The present invention provides a system and method for detecting changes in the properties of a polymeric material. A frame is hand held against the outside surface of a curved polymeric test specimen, e.g., fluid tank. A transmitting probe attached to the frame emits critically refracted ultrasonic waves that travel longitudinally across the chord of said curved test specimen and are detected by at least one receiving probe attached to the frame. A data processing system measures the travel time of the ultrasonic waves from the transmitting probe to the receiving probe and compares this measured travel time to an expected travel time. Variations in material properties along the penetration path of the ultrasonic waves can be detected from deviation in the measure travel time of the waves from the expected control values. Measuring the temperature of the polymeric specimen allows adjustment of the measured travel time of the waves to account for temperature effects on the polymeric material. Information about the contents of the container is used to further adjust the travel time of the ultrasonic waves to account for mechanical stress effects on the polymeric container walls.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for non-destructive testing of mechanical properties within solid materials using the LCR ultrasonic technique. Specifically, the present invention relates to an improved technique and apparatus that provides a more accurate measurement of degradation in polymeric rotational molded components such as pressure vessels, tanks and piping.
2. Description of Related Art
The non-destructive testing for stress in materials has long been recognized as an important method for evaluating structural components to predict both the failure location and rate, to identify stressed components prior to failure, and many other safety related considerations. Non-destructive testing is used extensively in a wide variety of industries including the aviation, automotive, petroleum, and chemical industries, and various construction and structural related fields. The use of non-destructive testing on specific components ranges from the testing of polymeric and metal piping and pressure vessels for loss of wall as well as for fatigue cracks. Additionally, steel turbine blades in jet engines, steel support beams in bridges, and other large structures are monitored by nondestructive testing. Components in use can be tested to determine the stress levels in the components without damaging or destroying the components. The benefit of non-destructive testing is self-evident.
In polymeric materials, mechanical properties may change with time. The changes may be due to environmental effects caused by ultraviolet exposure, the chemical environment of the surrounding air as well as the commodity contained in the tank. Laboratory studies of samples held under UV light for extended periods of time show that there is a correlation between the level of degradation of a rotational molded polyethylene tank and its ultrasonic characteristics, namely velocity and attenuation. This correlation is measurable and quantifiable. Based on these findings, field trials were conducted on a number of in-service rotational molded cross-linked polyethylene tanks at different sites, for both industrial and fertilizer storage applications. These tanks varied in their service life from present year production to more than fifteen years of service. The ultrasonic wave characteristics from the field tasks were in line with the lab observations. These results indicate that the level of overall degradation of the tank may be quantified based on the measured relevant ultrasonic data.
Since the mechanical properties affect the likelihood of failure, a convenient and reliable nondestructive technique for evaluating the mechanical properties of polymer tanks in service would be useful to industry. Ultrasonic properties such as speed, attenuation, and frequency characteristics are directly related to the mechanical properties of the material. A newly designed apparatus using ultrasonic LCR waves excited and received on the outer curved surfaces of rotational molded polymeric tanks will enable the inspection of tanks in the field.

Ultrasonic characterization of polymeric containers


The present invention relates to the use of compounds selected from the group consisting of Lys-(D)Pro-Thr, N-acyl Lys-(D)Pro-Thr, C-amide Lys-(D)Pro-Thr, and C-esters of Lys-(D)Pro-Thr; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of said compound for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. The invention also relates to the use of αMSH for inducing tolerance.

The effects of αMSH and other POMC peptides on the various tissues are mediated by a family of specific receptors. These melanocortin (MC) receptors belong to the group of G protein-coupled receptors. Five different melanocortin receptors (MC-1 to MC-5) have been cloned. It is assumed that αMSH is an important signal for regulating various melanocyte functions. It is thought, for example, that proliferation, differentiation and cytokine production by melanocytes are influenced by αMSH.
It has also been shown that POMC gene products are able to influence immune responses and inflammatory reactions. For example, it is assumed that αMSH down-regulates several proinflammatory cytokines, while the production of the antiinflammatory cytokine IL-10 is stimulated by αMSH. This means that αMSH has an important function in the suppression of immune responses and inflammatory reactions. Several studies indicate that the immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory effects of αMSH are mediated by the C-terminal region of αMSH (amino acids 11-13: Lys-Pro-Val) because administration of the C-terminal tripeptide is sufficient to induce these effects (Catania and Lipton, 1993, Endocr. Rev. 14, 564-576; Bhardvaj et al., 1996, J. Immunol. 156, 2517-2521).
WO 88/00833 discloses the use of the tripeptide Lys-Pro-Val for producing a medicament for the treatment of inflammations. The C-terminal tripeptide of αMSH has likewise been proposed as agent to prevent loss of hair (FR 2 733 421).


A data recovery apparatus and method for receiving at least an original clock and at least an original data stream output from a transmitter to output at least one recovery data are provided. The original data stream and the recovery data respectively include N steps in a period T of the original clock, wherein N is an integer larger than 0. The data recovery apparatus includes a sampling unit and a processing unit. The sampling unit samples the original data stream according to the original clock, wherein the sampling unit samples the corresponding data of the original data stream at least three times with T/(4N) sample period in each step. The processing unit receives and compares the sampled result output from the sampling unit, and recovers the sampled result to the recovery data according to the compared result.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a data recovery apparatus and method for reproducing recovery data, and more particularly, to a data recovery apparatus and method with three quarter steps oversampling.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic circuits are developed towards operating at high-speed and miniaturization. It is a subject worth researching how to transmit data correctly at a high data transmissionrate. Take flat panel displays as an example, with increasing scale flat panel displays, the color intensity and resolution provided by the displays are also increased. The resolutions of SVGA (800×600 pixels) and XGA (1024×768 pixels) have become basic requirements for flat panel displays. The improvement of resolution means the increase of the amount and speed of data transmission. In particular, in the flat panel display system, the most obvious bottleneck encountered in the data transmission is an interface between a clock controller of the LCD and a display card directly connected thereto.
FIG. 1 shows a data transmission interface between the clock controller and the display card in a typical flat panel display. Referring to FIG. 1, the transmission terminal (i.e. display card 110) transmits image signals with 28 bits wide to the receiver (i.e. timing controller 140 in the flat panel display) through a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface. The LVDS interface comprises an LVDS transmitting unit 120 and an LVDS receiving unit 130. The LVDS transmitting unit 120 uses four multiplexers (MUX) to translate image signals with 28 bits wide output from the display card 110 to 4 bits wide and 7 bits deep LVDS data, and transmits the LVDS data to the LVDS receiving unit 130 in a differential signal form. In an LVDS interface standard, the transmitter 120 additionally transmits a set clock signal pair to the receiver through a phase lock loop PLL. Therefore, the data recovery circuit DRC of the receiver 130 can recover other data by using the clock, and tramslate the 4 bits wide data to a 28 bits wide data. FIG. 2A-2C shows the operation timing of three times oversampling. A conventional clock and data recovery circuits mainly employ a three times oversampling architecture to recover input data for preventing errors induced by skews between the clock and the data, thereby correctly recovering the data inputted.
FIG. 3 shows a conventional architecture of a clock and data recovery circuit in the receiver 130 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 2A concurrently, the clock and data recovery circuit comprises input buffers 205 and 210, a data sampler 215, a phase lock loop 220, a synchronizer 225, a phase detector 230, a voter 235, a digital low-pass filter 240, and a phase selector 245. Firstly, the input buffers 205, 210 convert an input data streams Din+, Din− and input clocks CLKin+, CLKin− in the form of LVDS to a form of full swing signals, which is transmitted to the data sampler 215 and the phase lock loop 220 respectively. The phase lock loop 220 locks the full swing input clocks, and provides 21 sampling clocks with different phases to the data sampler 215. The data sampler 215 samples three times for each step of the bit signals d0-d6 and forms a 21 bits wide data stream because of utilizing 21 the sampling clocks with different phases. Then, the synchronizer 225 synchronizes the sampled data output from the data sampler 215.
By comparing the three sampled data in each step (e.g. d0 in FIG. 2A), the phase detector 230 can detect whether the input data stream leads or lags the input clocks. According to the detected result of the bit data d0-d6, the phase detector 230 outputs 7 set signal pairs (each of the signal pairs includes an "upper" bit and a "lower" bit) correspondingly. For example, when the phases of the sampling clocks lag the input data stream, as shown in FIG. 2B, the phase detector 230 detects that the third sampled result is different from the first and second sampled results in each step (e.g. d0) of the input data stream, and the phase detector 230 outputs an "upper" signal to the voter 235 in the corresponding signal pair. On the contrary, when the phases of the sampling clocks lead the input data stream, as shown in FIG. 2C, the phase detector 230 detects that the first sampled result is different from the second and third sampled results in each step (e.g. d0) of the input data stream, and the phase detector 230 outputs a "lower" signal to the voter 235 in the corresponding signal pair.
The voter 235 and the phase detector 230 output the "upper" and "lower" signals to the phase selector 245 in accordance with the number of the output "upper" signals and "lower" signals in the 7 set signal pairs. For example, in a clock period, if there are one "upper" signal and three "lower" signals in the 7 set signal pairs received by the voter 235, the voter 235 outputs the "lower" signals to the phase selector 245.
The digital low-pass filter 240 is used to filter noises to prevent a jitter effect from affecting the detected results. The phase selector 245 receives the the "upper" and "lower" signals output from the voter 235 through the digital low-pass filter 240. If the phase selector 245 receives the "upper" signals output from the voter 235, which means the phase selector 245 receives a detected result with an indicating of "the input data stream Din leads the input clock CLKin", as shown in FIG. 2B, the phase selector 245 shifts the 21 sampled phases upwardly (left in the drawings) by one phase in the next clock period, as shown in FIG. 2A. In contrast, if the phase selector 245 receives the "lower" signals output from the voter 235, which means the phase selector 245 receives a detected result with an indicating of "the input data stream Din leads the input clock CLKin", as shown in FIG. 2C, the phase selector 245 shifts the 21 sampled phases downwardly (right in the figures) by one phase in the next clock period, as shown in FIG. 2A. Finally, the synchronizer 225 recovers the received sampled data to be a recovery data Dout in accordance with the selection results of the phase selector 245.
In conventional technology, when the skew of input data is close to a half step, the three times oversampling architecture cannot distinguish whether the skew leads or lags the sampling clock, which may induce the errors in the recovery data. In addition, as the conventional phase selecting architecture is used with a three times oversampling architecture, 21 sampling clocks are needed in the LVDS receiver applications in flat panel display systems, therefore, the complexity of circuit layout is increased and the layout area is expanded as well.

Data recovery apparatus and method for reproducing recovery data


A method of generating an optimum parking path of an unmanned driving vehicle which is performed by a controller in the unmanned driving vehicle, wherein the controller changes a moving distance for a plurality of operations in a reference parking path, finds a parking path in which an average obstacle distance, which is an average distance between at least one near-to-path obstacle and the unmanned driving vehicle, is longest among a plurality of candidate parking paths, and sets the parking path having the longest average obstacle distance, as an optimum parking path in response to the longest average obstacle distance being longer than a predetermined limited distance.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to a method of generating an optimum parking path of an unmanned driving vehicle and an unmanned driving vehicle adopting the method. In particular, exemplary embodiments relate to a method of generating an optimum parking path of an unmanned driving vehicle, which is performed by a control unit included in the unmanned driving vehicle, and the unmanned driving vehicle adopting the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related art unmanned driving vehicle, for example, a related art unmanned driving robot may include a sensor unit, a current location estimation unit, a neighboring map generation unit, a control unit, a driving unit, a mechanical unit, and a wireless communication unit.
The sensor unit, which includes various sensors, generates location-related information and nearby obstacle information, and inputs the generated location-related information and the generated nearby obstacle information respectively to the current location estimation unit, the neighboring map generation unit, and the control unit.
The current location estimation unit estimates a current location according to the location-related information and the nearby obstacle information, which are obtained from the sensor unit, and inputs current location information, which is obtained as a result of the estimating, to the control unit.
The neighboring map generation unit generates a neighboring map according to reference map information and the location-related information that is obtained from the sensor unit, and inputs neighboring map information, which is obtained as a result of the generating of the neighboring map, to the control unit.
The control unit communicates with a user terminal via the wireless communication unit, and controls operation of the driving unit according to information that is input from the sensor unit, the current location estimation unit, and the neighboring map generation unit.
The driving unit operates according to a control signal transmitted from the control unit, to drive the mechanical unit.
By using such a method of generating a parking path of an unmanned driving vehicle, a related art unmanned driving vehicle generates a partial parking path and moves toward a target arrival location designated by a user through a remote control.
Moreover, according to a related art method of generating a parking path, a possibility of success in parking a vehicle may be low. Further, it may take a long time to park a vehicle.
Accordingly, there is still a need to generate, in advance, an optimum parking path in advance of an unmanned driving vehicle, so that the unmanned driving vehicle moves along the generated parking path.
However, a problem in generating an optimum parking path is that various numerous candidate parking paths are present between a current location and a target arrival location of the unmanned driving vehicle.
Even if it is assumed that candidate parking paths are all known, it takes a lot of time to determine whether an unmanned driving vehicle may collide with an obstacle for each candidate parking path.

Method of generating optimum parking path of unmanned driving vehicle, and unmanned driving vehicle adopting the method


Various examples are provided for surveillance of an audio stream. In one example, a method includes identifying presence or absence of a sound type of interest at a location during a time period; selecting the sound type from a library of sound type information to provide a collection of sound type information; incorporating the collection on a device proximate to the location; acquiring an audio stream from the location by the device to provide a locational audio stream; analyzing the locational audio stream to determine whether a sound type in the collection is present in the audio stream; and generating a notification to a user or computer if a sound type in the collection is present. The device can acquire and process the audio stream. In another example, a bulk sound type information library can be generated by identifying sound types of interest including them based upon a confidence level.

In recent years, automated surveillance systems have become useful in both private and public environments. Surveillance systems can be used for a variety of purposes, including monitoring the behavior and activities, or other observable information, of humans, animals, and machines. People and spaces are typically monitored for purposes of influencing behavior or for providing protection, security, or peace of mind. Surveillance systems can allow organizations, including businesses, governments, private companies, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, congregate residences, sporting arenas, music venues, theaters, and the like to recognize and monitor threats, to prevent and investigate criminal and other undesirable activities, and as well as to respond to situations as appropriate. In short, surveillance systems assist many types of businesses and organizations to manage risks associated with various behaviors and activities that may occur at a location.
Today, automated surveillance systems are typically based on video surveillance. Video is generally considered as a suitable substitute for the visual perception of a person at a location where the computer is configured with remote visual perception generated by computer vision processes. However, the effectiveness of this type of surveillance system is highly dependent on the environmental conditions present at the location. The ability to detect relevant information from remotely obtained video imagery may then be highly influenced by the ability of the computer to "see the information of interest in a scene via an appropriately configured algorithm. Non-optimal lighting situations remain challenging for computer vision today. Thus, video-based type of surveillance systems available that rely on automated detection can have a high likelihood of failing at night, in foggy environments or in other low visibility conditions, such as in a low or no light interior environments.
Privacy concerns are also an issue with automated video surveillance. Some people are becoming wary of unregulated and ubiquitous video imaging, especially since it has become known that many video surveillance is being augmented with facial recognition technology, which can pose privacy risks. Thermal cameras can operate as a less invasive alternative, but its utility can be limited. To this end, thermal cameras may be highly dependent on the ambient temperature at a location, and the ability to detect separation between background and foreground objects can present a challenge for existing thermal camera detection methods. Moreover, the detail needed to discern activities or behaviors that may be of interest at a location, such as a health-related condition like a person's coughing, sneezing or signs of distress (e.g., crying, shouting, etc.), may be virtually impossible to identify from thermal imaging, Sound-based activities or behaviors, such as gunshots, breaking glass, etc. may not be observable at all from thermal camera surveillance methods.
Methods to analyze audio streams for use in surveillance have been proposed recently. However, such methods typically use audio to supplement video surveillance. These existing methods generally suffer from a lack of specificity as to the sounds that may be relevant to a particular location, which may vary by the type of business, behavior, and/or activities that may be associated therewith. Put simply, existing proposals to use audio streams for automated surveillance systems have not reached the point where the acquisition, analysis, and, if needed, notification to mitigate or prevent business risk to a location can be conducted automatically.
A further limitation to automated audio surveillance is the latency indicative of systems that rely on uploading of data streams to a cloud server platform for analysis. This latency can also be a problem with video and thermal surveillance methods. For surveillance to be effective, detection and notification of conditions that might cause risk or problems at the location in context must be provided in near real time. In short, remote surveillance systems—whether they are based on audio data, video data, thermal data, or a combination thereof—must be able to provide detection ability and response accurate enough to substitute for response by a human who is present at the location when an issue arises.
There is a need for improvements in the ability to provide automated surveillance in a particular location or for a specific business that is relevant in context, especially when the surveillance of activities or behaviors are appropriately discerned from an audio stream derived from that location. Moreover, there is a need for such automated surveillance to be provided via onsite analysis of an audio stream using an on-premises device to allow substantially immediate analysis and notifications relevant to such analysis. The present disclosure provides these, and other, improvements.

Devices, systems, and methods for real time surveillance of audio streams and uses therefore


A connecting socket for a filter hose has an inner part having a first contact surface extending in a circumferential direction on the inner part and an outer part having a second contact surface extending in a circumferential direction on the outer part. A contact section of a filter hose is contacting the first and second contact surfaces when secured on the connecting socket. The outer part has an outer sleeve that is pushed onto the inner part such that the contact section of the filter hose is clamped between the first and second contact surfaces.

The present invention concerns a connecting socket for filter hoses, in particular for fully flexible air filter hoses, and a filter hose connection comprising such a connecting socket.
Filter hoses, in particular fully flexible air filter hoses, are used in order to separate by means of the filter medium of the filter hose a raw air (unfiltered air) side from a clean air (filtered air) side. In use, the air is conveyed from the raw air side through the filter medium to the clean air side wherein contaminants in the air are deposited at the raw air side on the filter medium of the air filter hose. The filtration effect is determined by the material of the air filter hose, in particular by its pore size. Filter hoses of various cross-sections are known. In addition to round cross-sections also folded bellows-shaped filter hoses are known, in particular with rectangular cross-section.
For attachment of the filter hoses on housings, it is known in the prior art to use a connecting socket. The filter hoses are usually pushed onto such connecting sockets. Spring rings or the like are then pushed onto the filter hose in order to secure the filter hose on the connecting socket. For sealing the filter hose on the connecting socket, it is common to employ seals between the connecting socket and the filter hose.
The connecting sockets of the prior art have the disadvantage that seals for sealing the filter hose on the connecting socket are provided between connecting socket and filter hose; this leads to additional costs. Moreover, the action of simply pushing the filter hose onto the connecting socket provides for an insufficient stability of the connection of filter hose and connecting socket with the risk that the filter hose can become detached from the connecting socket when under load.


A reagent for classifying leucocytes, including: a) at least one of surfactant selected from a cationic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant, and the combination thereof; b) an organic compound having phenyl or heterocyclic group, wherein when the surfactant is a cationic surfactant, the organic compound is an organic compound having an anionic group; when the surfactant is an amphoteric surfactant or a combination of amphotheric and cationic surfactant, the organic compound is an organic compound having an anionic or cationic group; c) a buffer for adjusting pH.

It is common and important to classify and count leucocytes to diagnose various diseases using the whole blood of patients in the field of a clinical test.
Up to now, many patents in regard to devices and methods for classifying leucocytes have been reported. For example, a method for dividing leukocytes into five types using two reagents has been disclosed in China Patent Application No. 95115317.X. Said two reagents both contain nonionic surfactant and buffer, and the first reagent further contains at least one ionic surfactant and one organic compound having an anionic group, to divide leukocytes into four groups, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils plus neutrophils, and the second reagent further contains at least one ionic surfactant, to divide blood cells into basophils and other cells. Thus, Leukocytes are classified into five types by the combination of the two results. The measurement method used is laser scattering measurement.
Besides, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,677,183, 5,618,733 and 5,731,206, and a Chinese Patent Application No. 88101677 also disclosed the method for dividing leucocytes into five types based on the signals of the scattered light from two channels.
It is found, however, that monocytes are usually classified as between the lymphocytes and neutrophils when classifying leucocytes using the conventional methods mentioned above. The clustering effect is not obvious, which results in an inaccuracy of classification.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Reagent and method for classifying leucocytes

Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd


Provided herein are functionalized nanoparticle compositions and methods of using the same. The functionalized nanoparticles provided include a nuclease cleavage site and are, inter alia, useful for the formation of nanoparticle aggregates and detection of nuclease activity through nanoparticle aggregate formation.

More than 500,000 Americans contract staphylococcus infections in the US each year. Current clinical methods to detect staphylococcus can take 2-3 days to process, which delays the prognosis allowing the infection to progress. Early detection is essential to prevent acute symptoms from developing into chronic diseases such as endocarditis and osteomyelitis. Because current diagnostic procedures require hours to several days, there is an imminent need to create a point-of-care diagnostic platform that is rapid as well as sensitive, simple, and cost-effective. Provided herein are solutions to these and other problems in the art.


An apparatus for use with a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being configured to provide events, the apparatus including a memory including computer readable instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute, using the computer readable instructions stored in the memory, a primary application and a plurality of secondary applications, wherein the primary application is configured to register with the mobile communication device such that the primary application is configured to automatically receive an event from the mobile communication device, wherein the secondary applications are configured to register with the primary application, wherein the primary application is configured to relay a first message including information indicative of the received event to a first one of the registered secondary applications, and to receive a response to the first message from the first one of the secondary applications, and wherein the primary application is configured to provide a message to the mobile communication device, in response to the received event, as a function of the response received from the first one of the plurality of secondary applications.

Mobile communication devices (e.g., cell phones) that use a smart card to control network access and subscription services typically issue events when certain predetermined actions occur (e.g., when a user attempts to make a call). These events are typically issued to an application stored on the smart card and can include call control events and/or mobile originated short message service (MOSMS) control events. These events typically include the phone number that was input by a user of a mobile communication device as an intended recipient (e.g., the telephone number of another mobile communication device that a user wishes to call and/or send a short message service (SMS) message to). The events are typically sent to an application stored on the smart card for acceptance prior to the communication event (e.g., a call or an SMS message) being completed.
The smart cards used by the mobile communication devices typically include one or more applications that use the events provided by the mobile communication device to control the operation of the mobile communication device. For example, the applications stored on the smart card can be configured to allow, bar, and/or modify a call or SMS message. Only a single application included in the smart card, however, can subscribe to receive specific events (e.g., the call/MOSMS control events) from the mobile communication device. Thus, the mobile communication device (or the operator of the mobile communication device) typically must choose which application should receive the events from the mobile communication device.


An improved fitness/exercise apparatus using full or half tire that rotates 360 degrees about a fixed axle. A user lifts/pushes the tire, thus rotating the tire end over end, while the apparatus creates resistance to the rotation via a variety of means, such as a magnetic brake, a viscous brake, a pad and disc brake or a motor-controlled brake system.

Tire flip training has been used for many years and is a great way to get fit. However, tractor tires take up a lot of room and it is often unsafe to have a large tire moving around the gym. Tire training requires a long and wide lane so that large rubber tires can be flipped repeatedly end-over-end from the starting point of the training zone to the finish line on the other end. Then, the exerciser moves around to the opposite side of the tire, reverses direction, and does it all over again until the exercise is complete. Large tires can weigh hundreds of pounds, making them a hazard to equipment, mirrors, and other exercisers who may happen to get in their way when mishandled, rolled out of control, or flipped off-balance in a direction not intended by the athlete. Since several tires of different diameters, width, and weight are needed to cater to those of various skill and strength levels, gym owners will also find themselves faced with a large number of tires taking up valuable real estate against the wall or in a corner of the gym better suited for other equipment. Landlords and neighboring tenants may not be eager to deal with runaway tires hitting parked cars, not to mention the potential liability of outdoor training with group fitness athletes running around in auto traffic zones. Tires can damage floors and leave marks on user's hands and clothes. Further, existing tire flip simulators only rotate 180 degrees, rely exclusively on gravity to provide resistance, and use only the floor to stop the rotation. As such, although tire flipping is a fantastic exercise, it comes with a long list of drawbacks. Hence, there is a need for a tire flipping machine that includes the benefits of the exercise, while at the same time eliminating the drawbacks.


A vehicle detector includes one or more inductive sensors connected to an oscillator circuit. A timing circuit defines a plurality of sequential measurement frame segments. The oscillator circuit is coupled to an inductive sensor during each of the measurement frame segments. The time duration of each of the plurality of measurement frame segments is measured. After the completion of each frame segment for a particular inductive sensor, a total measurement frame time duration for that sensor is calculated based upon durations of a predetermined number of measurement frame segments for that sensor. The total measurement frame time duration and a reference time duration are compared and a difference is determined. If the difference between the total measurement frame time duration and the reference time duration exceeds a threshold value, an output signal indicative of the presence of a vehicle in the vicinity of the inductive sensor is generated.

The present invention relates to vehicle detectors which detect the passage or presence of a vehicle over a defined area of a roadway. In particular, the present invention relates to measurement frame segmentation in vehicle detectors as a means for shortening the detector output response time while maintaining detector sensitivity sufficient to detect small changes in inductance of the connected inductive sensor.
Inductive sensors are used for a wide variety of detection systems. For example, inductive sensors are used in systems which detect the presence of conductive or ferromagnetic articles within a specified area. Vehicle detectors are a common type of detection systems in which inductive sensors are used.
Vehicle detectors are used in traffic control systems to provide input data required by a controller to control signal lights. Vehicle detectors are connected to one or more inductive sensors and operate on the principle of an inductance change caused by the movement of a vehicle in the vicinity of the inductive sensor. The inductive sensor can take a number of different forms, but commonly is a wire loop which is buried in the roadway and which acts as an inductor.
The vehicle detector generally includes circuitry which operates in conjunction with the inductive sensor to measure changes in inductance and to provide output signals as a function of those inductance changes. The vehicle detector includes an oscillator circuit which produces a oscillator output signal having a frequency which is dependent on sensor inductance. The sensor inductance is in turn dependent on whether the inductive sensor is loaded by the presence of a vehicle. The sensor is driven as a part of a resonant circuit of the oscillator. The vehicle detector measures changes in inductance in the sensor by monitoring the frequency of the oscillator output signal.
Examples of vehicle detectors are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,339 (Koerner et al.) and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,932 (Koerner).
The duration of a measurement period required to detect a specific change in inductance is quite long when a small (e.g., 16 nanohenries) inductance change caused by a motorcycle or bicycle must be ascertained. Detection of automobiles, which cause larger inductance changes (e.g., greater than 3000 nanohenries on an inductive sensor in the form of a 3 turn, 6'.times.6' loop), may be accomplished with shorter measurement periods. In a detector that sequentially activates several inductive sensors, the response time of the detector to the presence of a vehicle over any one inductive sensor is determined by the summation of the time spent measuring the frequency of each of the inductive sensors. This becomes very important when vehicle speed is being measured. As the time spent measuring each inductive sensor increases, the ability to accurately estimate vehicle speed decreases. The ideal situation for speed measurement would be to spend a small amount of time measuring each inductive sensor regardless of the magnitude of the threshold change in inductance that is being measured.
In the past, vehicle detectors have typically utilized long measurement periods in order to ensure detection of small inductance changes. Prior art vehicle detectors are capable of measuring a wide range of inductance changes, but they are not capable of measuring small inductance changes while simultaneously utilizing short measurement periods. This is significant because the ability of the inductive sensor to measure vehicle speeds is a function of the measurement period length.

Vehicle detector measurement frame segmentation

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


There is disclosed a process for bonding a rigid thermoplastic vessel to a flexible thermoset elastomeric conduit using electromagnetic bonding techniques wherein the flexible thermoset elastomeric conduit is configured to provide close fitting relationship under compressive pressure forces to a cooperating element of the rigid thermoplastic vessel between which is positioned an electromagnetic bonding adhesive prior to applying an electromagnetic force.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the bonding of thermoplastic parts, and more particularly, to the electromagnetic bonding of a rigid thermoplastic article to a flexible thermoplastic article in forming fluid flow conduit systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the automotive industry, the use of rigid thermoplastic materials in forming air intake conduits parts, such as intake resonators, air cleaner boxes, throttle body bonnets, helm holtz chambers and the like, has substantially replaced the use of metallic materials of construction. Such parts are used with conduits for internal combustion engines and are formed of thermosetting elastomers, such as synthetic rubbers and the like, using mechanical fasteners, such as clamps. While initially effective in sealing the components, after short periods of time, leak paths develop permitting the induction of foreign particles, such as dust, which deleteriously effect engine oil thereby requiring shortened interval for oil changes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,875, there is disclosed electromagnetic binding between rigid thermoplastic sections using an electromagnetic adhesive composition comprised of particulate electromagnetic energy absorbing material. Such techniques are ineffective in bonding of a thermosetting elastomer, such as rubber, due to its mobility to remelt and bond to a thermoplastic material.
In copending application Ser. No. 08/856,327 filed May 14, 1997, there is disclosed an air intake conduit system comprised of a rigid thermoplastic vessel bonded to a flexible thermoplastic conduit wherein one end of the flexible conduit is clamped onto a metal component of the engine. It has been found that through repeated cycles of heating, that the flexible thermoplastic conduit in contact with the engine exhibits creep properties, i.e. relaxing of physical characteristics requiring periodic resetting of the clamping force.

Process for forming fluid flow conduit systems and products thereof


A computer-implemented system and method for off-line delivery of content through an active screen display are provided. A processor includes an encoding application to assemble and encode digitally-stored content into encoded content, and to interleave the encoded content with a signal conveying a live screen representation. The live screen representation includes output of a user interface for applications executing on the processor. An active screen display is coupled to the processor over a physical display interface connection. The active screen display includes a runtime application to identify the encoded content within the signal on the active screen display and to decode the encoded content into decoded content. The active screen display further includes an offline application to unilaterally display the decoded content on the active screen display without use of the processor and in an absence of the live screen presentation.

Personal computer and their attached monitors or displays, as well as laptop computers, have become common household appliances, with many homes having more than one personal computer system. The displays generally remain idle when the personal computer is not in use. Nevertheless, many personal computers are often located in central places in a home and the displays could potentially be used to independently display content, for example, pictures, calendar, or advertisements, that does not require the active computational resources of the personal computer.
Conventional software applications exist to utilize the display for such purposes. Generally, these applications require the personal computer to be turned on to display the content, even though the personal computer is not being used in a manner that involves active human user interaction via the user interface. While running, though, the personal computer consumes energy, is subject to wear and tear, and remains vulnerable to malicious software.
Personal computer displays are increasingly becoming available with onboard storage, external media readers, and internal logic to unilaterally display content, whether visual, audio, or both. For instance, active digital picture frames are widely available and include a receptacle to accommodate external storage media storing, for instance, digital pictures or music, even when not connected to an active "on" personal computer. However, loading the content from external media requires manual operation by the user and physical custody of the external media, such as a memory card, with the inconvenience of operating and increased costs associated with replicating user interface controls. Moreover, the content to be transferred to the active display oftentimes originates at the personal computer itself, and even though the two devices, the personal computer and the active display, may already be physically connected, a convenient and automated way to transfer the content into the active display's onboard is lacking.
One possible approach is to connect the processing unit of a personal computer to an active display using a special purpose cable or via wireless interconnect to transfer content from the personal computer into the active display's onboard memory. However, matching and compatible computers and active displays are required, in addition to specialized hardware for communication and labor for installation.
Therefore, there exists the need for a mechanism to transfer content from a personal computer or other external source to an active display for later viewing, particularly when the personal computer is turned off or inactive.

Off-line delivery of content through an active screen display


The invention relates to a shock absorber comprising a main body and a rod-piston, with the rod-piston being retracted when the landing gear is down and extended when the landing gear is up. The main body comprises, in succession, three chambers that are separated by associated partitions, and that comprise: a first hydraulic chamber in which the rod-piston slides freely; a chamber in which a separator piston slides, delimiting a second hydraulic chamber; and a chamber in which another piston slides, delimiting both a third hydraulic chamber and a chamber containing gas under high pressure. Communication means are provided between said chambers together with two associated electrically controlled valves enabling corresponding fluid connections to be selectively established. Thus, in a normal regime, the shock absorber enables a certain amount of energy to be stored while the landing gear is being lowered, which energy is restored next time the landing gear is raised; while during an emergency regime, the shock absorber participates in braking the landing gear while it is being lowered in an emergency, e.g. under its own weight after a jammed lowering actuator has been declutched.

Such shock absorbers are therefore designed to act during lowering of the landing gear when the linear actuator associated with the leg of the landing gear is engaged.
So long as the landing gear lowering operation takes place normally under drive from the associated linear actuator, and in particular from an electromechanical actuator, the actuator itself provides natural braking for the lowering of the landing gear.
In contrast, in the event of a mechanical breakdown in the auxiliary power generation system of the aircraft (which breakdown may be local or more generalized), the actuator is declutched and therefore no longer provides the resistance that is available in normal operation. Under such circumstances, it should nevertheless be possible to perform emergency lowering of the landing gear without damaging its components, i.e. it then appears necessary to be able to bring into play means capable of providing the now-lacking braking, particularly at the end of the down stroke of the landing gear.

Shock absorber for use in lowering aircraft landing gear


A word or row line (38a, 38b) associated with at least one row of memory cells in an integrated circuit memory array (10) having a plurality of word lines is driven by a drive/boot generator signal (RLXH) by first generating this drive signal using a drive signal generator (20) that is formed in a peripheral area (14) of the chip (10). The drive signal (RLXH) is transmitted to each of a plurality of predecoders (40) that are formed within a memory cell array area (12) of the chip (10). At least one of the predecoders (40) is actuated to transmit the drive signal (RLXH) onto a selected one of a plurality of predecoder output lines (RDD0-RDD3) in response to predetermined addressing or row factor signals (RF0-RF19). The drive signal (RLXH) is transmitted on a selected predecoder output line (44) to each of a plurality of decoders (36) formed within the array area (12). At least one of the decoders (36) actuated to transmit the drive signal (RLXH) from the addressed predecoder output line (RDD0-RDD3) to at least a selected one of a plurality of word lines (38a, 38b) in response to predetermined ones of the addressing or "row factor" signals signals (RF0-RF19). The selected word lines (38a, 38b) are then driven and booted using the decoded drive/boot signal (RLXH).

Industrial users of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) are demanding ever-quicker timing and ever-smaller power specifications. To meet these specifications, designers must design DRAMs to read from and write to the DRAM storage cells more and more quickly while at the same time using less power. This requires that improved methods be discovered to drive DRAM word lines (also referred to as "row" lines in the art) to a voltage supply source Vdd during the precharge portion of the reading cycle and to boot them above V.sub.dd during the active restore portion of the cycle. These functions are a substantial part of an active cycle's length.
A selected word line is driven for reading, and is booted for the active restore function, using a drive/boot signal transmitted from a drive/boot signal generator conventionally located in a peripheral area of the chip. An increasing importance has been placed on the decoding path of this drive/boot signal from the drive/boot generator to the active word lines. If this decoding path is too resistive or capacitive, the driving and booting of the word lines will be too slow. In addition, if the drive/boot signal path is too capacitive, the device will use too much power.
To illustrate the disadvantages of present drive/boot signal decoding systems, two examples will be described. In a pair of conventional 64 K and 256 K DRAM designs, one drive/boot generator is provided. Its output is split into two separate global signal lines (that is, signal lines that extend over the entire array) using pass gates. Therefore, only one of the split lines is required to be active in any given cycle. Each of the split lines then connects to one-half of all of the word line drivers or decoders in the DRAM in order to drive and boot the appropriate word lines. The row decoders are selected by addressing signals. Thus, in any given cycle, the one master drive/boot signal will "see" the parasitic capacitance of one-half of all of the word line drivers on the entire chip connected to it, plus the parasitic capacitance of two extra decoding pass gates. In addition to the relatively large amount of capacitance that this creates, the drive/boot signal is required to travel through the resistance of one pass gate and one word line driver to get to each decoded word line.
According to another conventional design used in 256 K and 1 M Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) DRAMs, four drive/boot generators are provided with four separate global drive/boot signal lines. Only one of these signal lines is active for any given cycle. Each drive/boot signal line is directly connected to one-fourth of all of the word line drivers on the chip. The four generators used according to this method require more space on the chip than one large signal generator. Further, each of the four drive/boot signal lines is heavily loaded with one-fourth of the entire chip's word line drivers parasitic capacitance. Each drive/boot signal must furthermore travel through the resistance of one word line driver to reach each word line.
The above conventional drive/boot signal decoding solutions require that the drive/boot signal "see" an undesirably large amount of parasitic capacitance, thus slowing down cycle times. The importance of minimizing this capacitance increases with increasing cycle speed, smaller voltage differences and larger array sizes such as are mandated for the 4 M DRAM. A need has therefore arisen for a drive/boot signal decoding scheme that will result in improved parasitic capacitance characteristics.

Decoding global drive/boot signals using local predecoders


A mobile terminal including a wireless communication unit configured to receive charging standby information for a plurality of wireless chargers, respectively; a display unit configured to display a plurality of display objects corresponding to the plurality of wireless chargers, respectively; and a controller configured to select at least one of the plurality of wireless chargers based on the received charging standby information, and distinctively display a display object corresponding to the selected wireless charger to distinguish the display object from the other objects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal and corresponding method for wirelessly charging the mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Terminals can be classified into mobile or portable terminals and a stationary terminals. Mobile terminals can be further classified into handheld terminals and vehicle mount terminals. Terminals are also multifunctional and can capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like. However, the battery consumption of the terminal has increased with the increase in available functions. The shorter battery life is inconvenient to the user.

Mobile terminal and control method thereof


An LC circuit section and a negative resistance section are provided for an LC-VCO. A pair of output terminals are provided for the LC circuit section and an inductor is connected between the output terminals, and two variable capacitors are connected in series to each other parallelly with the inductor. Further, the LC circuit section is provided with a pair of capacitors and a pair of switches that are connected between the capacitors and a ground potential and consist of NMOS transistors. Moreover, a switch that consists of the NMOS transistor is connected between a node, which is between one capacitor and one switch, and a node, which is between the other capacitor and the other switch, and the two nodes are connected to each other when the switch is closed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage controlled oscillator using a resonant phenomenon of a parallel LC tank circuit. More particularly, the invention relates to a voltage controlled oscillator that is equipped with a capacitance switches and capable of changing an oscillation frequency in steps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an LC-voltage controlled oscillator (LC-VCO), which uses the resonant phenomenon of the parallel LC tank circuit, has been used as the local oscillator (LC) of a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit used for frequency multiplication and phase lock. In the LC-VCO, an inductor and a variable capacitor are mutually connected in parallel to form the parallel LC tank circuit, and the resonant phenomenon of the parallel LC tank circuit oscillates an alternating-current signal whose frequency is a resonant frequency. The resonant frequency is a frequency at which the impedance of the parallel LC tank circuit becomes infinite, and the resonant phenomenon is a phenomenon where electric current alternately flows in the inductor and the variable capacitor in the parallel LC circuit. Further, a varactor device or the like is used as the variable capacitor, whose capacitance varies according to a control voltage to be applied. Assuming the inductance of the inductor and the capacitance of the variable capacitors are L and C, respectively, the resonant frequency f is given by the following expression 1. According to the following expression 1, it is made clear that the resonant frequency f reduces when the capacitance C of the variable capacitors is increased.
                    f        =                  1                      2                        π                                                                                L                                                                                C                                                                        [Expression  1]
Comparing the LC-VCO with a conventional VCO using a ring oscillator or the like, the LC-VCO has advantages shown below. Firstly, the LC-VCO has less noise than the conventional VCO using the ring oscillator or the like. This is due to the small number of transistors that cause noise because the LC-VCO uses the resonance of the parallel LC tank circuit as a basic principle. Therefore, the LC-VCO is preferable for high-speed optical communication, cell phones, wireless LAN and the like. Secondary, since the LC-VCO uses the resonance of the LC circuit as the basic principle, it is easier to obtain a high oscillation frequency than the VCO that consists of transistors and uses logic gate delay. Thirdly, the LC-VCO has the small variable width of oscillation frequency corresponding to the control voltage. For this reason, tuning sensitivity is low and oscillation frequency variation caused by the variation of the control voltage is small, which consequently leads to low noise.
On the other hand, a drawback of the LC-VCO is the above-described low tuning sensitivity. As described, although the low tuning sensitivity works advantageously to noise, the variable width of the oscillation frequency becomes small, and thus designing of the LC-VCO that achieves a desired oscillation frequency is difficult.
To overcome the drawback, an LC-VCO provided with the capacitance switches is suggested as shown in the document 'A. Kral et al., "RF-CMOS Oscillators with Switched Tuning", IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conf., pp. 555–558, 1998' for example. FIGS. 1A to 1C are equivalent circuit diagrams showing the LC-VCO provided with conventional capacitance switches, where FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C respectively show an equivalent circuit diagram showing the entire LC-VCO, an equivalent circuit diagram showing the capacitance switch section in an OFF state, and an equivalent circuit diagram showing the capacitance switch section in an ON state. Further, FIGS. 2A and 2B are graphs showing the variable width of the oscillation frequency taking the control voltage on the axis of abscissas and the oscillation frequency on the axis of ordinate, where FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B respectively show the variable range of the oscillation frequency when the capacitance switch section is not used, and the variable range of the oscillation frequency when the capacitance switch section is used.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the conventional LC-VCO 101 is connected to power source potential wiring VCC and ground potential wiring GND. In the LC-VCO 101, a negative resistance section 2, an LC circuit section 104 and a negative resistance section 3 are arranged in this order from the power source potential wiring VCC toward the ground potential wiring GND.
P-channel transistors 5, 6 are provided in the negative resistance section 2. One of the source/drain of the P-channel transistor 5 is connected to the power source potential wiring VCC, the other one is connected to an output terminal 7 of the LC circuit section 104, and a gate is connected to an output terminal 8. One of the source/drain of the P-channel transistor 6 is connected to the power source potential wiring VCC, the other one is connected to an output terminal 8 of the LC circuit section 104, and the gate is connected to an output terminal 7.
In the LC circuit section 104, an inductor 9 is provided between the output terminals 7, 8. Furthermore, the variable capacitors 10, 11 are provided in series between the output terminals 7, 8 parallelly with the inductor 9. The variable capacitors 10, 11 are the capacitors whose capacitance varies according to the control voltage to be input, which is the varactor device, specifically.
Moreover, a capacitance switch section 116 is provided for the LC circuit section 104, and capacitors 12, 13 and switches 14, 15 are provided for the capacitance switch section 116. The output terminal 7 is connected to one electrode of the capacitor 12, the other electrode of the capacitor 12 is connected to one terminal of the switch 14, and the other terminal of the switch 14 is connected to a ground electrode. In the same manner, the output terminal 8 is connected to the ground electrode via the capacitor 13 and the switch 15. The switches 14, 15 essentially consist of NMOS (N-type Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors. Although FIG. 1A shows only one capacitance switch section 116, a plurality of the capacitance switch sections 116 may be provided and connected between the output terminals 7, 8 parallelly with each other.
N-channel transistors 17, 18 are provided in the negative resistance section 3. One of the source/drain of the N-channel transistor 17 is connected to the output terminal 7 of the LC circuit section 104, the other one is connected to the ground potential wiring GND, and the gate is connected to the output terminal 8. Further, one of the source/drain of the N-channel transistor 18 is connected to the output terminal 8, the other one is connected to the ground potential wiring GND, and the gate is connected to the output terminal 7.
Next, the operation of the conventional LC-VCO 101 will be described. For example, when an electrical stimulation is applied to the LC circuit section 104 by connecting the LC-VCO 101 to the power source potential wiring VCC and ground potential wiring GND, or the like, the LC circuit section 104 oscillates a high frequency (HF) having the resonant frequency from the output terminals 7, 8. At this point, signals output form the output terminals 7, 8 are complementary signals.
However, loss by parasitic resistance is caused and oscillation stops in the end in the case of the only LC circuit section 104. Given this factor, a positive power source potential is applied to the power source potential wiring VCC and a ground potential is applied to the ground potential wiring GND to supply an electric current and provide the negative resistance sections 2, 3 to/for the LC-VCO 101, and thus it is possible to permanently oscillate resonant waves in the LC circuit section 104. Specifically, when the output terminal 7 is low and the output terminal 8 is high, for example, the P-channel transistor 5 is turned OFF and the N-channel transistor 17 is turned ON. Consequently, the ground potential is applied to the output terminal 7. Further, since the P-channel transistor 6 is turned ON and the N-channel transistor 18 is turned OFF, the power source potential is applied to the output terminal 8. In the same manner, when the output terminal 7 is high and the output terminal 8 is low, the power source potential is applied to the output terminal 7 and the ground potential is applied to the output terminal 8. Thus, the oscillation from the output terminals 7, 8 continues without attenuation.
Then, by changing the control voltage applied to the variable capacitors 10, 11, the capacitance of the variable capacitors 10, 11 linearly varies. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2A, the resonant frequency of the LC circuit section 104 varies according the control voltage so that it is possible to vary the frequency of high frequency (HF) that the LC-VCO 101 oscillates. Range A shown in FIG. 2A is the variable range of the oscillation frequency.
Furthermore, the capacitance of the entire capacitance switch section 116 varies by switching the switches 14, 15. As shown in FIG. 1B, since the switch 14 works as a capacitance and is connected to the capacitor 12 in series when the switch 14 is turned OFF, the total capacitance of the capacitor 12 and the switch 14 becomes relatively small. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1C, when the switch 14 is turned ON, the switch 14 works as a resistance and the total capacitance of the capacitor 12 and the switch 14 becomes relatively large. Consequently, when the switch 14 is turned OFF, the capacitance of the entire LC circuit section 104 becomes small, and thus increasing the oscillation frequency according to the above-described expression 1. Further, when the switch 14 is turned ON, the capacitance of the entire LC circuit section 104 becomes large, and thus decreasing the oscillation frequency. Accordingly, by opening/closing the switches 14, 15, it is possible to discontinuously vary the oscillation frequency. Further, it is possible to vary the oscillation frequency in steps if a plurality of the capacitance switch sections 116 are provided and individually opened/closed.
Consequently, as shown in FIG. 2B, the oscillation frequency is made to vary in steps by the capacitance switch section 116 and the control voltage of the variable capacitors 10, 11 is changed to continuously vary the oscillation frequency, so that the variable width of the oscillation frequency can be increased while the tuning sensitivity is maintained low and the oscillation frequency variation due to the variation of control voltage is inhibited, comparing to the case where the capacitance switch section 116 is not provided. Range B shown in FIG. 2B is the variable range of the oscillation frequency. Further, an oscillation frequency band can be changed by providing the capacitance switch section 116, which readily deal with a plurality of frequencies demanded in the error correction or the like in a communication system.
However, the above-described prior art show the following problems. As described, the N-channel transistor such as the NMOS transistor is used for the switches 14, 15 shown in FIG. 1A. Unlike an ideal switch, since parasitic component remains in the switches formed by such transistor in both ON state and OFF state, it is impossible to completely connect or disconnect the capacitors 12, 13 to the ground electrode. Specifically, when the switches 14, 15 are in the ON state, the switches 14, 15 work as a resistance, and they work as a capacitance in the OFF state. Therefore, when the switches 14, 15 are in the ON state, the electrode potential on the ground electrode side in the capacitors 12, 13 does not become completely the ground potential, but is affected by the potential of the output terminals 7, 8 and alternating current component remains. As a result, the effective voltage between the electrodes of the capacitors 12, 13 becomes small, and thus decreasing the effective capacitance of the capacitors 12, 13. Accordingly, an effect to reduce the oscillation frequency of the LC-VCO 101 is insufficient even if the switches 14, 15 are turned ON, and the variable width of the oscillation frequency becomes small.
Note that the resistance of the switches 14, 15 in the ON state becomes small if the channel width of the transistors that consist the switches 14, 15 is increased, and the behavior of the LC-VCO 101 becomes almost an ideal state. However, there is a problem that the size of the entire LC-VCO 101 becomes large when the transistors are larger.


There is provided an improved apparatus for transporting a fishing rod on a kayak deck. The apparatus comprises a first part adapted to be releasably mounted to the bow of the kayak deck, a second part adapted to be releasably mounted at a position on the bow of the deck adjacent the well of the kayak and a support on the first and second parts for holding a rod in place along a longitudinal axis of the kayak in an inoperable position when the parts are in mounted position on the kayak.

The kayak has long been used as a preferred method of marine transportation for one or two people. It is faster and more maneuverable than either a canoe or a rowboat and is not as restricted in use as a sailboat or a motorboat. However, the kayak has never been widely used as a fishing vessel, despite the fact that it is much quieter than a powerboat needed for trolling.
On its own, the kayak has no readily available storage space for fishing rods or other fishing accessories. Therefore, transporting the necessary equipment for fishing, particularly the poles, is extremely difficult. It is also difficult to troll in a kayak because there is no place to securely rest the rod and, in the event that a fish strikes, there is no place to rest the paddle to tend to the rod. Therefore, the inherent advantages of a kayak have not to date been utilized as a fishing vessel.
There have been attempts in the prior art to increase the storage capability of a kayak. For example reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,720 of Jarschke, issued Apr. 26, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,928 of Brenaman, issued Sep. 14, 1993. Neither of the devices disclosed in those references, however, serves to improve the use of the kayak as a fishing vessel.
Devices designed to specifically hold fishing rods are often designed for canoes or motorized boats and therefore, do not meet the design criteria of a kayak and cannot be adapted for use on a kayak. In this respect, reference may be had to the following U.S. patent references:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,655,669 of Schaper, issued Oct. 20, 1953; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,218 of Stires, issued Sep. 16, 1958; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,890,847 of Minton et al., issued Jun. 16, 1959; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,069 of McBurney et al., issued Jul. 7, 1964; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,127 of Doskocil, issued Jun. 13, 1967; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,490 of Miller, issued Jun. 12, 1984; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,039 of O'Neill, issued Feb. 3, 1987; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,169 of Denker, issued Mar. 26, 1996.


A method, apparatus and system for polarization conversion and recycling by using a half-pyramid shaped reflector with multiple reflective surfaces, or said reflector assembly, to obtain a desirable polarization rotation effect. The disclosed half-pyramid reflector comprises a plurality of reflective surfaces, which are formed so that an incoming beam passing perpendicularly through the entrant surface is reflected three times inside the device and leaves the exit surface with the direction of polarization being rotated 90 degrees. The preferred embodiments of polarization:conversion systems using the invented apparatus are included. Without employing any waveplate component, the disclosed system is not sensitive to wavelength variations of the light source, temperature changes, and polarization alignment errors. Typical application of this invention includes polarization conversion and recycling for projection systems with polarization dependent spatial light modulation panels, such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a polarization conversion and recycling method that features a polarization converting apparatus using a uniquely designed half-pyramid shaped reflector with multi-reflection to achieve a desirable polarization rotation function. The present invention further relates to polarization conversion and recycling systems using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polarized light sources are utilized in various applications such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) projection systems. Un-polarized light source can be decomposed by a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) into a linear s-polarization component and an orthogonal p-polarization component.
A commonly used method of producing polarized light for a LCD projection panel comprises the use of a PBS prism cube or a reflective PBS plate to separate s and p polarized beams into reflection and transmission, respectively. One linearly polarized component of the light is transmitted by the PBS and directed to the LCD panel, while the orthogonal component is reflected away in different direction. The regular PBS could only be used near 45 degrees incidence with small numerical aperture. Another kind of PBS, the wire grid PBS, has attracted special interest because it can be used in a perpendicular incidence with large angle incident cone, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,463 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,199.
It is evident that conventional reflective polarizers with no polarization conversion and recycling device attached are inefficient, due to the fact that, during s-p polarization split, severe loss of light occurs and only a maximum of one-half of the available light from the source can be converted to polarized light for transmission.
Many efforts have been made to increase the efficiency of polarization conversion and the results can be found in the prior arts and commercial products. Some of the polarizing converting systems incorporate a waveplate with polarizing beam splitter to make use of both polarizations. For example, by introducing a half waveplate, one could convert a p-beam into a s-beam or vice versa to recover otherwise wasted component. A mirror or a prism has to be employed to reflect the converted beam in the same direction as the other beam does. Examples can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,856 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,991.
Another commonly proposed approach involves the implementation of units that incorporate a plurality of prisms arranged in an array with PBS coating or reflecting surfaces formed between the prisms. Light from the source is directed towards the prisms by a multi-lens optical array. One polarization is passed directly through the prisms while the other polarization is directed sideways towards the mirror surfaces between the prisms. Mirrors redirect the other polarization again into the useful beam. Waveplate strips, arranged on the exiting surfaces, rotate the other polarization so that it is the same as the passed polarization. The width of the elements in the lens array is twice the width of the PBS prism elements so that the structure can make full use of the illumination area. Implementations of such mechanism can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,759 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,320.
In summary, previous work shows that almost all current polarization conversion systems have to utilize half-wave or quarter-wave phase retardation plates to increase conversion efficiency. However, the methodology of employing waveplates in a polarization converter inevitably leads to some problems. One of the disadvantages is that the waveplates will not work properly if the wavelengths of the illumination beam deviate considerably from the center wavelength. Another disadvantage is that the waveplates are sensitive to changes of the incident angles and the direction of polarization. Furthermore, a waveplate made of polymer is thermally unstable, while although a waveplate made of crystal can tolerate high temperature and rapid temperature change, its cost is usually too high. These issues have restricted the use of waveplate in some practical applications, particularly in those applications where working with a high flux of broadband light and/or a high operation temperature is unavoidable.
In some literature from the prior arts, a variety of proposals have been made to achieve polarization rotation and conversion by using prisms. Among them, U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,150 disclosed an optical device for rotating the polarization of a light beam. In one embodiment of the invention, the device comprises a prism, which is adapted to rotate the polarization of a linearly polarized beam of radiation by 90 degrees and the propagation direction of beam is altered by 90 degrees. U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,410 disclosed a method and apparatus for rotating the polarization vector of a substantially linearly polarized beam through a selected angle by using three or four reflections with the output beam being substantially free of ellipticity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,482 disclosed an achromatic polarization rotating right angle prism system for rotating the plane of polarization by 90 degrees. The direction of travel of the beam may be altered by 90 degrees or the beam may continue on in the same line. These findings and derived systems are often too complicated to be used in practical polarization applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,788 presented a prism polarizer, in the form of a pyramid with its apex located on a line normal to the bottom surface at one of the four corner points, to convert unpolarized light into linearly polarized components without using a half wave plate. The prism polarizer is comprised of two reflecting surfaces and a polarization beam splitting surface (PBS surface) which lies in a bisectional plane of two reflecting surfaces. One of the side surfaces of the pyramid which are in the form of right-angled isosceles triangles defines the light incident surface, and a square bottom surface defines the light emission surface.
The unpolarized light incident upon the light incident surface, passes though the PBS surface and is split by the PBS surface. One p-polarized light component, transmitted through the PBS surface, is reflected by the first reflecting surface toward the light emission surface; and the s-polarized light component, reflected by the PBS, is reflected at right angles by the second reflecting surface toward the light emission surface. Thus, the s-polarized light component is emitted in the same polarization direction and propagates in the same direction as the P-polarized light component. The disclosed device is not only a polarizer to convert un-polarized light to polarized light but also a polarization rotation device to change the direction of polarization.
However, the disclosed prism polarizer is not very suitable for many applications due to its triangular shaped incident surface. To overcome this drawback, the inventor demonstrated a rather sophisticated embodiment by using two prism polarizers adhered together to form a square incident surface, and at least one optical component needs to be added in order to keep light emissions from two prisms propagating in the same direction. Due to its potential complexity, again, this configuration is not very practically useful for many real applications.
To address the problems and drawbacks in prior art polarization conversion systems, the current invention introduces a unique polarization rotation apparatus of a half-pyramid shaped reflector, either a half-pyramid shaped prism reflector or a half-pyramid shaped hollow reflector, which can be assembled and integrated in a polarization conversion system to achieve the required polarization rotation, conversion and recycling without using a wave plate. Compared to polarization rotation devices in the prior art which are utilizing wave plates, the invented polarization rotation apparatus has advantage of not being sensitive to wavelength variation of the light source, to temperature changes and to polarization alignment errors. Compared to other prism-based polarization rotation devices disclosed in the prior art, the invented polarization rotation apparatus has advantage of simplicity in structure, compactness in size, and flexibility to be assembled in various configurations.

Polarization conversion and recycling method and apparatus


An organic light emitting display apparatus including: a substrate having a display area; a thin film transistor (TFT) disposed in the display area of the substrate; an electrode power supply line disposed outside the display area of the substrate; a first insulating layer covering the TFT and having a first open portion through which a portion or a whole top surface of the electrode power supply line is exposed; and a second insulating layer disposed on the first insulating layer and having a second open portion through which the first open portion of the first insulating layer is exposed, so that the second insulating layer does not contact the electrode power supply line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting display apparatus refers to a display apparatus that includes light emitting devices in its display area. A light emitting device includes a pixel electrode, a counter electrode, and an intermediate layer interposed between the pixel electrode and the counter electrode, the intermediate layer including a light emitting layer.
An organic light emitting display apparatus can be categorized as either an active matrix display or a passive matrix display according to how the organic light emitting devices of the organic light emitting display apparatus are driven. In the active matrix display, whether each sub-pixel emits light is controlled through a thin film transistor (TFT). In the passive matrix display, whether each sub-pixel emits light is controlled through electrodes arranged in a matrix form. In the case of the active matrix display, counter electrodes of a plurality of sub-pixels are generally formed as one body and contact an electrode power supply line positioned outside a display area.
The electrode power supply line is typically formed of a material that is low in resistance and high in conductance. However, a material this is low in resistance and high in conductance can adversely react with an organic material. Thus, in a conventional organic light emitting display apparatus, an electrode power supply line may contact a layer of the display apparatus formed of an organic material and thus be damaged. If the electrode power supply line is damaged, an electrical signal supplied to a counter electrode of the display apparatus through the electrode power supply line is distorted. Thus, an accurate image is not represented properly due to the distortion. In addition, a function of the electrode power supply line is deteriorated, and thus the accurate image is not represented properly.

Structure of organic light emitting display apparatus


An system and method for transmitting/receiving sounding resource allocation information in a communication system are provided, in which a transmitter selects one of a plurality of preset sounding resource allocation patterns according to operation mode information about an receiver to which uplink resources will be allocated, the uplink resources having a period of a predetermined number of time units and a predetermined number of frequency units, reads resource layout information about each sounding subblocks of an active sounding resource allocation pattern corresponding to the selected sounding resource allocation pattern, and allocates at least one of the sounding subblocks of the sounding resource allocation pattern to the receiver according to the resource layout information and transmitting a sounding resource allocation information including the allocated sounding subblock information.

In general, future-generation communication systems are under development to provide high-speed large-volume data transmission and reception services to mobile stations. A major example of them is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16e.
With reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of an IEEE 802.16e communication system will be described.
FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration of a typical IEEE 802.16e communication system.
Referring to FIG. 1, the IEEE 802.16e communication system is multi-cellular. Thus, it includes cells 100 and 150, a base station (BS) 110 that covers the cell 100, a base station 140 that covers the cell 150, and a plurality of receivers 111, 113, 130, 151 and 153.
In an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication system such as the IEEE 802.16e communication system, a base station requires uplink Channel Quality Information (CQI) of each receiver (MS) in order to allocate uplink resources. For this purpose, the base station can allocate dedicated uplink resources to receivers so that they transmit reference signals or pilot signals to the base station. The following description is made on the assumption that each mobile station transmits a pilot signal and the base station acquires the uplink CQI of the receiver by estimating the pilot signal received from the receiver.
If the IEEE 802.16e communication system operates in Time Division Duplex (TDD), it can be considered that an uplink CQI is equal to a downlink CQI. Even in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), the downlink and uplink CQIs can be transmitted simultaneously by transmitting an analog downlink CQI value and a pilot signal at the same time. In the case where the IEEE 802.16e communication system does not use TDD, the base station acquires the uplink CQI of each receiver as follows.
In the IEEE 802.16e communication system, an uplink frame includes a sounding zone in which each receiver transmits a sounding signal on subcarriers. The sounding signal is a pilot signal by which the base station can acquire the uplink CQI of the receiver. For convenience sake, the terms "sounding signal" and "pilot signal" are interchangeably used in the same meaning.
Only upon request of the base station, the receiver transmits the sounding signal using allocated subcarriers and time resources in the sounding zone. The sounding zone has uplink resources common to all receivers within the base station. Under the control of the base station, the receivers share the subcarriers of the sounding zone.
As described above, to estimate the uplink CQIs of the receivers, the base station should transmit to the receivers uplink resource allocation information indicating frequency resources and time resources in which they will transmit their sounding signals. The uplink resource allocation information includes the following:                (1) The number of allocated sound pilots;        (2) The time-frequency positions of the sounding pilots; and        (3) A sounding pilot allocation period.
To acquire the uplink CQIs of the receivers, the base station should transmit the above complex information to the receivers, for uplink resource allocation to them. Accordingly, reduction of the uplink resource allocation information associated with the uplink CQI acquisition is very significant in terms of overall system overhead.

System and method for transmitting/receiving information about allocated uplink sounding resources in a communication system


The invention is an ergonomic cap remover having an open end and an annular sidewall. The annular sidewall comprising a plurality of teeth extending inward and a. The open end opening to a closed cavity surrounded by the annular sidewall and a top. The closed cavity adapted to receive a cap on a bottle. The plurality of teeth adapted to engage the cap. The ergonomic cap remover comprising a means for providing purchase. The means for providing purchase may comprise knurling or tabs on the outside of the annular sidewall.

Bottled water has become a part of everyday live all over the world. Bottled water is an answer to the need for safe potable water for people and animals. Bottled water production spans the market from basic bottled water for drinking to designer bottled water with flavors, vitamins and carbonation. A variety of other beverages are packaged in bottles having removable caps. The vast majority of these beverages are packaged in light weight clear plastic bottles with a screw on cap. To reduce the cost of producing, shipping and marketing bottled water, manufacturers have made the water bottles and caps thinner and lighter. The cap on a plastic water bottle is generally screw on the bottle.
As manufacturers develop bottles and caps with less plastic, and therefore less weight and less cost to make and ship, the cap has become smaller. As a result, the cap has become difficult for some people to open. People with hand problems or people that are young or old may have a hard time gripping the smaller cap to apply enough torque to break loose the tamper resistant ring and remove the cap. Further, the cap is to small to get purchase on the cap with a hand to overcome the sealing force holding the cap to the bottle.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an ergonomic cap remover that can concentrically fit onto a cap to aid in the removal of the cap from the bottle. The ergonomic cap remover of the present invention is adapted to fit over a cap of a predetermined size to aid in the removal of the cap. The ergonomic cap remover may be reused. The ergonomic cap remover may be carried on the person for use when needed. The ergonomic cap remover may be hooked onto a key chain for storage. The ergonomic cap remover may offer a larger gripping surface than the cap to aid the user in getting purchase and applying torque to the cap for removal. The ergonomic cap remover may have appendages to increase the torque applied to the cap to help a person with soft or weak hands to open the bottle. The ergonomic cap remover may provide an appendage on the outside of the ergonomic cap remover to reinforce the structure of the ergonomic cap remover while providing a gripping surface adapted to help the user apply more torque with less effort in attempting to remove a cap. The structural rib supports the body of the ergonomic cap remover by being integrally molded on the outside. The structural rib may extend along the top and sides of the ergonomic cap remover. The structural rib may extend on the top of the cap where reinforcement of the thin material n the cap is subject to forces during manufacture and shipping.
The ergonomic cap remover may have an annular body with a hollow interior having an open end and a closed end, the open end adapted for accepting the cap therein. The ergonomic cap remover interior comprises a plurality of teeth or blades extending inwardly from the annular body. The teeth having a tapering shape to provide contact with a cap of varying size. The teeth are narrow defining a flush position on the inside of the annular body adjacent to the opening, the teeth have a tapered shape for holding an edge sloped from the inside of the annular opening toward the center. The teeth are spaced equidistant about the inside of the annular body interior along the inside surface. The teeth may be sloped for holding the edge closer to the center as the edge extends to the closed end of the annular body. The teeth slope may be continuous or stepped. The stepped slope adapted to having an edge supported at a first distance from the inside of the annular opening adjacent the open end and a second distance from the inside of the annular opening adjacent the closed end.
The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.


A unit semiconductor chip and stacked semiconductor package and method of manufacturing with center bonding pads and at least one circuit layer to reduce the length of bonding. The unit semiconductor chip includes a first series of bonding wires connected to a plurality of center bonding pads of a semiconductor chip, at least one circuit layer connected to the first series of bonding wires and including a series of circuit layer wiring patterns, and a second series of bonding wires connecting the series of circuit layer wiring patterns and a series of wiring patterns. The stacked semiconductor package further includes a second series of wiring patterns, connected to the first series of wiring patterns, the a second series of wiring patterns and the series of circuit layer wiring patterns providing connections to adjacent lower and upper unit semiconductor packages, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a unit semiconductor chip, semiconductor package and methods for manufacturing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a unit semiconductor chip and a stacked semiconductor package having semiconductor chips with center bonding pads and methods for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
As a result of developments in semiconductor technology and user demands, the electronic industry has been engaged in continuing efforts to reduce the size, thickness and power consumption of semiconductor devices. In order to meet the requirement of the electronic industry, semiconductor devices are becoming more highly integrated. A conventional semiconductor package using solder balls instead of connecting pins is a ball grid array (BGA) package and a conventional packaging process have been generally for integrated semiconductor packages, such as chip scale packages (CSPs).
Demand for compact semiconductor devices with larger capacity has resulted in the development of stacked semiconductor packages. In general, stacked semiconductor packages have been adopted because of the possibility of easily increasing the memory capacity of a semiconductor package by two or more, by stacking two or more packages.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional BGA package 10 having a semiconductor chip 20 with center bonding pads 25. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the conventional BGA package 10 including a semiconductor chip 20 with center bonding pads 25 may include a printed circuit board 11 including wiring patterns 13 formed on the peripheral area of the printed circuit board 11. The semiconductor chip 20 with the center bonding pads 25 may be attached on a top side of the printed circuit board 11 by an adhesive layer 30. An insulating layer 28 may be formed in order to protect a circuit layer (not shown) on the semiconductor chip 20. The center bonding pads 25 and the wiring patterns 13 may be electrically connected by bonding wires 35. The semiconductor chip 20 and the bonding wires 35 may be sealed by an encapsulation 40. A plurality of solder ball pads 50 may be formed on the underside of the printed circuit board 11 and solder balls 55 may be attached corresponding to the plurality of solder ball pads 50. The solder balls 55 may be electrically connected to the wiring patterns 13 of the printed circuit board 11.
As described above, the conventional BGA package 10 may decrease a mounting density when connected to a mother board (not shown), as a result of using the printed circuit board 11, instead of a lead frame and using the solder balls 14 as external connection terminals. However, the conventional BGA package 10 including the semiconductor chip 20 with center bonding pads 25 has longer bonding wires 35 connecting the center bonding pads 25 and the wiring patterns 13 than semiconductor chips with edge pads. Further, electrical failures may occur between an edge portion of the semiconductor chip 20 and the bonding wires 36, as a result of reducing the height of the wire loop to reduce the overall thickness of the package. Furthermore, the conventional stacking process of manufacturing such a stacked semiconductor package may be difficult, as a result of sealing the top surface of the semiconductor chip 20 with the center bonding pads 25.

Unit semiconductor chip and multi chip package with center bonding pads and methods for manufacturing the same