The invention relates to a DC offset cancellation circuit for a trans-impedance amplifier, which is typically used for converting an input current from a photodiode into an output voltage. The DC offset cancellation circuit utilizes the monitor current from a photodiode monitoring device to cancel the DC offset from the photodiode input current, enabling the conventional feedback circuit in the trans-impedance amplifier to be fully integrated.

A level restoration circuit in a trans-impedance amplifier removes the DC component, i.e. the average value which carries no information, of an optical signal exiting an optical fiber onto a photodiode in a receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA), while at the same time keeping the low frequency −3 dB frequency low enough to meet requirements for both Telecom and Data com applications.
With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional TIA circuit, generally indicated at 1, converts the current IPD exiting a photodiode 2, into an output voltage VOUT. The photodiode current IPD, which enters the TIA circuit 1 at an input terminal 3, includes both a DC component and an AC component. The AC component, which carries the information, must be maintained and sent down an amplification chain 4 to final receiving equipment (not shown), while the DC component should be reduced and if possible eliminated, since many front end unit input circuits are not designed to tolerate much more than 10 μA without additional circuitry. A feedback circuit, generally indicated at 5, removes the DC component by means of negative feedback, e.g. implemented by a feedback amplifier 6/low pass filter (i.e. Capacitor 7) and a bypass transistor 8 combination. There are other ways of removing the DC component of the signal and the present invention will work with many methods of feedback DC removal. The feedback amplifier 6/low pass filter 7 has gain, and removes the AC component of a voltage feedback signal VFB, leaving only a DC component VFBDC. The capacitor 7 is used to set the low-frequency cutoff that the TIA circuit I requires. The low-frequency cutoff point prevents desired output signal components being subtracted from the input signal. The bypass transistor 8 takes that DC component VFBDC of the voltage feedback signal VFB and generates a DC current IFBDC in the collector 9, which by the action of negative feedback substantially equals the incoming DC current IPDDC from the photodiode 2. Accordingly, the DC component IPDDC is removed from the incoming signal IPD and passed to the ground GRND through the emitter 11 of the bypass transistor 8.
Unfortunately, the photodiode DC current IPD can vary from about 10 uA up to about 1000 uA, which makes a 40 dB of difference between the low and high values. To maintain good performance, the DC component must be subtracted with sufficient accuracy over this entire range. For this reason, the gain of the feedback circuit 5 must be made large enough to account for this wide range of input current. In general, if the DC component of IPD could be maintained at a known, constant value, the feedback circuit 5 would only need to account for the offset generated by the on-chip circuit components. Adding the 40 dB range of the input current, IPD, requires an additional 40 dB of gain in the feedback circuit 5. In general, for single-pole systems, increasing the gain in the feedback loop by 20 dB requires that the filtering capacitor 7 be multiplied by a factor of 10 to maintain the same low-frequency response. Accordingly, the 40 dB range of IPD requires 100 times more capacitance making it 100 times more difficult and expensive to integrate on-chip.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,404,281, issued Jun. 11, 2002 in the name of Kobayashi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,429, issued Jan. 7, 2003 to Kobayashi et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,132 issued Aug. 3, 2004 to Denoyer et al disclose improvements to TIA feedback circuits that include minimizing the upper limit of the low frequency cut off frequency; however, none of these references uses the photodiode power monitor circuit to cancel the dc offset current.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a circuit that cancels the dc offset current from a photodiode outside of the offset cancellation feedback loop enabling the TIA's offset cancellation circuitry to be subjected to a drastically narrower input current range and therefore requiring a relatively small gain over the same range of external photodiode input currents.

DC offset cancellation for a trans-impedance amplifier


In a method of manufacturing a clamp, an elastic band member is bent into a direction of an inner surface at a center position of the band member. The band member having the inner surface and an outer surface. The band member is bent into the direction of the inner surface at first bending portions having a first predetermined length from the center bending portion to form first extending portions. The band member is bent into a direction of the outer surface at second bending portions having a second predetermined length from the first bending portions in tip directions to form second extending portions. The band member is bent into the direction of the outer surface at third bending portions having a third predetermined length from the second bending portions in the tip directions to form third extending portions. The band member is bent into the direction of the inner surface at fourth bending portions having a fourth predetermined length from the third bending portions in the tip directions to form fourth and fifth extending portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coupling clamp, and more particularly to an inner shield coupling clamp which does not damage and peel a blackened layer formed on an inner shield.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, in a cathode-ray tube of a television and a display, especially, in the cathode-ray tube of a shadow mask type, a frame is arranged inside a face panel to support a shadow mask. In addition to the shadow mask, an inner shield is installed in this frame to reduce influence of earth magnetism. A blackened layer is formed on the inner shield. The frame and the inner shield are coupled by an inner shield coupling clamp. When the frame and the inner shield are attached, the inner shield coupling clamp is required to be easily inserted in a common hole passing through the frame and the inner shield. Also, the inner shield coupling clamp is required to have the strong strength to hold them in a tightly coupled state.
FIG. 1 is a general perspective view to explain a coupling state of the frame and the inner shield. As shown in FIG. 1, the inner shield S is put on the frame F and the inner shield coupling clamp 11 which has the above-mentioned elastic structure is inserted in common through-holes H. Thereby, the frame F and the inner shield S are coupled as a unitary body.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first conventional example of inner shield coupling clamp. As sown in FIG. 2, a band-shape elastic metal body is bent in a V-like shape at the center portion in the longitudinal direction of the elastic metal body to form a center bending portion 12. The first bending portions 13, the second bending portions 14, the third bending portions 16 are sequentially formed in a line symmetrical manner with respect to the center bending portion 12 as a convex portion. As a result, the inner shield coupling clamp 11 is formed to have an elastic structure. The fourth extending portions 17 from the third bending portions 16 to tip portions of the elastic metal band is a picking-up section and a holding section is composed of the second extending portions between the first bending portions and the second bending portions and the tip portions of the fourth extending portions to hold the frame and the inner shield in the coupled state. The inner shield coupling clamp holds the frame F and the inner shield S by the holding section 15 of the inner shield coupling clamp 11.
There is a case where the tip portion 17a of the fourth extending portion 17 has a metallic broken-out section and the blackened layer formed on the inner shield S is sometime damaged and peeled. In this case, mask holes of the shadow mask is filled with the blackened layer peeled off from the inner shield and the breakdown voltage characteristic of the electron gun structure is degraded. As a result, the peeled blackened layer sometimes has a bad influence to the characteristics of the cathode-ray tube.
The work to insert the inner shield coupling clamp 11 into the through-hole is hand-worked. However, because the picking-up portion 17 of the first conventional example of the inner shield coupling clamp 11 is small, the inner shield coupling clamp 11 cannot be easily picked up by a hand. Also, the workability is not good to drop the inner shield coupling clamp 11 on the way of coupling the frame and the inner shield.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view illustrating the clamping state in which the frame and the inner shield are clamped by the second conventional example of the inner shield coupling clamp. The inner shield coupling clamp shown in FIG. 3 is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Disclosure (JP-A-Heisei 4-233134). In the inner shield coupling clamp, the tip portions of the holding section is bent in an outside direction to have an obtuse angle equal to or more than 90 degrees. The inner shield is pushed to the frame by the tip portions. In the structure, the tip portions have a metallic broken-out section like the above-mentioned example, the blackened layer of the inner shield 31 is damaged and sometimes peeled.
On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view illustrating the clamping state in which the frame and the inner shield are clamped by the third conventional example of the inner shield coupling clamp. The inner shield coupling clamp shown in FIG. 4 is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Disclosure (JP-B2-Showa 62-13787). In the inner shield coupling clamp, the inner shield 41 is pushed to the frame by the shoulder portions 40a. Because the inner shield 41 is pushed by the shoulder portions 40a, a blackened layer on the inner shield 41 is rarely injured and peeled. However, the third conventional example of the inner shield coupling clamp has the structure In which it is difficult to pick up the coupling clamp. Therefore, the structure should be improved on the workability.


A beverage container insulating sleeve for insulating a user's hand from a cold or hot beverage container while maintaining the serving temperature of the beverage. The material of the sleeve comprises insulating polyethylene foam. The sleeve is a low cost, lightweight, ergonomic, solution for consumers, advertisers, and anyone who sells hot or cold bottled beverages. The sleeve is further conformable to various beverage container styles and shapes due to a plurality of vertical slits formed therein.

Numerous varieties of thermal insulating sleeves are available for insulating beverage containers, such as cans and bottles for soft drinks and beer. These sleeves slide over the container to provide an insulating exterior surface, insulating the beverage container from ambient temperature and thus slowing the rate of heat flow between the ambient environment and the beverage and its container. These sleeves are available in an assortment of sizes for use with various container types, including but not limited to paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage containers. Use of an insulating sleeve is advised for both hot and cold beverages.
Typically, the insulating sleeve is made from polyethylene foam, a material known for its thermal insulating properties. Tests conducted on beverages packaged in glass bottles prove the beneficial effects of the insulating sleeve. Two bottles where chilled and the temperature of the liquid contained therein was measured, one bottle having an insulating beverage sleeve and the other without. As expected, the liquid in the sleeve-insulated bottle retained a lower temperature for a considerably longer period than the uninsulated container. Temperature maintenance is important for maximum enjoyment of the beverage, whether it be a hot or a cold beverage.
Prior art sleeve insulators include foam and neoprene "koozies." Although suitable for insulating the beverage and its container, neither is intended to be disposable due to their relatively high manufacturing cost. The sleeves are typically purchased as a stand-alone item and must be transported by the consumer for use wherever cold or hot beverages are served. Since the prior art sleeves include a bottom surface, they are not easily folded nor collapsed, resulting in a somewhat bulky product that is not convenient to carry in a purse or pocket. The prior art sleeves are sized for a specific beverage container (e.g., beverage can, 12 ounce bottle) as they are designed and constructed for specific beverage containers and thus not conformable to other beverage containers.

Insulating sleeve for a beverage container


The invention relates to an electric switching apparatus (1) comprising:                a switching unit (10) having:                    an electromagnetic actuator (12) to command opening and/or closing of electric contacts (11),            mechanical latching means (15) designed for connection of a detachable add-on unit (20), said latching means, in a first operating position, enabling fixing of said add-on unit on said switching unit,

The invention relates to an electric switching apparatus comprising a switching unit having electric contacts commanded to opening and/or closing. An electro-magnetic actuator commands opening and/or closing of the electric contacts. The switching apparatus also comprises mechanical latching means designed for connection of a detachable add-on unit, said latching means, in a first operating position, enabling mechanical fixing of the detachable add-on unit on the switching unit.
The invention also relates to a detachable add-on unit designed to be connected to an electric switching apparatus according to the invention.

Abstract: The switching apparatus comprises electric power supply means designed to supply power to the electromagnetic actuator (12) and being arranged to operate in a manner that is dependent on the position of the latching means (15). The electric power supply means are inoperational when the latching means are not in the first operating position, the actuating coil (17) of the electromagnetic actuator (12) not being able to be supplied.


A rotating mechanism which includes a rail of a helical shape formed to be of uniform diameter, a column member disposed at an inner side of the rail, a rotating shaft inserted through and fixed at a center of the column member, a moving body attachable to the rail, and a magnet body disposed slightly separated from the column member.

Rotating mechanisms that input various types of energy such as fluid, electric power, combustion energy, etc., into an object arranged to be capable of rotational motion and recover rotational kinetic energy or electric energy have been used from before.
Various measures are taken to increase energy conversion efficiency in such a rotating mechanism to improve an amount of energy recoverable with respect to the input energy in recovering the rotational kinetic energy or the electrical energy, etc., from the rotating mechanism.
For example, with a rotating mechanism described in Patent Literature 1, a structure is arranged where a rotor is disposed in an eccentric state in an interior of a casing and a fluid entering from an inlet and a fluid exiting from an outlet are isolated by vane provided on the rotor.
Also, the rotor is rotated by applying a pressure difference between the inlet side and the outlet side of the casing to the vane. Also, the vane is provided with a magnet and the casing is provided with a coil and a ferrite core. A turbine that converts fluid energy to rotational energy and a power generator that converts the rotational energy to electric energy is thereby integrated.
A power generation device including this rotating mechanism described in Patent Literature 1 integrates the rotating mechanism that converts the energy of the fluid to mechanical energy and a power generating mechanism that converts the mechanical energy to electric energy. Also, by forming an alternating magnetic field by the vane positioned at an outermost peripheral portion of an interior of an outer cylinder member, a speed at which magnetic charges of the vane move is maximized.


A CVT drive train includes a gearbox input shaft, a secondary drive, a differential, and a continuously adjustable variator. The gearbox input shaft is arranged on a motor side. The secondary drive has a starting device and an electric motor, both arranged coaxially to the gearbox input shaft. The electric motor has a stator, and a rotor arranged radially inside of the stator. The differential has a differential output gear. The continuously adjustable variator has a drive-side disc set, and an output-side disc set coupled to the differential and arranged directly adjacent to the differential output gear in a plan view. The drive-side disc set has a drive-side adjustable disc, and a drive-side fixed disc facing away from the motor side. The output-side disc set has an output-side fixed disc, and an output-side adjustable disc facing away from the motor side.

International publication WO 2015/110108 A1 discloses a CVT drive train with a continuously adjustable variator, with a gearbox input shaft arranged on a primary drive side, and a starting device and a secondary drive, in particular an electric motor forming a secondary drive, arranged coaxially to said gearbox input shaft. The structure and/or operation of the CVT drive train are simplified or improved by an additional clutch which serves for coupling the secondary drive to a direct transmission gear, and a second additional clutch which serves for coupling to variator input.


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and device for a file system log. In some embodiments, there is provided a computer-implemented method. The method comprises: in response to receiving a write request for metadata associated with a first transaction, determining at least one zone associated with the first transaction from a plurality of zones of the metadata, the plurality of zones being formed by striping the metadata; requesting a resource slice for the at least one zone from a resource pool of a logging system; and recording to the resource slice a log that the first transaction modifies the at least one zone.

In a logging protected file system, it usually includes a serial log recording sub-system. Each IO generates one or more logging transactions and writes them to the logging system before the metadata is flushed. Transaction write are serialized in this case and such logging system becomes a bottleneck for current file system in a multi-core platform.


A neural integrated circuit, comprising a synaptic coefficient memory, a neuron state memory, resolving means and learning means which simultaneously operate in parallel on each of the synaptic coefficients in order to determine new synaptic coefficients. The learning means comprise means for performing a learning function on the states Vj of input neurons and on a correction element Si which is associated with each output neuron, and also comprise incrementation/decrementation elements which determine the new synaptic coefficients in parallel. The learning functions may be formed by logic AND-gates and exclusive-OR gates. The integrated circuit is used in a neural network system comprising a processing device.

The invention relates to a neural integrated circuit, comprising:
a memory M for synaptic coefficients Cij
a memory for neuron states
resolving means for determining states of output neurons I on the basis of states of input neurons j,
learning means for determining new synaptic coefficients Cij by performing local learning steps.
The invention also relates to a neural network system comprising a processing device for cooperation with such a neural circuit.
A circuit of this kind is known from the document "A fully digital CMOS integrated feedback network including the learning process", M. Weinfeld, G. Dreyfus, A. Johannet, L. Personnaz, Neural Networks for computing, Snowbird, Utah, Apr. 6-9, 1988.
The cited document concerns an integrated circuit which executes resolving steps and learning steps on the basis of the Widrow-Hoff learning rule. In this circuit parallelism exists as regards the states of output neurons i. The circuit also has a mechanism for the circulation of data which is applied to the index i of the states of input neurons j. It follows therefrom that a particular treatment cannot be isolated to a given neuron. Thus, this circuit can operate with a limited number of learning rules only.
The problem faced by the invention is to realize a neural integrated circuit which is suitable for use in a neural network system comprising a processing device, is capable of operating at high speeds for simultaneously updating all synaptic coefficients of a given output neuron i, and is also capable of executing the bulk of the learning rules so that it can be used for solving the multitude of problems to be dealt with by neural network systems.

Neural integrated circuit comprising learning means


A structure is disclosed, comprising: a first field effect transistor, FET, comprising a first source terminal, a first drain terminal, a first layer or body of semiconductive material arranged to provide a first semiconductive channel connecting the first source terminal to the first drain terminal, and a gate terminal arranged with respect to the first semiconductive channel such that a conductivity of the first semiconductive channel may be controlled by application of a voltage to the gate terminal; and a second FET comprising a second source terminal, a second drain terminal, a second layer or body of semiconductive material arranged to provide a second semiconductive channel connecting the second source terminal to the second drain terminal, and the gate terminal, the second conductive channel being arranged with respect to the gate terminal such that a conductivity of the second channel may be controlled by application of a voltage to the gate terminal. Methods of manufacturing such structures are also disclosed.

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (Cmos) is a well-known technology for constructing integrated circuits, and typically uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of P-type and N-type metal oxide semiconductor FETs (MOSFETs) for logic functions.
Although the implementation of CMOS technology on conventional silicon wafers is well-established, implementation of CMOS technology or analogous technology utilising complementary pairs of P-type and N-type FETs in different applications, such as printed and/or flexible electronic circuits is problematic and non-trivial.

Methods of manufacturing electronic structures


Disclosed herein are an intelligent sleep system, and a client system and a cloud system thereof, wherein the client system comprises a multi-dimensional data acquisition module (101), a local data processing module (102), a client system communication module (103), and a driving execution module (104); and the cloud system comprises a cloud side communication module (201), a data management module (202), and a data mining module (203).

With the further development of Internet technology and the rapid development of Internet of Things technology and its applications, it has become possible for traditional products to bring high-quality user experience by introducing new technologies. A sleep support system that has the most stable and long-term cooperative relationship with people and has an important influence on users' physiology and psychology, the traditional framework and functional definitions of the sleep support system can no longer meet people's new requirements for sleep quality. There has been a linear decrease in the quality of sleep support for users over the life of a factory-styled spring and foam mattress. One of the reasons for this is due to elastic fatigue caused by the long-term work and changes in users' physical signs and psychological factors (growth, illness, critical events, or aging) over an average 5-8 year product life cycle that have required a change in form, content, and quality to the sleep support provided by the mattress. Nevertheless, the current dominant spring and foam mattress system cannot provide such change.
At the same time, users generate a large amount of data of sleep behavior and environment etc. everyday during sleep. These multidimensional data are of great significance to perceiving and improving the quality of sleep and health of the user. However, due to the complex factors such as being multidimensional, wide-area, and cross-over of these data, simple logic data operation processing models that rely solely on sensors and embedded processors do not have a comprehensive and accurate understanding, prediction and wisdom adaption at the practical level to users' demand for sleep quality and health. In fact, due to the complexity and specificity of the personalized sleep experience, it is even difficult for the users themselves to rely solely on the body experience to accurately sense and describe whether a product truly meets their demand for sleep quality and health.

Intelligent sleep system, and user side system and cloud side system thereof

MOONMARK SMART TECHNOLOGY (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.


An A/D converter main body is formed in the form of an annulus with a wiring region set as its center, and a ladder resistor array for dividing an input reference voltage and an analog signal line for applying an input analog signal to each comparator in the A/D converter are formed in the form of an annulus with the wiring region set as a center. Wirings from terminals are once concentrated into the wiring region by an input/output line group and then distributed therefrom to circuit elements. Since the ladder resistor array is formed in a circular form, resistance values are less liable to change as compared to the case where the ladder resistor array is bent, resulting in a higher precision of reference voltages for comparison. Further, wiring lengths for control signals to be applied to the circuit elements are made equal, and there is no fear of line delays in the control signals.

1. Field the Invention
The present invention relates to an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter including a voltage dividing network for dividing a reference voltage into a plurality of arbitrary voltage values, and a plurality of comparators for comparing divided voltage values divided by the voltage dividing network and a voltage value of an analog signal to be input.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique for digitizing a signal for processing is playing a very significant role today with development of semiconductor devices and computers. With reference to FIG. 1, for example, a satellite broadcasting or the like is carried out as follows. First, an analog video signal is acquired by a TV camera 102, and the acquired analog video signal is then digitized by an A/D converter 104. The digitized video signal is digitally encoded for transmission by an encoder 106, then re-converted into an analog signal by a D/A converter 108 and transmitted to a broadcasting satellite 110. The analog signal repeated by the broadcasting satellite 110 is transmitted again to ground and then re-converted into a digital signal by an A/D converter 112. The digital signal is then subjected to a processing by a decoder 114 opposite to the processing by the encoder 106. The digitized video signal output from the decoder 114 is converted into an analog signal by a D/A converter 116 and then transmitted to a TV monitor 118.
In order to thus digitize the signal, it is necessary to once digitize an input signal obtained as an analog signal by the A/D converters 104 and 112.
FIG. 2 is one example of a ladder resistor array for use in an A/D converter. This ladder resistor array serves to produce a plurality of voltages called reference tap voltages which are to be compared with an input analog signal. With reference to FIG. 2, this ladder resistor array 120 includes a reference voltage terminal 124 connected to a first reference voltage, a reference voltage terminal 126 connected to a second reference voltage, and x ladder resistor cells 122a, 122b, . . . , 122x connected in series between the terminals 124 and 126. Reference tap voltages 1 to x are taken out from connection points of the respective ladder resistor cells 122a, 122b, . . . , 122x. These reference tap voltages 1 to x are compared at predetermined timing with a voltage value of the input analog signal. As the result of the comparison, it can be informed which range of reference tap voltage is lower than the voltage value of the input analog signal. On the basis of this information, it is possible to produce a digital signal representing the voltage value of the input analog signal.
FIG. 3 shows some of comparators and their vicinity of a background art A/D converter. This A/D converter has a resolution of N bits. In order to realize the N-bit resolution, 2.sup.N comparators and 2.sup.N ladder resistor cells are required.
With reference to FIG. 3, this A/D converter includes an analog signal input terminal 128 supplied with an analog signal, a reference voltage terminal 130 connected to a power source of a first reference voltage, a reference voltage terminal 132 connected to a second reference voltage power source different from the first reference voltage power source, a ladder resistor array 140 comprised of 2.sup.N ladder resistor cells and disposed being bent between the reference voltage terminals 130 and 132 for resistance dividing reference voltages produced from a reference voltage 1 and a reference voltage 2, a comparator array 141 including 2.sup.N comparators 142, . . . , 144, provided along the bent ladder resistor array 140, for making a comparison between a voltage value of the analog signal input from the analog signal input terminal 128 and reference tap voltages generated by the ladder resistor array 140, an analog signal line 136 for applying the analog signal input from the analog signal input terminal 128 to each of the comparators included in the comparator array 141, a clock signal input terminal 134 supplied with a clock signal for controlling an operation of each comparator included in the comparator array 141 and sampling an analog signal at predetermined timing, and a clock signal line 138 for applying the clock signal applied form the clock signal input terminal 134 to each comparator of the comparator array 141.
The conventional A/D converter shown in FIG. 3 carries out the following operation. The reference voltage terminal 130 is connected to the first reference voltage power source, and the reference voltage terminal 132 is connected to the second reference voltage power source. The ladder resistor array 140 resistance-divides voltages applied to the reference voltage terminals 130 and 132 and generates 2.sup.N reference tap voltages. Each of the comparators 142, . . . , 144 and the like included in the comparator array 141 compares one of those reference tap voltages with the voltage value of the analog signal. The voltage value of the analog signal is converted into a digital signal on the basis of the result of the comparison by each of the comparators of the comparator array 141.
Conventionally, it has been necessary to bend a comparator array at several places (three places in the case with FIG. 3) for provision of the comparator array as shown in FIG. 3 in relation with a chip size. Accordingly, it has also been necessary to bend the ladder resistor array 140 in the same manner. Thus, there occurs a change in the resistance value of the ladder resistors due to the bending portions as compared to the case where the comparator array is aligned linearly. Consequently, errors occur in the values of reference tap voltages generated by the ladder resistor array. Further, there occurs a line delay in clock signals or the like because of wiring lengths of the signal lines. There is a large difference in the wiring length from the clock signal input terminal 134 between, e.g., the first comparator 142 and the N-th comparator 144, resulting in different timings of the clock signals to be applied. More specifically, the clock signal to be input to the comparator 144 is delayed from the clock signal to be input to the comparator 142.
FIG. 4(b) and (c), show timing charts of clock signals (control signals) PA and PA input to the comparators 142 and 144, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 4(b) and (c), a line delay .DELTA.t occurs between the clock signals PA and PA of the comparator 142 and the clock signals PA and
input to the comparator 144. For comparison of the same analog signal (FIG. 4(a)), the comparators 142 and 144 must compare their reference tap voltages and the voltage value of the analog signal at the same timing. Despite the necessity of the comparison, this line delay causes a deviation in the sampling timings of the comparators 142 and 144, resulting in different values of the analog signal to be sampled, as shown in FIG. 4(a). Therefore, the conventional A/D converter has the disadvantage that a precision in operation is degraded because of such errors of reference tap voltages and such delay of clock signals or the like.

Analog-to-digital converter of an annular configuration


A method, an apparatus and a computer for data operation are provided. The method includes: determining, when writing data to a sector of a storage device, whether the sector belongs to an old block for a restore point of the storage device. If so, the method further includes: allocating a new block and writing the data into the new block; creating a table including an address of the old block, an address of the new block and a first identifier, wherein the first identifier has first identification elements corresponding to the sector in the old block and in the new block, respectively, and wherein each of the first identification elements has a first state indicating to read data from the old block during data restoration in the sector and a second state indicating to read data from the new block during data restoration in the sector; and pointing the address of the old block in an address index table for the restore point to the created table. Otherwise, the method further includes: allocating a new block and writing the data into the new block; and modifying the address of the old block in an address index table for the restore point into the address of the new block. With the present invention, the time required for operation on the sector for the restore point of the storage device can be saved, and the performance of the computer can be improved.

For computer storage device, QEMU Copy On Write (QCOW) is a method capable of supporting return to a restore point. In QCOW, a hard disk is managed in unit of Block. As shown in FIG. 1, L1 corresponds to Level 1 hard disk address page table in QCOW, and L2 corresponds to Level 2 hard disk address page table in QCOW. L1 and L2 are used to convert a virtual sector number into a physical sector number. Here, a virtual sector number is an address at which a User Operating System (UOS) accesses a virtual hard disk and reads/writes content on the virtual hard disk, while a physical sector number is a physical address of a hard disk sector. A block offset is an offset sector number of a virtual sector number within a block. A restore point is a hard disk state to which the computer storage device can return.
The QCOW uses a Copy On Write storage approach to write on a sector. After a restore point is set up, if a sector associated with the restore point is to be modified, it is necessary to copy, to a new block, data in an old block to which the sector belongs. Then, data to be written is written into the new block, and the address of the new block is recorded. In this way, each time such sector is to be written, data written into the old block needs to be copied to the new block, and then data to be written is written into the new block. When such sector is frequently written, the above copy operations will significantly degrade the performance of a computer.
A restore point corresponds to a virtual address index table, including a L1 table and a L2 table, as shown in FIG. 1. The L1 table can be referred to as Level 1 address index of the restore point, and the L2 table can be referred to as Level 2 address index of the restore point. The L1 table and the L2 table can be combined together into a single table which represents an address index of blocks for the restore point. During returning to the restore point, an access to a virtual hard disk address is converted into an access to a physical hard disk address with reference to the virtual address index table. In the conversion of addressing, an index corresponding to a physical address is obtained from the L1 and L2 tables for the latest restore point. If the corresponding address index is not found in the L1 and L2 tables, the tables for previous restore points are recursively searched until the corresponding index is found or all the restore points have been recursively searched.

Method, apparatus and computer for data operation


In order to reduce capacitance of a feedback section of an operational amplifier provided in a semiconductor integrated device, an active filter includes an operational amplifier in which a plurality of capacitive elements are connected between (i) an output terminal and (ii) an inverting input terminal or an input terminal. This arrangement does not require any special technique and amendment of an ordinary integrated circuit process. Further, this arrangement ensures small capacitance in the feedback section of the operational amplifier, while preventing deterioration in S/N ratio, and increases in switching noise and power consumption.

An analog frequency filter is a common building block in communication, audio, signal processing, and the like. An analog active filter is realized, in a semiconductor integrated circuit, by an operational amplifier, a resistor(s), a capacitor(s), and an inductor(s). The operational amplifier serves as an active element, whereas the resistor(s), the capacitor(s), and the inductor serve as passive components.
In general, integration of inductors in a semiconductor occupies a large area, and is avoided, accordingly. Among the many kinds of active filters, a switched capacitor filter, carrying out a time-sample operation in which the resistors are replaced with switched capacitors, is widely used in analog signal processing applications. The switched-capacitor filter has an advantage because the transfer function of the filter is determined by a capacitance ratio and a sampling frequency. Hence, accurate characteristics can be realized.
For continuous time signal processing, RC active filters, MOSFET-C filters, and Gm-C filters are also used. In these realizations, circuit or filter characteristics vary depending on equivalent RC (resistor-capacitor) products, a resistance ratio, and a capacitance ratio.
A transfer function H(s) of a typical analog filter can be found by the product of a single-pole H1(s) transfer function and a second-order (Biquad) H2(s) transfer function. Considered here is a concrete example of a low-pass filter for implementing a fourth-order Butterworth response. Two Biquad sections connected in cascade can be used to realize the filter as shown in FIG. 4(b).
FIG. 4(a) is a circuit diagram illustrating a circuitry of an analog active RC filter realized as the Biquad section. If transfer functions of first and second stages of the Biquad sections are indicated by H21(s) and H22(s), respectively, then a transfer function H(s) of FIG. 4(b) satisfies the following formula:
                                          H                                      (              s              )                                =                                                    H                21                                                          (                s                )                                      ×                                          H                22                                                          (                s                )                                                                                H            21                    =                                    -                              (                                                      R                    21                                                        R                    11                                                  )                                                                                1                    +                                          s                                                                                C                        21                                                                                R                          31                                                                                (                                                      1                            +                                                                                R                                21                                                                                R                                11                                                                                +                                                                                R                                21                                                                                R                                31                                                                                )                                                                                +                                                                                s                      2                                                                                C                      11                                                                                C                      21                                                                                R                      21                                                                                R                      31                                                                                H            22                    =                                    -                              (                                                      R                    22                                                        R                    12                                                  )                                                                                1                    +                                          s                                                                                C                        22                                                                                R                          32                                                                                (                                                      1                            +                                                                                R                                22                                                                                R                                12                                                                                +                                                                                R                                22                                                                                R                                32                                                                                )                                                                                +                                                                                s                      2                                                                                C                      12                                                                                C                      22                                                                                R                      22                                                                                R                      32                                                                                [                  Formula                                                              1                ]
If it is assumed that each resistance in the formula is equal to R, the formula can be simplified as follows:
                                          H            21                    =                                    -              1                                      1              +                              s                                                                                3                                                  C                  21                                                R                            +                                                s                  2                                                                  C                  11                                                                  C                  21                                                                  R                  2                                                                                H            22                    =                                    -              1                                      1              +                              s                                                                                3                                                  C                  22                                                R                            +                                                s                  2                                                                  C                  12                                                                  C                  22                                                                  R                  2                                                                                [                  Formula                                                              2                ]
C2j is assumed to be reference capacitance of each stage, and a ratio kj of the j-th stage is defined as follows:
                                          H            21                    =                                                                      -                  1                                                  1                  +                                      s                                                                                3                                                              C                      21                                                            R                                    +                                                            s                      2                                                                                k                      1                                                                                C                      21                      2                                                                                R                      2                                                                                k                1                                      =                                          C                11                                            C                21                                                                                H            22                    =                                                                      -                  1                                                  1                  +                                      s                                                                                3                                                              C                      22                                                            R                                    +                                                            s                      2                                                                                k                      2                                                                                C                      22                      2                                                                                R                      2                                                                                k                2                                      =                                          C                12                                            C                22                                                                        [                  Formula                                                              3                ]
For example, for the fourth-order low-pass Butterworth response, the following ratios are found:
k1=15.36 and k2=2.636
In general, as the order of the filter increases, the capacitance ratio increases. As another example, for an eighth-order low-pass Butterworth filter, a maximum capacitance ratio satisfies: kmax=59.1. Meanwhile, for the purpose of reducing an area that the capacitor occupies, a capacitor having very small capacitance of approximately 0.2 pF or less is used. However, it is difficult to control the very small capacitance of such a capacitor. Thus, a large capacitance ratio is undesirable. For example, if it is assumed that the maximum capacitance of a capacitor for use in the eighth-order filter is limited to 5 pF (C1), then a capacitance C2 satisfies C2=5 pF/59.1(≈0.084 pF), which is on the order of the layout parasitic capacitance, and therefore difficult to control.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,063 (hereinafter, referred to as "patent document 1", and incorporated by reference) presents a technique to reduce the capacitance needed in switched capacitor filters (see FIG. 5). In the patent document 1, the use of a resistor voltage divider reduces the capacitance ratio.
Specifically, the circuit disclosed in the patent document 1, just uses a resistor voltage divider (R1-R2) which attenuates the input signal. For instance, if the resistor voltage divider is not used, then the voltage gain of the circuit is represented by the following Formula 4, where the input signal is indicated by Vin, an output signal is indicated by Vout, capacitance of a feedback capacitor 19 is indicated by αC. Note that C′4 indicates capacitance C4 in the case where no resistor divider is used.
                                          V            out                                V            in                          =                  -                                    C              4              ′                                      α                                                                                C                                                          [                  Formula                                                              4                ]
The use of the resistor divider causes the input signal to be attenuated by a factor K, then, the following formula 5 is satisfied.
                                          V            out                                V            in                          =                              -                                          C                4                ′                                            α                                                                                C                                              ×          K                                    [                  Formula                                                              5                ]
As such, if a new capacitor C4=C′4/K is used, then the same voltage gain is obtained. However, note in this case that the capacitance C4 becomes larger than the capacitance C′4.
This technique, however, is not adequate because the reduction of the input signal degrades the Signal-to-Noise ratio.
The circuit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,872 (hereinafter, referred to as "patent document 2", and incorporated by reference), similarly with the patent document 1, is intended for switched capacitor filters, in which three capacitors 3a, 3b, and 3c are arranged so as to have a T-connection (see FIG. 6). This arrangement allows the realization of reduced effective capacitance CQ. A resistor 8 having high resistance values determines a potential at a joint node of the capacitors 3a, 3b, and 3c.
As shown in FIG. 6, the circuit disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,872, as the U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,063, is also intended for switched capacitor filters, and therefore operates using switches 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d. As a switched capacitor circuit, when the mentioned switches are commutating the capacitors 3a, 3b and 3c behave as an equivalent resistor, rather than a capacitor.
The main drawbacks of this technique are: (i) the high-value resistor introduces thermal noise into the capacitor, and (ii) the clocking of the capacitors requires a sampling frequency much higher than the cut-off frequency of the filter. This causes an increase in switching noise and power dissipation.
The analog frequency filter is a common building block in communication, audio, signal processing, and the like. The state-of-the-art implementations of high-order active R-C filters suffer from the need of high ratio of capacitances. The prior art techniques to reduce the value of capacitance ratio relies on the use of resistor-dividers (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,063), which attenuates the input signal. This causes deterioration of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), when the prior art techniques are used in wireless transceivers.
Further, the prior art techniques to reduce the value of capacitance ratio uses a switched capacitor network (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,872) with the junction node connected to a reference voltage through a high value resistor. As a result, (i) the high-value resistor introduces thermal noise into the capacitor, and (ii) the clocking of the capacitors requires a sampling frequency much higher than the cut-off frequency of the filter. This causes an increase in switching noise and power dissipation.


Upon obtaining a detection signal of a shock sensor that detects a shock applied to an apparatus for output, a write disabling unit disables writing by a head on a medium over a predetermined time corresponding to a shock convergence. A determining unit determines, during the write disable, whether an output of the shock sensor is a detection output of the shock sensor due to a shock or an erroneous detection output of the shock sensor due to power supply fluctuations. A sensitivity control unit increases a detection sensitivity of the shock sensor when the determining unit determines that the output is a detection output due to the shock, and decreases the detection sensitivity of the shock sensor and clears the write disable when the determining unit determines that the output is an erroneous detection output due to power supply fluctuations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a storage apparatus, such as a magnetic disk apparatus equipped with a shock sensor, and its control method and program and, particularly, to a storage apparatus that protects information stored in a medium by detecting a shock to disable writing, and its control method and program.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, as for a storage apparatus, such as a magnetic disk apparatus, a shock sensor is placed in the storage apparatus to determine that a detection output of the shock sensor when a shock is externally applied exceeds a predetermined threshold and disable a writing operation during a predetermined time until an impact by shock converges, thereby achieving protection so that data is prevented from being destroyed by writing onto an adjacent cylinder with a head actuator being vibrated by shock. Here, as a shock sensor for use in a storage apparatus, a piezoelectric element is used for example. When a power supply voltage of the storage apparatus is fluctuated, output fluctuations also occur in an output of the shock sensor in accordance with power supply fluctuations, thereby erroneously detecting a shock. As such, if an output of the shock sensor is erroneously detected due to power supply fluctuations, in the case where a write command is being executed at this timing, write disable causes a write fault, and then a retry is performed. However, if an erroneous detection occurs due to power supply fluctuations even at the time of retry, write disable causes the retry to become at fault, thereby possibly causing an error termination. To get around this problem, in a conventional storage apparatus, a process of invalidating a detection output of the shock sensor at the time of a specific retry is performed, in which a writing operation is performed by ignoring an erroneous operation of the shock sensor.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-61320    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-6487
However, in such a conventional storage apparatus in which a writing operation is performed by invalidating a detection output of the shock sensor at the time of a specific write retry, if a shock is actually applied while the detection output of the shock sensor is invalidated, the shock cannot be detected, and a writing operation is performed in the state where the shock is applied, thereby posing a problem of destroying data in an adjacent cylinder. Moreover, at the time of an erroneous detection of the shock sensor due to fluctuations in power supply voltage, writing is disabled until a specific retry is performed, thereby posing a problem of worsening writing capability.

Storage apparatus, and control method and program


A numerical control apparatus allows for the machining of a workpiece based on a three-dimensional work shape which is inputted. The shape of the workpiece is set and the shape of the workpiece and three-dimensional work shape determine the work region to be extracted. The extracted work region is divided into work regions of spot work, contour work, and region work by the characteristics of the work. The work order is set to determine the order in which the divided work regions are to be machined. The work information for each work region is then inputted and command data used in moving a tool is generated from the work order data and the work information.

The present invention relates to a numerical control apparatus to control a machine tool and robot in accordance with numerical data.
Recently, in accordance with the progress of computers and peripheral equipment, the shape data is used when tool moving command data is generated in a machine tool. Examples of using the shape data are described as follows. In the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. Hei 3-1201 and Hei 3-46007, there is disclosed a system in which the shape of a workpiece and the moving command data of a tool are inputted, and the changed shape of the workpiece is displayed in accordance with the moving command data of the tool, so that the moving data of the tool can be confirmed. Also, in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 7-182019, there is disclosed a system in which consideration is given to a restoration of the shape of the workpiece before machining.
In the above NC information making system incorporated into the conventional numerical control apparatus, the shape data is utilized, however, there is provided no system in which the three-dimensional shape to be machined is inputted and the tool moving command data is directly generated by this three-dimensional shape to be machined.
The present invention has been accomplished to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a numerical control apparatus capable of directly generating the tool moving command data by the three-dimensional shape of a workpiece to be machined.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus in which the inputted numerical data is decoded, each section of the numerical control apparatus is controlled in accordance with the result of decoding, and a workpiece is machined according to the numerical data, comprising: a shape inputting means for inputting a three-dimensional shape to be machined; a workpiece shape setting means for setting the shape of a workpiece; a work region extracting means for extracting a work region by the three-dimensional shape to be machined inputted by the shape inputting means and by the shape of the workpiece which has been set by the workpiece shape setting means; a work region dividing means for dividing the work region extracted by the work region extracting means; a work order setting means for setting the order of machining the work regions divided by the work region dividing means; a work information inputting means for inputting the work information of each work region; and a tool moving command data generating means for generating the tool moving command data by the order of machining in each work region and the work information.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the work region dividing means including a work region work characteristic dividing means for dividing the work region into a spot work, a contour work and a region work in accordance with the characteristic of the work region.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the work region dividing means including: a work region fractionalizing means for fractionalizing the work region by the characteristic of the three-dimensional work shape inputted by the shape inputting means; and a region combining means for arbitrarily combining the regions divided by the work region fractionalizing means.
According to the forth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, wherein the work region fractionalizing means extends the surfaces composing the three-dimensional work shape inputted by the shape inputting means and divides the work region when the extended surface interfering with the work region extracted by the work region extracting means is used as a boundary.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the work region dividing means including a work region arbitrarily dividing means for arbitrarily dividing the work region.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the work region dividing means including a work region arbitrarily dividing means for arbitrarily dividing the work region in accordance with the shape of the work region.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the work region arbitrarily dividing means including: a plane generating means for generating a plane; a plane operating means for arbitrarily moving and turning a plane generated by the plane generating means; and a dividing means for dividing the work region when the plane which has been set by the plane generating means and the plane operating means is used as a boundary.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the
work region arbitrarily dividing means including: a rectangular parallelepiped generating means for generating a rectangular parallelepiped; a rectangular parallelepiped operating means for arbitrarily moving and turning the rectangular parallelepiped generated by the rectangular parallelepiped generating means; a common section calculating means for calculating a common section between the rectangular parallelepiped which has been set by the rectangular parallelepiped operating means and the work region; and a dividing means for dividing the work region in the common section.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the work region arbitrarily dividing means including: a line generating means for generating an arbitrary line; a surface generating means for generating an arbitrary surface with respect to the line generated by the line generating means; a surface operating means for moving and turning the surface generated by the surface generating means; and a dividing means for dividing the work region when the surface which has been set by the surface operating means is used as a boundary surface.
According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, the workpiece shape setting means including a rectangular parallelepiped generating means for generating a rectangular parallelepiped containing the overall three-dimensional workpiece shape by the three-dimensional work shape inputted by the shape inputting means, wherein the work region extracting means extracts a work region by subtracting the three-dimensional work shape from the rectangular parallelepiped generated by the rectangular parallelepiped generating means.
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, further comprising: a shape display means for calculating and displaying a change in the shape of the workpiece at any time when the tool is moved in accordance with the generated tool moving command data; a region correcting means for arbitrarily correcting the work region; a work order correcting means for correcting the order of work; a work information correcting means for correcting the work information; and a tool moving command data regenerating means for regenerating the tool moving command data in accordance with the corrected work order of the regions to be machined and also in accordance with the work information.
According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a numerical control apparatus, further comprising: a shape change calculating means for calculating a change in the shape of the workpiece at any time when the tool is moved in accordance with the generated tool moving command data; a work surface height calculating means for calculating a height of the work surface in the work region next, in accordance with the shape calculated by the shape change calculating means; and a work depth calculating means for calculating the work depth of the work region to be machined next, in accordance with the shape calculated by the shape change calculating means.

Numerical control apparatus for machining a workpiece


The present invention is a non-intrusive method to determine the flow state or voidage in an apparatus that interacts a gas phase with a liquid phase. The flow state or voidage is determined by relating them to wall vibrations.

The present invention relates to the operation of processes involving the interaction of a gas phase with a liquid phase, e.g., gas-liquid contacting, such as in fractional distillation in columns containing contact trays, evaporation, aeration, and mixing by flow through orifices, and injection into bubble column reactors.
Distillation is a common process in the petrochemical industry to efficiently separate chemical compounds. It may be defined as the separation of the constituents of a liquid mixture by partial vaporization of the mixture, followed by separate recovery of the vapor and liquid residue. Distillation towers, such as pipestills, contain a vertical distribution of "trays". The fluid, from which the separation of the vapor is made, flows over the trays driven by gravity. The trays contain holes through which the released vapor can flow to be separated eventually into a vapor stream exiting at the top of the tower. In some trays the gas flows through the liquid in the tray through "bubble caps" or "float valves", rather than "holes".
In some petrochemical operations, involving the interaction between a gas and a liquid, trays are also used to separate the gas stream from the liquid stream. In other operations such as bubble column reactor, it is important to maximize the contact between a gas or vapor and a liquid. In all these examples, there is a delicate balance in flow and state variables such as temperatures, pressures and flow rates in order to achieve the desired operation. In some cases mechanical components such as spargers or trays can operate improperly. In all these cases a critical component of the process is a finely dispersed mixture of gas and liquid which we call a "bubbly medium".
In what follows, distillation shall serve as the preferred embodiment, but the current invention can relate to any operation where the unit contains a significant region where the desired operating state is that of a "bubbly medium" such as a bubble column.
In a pipestill, under ideal conditions, there is a clear separation of phases between what is flowing on the tray (a bubbly medium consisting of liquid plus rising vapor bubbles); what is flowing upward between trays (vapor or gas) and what is flowing downward through the "downcomers" (liquid). FIG. 1 is a schematic of a tower and shows the tray configuration. The trays are arranged in decks. FIG. 1 shows three decks with a number of trays within each deck.
Maintaining such a desired flow state is difficult since it involves setting pressures differences at each tray such that vapor or gas is flowing upward through the holes in the tray and not liquid downward. Similarly, at the "downcomers" it is important that the liquid flows "down", and that the gas or vapor does not flow "up". Another problem that could occur is the generation of "foam", i.e. a froth of bubbles that leads to flow disturbance. In addition, the liquid level on the trays could be higher or lower than optimal due to improper design, excessive feed rates, or poor vapor/liquid separation. FIG. 2 shows a schematic of the flow state in a distillation column. FIG. 2A shows a normal flow state. FIG. 2B shows an unstable flow state.
In addition to the problem of setting the correct pressure differences to sustain the desired flow conditions in a tower that could be 100 feet high containing 50 or more trays, mechanical malfunctions could occur in the course of the operation. The holes in trays can become blocked through fouling. Trays can be physically displaced due to pressure surges and fall on top of other trays, and where the holes in the trays contain moving parts such as bubble caps, these parts can get stuck.
Malfunctions in the performance of distillation or fractionation are very difficult to identify directly from flow variables such as pressure or temperature. The loss of efficiency in the separation process can be expensive over the long run. Moreover, it is difficult to detect the area of repair from the variables that control the operation of the unit.
It would greatly assist in the operation of a distillation unit or any other processing unit that depended on its operation on an optimized "bubbly medium" if there was a technology that could monitor the operating state of the unit at each tray and alert operators to changes in that state from the ideal spatial separation of phases described above. It would be particularly advantageous if the technique was "non-intrusive" and thus did not require any penetration of the walls of vessel, and would not interfere with any of the operations of the unit. Finally, if the monitoring were continuous, the time between the suspicion of a malfunction and its identification could be reduced to a minimum, with considerable economic advantages. Corrective actions could then be taken, and their success (or failure) monitored. In some cases the unit might have to be removed from service to remedy the problem for example, "fouled trays` in the case of a distillation unit or a plugged sparger in a bubble column, but the repair could be scheduled with minimum lost time. However, it is important to note that portable monitors would also be useful where continuous monitoring is not justified.
Currently, information about the location and status of the internals of a distillation tower and liquid levels while the tower is operating can be supplied by gamma ray techniques. With these techniques a source of gamma rays is moved vertically down or up the tower, and a detector on the opposite side produces a signal that is proportional to the "density" of the material in the path of the beam. It is thus relatively easy to determine if the trays are in the right locations and liquid levels can also be determined. This technique is in common use in refineries and chem plants, but has serious drawbacks. First it is time consuming, not only in the time spent in making the survey, but in the time spent in scheduling the "scan", since it is supplied by outside specialized and licensed personnel. It is expensive; costing thousands of dollars. It is thus common practice to use this technique only when there are strong suspicions that a distillation or fractionation tower is not functioning as expected.
A more subtle weakness of the "gamma scan" technique is that it is only brought into play when there is evidence for a change in tower performance. Thus tower malfunctions that occur during start-up conditions can be overlooked as part of "normal operations".
Finally, there are processing operations which involve chemicals or pressures that require thick walls on the vessel. Under such conditions, or where the vessel containing the process is of a very large diameter, gamma scans lack the sensitivity to detect flow malfunctions within the unit.
There is thus a need for a less intrusive process than the "gamma scan" to monitor the flow state of a fractionation or distillation tower than can be applied and interpreted by refinery personnel. It is unlikely that it will be necessary to supply such the information in real time by a continuous link to a refinery control room. What is important, is the ability to know on demand, how a given unit differs from its past performance and from that of other similar units in other refineries. However, the invention described here can easily function in either mode. Gamma scans, as noted, can only supply information in a "batch" mode.
In the present invention, the magnitude of the signal from an accelerometer attached to the external wall of an atmospheric pipestill or a bubble column or any turbulently flowing liquid containing gas bubbles is used as a sensitive indicator of the flow state of the unit.

Method for determining operating status of liquid phase gas-phase interaction columns


The invention relates to a radially expandable multi-layer tubular structure which is intended to be used as a stent and to the production method thereof. The inventive structure comprises an outer layer (1) and an inner layer (2) which are solidly connected to one another. One of the aforementioned layers (2) is provided with hollow channels (3) through the thickness thereof while the other layer is provided with perforations (4). Said channels (3) can be used to alter the mechanical properties of the stent and to house a medicament for the local treatment of the vessel in which the stent is disposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an expandable multilayer tubular structure intended to be used as a stent, comprising at least two layers firmly attached to each other, and also to a process for manufacturing it.
It has been known for many years to use implantable devices for the treatment of certain diseases in humans or animals. Thus, such a device has been partly or completely inserted into the esophagus, the trachea, the colon, the vascular system, the urinary tract, etc. In the vascular system, when it is desired to introduce such a device, usually called a stent, we require a catheter, a balloon and a filiform guide or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The device, when it is positioned at the place where the treatment has to be carried out, extends radially in order to support the vessel walls. Depending on the desired treatment, the stent must remain in place or be removed after the period of treatment. Certain stents that remain in place are provided with a medicinal product that must diffuse over a certain period of time so as, on the one hand, to treat the lesion and, on the other hand, to remedy the lesions that may occur by the fact that the vessel, upon inserting the stent, has been disturbed. The stent, especially one that has to remain inside the tube, must have certain almost contradictory mechanical properties, namely it has to be small, lightweight and, above all, after having been radially relaxed, it must withstand the pressure of the walls of the vessel or tube inside which it is placed, without collapsing. It is therefore necessary, on the one hand, for it to be sufficiently rigid and strong, radially, in order to prevent inopportune collapse and, on the other hand, it must be able to be expandable so that it occupies the place that is necessary for the treatment inside the human or animal vessel or tube.

Expandable multi-layer tubular structure and production method thereof


A motor vehicle transmission (1) which is outfitted with a start-up subassembly (A), a core transmission (B) as well as an output subassembly (C) which are drive-engineering connected with one another and are arranged in a transmission housing to reduce development, manufacturing and storage costs. Moreover, the start-up subassembly (A) contains a clutch, a double clutch (5) or a torque converter, while the core transmission (B) is constructed as a gear reduction transmission. The core transmission (B) disposes over at least one transmission input shaft (6, 7), a gear reduction shaft (19) as well as at least one transmission output which is not oriented coaxially toward the at least one transmission input shaft (6, 7). The output subassembly (C) contains transmission components for a front-transverse drive (41, 42, 43), for a front-longitudinal or rear-longitudinal drive (39) or for an all wheel drive (44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56).

Motor vehicle transmissions of this type are described, for example, in DE 198 21 164 A1, DE 198 60 251 A1 and DE 199 23 185 A1. Moreover, it is known that automatic transmissions and manual transmissions differ sharply in their internal construction so that in each case different transmission components are necessary to be able to manufacture different transmissions of this type. In addition to this, automatic and manual transmissions are to be adapted construction-wise to the respective type of power train as well as to construction space conditions in concrete motor vehicle types.
These marginal conditions lead to the necessity of producing a type of transmission, for example for a motor vehicle having rear drive and having a motor and transmission that are arranged parallel to the direction of drive, independent of the differentiation between automatic and manual transmission, that is different from a transmission for a motor vehicle having an identical motor-transmission arrangement and front drive. Finally, as a rule, different all-wheel power train variants must also be considered so that the variety of different transmission types and transmission variants is very large.
The large number described leads to a desire to use the transmission components that are used in the various transmission types and transmission variants in a manner that overlaps the transmission types and transmission variants. These endeavors have nonetheless up until now faced narrow restrictions.
The objective of the invention therefore consists in standardizing the large number of different types and variants of automatic and manual transmissions to a large extent, so as to be able to save on development, manufacturing, repair and storage costs.

Universally configurable motor vehicle transmission


A microwave range having a hood for removing contaminated air includes a chamber having an inner cavity configured to receive items to be heated; an electric component room containing electric components, the electric component room being located above an upper wall of the chamber; and an outer case defining at least one passage between the chamber and the outer case through which contaminated air is received and discharged, and through which air for cooling the electric components flows.

The present disclosure relates to a microwave range, and more particularly, to a microwave having a hood that exhausts contaminated air generated during a cooking operation of a cooking appliance installed in a lower portion.
A related art microwave range is a cooking appliance for heating food using microwaves or heat from a heater. An available microwave range includes a hood that filters contaminated matters from air including an exhaust gas generated during a cooking operation of a cooking appliance installed below the microwave range and exhausts the filtered air to an indoor space or an outdoor space.
However, a related art microwave range having a hood has the following limitations.
First, in a related art microwave range, a cooking room in which cooking is performed, and an electric component room containing electric components for oscillating microwaves, are asymmetrically provided in a chamber. Generally, the cooking room and the electric component room are adjacently provided side by side in the chamber. Therefore, the volume of the cooking room is relatively reduced by the space occupied by the electric component room.
Also, since the cooking room and the electric component room are asymmetrically provided in the chamber as described above, the front appearance of the microwave range is not horizontally symmetrical. Therefore, design for the front appearance of the microwave is limited, which reduces the appealing appearance of a product.
Also, a high voltage transformer of the electric components generates a magnetic field during its operation. The magnetic field of the high voltage transformer can be transferred to an outer case installed above and on both sides of the chamber which generates vibration or noises.


The present invention relates to methods of treating neurodegenerative diseases comprising administering, to a subject in need of such treatment, one or more agent that inhibits or reduces the action, including the catalytic activity, of an enzyme of the phospholipase D family, such as phospholipase D1 and/or phospholipase D2. The present invention also relates to cell-based assays which may be used to identify agents that inhibit or reduce the activity of enzymes of the phospholipase D family and that may be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases encompass a variety of disorders characterized by synaptic dysfunction, associated with a progressive decline in cognitive and functional abilities, often resulting in death. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common age-associated debilitating neurodegenerative disorder, affecting approximately 4 million Americans and about 20-30 million people worldwide. The classical neuropathological features of AD include the presence of senile (β-amyloid-containing) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the association cortices of the temporal, frontal and parietal lobes. More subtle changes include reactive astrocytic changes, as well as the loss of neurons and synapses in the entorhinal cortex and basal forebrain.
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease is not fully understood, however it is known that there is an association between the disease and a cleavage product of the membrane protein, Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP). γ-secretase mediates the C-terminal cleavage of the amyloid-β (Aβ) domain of APP, thereby liberating Aβ/p3 from membrane-bound APP C-terminal fragments generated through ectodomain shedding by α-(ADAM10 and TACE) or β-secretase (BACE1). γ-secretase cleavage generates two major Aβ isoforms—Aβ40 and Aβ42. It has been well documented that all mutations in presenilin genes PS1 and PS2 result in modulation of γ-secretase activity, leading to an elevation in the generation of the highly amyloidogenic and neurotoxic Aβ42 species, possibly at the expense of the more benign Aβ40 peptide.
Phosphoinositides ("PIs") serve as signaling molecules in a diverse array of cellular pathways (Williams, 1999, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1441: 255-267; Rhee and Bai, 1997, J. Biol. Chem. 272(24): 15045-15048; Katan, 1998. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1436: 5-17) and aberrant regulation of PIs in certain cell types has been shown to promote various human disease states (Pendaries et al., 2003, FEBS Lett. 546(1):25-31 PI signaling is tightly regulated by a number of kinases, phosphatases, and phospholipases. The hydrolysis of phosphotidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate (PIP2) by phospholipase C(PLC) is an early and key event in the regulation of a variety of cell functions. It has been discovered that Aβ42 causes a decrease in PIP2 levels (see International Patent Application No. PCT/US2007/085274, WO 2008/064244, incorporated by reference herein).
Phospholipase D (PLD) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to form phosphatidic acid (see International Patent Application No. PCT/US2007/085274, WO 2008/064244, incorporated by reference herein; Sweeney et al., 2002, J. Biol. Chem. 277:3030-3039; Exton et al., 2002, FEBS Lett 531:58-61; Schields and Aryan, 1999, Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 11:489-494). PLD has been reported to regulate various membrane trafficking steps (e.g., the release of secretory vesicles, endocytosis and exocytosis (Chen et al., 1997, J. Cell Biol. 138:495-504; Shen et al., 2001, Mol. Cell. Biol. 21:595-602; Humeau et al., 2001, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 98:15300-'5305; Cockcroft, 2001, Cell. Nol. Life Sci. 58:1674-1687). PLD1 and PLD2 are two different isoforms of this enzyme (Hammond et al., 1995, J. Biol. Chem. 270:29640; Colley et al., 1997, Curr. Biol. 7:191; Steed et al., 1998, FASEB J. 12:1309; see FIG. 1A-B) and are reported to have different cellular functions (Choi et al., 2002, J. Immunol. 168:5682-5689). Cai et al., 2006, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. reports that PLD1 regulates intracellular trafficking of βAPP and its companion paper (Cai et al., 2006, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103:1941-1946) reports that through an independent mechanism PLD1 compromises the integrity of the γ secretase complex, inhibiting β-amyloid formation. Cai et al suggest that defects in PLD metabolism may contribute to Alzheimer's Disease pathogenesis.

Modulation of phospholipase D for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders

THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK


A switch has a base having a recess, and a plurality of fixed contacts mounted in an inner side face of the recess, an electrically conductive actuator disposed within the recess of the base, the electrically conductive actuator having a pair of movable contact portions and an elastically deformable elastic portion, the movable contact portions having movable contacts capable of being connected to respective fixed contacts, at least one engagement convex portion disposed on one of the base and the electrically conductive actuator, and at least one engagement concave portion disposed on the other of the base and the electrically conductive actuator and engageable with the at least one engagement convex portion. The elastic portion of the electrically conductive actuator is elastically deformed to break an engagement between the engagement convex and concave portions when the actuator moves between a first position and a second position.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a switch capable of providing a click feeling. In particular, the present invention relates to an ultra-compact and thin switch with minimum number of components, for use with electronic device such as mobile phone, smartphone, or digital camera.
2. Related Art
Patent Document 1 discloses a slide switch. The slide switch includes a slider capable of reciprocating between two positions and having a step mounted on its side surface, a housing accommodating the slider and having fixed contacts mounted on the bottom surface and spaced apart from each other in the moving direction of the slider, a movable contact member having arms extending obliquely downward and capable of making contacts with the fixed contacts mounted on the housing, a clicking metallic spring disposed between the inner side surface of the housing and the side surface of the slider and having a protrusion mounted on one side opposing the side surface of the slider, and a clicking resin spring disposed within the housing and capable of making contacts with the side surface of the slider.
According to the arrangement, when the slider is moved so that its step slides over the protrusion of the clicking metallic spring, it elastically deforms the clicking metallic and resin springs to cause a clicking feeling.


A driving device is adapted for an infant rocking chair. The rocking chair includes a seat body and a bottom seat. The driving device includes a base, a supporting element, first and second motion mechanisms, and a power mechanism. The first motion mechanism includes a horizontal first guide path unit disposed at the bottom seat, and a first movable member disposed on the base and movable along the first guide path unit. The second motion mechanism includes a vertically varying second guide path unit disposed at the bottom seat, and a second movable member movable along the second guide path unit and vertically relative to the base. The supporting element interconnects fixedly the seat body and the second movable member. The power mechanism drives reciprocal movement of the first and second movable members.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an infant rocking chair, and more particularly to a driving device for driving a seat body of an infant rocking chair to move back and forth as well as up and down.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional infant rocking chairs can only produce either only a back-and-forth motion or an up-and-down motion. However, a curved swinging motion in which a back-and-forth motion is combined with an up-and-down motion so as to simulate the motion usually made by a person taking care of and holding an infant in his or her arms, is able to impart greater comfort to the infant. Furthermore, conventional driving devices for driving infant rocking chairs include interconnected gears, which generate a large amount of noise during operation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Infant rocking chair and driving device for driving the same


The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of as 1-(4-Chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethylpent-1-ene-3-one, also known as Phenyl aldol. The process of the present invention utilizes catalysts. The process enables the manufacture of the Phenyl aldol in the absence of a solvent and without crystalization or filtration steps. Yields in the range of about greater than 95% with purities in the range of about greater than 95% have been obtained with the present invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of 1-(4-Chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethylpent-1-ene-3-one, also known as Phenyl aldol.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Phenyl aldol is an important intermediate used in the preparation of agrochemicals.
Phenyl aldol has been manufactured by using solvents in its preparation. Its manufacture is described for example, in German Patents DE 392 11 67 and DE 400 40 31. Phenyl aldol is also described in French Patent No. 2,253,505 and in an article entitled Activated Barium Hydroxide As A Catalyst In Organic Synthesis, Garcia-Raso, et. al., Polish Journal of Chemistry, 1982, Vol. 56, 10–12, pp. 1435–45 (1982). French Patent No. 2,253,505 not only requires filtration and recrystallization steps, but its yields are only about 40 to 80%.
The use of a solvent in the manufacturing process of Phenyl aldol requires a separate storage tank for the solvent and all the associated complications of handling an additional component in the manufacturing sequence. Moreover, known processes for manufacturing Phenyl aldol require additional process steps, including but not limited to crystallization and filtration, which require specialized equipment and additional cycle time to conduct these operations. Also, during those steps, some product loss usually happens.
There is a need in the art for a process for the manufacture of Phenyl aldol which does not require the use of a separate solvent and which can be conducted without additional process steps such as crystallization and filtration.

Process for the preparation of 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethylpent-1-ene-3-one


A system and method for encoding and receiving data is provided. The data is encoded as a pulse amplitude modulated signal such that the amplitude signals do not transition from the highest signal level to the lowest signal level and do not transition from the lowest signal level to the highest signal level. The encoding and decoding is performed in some embodiments via a lookup table, and in further embodiments is designed to minimize the step between sequential pulse amplitude modulated symbols.

When digital signals are transmitted across electrical connections, the impedances and other characteristics of the electrical connections have an effect on the signal. Conductors are imperfect to varying degrees, and the transmitted power must be of sufficient level to result in an adequate signal-to-noise ratio where the signal is received.
Electrical signals are typically coded, or are transmitted in a way that maintains the integrity of the signal during transmission and provides for accurate detection of the signal at the receiver. Various types of coding are employed and are known by various terms, including channel coding, line coding, and other types of coding. Channel coding typically comprises methods that are directed at maintaining the integrity of the conveyed data sequence, such as by error correction. Line coding involves converting sequences of digital information into patterns determined to be suitable for transmission.
The coded data is then converted to individual electrical pulses according to the coding schemes, and is transmitted across the transmission line or conductor to a receiver. A system designer generally utilizes a combination of channel coding, line coding, and pulse generation techniques to create a communications system that is robust enough to meet the requirements of a particular application.
One combination of coding and pulse generation that is readily implemented in modern electronics is pulse amplitude modulation. These methods involve encoding data as impulses having one of several levels. For example in a 4-PAM (4-way pulse amplitude modulation) scheme, each data impulse takes one of four levels. Each 4-PAM encoded data impulse can therefore hold the equivalent of two bits of traditional digital information, resulting in a dramatic increase in channel capacity where such schemes are appropriate. But, such schemes are not always appropriate or easy to implement. Phenomena such as intersymbol interference and noise can effectively limit the number of amplitudes that can be discerned with a given impulse given specific voltage and power constraints.
Intersymbol interference is a well-known interference mechanism by which a single symbol or impulse results in symbol interference outside the single symbol's pulse period due to oscillation or bandwidth limitation. For example, what starts as a square wave impulse on a bandwidth-limited transmission line may appear at a receiver to more closely resemble a sinc ((sin(x))/x) pulse having oscillations well before and after the original intended pulse period. These oscillations can cause interference with neighboring signals, resulting in one type of intersymbol interference.
What is desired is a system providing the enhanced data rate of pulse amplitude modulation with enhanced intersymbol interference immunity.

Pulse amplitude modulated system with reduced intersymbol interference