A method that employs aspects of CDMA and OFDM modulation for controlling transmissions between a mobile station and a base station is provided. The method comprises forming a frame having a plurality of slots therein and then using CDMA modulation in a first portion of the plurality of slots, and using OFDM modulation in a second portion of the plurality of slots.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to telecommunications, and more particularly, to wireless communications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within wireless communications, a variety of transmission techniques are employed. Two relatively common techniques are Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). CDMA is a modulation and multiple access technique where multiple users employing different orthogonal Walsh codes can be multiplexed onto a common frequency carrier. CDMA has been used in various wireless communications systems due to its useful properties of interference averaging and multipath diversity. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that spreading the signals in a CDMA system provides sufficient processing gain to allow decoding transmissions received at very low carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I). Therefore, a CDMA transmission can withstand high levels of interference, allowing deployments with universal frequency reuse (same frequency used in all the sectors in the system). Examples of wireless communications systems that employ CDMA are second generation IS-95 systems and third generation cellular systems, such as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and cdma2000. CDMA is also used in the IEEE 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (Local Area Networks).
In a CDMA downlink (base station to mobile station), the transmissions on different Walsh codes are orthogonal when they are received at the mobile station. This is due to the fact that the signal is transmitted from a fixed location (base station) on the downlink and all the Walsh codes are received synchronized. Therefore, in the absence of multipath signals, transmissions on different codes do not interfere with each other. However, in the presence of multipath propagation (typical of cellular environments), the Walsh codes are no longer orthogonal, and thus, interfere with each other, producing Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) and Multiple Access Interference (MAI). ISI and MAI limit the maximum achievable Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), thereby limiting the maximum data rate that may be supported.
The problem is also present on a CDMA uplink (mobile station to base station) because the received Walsh codes from multiple users are not orthogonal even in the absence of any multipath signals. In the uplink, the propagation times from mobiles at different locations to the base station are often different. The received codes are not synchronized when they arrive at the base station, and therefore orthogonality cannot be guaranteed for signals coming from different mobiles. Transmissions from multiple users interfere with each other, generating Multiple Access Interference (MAI) and therefore contributing to the noise rise seen by each of the users. In general, the noise rise at the base station is kept below a certain threshold called the rise-over-thermal (RoT) threshold in order to guarantee desirable system capacity and coverage. The circuitry of the base station generates a certain amount of temperature dependent noise called thermal noise. The RoT threshold limits the amount of power above the thermal noise at which mobiles transmissions can be received. The threshold, along with interference from other users, limits the achievable data rates and capacity for transmissions on the CDMA uplink.
A stylized representation of a conventional OFDM transmitter chain 100 is shown in FIG. 1. Generally, a set of information bits called an encoder packet is coded, interleaved and modulated into Q symbols and I symbols by hardware/software/firmware 105. A group of the I and Q symbols are serial-to-parallel converted by a de-multiplexer 110 and mapped to available subcarriers. Unused subcarriers are filled with zeros, and thus, carry no symbols, as stylistically represented at 115. At 120 an IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) operation is performed on the subcarrier symbols and the resulting symbols are parallel-to-serial converted by a multiplexer 125 to form a time-domain signal that is quadrature modulated and converted to an RF frequency for transmission by hardware/software/firmware 130. In some embodiments of the OFDM transmitter chain 100, a baseband filter 135 may be employed prior to converting to the RF frequency.
OFDM does not suffer some of the problems associated with CDMA. For example, ISI is substantially reduced by using longer symbol durations in OFDM. Moreover, the transmissions occur on orthogonal subcarriers without generating any Multiple Access Interference (MAI). In an OFDM system, a high data rate stream is converted from parallel to serial, resulting in a lower rate on each of the parallel streams. A lower rate on each of the streams allows using longer symbol duration. The multiple parallel data streams are mapped to orthogonal subcarriers in OFDM. The OFDM modulation efficiently uses the radio spectrum by placing modulated subcarriers as close as possible without causing Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI). Owing, at least in part, to its superior performance, OFDM modulation has been adopted in various standards, most notably digital audio broadcast (DAB), digital video broadcast (DVB), asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), IEEE LAN (802.11a and 802.11g) and IEEE MAN 802.16a. OFDM modulation is also being considered for various next generation wireless standards.
While OFDM provides some benefits over CDMA, it also lacks some of the benefits of CDMA, such as interference averaging and absence of spreading (processing gain). Thus, OFDM may be limited to deployments with a frequency reuse factor of greater than 1, resulting in inefficient use of the scarce radio spectrum.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.


Systems and methods are disclosed for data processing, and more particularly for equalizing a data signal during both real time (i.e., on the fly) and retry operation. The system may include a first equalizer circuit operable to equalize a first sample set, and a second equalizer circuit operable to equalize a second sample set. The system may include a third equalizer circuit operable to equalize a summed data set to yield a third equalized output. The system may include a summation circuit connected to the first equalizer circuit, the second equalizer circuit, and a switch circuit. The summation circuit is operable to sum at least the first equalized data set and the second equalized data set to yield the summed data set. The switch circuit selectively provides the third equalized data set to the summation circuit.

Various storage access systems have been developed that include an ability to sense data previously stored on a storage medium. Such storage access systems generally include circuitry and/or software used to process a sensed signal from a storage medium, and to process the sensed data in an attempt to recover an originally written data set that is difficult to recover. In some cases, two or more sensors are used to sense the same data, and the multiple streams of sensed data are combined into a unified data stream. In some cases, this process of generating a unified data stream is extended where a retry condition occurs. Such an extension is often costly in terms of one or both of area and latency.
Hence, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems and methods for data processing.

Magnetic recording system for real time and retry multi-dimensional signal equalization

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


The present invention is concerned with a phase comparator circuit and provides an erroneous phase lock detection circuit that detects erroneous phase lock occurring when the duty cycle of data deviates from 100% in a comparison of a phase difference between the data and a clock. The erroneous phase lock detection circuit incorporated in a phase comparator that detects a phase difference between data and a clock comprises: a first phase detection unit that detects a phase difference by measuring a difference between the leading edge of the data and the phase of the clock and transmits an average of phase differences; a second phase detection unit that detects a phase difference by measuring a difference between the trailing edge of the data and the phase of the clock and transmits an average of phase differences; and an erroneous phase lock verification unit that, when the difference between the average phase difference sent from the first phase detection unit and the average phase difference sent from the second phase detection unit exceeds a predetermined range, verifies erroneous phase lock.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase comparison circuit or, more particularly, to a circuit for detecting erroneous phase lock occurring when the duty cycle of data deviates from 100% during comparison of the data with a clock during which a phase difference between the data and clock is detected.
2. Description of the Related Art
At a receiving terminal station of an optical transmission system, synchronous reproduction is performed in order to convert a data wave, which is distorted due to the characteristic of an optical transmission line or convolution of noise, into an original fine digital signal. In general, a phase-locked loop (PLL) is used to generate a clock whose frequency is synchronous with the repetition frequency of received data. The clock is used to identify received data and the data is reproduced.
For example, when a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal to be transmitted at a bit rate of several tens of gigabits per second is adopted as a signal carrying data, the bit time is as short as several tens of picoseconds. If the signal is affected with the foregoing distortion or noise, the time during which data can be identified is very short. The phase of a clock produced by the PLL must lock onto the phase of received data with an optimal relationship maintained between the phases.
FIG. 1 shows a Hogge-type phase comparator generally employed in a PLL. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the waveforms of signals observed when an NRZ signal having a duty cycle of 100% is adopted as a data-carrying signal. In FIG. 2, signals (a) to (h) are signals developed at nodes (a) to (h) in FIG. 1. The duty cycle is the ratio (t/T) 100 (%) of a pulse duration t during which data or a bit "1" persists to an interval T between pulses or bits, wherein a bit rate is expressed as f=1/T.
The Hogge-type phase comparator comprises two D flip-flops 1 and 2, two exclusive OR circuits 3 and 4, and two analog rectification circuits (filters) 5 and 6. The D flip-flop 1 and exclusive OR circuit 3 detect (produce a signal e) a period φ from the change in input data (the leading or trailing edge of input data) to the leading edge of a clock. On the other hand, the D flip-flop 2 and exclusive OR circuit 4 detect (produce a signal f) a period π from the change in the output of the D flip-flop 1 (the leading or trailing edge) to the trailing edge of the clock.
The period φ provided by the exclusive OR circuit 3 varies depending on the temporal relationship between the change in the input data and the leading edge of the clock. The period π provided by the exclusive OR circuit 4 is always half the cycle of the clock. Moreover, the number of outputs φ of the exclusive OR circuit 3 is always equal to the number of outputs π of the exclusive OR circuit 4. Consequently, when the leading edge of the clock is in the center of input data, the period φ provided by the exclusive OR circuit 3 and the period π provided by the exclusive OR circuit 4 are equal to each other and are half the cycle of the clock.
Assume that the output φ of the exclusive OR circuit 3 and the output π of the exclusive OR circuit 4 are rectified by the respective filters 5 and 6 in order to produce rectified signals g and h respectively. When the rectified signal h of the output π of the exclusive OR circuit 4 is used as a reference, the rectified signal g of the output φ of the exclusive OR circuit 3 is regarded as a sawtooth wave whose level varies by the half cycle of the clock in both directions with the reference level as a center (see FIG. 2).
A time point at which the rectified outputs cross, that is, a time point at which the leading edge of the clock comes in the center of input data is regarded as an optimal time point of identification. The output frequency of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) included in the PLL is controlled so that the rectified outputs will be equal to each other (g=h), whereby the leading edge of the clock stably coincides with at the optimal time point of identification within the cycle of input data.
FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the waveforms of signals observed when an NRZ signal having a duty cycle of 75% is adopted as a data-carrying signal. In FIG. 3, signals (a) to (h) are signals developed at the nodes (a) to (h) in FIG. 1.
When the duty cycle of data deviates from 100%, the output of the PLL may lock onto a phase different from the phase onto which the output should lock. As mentioned previously, when the duty cycle of data is 100%, the data wave has only one slope in one direction within one cycle (0 to 2π) and an average signal level attained during the time equivalent to one slope is detected at the same phase over all the cycles. However, when the duty cycle deviates from 100%, the wave has two slopes in the same direction within one cycle and the average signal levels attained during the times equivalent to the two slopes are the same as each other and detected in two phases of a normal phase and an erroneous phase.
When the duty cycle of data is 75%, as long as a phase difference of the data from a clock is limited, the average signal level varies in the same manner as it does when the duty cycle if 100%. However, if the phase difference of the data from the clock exceeds 1.5π (75%), the edge of the clock comes after the trailing edge of the data. Therefore, a clock pulse produced when the phase difference is equal to or smaller than 1.5π may not be produced.
In this case, a sawtooth wave exhibits two phases within one cycle (2π) (g and h), that is, exhibits a normal phase and an erroneous phase in which the wave assumes the same average signal level as it does in the normal phase. Consequently, conventionally, if the erroneous phase locks onto the phase of a clock, the time during which data is identified becomes very short or it becomes impossible to reproduce data.
Referring to FIG. 3, a description has been made of a case where the duty cycle of data decreases from 100%. Even when the duty cycle becomes equal to or larger than 100% or, for example, 125%, a sawtooth wave exhibits two phases within one cycle thereof (2π) and has two slopes in the same direction.
Patent Documents relevant to the foregoing related art include Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-183731 (see FIG. 35 to FIG. 38) and Japanese Patent No. 3094971 (see FIG. 1 to FIG. 3).


The calorimeter comprises an external accommodating head (23) with two cavities (26, 27) which are capable of receiving a measurement cell (29), in which the specimen to be examined is inserted, and a reference cell (31); the cells (29, 31) are surrounded by a thermoresistor (229), the variation of the resistance of which is determined by a temperature variation, and a heater (129). The two cavities (26, 27) are closed by covers (35, 37) traversed by tubular stems (47-49) capable of supporting the cells (29, 31) for the insertion, into one of them, of a specimen contained in a tubular container (53), which is immersed in a chamber (29A) in which a fluid having high thermal conductivity is present; said cavities (26, 27) are reached by conduits (41, 43; 45) so as to be subjected to vacuum or to controlled pressure using replaceable gases (air, hydrogen, etc.).

The invention relates to a calorimetric cell capable of taking measurements as a function of the time and of the temperature of thermosetting resins referred to as thermosets. This cell is derived from the calorimeters according to IT Patents No. 1,216,296 on application No. 9528 A/86 and also according to application No. 9471 A/90 of the same proprietor organization, to which patents reference is made. In particular, there is no change in the principle of operation using a sensor and heater which are uniformly wound on a long cylindrical metal tube, and using phase detection of the signal generated by the variation in temperature of the cell containing the specimen with respect to the reference cell, by means of the measurement of the imbalance of a Wheatstone resistance bridge.

Calorimeter for time/temperature measurements of thermosetting resins (thermosets)


The disclosure relates to a data fusion method for fusing the measurements of a parameter, for example an aircraft flight parameter, that are taken by a plurality of sensors comprising a set of main sensors and sets of secondary sensors. The discrepancy between each main measurement and the secondary measurements is determined and a score of consistency with them is deduced therefrom. For each fault configuration of the main sensors, a first estimation, so-called conditional, of the parameter is performed and a weighting coefficient relating to this fault is calculated, taking account of the consistency scores of the main measurements. The parameter is thereafter estimated by performing a combination of the conditional measurements with the associated weighting coefficients.

An aircraft is equipped with a large number of sensors making it possible to measure its flight parameters (speed, attitude, position, altitude, etc.) and more generally its state at each instant.
These flight parameters are thereafter used by avionics systems, in particular the automatic piloting system, the flight computers (Flight Control Computer Systems), the aircraft control and guidance system (Flight Guidance System), which systems are among the most critical of the aircraft. Because of the criticality of these systems, the measured parameters must exhibit high integrity and high availability. Integrity is understood to mean that the parameter values used by the avionics systems are not erroneous because of any fault. Availability is understood to mean that the sensors providing these parameters must be sufficiently redundant for it to be possible for a measurement of each parameter to be permanently available. If a sensor develops a fault and cannot provide any measurements, another sensor takes over.
Generally, an avionics system receives measurements of one and the same parameter originating from several redundant sensors. When these measurements differ, the system performs a processing (data fusion) so as to estimate, by consolidation of the measurements, the parameter with the lowest risk of error. This processing is generally an average or a median of the measurements in question.
FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary processing of the measurements provided by redundant sensors.
Represented in this figure are the measurements of one and the same flight parameter, performed respectively by three sensors, A1, A2, A3, as a function of time.
The processing consists here in calculating at each instant the median value of the measurements. Thus, in the example illustrated we select the measurement a2(t) of A2 up to time t1 and, beyond, the measurement a1(t) of A1. Also represented in the chart is a tolerance band, of width 2Δ around the median. If one of the measurements falls outside the tolerance band (for example the measurement a2(t) reckoning from the time t2), it is considered that this measurement is erroneous and the latter is no longer taken into account in the estimation of the parameter in question. The corresponding sensor (here A2) is disabled for the rest of the processing.
Generally, this processing can be applied provided that the number of redundant sensors is odd.
When the number of sensors is even, or else the number of sensors is odd but a sensor has already been disabled, the values of the measurements are simply averaged at each instant to obtain an estimation of the parameter in question.
All the sensors pertaining to one and the same technology may be affected by a common fault (for example presence of ice in the Pitot tubes, static pressure taps blocked, angle of incidence probes frozen, fault with one and the same electronic component, etc.). In this case, the aforementioned processing methods are not capable of identifying the erroneous sources. It is then advantageous to call upon additional sensors implementing a different technology or technologies. Hence, several sets of sensors are generally employed, making it possible to measure one and the same parameter, the technologies of the various sets of sensors being chosen dissimilar. By dissimilar technologies is meant that these technologies use different physical principles or different implementations.
For example, it is possible to resort to a first set of sensors capable of measuring the speed of the aircraft on the basis of pressure probes (total pressure and static pressure), also dubbed ADRs (Air Data Reference units), to a first estimator capable of estimating the speed as a function of the angle of incidence and of the lift (by the lift equation), and to a second estimator capable of estimating this speed on the basis of the engine data.
A first approach for estimating the parameter is to fuse all the measurements taken by the sensors, dissimilar or not, according to the same principle as previously. For example at a given instant, the median or the average of the values measured by the various sensors will be taken.
This first approach improves the robustness of the estimation of the parameter by liberating it of the faults that may affect a particular technology. On the other hand, it may lead to a noticeable reduction in the accuracy of the estimation as illustrated with the aid of the example hereinafter.
FIG. 2A represents the values of a flight parameter (here the speed of the aircraft) measured by a first set of three sensors (denoted A1,A2,A3) using a first technology and by a second set of two sensors (denoted B1,B2) using a second technology dissimilar to the first. The measurements are denoted respectively a1(t),a2(t),a3(t) for the first set of sensors and b1(t),b2(t) for the second set of sensors. It is assumed that the measurements a1(t), a2(t), a3(t) are substantially more accurate than the measurements b1(t),b2(t). The real speed of the aircraft has been represented by V(t).
It is assumed that at the time tf the sensors A1 and A2 of the first set are affected by one and the same fault. As may be seen in the figure, onwards of the time tf, the measurements a1(t), a2(t) drift and deviate substantially from the real value of the parameter, V(t).
FIG. 2B represents the estimation {circumflex over (V)}(t) of the speed obtained as the median of the measurements a1(t), a2(t), a3(t),b1(t),b2(t). It is seen that onwards of the time tc, the calculation of the median amounts to selecting the measurement b2(t) of the sensor B2. Now, this measurement is much less accurate than the measurement a3(t) of the sensor A3 which is nevertheless available and valid.
It is seen that the data fusion applied to the whole set of measurements leads here to sub-optimal estimation accuracy.
The aim of the present disclosure is consequently to propose a data fusion method capable of fusing the measurements of a parameter, for example an aircraft flight parameter, that are taken by a plurality of sensors, of different technologies and accuracies, so as to obtain an estimation of this parameter which is not only available and robust but which also exhibits better accuracy than in the prior art.

Method for fusing data from sensors using a consistency criterion


An imaging device includes a base, an illuminating device, a first housing element, and a second housing element. The first housing element defines a cutout. The first housing element further includes at least one fixing piece from an edge of the first housing element. The second housing element is similar configuration to the first housing element. When the first housing element is fixed to the second housing element, the two cutouts defines an engaging hole, the illuminating device extends from the engaging hole from the base, the two fixing pieces engage with the illuminating device to fix the illuminating device to the base.

An imaging device, such as a projector, generally includes an imaging module, a control module configured to control the imaging module, and a power supply configured to supply power to the imaging module and the control module. The imaging module, the power supply, and the control module are located in a housing element of the imaging device.

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (WuHan) CO., LTD.


The present disclosure relates to thermoplastic polycarbonate compositions comprising a first polycarbonate component, a second polycarbonate component comprising an isosorbide/resorcinol/bisphenol-A polycarbonate terpolymer, and at least one impact modifier. The disclosed compositions have, among other characteristics, improved Notched Izod Impact strength, tensile modulus, tensile strength, and multi-axial impact strength. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

Impact modified polycarbonate compositions, including for example, polycarbonate compositions comprising acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) are of great interest in the plastics industry due to their relative ease of processing with low-temperature ductility. Such polycarbonate blends are also known for their high impact and heat resistance; however, for many applications the impact resistant of such blends is still not sufficient. What is needed in some instances are polymeric blends with even a further increase in impact resistance over conventional impact modified polycarbonate compositions. This need and other needs are satisfied by the compositions and methods of the present disclosure.

Polycarbonate compositions with improved impact resistance


Value tokens, e.g. gaming chips, are formed with a slug having an RFID microchip embedded or encapsulated inside and an EM coil either embedded or encapsulated inside or wrapped around the periphery of the slug. The slug is formed by injection molding two plastic halves with a spacing therebetween for accepting the RFID microchip. The plastic halves are formed from weighted plastic including fillers such as copper, brass and/or tungsten to add extra weight to the plastic halves. The EM coil is placed on the same radius as the RFID antenna within the gaming chip or at a radius outside the RFID antenna to as to minimize interference between the RFID and EM signals by minimizing the metal in the EM field. For example, the EM coil may be wound within a groove around the outer periphery of the slug.

Value tokens, such as casino gaming chips, have the attributes of currency and, accordingly, significant steps are taken to track the location and value of such value tokens as well as to prevent their counterfeiting and theft. For example, gaming chips with transponders formed therein are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,166,502; 5,895,321; 6,264,109; 6,296,190; 6,581,747; 7,866,563; 7,918,455; 7,926,725; 7,931,204; and 7,942,334. As described in these applications, the transponders may be molded within plastic injection molded gaming chips and detected using conventional RFID detectors or other readers. The transponders typically transmit unique identification information and value information to such readers for detection and verification. However, it is generally desired that such gaming chips have heavier weights for easier manipulation by the gaming customers and dealers. Accordingly, many gaming chips are formed with metal (e.g., brass) slugs within the plastic outer coverings to add the desired weight.
For example, conventional gaming chips are formed by overmolding an injection molded plastic rim around a brass coin or other metal slug. The metal slug is selected to account for at least 50% of the weight (e.g. 12-13 grams) of the gaming chip, while the plastic accounts for the other 50% of the weight. A label or decal is then added over the visible surface of the gaming chip. Unfortunately, such slugs interfere with the operation of high frequency RFID transponders by forming a high frequency shield that detunes the RFID transponders, typically preventing such gaming chips from including RFID transponders.
One way to address this problem is to provide the RFID microchip and RFID antenna on top of the gaming chip. For example, the antenna may be printed onto the chip using, e.g. conducting ink, at a position on top of the metal slug. The RFID microchip and printed antenna is then covered by a decal so that it is not apparent to the user. Alternatively, an RFID inlay is provided between the metal inlay and the decal for accepting the RFID microchip. However, such designs have numerous problems including, for example, rupture of electrical contacts by peeling off, destruction of the RFID microchip in the event of shock, as when two chips are "banged" against each other or when one gaming chip is hit with the edge of another gaming chip, deactivation of the RFID microchip by scraping with a nail, removal of the RFID microchip, and the like. Also, the metal slug still shields and detunes the RFID signal and may not work at all unless the density of the metal is significantly reduced.
Thus, while it remains desirable to design gaming chips and other value tokens with the desirable weights afforded by metal slugs, the use of the metal slugs has heretofore dictated designs that render the transponders either ineffective or subject to damage. It is desired to design value tokens, including gaming chips, that enable use of RFID microchips without the aforementioned shortcomings in prior art gaming chip designs.
Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that counterfeiting and theft remain a problem with value tokens. Numerous security features such as watermarks, special fluorescent inks, security pigments, holograms, encryption of the values stored in the RFID microchips, and the like are commonly used to make counterfeiting more difficult. Also, electromagnetic (EM) materials such as, but not limited to, coils or metallic detectable foils, are conventionally applied to gaming chips to help deter employees from unauthorized attempts to remove the value tokens from the casino floor. Portable handheld electromagnetic detection devices or gates at the exits may be used to detect such devices by detecting resonation of the electromagnetic materials at the EM detection frequencies. Detection of such resonation causes an alarm to sound if a value token with EM materials are taken past an employee exit gate or are detected by the portable handheld EM detection devices. Such devices are similar to those used by many retail establishments to prevent theft.
The use of the EM materials in gaming chips is limited by the dimensions of the gaming chip. For example, when the EM material is placed beneath the decal, the surface is quite limited. EM material lengths of at least 32-50 mm are desired for reliable detection; however, gaming chips are limited in size to a 40-55 mm diameter, and it is difficult to provide a long decal or label on gaming chips. Typically, the label diameter is limited to 22-24 mm by the gaming chip's disc surface. Such an antenna size is typically insufficient for acceptable EM detection.
One way to address these problems has been to provide a thin metallic foil with hard metal micro-grooves in a metal pad under the decal, one on each side of the gaming chip. However, the metal foil provides a Faraday shield effect at high RF frequencies such as the 13.56 MHz and above signals used for conventional RFID detection. In short, the sensitivity of the RFID antenna to metal shields detunes the RFID antenna rendering it ineffective when such EM foils are provided in the same gaming chip.
As a result, it is typically impossible to provide the EM materials and the RFID detection elements together on the same value token due to interference of the EM and RFID signals. Accordingly, it is desired to design a value token that has the desired weight for handling while permitting the use of RFID microchips and EM detection without unacceptable interference. The invention has been designed to address these and other needs apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

Value token with slug having RFID and electromagnetic detection features

Gaming Partners International Corporation


A computerized method for detecting a change point in a data stream by testing whether two sets of samples from the data stream were derived from the same distribution, wherein the test uses the unique convergence properties of the two sample tests to probabilistically find the point which maximizes their value, said point closely approximating the change point.

Modern computing technology enables to gather and process large quantities of data in a variety of fields such as finance, commerce, operations etc. In some cases, efficient and quick analysis of such high speed data streams can be very valuable in order to detect a change in trends or condition as early as possible. Click-through stream mining in e-commerce, where the goal of the application is to predict shopping behavior or the effect of advertising, is one notable example. Additional examples of high speed data streams include computerized production environment monitoring applications whose goal is failure detection, traffic monitoring applications that give driving recommendations or on-line alerts, and power grid applications for detecting changes in load profiles and forecast. In all those scenarios analysis is best done on-line, at the speed at which the data is arriving, as a delay in analysis would often translate into a delayed response which can be costly.
In almost each of these scenarios, the data streams are affected in one way or another by human behavior, which itself changes in response to the physical world (time of day or season), fashion, fads, psychological reasons, action by trendsetters, current events, or the economy. Any data stream analysis algorithm must therefore take into account and respond to the non-stationary nature of data distribution.
Furthermore, in many application domains, the change in the underlying distribution of the data is the most interesting event of all. In e-commerce, it can be the result of a change in the competitive scenario. In computerized environment monitoring, it can signal the spread of a new type of failure—such as a new computer virus. Lastly, in stock trading it may signal the move from a bull to a bear market or vice versa. Changes in the mechanism which generates the data are denoted concept drifts. They are especially important because they evoke a need for new responses, different from those dictated by models which were learned before the change occurred.
Most data streams mining algorithms acknowledge the need to handle concept drifts. Two approaches are prevalent: One is to discard old observations. The other is to relearn the model, or parts of the model, when a concept drift becomes evident. However, most data stream mining algorithms rely on a decline in the performance of the model as an indication for concept drift detection. This method, while sometimes effective, has no statistical backing and therefore can be expected to yield inferior results comparing to statistical based change point detection algorithms.
From a statistical point of view, the change point detection problem can be solved optimally by computing the prefix of the current sequence of samples which maximizes the probability that the suffix was sampled from a different distribution. This can be done subject to a set of assumptions on the distribution of the samples (e.g., that it is Normal) and of changes (e.g., that their arrival rate is Poissonian). This approach is, however, impractical for a large number of samples. The state of the art in statistical change point detection on data streams is therefore to use the Page-Hinkley test (PHT), whose run-time is linear in the number of samples. In a streaming setup that would mean maintaining a test statistic of constant size and performing O(1) updates to it per new sample. Naturally, run-time performance like this can only be achieved at a significant cost in terms of false alarm rate, the number of samples needed to detect a change, and the accuracy at which the change point is detected.
The present invention relates to an alternative to PHT which relies on the best practice of solving the more informed problem of testing whether two sets of samples were derived from the same distribution. The algorithms of the invention make use of the unique convergence properties of two sample tests to probabilistically find the point which maximizes their value. That point closely approximates the change point. As both analysis and experiments show, the probabilistic algorithm of the invention maintains just O (1) candidate change points and their related aggregate information. Therefore, it only requires O (1) update operations per new sample, which is comparable with PHT. However, because the two sample tests used by the invention are much more powerful than PHT, and because the probabilistic algorithm of the invention does not degrade that power significantly, the algorithm of the invention is far better than PHT both in terms of false negative to false positive rate and in terms of the accuracy at which it locates to the change point. This superiority is further exemplified in a simplistic application in which the algorithm monitors the mean of a piece-wise stationary data stream at far better accuracy than the one achieved using PHT or others previous approaches.
Notations
Let Xn={x0, x1, . . . , xn} be a prefix of an open-ended stream of samples such that xiεD. For each point i in the prefix denote the samples x0, . . . , xi-1 the head of the prefix and the samples xi, . . . , xn the tail of the prefix. When for some point in the stream the head and the tail follow different distributions that point is denoted xc.
All of the tests described herein measure a test statistic on the stream and indicate a change whenever that statistic exceeds a user provided constant λ. The timeliness of a test is the minimal n larger than c at which the test statistic exceeds λ. The run length of a test is the n for which the test statistic first exceeds A even though no change occurred (i.e., n<c). Since the run length is dependent on random variations in the data we usually refer to the average run length (ARL), which is its average over multiple executions. In all of the algorithms discussed herein the test indicates not only the fact of the change but also the point xmax at which it suspects the change occurred. The difference of that point from the actual change point, |max−c|, is the test accuracy.
Let f be a two sample test statistic, we denote fi (n) the same test statistic as applied to the head and the tail of a prefix of size n, relative to the ith point. We notice here that because fi (n) is not independent of either fi (n−1) or fj (n) for j≠i the original statistical meaning of f is lost. The test statistics retain, however, important convergence properties, as discussed further below.
The Page-Hinkley Test (PHT)
The Page-Hinkley test (PHT) is based on a concept of log-likelihood ratio. The key statistical property of this ratio is that a change in the mean of the data is reflected as a change in the sign of the mean value of the log-likelihood ratio. That is, the ratio exhibits a negative drift before the change, and a positive drift after the change. This difference in behavior is the key to detect the change.
PHT assumes that the observed samples follow a normal distribution. It also assumes that the true mean μ before change is known. This is usually not the case in real-life data, but it is possible to estimate the mean by averaging the observed samples.
Let μn denote the sample mean of the samples x0, x1, . . . , xn. PHT involves a cumulative variable
            U      n        =                  ∑                  i          =          0                n                          (                              x            i                    -                      μ            n                    -                      δ            2                          )              ,defined as the difference between the observed samples xiε{} and their sample mean μn cumulated up to step n, where δ is a minimum change magnitude to be detected which is selected a priori. The minimum value
      m    n    =            min              0        ≤        k        ≤        n                        (              U        k            )      of this variable is also computed and updated on-line. The difference between the variable and its minimum value, Un−mn, is the test statistic that is monitored. When this difference is greater than the given threshold λ, the test alerts that an increase in the mean has occurred. Increasing λ causes fewer false alarms, but might delay or miss altogether the detection of some change points. Given that a change is detected, the estimated change point, xmax, is the sample at which the minimum value mn was last obtained.
Since the mean can either decrease or increase, PHT can be executed twice to detect changes in both directions (see Alg.1).
Algorithm 1-Page-Hinkley Test (PHT) Detection of an increase in the mean:               Define                                              U        n              =                  ∑                  i          =          0                n                          (                              x            i                    -                      μ            n                    -                      δ            2                          )              ,            U      0        =    0           Define                                m      n        =            min              0        ≤        k        ≤        n                        (              U        k            )          Alert when Un − mn > λDetection of a decrease in the mean:               Define                                              T        n              =                  ∑                  i          =          0                n                          (                              x            i                    -                      μ            n                    +                      δ            2                          )              ,            T      0        =    0           Define                                M      n        =            max              0        ≤        k        ≤        n                        (              T        k            )         Alert when Mn − Tn > λThe χ Two-Sample Test
The χ2 two-sample test is a standard statistical tool for comparing two samples over the same categorical domain C. For two samples, one of size S, with Si samples in every category Ciε and the other of size R with Ri samples respectively in every category Ciε the χ2 test requires that a simple statistic, Eq. 1, be computed.
                              χ          2                =                              ∑                          j              =              1                                                    ℂ                                                                                              (                                                                                S                          /                          R                                                                                R                        j                                                              -                                                                                R                          /                          S                                                                                S                        j                                                                              )                                2                                                              R                  j                                +                                  S                  j                                                      .                                              (        1        )
The predominant characteristic of the χ2 test is that if the two samples are derived from the same (unknown) distribution, the statistic, itself a random variable, follows a known distribution—the χ2 distribution with −1 degrees of freedom. If, on the other hand, the two samples come from distributions in which the mean of some categories are different, then the statistic tends to grow as the two samples grow.
When applied to the head and the tail of the prefix of a stream, as denoted above, the χ2 test statistic, χi2, can be rewritten according to Eq. 1 as:
                                          χ            i            2                                          (            n            )                          =                              ∑                          j              =              1                                                    ℂ                                                                                              (                                                                                i                          /                                                      (                                                          n                              -                              i                                                        )                                                                                R                        j                                                              -                                                                                (                                                          n                              -                              i                                                        )                                                    /                          i                                                                                S                        j                                                                              )                                2                                                              R                  j                                +                                  S                  j                                                      .                                              (        2        )
For simplifying the explanation, we consider below the simple case in which there are only two categories. Applying the χ2 test for more than two categories directly generalizes the method of the invention, and can be applied by any person skilled in the art.
The Student's Two-Sample t-Test
Like the two sample χ2 test, the Student's two-sample t-test determines if the mean has changed between two samples. However, Student's t-test applies to real valued samples rather than categorical ones. Let nS, {circumflex over (X)},S, and νS be the number of samples, the sample mean, and the unbiased estimator of the variance of one sample, and let nR, and {circumflex over (X)},R be the same aggregates for the other sample, respectively. The Student's t-test statistic is:
                              T          =                                                                      X                  ^                                S                            -                                                X                  ^                                R                                                                                v                    S                                                        n                    S                                                  +                                                      v                    R                                                        n                    R                                                                                ,                            (        3        )            When the test is applied to the head and the tail of a prefix of a stream Ti can be written as:
                                          T            i                                          (            n            )                          =                                                                              X                  ^                                S                            -                                                X                  ^                                R                                                                                v                    S                                    i                                +                                                      v                    R                                                        n                    -                    i                                                                                .                                    (        4        )
The aggregates i, {circumflex over (X)},S, and νS require no update when a new sample is taken. The aggregates n, {circumflex over (X)},R and νR can be updates incrementally by using the aggregates sumRn and sumRn2. The sample mean
            X      ^              +      R        =                    1                  n          -          i          -          1                                            ∑                      j            =            i                    n                                                                    x          j                      =                  sum                                                            R          n                            n        -        i        -        1            where sumRn=sumRn−1+xn. The unbiased estimator of the variance νR=
                    1                  n          -          i          -          1                                            ∑                      j            =            i                    n                                                                    x          j          2                      -                            n          -          i                          n          -          i          -          1                                            (                                    X              ^                        R                    )                2              =                    sumR        n        2                    |                  n          -          i          -          1                      -                            n          -          i                          n          -          i          -          1                                            (                                    X              ^                        R                    )                2            wheresumRn2=sumRn−12+xn2.
The test is considered valid when each sample is indeed random, the samples are independent, and the samples follow a normal distribution with an unknown mean.
The predominant characteristic of Student's t-test is that if both samples are derived from the same unknown distribution, then the test statistic has a known distribution—Student's t distribution with the degrees of freedom calculated using
                    (                                            v              S                                                  /                                                  n              S                                +                                    v              R                                                  /                                                  n              R                                      )            2                                            (                                          v                S                                                          /                                                          n                S                                      )                    2                                  /                                  (                                    n              S                        -            1                    )                    +                                    (                                          v                R                                                          /                                                          n                R                                      )                    2                                  /                                  (                                    n              R                        -            1                    )                      .If, on the other hand, the two samples come from distributions in which the mean is different, then the value computed by the test statistic tends to grow with every increase in sample sizes.Confidence Intervals on the Mean
Let R be a sample of size n which follows the binomial distribution Bin (n, p). If {circumflex over (p)} is the sample mean of R, then the normal approximation interval estimates that, with probability greater than 1−α, the value of p is in the range
                              p          ^                ±                              Z                          1              -                              α                                                  /                                                2                                                                                p                    ^                                                                          (                                          1                      -                                              p                        ^                                                              )                                                  n                                      .                                              (        5        )
Here, Z1−α/2 denotes the 1−α/2 percentile of a standard normal distribution N (0, 1).
If R follows the normal distribution N (μ, σ2), and {circumflex over (p)} and sd are the unbiased estimators of the mean and the standard deviation of R the approximation interval estimates that with probability greater than 1−α the value of the actual mean μ is in the range:
                              p          ^                ±                              t                          1              -                              α                                                  /                                                2                                      *                                                        sd                              n                                      .                                              (        6        )
Here, t*1−α/2 denotes the 1−α/2 percentile of Student's t distribution.

CARMEL-HAIFA UNIVERSITY ECONOMIC CORPORATION LTD


A device or apparatus that reduces the number of utility pole breakages occurring during severe weather events and facilitates quicker and more cost efficient repair of downed utility lines. The device secures utility lines such as power service lines to utility poles during normal operating conditions, but allow the lines to break free of the poles when severely stressed. This breakaway feature prevents the utility pole from breaking under high stress conditions such as storm damage, ice accumulation, felled trees and other unexpected emergency situations. Furthermore, the device allows for quick and efficient repair of downed power lines, thereby reducing the man hours and equipment necessary for repair. By protecting the utility pole, utility companies will realize significant cost savings by not having to replace the pole and, in some cases, having to replace expensive transformers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of utility lines and poles suspending such lines above ground, and more particularly, an apparatus for connecting utility lines to utility poles.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Utility lines such as power, telephone and cable television lines are commonly strung over long and short distances by suspending them in the air via a series of utility poles. Such utility line systems are subject to damage by falling debris such as trees or large tree branches. When, for example, a tree falls on a utility line, the force exerted by the tree on the utility line often can damage the utility poles suspending the line above ground or cause a break in the line itself. The costs and effort associated with repairing damaged utility poles often exceeds the costs of repairing the utility line and the costs of repairing or replacing a broken line often exceeds the costs that would be associated with simply re-attaching a fallen line to a series of utility poles.

Releasable utility line retention apparatus


A three-dimensional reactionary turkey target includes a target stand shaped to represent the body of a turkey and a reactionary head and neck target that is shaped to represent the vital region of a turkey's head and neck. The head and neck target connects to the target stand, which is held in position via a support means. The target allows youth, novice, and experienced turkey hunters to assess the pattern of a turkey gun, gauge the shooter's accuracy, determine the efficacy of ammunition, and practice with a life-like target.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to turkey targets, specifically to such targets used for shooting practice, patterning a shotgun, or determining accuracy with a shotgun.
2. Prior Art
The present invention is directed to the field of targets. More particularly, this invention concerns a three-dimensional shotgun target having a turkey-shaped body that functions as a target stand, and a replaceable, frangible head and neck target that simulates a turkey's vital region. The shotgun target provides a practice experience more closely related to actual shotgun hunting of wild turkeys. Regardless of the shooter's firing position relative to the target, an indication of the accuracy, penetration, and likely damage of the shot is readily observable.
Turkey hunters commonly pattern their shotguns prior to hunting season. They do this on paper. This allows them to see how the shot pattern disperses when the gun and game load are fired from several distances.
Originally patterning was accomplished with nothing more than blank paper, traditional "bulls-eye" targets or advancements on these simple concepts to clearly indicate point of impact, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,470 to Miller (2001), U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,890 to Wolf, et al (1994), U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,415 to Mujic (1995), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,467 to Kandel (1996). However, without a likeness of the game animal on the paper, it was impossible to "practice like you hunt." U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,526 to Mastandrea (1998) put the images of game animals on paper, making this a standard patterning tool for the modern shotgun hunter.
Paper targets imprinted with a turkey head are a popular patterning tool. Though they indicate the shotgun's pattern and accuracy, and are inexpensive to manufacture, nevertheless they must be replaced after every shot and, without a three-dimensional body, they do not present a life-like target for shooting practice. These targets, being composed of paper and thus lacking a reactionary element, also offer little gratification from a well-placed shot.
Archery hunters pioneered the use of three-dimensional game targets. These targets are life-sized, realistic reproductions of typical game animals, including deer, turkey, and bear. They typically have a shell body and a vital organ cavity placed therein. The vital organ cavity generally consists of foam or layered foam. Some have realistic indicia of the animal's vital organs. Examples of such archery targets are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,403 to Morrell (1996), U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,100 to Reinhart (2001), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,469 to Love (2003).
While conventional three-dimensional targets are useful to archery hunters, turkey hunters who pursue their game with a shotgun gain no benefit. This is because archery hunters aim for the body of a turkey. Shotgun hunters aim for a turkey's head and neck, preferably when this vital area is extended away from the body.
Trap and skeet shooters are familiar with the pleasure that comes from accurate shooting. They fire at moving targets, traditionally called clay pigeons. These targets are manually thrown or launched from special machines. The clay pigeons fly across the shooter's field of fire. An accurate shot causes the clay pigeon to break or shatter in mid-flight.
Inventors have created several types of clay pigeons, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,150 to Moehlman, et al (1986), U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,759 to Gladders, et al (2004), U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,550 to Kobayashi, et al (1976), U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,150 to Stevenson (1989), U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,087 to Schreiner-Hansen (1986), U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,581 to Goodson (1992) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,707 to Brander, et al (1997). While these clay pigeons are frangible targets, nevertheless all the clay pigeons heretofore known suffer from a number a disadvantages for turkey hunters:
a) Their manufacture is saucer-shaped, which does not accurately represent the typical head and neck target for the turkey hunter.
b) Their saucer shape represents a traditional target for wing shooting, which is the art or practice of shooting at game birds in flight or at flying targets. Turkeys are typically shot on the ground and in a stationary or near-stationary position.
c) Clay pigeons are often painted fluorescent orange or other similar bright colors. This makes them more noticeable while in flight. These bright colors are not accurate representations of real turkeys.

Three-dimensional reactionary turkey target


Herein disclosed is a surveillance system, comprising: a camera unit for transforming an image into an image signal and outputting the image signal, and a display unit having a screen and operative to transform into an image the image signal outputted by the camera unit to display the image on the screen. The camera unit is operative to automatically chase an object as a chasing target to have the display unit display the object as the chasing target. The display unit includes marker displaying means for displaying a marker on the screen; and chasing target determining means for determining the object spaced apart from the marker at a predetermined distance as the chasing target among the images displayed on the screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surveillance system especially for automatically watching and chasing an intruder and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been used a watching system for watching an intruder and the like. The conventional surveillance system is available for watching unqualified people and other intruders intruding into a special room that does not permit people with any permission from entering. One typical example of the surveillance system 700 is shown in FIG. 17 as comprising a camera unit 710, a display unit 730 for displaying an image taken by the camera unit 710, and a control unit 740 for controlling the operation of the camera unit 710 in response to operation commands inputted therein.
Description will now be made on how the image taken by the camera unit 710 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 730.
When the camera unit 710 is operated to take an image to be displayed on the screen of the display unit 730, the camera unit 710 is firstly driven by the control unit 740 to transform the image into an image signal outputted to a signal transmitting cable 701. The image signal thus outputted to the signal transmitting cable 701 is then transmitted to a system unit 720 before being inputted to the display unit 730.
The image signal is then transformed into an image to be displayed on the screen of the display unit 730.
The following description is directed to the operation of having the camera unit 710 operated in compliance with the operation commands inputted into the control unit 740.
In order to have the camera unit 710 operated by the operation commands of the control unit 740 to photograph an image, the control unit 740 is operated to receive the operation commands respectively indicative of the photographing directions, magnifications and the like inputted by an operator while he or she is watching the screen of the display unit 730. The control unit 740 inputted with the operation commands is then operated to transform the operation commands into a command signal to be transmitted to a signal transmitting cable 703. The command signal thus transmitted to the signal transmitting cable 703 is then inputted to the system unit 720 where the command signal is then transformed into a drive signal to drive the camera unit 710 to be outputted to the camera unit 710 by way of the signal transmitting cable 701. The camera unit 710 thus received the drive signal from the system unit 720 is at this time operated to change the photographing directions, magnifications and the like into new ones.
It is thus to be noted from the previously mentioned description that the camera unit 710 is operated in compliance with the operation commands inputted into the control unit 740.
As will be seen from the above, there has been described only one camera unit 710 provided in combination with the system unit 720, the display unit 730, the control unit 740 in the conventional surveillance system for the purpose of simplifying the description and assisting in understanding about the whole operation of the surveillance system. In reality, such a conventional surveillance system 800, however, is as shown in FIG. 18 to comprise a plurality of camera units 810, a system unit 820, a plurality of display units 830, and a plurality of control units 840. The conventional surveillance system 800 thus constructed allows an operator to selectively operate those control units 840 to input to control units 840 operation commands indicative of selecting one or more camera units 810 and one or more display units 830. This leads to the fact that the operator can select one or more control units 840 not only to have the image displayed on the screen of one or more display units 830 in accordance with the image taken by one or more selected camera units 810 but to operate the camera units 810 under the operation states optioned by the operator.
Here, the conventional surveillance system is generally known as being constructed to automatically detect and chase moving objects such as intruders and other objects to be taken by the camera units.
The conventional surveillance system encounters such a problem that it is impossible to decide which one of the objects is to be chased by the camera or cameras if there is a plurality of objects on the screen of the display unit.

Surveillance system for watching an object through an image

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


In accordance with an embodiment, a system includes a plurality of vehicles and a central node. The plurality of vehicles each have radar systems used to collect radar data about the target object. Each in the plurality of vehicles moves in a path to collect a portion of the radar data using a sampling map to coordinate collection of the radar data by the plurality of vehicles and communicates with every other vehicle to identify uncollected portions of the radar data. The central node is in communication with the plurality of vehicles, wherein the central node receives the radar data from the plurality of vehicles and creates a three dimensional image from the radar data received from the plurality of vehicles using a tomographic reconstruction process.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for processing image data. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for three dimensional tomographic image reconstruction of objects.
2. Background
Identifying targets or objects by their features of interest in a three dimensional space is a desirable objective for use in identifying unknown objects. Currently, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a form of coherent radar in which sophisticated post-processing of data obtained by this type of system is used to produce three dimensional radar images. Stereo synthetic aperture radar systems extract range information from the geometric disparity between two different views on the same point for a three dimensional object. With this type of system, a registration technique is needed to register that point on multiple images. In the presence of clutter and when the object is moving, an accurate registration becomes extremely challenging.
Another type of stereo aperture radar system is interferometric system aperture radar, which derives directly the relative height of a point of a three dimensional object from the interference pattern of radar returns received by two antennas that are separated vertically by a base. The ability of this type of system to resolve height information is determined by the size of the base between two antennas. The antenna base may affect deployment of this type of radar on small size airborne vehicles.
Laser imaging detection and range systems send out light beams to "paint" an object. These systems then measure the time-of-flight of return beams to reconstruct a distribution of reflective coefficients for a three dimensional object. One shortcoming of this type of system is that laser imaging detection and ranging systems are limited by weather conditions and air quality. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for a detection system that is less limited by weather conditions and air quality.

Method and apparatus for three dimensional tomographic image reconstruction of objects


Methods and arrangements using lattice-based information for unsupervised speaker adaptation. By performing adaptation against a word lattice, correct models are more likely to be used in estimating a transform. Further, a particular type of lattice proposed herein enables the use of a natural confidence measure given by the posterior occupancy probability of a state, that is, the statistics of a particular state will be updated with the current frame only if the a posteriori probability of the state at that particular time is greater than a predetermined threshold.

Acoustic adaptation is playing an increasingly important role in speech recognition systems, to compensate for the acoustic mismatch between training and test data, and also to adapt speaker-independent systems to individual speakers. Most speech recognition systems use acoustic models that include multi-dimensional gaussians that model the probability density function (pdf) of the feature vectors for different classes. (For general background on speech recognition, including gaussian mixture pdf's, see, e.g. Fundamentals of Speech Recognition, Lawrence Rabiner and Biing-Hwang Juang, Prentice Hall, 1993; and Statistical Methods for Speech Recognition, Frederick Jelinek, The MIT Press, 1997.) A commonly used adaptation technique in this connection is maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR), which assumes that the parameters of the gaussians are transformed by an affine transform into parameters that better match the test or adaptation data. In a simple implementation, the mean ui of each gaussian gi is transformed according to ui′=Aui where A is the transform matrix, and ui is optionally padded with ones to represent an offset. The transform is chosen so as to maximize the probability of a collection of adaptation data with associated transcriptions. In more sophisticated implementations, the gaussian variances may also be adjusted. MLLR is further discussed, for instance, in Leggetter et al., "Speaker Adaptation of Continuous Density HMM's Using Multivariate Linear Regression", Proceedings of ICSLP '94, Yokohama, Japan, 1994. This technique is also often used in "unsupervised" mode, where the correct transcription of the adaptation data is not known, and a first pass decoding using a speaker independent system is used to produce an initial transcription.
Although MLLR appears to work fairly well even when the unsupervised transcription is mildly erroneous, it is recognized herein that further improvements are possible.
Accordingly, a need has been recognized, inter alia, in connection with improving upon the shortcomings and disadvantages associated with conventional arrangements such as those discussed above.

Lattice-based unsupervised maximum likelihood linear regression for speaker adaptation

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods, computer systems and computer readable media for designing and displaying device and platform-specific forms are provided. In embodiments, base forms are utilized and modified to create custom forms that are platform and device specific, without breaking the parent-child relationship between the base form and the custom form for any non-modified characteristics of the base form. Custom forms enhance the performance and appearance. In embodiments, interrogators are executed at runtime to specify a set of instructions that will be executed, further enhancing the performance and appearance associated with the form and the particular device displaying the form. In various embodiments of the present invention, user interfaces provide the designer visual representations of the forms as they appear on selected platforms and/or devices.

Business applications (e.g., forms) are often written to run on mobile devices. This requires the application to run on multiple platforms. In some instances, the same application is written multiple times utilizing platform-specific tools. This can be extremely time consuming and is often impractical due to a lack of appropriate skill sets. In other instances, a scripting language, such as HyperText Markup Language (HTML), is utilized to provide a one-size-fits-all solution that can run on all platforms. However, this solution is also limited to the capabilities of a particular device or platform. The look and feel of an application is often very proprietary in nature, and maintaining that look and feel with a scripting language alone is nearly impossible. Another option is to utilize a multi-platform tool to develop an application that can run on all platforms without duplication of effort. However, even this solution cannot solve the look and feel problem. Screen elements and attributes, such as size, are limited to the "least common denominator" (i.e., the device with the most limitations, or the least capabilities, for an attribute such as size).


Coupling agent and primer compositions comprising a conventional silane coupling agent (1), and a disilyl crosslinker compound (II) of the general formula EQU (RO).sub.3 SiR'Si(OR).sub.3. where RO denotes a hydrolyzable group, R' denotes a divalent organic radical, and the weight ratio of (I) to (II) is between 1:99 and 99:1 inclusive.

This invention relates to coupling agent compositions comprising a conventional silane coupling agent and a bis(trialkoxysilyl)organo compound, and partially hydrolyzed products of such mixtures. These coupling agent compositions can also be used as primers in the production of laminates and other composite materials.
Conventional silane coupling agents are well known in the plastic forming and composite materials arts for bonding resins to fillers and substrates. Typically as part of the process of producing composite materials, reinforcing fillers are treated with silane coupling agents before being introduced into the uncured resin. The silane coupling agents form a coating on the filler, and the coating interacts with the resin, either chemically or through the formation of interpenetrating polymer networks, to form a strong cohesive bond between the resin and filler. A significant benefit of silane coupling agents is the added hydrolytic stability they provide composite materials.
The particular silane coupling agent which will produce the strongest and most hydrolytically stable composite material depends upon the resin used in said composite. Ordinarily, the silane coupling agent is chosen based upon the functionality of the nonhydrolyzable group attached to the silane, however, some silanes are effective coupling agents with resins even where the silane is relatively unreactive with the resin used in the composite. Recommendations for choosing the most effective coupling agent for a particular filler/resin combination are present in the art.
The performance and cost of silane coupling agents, while adequate, can be improved by the addition of further chemical compounds. U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,152, issued to P. C. Yates Jun. 11, 1974, teaches the addition of silicic and polysilicic acid to organofunctional silanes to lower the cost of coupling agent compositions. While these compositions are effective coupling agents, they do not in all cases provide composites as strong as composites made with organofunctional silane coupling agents alone. Thus, a coupling agent composition more effective than the organofunctional silane alone would be useful in the plastic forming arts.

by Mary Margaret Plueddeman, personal representative


A transmitting apparatus adapted to effectively use the band for transferring programs of television broadcasting. A program of a first channel transmitted from the transmitting side can be viewed in real time on the receiving side. A program of a second channel is transmitted to the receiving side in advance in a time zone of lower audience rate than other time zones and stored in a storage device of the receiving side. Each program to be stored is encrypted. When a provision time of a program comes, the data such as a key are transmitted from the transmitting side to the receiving side along with the program data of the first channel. The receiving side extracts the data such as a key and, by use of the extracted data, provides the program stored in the storage device to viewers.

Recently, the television broadcasting by use of artificial satellites is becoming pervasive. As shown in FIG. 1, data associated with a program transmitted from a transmitting apparatus 1 of a broadcasting station are supplied via a satellite 2 to a receiving apparatus 3 installed in each home.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary configuration of the transmitting apparatus 1. The transmitting apparatus 1 has a control section 11 which controls the inside of the apparatus. The control section 11 has a memory 12 for accumulating organization data. The organization data denotes the data associated with a schedule (a program table) for use in broadcasting programs. The control section 11 also has a clock 13, by which clocking the data transmission timing of each section is controlled.
A VTR (Video Tape Recorder) cart 14 is composed of a plurality of VTRs, a device for carrying and loading VTR tapes into these VTRs, and a shelf for accommodating these VTR tapes and, under the control of the control section 11, carries and sets predetermined VTR tapes from the shelf to the VTRs. Of the data reproduced from each VTR tape set to each VTR, video data are supplied to a video encoder 15 while audio data are supplied to an audio encoder 16.
The video encoder 15 and the audio encoder 16 encode the supplied data by a predetermined encoding algorithm, MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) for example, and output the resultant data to a multiplexer 17. An EPG (Electric Program Guide) generated by an EPG generating section 18 is also supplied to the multiplexer 17.
Under the control of a multiplexing control section 19, the multiplexer 17 multiplexes the supplied data. A standard by which the multiplexer 17 executes multiplexing is time-division multiplexing including MPEG2 TS (ISO13818-1) for example.
The multiplexing control section 19 receives information from the control section 11 to determine the PID (Packet ID) of each TS (Transport Stream) packet for transporting video and audio streams and outputs the determined PID to the multiplexer 17. On the basis of the PID supplied from the multiplexing control section 19, the multiplexer 17 sets the PID of each TS packet in which the supplied video and audio streams are stored.
The multiplexing control section 19 generates information associated with PSI (Program Specific Information) including PID information and supplies the generated information to the multiplexer 19. The multiplexer 17 includes the supplied PSI information in other signals to perform multiplexing.
The control section 11 controls each component of the transmitting apparatus 1 and, at the same time, converts the clock information provided by the incorporated clock 13 into a PCR (Program Clock Reference) to supply it to the multiplexer 17. Also, the control section 11 issues a command to the multiplexing control section 19 telling to which stream the PCR is to be added. In the description below, it is assumed that the PCR is attached to the video stream.
The multiplexing control section 19 specifies the same PID as the PID specified for the video stream as the PID of the transport packet to which PCR is added. The multiplexer 17 includes the supplied PCR into the transport packet of the video stream.
The output of the multiplexer 17 is supplied to an ECC (Error Correcting Code)/modulating section 20 to be added with an error correction code and modulated for transmission, the resultant data being outputted to an amplifying section 21. The amplifying section 21 amplifies the supplied data to a power level enough for transmission and transmits the amplified data as a radio wave via an antenna 22.
The data thus transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 1 are received by the receiving apparatus 3 via the satellite 2. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary configuration of the receiving apparatus 3. The receiving apparatus 3 has a control section 31 for controlling the inside of this apparatus. The control section 31 has a memory 32 for storing EPG and PSI information and a clock 33.
Radio waves (or radio signals) received at an antenna 34 of the receiving apparatus 3 are outputted to a front end 35. The signals are tuned in, demodulated, and error correction codes are removed from the signals to output the signals as a transport stream. The transport stream outputted from the front end 35 is outputted to a PSI filter 36, an EPG filter 37, an output PID filter 38, and a PCR PID filter 39. These filters each extract a transport packet including the specified PID from the supplied transport stream.
The PSI filter 36 extracts a transport packet which contains PSI from the supplied transport stream and outputs the obtained PSI to the control section 31. The control section 31 stores the received PSI into the memory 32.
The EPG PID filter 37 extracts a transport packet which contains an EPG from the supplied transport stream. The PID of the transport packet containing the EPG is supplied from the control section 31. On the basis of this supplied PID, the EPG PID filter 37 further extracts EPG information from the extracted transport packet and outputs the extracted EPG information to the control section 31. The control section 31 stores the received EPG information into the memory 32.
The output PID filter 38 extracts a transport packets which contains a video stream and an audio stream from the supplied transport stream. The PID of the transport packet containing the video stream and audio stream is supplied from the control section 31.
On the basis of the PID supplied from the control section 31, the output PID filter 38 extracts the video stream from the supplied transport packet and outputs the extracted video stream to a video decoder 40. Likewise, on the basis of the supplied PID, the output PID filter 38 extracts the audio stream from the supplied transport packet and outputs the extracted audio stream to an audio decoder 41.
The PCR PID filter 39 extracts a transport packet which contains a PCR from the supplied transport stream. The PID of the transport packet containing this PCR is supplied from the control section 31. On the basis of the supplied PID, the PCR PID filter 39 extracts the PCR from the supplied transport stream and supplies the extracted PCR to a STC (System Time Clock) 42. The STC 42 synchronizes its clock on the basis of the supplied PCR to generate a reference clock.
An OSD (On Screen Display) 43 generates a video signal, under the control of the control section 31 as required, and supplies the generated video signal to an adding section 44. The adding section 44 adds (or mixes) the video signal supplied from the OSD 43 to the video signal supplied from the video decoder 40 and outputs the resultant signal to a television receiver (not shown) connected to the receiving apparatus 3.
The receiving apparatus 3 receives a plurality of programs at the same time. The receiving apparatus 3 must provide a program requested by the user from among the plurality of received programs. The program selecting operation to be performed by the receiving apparatus 3 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4. The processing described in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is executed when the receiving apparatus 3 is powered on by a remote controller (not shown) for example.
In step S1, the control section 31 of the receiving apparatus 3 determines whether or not any one of the PSI information and the EPG information stored in the memory 32 is older than the current time as information and lacking as information. Namely, the control section 31 compares the PSI and EPG information stored in the memory 32 with the clock information indicated by the clock 33 to determine whether or not the information of PSI and EPG is older than the current time and lacking as information.
If any one of the PSI information and the EPG information stored in the memory 32 is found older than the current time or lacking as information in step S1, then the procedure goes to step S2; if the information is found not older than the current time or not lacking as information, then the procedure goes to step S3 by skipping step S2.
In step S2, the PSI and the EPG are updated. The control section 31 commands the front end 35 to receive a default channel. On the receiving apparatus 3, a predetermine channel is set as default beforehand. The front end 35 tunes in the frequency/band on which the default channel is transmitted, demodulates the signal, performs error correction on the signal by use of an error correction code, and outputs the resultant signal as a transport stream.
The transport stream outputted from the front end 35 is supplied to the PSI filter 36 and the EPG PID filter 37. The transport stream is also supplied to the output PID filter 38 and the PCR PID filter 39; in this case, however, the supplied transport stream is not used in these filters (or not processed by these filters).
The PSI filter 36 extracts the PSI information from the supplied transport stream and supplies the extracted PSI information to the control section 31. The PSI supplied to the control section 31 is stored in the memory 32. In this case, the information associated with the number of programs to be broadcast at the same time (1 in this example), the number of video/audio streams for each program (1 each in this example), and a method of transmitting the PID and EPG of transport packets carrying the PID and PCR for each stream is supplied to the control section 31.
Since the PID containing PSI is determined beforehand, the control section 31 need not supply the PID to the PSI filter 36. The control section 31 supplies the value of the PID of the transport packet containing EPG to the EPG PID filter 37. By use of the supplied PID value, the EPG PID filter 37 extracts EPG data therefrom from the transport packet and supplies the extracted EPG data to the control section 31. The EPG information supplied to the control section 31 are stored in the memory 32.
The PSI and EPG information is contained in each transport stream. In the control section 31, the above-mentioned operation is always performed, and always updating the PSI and EPG information.
As required or in response to a user command from a remote controller not shown, the control section 31 extracts and manipulates the EPG information and commands the OSD 43 to converts the resultant information into a video signal. The video signal generated by the OSD 43 is mixed by the adding section 44 with the output signal of the video decoder 40 and the resultant signal is outputted.
In step S3, the control section 31 reads the channel viewed immediately before the last power-off sequence from a non-volatile storage device not shown for example. It is assumed here that channel A was viewed immediately before the last power-off sequence.
The control section 31 commands the front end 35 to receive channel A. The front end 35 tunes in the transmitted frequency/band of channel A, demodulates the signal, performs error correction on the demodulated signal by error correction code, and outputs the transport stream.
The transport stream outputted from the front end 35 is supplied to the PSI filter 36, the EPG PID filter 37, the output PID filter 38, and the PCR PID filter 39.
As described above, the PSI filter 204 extracts PSI information from the supplied transport stream and supplies the extracted PSI information to the control section 31, upon which the PSI stored in the memory 32 is updated. As described above, the EPG PID filter 37 also extracts EPG information from the transport packet by use of the value of the supplied PID and supplies the extracted EPG information to the control section 31. The control section 31 updates the EPG information stored in the memory 32.
The control section 31 supplies to the output PID filter 38 the value of the PID of the transport packet carrying a video stream and the value of the PID of the transport packet carrying an audio stream. At the same time, the control section 31 supplies the value of the PID of the transport packet containing an EPG to the EPG PID filter 37. The control section 31 supplies the value of the PID of the transport packet containing a PCR to the PCR PID filter 39.
The output PID filter 38 extracts the video stream and the audio stream from the transport packet by use of the supplied two PID values. The video stream is supplied to the video decoder 40 while the audio stream is supplied to the audio decoder 41.
The video decoder 40 converts (or decodes) the supplied video stream encoded by a predetermined encoding scheme into a video signal and outputs it. Likewise, the audio decoder 41 converts the supplied audio stream into an audio signal and outputs it.
The PCR PID filter 39 extracts a PCR from the transport packet by use of the given PID value and supplies the extracted PCR to the STC 42. The STC 42 synchronizes the own clock with the supplied PCR. The internal clock generated by use of the PCR is used as a synchronous clock for the video decoder 40 and audio decoder 41.
In step S4, the control section 31 determines whether or not a channel change command has been issued by a user not shown through a remote controller not shown or a button for example arranged on the receiving apparatus 3. If the channel is found changed, the procedure goes to step S5. If the channel is found not changed, the procedure returns to step S4 to repeat the processing therefrom.
If the command is found issued by the user in step S4, this command is sent to the control section 31, which in turn commands the front end 35 to receive the specified channel. Consequently, in step 5, the transport stream outputted from the front end 35 is processed as described above, thereby outputting the program of the newly selected channel. When this processing comes to an end, the procedure returns to step S4 to repeat the processing therefrom.
Thus, the user-specified program is provided to the user from among the plurality of channels (programs) received by the receiving apparatus 3.
The following describes channels which are transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 1 to the receiving apparatus 3. In the following example, the case in which only one channel A is provided over 24 hours as shown in FIG. 5. It is assumed that the band prepared as broadcasting facilities be 24 Mbps for a whole day. This value is the bit rate before performing error correction and modulation and the bit rate of the data to be transferred from the multiplexer 17 to the ECC/modulating section 20.
FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged portion around a prime time of October 10 shown in FIG. 5, with program divisions and program names added. The prime time denotes a time zone in which audience rate is higher than in other time zones; for example, a time zone from 19:00 to 23:00.
In channel A, "program A" is provided from 18:00 to 19:00 of October 10. Likewise, "program B" is provided from 19:00 to 20:00, "program C" is provided from 20:00 to 21:00, and "program D" is provided from 21:00 to 23:00.
A program provision (broadcasting) schedule listed with necessary information as shown in FIG. 7 is called organization data for example. Organization data are a collection of plural records for each program. Each record for each program is constituted by six fields "channel," "date," "start time," "length," "program name," and "attribute."
The organization as described above are set to the control section 11 by the administrator not shown of the transmitting apparatus 1 and stored in the memory 12. The organization data are used to control the transmitting apparatus 1 in its entirety.
However, the above-mentioned conventional configuration has a problem that, as described above, channel A provides programs by use of a transmission path having a band of 24 Mbps all day, which indicates that the program provision is performed on the same band regardless of prime time and other time zones, resulting in the ineffective usage of the band.

Transmitting apparatus for providing information by effective use of bands


Barrel polishing is effected while causing a mass (M) consisting of work and media (polishing material) to rotation-flow by rotating a rotary disk installed in the bottom of a polishing tank by a drive motor. A load on the drive motor for the rotary disk is preset as by a load current value, and the flow of the mass (M) in the polishing tank is controlled, thereby effecting polishing while maintaining the load on the drive motor within the preset range.

Flow barrel polishing is a method for inputting a mass configured by a workpiece that is a polishing target and a media that is a polishing material into a polishing bath, and for polishing the workpiece while causing the mass to centrifugally flow using a rotary disc provided on a bottom of the polishing bath. One example of the method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-11057 (Japanese Patent Number 3343701). As shown in FIG. 1, according to this flow barrel polishing method, the workpiece and the media are rubbed against each other to polish the workpiece surface while the mass is caused to flow in a toroidal fashion by a combination of a horizontally rotatable flow running along a rotation direction of the rotary disc and a vertically rotatable flow rising along an inner wall surface of the polishing bath and running downward in a central direction when reaching an uppermost portion by a centrifugal force.
The conventional flow barrel polishing has, however, disadvantages in that the media is gradually worn as the polishing progresses, a mass amount is reduced, a frictional force between the workpiece and the media is reduced, and a deterioration in a polishing capability is thereby unavoidable. These disadvantages are conspicuous particularly in dry flow barrel polishing.

Barrel polishing method and barrel polishing apparatus