A full-circumferential flow pump includes an outer cylinder and a motor housed in the outer cylinder. The motor has a motor frame, a stator disposed in the motor frame, a main shaft, a rotor mounted on the main shaft and rotatably disposed in the stator. The outer cylinder defines an annular space defined around the motor frame, the outer cylinder having a pump suction port defined therein for introducing a fluid therethrough into the annular space. A pump unit is mounted on an end of the main shaft, and the outer cylinder has a discharge window defined therein for discharging a fluid from the pump unit. A discharge case is mounted on an outer circumferential surface of the outer cylinder in communication with the discharge window, the discharge case having a pump discharge port.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a full-circumferential flow pump, and more particularly to a full-circumferential flow pump having an impeller on an end of a shaft of a motor, with an annular space or flow passage defined around the motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
German laid-open patent publication No. 1,653,692 (DE 1,653,692) discloses a pump in which a fluid being handled flows around a motor. The disclosed pump allows its main shaft to be rotated manually and also allows pump units to be inspected and serviced for maintenance without the need for removing pipes connected to the pump.
FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings shows the disclosed pump. As shown in FIG. 9, the pump has a block-like main body 100, a motor stator 101 housed therein, and a motor rotor 102 disposed in the motor stator 101 with a small clearance between the motor stator 101 and the motor rotor 102. Impellers 103, 104 are fixedly mounted on respective opposite ends of the motor rotor 102. A fluid flows from a pump suction port 105 into the block body 101, is divided into two lateral flows which are then pressurized by the impellers 103, 104. The impellers 103, 104 discharge the respective fluid flows, which are then merged and discharged from the main body 101 through a discharge port 106.
The disclosed pump shown in FIG. 4 is highly likely to suffer problems which arise due to pressure irregularities applied to the motor stator 101. More specifically, the pump has three different regions around the motor which include:
1) a region in which the fluid under a suction pressure flows;
2) a region in which the fluid under a discharge pressure flows; and
3) a region in which no fluid flows at all.
On account of these different regions, the pressure (external force) imposed on the motor stator 101 is not uniform, tending to strain or deform the motor stator 101.
Furthermore, since the discharge pressure is applied to the motor, especially its rotor chambers, the pump is not suitable for use in applications under high discharge pressure. The pump may possibly be open to difficulties when it is incorporated in a unit pump system in which pumps are series-connected to produce a high pump head.
The pump is highly liable to suffer drawbacks when an outer motor frame is made of thin sheet metal and also the pump discharge pressure is high. When subjected to external forces such as loads from the piping, the motor of the disclosed pump tends to cause trouble because the outer motor frame and an outer cylinder of the pump are integrally formed with each other.


In a photoelectric conversion device having a plurality of pixel circuits, a read transistor, a main electrode of which is connected to a charge accumulation node of a photoelectric conversion unit in each pixel circuit is operated in a pentode region, so as to read out a photoelectric conversion signal of each diode to a floating diffusion.

In recent years, CMOS sensors as solid-state image sensing elements that use MOS transistors have been extensively developed. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a CMOS sensor.
Reference numeral 1 denotes pixel circuits each of which has a photodiode used to convert light into an electrical signal, and a transistor. Such pixels line up in the horizontal and vertical directions to form a two-dimensional (2D) array. Reference numeral 2 denotes vertical output lines used to output signals from the pixels; 3, signal lines used to transfer voltages to transistors in the pixels; 4, a vertical scan circuit for outputting pulses in turn to the signal lines 3 in the vertical direction; 5, load transistors each of which forms a source-follower circuit with the transistor in each pixel; 6, a read circuit for reading noise signals and photoelectric conversion signals from the pixels; and 7, a differential amplifier for executing a differential process between the optical signal and noise signal.
FIG. 2 is a detailed equivalent circuit diagram of the pixel circuit 1 explained using FIG. 1. Reference numeral 21 denotes a photodiode which serves as a photoelectric conversion unit for converting light into an electrical signal; 22, an amplification transistor which receives a signal generated by the photodiode at its gate electrode, and amplifies and outputs that signal from its source electrode; 23, a transfer transistor which transfers the signal from the photodiode to the amplification transistor 22; 24, a reset transistor which supplies a reset potential to the gate electrode side (floating diffusion 26) of the amplification transistor; and 25, a selection transistor which selectively output a signal in the pixel onto the vertical output line.
The operation of the aforementioned CMOS sensor will be briefly explained below. The transfer transistor 23 and reset transistor 24 are turned on to reset the photodiode 21 and floating diffusion 26. After that, the transfer transistor 23 and reset transistor 24 are turned off, and the photodiode 21 starts accumulation of a photocharge.
During accumulation of the photocharge by the photodiode 21, the selection transistor 25 is turned on to read out a noise signal (a potential corresponding to that which resets the floating diffusion). After that, the transfer transistor 23 is turned on to transfer the photocharge to the floating diffusion, and a potential (photoelectric conversion signal) corresponding to that of the floating diffusion is read out.
The photoelectric conversion signal and noise signal are input to the differential amplifier 7 via the read circuit 6 to remove noise components contained in the input photoelectric conversion signal.
When the transfer transistor 26 is turned on, since it operates in a triode region (linear region), the source and drain sides are coupled via a channel, as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a potential chart immediately after the gate of the transfer transistor 23 is enabled.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the photodiode 21 (electrostatic capacitance C21) and floating diffusion 26 (electrostatic capacitance C26) are capacitively coupled. Hence, if Vo represents a voltage generated by the photodiode 21, the voltage of the floating diffusion 26 is given by {C26/(C21+C26)}Vo due to capacitive division, and the voltage decreases, resulting in a sensitivity drop.
Upon resetting the photodiode, when the transfer transistor 23 operates in a triode region, the reset potential of the photodiode is influenced by variations of a threshold value of the transfer transistor 23, thus producing fixed pattern noise.

Photoelectric conversion device with photoelectric conversion units stacked in a depth direction and corresponding read transistor structure


An image forming apparatus configured to form a color image by having at least one consumable product, the image forming apparatus including a main board, a first memory unit detachably coupled to the main body, a consumable product memory unit installed at the consumable product, and configured to store information on a lifespan of the consumable product, and a control unit configured to read the information on the lifespan of the consumable product from the consumable product memory unit, and to store the information on the lifespan of the consumable product at the first memory unit in the form of a backup.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an image forming apparatus configured to manage information with reference to a lifespan of a consumable product, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an image forming apparatus using an electro-photographing method is an apparatus configured to form an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium using a light exposing unit such as a laser scanning unit (LSU) by receiving image data that corresponds to a desired image, to form a toner image by supplying a toner to the electrostatic latent image by using a developing unit, to transfer the toner image to an intermediate transfer belt, and to form a desired color image by transferring the toner image that is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt to a printing medium.
As for the image forming apparatus described above to form a color image, the image forming apparatus needs to be provided with a number of consumable products, and conventionally, through a CPU processor, the information with reference to the lifespan of the consumable product is calculated, and by storing such in a non-volatile memory part provided at a main board, the calculated information is managed. However, when replacing the main board with a new main board in a case of a defect generated at the main board, the information with reference to the lifespan of the consumable product, which is calculated and stored in the meantime, is initialized, and thus, a difficulty of being unable to manage the lifespan of the various components installed at the image forming apparatus occurs.
Meanwhile, as to resolve such difficulties, a method of separately removing a non-volatile memory part provided at the conventional main board, and reattaching the non-volatile memory part on a replaced main board is known, but this method is provided with an inconvenience in performing a replacement task of the non-volatile memory part, and during the replacement process of the non-volatile memory part, if a mistake by a user occurs (a service technician), the memory part may be damaged.

Image forming apparatus and control method thereof


The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device. The basic components of an MRI device are the main magnet system (2), the gradient system (3), the RF system and the signal processing system. According to the present invention, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device has an eddy current shield system, wherein the eddy current shield system comprises at least one perforated eddy current screen (13, 14), and wherein the or each perforated eddy current screen (13, 14) is assigned to the main magnet system (2).

The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging device, comprising at least a main magnet system for generating a steady magnetic field in a measuring space of the magnetic resonance imaging device, a gradient system for generating a magnetic gradient field in said measuring space, and an eddy current shield system.
The basic components of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device are the main magnet system, the gradient system, the RF system and the signal processing system. The main magnet system is also often called cryostat. The main magnet system comprises a bore hole defining a measuring space and enabling the entry of an object to be analyzed by the MRI device. The main magnet system generates a strong uniform static field for polarization of nuclear spins in the object to be analyzed. The gradient system is designed to produce time-varying magnetic fields of controlled spatial non-uniformity. The gradient system is a crucial part of the MRI device because gradient fields are essential for signal localization. The RF system mainly consists of a transmitter coil and a receiver coil, wherein the transmitter coil is capable of generating a magnetic field for excitation of a spin system, and wherein the receiver coil converts a precessing magnetization into electrical signals. The signal processing system generates images on basis of the electrical signals.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices known from prior art usually generate a relatively high acoustic noise level which has to be minimized. On the one hand, acoustic noise is caused by vibrations of the gradient system, and on the other hand acoustic noise is caused by vibrations of the main magnet system (cryostat).
The acoustic noise generated by the gradient system vibrations can effectively be reduced by means of a vacuum chamber. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,404,200 and 5,793,210.
In order to further reduce the acoustic noise of the MRI devices, the acoustic noise generated by the vibrating main magnet system needs to be reduced. The main magnet system vibrations are caused by three excitation mechanisms, firstly by a structural transmission of vibrations from the gradient system to the main magnet system through gradient coil mounts, secondly by a magnetic excitation of the main magnet system due to the varying magnetic gradient-fields causing eddy currents in the wall of the main magnet system, and thirdly by an acoustic excitation of the main magnet system. The third excitation mechanism is not dominant for most MRI devices.
The first excitation mechanism causing vibrations of the main magnet system can be reduced effectively by using a compliant support for the gradient coils of the gradient system. See for example EP-A-1 193 507.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,788 it is known that the magnetic excitation of the main magnet system can effectively be reduced by means of an eddy current shield system mounted rigidly on the gradient system. However, it is difficult to reduce eddy currents in the flange of the main magnet system by means of an eddy current shield system mounted on the gradient system.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,568 it is known that the magnetic excitation of the main magnet system can effectively be reduced by using a non-conducting main magnet system. This has however drawbacks with respect to a boil-off effect, because heat is generated inside the main magnet system as a result of the fact that the main magnet system is non-conducting.

Main magnet perforated eddy current shield for a magnetic resonance imaging device


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of frame synchronization in broad band wireless communication systems. In an apparatus of frame synchronization in a mobile station, a time variant phase rotation compensator eliminates time variant phase rotation carried in received signals by conjugated multiplication between adjacent signal samples. Then, the processed signal is fed into a delay correlator to calculate a plurality of correlations between two successive frames. A local power calculator acquires an average power of several symbols centered on delayed correlation values. A normalizer normalizes the delayed correlation values with a local average power corresponding to the delayed correlation values. A maximum value detector selects the maximum value from normalized correlation values to trigger frame synchronizing and timing signals.

Frame synchronization is very important to packet data transmission in OFDM or OFDMA communication systems. In an OFDM or OFDMA-based communication system, such as IEEE 802.16d/e system, the apparatus of frame synchronization is responsible for detecting the beginning instant of a frame. With the beginning instant of the frame detected, it is possible to feed the preamble symbol and the following symbols into a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) module for further processing in accordance with a fixed symbol length. On the other hand, most receivers require an automatic frequency correction (AFC) unit to correct carrier frequency offset (CFO) between the mobile station (MS) and the base station (BS). AFC can be realized by adjusting a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) or a numeral-controlled oscillator (NCO). As described below, adjustment of CFO affects the performance of frame synchronization.
FIG. 1 shows a typical structure of a frame of the TDD-OFDM/OFDMA system, which frame includes a downlink (DL) sub-frame and an uplink (UL) sub-frame. A receive/transmit transition gap (RTG) separates the UL sub-frame from the DL sub-frame, and a transmit/receive gap (TTG) separates the DL sub-frame from the UL sub-frame. The first symbol of a frame is a training symbol called "preamble", which is a sign of the beginning of the frame. The preamble symbol is transmitted in every frame, and its power is specified several dB higher than that of a normal data symbol. The common symbol and power boosting properties of the preamble symbol are contributive to realization of frame synchronization.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional apparatus of frame synchronization based on the preamble symbol.
As shown in FIG. 2, two adjacent frames are cross-correlated in a delay correlator 202, and a correlation peak as obtained corresponds to the beginning position of the preamble symbol. However, adjustment of an AFC unit to the frequency will affect the correlation value of the preamble symbol.
Suppose the receiving signal of a previous frame be r(n−Nframe), wherein n is the sequence number of a time domain sample, and Nframe is the number of samples in one frame duration; let a normalized frequency offset be δf1={tilde over (δ)}f1/Δf, wherein Δf is subcarrier spacing and {tilde over (δ)}f1 is CFO between MS and BS. This receiving signal can be modeled as Equation (1).r(n−Nframe)=r′(n−Nframe)e−j2πnδf1/Nfft  (1)
where r′(n) is the received signal without frequency offset from the transmitter, Nfft is the FFT window size of the OFDM signal.
Suppose the frequency offset estimated in a frequency offset estimator 206 be {circumflex over (δ)}f1, AFC acts before the current frame comes, that is to say, the frequency offset is compensated in a frequency offset compensator 201. The residual frequency offset is as follows:δf2=δf1−{circumflex over (δ)}f1  (2)
This results in a frequency offset difference between the two frames. The receiving signal of the current frame can be modeled as Equation (3).r(n)=r′(n)e−j2πnδf2/Nfft  (3)
The cross-correlation of the two frames is given by Equation (4) below:
                                                                                P                  1                                                                  (                  n                  )                                            =                                                                                    ∑                                          k                      =                      1                                                              N                      sym                                                                                r                                                                    (                                                  n                          +                          k                                                )                                                                                r                        *                                                                                (                                                  n                          +                          k                          -                                                      N                            frame                                                                          )                                                                                                                                                                =                                                                                                                                                ∑                                                          k                              =                              1                                                                                N                              sym                                                                                r                                                '                                                                                (                                                  n                          +                          k                                                )                                                                  r                                                        '                                                                  (                                      n                    +                    k                    -                                          N                      frame                                                        )                                                                  ⅇ                                                            -                      j                                                                                2                                                              π                                                                    (                                                                              δ                                                                                f                              1                                                                                -                                                      δ                                                                                f                              2                                                                                )                                                                                k                      /                                              N                        fft                                                                                                                                          (        4        )
where n is the running index of the time domain sample corresponding to the output correlation value, k is the index of the sample for the correlation calculation in an OFDM symbol, and correlation window length is a symbol, namely Nsym.
If without consideration of CFO difference between two successive frames, there will always be a correlation peak at the beginning of the preamble symbol due to similarity of the received preamble symbol. However, every item in Equation (4) carries a time variant phase rotation e−j2π(δf1−δf2)k/Nfft introduced by CFO difference. The phase rotation is changed as k changing, which turns a near in-phase summation into a vector summation when the preamble symbol is fed into the correlation window. The correlation peak of the preamble symbol is not prominent especially when CFO is big. Accordingly, it is difficult to search the beginning of the frame in this case, that is, false timing probability will increase.
This problem can be solved by stopping AFC adjustment during the frame timing period. However, an additional feedback control circuit from the timing synchronization apparatus is required and much synchronization time is consumed.
On the other hand, RTG and TTG in the TDD-OFDM/OFDMA system tend to lead to false frame detection with conventional methods. In conventional methods correlation value P1(n) is usually normalized by the corresponding symbol power P2(n) to eliminate the channel fading influence. The power of the current symbol is calculated in a power calculator 203 by the following Equation:
                                          P            2                                          (            n            )                          =                                                      ∑                              k                =                1                                            N                sym                                                                                r                                                  (                                      n                    +                    k                                    )                                                                                r                  *                                                                  (                                      n                    +                    k                                    )                                                                                                  (        5        )
P1(n) is normalized by P2(n) in a normalizer 204, that is:
                              ɛ                                (            n            )                          =                                            P              1                                                  (              n              )                                                          P              2                                                  (              n              )                                                          (        6        )
The normalizing power P2(n) is very small within or around RTG/TTG. By this time, at the ending terminal or the beginning terminal of the UL/DL sub-frame, the correlator 202 combines several samples of an end symbol with RTG or TTG together as one OFDM symbol to perform the correlation calculation. It is easy for several residual samples to be closely correlated. Thus, the difference between P1(n) and P2(n) is very small, and this results in the fact that the normalized ε(n) around RTG/TTG is often bigger than the normalized correlation value of the preamble symbol. This phenomenon is most notable in RTG period because the power of UL received by a mobile station may be tens of dB higher than the power of DL when a neighboring user is transmitting signals.
Because of the same reason, the false correlation peak also tends to appear in null symbols of a frame where no data transmission is scheduled or around symbols of a frame where the power of transmission is boosted or decreased.

Apparatus and method of frame synchronization in broad band wireless communication systems


Specific AC welding waveforms are utilized to increase the toughness level of austenitic stainless steel above what is achieved using the same welding consumables using standard DC welding waveforms.

The modern world is perhaps more indebted to steel development than any other technological advancement. This is evident from the fact that we dub whole epochs by their metallurgical capabilities; i.e. bronze age, iron age, etc. In the past century, steel research and production have created steels which are capably strong and tough at high, power generation-type temperatures while still being relatively lean (1.25 wt-% Cr, 0.5 wt-% Mo) and ferritic. Cold service, on the other hand, is the weak point of plain carbon and low alloy steels. A suitable low alloy steel capable of withstanding cryogenic temperatures with adequate crack resistance (toughness) has yet to be developed. Such an alloy may not even be possible, as the ferrite crystallographic phase undergoes a ductile-to-brittle transition at low temperature, dependent upon alloy system. Thus, stainless and nickel based steels having primarily austenite crystallographic phase are used for low temperature cryogenic applications. Oftentimes, welding and fabrication codes call for specialty austenitic stainless steel which ensure a low percentage of ferrite in the weld deposit by tightly controlling weld metal composition.
Currently, submerged arc welding is one of the most productive methods for arc welding stainless steels, but the toughness of nominally matching submerged arc weld metal is typically much lower than that of the base material, especially at these low temperatures. This requires component and vessel designers to make concessions in the design to accommodate these lower toughness welds. It also requires fabricators to purchase consumables to very strict chemical compositions, which is expensive. Further, fabricators must tightly control their welding procedures to obtain an adequate toughness level.
Ferrite number requirements for austenitic stainless filler metals as listed in ASME BPVC.VIII.1-2015 UHA-51 (a)(3)(−a)(−1) exist because the toughness of austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures is sensitive to ferrite content when using conventional welding processes. However, submerged arc welding of 316 L filler metals with the stainless steel waveforms of the present invention have proven that equivalent-to-superior toughness can be had when welding with conventional 316 L electrodes using a modified waveform compared to welding with a more expensive controlled ferrite number electrode, such as 316 LCF using conventional DC welding.

Welding waveform for stainless steel applications


A time history display of orthogonal code power levels by spreading factor is generated by displaying each data record of code domain power as a line, with each point in the line representing a different code index and the color or brightness of each data point representing the associated base code power level. With the data records displayed as contiguous lines, as each new data record is acquired it is added as a new line of the display while the line representing the oldest data record is deleted from the display. For communications standards where the code spreading factor varies, both bit-reversed and Walsh code graphs are displayed to show the grouping of the sub-codes that make up a base code. In this way the time history display indicates timing and trend information to a user.

The present invention relates to the display of communication signal information, and more particularly to a time history display of orthogonal code power levels by spreading factor.
There are various methods for displaying the power of orthogonal codes in a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal. In a COMA signal using orthogonal codes, all of which are the same length (also known as spreading factor), the amount of power present in each code, i.e., code domain power (CDP), may be displayed by plotting the power in each code versus the code number index on a two-dimensional graph. This is a conventional and well-understood manner using linear index code order for displaying CDP information. Newer CDMA systems, such as cdma2000, now specify use of codes of varying spreading factors, i.e., of different lengths, which complicates the display of CDP. Specifically codes of smaller spreading factor when displayed in a CDP graph appropriate for the largest spreading factor code appear dispersed into multiple sub-codes at fixed distances determined by their relationship to the larger spreading factor code system, i.e., a code with a spreading factor of 16 when displayed on the code graph for a spreading factor of 128 has 8 sub-codes spaced 8 indices apart. Also the total code power of the lower spreading factor code is not correctly indicated by the power levels of the individual sub-codes. Both of these factors cause difficulty in interpreting the results of CDP calculations when codes of different spreading factor values are present.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,340 describes one method of displaying power levels for a CDMA signal having orthogonal codes with different spreading factors or code layers. In this display a power level for each active code channel is displayed using a vertical bar, with the width of the bar indicating in which code layer each active code channel is active. However this display does not highlight the relationship of sub-codes to the base code. This deficiency is remedied by co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/919,690 filed Jul. 31, 2001 in which the relationship of sub-codes to the base code is indicated by using two graphs, one of which is in bit-reversed index code order to group the sub-codes of lower spreading factors together. Additionally a base code power indicator in the form of a horizontal bar extends across the sub-codes in the graph using Walsh code order, representing the spreading factor for the base code at a level representing the base code power. Another display method is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/967,555 filed Sep. 28, 2001 in which a third dimension is used in the display of code domain power for orthogonal codes having different spreading factors.
These methods allow a user to see at any point in time which codes are active and at what power levels. Some methods also provide visualization of base code to sub-code relationships and spreading factors. However the nature of a live signal makes it very difficult to determine from a code power graph when the various codes become active and inactive, how widely distributed the various spreading factors are, or how to spot trends such as under-active and over-active codes because the graph updates many times per second, showing different data each time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,348 describes a quasi-3-dimensional display referred to as a color spectrogram which shows a number of frequency spectra that were generated over time as a series of colored lines where color is used as a substitute for a third dimension. Each single line is a complete spectrum, with different frequencies being represented by different points along the line and the color of each point representing an amplitude at that frequency. This display has a pseudo-random, evenly-divided x-axis with a data resolution that is usually the same or greater than the display pixel resolution and that doesn't vary from one spectrum record to the next.
What is desired is a method of displaying a time history of orthogonal code power levels by spreading factor to allow users to quickly spot trends and determine timing relationships.

Time history display of orthogonal code power levels


A bus arbitration system employs counters respectively provided for an encoding section and an decoding section that are started when there is a request signal from the respective encoding section and decoding section. The counter values are outputted to respective comparators that compare the counter values with predetermined values and the results of the comparisons are fed to an arbitration controller. The arbitration controller in turn determines priority rankings for the encoding section and the decoding section based on the signals inputted from the comparators and outputs an acknowledgement signal to the module that has the highest priority.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a recording medium and a program, and, more particularly, relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, which carry out an arbitration for efficient acquisition of a bus by a plurality of modules when the plurality of modules carry out process using a single bus.
2. Related Art
Nowadays, electronic apparatuses and devices that are controlled by LSI's (Large Scale Integration) circuits have become popular.
In LSI's, various processes are carried out by modules (engines) including a plurality of IC's (Integrated Circuits). In such case, in order to have the process of each module of the LSI to be executed, it is required to store data in an external memory according to the process being performed, or to conveniently read out the stored data.
For this reason, the order of acquisition of a bus connected to the external memory for each module is arbitrated, in other words, a function is provided for controlling bus arbitration so that the bus acquisition is controlled for each module.
Available methods for bus arbitration include a round-robin method, a fixed priority method (a fixed priority rank method) and the like.
The round-robin method is a method in which the bus is uniformly acquired by a plurality of modules, i.e., it is a method of controlling by making the plurality of modules acquire the bus in sequence.
FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B show an example of a timing chart in which the timings when two modules of a first module and a second module acquire one bus are controlled in accordance with a round-robin method.
Here, FIG. 1A shows the timing when the first module transmits a request signal for requesting the acquisition of the bus and the timing when the bus is acquired to then execute a first process, and FIG. 1B shows the timing when the second module transmits the request signal for requesting the acquisition of the bus and the timing when the bus is acquired to then execute a second process.
The first module transmits a request signal R1 for requesting the acquisition of the bus at a time t1, and when acquiring the bus between the times t1 and t2, executes a first process 1 (in FIG. 1A, it is indicated by the encircled numeral "1", and hereafter, an encircled numeral indicates a process in the drawing), and then transmits a request signal R2 at a time t2 of a timing when the process is ended. At this event, the round-robin method carries out the control so that the first module and the second module alternately acquire the bus. Thus, until the second module completes a second process 11, the first module cannot acquire the bus. So, a next first process 2 is not executed, staying in a standby mode.
Here, at a time t3, the second module transmits a request signal R11 and at that timing, the second module acquires the bus, and executes the second process 11 between the times t3 and t4.
At the time t4 when this second process 11 is ended, the first module can acquire the bus, thus executing the first process 2 between the times t4 and t5, and further transmitting a request signal R3 for requesting the acquisition of the bus at the time t5 when the first process 2 is ended.
Also at this time, in the round-robin method, the first module cannot acquire the bus until the completion of the process of the second module.
Under this condition, at a time t6, the second module can acquire the bus at that timing, if transmitting a request signal R12 for the bus acquisition, thus, executing a second process 12 between the times t6 and t7.
At the time t7 when this process 12 is ended, the first module can acquire the bus, thus executing a first process 3 between the times t7 and t8, and further transmitting a request signal R4 for requesting the acquisition of the bus at a time t8.
Also at that time, in the round-robin method, the first module cannot acquire the bus until the completion of the process of the second module.
Under this condition, at a time t9, the second module, if transmitting a request signal R13 for the bus acquisition, can acquire the bus at that timing, thus executing a second process 13 between the times t9 and t10 and further transmitting a request signal R14 for requesting the acquisition of the bus at that timing. At this time, in the round-robin method, the second module cannot acquire the bus until the completion of the process of the first module.
On the other hand, at the time t10 that is the timing when this second process 13 is executed, the first module can acquire the bus, thus executing a first process 4 between the times t10 and t11. At this time, the request for the bus acquisition is not transmitted.
At the time t11 when this first process 4 is ended, the second module can acquire the bus, thus executing a second process 14 between the times t11 and t12 and further transmitting a request signal R15 for requesting the bus acquisition at the time t12. Also at this time, in the round-robin method, the second module cannot acquire the bus until the completion of the process of the first module.
Under this condition, at a time t13, the first module, if transmitting a request signal R5 for requesting the bus acquisition, can acquire the bus at that timing, thus executing a first process 5 between the times t13 and t14.
At the time t14 when this first process 5 is ended, the second module can acquire the bus, thus executing a second process 15 between the times t14 and t15 and further transmitting a request signal R16 for requesting the bus acquisition at the time t15. Also at this time, in the round-robin method, the second module cannot acquire the bus until the completion of the process of the first module.
Under this condition, at a time t16, the first module, if transmitting a request signal R6 for requesting the bus acquisition, can acquire the bus at that timing, thus executing a first process 6 between the times t16 and t17.
At the time t17 when this first process 6 is ended, the second module can acquire the bus, thus executing a first process 16 between the times t17 and t18.
As mentioned above, the round-robin method is the method in which the first module and the second module alternately acquire the bus and carry out their processes.
Also, a fixed priority method (a fixed priority rank method) is a method in which if there are a plurality of modules, a priority rank is set in advance for each module, and a bus is acquired in accordance with the priority rank, if a request for requesting a bus acquisition is carried out from each module.
Also, among conventional arbitration apparatuses, there is an apparatus in which when one common resource is used between a plurality of masters, a priority rank is calculated to thereby set a grant to use the common source in accordance with the calculation result. For example, refer to Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-A 2002-55944 (Paragraph [0058] and FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).
By the way, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B as mentioned above, the frequency of accesses to an external memory of each module is typically changed on the basis of the processing conditions.
However, in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, for example, at the times t2, t3 and t4, the first module transmits the request signals R2, R3 and R4 for requesting the bus acquisitions. On the contrary, although the second module does not request the bus acquisition, the processes have to wait until the times t4, t7 and t10 that are the timings when the processes of the second module are ended. Also at the times t12 and t15, the second module transmits the requests R15, R16 for the bus acquisition. On the contrary, although the first module does not request the bus acquisition, the processes have to wait until the times t14 and t17 that are the timings when the processes of the first module are ended. As a result, it is not possible to attain an efficient bus arbitration process (the process for adjusting the bus acquisition), which results in the generation of unnecessary latency time. Hence, this brings about a problem that the processing speed is reduced for LSI as a whole.
Also, in the case of the fixed priority rank method, if there are many modules, a module having a higher priority rank can preferentially acquire the bus and execute the processes. However, a module having a lower priority rank cannot acquire the bus as long as the process having the higher priority rank continues to be executed. Thus, there may be a fear that a proper bus cannot be acquired when the process condition for each module is changed. This results in a problem that the processing speed is reduced.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, recording medium and program


A dipole antenna includes a board and a dipole element. The board includes a dielectric substrate. The dipole element resonates within a predetermined bandwidth, and includes a pair of bilaterally symmetrical radiating arms, each of which is formed on the dielectric substrate. The dipole antenna has a relatively high degree of omni-directivity.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an antenna, more particularly to a dipole antenna that is formed on a dielectric substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional omni-directional printed circuit board (PCB) based antennas, such as a planar inverted-Fantenna (PIFA) and a patch antenna, have an unsatisfactory omni-directivity.
It is desirable to provide a PCB-based antenna that has a relatively high degree of omni-directivity.


The present invention provides an optical detection system for detecting defects in an optical fiber. The system comprises a light source for projecting a beam of light onto the coating layer of an optical fiber. An optical detector positioned adjacent the optical fiber receives a first light ray reflected at the interface of the air and the coating layer as the light enters the coating layer surrounding the optical fiber and a second light ray reflected at the interface of the air and the coating layer as the light exits the coating layer after passing through the optical fiber. When a defect, such as an airline, for example, is present in the optical fiber, a third light ray is reflected by the defect and is detected by the optical detector. A signal processor is electrically coupled to the optical detector for receiving an output signal from the optical detector and for processing the output signal to determine whether or not one or more defects have been detected. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, when only two rays of light are detected, the signal processor determines that no defects exist in the optical fiber. When three rays of light are detected, the signal processor determines that a defect exists in the optical fiber.

The successful implementation of a light wave communication system requires high quality light guide fibers having mechanical properties sufficient to withstand the stresses to which they are subjected. Each fiber must be capable of withstanding over its entire length a maximum stress level to which the fiber will be exposed during installation and service. The importance of fiber strength becomes apparent when one considers that a single fiber failure will result in the loss of several hundreds of circuits.
The failure of light guide fibers in tension is commonly associated with surface flaws which cause stress concentrations and lower the tensile strength below that of pristine unflawed glass. The size of the flaw determines the level of stress concentration and, hence, the failure stress. Even micron-sized surface flaws cause stress concentrations which significantly reduce the tensile strength of the fibers.
Optical fibers are normally made in a continuous process which involves drawing a thin glass strand of fiber from a partially molten glass preform and thereafter applying the coating layers. A furnace is used to partially melt the preform to permit the fiber to be drawn. The heat of the furnace and the rate of draw of the fiber must be in proper balance so that the optical fiber can be drawn continuously under uniform conditions. Long lengths of light guide fibers have considerable potential strength, but the strength is dimnished by airlines or holes occurring in the optical fibers. Furthermore, airlines in optical fibers also interfere with the light-propagation properties of the optical fibers.
Soon after an optical fiber is drawn, the optical fiber is coated with a layer of a coating material such as, for example, a polymer. This coating serves to prevent airborne particles from impinging upon and adhering to the surface of the drawn fiber, which would weaken it or even affect its transmission properties. Also, the coating shields the fibers from surface abrasion, which could occur as a result of subsequent manufacturing processes and handling during installation. The coating also provides protection from corrosive environments and spaces the fibers in cable structures. However, this coating layer does not eliminate problems caused by airlines or holes existing in the fiber itself. The above-referenced co-pending related applications, Ser. Nos. 08/815,180 and 08/814,673, are directed to detecting defects in an optical fiber coating and detecting and distinguishing between defects in an optical fiber coating, respectively.
It is generally known in the industry to monitor optical fibers as they are being drawn during the manufacturing process to determine whether defects exist in the optical fibers. However, the known techniques analyze the optical fibers during the drawing process before the coating layers have been applied and require complicated hardware and/or software to detect defects contained in the optical fibers.
For example, Bondybey et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,217, disclose a system for detecting optical fiber defects to determine the tensile strength of optical fibers as they are being manufactured prior to any coating layers being applied to the optical fiber. The apparatus disclosed in the Bondybey et al. patent projects a focused beam of monochromatic light onto an optical fiber as it is being drawn. A photodetector, such as a photomultiplier, is positioned off axis with respect to the direction in which the light is projected onto the optical fiber so that it receives only scattered light unique to defects contained in the fiber. The output of the detector is received by an electrometer strip chart recorder which plots a scattering trace corresponding to the light detected. The peaks in the scattering trace correspond to defects in the optical fiber.
Button et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,636, disclose a method for detecting defects such as holes in a fiber. The apparatus disclosed in the Button et al. patent utilizes a laser for projecting a beam of light onto the optical fiber. Two optical detectors are positioned on each side of the optical fiber. As a result of the coherence and monochromaticity of the laser beam, interference patterns are created in the far field which are detected by the optical detectors. Holes contained in the optical fiber result in fewer flinges in the interference patterns created in the far field. A plurality of light sources are used in order to ensure that light passes through the entire fiber so that no blind spots exist. This is intended to ensure that light will be reflected off of holes contained at any location within the optical fiber and thus will be detected by the optical detectors. Spatial frequency spectra are generated based on the output of the light detectors and the spectra are analyzed to determine whether a hole exists in the optical fiber.
The systems disclosed in Button et al. and Bondybey et al. both perform optical detection of defects in an optical fiber before any coating layers have been applied to the optical fiber. Furthermore, both of those systems are fairly complicated in terms of hardware and/or software. For example, the Bondybey et al. patent discloses using at least one photomultiplier for detecting light scattered by defects and an electrometer-strip chart recorder for generating a scattering trace. The system disclosed in the Button et al. patent requires the use of a plurality of optical detectors for projecting light onto the fiber under investigation and a plurality of optical systems for projecting far-field interference patterns caused by reflection and refraction by the fiber onto the optical detectors. A rather complex technique, which utilizes a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to generate a frequency spectrum, is then performed to determine the frequency of the outer diameter component of the fiber, from which the diameter of the fiber is determined, and to determine whether the frequency spectrum of the fiber matches that of a defect-free fiber of the same diameter.
In contrast, in accordance with the present invention, a system for detecting optical defects in optical fibers is provided which utilizes the optical characteristics of the optical fiber coating to reduce the complexity of the defect detection system. Specifically, the present invention utilizes the fact that only a small difference exists between the indices of refraction of the coating surrounding the fiber and the fiber itself In accordance with the present invention, light projected onto the optical fiber coating in a direction perpendicular to the fiber is reflected at the air/coating interface on which the light initially impinges and at the air/coating interface the light impinges on as it passes through the fiber and out of the coating. At the coating/fiber interface the light is not reflected since the refractive indices of the coating and of the fiber are very close in magnitude. Therefore, when no defects exist in the fiber, two rays of light can be detected, one resulting from the first reflection at the air/coating interface and another resulting from the second reflection at the air/coating interface. However, when a defect is present in the fiber, three rays of light can be detected, the first and second reflections at the air/coating interfaces and a third reflection caused by the defect. In accordance with the present invention, it has been determined that all three of these reflections will be parallel to each other and orthogonal to the direction of the light projected onto the coating. An optical detection device detects these reflections and a signal processing device determines whether a defect exists in the fiber based on the number of reflections detected.

Method and apparatus for detecting defects in an optical fiber


A lighting fixture apparatus includes a light source oriented toward a illumination area. A primary reflector is disposed between the light source and the illumination area. The primary reflector includes a primary concave surface substantially facing away from the illumination area. A secondary reflector is positioned opposite the primary concave surface and includes a secondary concave surface substantially facing toward the illumination area. The primary concave surface is substantially specularly reflective, and the secondary concave surface is substantially diffusely reflective. In some embodiments, only reflected light is visible from the illumination area, and no direct light from the light source is incident on the illumination area.

This invention pertains to indirect area lighting devices and more particularly to overhead luminaire, or troffer, lighting fixtures and associated housings, reflectors, and methods for providing area lighting.
Lighting devices including one or more light emitters and associated reflectors for distributing light in an area are generally known in the art for various applications such as indoor and exterior lighting in buildings and automobiles. Such devices may be referred to generally as a luminaire or a troffer in some applications. Conventional luminaire devices typically house one or more light sources such as incandescent bulbs or light emitting diode emitters. Light from each light source travels away from the luminaire toward an area to be illuminated. In many applications, conventional devices allow light from the light source to travel directly to the area to be illuminated. However, such direct illumination may cause one or more areas of high intensity, or bright spots, near the light source when the lighting fixture is viewed from the illumination area. These variations in intensity can be unpleasing to the eye and may cause uneven light distribution, resulting in more illumination near the light source and less illumination farther away from the light source.
To overcome these problems, others have attempted to provide lighting fixtures including housings having one or more reflectors and/or lenses positioned near a light source in an attempt to more evenly distribute emitted light. Such reflectors can cause some of the emitted light to travel in a more even distribution away from the light source. However, conventional lighting fixtures of this type generally reduce the optical efficiency of the lighting device. In many applications, as little as 50% of the lighting energy emitted from each light source becomes incident upon the area to be illuminated. Such losses are inefficient and are generally undesirable. To overcome this problem, some conventional luminaire devices allow direct light illumination from the light source. However, as previously noted, emission of light directly from the light source into the illumination area is generally undesirable in many applications. Thus, conventional devices struggle to balance reduction or elimination of direct light with optical efficiency.
What is needed then are lighting devices, reflectors, housings and methods of lighting to improve optical efficiency while using indirect illumination.

Indirect area lighting apparatus and methods


A toner supply insert adapted to be inserted into an empty toner supply cartridge to provide a resupplied cartridge capable of dispensing toner. The toner supply insert includes a substantially hollow container having a generally cylindrical wall having a longitudinal axis, an insert rear portion including a closed end, an insert front portion including an open end, and a transition piece connecting the insert front portion to the insert rear portion. A quantity of toner is provided within the toner supply insert. A seal member caps the open end and includes a tab suitable for removing the seal member. A handle capable of being connected to the toner supply insert for removing the insert when the insert is empty may also be provided.

In typical electrophotographic type reproduction machines, during the course of each operating cycle, latent electrostatic images of the subject matter being reproduced are generated on a moving recording member. The recording member typically comprises a layer of photoconductive insulating material on a conductive backing, is given a uniform electric charge over its surface and is then exposed to the subject matter to be reproduced, usually by conventional projection techniques. This exposure creates an electrostatic latent image on the coating on the recording member. Following exposure, the latent electrostatic images on the recording member are developed at a developing station through the use of a developer mixture. In electrophotographic type reproduction machines that use dry developers for developing electrostatic images, the typically employed developer mixture includes a toner material and a carrier material. The developed image is then transferred at a transfer station to a support material, such as a sheet of paper. Subsequently, the developed image is fixed by any suitable means to provide a permanent image or reproduction.
Conventionally, image forming devices, such as laser printers and facsimile machines, employ an exposure system, a photocopier and a developer. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor by exposing it to laser light and the latent image is subsequently developed into a visible toner powder image. The visible toner image is then transferred from the photoreceptor onto a physical medium, such as a sheet of paper. The photoreceptor is typically a portable drum having a photosensitive surface. Processing stations are sequentially disposed around the photoreceptor and are fixed in position with respect to each other and to the photoreceptor. Such processing stations generally include a charging station, an exposure station, a developing station and a transfer station.
The charging station imparts an electrical charge onto the photosensitive surface of the photoreceptor and typically includes a corona charging wire. The electrical charge enables the toner image to be formed on the photoreceptor. The exposure station stations forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive surface of the photoreceptor through an imaging light source (laser beam). The developing station develops the latent image on the photosensitive surface of the photoreceptor into the visible toner image and typically includes a supply of tone, such as powder, and a developing roller that transfers the toner powder onto the photoreceptor. The transfer station transfers the visible toner powder from the photoreceptor to the paper sheet, generally by use of a transfer wire.
In addition, a fixing device is provided which fixes or stabilizes the visible image on the paper sheet and enables the paper sheet to be handled without destroying the image. The fixing device typically works on the principle of heat and pressure rollers. A residual toner removing device, such as a cleaning blade, is also provided for removing toner that remains on the photoreceptor after the toner image has been transferred to the paper sheet. A discharge of pre-exposure station, such as an erase light, may also be provided to remove any residual electrical charge on the photoreceptor after the image has been transferred to the paper sheet. The discharge station is typically positioned between the toner removing device and the corona charging station.
During the development of such images, the toner portion of the developer mixture is depleted. In order to maintain the requisite portion of toner, fresh toner must be resupplied periodically. The means for supplying fresh toner must operate smoothly and consistently and must be reliable as well as leak-free for an electrophotographic machine or the like to operate properly.
Various types of toner resupply systems are known in the prior art as, for example, the toner cup or cartridge types shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,337,072 (Del Vecchio et al.), 4,091,765 (Lowthorp et al.), 5,118,013 (Mutou et al.) and 5,235,389 (Kikuchi et al.). All four of these prior art arrangements disclose a toner dispensing cartridge consisting of relatively rotatable inner and outer concentric cylinders, each with a toner dispensing opening or openings. The supply of fresh toner is held in the inner cylinder, and by rotating the inner cylinder relative to the outer cylinder, the discharge openings of each cylinder are brought into alignment thereby allowing for the dispensing of toner. To close the dispensing openings, the inner cylinder is again rotated relative to the outer cylinder such that the inner cylinder toner dispensing openings are closed by the inner surface of the outer cylinder.
One disadvantage of these concentric cylinder-type designs is that a deformation of either the inner or outer cylinder will make it impossible to achieve a desired smooth, rotational sliding motion between the outer surface of the inner cylinder and inner surface of the outer cylinder. Rather, such deformation will cause these portions of the cylinders to rub together. This interference between the cylinders will lead to abrading. As these portions of the cylinders become worn and damaged, the cylinders will no longer be able to rotate properly relative to each other thereby causing the improper dispensing of toner or lack thereof and/or leakage. Further, with the concentric cylinder design, large surface areas of the cylinders have the potential of interfering with each other due to deformation at any given time. The more surface contact between the cylinders, the greater the likelihood that a deformation in either cylinder will impede the proper functioning of the cartridge.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,997 (Michlin et al.) discloses a toner dispensing and dispensing cartridge consisting of a cylinder having a plurality of toner dispensing ports spaced along its longitudinal axis. Disposed within the interior of and extending the length of the cylinder is a multi-cup scoop, which rotates causing the dispensing of toner as the cylinder rotates. Optionally, a stationary sleeve may be disposed around the rotatable cylinder. The sleeve is provided with a plurality of openings corresponding to the location of the toner dispensing ports of the cylinder so that as the cylinder rotates, the ports periodically come into alignment with the openings thereby permitting the discharge of toner. The same problems encountered with the concentric cylinder-type designs wherein the cylinders rotate relative to one another would also be encountered in the design taught by Michlin et al. wherein only the inner cylinder rotates while the outer sleeve remains stationary.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,926 (Manno) discloses a reproduction machine having a rotatable toner dispensing cartridge. The toner dispensing cartridge consists of a hollow tube or cylinder having a plurality of toner discharge ports extending along its longitudinal axis and a means for controlling the timing and dumping of the toner from the toner discharge ports into a developer housing.
In one embodiment of the toner dispensing cartridge, the cylinder is provided with a plurality of spaced slot-like toner discharge ports in its surface. A rotatable, elongated toner dumping or ejecting rod is provided to control the timing and dumping of the toner from the toner discharge ports into the developer housing. This rotatable ejecting rod consists of a series of flats or recesses and is held in tight contact with the exterior surface of the cylinder extending the length of the cylinder opposite the row of toner discharge ports. As the cylinder rotates so that the toner discharge ports face the developer housing, the ejecting rod is rapidly rotated from a position where the flats are facing the toner dispensing ports and picking up toner to a position where the flats are facing toward the interior of the developer station. As a result, the toner deposited on the flats is ejected into the developer housing.
In an alternative embodiment, the cylinder has a plurality of spaced circular discharge ports in its surface extending along its longitudinal axis and is provided with an elongated rigid strip-like slide plate. This slide plate has a series of toner discharge ports capable of mating with those of the cylinder and is sealably held in position on the exterior of the cylinder opposite the row of toner discharge ports. The reciprocal sliding movement of the slide plate, in a longitudinal direction along the exterior surface of the cylinder, causes the opening and closing of the toner discharge ports thereby controlling the dispensing of toner.
The problem with this type toner resupply cartridge, is that it is mechanically complex and somewhat cumbersome. This design contains several moving parts, which increases the opportunity for malfunction and necessitates careful quality control to protect against or minimize product failure. The added quality control needed can be overly time consuming as well as add to the expense of production.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,611,730 and 4,878,603 disclose a toner replenishing devise that incorporates a cartridge comprising a generally cylindrical main body having opposite first and second ends, the first end being closed while the second end is open and comprises a mouth for the egress of toner. A helix-shaped guide rib is formed integrally with and in interior surface of the main body. The helix-shaped guide rib extends from the closed end to the mouth of the main body. A ring-type gear member surrounds the main body and is secured thereto proximate to the mouth for rotating the main body. The gear meshes with and is driven by a pinion gear provided by the toner replenishing device, thereby rotating the entire cartridge. As the cartridge rotates, the helix-shaped guide rib advances the toner toward and through the mouth into a toner transport path leading to the toner storage area.


A latch valve includes a ferromagnetic shell, a ferromagnetic pole, a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, and a ferromagnetic plunger that is disposed within the ferromagnetic shell.

Throttle valves, check valves, and the like typically include a valve member to control fluid flow. Such valves often include an internal spring that biases the valve member to a default position, for example. Close tolerances of the spring, valve member, and valve housing are also often required in order to obtain the desired operation. Because of the close tolerances, several iterations of adjustments are needed during assembly.


Provided is a speaker box, including a housing having a receiving space and a speaker unit received therein. The housing extends into the receiving space to form a support wall. The speaker unit is supported by and fixed to the support wall. The housing has a sound output hole. The speaker unit includes a frame, a vibration system and magnetic circuit unit fixed to the frame, and a front cover covering the frame. The front cover is supported by and fixed to the support wall. The front cover includes a main body portion located above the vibration system, a side edge portion and a fixed portion covering the frame. The fixed portion is supported by and fixed to the support wall. The front cover has a through hole running through both the main body portion and the side edge portion. The speaker box has excellent sound quality.

In the related art, a speaker box includes a housing having a receiving space and a speaker unit received in the receiving space. The speaker unit includes a frame, a vibration system and a magnetic circuit unit that are fixed to the frame, and a front cover covering the frame. The front cover is provided with a through hole directly opposite to the vibration system and configured to output sound above the speaker unit.
However, due to the limitation of an overall size of the speaker box, a distance between the front cover and the housing is too small after the speaker unit is loaded into the housing, resulting in a narrow sound output channel above the speaker unit, which is easy to produce piano sound and leads to poor sound quality of the speaker box.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a new sounding device to solve the above technical problem.


An improved memory card includes an interface for receiving content from an appliance, a primary memory, a secondary memory, and primary controller. The primary controller is configured to selectively write the content only on the primary memory card, or only on the secondary memory card, or on both memories. The improved memory card also includes an enclosure for enclosing the primary memory, the secondary memory, the primary host interface and the primary controller. The improved memory card also includes a user interface that includes a user-operable mode switch that is switchable between a “full capacity” mode and a “full redundancy” mode. In the “full capacity” mode the secondary memory is used for recording genuine content, whereas in the “full redundancy” mode the secondary memory is used for backing up content that has been recorded on the primary memory. A digital shoebox is also provided, which can use improved memory cards and conventional memory cards alike for archiving content.

Users are operating portable digital still and video cameras and digital voice recorders for generating personal digital content. Customarily, such appliances record content on removable memory cards. After completing a session of content recording, or when a memory card is filled up, users usually copy the content of the memory card to their personal computer for viewing, listening, editing, printing, archiving, or sharing with others over the Internet or a cellular network or on optical disks. Usually the memory card, or space on the memory card, is then freed and reused for recording additional content.
Often, the recorded content includes personal memories. Such content cannot be reproduced, and therefore must be carefully archived and protected, for decades or even centuries, just like the photo album of grandpa and grandma. While old black & white photos have proven to withstand decades and centuries of storage, digitally-stored content can be destroyed or lost if the hard disk in which they are stored crashes or the storage media deteriorates or becomes inaccessible due to the storage media becoming obsolete; i.e., due to evolution in hardware or protocol standards.
"Digital preservation" is a known discipline for long-term preservation of digital data. Digital preservation uses strategies such as refreshing, where a fresh copy of the data is produced to overcome storage deterioration; migration, where the data is transformed to match a newer protocol or hardware; replication, where redundant copies are produced and stored separately from the original copy; and physical protection against theft, tampering, fire, natural disasters and the like.
Preservation of personal digital content that is originally recorded on flash memory cards is typically done separately from the memory cards, on magnetic or optical disks. This is because the per-megabyte price of flash memory storage is substantially higher than that of magnetic or optical storage. However, magnetic disks will not typically survive more than a few years. Although regular replication of magnetic disk content could extend the life of the stored content forever, many users will fail to strictly follow the required routines. Optical disks generally do not tend to crash, but they require relatively sophisticated procedures for cataloging and accessing their content. Optical disks vary in longevity. Also, the content of optical disks is not accessible in a convenient way, and the quality of optical disks cannot be monitored.
With the falling prices of memory cards, users could use their memory cards as dedicated long-term storage for their recorded content, instead of continually reusing them to record new content. However, the content stored in NAND flash memory cards may deteriorate, and even irreversibly be lost, after a few years, depending on the card design, the flash type, the extent to which the card is used, and the ambient temperature.
Better longevity is offered by one-time programmable (OTP) solid-state memories. Memory cards that use OTP technology offer "write once/read many" (WORM) functionality. In spite of the higher longevity of OTP cards, many users still prefer the flexibility offered by conventional rewritable flash memory cards for selectively erasing unwanted content to free space for additional/new content, or for copying the entire contents to a hard disk or an optical disk and reusing the card for fresh content recording.
It will be appreciated that the need and desire for long-term archiving of recorded content varies greatly according to the nature of the content. For example, pictures and videos taken for experiments or of an unimportant event under poor lighting conditions may be disposable, while pictures taken at a wedding, family event, trip or reunion, as well as pictures of a child, of a rare natural phenomenon, or just pictures of outstanding quality, are considered indispensable. And, along the continuum from disposable to indispensable, there can be many degrees of importance that users may want to decide for themselves. Even within a series of pictures or videos taken at a certain event, there might be some pictures or videos that users would prefer to keep and others that they prefer to delete. Therefore, using OTP cards for both recording content and archiving it may prove unsuitable for many users or under many circumstances.
There is thus a need for solutions for digital preservation of digital content, that are free of the limitations described above.

Apparatus and method for archiving digital content


Height barriers (15a, 15b) on the bottom of the feed arm frame (5) are located a distance above the bottom of paper drawer (1) of a printer (13). the drawer is pulled out to load paper, and then pushed in. If the paper stack (25) is high enough to encounter the barriers, paper which encounters the barrier is pushed off the top of the stack as the drawer moves further. The pushed paper emerges in front of the printer and is removed by the operator. Back restraint (17) is integral to the elevated region (17b) followed by an inclined region (17a). Overloading of paper is prevented and the paper stack not uncompressed during subsequent paper feed.

The paper pick mechanism of the kind shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,026 to Padget et al. employs a drive roller on a pivoted arm and excess paper height is unacceptable as the device requires at least a predetermined downward angle of the arm for reliable functioning. When the stack is too high, drive rollers tend to slip on the top sheet rather than move it. Accordingly, the paper stack height must be controlled.
Additionally, the preferred implementation of the paper tray employs a sloped, smooth surface, termed a dam, as the initial surface against which the paper is moved by the drive rollers. The dam-style paper tray is essentially a box into which the paper or other media is dropped. There is no physical element, such as the commonly used buckling ledge (termed a corner buckler), under which the media must be positioned.
With the absence of a corner buckler, no physical stack limiter is present in the paper tray itself. Typically, a label is placed on the side of the tray to show maximum stack height, and the user must voluntarily comply with the indication on the label. Accordingly, filling the tray above the defined point is easy and might frequently occur, which would contribute to paper feed failures.


A system and method for automated processing of articles include a plurality of storage units separated by aisles through which customers can pass to select articles for processing. The selected articles are identified by tags applied thereto from identification record members provided to the customers, and are placed on conveyors located adjacent to the storage units for transportation to a checkout station where they are collected, their prices are totalled, and payment is made. The articles are then further transported to a plurality of bagger stations where they are bagged and released to the customer after verification that payment has been made.

This invention relates to an identification device for use in an automated article processing system.
For many reasons, including those of labor costs and customer convenience, the rapid processing of articles which are selected from a storage location for delivery to a remote point, has become increasingly important. One example of an application in which such article processing is important is in a supermarket or other retail establishment. Supermarkets most commonly employ customer-operated grocery carts in the transportation of selected grocery and other items from stocked shelves to a checkout station where the price of each article is determined, the total bill is computed, and payment is made by the customer. Some of the disadvantages of such a system include congestion from a large number of carts being operated by customers in narrow aisles between food displays, costs of purchasing and maintaining the carts and waiting in line by customers at checkout stations. It would therefore be advantageous to have an article processing system, such as could be used in a supermarket or other retail establishment, which would largely eliminate the need for grocery carts and which would facilitate the speedy and efficient selection and processing of articles.

Identification device for use in an automated processing system


One embodiment provides a system that analyzes telemetry data from a computer system. During operation, the system periodically obtains the telemetry data from the computer system. Next, the system preprocesses the telemetry data using a sequential-analysis technique. If a statistical deviation is found in the telemetry data using the sequential-analysis technique, the system identifies a subset of the telemetry data associated with the statistical deviation and applies a root-cause-analysis technique to the subset of the telemetry data to determine a source of the statistical deviation. Finally, the system uses the source of the statistical deviation to perform a remedial action for the computer system, which involves correcting a fault in the computer system corresponding to the source of the statistical deviation.

1. Field
The present embodiments relate to techniques for analyzing telemetry data. More specifically, the present embodiments relate to a method and system for filtering telemetry data through sequential analysis.
2. Related Art
As electronic commerce becomes more prevalent, businesses are increasingly relying on enterprise computing systems to process ever-larger volumes of electronic transactions. A failure in one of these enterprise computing systems can be disastrous, potentially resulting in millions of dollars of lost business. More importantly, a failure can seriously undermine consumer confidence in a business, making customers less likely to purchase goods and services from the business. Hence, it is important to ensure high availability in such enterprise computing systems.
To achieve high availability, it is necessary to be able to capture unambiguous diagnostic information that can quickly locate faults in hardware or software. If systems perform too little event monitoring, when a problem crops up at a customer site, service engineers may be unable to quickly identify the source of the problem. This can lead to increased down time.
Fortunately, high-end computer servers are now equipped with a large number of sensors that measure physical performance parameters such as temperature, voltage, current, vibration, and acoustics. Software-based monitoring mechanisms also monitor software-related performance parameters, such as processor load, memory and cache usage, system throughput, queue lengths, I/O traffic, and quality of service. Typically, special software analyzes the collected telemetry data and issues alerts when there is an anomaly. In addition, it is important to archive historical telemetry data to allow long-term monitoring and to facilitate detection of slow system degradation.
However, the increased collection of telemetry data from computer servers has resulted in higher computational costs associated with analyzing the telemetry data. Such computational costs typically arise from the application of statistical-analysis techniques, including regression analysis and/or estimation techniques, to the telemetry data. While statistical-analysis techniques may allow anomalies in the computer servers to be identified and diagnosed, the computational costs may become unmanageable as increasing numbers of servers and components are deployed and monitored in production and an increasing density of sensors is used to monitor the components in each server.
On the other hand, highly available systems may only experience disturbances in performance a small fraction of the time. The vast majority of telemetry data collected from modern computer servers may thus represent normal functioning of the computer servers and display the same statistical quality indicators over time. As a result, constant application of computationally intensive statistical-analysis techniques to identify anomalies in the telemetry data may be both unnecessary and wasteful.
Hence, what is needed is a mechanism for reducing computational costs associated with analyzing telemetry data from computer servers.

Telemetry data filtering through sequential analysis


This invention relates to a top antireflective layer (TAR) which is preferably transparent to some extent and has high-etch resistance and low reflectivity at the photoresist/TAR interface. The TAR also significantly reduces CD variation in exposed photoresist film. The TAR of the present invention comprises an indanone or glutarimide copolymer, a solvent, and an additive sensitizer having an orthodiazonaphthoquinone structure. The present invention is also related to a process of forming a semiconductor by applying a photoresist layer to the surface of a substrate, forming a top antireflection layer on the photoresist layer, and selectively exposing the substrate to ultraviolet light, wherein the TAR comprises an indanone or glutarimide copolymer, a solvent, and an additive sensitizer with an orthodiazonaphthoquinone structure.

In the manufacture of a semiconductor, a layer of photoresist may be applied directly to the surface of a substrate or to layer(s) already on the surface of the substrate. A portion of the photoresist is then exposed to u.v. light to form a pattern on the photoresist. Then a solvent is applied to remove either the exposed or unexposed photoresist as desired.
Light scattering or interference caused by light reflecting off the substrate, for example, causes a dimension change in the exposed region of the photoresist layer. In other words, the desired dimensions of the exposed photoresist layer are altered by the light reflecting off the surface of the substrate. In some semiconductors small variations in the desired dimensions may be acceptable. However, there is usually a point in which no further variation can be tolerated because such variation alters the desired characteristics and performance of the semiconductor. The point at which no further variation can be tolerated is called the critical dimension ("CD").
In lithography systems, thin film interference effects result in less controllability of CD and less accurate alignment. These problems are more significant for illumination light having a short wavelength, e.g., 248 nm of a KrF excimer laser and 193 nm of an ArF excimer laser.
Two solutions to suppress thin film interference and reduce light scattering are bottom antireflective coatings (BARLs) and top antireflective coatings (TARs). A BARL is usually applied to a substrate and baked prior to applying the photoresist layer. After the photoresist layer is applied, patterns are resolved in the photoresist by DUV light in the case of the practical BARL process. Then, the photoresist patterns are transferred to both the BARL and the substrate by reactive ion etching (RIE) continuously. After the pattern transfer, both the desired photoresist and BARL portions are removed. Accordingly, the BARL must be more effective to reduce light scattering or interference caused by light reflecting off the substrate due to the higher light absorption. However, there are few available BARLs to completely suppress the light scattering or interference without reducing alignment light.
A TAR is usually spun onto the applied photoresist and baked. Patterns are resolved in both the TAR and the photoresist by DUV light simultaneously. The TAR portions are usually removed by the solvent (developer) completely, in the case of the practical TAR process. Then, the photoresist patterns are transferred to the substrate to RIE. After the pattern transfer, the desired photoresist portions are removed. Accordingly, the TAR must be transparent to some extent to let both incident light and light reflecting off the substrate go off. However, it has been difficult to obtain a TAR layer which has a suitable index of refraction for the wavelength of the illumination light and no contamination on the interface between the underlayer resist and the TAR itself.
In advanced lithography, it is well known that a reduction of photoresist thickness induces imagings of decreased k.sub.1 factor and increased k.sub.2 factor in conventional Rayleigh equations simultaneously without changing any wavelengths of the illumination light and numerical apertures of the optics. On the other hand, it causes more serious thin film interference effects and requires a higher etch selectivity ratio. In order to restore such concomitant problems using a conventional single layer resist technique, either of the photoresist or the TAR is required to have higher etch resistance than previously expected.

Top antireflective coating material and its process for DUV and VUV lithography systems


The main object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium which makes high densification of information possible, particularly a write-once-read-many optical recording medium having good recording signal characteristics to a wide range of recording powers.

As recording media for recording information such as writings, sounds or images, recording media have heretofore been known which employ e.g. a phase change material made of a magnetic material, a magnetooptical material, an organic dye material or an inorganic material, for a recording layer.
Such recording media are designed so that a physical parameter of the recording layer, such as the refractive index, electrical resistance, shape, volume or density, is changed by imparting an external factor to the recording layer, such as heating of the recording layer by irradiation with light or conducting an electrical current, or application of a magnetic field to the recording layer. And, such recording media are usually designed to carry out recording or readout of information by utilizing the difference in such a physical parameter value as between before and after imparting the external factor to the recording layer.
An example of such recording media is optical recording media whereby recording is carried out by irradiation of a laser beam. Such optical recording media may further be generally classified into a write-once-read-many optical recording medium which is only once writable and not rewritable, and a rewritable optical recording medium which is repeatedly rewritable. Among such optical recording media, a write-once-read-many optical recording medium has attracted attention in recent years for such a reason that it is suitable for recording e.g. official documents in which no change of information is permitted, it is suitable for high speed recording, or the production cost can be made low.
For the write-once-read-many optical recording medium, various types such as a phase-change type, an alloy type and a perforated type employing inorganic material, or ones employing organic compounds, have been proposed. Among them, a type as disclosed in JP-A-4-298389, wherein an inorganic substance capable of discharging a gas is incorporated in a thin recording layer, and a gas is discharged under heating by laser irradiation so that recording is carried out by a deformation thereby formed, is prospective, since it is possible to take a large signal amplitude, and secure high irreversibility to prevent rewriting.
According to JP-A-4-298389, if an inorganic substance which is decomposed by heating to discharge a gas, such as silver oxide or iron nitride, is used as a recording layer, a gas will be discharged under heating by laser irradiation, and voids will be formed by the discharged gas or recesses will be formed at the interface of the recording layer by the pressure of the discharged gas. And, by the formation of such voids or recesses, the optical constants or optical conditions such as the light path length at the irradiated portion will be changed, and the reflectance will be lowered, whereby a large signal amplitude can be obtained.

Abstract: The present invention is one to accomplish the above object by providing a recording medium having a recording layer, whereby recording is carried out by heating the recording layer, characterized in that the recording layer contains a substance A which decomposes at a temperature which the recording layer reaches when heated for recording, and a substance B which does not undergo a chemical reaction or phase change at a temperature which the recording layer reaches when heated for recording.


A portfolio benchmarking system comprises a repository of trade data, a repository of consumer data, a build computer, and a benchmarking query application. The repository of trade data comprises a plurality of data items regarding trade lines. The repository of consumer data comprises a plurality of data items regarding consumers, wherein at least some information in the consumer data is not in the trade data and at least some information in the trade data is not in the consumer data. The build computer periodically generates at least one data file comprising a plurality of data items, each data item combining information from the trade data and the consumer data, such that searches can be performed on the combined data without joining trade data and consumer data at query run time. The benchmarking query application executes queries on the data file generated by the build computer.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the systems and methods described herein relate to providing benchmarking information regarding credit portfolios.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lending institutions provide credit accounts such as mortgages, automobile loans, credit card accounts, and the like, to consumers. In the credit industry, each credit account is known as a "trade." Each consumer of credit may have one or multiple trades associated with him or her. For example, it is common for consumers to be associated with multiple trades at least because many consumers have multiple credit card accounts. In addition, many consumers have one or more mortgages, student loans, automobile loans, and other credit accounts.
Each lending institution focuses its credit offerings on particular geographical areas, account types, and market segments. Several national lending institutions exist that offer many account types to many market segments. Such national lending institutions include large national banks with branches in many cities that offer a wide variety of loans, including, for example, commercial loans, mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, and the like. Other lending institutions have a regional or local focus. Additionally, many lending institutions focus on particular account types. For example, some institutions primarily offer credit card accounts, while others offer primarily automobile loans, and the like. Additionally, many lending institutions focus on particular market segments, such as, for example, consumers with prime credit, consumers with subprime credit, and the like.
Accordingly, each lending institution offers its own unique mix of trades. Such a unique mix of trades can be known as a portfolio. Lending institutions typically desire to compare their portfolio with other portfolios in the industry. Lending institutions particularly desire to compare their portfolio with portfolios offered by their peer group, or other lending institutions that compete most directly with the lending institution. Conventional automated tools for assisting with such portfolio comparison or benchmarking, however, have been inadequate.

Credit portfolio benchmarking system and method


Components and operations of a wireless communication system are disclosed. Components of a wireless communication system may include a base station, a communication control device, and a terminal device. The base station may send configuration information to the communication control device, and the communication control device may send the configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information may indicate a first protection status associated with frames. The terminal device may obtain measurement results indicating signal quality associated with one or more of the frames. The terminal device may send measurement information to the communication control device. The measurement information may depend on the measurement results. The communication control device may determine, based at least in part on the measurement information, whether to associate one or more of the frames with a second protection status.

At present, in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the standardization process of LTE, the next-generation wireless communication standard, is in progress so as to further improve the performance of wireless communications. In LTE, examination has been conducted to improve coverage by the introduction of base stations other than macro eNodeBs, such as Home eNodeBs (femtocell base stations, or small base stations for mobile phones), Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), pico eNodeBs, or the like. Such next generation wireless communication is disclosed in, for example, JP 2011-521512A.
Also, in LTE Rel-10, an interference control method called Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) has been standardized. An ABS is a subframe which limits transmission other than a reference signal from a macro eNodeB in some subframes, or a subframe in which transmission other than a reference signal from a macro eNodeB is limited. A subframe set as an ABS may reduce interference with respect to a received signal of a user equipment (UE) belonging to a pico eNodeB located within a cell a macro eNodeB provides. Also, setting the same subframe between neighboring macro eNodeBs has been proposed.

Communication control device, communication method, communication terminal and program that determines protection status from interference of each communication frame