An aerial refueling system includes a pod assembly which is removably mounted for translation on an elongated pylon secured to the underside of an aircraft fuselage, whereby the pod assembly is moved relatively forward on the fuselage for stowage and relatively aftward on the fuselage for refueling operations. The pod assembly includes a pivotable, telescoping boom having control surfaces by which to aerodynamically position the boom's free end relative to the pod assembly. A coupling preferably establishes fluid communication between the boom and a fuel tank within the aircraft fuselage only when the pod assembly assumes the relatively-aftward refueling position on the pylon. A ram-air turbine on the forward end of the pod assembly provides all necessary power for the pod assembly, with wireless remote operation of all pod assembly functions preferably used to minimize the extent of alterations when installing the aerial refueling system on the aircraft.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to aerial refueling systems, whereby a first aircraft may refuel a second aircraft during flight.
2. Background Art
Aerial refueling is a common method for extending the flight time and range of an aircraft and typically involves a tanker aircraft, which is loaded with excess fuel, transferring fuel to one or more trailing or receiver aircraft.
One known type of refueling system is the "boom"-type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,663,523. In this system, a rigid refueling boom pivotally mounted beneath the tail of the aircraft is deployed downwardly to a receiver aircraft which is positioned behind and beneath the tanker. An operator located within the tanker controls the movement of the boom relative to the tanker aircraft so as to direct its free end into a refueling port on the receiver aircraft. The boom is often provided with an aerodynamic profile which serves both to facilitate positional control and lower resulting drag loads during refueling operations.
One drawback of known boom-type systems is that the boom must be permanently incorporated within the structure of the aircraft, thereby implicating substantial aircraft alternations to the aircraft not otherwise amenable to temporary installations. Moreover, such known boom type systems reduce the ground clearance in the region of the aircraft tailcone and, hence, limit the amount of aircraft rotation available for take-off and landing maneuvers. A reduced amount of available rotation in turn reduces the angle of attack of the aircraft's wings and, hence, the generated lift by a corresponding amount, with the net result being a significant reduction in the operational payload capability of the aircraft. The payload reduction is most severe when modern transport aircraft utilizing wings with high lift devices are burdened with the envelope of such known, aft-mounted refueling booms.
An alternate type of refueling system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,674. In this system, a detachable refueling pod is mounted beneath the main wing of the tanker aircraft. A hose is deployed from the aft portion of the refueling pod, whereupon a stabilizer drogue attached to the hose's trailing end facilitates interconnection with the receiving aircraft. In a variation on this theme, U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,170 teaches mounting such a detachable refueling pod to either side of the aircraft fuselage between the main wings and the aft stabilizers, such that, when deployed, each pod's respective refueling hose is channeled away from the aircraft fuselage, with the further benefit of reducing the maximum loads applied to the wing otherwise encountered when refueling with wing-mounted pods.
However, such trailing hose refueling systems, whether wing-mounted or fuselage-mounted, continue to suffer from a lack of positive control over the motion of the drogue and the trailing end of the refueling hose. The situation is further complicated by the airflow over the wing and fuselage during flight.
Accordingly, what is needed is a detachable aerial refueling system which advantageously employs a boom for added control and reduced aerodynamic drag, without suffering payload capacity penalty of known boom-type systems.

Aerial refueling boom with translating pivot


The present invention provides fusion proteins including a green fluorescent protein inserted into the internal amino acid sequence of a Gαs protein and further provides method of using the fusion protein construct to follow activation of a G-protein receptor by a candidate drug.

A family of heterotrimeric nucleotide-binding proteins that bind to guanine (G proteins) transduces chemical and sensory signals across the plasma membrane by sequential interactions with receptor and second messenger-generating effectors. Because of the wide array of cellular processes that are mediated by G proteins, the study of G protein function and regulation is a significant area of research in the signal transduction field. There are reports containing suggestions of an important function for G protein at cellular locations other than the plasma membrane. Certain G proteins were detected at intracellular membranes, for example, the Golgi complex, whereas others associate with cytoskeletal structures, for example, microtubules and microfilaments. The mechanisms that govern the cellular destinations of G proteins and the relative proportions of G proteins that traffic to subcellular compartment are just beginning to be revealed.
G proteins are reported to couple the receptors for hormones or neurotransmitters to intracellular effectors such as adenylyl cyclase or phospholipase C. Twenty forms of the α-subunit of G proteins were identified and each is involved in the conveyance of multiple hormonal neurotransmitter signals from the outside of the cell to the effects that those hormones and neurotransmitters have on the inside of the cell.
G proteins may leave the membrane in response to neurotransmitter or hormone signals, but this has been very difficult to prove.
GFP, an autofluorescent protein of 238 amino acids, is a reporter molecule useful to monitor gene and protein expression and to observe the dynamics of protein movements within the living cell. Fusing GFP to another protein of interest allows time-course studies to be performed on living samples in real time. Accounts of GFP fusion proteins include receptors, secretory proteins, cytoskeleton proteins and signaling molecules. Presently, GFP fusion proteins are constructed by generating an expression construct that contains GFP fused in frame to either the N-amino or C-carboxyl terminus of the protein of interest. However, this attachment may alter the function of the protein fused with GFP consequently may not give results reflective of the natural state.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


A mobile auxiliary communications facility for use with a satellite-equipped communications link and a gateway hub. The satellite-based communications link is adapted to provide one or more Internet Protocol (IP) communication pathways between a first location and a second location. The gateway hub, situated at the first location, is coupled to a terrestrial data network and also to a terrestrial telephonic network. The mobile auxiliary communications facility of the present invention includes a utilization mechanism for utilizing the IP communication pathways to implement one or more bi-directional telephonic communication links and one or more bi-directional data links between the first location and the second location. The mobile auxiliary communications facility is equipped with a conversion/deconversion mechanism and a bandwidth allocation, multiplexing and demultiplexing mechanism. In operation, the mobile auxiliary communications facility is deployed to a second location which represents a site that does not have access to a terrestrial communications network, a site where access to a terrestrial network has been interrupted, and/or a site where a terrestrial network is not functional. The conversion/deconversion mechanism converts voice, speech, and/or audio signals into a packet format compatible with standard Internet Protocol (IP) data transmissions. The bandwidth allocation, multiplexing and demultiplexing mechanism allocates the available bandwidth of a communications link by combining voice and data packets into a single composite IP data channel. This combination process is performed in accordance with usage, demand, and/or a set of quality of service (QoS) prioritization parameters. The bandwidth allocation, multiplexing and demultiplexing mechanism responds to a momentary lack of voice activity by temporarily reducing the number of voice IP packets on the composite IP data channel.

Terrestrial communication networks provide sufficient capacity and connectivity for many telephonic and computer network applications. However, the performance of these terrestrial networks is inadequate in many situations. For example, the communications capacity and/or connectivity of an existing facility may not be sufficient for a given application, or may not be suitable to meet the needs of a changing operational environment. Providing new terrestrial links and installing additional equipment at a communications site can be a time-consuming process or, worse yet, such links may be impossible to install. A variation of this problem occurs whenever there is a temporary need for connectivity to a location that does not provide any existing terrestrial communications infrastructure. These situations arise in the context of special events from remote locations, and also where communications may be required for large but temporary deployments of personnel. Examples include highway construction projects, winter sporting events, plane crashes, political summits, disaster relief efforts, disaster recovery scenarios, and the restoration of disrupted business communications. In these cases, it is not economical to install the communications infrastructure for the limited time that it would be required.
Even in locations where adequate infrastructure is already in place, communications may be interrupted due to natural or man-made disasters. Oftentimes, it is not possible to restore the interrupted communication pathways within a reasonable period of time. In the examples enumerated above, substantial revenue can be lost as a result of insufficient or broken links. One potential solution is the installation and maintenance of permanent redundant links or alternative communication pathways. At best, this is a very expensive and time-consuming process. In the more extreme cases, it is physically impossible to provide the needed pathways. Notwithstanding the foregoing considerations, major corporations often have no choice but to install costly and inefficient redundant links, as these entities are required by their stockholders to implement disaster recovery plans to protect corporate revenues in the event of a disaster that damages communication facilities or terrestrial links.
At the present time, industry relies upon any of two methods, "Hot Sites" and "Hitching Posts", to provide for a temporary business recovery until the main facilities are restored. Hot Sites are prefabricated "brick-and-mortar" facilities housing redundant work areas, equipment and communication links. Hitching posts are pre-positioned connections providing direct land-line communication links to the PSTN (public switched telephone network) and/or to a computer network. In practice, one or more modular mobile trailers containing work areas are trucked to the hitching posts and connected to provide a basic business recovery solution.
A significant shortcoming of the "Hot Sites" and "Hitching Posts" approaches is cost. Hot Sites are expensive, fully redundant facilities that are not utilized efficiently during times of normal operation. Hitching Posts are disadvantageous in that multiple hitching post sites are generally required to provide sufficient coverage of potential disaster zones. In addition, different corporations, or even separate offices within the same corporation, may require different amounts of telephony and data recovery requirements. Each corporation and office may operate using its own set of advanced voice services, and each may require different computer network interfaces. These factors require the custom configuration of recovery services, and the sizing of these services for the largest facility to be recovered. In some cases, the foregoing limitations essentially require each corporation to purchase their own recovery facilities.
Another drawback to existing approaches is that the Hitching Post or Hot Site facilities are susceptible to catastrophes themselves. An earthquake can take out not only the primary facility, but a hitching post as well. Yet another drawback is that the Hot Site or Hitching Post recovery location may be a great distance from the affected facility. This can result in significant expenditures to relocate employees to the recovery site. In addition, employees may choose to cease employment rather than submit to the relocation.
Although the foregoing discussion has focused upon disaster recovery and the restoration of business communications, the Hot Site or Hitching Post approaches are adaptable to other applications, such as special events situations and circumstances where emergency communications are necessary. Unfortunately, the Hot Site and Hitching Post approaches present similar shortcomings when they are applied to disaster relief, special events, or other applications.

Techniques for implementing telephonic, fax, and/or data communications using internet protocols and satellite links


A clutch device having an actuating device for a drivetrain of a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine, an electric machine with a stator and a rotor, and a transmission device, where the clutch device is situated in the drivetrain between the internal combustion engine on the one side and the electric machine and the transmission device on the other side, the clutch device and the actuating device being integrated into the rotor of the electric machine, in order to improve the construction and/or the function of the clutch device.

From German Patent Application No, 10 2010 048 830 A1 a clutch unit is known in a drivetrain of a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine with a crankshaft and a transmission having a transmission input shaft having a first friction clutch including a first counter-pressure plate and an axially movable first pressing plate received non-rotatingly on the first counter-pressure plate, which is braced by a diaphragm spring against the first counter-pressure plate, with friction linings of a first clutch plate interposed, which is connected non-rotatingly to the transmission input shaft, and having a second friction clutch including a second counter-pressure plate and an axially movable pressing plate received non-rotatingly on the second counter-pressure plate, which pressing plate is braceable in the direction of the second counter-pressure plate, with friction linings of a second clutch plate interposed which is connected to the transmission input shaft, where the second counter-pressure plate is operatively connected to the crankshaft, the first counter-pressure plate is rotatably supported on the second counter-pressure plate, and an axially operative ramp device is situated between the first counter-pressure plate and the second pressing plate in order to provide an enlarged capacity of transmissible torque with little actuating force. For more detailed information about the features of the present invention, we refer explicitly to German Patent Application No 10 2010 048 830 A1. The theory of that publication is to be regarded as a component of the present document. Features of that publication are features of the present document.
From German Patent Application No. 10 2008 006 062 A1 a drivetrain is known in a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a starter-generator, where means of a starting clutch running in oil the rotary connection can be produced in the flow of power between the internal combustion engine on the one hand and the starter-generator and the transmission on the other hand, where the rotor of the starter-generator is supported—at least indirectly—a clutch cover, and the clutch cover is connected non-rotatingly and oil-tight to the clutch bell housing of the transmission, in order to make the drive train more cost-effective and space-saving.


A pool skimming device is stably secured to the peripheral structure of a pool so that the hoop and net are situated in the path of the water surface current caused by the water input of a pool's circulation system.

This invention relates to a device for skimming debris off the surface of a body of water and, more particularly, for skimming debris such as dead leaves, twigs, and scum off of the surfaces of pools prior to their sinking and forming a sludge at the bottom of the pool.
The invention has particular application to above-ground pools but is adaptable to in-ground pools as well.
Skimming debris from the water surface of pools is usually done manually with a net attached to a long handle manipulated by a person attending to that job.
Where automatic skimming is attempted, the prior art generally concerns itself with barriers extending at an angle from a point in the wall of the pool between the water inlet and the skimmer outlet. A generally circular flow of water from inlet to outlet sweeps the debris into the barrier, whereupon the debris is diverted and deposited in the outlet skimmer.
Variations on the prior art solution are disclosed in Field, U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,767; Heiniein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,327; Joseph, U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,662; Mikhel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,695; and Page, U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,189.
However, in circularly shaped pools, in particular, the circular flow of water from the inlet creates a whirlpool effect and much of the debris is drawn to the center of the pool escaping the barrier.
The present invention is vastly simpler and cheaper to produce than anything in the prior art in that it mounts the usually manually manipulated skimmer pool side and disposes the net of the skimmer in the pool for automatic skimming within the flow of injected water. The invention contemplates the directing of the injected water flow and also the support of the skimmer to place it within a set flow of injected water. As will be appreciated, the determination of skimmer placement will vary with different shapes of pools and within the flow of water which may be set or directed.
In a simple preferred embodiment of the invention, a specially formed skimmer pole handle provides placement of the skimmer net below the level of the pool deck or the cope of above ground pools without a deck. Various modes of anchoring the pole pool side may be used, including a pivot attachment for vertical positioning of the pole and net and various modes of securing the net to the pole are contemplated, including a swivel connection to rotate the net to accommodate set flows of injected water.


A lightweight, economical, mass-producible, reusable airfoil can be deployed in an airspace while in or attached to any moving vehicle for the purpose of collecting air samples. A frame has an airfoil shape that provides pressure differentials that preferentially direct particulates and contaminants of differing size and mass to different areas of an absorbent media attached or integral to the frame. The absorbent media are readily detachable from the frame for sanitary and efficient transfer to facilities where the samples can be analyzed.

The collection of statistically significant quantities of particulates and contaminants of interest in atmospheric analysis typically requires high rates of airflow. Electro-mechanical air-moving devices such as pumps, fans, and blowers force air over devices such as filters and absorbents in order to provide the required airflow in typical sampling applications. Such active air-moving devices are generally costly, noisy, and heavy, and require a power source.
A need exists for a small lightweight particulate air sampler designed for use on the earth's surface as well as on vehicles. A need exists for a small lightweight air sampling device for detection of airborne chemicals particulate and contaminants at low levels of concentration. Military, homeland defense and other demands exists for an inexpensive vehicle mounted air sampler.


An image processing device which performs a tracking control with respect to a moving object which is travelling forward, based on the controlled variable of the own vehicle includes, an image processing unit which specifies an area of a moving object from an input image, sets the specified area of the moving object as a reference image area after starting tracking control, and sets an area of the moving object after a predetermined time as a comparison image area; a comparison unit which compares the set reference image area and the comparison image area with each other, and calculates travelling information relating to the moving object; and a controlled variable calculation unit which calculates a controlled variable of the own vehicle from travelling information which is calculated in the comparison unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image processing device which performs image processing.
2. Background Art
In recent years, in-vehicle cameras have been developed and are becoming widespread for supporting driving. These cameras not only show a user an image, but also are provided with a function for automatically detecting a lane mark, or vehicles using imaging processing, and in which a function of preventing an accident of a vehicle departing from the lane mark, or a function of following a preceding vehicle has been developed. In general, in order to execute these two functions, radar equipment such as a mill wave radar, or a laser radar, and the in-vehicle camera are used. There is a problem of high cost since two types of sensors are used.
Therefore, a technology is required in which a function of executing a tracking control, and lane mark keeping is executed only using an image obtained from the camera. As a technology of performing the tracking control only using an image obtained from a camera, a method which is described in JP-A-2002-74598 has been proposed.
In the method, the width of a preceding vehicle on an image at a certain time t is obtained, and is registered as an amount of standard characteristics, the width of the preceding vehicle on the image which is obtained at a time t+N thereafter is obtained, and the speed of the vehicle is controlled so as to match the amount of standard characteristics. For example, when the width of the preceding vehicle on the image at time t is 20 pixels, and the width of the preceding vehicle on the image at time t+N is 25 pixels, it is possible to execute the tracking control by controlling the speed of the own vehicle to be lowered, since the own vehicle is close to the preceding vehicle.

Image processing device that performs tracking control


Examples of systems described herein include a file server virtual machine of a virtualized file server configured to manage storage of a plurality of storage items. The file server virtual machine including a file system configured to receive an access request directed to a storage item of the plurality of storage items and associated with a user. The file system is further configured to retrieve an access control list having permissions information associated with the storage item, and to cache a permissions profile for the user including all permissions pertaining to the user for the storage item. The file system is further configured to determine whether the access request is permissible based on the cached permissions profile.

A "virtual machine" or a "VM" refers to a specific software-based implementation of a machine in a virtualization environment, in which the hardware resources of a real computer (e.g., CPU, memory, etc.) are virtualized or transformed into the underlying support for the fully functional virtual machine that can run its own operating system and applications on the underlying physical resources just like a real computer.
Virtualization generally works by inserting a thin layer of software directly on the computer hardware or on a host operating system. This layer of software contains a virtual machine monitor or "hypervisor" that allocates hardware resources dynamically and transparently. Multiple operating systems run concurrently on a single physical computer and share hardware resources with each other. By encapsulating an entire machine, including CPU, memory, operating system, and network devices, a virtual machine is completely compatible with most standard operating systems, applications, and device drivers. Most modern implementations allow several operating systems and applications to safely run at the same time on a single computer, with each having access to the resources it needs when it needs them.
Virtualization allows one to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, with each virtual machine sharing the resources of that one physical computer across multiple environments. Different virtual machines can run different operating systems and multiple applications on the same physical computer.

Handling permissions for virtualized file servers


A DMT system and method with the capability to adapt the system bit rate on-line in a seamless manner. The DMT system provides a robust and fast protocol for completing this seamless rate adaptation. The DMT system also provides a framing and encoding method with reduced overhead compared to conventional DMT systems. The DMT system and method provide seamless rate adaptation with the provision of different power levels. This framing and encoding method enables a system with seamless rate adaptation capability. The system and method of the invention can be implemented in hardware, or alternatively in a combination of hardware and software.

This invention relates generally to communication systems and methods using multicarrier modulation. More particularly, the invention relates to communication multicarrier systems and methods using rate adaptive multicarrier modulation.
Multicarrier modulation (or Discrete Multitone Modulation (DMT)) is a transmission method that is being widely used for communication over difficult media. Multicarrier modulation divides the transmission frequency band into multiple subchannels (carriers), with each carrier individually modulating a bit or a collection of bits. A transmitter modulates an input data stream containing information bits with one or more carriers and transmits the modulated information. A receiver demodulates all the carriers in order to recover the transmitted information bits as an output data stream.
Multicarrier modulation has many advantages over single carrier modulation. These advantages include, for example, a higher immunity to impulse noise, a lower complexity equalization requirement in the presence of multipath, a higher immunity to narrow band interference, a higher data rate and bandwidth flexibility. Multicarrier modulation is being used in many applications to obtain these advantages, as well as for other reasons. Applications include Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) systems, Wireless LAN systems, Power Line communications systems, and other applications. ITU standards G.992.1 and G.992.2 and the ANSI T1.413 standard specify standard implementations for ADSL transceivers that use multicarrier modulation.
The block diagram 100 for a standard compliant ADSL DMT transmitter known in the art is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows three layers: the Modulation layer 110, the Framer/FEC layer 120, and the ATM TC layer 140, which are described below.
The Modulation layer 110 provides functionality associated with DMT modulation. DMT modulation is implemented using an Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) 112. The IDFT 112 modulates bits from the Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) 114 encoder into the multicarrier subchannels. ADSL multicarrier transceivers modulate a number of bits on each subchannel, the number of bits depending on the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of that subchannel and the Bit Error Rate (BER) requirement of the link. For example, if the required BER is 1xc3x9710xe2x88x927 (i.e., one bit in ten million is received in error on average) and the SNR of a particular subchannel is 21.5 dB, then that subchannel can modulate 4 bits, since 21.5 dB is the required SNR to transmit 4 QAM bits with a 1xc3x9710xe2x88x927 BER. Other subchannels can have a different SNR and therefore may have a different number of bits allocated to them at the same BER. The ITU and ANSI ADSL standards allow up to 15 bits to be modulated on one carrier.
A table that specifies how many bits are allocated to each subchannel for modulation in one DMT symbol is called a Bit Allocation Table (BAT). A DMT symbol is the collection of analog samples generated at the output of the IDFT by modulating the carriers with bits according to the BAT. The BAT is the main parameter used in the Modulation layer 110 of FIG. 1. The BAT is used by the QAM 114 and IDFT 112 blocks for encoding and modulation. Table 1 shows an example of a BAT for a DMT system with 16 subchannels.
In ADSL systems the DMT symbol rate is approximately 4 kHz. This means that a new DMT symbol modulating a new set of bits, using the modulation BAT, is transmitted every 250 microseconds. If the BAT in table 1, which specifies 80 bits modulated in one DMT symbol, were used at a 4 kHz DMT symbol rate the bit rate of the system would be 4000*80=320 kilobits per second (kbps). The BAT determines the data rate of the system and is dependent on the transmission channel characteristics, i.e. the SNR of each subchannel in the multicarrier system. A channel with low noise (high SNR on each subchannel) will have many bits modulated on each DMT carrier and will thus have a high bit rate. If the channel conditions are poor, the SNR will be low and the bits modulated on each carrier will be few, resulting in a low system bit rate. As can be seen in Table 1, some subchannels may actually modulate zero bits. An example is the case when a narrow band interferer (such as AM broadcast radio) is present at a subchannel""s frequency and causes the SNR in that subchannel to be too low to carry any information bits.
The ATM TC layer 140 includes an Asynchronous Transfer Mode Transmission Convergence (ATM TC) block 142 that transforms bits and bytes in cells into frames.
The next layer in an ADSL system is the Frame/FEC layer 120, which provides functionality associated with preparing a stream of bits for modulation, as shown in FIG. 1. This layer contains the Interleaving (INT) block 122, the Forward Error Correction (FEC) block 124, the scrambler (SCR) block 126, the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) block 128 and the ADSL Framer block 130. Interleaving and FEC coding provide impulse noise immunity and a coding gain. The FEC 124 in the standard ADSL system is a Reed-Solomon (R-S) code. The scrambler 126 is used to randomize the data bits. The CRC 128 is used to provide error detection at the receiver. The ADSL Framer 130 frames the received bits from the ATM framer 142. The ADSL framer 130 also inserts and extracts overhead bits from module 132 for modem to modem overhead communication channels (known as EOC and AOC channels in the ADSL standards).
The key parameters in the Framer/FEC layer 120 are the size of the R-S codeword, the size (depth) of the interleaver (measured in number of R-S codewords) and the size of the ADSL frame. As examples, a typical size for an R-S codeword may be 216 bytes, a typical size for interleaver depth may be 64 codewords, and the typical size of the ADSL frame may be 200 bytes. It is also possible to have an interleaving depth equal to one, which is equivalent to no interleaving. In order to recover the digital signal that was originally prepared for transmission using a transmitter as discussed above, it is necessary to deinterleave the codewords by using a deinterleaver that performs the inverse process to that of the interleaver, with the same depth parameter. In the current ADSL standards there is a specific relationship between all of these parameters in a DMT system. Specifically, the BAT size, NBAT (total number of bits in a DMT symbol) is fixed to be an integer divisor of the R-S codeword size, NFEC, as expressed in equation (1):
NFEC=Sxc3x97NBAT, where S is a positive integer greater than 0.xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
This constraint can also be expressed as: One R-S codeword contains an integer number of DMT symbols. The R-S codeword contains data bytes and parity (checkbytes). The checkbytes are overhead bytes that are added by the R-S encoder and are used by the R-S decoder to detect and correct bit errors. There are R checkbytes in a R-S codeword. Typically, the number of checkbytes is a small percentage of the overall codeword size, e.g., 8%. Most channel coding methods are characterized by their coding gain, which is defined as the system performance improvement (in dB) provided by the code when compared to an uncoded system. The coding gain, of the R-S codeword depends on the number of checkbytes and the R-S codeword size. A large R-S codeword (greater than 200 bytes in a DMT ADSL system) along with a 16 checkbytes (8% of 200 bytes) will provide close to the maximum coding gain of 4 dB. If the codeword size is smaller and/or the percentage of checkbyte overhead is high (e.g. xe2x89xa630%) the coding gain may be very small or even negative. In general, it is best to have the ADSL system operating with the largest possible R-S codeword (the maximum possible is 255 bytes) and approximately 8% redundancy.
There is also a specific relationship between the number of bytes in an ADSL frame, NFRAME, and the R-S codeword size, NFEC that is expressed in equation (2):
NFEC=Sxc3x97NFRAME+R; where R is the number of R-S checkbytes in a codeword andxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
S is the same positive integer in Equation (1).
It is apparent from equating the right-hand sides of equations (1) and (2) that the relationship expressed in equation (3) results:
NBAT=NFRAME+R/S.xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
The ADSL standard requires that the ratio (R/S) is an integer, i.e. there is an integer number of R-S checkbytes in every DMT-symbol (NBAT). As described above, ADSL frames contain overhead bytes (not part of the payload) that are used for modem to modem communications. A byte in an ADSL frame that is used for the overhead channel cannot be used for the actual user data communication, and therefore the user data rate decreases accordingly. The information content and format of these channels is described in the ITU and ANSI standards. There are several framing modes defined in ADSL standards. Depending on the framing mode, there are more or fewer overhead bytes in one ADSL frame. For example, standard Framing Mode 3 has 1 overhead byte per ADSL frame.
Equations (1), (2) and (3) demonstrate that the parameter restrictions imposed by the standards result in the following conditions:
1. All DMT symbols have a fixed number of overhead framing bytes that are added at the ADSL framer. For example, in framing mode #3 there is 1 overhead framing byte per DMT symbol.
2. There is a minimum of 1 R-S checkbyte per DMT symbol.
3. The maximum number of checkbytes according to ITU Standard G.992.2 (8) and ITU Standards G.992.2 and T1.413 (16) limits the maximum codeword size to 8*NBAT for G.992.2, and to 16*NBAT for G.992.1 and T1.413.
4. An ADSL modem cannot change the number of bits in a DMT symbol (NBAT) without making the appropriate changes to the number of bytes in a R-S codeword (NFEC) and an ADSL frame (NFRAME)
The above four restrictions cause performance limitations in current ADSL systems.
In particular, because of condition #1 every DMT symbol has a fixed number of overhead framing bytes. This is a problem when the data rate is low and the overhead framing bytes consume a large percentage of the possible throughput resulting in a lower payload. For example, if the date rate supported by the line is 6.144 Mbps, this will result in a DMT symbol with about 192 bytes per symbol (192*8*4000=6144000 bps). In this case, one overhead framing byte would consume 1/192 or about 0.5% of the available throughout. But if the date rate is 128 kbps or 4 bytes per symbol the overhead framing byte will consume xc2xc or 25% of the available throughput. Clearly this is undesirable.
Condition #2 will cause the same problems as condition #1. In this case, the overhead framing byte is replaced by the R-S checkbyte.
Condition #3 will not allow the construction of large codewords when the data rate is low. R-S codewords in ADSL can have a maximum of 255 bytes. The maximum coding gain is achieved when the codeword size is near the maximum 255 bytes. When the data rate is low, e.g. 128 kbps or 4 bytes per symbol, the maximum codeword size will be 8*4=32 bytes for G.992.2 systems and 16*4=64 bytes for G.992.1 and T1.413 systems. In this case the coding gain will be substantially lower than for large codewords approaching 255 bytes.
In general, if the data rate is low, e.g. 128 kbps or 4 byte per symbol, the above conditions will result in 1 byte being used for overhead framing, and 1 byte being consumed by a R-S checkbyte. Therefore 50% of the available throughput will not be used for payload and the R-S codeword size will be at most 64 bytes, resulting in negligible coding gain.
Condition #4 effects the ability of the modem to adapt its transmission parameters on-line in a dynamic manner.
G.992.1 and TI.413 specify a mechanism to do on-line rate adaptation, called Dynamic Rate Adaptation (DRA), but it is clearly stated in these standards that the change in data rate will not be seamless. In general current ADSL DMT modems use Bit Swapping and dynamic rate adaptation (DRA) as methods for on-line adaptation to channel changes. Bit Swapping is specified in the ITU and ANSI standards as method for modifying the number of bits allocated to a particular. Bit Swapping is seamless, i.e., it does not result in an interruption in data transmission and reception. But, Bit Swapping does not allow the changing of data rates. Bit Swapping only allows the changing the number of bits allocated to carriers while maintaining the same data rate. This is equivalent to changing the entries in the BAT table without allowing the total number of bits (NBAT) in the BAT to increase or decrease.
DRA enables a change in data rate, but is not seamless. DRA is also very slow because it requires the modem located in the Central Office (CO) to make the final decision on the data rate configuration. This model, with (the CO being the master), is common among ADSL modems that are designed to provide a service offered by the telephone company, and controlled by the telephone company.
Both Bit Swapping and DRA use a specific protocol that is specified in ANSI T1.413, G.992.1 and G.992.2 for negotiating the change. This protocol negotiates the parameters using messages that are sent via an AOC channel, which is an embedded channel. This protocol is sensitive to impulse noise and high noise levels. If the messages are corrupted the transmitter and receiver can enter a state where they are using different transmission parameters (e.g., BAT, data rate, R-S codeword length, interleaver depth, etc). When two communication modems enter a state of mismatched transmission parameters, data will be received in error and the modems will eventually be required to take drastic measures (such as full reinitialization) in order to restore error free transmission. Drastic measures such as full reinitialization will result in the service being dropped for approximately 10 seconds, which is the time required for a standards compliant ADSL modem to complete a full initialization.
A transceiver has both a transmitter and a receiver. The receiver includes the receiver equivalent blocks of the transmitter shown in FIG. 1. The receiver has modules that include a decoder, a deinterleaver and a demodulator. In operation, the receiver accepts a signal in analog form that was transmitted by a transmitter, optionally amplifies the signal in an amplifier, filters the signal to remove noise components and to separate the signal from other frequencies, converts the analog signal to a digital signal through the use of an analog to digital converter, demodulates the signal to generate the received bits stream from the carrier subchannels by the use of a demodulator, deinterleaves the bits stream by the use of a deinterleaver, performs the FEC decoding to correct errors in the bit stream by use of an FEC decoder, descrambles the bit stream by use of a descrambler, and detects bit errors in the bit stream by use of a CRC. Various semiconductor chip manufacturers supply hardware and software that can perform the functions of a transmitter or a receiver, or both.
It is therefore apparent that there is a need for an improved DMT transmission system. It is therefore a principle object of the invention to provide an improved DMT transmission system that overcomes the problems discussed above.
According to the principles of the invention, ADSL DMT systems and methods are provided that change transmission bit rates in a seamless manner during operation. The ADSL DMT systems and methods operate according to protocols that allow the seamless change of transmission bit rates during operation to be initiated by either the transmitter or the receiver. The ADSL DMT systems and methods provide for seamless changes of transmission bit rates during operation that change transmission bit rates between power levels that range from full power to low power.
In one aspect the invention relates to a method for seamlessly changing a transmission bit rate in a multicarrier transmission system. The method involves providing a plurality of codewords that have a specified codeword size, and that include a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction. The method also involves providing a specified interleaving parameter for interleaving the plurality of codewords. The method also comprises transmitting a first plurality of codewords at a first transmission bit rate, changing the first transmission bit rate to a second transmission bit rate, and transmitting a second plurality of codewords at the second transmission bit rate, wherein the specified interleaving parameter, the specified codeword size, and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction used for the first plurality of codewords are used for the second plurality of codewords to achieve a seamless change in transmission bit rate.
In one embodiment, transmitting at the first transmission bit rate involves allocating a first number of bits to a first DMT symbol as determined by a first bit allocation table. Transmitting at the second transmission bit rate involves allocating a second number of bits to a second DMT symbol as determined by a second bit allocation table. In a further embodiment, an average parity bit ratio for DMT symbols transmitted at the first and the second transmission rates is substantially constant. A parity bit ratio is the number of parity bits in a DMT symbol divided by the total number of bits in the bit allocation table used for that DMT symbol.
In another aspect the invention relates to another method for seamlessly changing a transmission bit rate in a multicarrier transmission system. The method includes providing a plurality of codewords that have a specified codeword size, with a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction included in each codeword. The method involves allocating the bits of a first plurality of codewords to carrier subchannels using a first allocation table for transmitting such codewords at a first transmission bit rate, and transmitting the first plurality of codewords at the first transmission bit rate. The method includes allocating the bits of a second plurality of codewords to carrier subchannels using a second allocation table for transmitting such codewords at a second transmission bit rate, and changing transmission from the first transmission bit rate to the second transmission bit rate by transmitting the second plurality of codewords. The specified codeword size and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction used when transmitting each of the first plurality of codewords are used when transmitting each of the second plurality of codewords to achieve a seamless change in transmission bit rate.
In one embodiment, the method further involves interleaving the first plurality and the second plurality of codewords according to a specified interleaving parameter. The specified interleaving parameter used to interleave the first plurality of codewords is the same specified interleaving parameter used to interleave the second plurality of codewords. In another embodiment, transmitting at the first transmission bit rate includes allocating a first number of bits to a first DMT symbol as determined by the first bit allocation table. Transmitting at the second transmission bit rate includes allocating a second number of bits to a second DMT symbol as determined by the second bit allocation table. In still another embodiment, an average parity bit ratio for DMT symbols transmitted at the first and the second transmission rates is substantially constant.
In a further aspect the invention relates to another method for seamlessly changing a reception bit rate in a multicarrier transmission system. The method involves providing a plurality of codewords having a specified codeword size, each codeword including a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction. The method includes receiving a first plurality of codewords from carrier subchannels at a first reception bit rate, and demodulating the bits of the first plurality of codewords using a first allocation table. . The method includes changing reception from the first reception bit rate to the second reception bit rate, receiving a second plurality of codewords from carrier subchannels at the second reception bit rate, and demodulating the bits of the second plurality of codewords using a second allocation table. The specified interleaving parameter, the specified codeword size, and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction used when demodulating each of the first plurality of codewords is used when demodulating each of the second plurality of codewords to achieve a seamless change in reception rate. In one embodiment, an average parity bit ratio for DMT symbols received at the first and the second reception rates is substantially constant.
In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a further method for seamlessly changing a transmission bit rate in a multicarrier transmission system. The method involves providing a plurality of codewords that have a specified codeword size, and that include a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction. The method includes providing a specified deinterleaving parameter. The method involves receiving a first plurality of codewords at a first reception bit rate, changing the first reception bit rate to a second reception bit rate, and receiving a second plurality of codewords at the second reception bit rate. The specified deinterleaving parameter, the specified codeword size, and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction used for the first plurality of codewords are used for the second plurality of codewords to achieve a seamless change in reception bit rate.
In one embodiment, receiving at the first reception bit rate includes demodulating a first number of bits of a first DMT symbol as determined by a first bit allocation table. Receiving at the second reception bit rate includes demodulating a second number of bits of a second DMT symbol as determined by a second bit allocation table. In another embodiment, an average parity bit ratio for DMT symbols received at the first and the second reception rates is substantially constant.
In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a multicarrier transmission system for seamlessly changing a transmission bit rate. The multicarrier transmission system includes an encoder producing a plurality of codewords that have a specified codeword size and that include a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction. The multicarrier transmission system includes, in communication with the encoder, an interleaver that interleaves the plurality of codewords according to a specified interleaving parameter. The multicarrier transmission system includes a modulator in communication with the interleaver. The modulator allocates the bits of each interleaved codeword to carrier subchannels to achieve transmission at a first transmission bit rate and changes the bit allocation to achieve transmission at a second transmission bit rate. The specified interleaving parameter, specified codeword size, and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction remain unchanged after the modulator changes the allocation of bits to achieve transmission at the second transmission bit rate, thereby achieving a seamless change in transmission bit rate.
In one embodiment, the modulator transmits a first DMT symbol having a first number of bits, determined by a first bit allocation table, at the first transmission bit rate, and transmits a second DMT symbol having a second number of bits, determined by a second bit allocation table, at the second transmission rate. In another embodiment, the modulator transmits a first DMT symbol at the first transmission bit rate and a second DMT symbol at the second transmission rate. In this embodiment, an average parity bit ratio for DMT symbols transmitted at the first and the second transmission rates is substantially constant.
In a still further aspect, the invention relates to a receiver in a multicarrier transmission system for seamlessly changing reception bit rate. The receiver includes a demodulator operating at a first reception bit rate to produce a first plurality of interleaved codewords and changing operation to a second reception bit rate to produce a second plurality of interleaved codewords. Each codeword has a specified codeword size and includes a specified number of parity bits for error correction. The receiver includes, in communication with the demodulator, a deinterleaver that deinterleaves the first and the second plurality of interleaved codewords according to a specified interleaving parameter. The receiver also includes a decoder in communication with the demodulator to receive and decode the first and the second plurality of deinterleaved codewords. In order to achieve a seamless change in reception bit rate, the specified interleaving parameter used to deinterleave the first plurality of interleaved codewords is the same specified interleaving parameter used to deinterleave the second plurality of interleaved codewords, and the specified codeword size and the specified number of parity bits for error correction used to decode the first plurality of deinterleaved codewords are the same specified codeword size and specified number of parity bits for error correction used to decode the second plurality of deinterleaved codewords.
In one embodiment, the demodulator receives a first DMT symbol at the first reception bit rate and a second DMT symbol at the second reception bit rate. The first DMT symbol has a first number of bits determined by a first bit allocation table and the second DMT symbol has a second number of bits determined by a second bit allocation table. In another embodiment, an average parity bit ratio for DMT symbols received at the first and the second reception rates is substantially constant.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for modulating data in a multicarrier transmission system. The method involves providing a stream of digital subscriber line (DSL) codewords for transmission to a receiver, each DSL codeword having a specified number of bits. The method also involves modulating the stream of codewords to form discrete multitone (DMT) symbols having a number of bits determined by a transmission rate capability of the multicarrier transmission system. According to the method, the number of bits in the DSL codewords is a non-integer multiple of the number of bits in the DMT symbols.
In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method for seamlessly changing a transmission bit rate in a multicarrier transmission system. The method involves providing a plurality of codewords that have a specified codeword size, and that include a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction. The method includes transmitting a first plurality of codewords at a first transmission bit rate, changing the first transmission bit rate to a second transmission bit rate, and transmitting a second plurality of codewords at the second transmission bit rate. In order to achieve a seamless change in transmission bit rate, the specified codeword size and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction used for the first plurality of codewords are used for the second plurality of codewords.
In a still further aspect, the invention relates to another method for seamlessly changing a reception bit rate in a multicarrier transmission system. The method involves providing a plurality of codewords that have a specified codeword size, and that include a specified number of parity bits for forward error correction. The method includes receiving a first plurality of codewords at a first reception bit rate using a first bit allocation table, changing the first reception bit rate to a second reception bit rate using a second bit allocation table, and receiving a second plurality of codewords at the second reception bit rate. In order to achieve a seamless change in reception bit rate, the specified codeword size and the specified number of parity bits for forward error correction used for the first plurality of codewords are used for the second plurality of codewords and the number of bits in the first bit allocation table is different than the number of bits in the second bit allocation table.
The objects and features of the invention can be better understood with reference to the drawings described below. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for a standard compliant ADSL DMT transmitter known in the prior art.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of an ADSL frame and R-S codeword.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram for a dual latency ADSL DMT transmitter.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart that depicts an embodiment of a process in which a Normal Seamless Rate Adaptive (NSRA) transmission bit rate change is initiated by a receiver according to the principles of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart that depicts an embodiment of a process in which a Normal Seamless Rate Adaptive (NSRA) transmission bit rate change is initiated by a transmitter according to the principles of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart that depicts an embodiment of a process in which a Fast Seamless Rate Adaptive (FSRA) transmission bit rate change is initiated by a receiver according to the principles of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart that depicts an embodiment of a process in which a Fast Seamless Rate Adaptive (FSRA) transmission bit rate change is initiated by a transmitter according to the principles of the invention.

Seamless rate adaptive multicarrier modulation system and protocols


The invention provides a method for determining an amino acid sequence motif for a phosphorylation site of a protein kinase. In the method of the invention, a protein kinase is contacted with an oriented degenerate peptide library, peptides within the library which are substrates for the kinase are converted to phosphopeptides and the phosphopeptides are separated from non-phosphorylated peptides. The isolated phosphopeptides are sequenced and an amino acid sequence motif for the phosphorylation site is determined based upon the relative abundance of different amino acids residues at each degenerate position. The invention also provides peptide substrates for protein kinase A, cell cycle control kinases (including cyclin B/p33.sup.cdc2 and cyclin A/p33.sup.CDK2), src family kinases (including pp60.sup.c-src and pp60.sup.v-src), EGF receptor, p92.sup.c-fps/fes, lck, c-abl, PDGF receptor, FGF receptor, insulin receptor, casein kinase II, NIMA kinase, phosphorylase kinase, Cam kinase II and Erk1 based upon amino acid sequence motifs for the phosphorylation sites of these kinases.

The activity of cells is regulated by external signals that stimulate or inhibit intracellular events. The process by which stimulatory or inhibitory signals are transmitted into and within a cell to elicit an intracellular response is referred to as signal transduction. Proper signal transduction is essential for proper cellular function. Defects in various components of signal transduction pathways, from cell surface receptors to activators of gene transcription, account for a vast number of diseases, including numerous forms of cancer, vascular diseases and neuronal diseases.
Protein kinases are enzymes involved in signal transduction which phosphorylate other proteins and/or themselves (autophosphorylation). Protein kinases involved in signal transduction in eukaryotic cells can be divided into three major groups based upon their substrate utilization: protein-tyrosine specific kinases (which phosphorylate substrates on tyrosine residues), protein-serine/threonine specific kinases (which phosphorylate substrates on serine and/or threonine residues) and dual-specificity kinases (which phosphorylate substrates on tyrosine, serine and/or threonine residues). Well over a hundred protein kinases have been identified to date and more are being identified at a very fast rate (about 10 to 30 new kinases per year) through genetic and molecular biological approaches. There are conserved regions among all protein kinases, suggesting evolution from a common ancestor. For reviews on protein kinases see Kemp, B. E. (ed.), (1990) Peptides and Protein Phosphorylation. CRC Press Inc. and Hanks et al. (1988) Science 241:42-52.
In order to insure fidelity in intracellular signal transduction cascades it is essential that each protein kinase have exquisite specificity in downstream targets. In some cases a kinase may have only a single substrate in a cell, but in general kinases appear to have a collection of targets that allow branching of an initial signal delivered to a cell in multiple directions in order to coordinate a set of events that occur in parallel for a given cellular response (see Roach, P. J. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266:14139-14142). The substrate specificity of a protein kinase can be influenced by at least three general mechanisms that depend on the overall structure of the enzyme: 1) specific domains in certain protein kinases target them to specific locations in the cell, thereby restricting their substrate availability; 2) other domains in the kinase, distinct from the catalytic domain, may provide high affinity association with either the substrate or an adapter molecule that presents the substrate to the kinase; and 3) specificity is ultimately provided by the structure of the catalytic site of the protein kinase.
Although the number of protein kinases that have been implicated in intracellular signaling is quite large, in only a few cases is there information about the sequence specificity of these kinases. This information has usually come from locating the phosphorylation sites on in vivo and/or in vitro substrates of the kinase. (For examples see Taylor et al., (1990) Ann. Rev. Biochem. 59:971-1005; Cheng, et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266:17919-17925; Walsh et al. (1990) in Peptides and Protein Phosphorylation. (B. E. Kemp, ed.) CRC Press Inc.pp. 43-84; Gaehlen and Harrison (1990) in Peptides and Protein Phosphorylation. (B. E. Kemp, ed.) CRC Press Inc.pp. 239-254). By comparing the sequences of several phosphorylation sites for a kinase a consensus sequence for substrates of that kinase can be determined. These types of studies have demonstrated the importance of the primary amino acid sequence around the site of phosphorylation in determining the in vivo specificity of protein kinases. Synthetic peptides can be constructed based upon the consensus sequence motif of a known phosphorylation site and individual amino acids can then be replaced one by one in order to determine the importance of particular amino acids on the K.sub.M or V.sub.max of the phosphorylation reaction.
However, there are severe limitations to this approach for determining the substrate specificity of a protein kinase. The procedure is quite expensive and laborious since each amino acid residue within a phosphorylation site must be altered individually to evaluate its importance. This approach does not necessarily identify all the residues critical for substrate specificity and, furthermore, an optimal substrate sequence is not likely to be determined unless each residue is changed to every other possible amino acid residue individually and then evaluated. For example, based upon an estimation of 9 to 12 amino acid residues of a substrate contacting the active site cleft of a kinase there would be approximately 1.024.times.10.sup.13 (20.sup.10) distinct peptides to consider. Moreover, in many cases this approach is not feasible because in vivo substrates for some kinase cannot be determined with certainty. For example, if an extracellular signal activates multiple kinases which phosphorylate multiple substrates or if a signal activates a cascade of kinases it is difficult to determine which kinase phosphorylates which substrate. An even more difficult problem in determining the substrate specificity of certain kinases is that their critical in vivo substrates are often proteins which are present in vivo in very low abundance and thus are not easily detectable by in vivo phosphorylation assays. Even relatively abundant substrates can be overlooked because of their high rates of dephosphorylation by closely-associated phosphatases.
Thus, there is a need for an alternative method to that of isolating and examining the sequences of native substrates for determining the substrate specificity of a protein kinase. Consensus sequence motifs for the phosphorylation sites of many known protein kinases have not yet been determined because of the limitations to current approaches discussed above. Information on the substrate specificity of each protein kinase involved in signal transduction would provide insight into signal transduction mechanisms and could allow for the design of novel therapeutic agents based on the substrate specificities of different protein kinases.

Substrate specificity of a protein kinases


An improved suspended line cable breakaway device includes a first body portion for connecting to a first end of a support cable and a second body portion for connecting to a second end of the support cable. The first body portion includes resilient fingers having nubs, which are releasably received by slots contained in a cavity wall of the second body portion. A biased spreader, slidably contained in a cavity in the second body portion, is displacable axially along the cavity by an external force along the support cable to urge the nubs outwardly such that the second body portion is disengaged from the first body portion, simultaneously disconnecting component lines of a first end of a suspended line from corresponding component lines of a second end of the suspended line. A shield protects the component line connections, which are spaced internal to the device, from the elements. One embodiment provides a breakaway device for a three-component line and a first modified embodiment provides a breakaway device for a four-component line. A second modified embodiment provides a breakaway device without internal component line connections.

The present invention generally relates to a suspended line breakaway device and, more specifically without limitation, to a breakaway device for suspended lines comprising multiple components, such as overhead utility lines and tractor-trailer interconnecting electrical and pneumatic lines.
Electrical energy, either as a source of power or as a source of information, provides an invaluable service to society. Such electrical energy is distributed by various means, such as wirelessly, underground cables, etc. Some of that electrical energy, however, is distributed by overhead, multi-component lines or cables, such as three-wire single-phase cables, four-wire three-phase cables, telephone cables, prescription television cables, and the like. As the overhead cables approach their final distribution point, these cables generally must be disposed reasonably near the ground, such as between a utility pole and a house, or other similar arrangement.
A load bearing suspension cable is generally utilized along with the electrical cable to substantially remove weight and other normal external stresses from the latter. Even so, the suspension cable may fail or break due to excessive ice accumulation, high winds, falling tree branches, moving vehicles, and the like. Failure of the suspension cable increases the likelihood of failure of the electrical cables associated therewith. If such breakage should occur at a point sufficiently removed from a support, the end of the electrical cable which is disposed between the break and such support may either reach the ground or be suspended in close proximity to the ground, creating a potential risk of serious injury. If the failed cable should become "grounded" at the break, electrical service upstream from the break may also be disrupted.
In addition to the various hazards caused by such failure, a violent and destructive wrenching apart of the electrical cable sometimes complicates the repair subsequently needed to restore the electrical cable to its pre-failure operating conditions.
Similarly, a tractor-trailer unit is generally interconnected with a suspended electrical line and one or more suspended pneumatic lines. As the tractor is disengaged from the trailer, failure to also disconnect the electrical and pneumatic lines can lead to destructive failure of the latter as they are physically wrenched apart.
What is needed is a relatively simple and inexpensive device which, when circumstances so require, separates the suspended lines prior to destructive failure thereof and, in the case of suspended electrical lines, such separation occurring in a manner whereby the upstream end of the separated electrical line remains elevated high above the ground while the downstream end of the separated electrical cable is rendered neutral such that it may fall harmlessly to the ground, and whereby the separated ends of the lines can be quickly and easily reconnected, thus restoring the lines to their pre-failure, operating conditions.


A heat dissipation device used for removing heat from a plurality of memory module cards, includes a first bracket, a second bracket placed on the first bracket and a fin set arranged on the second bracket. The first bracket has a plurality of first sheets extending downwardly from a bottom thereof and defines a plurality of slots therein. The second bracket has a plurality of second sheets extending downwardly from a bottom thereof. The first sheets are respectively attached to sides of the memory module cards. The second sheets are respectively extended through the slots of the first bracket and attached to opposite sides of the memory module cards and opposite to the first sheets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat dissipation devices and particularly a heat dissipation device for memory module cards to dissipate heat generated by the cards.
2. Description of Related Art
Computers use numerous memory units such as Dynamic Random Access Memory units (DRAMs) for the storage and retrieval of data. Initially, individual memory units were mounted directly onto the computer main board, generally known as the mother board or system board. However, with increased size and complexity, computers and their system boards could not easily accommodate sufficient memory units. An early solution to this problem was to create a memory module, known as Single In-Line Memory Module (SIMM), that was formed of a plurality of individual memory units arranged in banks and mounted on a card in electronic connection to terminal pads adjacent to a longitudinal edge of the card.
Still higher memory demands in the systems were met by the development of so-called Dual In-Line Memory Modules (DIMMs) having individual memory units mounted in a card in electrical connection to terminal pads on both sides of the card edge to thereby accommodate more memory units.
As computer continues to advance in complexity, more memory module cards are required to be mounted in a computer. Simultaneously, the computer is required to be smaller and more portable. Under these two contradicting conditions, the conventional cooling structure is no longer able to satisfy the heat dissipation requirement of the memory module cards.
Accordingly, what is needed is a heat dissipation device allowing computer memory module cards to be densely assembled while still providing the necessary heat dissipation capability to the memory module cards.

Heat dissipation device for memory module cards

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A new and distinct zonal geranium plant with intense purple colored flowers above medium green foliage. The plant flower is suitable for pot planting and as a bedding plant.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Pelargonium×hortorum known by the varietal name 'Penlava'. The new variety was discovered in 1994 in a selective breeding program in Dresden, Germany. The new variety is the result of the crossing of dark leafed breeding varieties. The exact parents are unknown. The new variety was first asexually reproduced by cuttings in Dresden, Germany in 1995. The new variety has been trial and field tested and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics and remain true to type through successive propagations.

Variety of geranium plant named ‘Penlava’


A first and a second substrate are bonded together to thereby form a unitary hybrid substrate. Predefined portions of the first substrate are removed to form openings in the first substrate through which surface regions of the second substrate are exposed. A selective epitaxial growth process that is selective with respect to the crystalline orientations of the first and second substrates is carried out to thereby form epitaxial silicon from the exposed surfaces of the second substrate but not from exposed surfaces of the first substrate. The epitaxial silicon formed from the exposed surfaces of the second substrate has the same crystalline orientation as the second substrate.

The present invention relates in general to semiconductor technology, and more particularly to semiconductor hybrid substrates and methods for forming the same.
Typically, both n-type and p-type transistors are formed on a wafer having a particular crystalline orientation. N-type transistors have an electron mobility in the [100] crystalline orientation higher than in the [110] crystalline orientation. Whereas, p-type transistors have a hole mobility in the [110] crystalline orientation higher than in the [100] crystalline orientation. Accordingly, hybrid structures having (100) regions and (110) regions are provided to accommodate n-type transistors and p-type transistors on the same substrate, respectively. However, the known techniques for forming such hybrid structures require complex process technologies with tight process windows, and thus are not cost effective. Further, these techniques often suffer from defect related issues.
Thus, there is a need for hybrid structures with superior characteristics and cost effective techniques for forming the same.

Structure and method for forming hybrid substrate


An image reading apparatus includes a reading unit, a control unit and a reference color region. The control unit includes a preliminary read processing unit, a first image acquisition unit, a second image acquisition unit and a reprocessing instruction unit. The reprocessing instruction unit specifies a schematic position of a reference region in the sub-scanning direction and instructs the preliminary read processing unit to perform preliminary reading again at the schematic position of the reference region.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and, more particularly, to a technology for detecting a predetermined pattern that defines a reference position that specifies a reading position in the image reading apparatus.
2. Related Art
Scanners are widely used as image reading apparatuses that optically read a reading object with an image sensor and then generate image data on the basis of the read result. In the existing art, each of the scanners uses a position sensor in order to determine a reading position in the scanner. In addition, another method has been known in which a reading position is determined in such a manner that, for example, a predetermined pattern formed of a black region and a white region is provided for the scanner, an image of the pattern is detected from read image data and then the position of the detected image of the pattern is set as a reference position (which is, for example, described in JP-A-2000-113162).
In the technology described in JP-A-2000-113162, a carriage is configured to be located around a home position when power is turned on, and the position of a predetermined pattern is also specified in connection with the home position. However, in the scanner, it is conceivable that, for example, as in the case immediately after abnormal end, the carriage may be located at a position different from the home position when power is turned on. In such a case, because the position of a predetermined pattern is not specified, the process to search and detect a predetermined pattern should be performed. The detection of a predetermined pattern is preferably performed quickly and reliably.


A glaucoma drain implanting device having a body portion including a proximal end and a distal end, a separate nozzle portion connected to the distal end of the body and including a drain delivery passageway, a plunger having a plunger tip movably disposed relative to the drain delivery passageway, and a drain receiver. A method of using the drain implant device includes the steps of advancing a glaucoma drain into the drain delivery passageway of the device, thereby placing the glaucoma drain in a staged configuration, and, placing an exit of the drain delivery passageway proximately to the eye and further advancing the glaucoma drain to cause the glaucoma drain to pass through the exit of the drain delivery passageway and into the tissue of the eye.

The healthy eye is filled with a fluid called aqueous humor. The ciliary body, located in the posterior chamber of the eye, produces aqueous humor and the Canal of Schlelmm, which is located at the periphery of the anterior chamber, releases aqueous humor into the trabecular meshwork. When the eye does not function properly to drain aqueous humor, an excess of aqueous humor may become present in the eye and the intraocular pressure may rise. The increased intraocular pressure associated with this excess, also known as glaucoma, is the leading cause of blindness. Glaucoma may be treated by medicine and/or by surgery.
Many procedures for treating glaucoma involve increasing the rate of drainage of aqueous humor from the eye. More particularly, many procedures for treating glaucoma involve implanting, injecting, placing or otherwise introducing a drainage device to the eye to increase the rate of drainage of aqueous humor thereform. Of the many devices and methods currently used to introduced such a drainage to the eye, none has become universally accepted.

Glaucoma drain implanting device and method


A bicycle frame assembly that includes an upper frame member and a lower frame member that each extend between a head tube and a dropout. A seat tube extends between the upper frame member and the lower frame member. The seat tube is preferably connected to a bottom bracket of the lower frame member and is connected by a pivot to the upper frame member so that the seat tube can deflect from a rest position without altering an orientation of a top tube to a bottom tube of the upper and lower frame members, respectively.

The present invention relates to bicycles and, more particularly, to a bicycle frame assembly wherein the seat tube is connected at an overlapping intersection of a top tube and the seat stays by a passive pivot that allows the seat stay to deflect from a generally linear at-rest orientation to improve the vertical compliance of the bicycle frame.
The primary structural component of a conventional two-wheel bicycle is the frame. On a conventional road bicycle, the frame is typically constructed from a set of tubular members assembled together to form the frame. For many bicycles, the frame is constructed from members commonly referred to as the top tube, down tube, seat tube, seat stays and chain stays, and those members are joined together at intersections commonly referred to as the head tube, seat post, bottom bracket and rear dropout. The top tube usually extends from the head tube rearward to the seat tube. The head tube, sometimes referred to as the neck, is a short tubular structural member at the upper forward portion of the bicycle which supports the handlebar and front steering fork, which has the front wheel on it. The down tube usually extends downwardly and rearward from the head tube to the bottom bracket, the bottom bracket usually comprising a cylindrical member for supporting the pedals and chain drive mechanism which powers the bicycle. The seat tube usually extends from the bottom bracket upwardly to where it is joined to the rear end of the top tube. The seat tube also usually functions to telescopically receive a seat post for supporting a seat or saddle for the bicycle rider to sit on.
The chain stays normally extend rearward from the bottom bracket. The seat stays normally extend downwardly and rearward from the top of the seat tube. The chain stays and seat stays are normally joined together with a rear dropout for supporting the rear axle of the rear wheel. The portion of the frame defined by the head tube, seat post and bottom bracket and the structural members that join those three items together can be referred to as the main front triangular portion of the frame, with the seat stays and chain stays defining a rear triangular portion of the frame. The foregoing description represents the construction of a conventional bicycle frame which of course does not possess a suspension having any shock absorbing characteristics.
Although the increased popularity in recent years of off-road cycling, particularly on mountains and cross-country, has made a shock absorbing system in many instances a biking necessity. An exemplary rear wheel suspension system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,213. Generally, bicycle suspension systems intended for off-road riding conditions include a number of links that are connected and movable or pivotable to allow the bicycle frame to absorb a portion of the energy associated with aggressive riding over uneven terrain. However, such robust suspension systems do not particularly lend themselves to extended rides over paved terrain. The robust nature of such systems increases the weight attributable to the bicycle assembly. During rides intended to test rider stamina, endurance, and conditioning, such robust suspension systems would detrimentally affect rider time performance.
Fixed shape forward and rear triangle frame shapes are generally well accepted as the preferred configuration for many road bicycles due to their collective light weight and robust frame. However, even paved surfaces can present discontinuities wherein most riders would prefer some degree of bicycle suspension to limit or reduce the forces communicated to the rider from payment discontinuities. The ever increasing capabilities of bicyclists have created a sub-set of the road bicycle termed an endurance bicycle. Endurance bicycles are generally understood as race-ready road bicycles with added comfort to allow riders to complete rides of ever increasing duration and/or distance. Many endurance bicycles maintain a fixed forward and rear triangle frame and provide impact dampening with suspension seat posts and/or vibration dampening handlebar assemblies.
An alternate approach to an endurance bicycle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,371. U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,371 discloses a bicycle assembly wherein the seat tube forms a passive suspension element via the elimination of the seat stays and providing a second set of chain stays that are located in closer proximity to the bottom bracket that to the top tube. The frame assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,371 includes a number of gusset members that are required to provide the desired non-vertical stiffness of the frame assembly. In achieving the desired vertical compliance, the bicycle frame of U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,371 includes a number of supplemental structures that, in improving vertical compliance, detrimentally affect the overall weight of the underlying bicycle assembly.
Accordingly, there is a desire to provide a bicycle frame assembly that includes a passive suspension element but does not appreciably detrimentally affect the weight of the overall bicycle frame assembly.

Bicycle frame with passive seat tube pivot joint


The present invention provides a redundancy circuit in a semiconductor memory device which has spare memory cells which can store information that can be substituted for data of defective memory cells after the completion of the manufacturing process. If addresses designating the defective memory cells are externally input, the redundancy circuit generates a defective cell relief address signal which corresponds to the address designating the defective memory cell and is used to prevent defective data stored in normal memory cells from being output and causes correction data, to be substituted for the defective data output in correspondence with the defective cell relief address.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and method of using the same, and more particularly a redundancy circuit of a semiconductor memory device having spare memory cells in which store information for substituting data of defective memory cells.
Recently, integration density and capacity of memory cells has increased in semiconductor memory devices, chip size has also increased. However, increased chip size has caused the yield of semiconductor chips to be reduced. Yields have further decreased as design rules become narrower in order to achieve a high integration density.
One of the most important ways of increasing yields is by using techniques for relieving defective cells. An Error Correction Code (hereinafter, referred to as ECC) is one of the defective cell relief techniques and utilizes a hamming code such as is generally used in digital telecommunication. Data having an error that is generated among data read from the memory cells can be substituted for the correct data using the data read from the memory cells and parity data. Defects in the memory cells and the error on data reading process can thus typically be corrected.
However, drawbacks to using an ECC (Error Correction Code), exist, such as undesirable increases in the area of the chip and certain errors still may not be corrected.
Another of the defective cell relief techniques uses spare memory cells along with the normal memory cells. In this technique, defective memory cells that exist among the normal memory cell array can be substituted with the spare memory cells when the normal memory cells are found to be defective. This redundancy technique is primarily used in DRAM (dynamic RAM), SRAM (static RAM) and PROM (programmable ROM) memory devices.
This redundancy technique has not been generally used in Mask ROMs, however, because that data in Mask ROM memory cells is stored during the time the Mask ROM device is manufactured (i.e., fabricated), prior to its being delivered to the user and/or buyer, unlike other memory devices. Such storage of the data makes it impossible to store in spare memory cells information that corresponds to that information in defective memory cells since testing that determine which cells are defective does not occur until after the fabrication process is completed. Accordingly, when redundancy is used in the Mask ROM, it is required to use spare memory cells which are separated from the normal memory cells in order to make it possible to store information after completion of the initial process. The Mask ROM spare memory cells used are those having floating gates such as are employed in PROMs and memory cells having fuses.
There is an advantage to using redundancy rather than ECC relief defect techniques because it can occupy a smaller area. However, one disadvantage is that after addresses are applied to the chip, whether the addresses designate defective memory cells must be determined. Accessing addresses of the spare memory cells thus undesirably causes the access time to be increased.
Also, page mode operation, which sequentially outputs a stream of data after once reading this stream of data which corresponds to several words in order to shorten the access time, requires using the same number of spare memory cells as number of words read in order to repair one defective memory cell. Since a Mask ROM requires the use of spare memory cells which are separated from the normal memory cells, the spare memory cells needed undesirably occupy an excessively large chip area. Also, using a redundancy technique together with an ECC technique in order to improve yield gives rise to the above-referenced difficulties and problems.

Redundancy circuit and method of a semiconductor memory device


An expansion joint cover for bridging an expansion gap between first and second building floor members has a pivot frame adapted to be affixed to the first building floor member, the pivot frame including a base portion and a longitudinally continuous bearing of spherical cross-section supported by and located above the base portion, and a slide frame adapted to be affixed to the second building floor member. A cover unit is pivotally mounted in spaced-apart relation to a proximal end thereof on the bearing in cantilevered relation to the bearing, is adapted to span the gap, and has a distal end supported on the slide frame. A plurality of spaced-apart compression spring units engaged between the base portion of the pivot frame and a portion of the cover unit intermediate the proximal end and the bearing bias the cover unit about the bearing so as to forcibly engage the distal end of the cover unit with the slide frame.

The present invention relates to expansion joint covers for bridging the expansion gaps between building floors and, in particular, to heavy duty expansion joint covers suitable for the floors of structures such as parking decks and parking garages.
In settings such as parking garages and parking decks where vehicles traverse expansion joints, expansion joint covers are subjected to heavy loads, abrasion, water intrusion and other harsh environmental conditions, special attention is needed in designing expansion joint covers that are strong, durable, resistant to deterioration, and capable of being easily serviced and repaired. All parts that the wheels of vehicles travel on should be of metalxe2x80x94elastomeric seals are not sufficiently durable to be long-lasting. The predominant use of metal parts gives rise to noise problems, which are highly objectionable to pedestrians both inside and outside the structure.
An object of the present invention is to provide an expansion joint cover that is xe2x80x9crattle-free,xe2x80x9d provides for relative movements of the floors on opposite sides of the expansion gap toward and away from each other (xe2x80x9cx-axis motionxe2x80x9d), parallel to each other lengthwise of the expansion gap (xe2x80x9cy-axis motionxe2x80x9d), and vertically (xe2x80x9cz-axis motionxe2x80x9d), is relatively inexpensive to produce, is easy to install, allows for on-site adjustment of a xe2x80x9chold-downxe2x80x9d force, and can be readily disassembled for service and repair.
The foregoing objects are attained, according to the present invention, by an expansion joint cover for bridging an expansion gap between first and second building floor members that has a pivot frame adapted to be affixed to the first building floor member, the pivot frame including a base portion and a longitudinally continuous bearing of spherical cross-section supported by and located above the base portion, and a slide frame adapted to be affixed to the second building floor member. A cover unit is pivotally mounted in spaced-apart relation to a proximal end thereof on the bearing in cantilevered relation to the bearing, is adapted to span the gap, and has a distal end supported on the slide frame. A plurality of spaced-apart compression spring units engaged between the base portion of the pivot frame and a portion of the cover unit intermediate the proximal end and the bearing bias the cover unit about the bearing so as to forcibly engage the distal end of the cover unit with the slide frame.
One advantage of an expansion joint cover according to the invention, as described thus far, is that the cover unit is firmly xe2x80x9cpre-tensionedxe2x80x9d with respect to both the pivot frame and the slide frame, which eliminates any looseness that can produce bothersome rattling. A further advantage is that the pre-tensioning is provided by a structure of relatively simple and low-cost construction, a series of compression spring units associated with one frame but acting on both framesxe2x80x94the spring units tighten the cover unit to the bearing on the pivot frame by forces acting upwardly on the proximal end of the cover unit and tighten the cover unit to the slide frame by forces acting downwardly on the distal end of the cover unit.
It is possible for the cover unit to be made in one piece (e.g., an extruded unitary cover and socket) or two pieces (e.g., a cover plate and a separate one-piece pivot block). Such constructions, however, have the disadvantages of requiring a relatively large clearance between the socket and bearing to allow for tolerance variations while permitting assembly by endwise sliding, of not being readily disassembled for repair, presenting difficulties in installing the springs, and limiting the materials of the cover unit and the manufacturing techniques for making the cover unit. Thus, it is preferred that the cover unit be an assembly that includes a cover plate, a first elongated continuous pivot block attached to the cover plate, and a second elongated continuous pivot block attached to the cover plate, each pivot block having a socket portion engaging a circumferential portion of the bearing. The cover plate may be fabricated from plate material, which may be aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized steel or a composite material. The two-part construction of the pivot block allows it to be installed without endwise sliding and permits disassembly and removal from the bearing. Preferably, the socket portions of the two pivot blocks have contiguous surfaces, the cover plate is attached to each of the pivot blocks by threaded fasteners, and the socket portion of each of the pivot blocks receives a spline of a resilient polymeric material to take up tolerance variations. A lubricant is provided at interfaces between the bearing and the socket portions of the pivot blocks.
Assembly is facilitated by interconnecting the pivot blocks by mating hook portions, which are arranged such that the second pivot block can be fitted to the bearing and interconnected to the first pivot block after the first pivot block is fitted to the bearing. The interconnection keeps the two pivot blocks joined to each other while the cover plate is attached to the second pivot block.
In advantageous embodiments, the first pivot block is located generally proximally of the bearing, the socket portion of the first pivot block is substantially semi-cylindrical so as to have a portion underlying the bearing and a portion overlying the bearing, the second pivot block is located distally of the bearing, and the socket portion of the second pivot block has a portion underlying the bearing. The underlying portions of the first and second pivot blocks retain the cover unit on the bearing against upward displacement, and the overlying portion of the first pivot block supports the cover unit on the bearing against downward loads. The first pivot block includes a flange portion located proximally of the socket portion and is fastened to the cover plate by screws that pass from above the cover plate through holes in the cover plate and are threaded into holes in the flange portion. The second pivot block includes a longitudinally continuous upwardly open nut groove receiving spaced apart nuts, and the cover plate is fastened to the second pivot block by bolts that pass from above the cover plate through holes in the cover plate and are threaded into the nuts.
According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, each of the compression spring units is received between the base portion of pivot frame and the flange portion of the first pivot block. Each spring unit includes a spring retainer that is affixed to and dependent from the underside of the flange portion of the first pivot block. The spring retainer of each spring unit is tubular, has internal threads, and receives an externally threaded spring force adjuster against which the upper end of the spring bears, the adjuster being accessible through a hole in the flange portion of the first pivot block and a hole in the cover plate so that the spring force of the spring is adjustable after the cover plate is installed. Adjustable spring units facilitate installation of the expansion joint cover by allowing the springs to be installed in an unloaded condition before the pivot blocks are assembled to the bearing and allow predetermined spring loads to be applied with the expansion joint cover nearly fully installed. Advantageously, the holes providing access to the spring adjuster are the holes in the cover plate and the first pivot block that receive the screws by which the cover plate is fastened to the first pivot block.
The springs of the spring unit may be mechanical coil springs, mechanical leaf springs, mechanical disc springs, elastomeric pads or blocks, and springs that include fluids.


A body, preferably a trophy, containing a projector. The projector includes a front face at a base of the body, and a momentary switch that allows for automatic projection of an image when the trophy is lifted from a surface.

Trophies and awards come in many sizes and shapes, and are made of many different types of materials. Trophies and awards are given to recognize success in a variety of fields and endeavors. Some are highly specialized. Some are highly coveted.
In the advertising and marketing industry and the television, film and radio industry, International Awards Group owns and organizes international advertising and marketing competitions, as well as international television, film and radio program competitions. Entries into each are judged by professionals in their respective industries.
It is highly desirable to provide trophies and awards that are not only highly coveted for the recognition they provide, but also coveted because they are of high quality and innovative.


In one example, a dehumidifier for an inkjet printer includes a condensing unit and a chiller to circulate coolant through the condensing unit. The condensing unit is made of a thermally conductive material forming elongated exterior condensing surfaces and an interior coolant flow passage extending lengthwise between the condensing surfaces.

In large commercial inkjet web printers, commonly referred to as inkjet web presses, a continuous web moves past a series of stationary inkjet printheads that dispense ink on to the moving web.
The same part numbers designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures. The figures are not necessarily to scale.

Dehumidifier condensing unit for an inkjet printer

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.