field. Typically, these computing devices can choose to either access Internet services through WiFi or cellular network (3G/4G) interfaces. For example, a particular user device may have an 802.11a/b/g/n and a cellular interface such as a 3G high-speed downlink packet access (HSPDA) or 4G LTE interface. Since accessing the Internet through the cellular network may incur charges on the user's data plan, users typically switch to using a WiFi connection when it becomes available for no cost or for a cheaper fee. Additionally, there are many use cases in which cellular service providers also want to offload the user's data usage from their base stations to local WiFi access points (AP) in order to free up capacity within their cellular networks. Such use cases are especially appealing for crowded environments, for example during a sporting event or a rock music concert in a stadium, or during rush hour in a subway or train station. If users in these environments are accessing bandwidth hungry content, such as streaming video, then there can be strain on the cellular network.

System and method for video delivery over heterogeneous networks with scalable video coding for multiple subscriber tiers


A plugged honeycomb structure includes a honeycomb structure section having porous partition walls, a plurality of cells including the cells having different open areas; inflow side plugged portions arranged in inflow side end portions of the predetermined cells; and outflow side plugged portions arranged in outflow side end portions of the remaining cells. Outflow cells which are the cells provided with the inflow side plugged portions and inflow cells which are the cells provided with the outflow side plugged portions are alternately formed, and in a central portion, the open area of each of the inflow cells is larger than the open area of each of the outflow cells. A difference in open area between the outflow cell and the inflow cell in an outer peripheral portion is smaller than a difference in open area between the outflow cell and the inflow cell in the central portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plugged honeycomb structure, and more particularly, it relates to a plugged honeycomb structure which can collect ash and particulate matter (PM) in large amounts and in which an increase of a pressure loss is suppressed.
2. Description of Related Art
In gases discharged from an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine, various burning devices, and the like, a large amount of particulate matter (PM) mainly composed of soot is included. When this PM is discharged to the atmosphere as it is, an environmental pollution is caused. Therefore, in an exhaust system of the exhaust gas, a filter to collect the PM (e.g., a diesel particulate filter (DPF)) is disposed.
As the filter, there has been used a plugged honeycomb structure having porous partition walls with which a plurality of cells are formed to become through channels of fluids (an exhaust gas and a purified gas), and plugged portions to plug open frontal areas of the cells. The plugged portions are arranged in the open frontal areas of the predetermined cells (inflow cells) in an end surface on an outflow side of the fluid (the purified gas), and the open frontal areas of the remaining cells (outflow cells) in an end surface on an inflow side of the fluid (the exhaust gas).
In the above plugged honeycomb structure, when the exhaust gas is allowed to flow into the inflow cells, the PM in the exhaust gas is collected by the partition walls during passage of the exhaust gas through the partition walls, and "the purified gas from which the PM has been removed" flows out of the outflow cells.
Moreover, as the plugged honeycomb structure in recent years, there has been reported a plugged honeycomb structure constituted of two types of cells including large capacity cells having a relatively large area in a cross section perpendicular to a longitudinal direction, and small capacity cells having a relatively small area in the above cross section (see Patent Document 1). In this plugged honeycomb structure, the number of the large capacity cells is about the same as that of the small capacity cells. In this plugged honeycomb structure, a pressure loss during the collection of the ash, PM and the like is low, and the ash and PM can be collected in large amounts, as compared with a plugged honeycomb structure having one type of cell shape (e.g., an only quadrangular shape) in a cross section of the structure which is orthogonal to a cell extending direction. Hereinafter, "the plugged honeycomb structure having the one type of cell shape (e.g., the only quadrangular shape) in the cross section of the structure which is orthogonal to the cell extending direction" will be referred to as "a conventional plugged honeycomb structure" sometimes.    [Patent Document 1] WO 2004/024294


A method of assembling a storage unit is disclosed. The method comprises applying heat to a groove separating a pair of walls to melt at least a portion of the plastic material, and pivoting the walls so that the surfaces of the groove contact and join as the melted plastic material solidifies.

The present invention relates to a storage unit. The present invention also relates to a storage unit having a box formed from a one-piece integral sheet.
It is known to provide a storage unit, such as a locker, for use in a workplace, or other institutional, public, government, educational, commercial, or municipal facility such as schools, health clubs, athletic facilities, parks, aquatic centers, military facilities, food processing plants, police departments, recreation centers, theme parks, transportation facilities (e.g., airports, bus stops, train stations, etc.), and the like. Known storage units typically include a door mounted to an enclosure or "box" comprised of side walls, a rear wall, a top, and a bottom, and may be made from plastic, metal, and other materials. The box for such known storage units typically is assembled from separate pieces using adhesive, mechanical fasteners, or dovetail joints.
However, such storage units may present disadvantages, such as a large number of parts to assemble, restrictive tolerances or undue precision required for assembly and installation, cost and time burden of assembly, overall configurations that tend to show visual defects or imperfections, the costs of skilled labor, inspection and occasional repair or quality control during and after assembly or installation, and other problems that tend to be associated with assembling and installing such known storage units. For example, aligning and joining adjacent walls (e.g., each at right angles) typically require precision drilling and alignment, multiple fixturing positions, and labor to apply the adhesive or fasteners. Even then, there may be pieces damaged (e.g., split) by the fasteners, adhesive applied to undesired locations, visual defects caused by the fixturing, and the like.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a less costly storage unit that is of a configuration that is relatively easy to assemble and install. It would also be advantageous to provide a storage unit that is constructed of fewer components and/or fabricated from fewer parts (e.g., integrally molded or machined). It would further be advantageous to provide a storage unit with or providing any one or more of these or other advantageous features.


A fluid treatment apparatus is constructed from at least one electrochemical cell including a bipolar ion exchange membrane and having a single output orifice to deliver treated fluid. The apparatus may employ a power supply transformer featuring a magnetic dispersion bridge to regulate the magnetic flux to secondary coils, thereby limiting the current delivered to the load and protecting the apparatus from over-current damage. The cell includes a membrane assembly which incorporates both the inner and outer electrodes to provide repeatable assembly and service, as well as reliable performance. The apparatus will provide continuous fluid treatment when designed with at least two stages, each stage including at least one cell, in which one stage is treating influent solution and another stage is regenerating. A method to operate these apparatus includes the steps of deionizing influent solution without interruption, halting deionization water flow and removing power from the deionization cells, flushing the liquid between membrane layers to the drain outlet, initiating regeneration power, and initiating regeneration flow.

Fluid treatment apparatus comprising electrically regenerable ion exchange cells (ERIX cells) can be used to treat fluids to, for example, selectively exchange ions present in fluids, remove contaminants from drinking water, reduce total dissolved solids (TDS), treat industrial process intermediates, and treat sewage, amongst other uses. Electrically regenerable ion exchange cells include water-splitting ion exchange membranes, also known as bipolar membranes, between facing electrodes in a cell. When a current is applied to the electrodes by a cell power supply, water is irreversibly dissociated into H+ and OH− ions at the boundary between the cation and anion exchange layers of the membranes, causing cations and anions to be exchanged from the fluid stream passing through the cell, for example in the deionization of a fluid during a production step. Electrochemical cells can be regenerated, during which time ions removed in the deionization step are rejected into a concentrate between the membranes, without using hazardous chemicals, simply by reversing the applied electric potential while flushing the cell with a fluid.
The working capacity of ERIX systems limits the range of applications for which it is practical. Ions removed from a fluid during treatment are transported from the bipolar membrane surface to its interior at a decreasing rate as the ion exchange capacity is exhausted, causing the rate of deionization of the fluid to decrease. Eventually the rate of deionization drops enough that regeneration is necessary. Often, regeneration is required before a substantial proportion of membrane ion exchange capacity has been consumed.
During deionization in particular, as the membrane ion exchange capacity operation is consumed, the electrical resistance of the cell decreases, drawing more current from the power supply. All power supplies have a limit to the voltage and current (power) which they can deliver, and the relatively low current limits provided by affordable, conventional power supplies, whether commercial or custom, are a serious limiting factor in the practice of electrically regenerable ion exchange systems.
Further, in deploying large electrically operated equipment employing power supplies that include transformers, a very cost effective design, the power that is handled is large enough to present serious reliability and safety hazards. If the equipment load resistance drops too low, the transformer will deliver more current than it can handle, and it will be damaged or self-destruct. For example, during deionization of a fluid with an ERIX cell, its electrical resistance, or impedance, will continuously drop, drawing more current from the transformer. If treating a fluid with high ionic concentration, the risk of the load resistance dropping too far, such that it draws too much current, increases, thereby running the risk of damaging or destroying the transformer. Programmable controllers can be employed to measure and limit this current, but any malfunction creates a serious reliability and a safety hazard.
Previously described ERIX cell designs depend on rubber o-ring seals and electrode integrated with the cell housing to provide the necessary fluid flow and electric fields for operation. While this has proven practical on small equipment, it is difficult to scale such designs to large equipment without serious problems with internal seal leaks and damage caused during assembly or service. ERIX equipment appropriate for industrial applications must be constructed from large, heavy membrane elements. If not installed precisely each and every time, these heavy membrane elements run the risk of distorting internal o-ring seals causing them to leak and allow contamination, for example, feed water contamination of product water. Further, these large membrane elements can damage electrode that is secured to the housing wall or on an interior support that is part of the housing, whenever the element is removed or installed in the housing during assembly or service.
Current ERIX system designs require multiple valves for each cell. Scaling the previously described ERIX designs to very large ERIX equipment employing, for example, hundreds of cells, would require the use of hundreds of valves and very complicated plumbing manifolds. The reliability problems alone associated with such designs would render very large ERIX equipment impractical for industrial or municipal applications.
It is desirable to have a fluid treatment method employing ERIX cells that can extend or increase cell working capacity for ion removal and subsequent regeneration. It is further desirable to provide a power supply that can deliver greater currents than are now available to improve system performance, including working capacity and regeneration rates. It is advantageous to have a power supply that is inherently unable to damage or self-destruct when its resistive load drops below a critical threshold, even if its current control circuitry fails. It is also desirable to provide ERIX cell designs that eliminate reliability failures when employed for the construction of large, heavy cells. And it is advantageous to have system designs for very large applications that do not depend on vast numbers of valves or complicated plumbing manifolds which by their very numbers and complexity assure reliability failures.

Electrochemical ion exchange treatment of fluids