This invention is directed to a downhole method and apparatus for simultaneously determining the horizontal resistivity, vertical resistivity, and relative dip angle for anisotropic earth formations. The present invention accomplishes this objective by using an antenna configuration in which a transmitter antenna and a receiver antenna are oriented in non-parallel planes such that the vertical resistivity and the relative dip angle are decoupled. Preferably, either the transmitter or the receiver is mounted in a conventional orientation in a first plane that is normal to the tool axis, and the other antenna is mounted in a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane. This invention also relates to a method and apparatus for steering a downhole tool during a drilling operation in order to maintain the borehole within a desired earth formation. The steering capability is enabled by computing the difference or the ratio of the phase-based or amplitude-based responses of the receiver antennas which are mounted in planes that are not parallel to the planes of the transmitter antennas. Although this invention is primarily intended for MWD or LWD applications, this invention is also applicable to wireline and possibly other applications.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for determining the horizontal and vertical resistivities and the relative dip angle of a borehole in an electrically anisotropic earth formation. More specifically, this invention relates to an electromagnetic wave induction technique for measuring resistivity using a tool having an antenna that is disposed within a plane which is inclined with respect to a plane that is normal to the axis of the tool. This invention also relates to a method and apparatus for steering a downhole tool during a drilling operation in order to maintain the borehole within a desired earth formation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of petroleum well drilling and logging, electromagnetic wave resistivity sensors are frequently used to provide an indication of the electrical resistivity of rock formations surrounding an earth borehole. Such information regarding resistivity is useful in ascertaining the presence or absence of hydrocarbons. A typical electromagnetic wave resistivity tool comprises a transmitter antenna and a pair of receiver antennas located at different distances from the transmitter antenna along the axis of the tool. The transmitter antenna is used to transmit electromagnetic waves into the surrounding formation. In turn, the magnetic field in the formation induces an electrical voltage in each receiver antenna. Due to geometric spreading and absorption by the surrounding earth formation, the induced voltages in the two receiving antennas have different phases and amplitudes. Experiments have shown that the phase difference (Φ) and amplitude ratio (attenuation, A) of the induced voltages in the receiver antennas are indicative of the resistivity of the formation. The point in the formation (as defined by a radial distance from the tool axis) to which such a resistivity measurement pertains is a function of the frequency of the transmitter and the distance from the transmitter to the mid-point between the two receivers. Thus, one may achieve multiple radial depths of investigation of resistivity either by providing multiple transmitters at different distances from the receiver pair or by operating a single transmitter at multiple frequencies.
If a formation is electrically isotropic, the resistivities measured at the various depths of investigation by such an electromagnetic wave resistivity tool will be the same. However, if the resistivities corresponding to the various depths of investigation are different, such differences indicate that the formation being measured is electrically anisotropic. In electrically anisotropic formations, the anisotropy is generally attributable to extremely fine layering during the sedimentary build-up of the formation. Hence, in a formation coordinate system oriented such that the x-y plane is parallel to the formation layers and the z axis is perpendicular to the formation layers, resistivities Rx and Ry in directions x and y, respectively, are the same, but resistivity Rz in the z direction is different from Rx and Ry. Thus, the resistivity in a direction parallel to the plane of the formation (i.e., the x-y plane) is known as the horizontal resistivity, Rh, and the resistivity in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the formation (i.e., the z direction) is known as the vertical resistivity, Rv. The index of anisotropy, α, is defined as α=[Rv/Rh]½.
The relative dip angle, θ, is the angle between the borehole axis (tool axis) and the normal to the plane of the formation. If the axis of an electromagnetic wave resistivity tool is perpendicular to the plane of an anisotropic formation (i.e., θ=0°), both the phase shift and amplitude attenuation measurements reflect only the horizontal resistivity. However, if the axis of the tool is inclined with respect to the normal of the formation plane (i.e., for non-zero relative dip angle), the rock anisotropy affects the resistivity derived from phase shift measurements ("phase shift resistivity" or RΦ) differently than it affects the resistivity derived from amplitude attenuation measurements ("amplitude attenuation resistivity" or RA). For small relative dip angles (e.g., θ less than about 45°), the difference between phase shift and amplitude attenuation resistivities is relatively small. However, this difference becomes significant for relative dip angles greater than about 50°, and the difference is large for horizontal boreholes (i.e., θ=90°).
Before the present invention, practitioners in the art have used a number of techniques to determine the anisotropy of earth formations, most of which involve the use of coil antennas to measure resistivity. However, each of the existing techniques suffers from one or more disadvantages. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,643, issued Dec. 25, 1990 to Gianzero and Su, teaches the use of additional receiver coils oriented differently from (not co-axial with) conventional receiver coils to detect skew signals induced by skewness in the magnetic field pattern in the presence of asymmetrical formations. The axis of such additional receiver coils according to the '643 patent is preferably orthogonal to that of the conventional receiver coils, which are co-axial with the tool axis. However, such orthogonal coil (antenna) configurations are not generally considered practical for a measuring while drilling (MWD) or logging while drilling (LWD) tool because, if the coil is located in the interior of the tool, the presence of the coil necessitates a non-conventional mud flow path and decreases the mechanical strength of the tool. If, on the other hand, the additional coil is located on the exterior of the tool, the coil is susceptible to damage by formation cuttings in the return mud flow.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,448, issued Jul. 12, 1994 to Rosthal, discloses a method and apparatus for determining the horizontal and vertical resistivities of an earth formation using an iterative error minimization technique. However, the '448 patent, which discloses a conventional antenna configuration in which the transmitter and receiver coils are aligned co-axially with the tool, does not provide a way to determine the relative dip angle. Instead, the relative dip angle must be obtained from another measurement source or from prior knowledge of the formation. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,930, issued Aug. 12, 1997 to Hagiwara, discloses a method for determining the anisotropic properties of subterranean formations comprising thinly laminated sand/shale sequences using an induction logging tool. However, like the '448 patent, the method of the '930 patent requires the derivation of the relative dip angle from another measurement.
In a technical paper entitled "A New Method to Determine Horizontal Resistivity in Anisotropic Formations Without Prior Knowledge of Relative Dip," 37th SPWLA 37th Annual Logging Symposium, New Orleans, Jun. 16–19, 1996, Hagiwara discloses a method to determine the horizontal resistivity for deviated boreholes or dipping formations using two conventional induction-type resistivity measurements. However, Hagiwara's method does not provide the relative dip angle. To obtain the relative dip angle, the formation anisotropy must be known. Moreover, Hagiwara showed that, for conventional induction logging tools (in which the transmitter and receiver antennas are oriented co-axially with the tool), it is impossible to obtain all three parameters (horizontal resistivity, vertical resistivity, and relative dip angle) simultaneously. The reason such a simultaneous solution is not possible using conventional induction logging tools is that, in the response of such tools, the vertical resistivity and the relative dip angle are coupled (i.e., they are not independent).
In European Patent Application No. 97118854.5 by Wu, published May 6, 1998, Wu discloses a method and apparatus for determining horizontal conductivity, vertical conductivity, and relative dip angle during a drilling operation. If the relative dip angle is unknown, Wu's technique involves the formulation of a relationship between the dielectric constants of the formation to the anisotropic conductivities of the formation. However, in the proof by Hagiwara mentioned above, the dielectric constants are assumed quantities, and their contribution to the phase shift resistivity is minimal. Therefore, even if the dielectric constants are known, the vertical resistivity and the relative dip angle are still coupled and do not allow for a simultaneous solution.
It would, therefore, be a significant advancement in the art to provide an improved method and apparatus for simultaneously determining the horizontal resistivity, vertical resistivity, and relative dip angle in a MWD or LWD mode of operation.
Furthermore, to maximize the production of hydrocarbons from a petroleum well, it would be beneficial to steer the drilling apparatus with respect to geological bed boundaries in order to maintain the borehole within a desired hydrocarbon-bearing earth formation or "payzone." As discussed by Luling in U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,273, when conventional resistivity tools traverse geological bed boundaries between formations having different resistivities, the responses of such tools exhibit horns at the bed boundaries. Before the advent of the method disclosed by Luling, practitioners in the art considered such horns to be unfortunate anomalies and sought ways to eliminate the horns. By contrast, Luling recognized the value of such horns and disclosed a method of utilizing the horns to assist with directional drilling. However, Luling teaches the use of conventional transmitter and receiver antennas oriented in planes orthogonal to the tool axis, and such conventional resistivity tools produce the same type of horn response regardless of whether the tool travels from a region of lower resistivity to higher resistivity or from a region of higher resistivity to lower resistivity. Consequently, as a conventional resistivity tool approaches a bed boundary between a first bed having one resistivity and a second bed having a different resistivity, Luling's method indicates only the presence of the boundary; Luling's method does not provide an early indication of whether the resistivity of the second bed is higher or lower than that of the first bed. Only after the tool crosses the boundary and travels a sufficient distance into the second bed will Luling's method provide an indication as to whether the resistivity increased or decreased so that the driller can make a decision regarding which bed is more desirable. As a result, Luling's method may lead to unnecessary penetrations into undesirable beds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,386, Wu and Wisler disclose another method of maintaining a drillstring in a certain formation during a directional drilling operation using an electromagnetic propagation resistivity sensor. However, the method of Wu and Wisler requires a reference resistivity log with which to compare the readings of the resistivity sensor in the directional drilling operation. The reference resistivity log is obtained by drilling and logging an offset vertical well near the location of the desired directional well or by creating an assumed log based on known geological information concerning the area of interest. The method of Wu and Wisler involves significant drawbacks in terms of the time, expense, and uncertainty associated with such a reference resistivity log.
A technical paper entitled "A New Generation of Electrode Resistivity Measurements for Formation Evaluation While Drilling," by Bonner et al., SPWLA 35th Annual Logging Symposium, Jun. 19–22, 1994, discloses a focused electrode resistivity tool that is azimuthally sensitive and could be used to steer a drillstring during a directional drilling operation. However, such electrode resistivity tools operate by forcing electric current into an earth formation by direct conduction, which requires conductive mud. Consequently, such electrode resistivity tools will not function properly in oil-based mud or in the presence of resistive invasion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,616 to Sato et al. discloses an induction logging method and apparatus for determining the electric conductivity distribution of an earth formation in the circumferential direction about the borehole. The apparatus of the '616 patent employs transmitter and receiver coils that are disposed along the tool axis in a manner such that the toils face each other in an inclined fashion at symmetric angles. Although the '616 apparatus provides directional sensitivity which may be helpful in steering a drilling tool, the '616 patent does not teach how to utilize a transmitter and a receiver oriented at arbitrary inclination angles with respect to each other in order to take advantage of the special characteristics of the horns in the resulting response.
In light of the foregoing limitations, it would also be a significant advancement in the art to provide an improved method and apparatus for steering a downhole tool during a directional drilling operation in order to maintain the borehole within a desired earth formation by providing an advance indication of the resistivity of a given formation before entry into the formation. Such an improved method and apparatus would not require an offset vertical well or an assumed reference resistivity log and would be functional in oil-based or water-based mud and conditions of resistive or conductive invasion.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electromagnetic wave resistivity tool having a tilted antenna for geosteering within a desired payzone


A wire retaining connector, connector system and method of connecting wires to connectors to reduce or eliminate unintentional wire disconnection from wire connectors, including disconnection of poke-in connectors. The connectors and connector systems include a connector body having at least one opening configured to receive a wire, the wire including a partially exposed conductor and insulation. The connector body further includes a wire retention member having at least one surface onto which a wire may be engaged. A cutting projection may also be provided on the wire connector to form a channel in the insulation during insertion of the wire into the connector. The wire retention member or the projection provides sufficient retention of the wire to resist disconnection of the wire from the connector body. A method for connecting wires to the connectors is also provided.

Wire terminals are well known in the connector industry. Typically, the terminals include a pin and mating socket, together with a conductor connecting portion. In the event that the terminals are connected to wires, the terminals include a wire connecting section. One such form of wire connecting section is the wire crimp, where the wire is stripped and placed in a terminal end, and then crimped in place where the metal deforms about the conductor to form the electrical connection.
It is desirable in certain applications to not require a crimped connection. Typically, this is in the situation where the wires are stripped on site, and where crimping tools are not readily available. An example of such a situation would be in the lighting industry where overhead lights are installed, and it is easier for the installer to not require a crimped connection.
Currently, electrical wires are attached to plug-in connectors by inserting an end of the wire into an opening of the connector where the wire is engaged by a force to hold or lock the wire into place. Particularly desirable is a poke-in connector, wherein an insulated wire, particularly a wire having a portion of the insulation removed, is inserted into a connector and the connector engages the wire therein. This engagement of the wire may be by a lance, tab, spring or other compressive mechanism within the connector.
If the wire is pulled and/or twisted while engaged with the connector, the wire may become disconnected from the connector resulting in a loss of electrical connection. In addition, the disconnected wire may be electrically hot, particularly during installation or maintenance. The disconnection results from forces resulting from pulling and/or twisting of the wires in a manner that exceeds the force retaining the wires within the connector, allowing the wire to deform and slip from the connector. In particular, the twisting or rotation of the wire significantly reduces the amount of force required to disengage the wire from the connector. The contact engagement effectively cuts helical threads into the conductor during rotation, resulting in an unscrewing of the conductor from the connector.
Therefore, what is needed is a system that provides strain relief and/or reduces or eliminates unintentional release of wires from plug-in connectors when the wire is being pulled and twisted or rotated.


A Log Map processor that processes information in accordance with the Log MAP algorithm using an N-state Radix-K trellis where K is an integer equal to 4 or greater and N is an integer equal to 2 or greater. The Log Map processor comprises branch and path metric calculators designed with LogSum operators. The LogSum operators used and Add-Compare-Select architecture that is based on an approximation of the Jacobian definition of the LogSum operation. The Log Map processor is thus able to process relatively more information per unit time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communication systems.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A Log MAP (Maximum A Posteriori) processor processes information in accordance with the Log MAP algorithm. The Log MAP processor is usually part of a communication system that receives information which is to be decoded after such information has been exposed to noisy environments. The Log Map algorithm is a recursive algorithm for calculating the probability of a processing device being in a particular state at a given time based on received information. The probabilities are calculated by forward recursions and backward recursions over a defined time window or a block of information. The Log Map algorithm essentially is the recursive calculation of probabilities of being in certain states based on received information and the a priori probabilities of going to specific states from particular states. The states describe the condition of a process that generates the information that is ultimately received. The output of the Log MAP algorithm is called the LLR (Log Likelihood Ratio) which represents the probability that the original information (i.e., information prior to exposure to any noisy environment and prior to any processing) was a certain value. For example, for digital information, the LLR represents the probability that the original information was either a "0" bit or a "1" bit given all of the received data or observations. The Log MAP processor is a Soft Input Soft Output (SISO) device.
A SISO device receives soft information, processes such information in accordance with a particular algorithm or processing method and outputs soft information that can be used to make a hard decision about the received information or can be used for further processing. The soft information is probability data on the received information where such data give an indication of the confidence that is to be attributed to the value of the received information. For example, if received information was decoded to be a "0" bit, the soft information associated with that received information gives an indication of how likely that the original information was indeed a "0" bit. The SISO device also generates additional soft information as it is processing the input information; the difference between the additional generated soft information and the soft information at the input is called extrinsic information. In many applications where a SISO device is used, the extrinsic information is recursively inputted as soft input information to allow the SISO to generate more reliable soft information about a particular received information.
In processing digital information, a SISO device that employs the Log MAP algorithm (i.e., a Log MAP processor) processes the received information one bit at a time. The Log MAP algorithm and how the Log MAP processor operates are often represented by a trellis which has a certain number of states. Each state has a probability associated with it and transition probabilities indicating the likelihood of transitioning from one state to another state either forward or backward in time. Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a portion of a trellis for a Log MAP processor; the trellis shows the possible transitions between states over time. Note that αtj, which is called a forward path metric, represents the probability of being in state j at time t for a forward recursion and βtj, which is called a backward path metric, also represents the probability of being in state j at time t given the received information. Also note that
      γ    t          i      ,      k        ,which is called a branch metric, is the probability of observing the received information given the transition from state i to state k and arriving at state k at time t. Although at most only two states are shown for each of the time instants, FIG. 7 can be, for example, an 8 state Radix-2 trellis where there are 8 states at each particular time instant representing the condition of the Log MAP processor. FIG. 7 is called a Radix-2 trellis because each state has two transition probabilities entering it and two transition probabilities leaving it. Thus, in general a radix-K trellis has K branches entering and K branches leaving each state in the trellis.
As communication systems have developed and as other systems that use Log MAP processors have developed, a need has emerged to process more information per unit time. For example, such communication systems or communication system components as turbo decoders or equalizers often use Log MAP processors as key components. In order to have communication systems with increased capacity and/or throughput, these key components have to process received information at relatively faster rates. Accordingly, there is a need to have Log MAP processors that can process information fast enough to meet the demands of the latest communication systems. In many applications, the Log MAP processing is implemented with the use of software. Generally, software implementations are inherently slower than hardware implementations of the Log MAP algorithm because of the time needed to execute software instructions within a processor or processing system. Indeed when the amount of processing per unit time is increasing, many times a software implemented algorithm becomes cannot be modified (i.e., reducing the number of instructions) sufficiently to meet the processing demand. In hardware implementations, the required hardware needed to increase the processing time often is complicated and costly because typically more components are added to perform the processing in parallel. What is therefore needed is a Log MAP processor that can process more information per unit of time than a Radix-2 Log MAP processor and avoids the limitations of software and hardware implementations.


A safety system for use with a vehicle. The camera is capable of wirelessly transmitting signals to the display device. The camera can be specially mounted onto the rear of the vehicle. The display device may be mounted in the interior of the vehicle. The camera and display device may be automatically activated when the vehicle is place in reverse.

When operating a vehicle in reverse it is sometimes difficult to properly view everything that is behind it. In the past people have attempted to ameliorate the lack of visibility when in reverse by placing mirrors at various locations throughout the car. Mirrors have proven to be a reliable method of viewing things while in reverse. However the usage of mirrors is still plagued by not having a totally unobstructed view of the space behind a vehicle.
Recently, the usage of cameras and sensors has become popular in order to detect the presence of items behind a vehicle. The detection of items previously unseen through the usage of mirrors has prevented many unfortunate events. However, despite the usage of these devices problems still persist.
When mounting a camera on a vehicle its placement is important so as to offer a proper view of those objects located behind it. Many cameras are unable to provide a proper viewing angle for the vehicle upon which it is mounted. Therefore there is a need for a camera that is capable of being properly mounted on a vehicle and that is able to be adjusted in order to compensate for the variations in the structure of different vehicles.
Additionally, cameras that are mounted on vehicles are exposed to the effects of the environment, such as changes in temperature, humidity, etc. can cause moisture to form on the lens thereby decreasing the effectiveness of the camera. Therefore it is additionally important to ensure that the clarity of the lens is not compromised as result of environmental factors.
Thus, there is a need for a camera and display device for a vehicle that is able to provide appropriate angles of view and remain uncompromised during exposure to the environment.

Camera and display device for use with vehicles


The present technology relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program that enable refocusing accompanied by desired blurring. A light collection processing unit performs a light collection process to generate a processing result image focused at a predetermined distance, by shifting the pixels of images of a plurality of viewpoints in accordance with a shift amount and integrating the pixel values. In the light collection process, the pixels are shifted in accordance with a corrected shift amount obtained by correcting the shift amount with correction coefficients for the respective viewpoints. The present technology can be applied in a case where a refocused image is obtained from images of a plurality of viewpoints, for example.

A light field technique has been suggested for reconstructing, from images of a plurality of viewpoints, a refocused image, that is, an image captured with an optical system whose focus is changed, or the like, for example (see Non-Patent Document 1, for example).
For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a refocusing method using a camera array formed with 100 cameras.

Image processing device, image processing method, and program


One aspect of the invention provides a method of stimulating a nerve in tissue of a patient. The method includes the following steps: applying a focused ultrasound beam to the tissue; applying a first magnetic field to the tissue; and applying a second magnetic field to the tissue, the ultrasound beam and the first and second magnetic fields combining to stimulate the nerve. Another aspect of the invention provides a nerve stimulation device having two magnetic coils of opposite polarity each adapted to generate a magnetic field in a patient's tissue, the coils being positioned to generate a substantially toroidal magnetic field within the patient's tissue; and an ultrasound source adapted to transmit a focused ultrasound beam into the patient's tissue.

Neuropathy and Spinal Cord Stimulation ("SCS")
Neuropathic pain is prevalent in the US in approximately 1.5% of the population, 1% in the UK, and at a comparable level in Canada ("Spinal Cord Stimulation for Neuropathic Pain, Health Technology Literature Review," Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2005). In 2002, it was reported that between 6 and 10 million Americans were afflicted with Neuropathic pain (P. S. Staats, "Intrathecal Therapy for Neuropathic Pain," Proceedings of the 18th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of pain Medicine (AAPM), San Francisco, 2002). Neuropathic pain is generally caused by a dysfunction in the nervous system and is a known complication of diabetes mellitus, which represents 6% of the US population. About 15 percent of patients with diabetes have both symptoms and signs of neuropathy, but nearly 50 percent have evidence of peripheral nerve damage as judged by nerve conduction abnormalities (A. H. Ropper, R. H. Brown, ADAMS AND VICTOR'S PRINCIPLES OF NEUROLOGY, Eighth Edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2005, ch.46). People suffering from neuropathic pain are generally considered to have chronic pain, which can lead to loss of productivity, depression and reduction in Quality of Life. Neuropathy presents as Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS), Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), and postherpetic neuralgia. For each of these conditions, Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is considered as a viable therapy only after failure of treatments with pharmacological, nonpharmacological and surgical treatments.
SCS systems are comprised of an implantable pulse generator and a lead with electrodes at the distal end surgically positioned in the epidural space, posterior to the spinal cord. SCS treatment is considered weakly to moderately effective in the treatment of chronic pain due to neuropathy when all else fails. SCS works by passing impulses through a nerve fiber that is either inhibiting the pain signal, or disrupting a nerve fiber that is conducting the pain signal.
SCS Limitations
For patients studied between 2000 and 2005, about 1.2% had complication due to infection and another 1.2% due to dural puncture and 11% technical failures due to electrode migration or malpositioning. Additionally, SCS electrodes used to be implanted in a less conductive medium than that of the Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF), percutaneously, but complications with fibrosis altered device behavior (K. M. Alo, "Recent Advances in Neurostimulation Analgesia," Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management, Vol. 5, No. 4, 2001, pp: 142-151). Since the CSF is highly conductive, it acts as a shunt, requiring electrode guarding techniques and increase in number of stimulation sites to four in order to obtain adequate current focusing. This approach is highly sensitive to electrode placement due to the need to focus the electric current across the stimulated axon, and over time, the electrodes migrate in the epidural space, decreasing the effectiveness of the treatment.
Nociceptive Pain
More generally, chronic pain (CP) that is nociceptive has been poorly defined and documented until recently and is considered widely undertreated. According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), CP prevalence ranges from 10.5% to 55.2%. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) estimated CP prevalence at 10.1% to 13%. Studies show that there is little variation of prevalence in populations, ranging from 8% in children to approximately 11% in Adults. CP is generally defined as pain that persists beyond the normal time of healing and may be associated with a disease where healing may never occur (M. Ospina and C. Harstall, "Prevalence of Chronic Pain: An Overview," Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Health Technology Assessment, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, (2002)). Different associations have generally defined CP to present as chronic if it persists beyond the range of one to six months, with many agreeing on three.
Treatment of nociceptive pain that is acute, post-surgical or chronic is generally done with analgesics. In particular, chronic pain has given rise to patient-controlled-analgesic infusion pumps (PCA's) (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,710), which are capped to limit amount of opiates and reduce dependency. In addition, transcutaneous electrical neural stimulators (TENS) devices (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,594) demonstrated moderate impact on the suppression of pain, but were never used alone to suppress severe pain. Many TENS devices are commonly used for massage, where they pass electrical current through large muscle fiber, contracting it and in essence stimulating ascending large fiber neurons which were thought to suppress pain. SCS devices are deployed when all pharmacological solutions are exhausted in patients with intractable pain. Studies have also shown that intermittent stimulation of the spinal cord in sessions provides relief for both nociceptive and neuropathic pain, allowing of the scheduling of stimulation sessions using non-implantable subcutaneous needle electrodes.
Mechanisms of Pain
Pain, whether introduced nociceptively by tissue damage, or neuropathically by nerve damage, is conducted through the peripheral nervous system and transmitted to the spinal cord via Aδ and C-fibers. C fibers are small, non-myelenated and slow conducting in the range of 0.5-1.2 m/s. C-fiber diameter is in the order of 1 mm and has a membrane time constant of 0.25-3 ms. Some Aδ fibers are faster conducting 12-36 m/s and have membrane time constants that range to 0.1 ms (L. R. Squire, F. E. Bloom, S. K. McConnell, J. L. Roberts, N. C. Spitzer, M. J. Zigmond, Fundamental Neuroscience, Second Edition, Academic Press, Elsevier Science, San Diego Calif., 2003, ch. 25).
Aδ fibers, the faster conductors of pain, are carriers of the "first pain" sensation that is very highly localized. First pain is much more tolerable than the sustained second pain, and is the trigger to a reflexive withdrawal to cutaneous pricking, for instance. Aδ fibers are also mechanoceptors that respond to application of heat with very high threshold. Repeated application of heat stimuli on Aδ mechanoceptors receptor sites decreases the threshold, increases the response, thus leading to sensitization.
C fibers are polymodal, responding to tissue deformation, noxious stimuli and heat. They are responsible for the second pain which is poorly localized and poorly tolerated. In general, they transmit burning sensations. Aβ fibers are larger mechanoceptors, synapsing more anteriorally within the spinal cord to Aδ and C fibers. These larger fibers are considered by some researchers to be responsible for the "Gate Control Theory," where their stimulation is responsible for neuromodulation, or suppression, of pain sensation in the smaller fiber group. Many have refuted this finding, yet it is known that muscle contraction of pain-sites using TENS devices decreases pain response and provides prolonged relief.
Neuromagnetic Stimulation
Devices and methods for performing neurostimulation using a combination of a magnetic field and ultrasound have been described. See., e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,438. Such systems purport to stimulate nerves by applying a magnetic field generally to the nerve and simultaneously focusing an ultrasound beam on the nerve.

Device and method for non-invasive, localized neural stimulation utilizing hall effect phenomenon


A boosted braking device for a motor vehicle having a master cylinder (M) and a pneumatic booster (S). The booster (S) has a rigid casting (10) divided by a mobile partition (12) into at least a front chamber (14) and a rear chamber (16). A three-way valve (18) carried by the mobile partition (12) is actuated by a control rod (20) to control the pressure in the rear chamber (16) for operating the master cylinder (M). The casing (10) includes a front shell (24) and a rear shell (26) each of which comprises a radial shoulder (28,30) and being secured together by hooping (40) interconnecting with the shoulders (28,30) of the front shell (24) and rear shell (26). The hooping (40) comprises first (40A) and second (40B) part hoops. The first (40A) and second (40B) part hoops are joined together by at least one locking element (50) which is rendered non-functional when the master cylinder (M) is subjected to substantial stress as a result of a frontal or oblique impact of the vehicle.

The present invention relates to a braking device, of the type used to provide the driver of a vehicle with assisted braking.
Such braking devices are generally composed of a master cylinder and of a pneumatic booster, the booster comprising, in particular, a rigid casing, a mobile partition delimiting at least a front chamber and a rear chamber, in sealed fashion, inside the casing, a three-way valve that can be actuated by a control rod in order, selectively, to let different pressures into the front chamber and the rear chamber and correspondingly subject the mobile partition to a boost force acting in the direction of the master cylinder, and a push rod connected to the mobile partition for operating the master cylinder, the casing comprising a front shell secured to the master cylinder and forming a wall for the front chamber, and a rear shell forming a wall for the rear chamber, the front shell and rear shell each comprising a radial shoulder, cohesion between the front shell and the rear shell being ensured by hooping interacting with the shoulders of the front shell and rear shell.
Devices of this type are well known in the prior art, as represented, for example, by patent document GB-A-2,136,520. They are usually placed in the front compartment of a motor vehicle, generally containing the vehicle engine, the booster being fixed by its rear wall to the bulkhead that separates this front compartment from the passenger compartment, and the master cylinder being fixed to the front wall of the booster. The booster control rod passes through an opening in the bulkhead and is operated by a brake pedal in the passenger compartment.
Over recent years, a tightening of safety standards has revealed the need for motor vehicle braking devices, and in particular boosters, to evolve in such a way that a frontal or oblique impact applied to the vehicle cannot readily be transmitted to the driver""s leg, even if the impact occurs while the driver is depressing the brake pedal as hard as he can.
What happens is that in the event of a frontal or oblique impact of the vehicle with another vehicle or with a stationary obstacle, the structure and bodywork of the vehicle are designed to deform progressively in order to absorb the greatest possible amount of the energy involved in this collision.
It is nonetheless often the case that the engine, or the load being transported in the front compartment of the vehicle, is pushed back under the effect of such a collision, and comes to interfere with the master cylinder. Such interference may result in the application to the master cylinder of a force directed along its axis, or of a force which makes a certain angle with its axis. In all instances, the result is, however, that the master cylinder, via its fixing flanges, urges the casing of the booster back towards the vehicle bulkhead.
It therefore follows that the consequences of a frontal or oblique impact are, on account of the layout of the boosted braking device in the front compartment of the vehicle, first of all that the bulkhead is made to move back under the action of the booster casing, whether or not the booster is equipped with tie bolts, and also that the brake pedal, is made to move back, possibly causing serious injury to the driver of the vehicle. The internal arrangement of this compartment, especially when it contains a vehicle engine, is always practically specific to this vehicle, which means that a solution that can be used successfully in a given vehicle for avoiding the brake pedal being made to move back may prove devoid of any positive effect in some other vehicle.
The invention falls within this context and its object is to propose a new solution, capable satisfactorily of limiting the transmission of a frontal or oblique impact in configurations where the known solutions do not prove sufficiently effective, by providing a boosted braking device such that interference from the engine or the load being transported in the front compartment of the vehicle with the master cylinder is not converted into the brake pedal being thrown back towards the driver of the vehicle, and which can be achieved without using additional components which would lengthen the axial length of the braking assembly forward of the bulkhead.
To this end, the device of the invention is essentially characterized in that the hooping comprises at least two part hoops, the part hoops being joined together by at least one locking element capable of being rendered non-functional when the master cylinder is subjected to substantial stress as a result of a frontal or oblique impact of the vehicle.
Thanks to this arrangement, the front and rear shells of the booster may, in the event of an impact, become detached from one another without transmitting substantial force towards the driver, the detaching of these two parts even fulfilling the function of absorbing some kinetic energy.
According to a possible embodiment of the invention, the part hoops each comprise, at least at one of their ends, a tab extending radially towards the outside of the booster, the adjacent tabs of two consecutive part hoops being held against one another by the locking device.
For example, the locking device comprises a fork formed at one end of a rigid bar, the other end of which is secured to the front shell of the booster.
In an advantageous arrangement, the end of the rigid bar is secured to a plate itself secured to the front shell of the booster.
In this case, the plate may be inserted between the front shell of the booster and a fixing flange of the master cylinder.
Provision may also be made for the end of at least one of the part hoops to be formed with a tab forming a hook intended to interact with a tab of the adjacent part hoop and extending radially towards the outside of the booster.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the description thereof given hereafter by way of non-limiting indication with reference to the appended drawings.

Boosted braking device with passive safety


A hard input low density parity check decoder is provided that shares logic between a bit-flipping decoder and a syndrome calculator. The hard-decision decoder decodes one or more error-correcting (EC) codewords and comprises a bit-flipping decoder that flips one or more bit nodes connected to one or more unsatisfied parity checks; and a syndrome calculator that performs a parity check to determine whether the bit-flipping decoder has converged on a valid codeword, wherein the bit-flipping decoder and the syndrome calculator share one or more logic elements. The decoder optionally includes means for updating a parity check equation of each flipped bit. Error-correcting (EC) codewords are decoded by flipping one or more bit nodes connected to one or more unsatisfied parity checks; and updating one or more parity check equations associated with the one or more bit nodes each time the one or more bit nodes are flipped. The parity check equations are updated whenever a bit is updated. The exemplary method terminates based on a predefined syndrome output.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to signal processing techniques, and, more particularly, to error-correction encoding and decoding techniques such as low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoding and decoding.
Description of the Related Art
In communicating a data signal from a transmitter to a receiver, noise may be introduced into the signal causing the signal to be distorted upon arrival at the receiver. As a result of this distortion, the receiver might not correctly recover the transmitted information. In such cases, the transmitted signal may need to be retransmitted so that the receiver may have another opportunity to recover the transmitted information. However, resending the transmitted signal increases the amount of time that it takes to provide the transmitted information to the user.
To reduce the frequency of retransmissions, and therefore reduce the amount of time that it takes for the transmitted information to be delivered to the user, the transmitter may encode the transmitted signal using a channel-coding scheme. A channel-coding scheme adds redundant or additional data to the signal to be transmitted. The receiver then uses this redundant or additional data to detect and/or correct errors. If the channel-coding scheme is effective, then the transmitted data may be recovered correctly without retransmitting the data.
One particular channel-coding scheme that has received attention in recent years is low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding. LDPC codes, which are typically defined using parity-check matrices, provide excellent performance that comes relatively close to the Shannon limit. A discussion of LDPC codes and LDPC decoding is presented in Todd K. Moon, "Error Correction Coding: Mathematical Methods and Algorithms." (2005), incorporated by reference herein.

Hard input low density parity check decoder

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A tool temporarily supports a first piece of siding against a structure. The tool is removable after the first piece of siding is at least partially secured to the structure. The tool is then usable to temporarily support a second piece of siding against the structure by temporarily securing the tool to the first piece of siding. The tool includes a longitudinal member with a hook at one end. The hook is used for temporarily securing the tool to the first piece of siding by placing the hook over the top edge of the first piece of siding. The tool includes another longitudinal member for temporarily supporting the second piece of siding. A handle section on the tool facilitates positioning, insertion, and removal of the tool. The tool is also adjustable to control the exposure of a previously installed piece of siding relative the temporarily supported piece of siding.

Siding is attached to the exterior of buildings as a protective layer against the environment. Clapboard sidings including those made from composites such as wood fibers, wood chips and fiber cement are some of the most widely used sidings in North America. Most shingle sidings, vinyl sidings and even some clapboard sidings are sufficiently light in weight that installation may be accomplished by one person. However, the typical clapboard siding workpiece is relatively heavy and long. For example, a fiber cement clapboard siding workpiece may weigh 20 pounds and measure 12 feet or more in length. Aligning and securing such a workpiece during installation typically requires more than one person. What is needed is a way of automatically installing siding, preferably in such a way that the installation can be accomplished by a single user.


Database access operations require a process of first locating a database of data that contains requested data and then retrieving the requested data from within the database table. The database tables are stored within a database file that contains an index structure to assist in the determination of the location of the table within the file. Depending upon the structure of the tables and their location within the database file, different searching methods may be used to determine the location of the table. Each searching method results in a different processing efficiency for the search. However, the most efficient searching methodologies operate only on database files having a preferred structure. The least efficient searching methodologies will operate on all database files. The present invention determines the most efficient searching methodology that is supported by a database file when it is registered with a processing system. Database accesses to data within the database file is performed using the determined search methodology supported by the particular database file.

When multiple database access processes located on a common system perform sequential database access searches simultaneously on a common database file, each search instruction takes an excessive amount of time. Each individual process needs to lock the memory block it is working on. If all processes are attempting to simultaneously access the same memory block, the instructions accessing the memory will take an extraordinary amount of time.
The prior solution used for searching a set of index items in the database file is sequential searching. This type of searching involves starting at the beginning of the index item list and comparing the first item with the requested record number. If they match, then the search is complete. If they don't match, the next item is considered. The process of going to the next item in the index item list if the current item does not match continues until either the end of the list is encountered or else until a match is found. If the end of the list is reached without a match, an error is returned to the application. If a match is found, the search is complete and the processing of the request continues. Other searching mechanisms may be used if the database file has been organized in a manner that supports these other searching mechanisms.

System and method for providing an intelligent database access searching


A rotator mechanism for rotating an elongate member in a pumping system includes a body member having a longitudinal body axis and a through-hole aligned with the body axis and configured to receive the elongate member. The rotator mechanism also includes a worm gear concentric with the body axis and a worm meshing with the worm gear. The rotator mechanism includes a lever configured to rotate the worm, and a clutch coupled between the lever and the worm and configured to cause the worm to rotate in a first direction when the lever moves in the first direction. Rotation of the worm causes the worm gear and the elongate member to rotate about the body axis.

Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to equipment for recovering fluid, which may be a liquid and/or a gas, from within the earth. More particularly, it relates to an oil and gas production pump. Still more particularly, this disclosure relates to an apparatus and system for rotating a polish rod/sucker rod that is reciprocated by an arm on an oil and gas production surface pump.
Background to the Disclosure
At various production wells, oil and gas is extracted using one of several types of reciprocating pumps. In a common application, the pump includes a series or "string" of sucker rods extending below the surface of the earth within a stationary series or string of production tubing. The production tubing is positioned within a wellbore casing. An "insert pump" or a "down-hole pump" (or "downhole pump") is coupled to the end of the sucker rod string and is positioned adjacent the end of the production tubing string pump. Reciprocation of the sucker rod string acting on the down-hole pump draws fluid, e.g. oil or gas, into the production tubing and raises the fluid to the surface of the earth. The sucker rod is coupled to a means of reciprocation, such as a pivoting or "walking beam" on a pumping jack. A polished rod extends upward from the sucker rod string to a carrier bar coupled by cables to one end of the surface unit's walking beam.
For a longer service life, the sucker rod and polished rod are rotated relative to the stationary production tubing by the action of a rod rotator located near the intersection of the polished rod and the carrier bar. To insure the rods rotate in only one direction, conventional rod rotators include a ratchet mechanism. A conventional ratchet mechanism has a minimum angle through which it must be rotated so that the rod will progressively rotate in the appropriate direction rather than just oscillate back-and-forth. Some conventional ratchet mechanisms include an annular ring with internal teeth, circumferentially spaced at even intervals and one or more pawls that rotate within the annular ring, sequentially engaging the teeth. The pawl is coupled for rotation with an axial that drives the rotation of the polished rod. The angular spacing of the teeth on the ring determine the smallest angle of rotation that will allow the pawl to progress and hold a new position, allowing the polished rod to progress to a new position. Any smaller rotation of the axial and pawl allows the pawl to return to its former resting place. As an example, for an annular ring having 24 teeth, the pawl and axle must rotate through a minimum angle of 15° (i.e. 360°/24) in order to progress to the next tooth to hold the pawl and axle in a new angular position and ultimately to rotate and hold the polished rod in a new angular position. The apparatus and system disclosed below offer an improved rod rotator intended to overcome various deficiencies of the prior art.

Mechanism and system for rotating an elongate member of an oil pump


A system to measure the installation torque of a screw pile is provided. The system includes a rotary drive and a universal joint-type coupler. A load pin, having at least one sensor, is mounted through the universal joint-type coupler as a pivot pin. The load pin is oriented within the universal joint-type coupler so that at least some of the installation torque is transmitted through the load pin and is measurable by the sensor. Preferably, the load pin is provided with a pair of bores, and then a plurality of sensors are mounted within the bores. More preferably, a differential bridge network is used to obtain a measurable signal from the plurality of sensors.

The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.
Screw piling or screwpiles are a steel screw-in piling and ground anchoring system used for building foundations, pipeline tie-downs and in other applications. Screw pile(s), as used herein, includes screw piling, steel screw-in foundations, screw piers, helical piles, helical anchors, screw anchors, screw foundations and helical piers. They are often necessary for building foundations where the ground is not compacted, or strong enough or of variable capacity to carry a building structure. Screwpiles are typically manufactured using varying sizes of tubular hollow sections for the pile or anchor shaft. The pile shaft transfers a structure's load into the pile. Helical steel plates, or helixes, are welded to the pile shaft in accordance with the intended ground conditions.
To install screw piling, they are typically wound into the ground much like a screw into wood. Screw piles are preferably installed using earthmoving equipment or mobile machinery fitted with drive attachments which may include rotary drives, rotary drivers, powerheads or drive heads, see, for example, FIGS. 1a and 1b. The mobile machinery varies from skid-steer loaders to 5 ton through 30 ton excavators. Rotary drives, generally with torque capacities ranging from 5,000 Nm to 300,000 Nm, are custom fitted using various boom configurations. Drive attachments generally connect the screwpile to the machine. Likewise, hinged attachment means, such as a universal joint-type coupler, are often employed to suspend the rotary drive attachment from the boom of the mobile machinery; see, for example, FIG. 1b. One or more pivot pins may be utilized to connect the coupler to the boom and the drive attachment see, for example, the coupler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,430.
The level of torque that is required to turn the screw pile is indicative of the strength of the soil, and can be used to predict the capacity of the pile. Low installation torque indicates a weak soil and low pile capacity, whereas high installation torque indicates a relatively strong soil and greater pile capacity. Where the required installation torque can be accurately measured, the approximate holding capacity of a screw pile can be reliably predicted.
Traditionally, estimates of installation torque were made using hydraulic pressure gauges (to measure the amount of hydraulic pressure provided to a rotary drive), assumed or estimated gearbox ratios and compensation for any hydraulic motor losses. However, such estimates are fairly inaccurate and may not reliably predict a screw pile's holding capacity. As such, various devices and systems have been created to more accurately measure the installation torque of a screw pile.
One example is that by Pro-Dig, LLC of Kansas, U.S.A., which markets a screw pile torque monitoring system under the trade-mark INTELLI-TORK™. This system comprises a flanged member that mounts between the rotary drive and the screw piling and, therefore, rotates along with the screw piling as it is driven into the ground. As the rotary drive imparts torque to the screw piling, sensors in the flanged member measure this torque. Because this flanged member rotates along with screw piling it must send its measurements wirelessly to a display or recorder. As such, one disadvantage of this system is that such wireless signals may be subject to interference from the vibrations created during screw piling installation, especially as the screw piling is almost installed and the flanged member is driven closer to the ground.
A further disadvantage of this system is that the flanged member adds additional length to the rotary drive/screw pile assembly, thereby shortening the maximum length of screw pile that can potentially be installed using a particular mobile machinery. Yet a further disadvantage is that the INTELLI-TORK™ system also appears to be subject to interference from downward forces that may be applied by the mobile machinery as it pushes the rotary drive/screw pile assembly downwards during installation.
Another example is that by Russell Heale Engineering Pty Ltd of Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia, which markets a screw pile torque monitoring system under the trade-mark TORQATRON™. This system comprises a load cell member that mounts between the boom of the mobile machinery and the rotary drive. Unlike the flanged member of the INTELLI-TORK™ system, this load cell member does not rotate with the screw piling as it is driven into the ground (since it is mounted between above the rotary drive and to the boom). As such, wired connections can be used to transmit signals from the load/torque sensors in the TORQATRON™. However, this device and system does suffer from the other disadvantages present in the INTELLI-TORK™ system, namely that the load cell member adds additional length to the boom/rotary drive/screw pile assembly, thereby shortening the maximum length of screw pile that can potentially be installed using a particular mobile machinery that it also appears to be subject to interference from downward forces that may be applied by the mobile machinery as it pushes the boom/rotary drive/screw pile assembly downwards during installation.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and apparatus to measure the installation torque of a screw pile which is simple in design and does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.


A first electronic device is associated with a biometric sensor. Biometric data received by the biometric sensor is used to permit the first electronic device to pair with, unlock, and/or access a second electronic device.

Biometric identification or authentication may be used in computers and other electronic devices as a form of identification and access control. Biometric identifiers are distinctive, measurable physiological characteristics related to the configuration or characteristics of the body that can be used to identify individuals. Example biometric identifiers include, but are not limited to, a fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, a palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina recognition, and scent. A biometric system may perform an identification comparison against a biometric database in an attempt to establish the identity of an individual. The system will identify the individual by comparing a biometric sample such as a fingerprint to stored fingerprint samples in the database. Biometrics may be used in place of, or in conjunction with, other methods of personal recognition such as passwords, PINs or keys.
Fingerprint recognition features may be available on some portable electronic devices, such as smartphones, thereby allowing users to unlock their phone, as well as to make purchases by using fingerprints stored on their device. The use of biometrics may supplement or displace the use of a password to access a portable electronic device. A biometric sensor may, for example, be built into the home or start button of a smartphone (or any other input device or region) to sense or detect a user's fingerprint and grant or deny access based on that fingerprint.


A local bus IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) interface bus architecture provides a direct connection to enable a fast interface between CPU and IDE drives. Also, a programmable command pulse width and I/O cycle recovery time is implemented at the IDE port to provide a finely tuned tuned access cycle time for different drives and provide optimum performance. Also, there is the capability of implementing existing hard disk interfaces with future drives.

The present invention relates to a local IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) bus architecture for use in computer technology.
Computer technology has made dramatic progress in recent years. Presently available microprocessors can run ten times faster than five years ago. However, the bus architecture of the current PC has not been changed significantly since IBM introduced the PC AT in the 1980s.
For example, consider the very popular ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus whose bandwidth is about 8 MBYTE/s for memory access and 5.3 MBYTE/s for I/O (Input/Output) access. Compare the ISA bus to a 33 MHz 80386DX microprocessor whose bus bandwidth is 132 MBYTE/s. The ISA speed calculation is based on a 8 Mhz bus clock, 2 clocks/memory cycle, 3 clocks/I/O cycle and 16 bits data width. With existing system architectures, the performance of peripheral devices like an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) drive would eventually be limited by the ISA bandwidth and the overhead of transferring a host cycle to the ISA.

Local IDE (integrated drive electronics) bus architecture


A system for support, operation, installation, and removal of an endless belt in a scalable modular printing system includes an input module, at least one marking module, and an output module. The endless belt is an intermediate transfer belt, a photoconductive belt, or a sheet transport belt used in the marking system. Rollers support an interior surface of the belt, and are supported by their respective module frame structures, thus defining a vacant interior cavity of the belt. A method of belt installation includes drawing all interior rollers out of their frame structures, placing the pre-scrolled belt at one end module of the system, uncoiling the belt along its process direction within the internal cavity of the system, then reinstalling the interior rollers to capture the belt into its operating position.

While the present invention of endless belt support, operation, installation and removal can be effectively used in a plurality of different belt configurations, it will be described for clarity as used as an intermediate transfer belt (ITB) in electrostatic marking systems such as electrophotography or xerography. It is to be appreciated that for other electrophotographic applications the invention can be applied to photoreceptor belts and media transport belts. It is to be further appreciated that the invention can be applied to systems using other marking technologies, including ink jet, solid ink, offset, dye sublimation technologies to the extent that systems can be constructed in the same modular fashion as described here.
It is advantageous for future marking systems to become modular in construction. This has been the focus of present research. It is well known that benefits of a modular marking system are broad market and application coverage by assembling different systems from a core set of modules (i.e., monochrome, highlight color, 4-color, 6-color, etc. systems), and reduced manufacturing costs and field service costs due to economies of increased volumes of a small set of core modules. In this invention, it is assumed there is a base marking module capable of creating at least a single color separation. A printing system is constructed from 1 to N of these marking modules along with supporting input and output modules. For current printing systems, the value of N may be 6 or 7, however there is utility in systems that can achieve N of 8. From both a technical and financial perspective, a "global" belt transport, either sheet transport, photoreceptor, or ITB, is clearly advantaged over having modular transports within each marking module. Such a global belt is required to span from the input module, across each marking module, and the output module. Historically, such belt transports require purpose-built belt modules that cannot be readily modularized. The dilemma is to provide all the advantages of a global belt transport while still retaining the essential modularity desired for future marking apparatus.
By way of background, in marking systems such as xerography or other electrostatographic processes, a uniform electrostatic charge is placed upon a photoreceptor belt or drum surface. The charged surface is then exposed to a light image of an original to selectively dissipate the charge to form a latent electrostatic image of the original. The latent image is developed by depositing finely divided and charged particles of toner upon the belt or drum photoreceptor surface. The toner may be in dry powder form or suspended in a liquid carrier. The charged toner, being electrostatically attached to the latent electrostatic image areas, creates a visible replica of the original. The developed image is then usually transferred from the photoreceptor surface to an intermediate transfer belt (ITB) or to a final media such as paper.
In some of these electrostatic marking systems, a photoreceptor belt, an intermediate transfer belt (ITB), or a media transport belt is generally arranged to move in an endless path through the various processing stations of the xerographic marking process. In this endless path, several xerographic-related stations are traversed by the belt which becomes abraded and worn. Since the belt is used continuously, the surfaces of the belt may be constantly abraded and cleaned by a blade and/or brushes and prepared to be used once again in the marking process. The belt may be exposed to friction or heat and moved by rollers that provide the belt movement to accomplish the belt purpose. There is further the possibility of damaging the belt surface or edge from extrinsic sources such as inadvertent contact by the machine operator or service technician. Therefore, generally, after a period of operation, especially in high speed color systems, the belt needs to be replaced.
Image-carrying belts used in color printing processes can be especially difficult to replace and install. In some machines for example, the intermediate transfer belt is over 6-10 feet long and travels past a plurality of marking stations. Belt installation requires careful alignment between the belt rollers to prevent belt and other machine component damage. In a scalable modular printing system, even longer belt lengths may be required, and the belt replacement or removal operation is increasingly difficult without belt damage occurring.
Even in monochromatic marking systems that use shorter belts for various functions, extreme care must be taken not to damage the belts during installation. In some instances, the belts are constructed of thin flexible polymeric materials that can easily scratch or be damaged during belt replacement or even during original installation. Photoreceptor, ITB, and media transport belts are generally supported within a printing system by a belt module. The belt module is comprised of an integral frame assembly which supports multiple rollers. The rollers provide drive force, tensioning, steering, stabilization, and other functions to support and operate the belt. Generally, the belt module resides within the interior of the belt, that is, it occupies the volume defined by the periphery of the interior surface of the belt. Thus, there exists a substantial frame structure internal to the belt which is carefully designed to support the specific length of the belt. The frame structure is further designed to provide accurate location of rollers and resist deformation due to external loads. Most commonly, belts are installed onto a belt module by sliding the belt over the outside periphery of the belt module. The direction of belt installation is thus perpendicular to the direction of belt travel during operation. It is generally not possible to design stationary frame members that would obstruct any portion of the belt module periphery. Thus, although the existence of the belt module provides a stable support for the belt, it also places design constraints upon the system frame design, in particular the need for unobstructed access to at least one side of the belt module. This consideration, together with the previously cited concerns, points to a need for an improved method of support, operation, installation, and removal of global belts within a modular scalable printing system.

Distributed belt module for a modular printing system


A semiconductor device includes at least one device active region formed in a first surface of a semiconductor substrate, an electrical contact layer on a second surface of the semiconductor substrate, and at least one resistivity-lowering body positioned in a corresponding recess in the substrate and connected to the electrical contact layer. The body preferably comprises a material having an electrical resistivity lower than an electrical resistivity of the semiconductor substrate to thereby lower an effective electrical resistivity of the substrate. The device active region may be an active region of a power control device, such as a MOSFET or IGBT, for example. The body may preferably comprise an electrical conductor such as copper, aluminum, silver, solder, or doped polysilicon. The at least one recess and associated resistivity-lowering body preferably defines a proportion of the semiconductor substrate area adjacent the device active region greater than about 0.4 percent, and may extend into the semiconductor substrate a distance greater than about 25 percent of a thickness of the substrate.

Semiconductor devices, typically in the form of integrated circuits, are widely used in almost all electronic equipment, such as handheld calculators, personal computers, automobiles, cellular telephones, and sophisticated mainframe computers. A typical semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate which, in turn, includes a number of active devices formed adjacent a first surface of the substrate. For example, one or more power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) may be formed in active regions of the substrate. Power MOSFETs are often used because of their relatively high switching speeds as compared to bipolar transistors, for example. Power MOSFETs may be used in power conversion or motor control circuitry.
The so-called "on-resistance" of a power MOSFET affects its power handling capability, as well as its operating energy efficiency. A higher on-resistance translates into greater power dissipation required for the chip. In addition, for portable battery-powered devices, for example, higher energy efficiency may be a primary concern to thereby extend battery life. In other words, in many applications it may be desired to provide low-voltage MOSFETs with a lower on-resistance.
To address this goal, the power semiconductor industry has been adopting very large scale integration (VLSI) technologies to increase device cell densities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,742 to Hoshi et al. discloses a lateral double-diffused MOSFET wherein source and drain openings are cyclically arranged so that at least two rows of source openings are arranged between adjacent drain openings to thereby reduce the on-resistance. Such common approaches to reducing the on-resistance have concentrated on reducing the contribution to the on-resistance of the scalable components of the integrated circuit, such as channel resistance.
Unfortunately, the on-resistance contribution from the unscalable regions of the integrated circuit, such as the substrate, for example, remain constant even as cell densities are increased. Moreover, as the cell densities increase further, the substrate on-resistance becomes almost a dominating factor for lower-voltage power MOSFETs which typically operate at less than about 30 V. For example, a 14 mil thick, N-type substrate with a resistivity of 4.5 mΩ·cm has a specific on-resistance of 0.16 mΩ·cm2. The relatively high resistivity of conventional substrates may also cause undesired contact resistance with a backside contact layer, for example.
Currently, the die specific on-resistance of a 30 V MOSFET as offered by Fairchild under the designation FDS 6680, for example, has a specific on-resistance of 0.279 mΩ·cm2. This demonstrates that if the 14 mil substrate was used, more than half of the device specific on-resistance would come from the substrate. Accordingly, one of the most significant efforts for producing the next generation of power MOSFETs will be to reduce the specific on-resistance of the substrate.
Since the substrate specific on-resistance is the product of its thickness and resistivity, there are two ways to reduce the specific on-resistance. The first is simply to thin the wafer from which the device is made. The second approach is to lower the substrate resistivity. Unfortunately, thinning the wafer is complicated and relatively expensive. In addition, too thin of a substrate may be difficult to handle and the production yield may be too low. Relating to lowering the resistivity of the substrate, the resistivity is currently limited by the silicon or other semiconductor material properties.

Semiconductor device having reduced effective substrate resistivity and associated methods


A sun visor assembly for a vehicle having a yieldable edge. The visor assembly has a rotatable visor body which may be positioned against the headliner in the roof of the vehicle or against the windshield or side window of the vehicle. The visor body includes a relatively rigid inner foundation member and a more flexible outer covering. The outer covering projects beyond the borders of the foundation member to form the edges of the visor body. The edges formed by the projecting outer covering are yieldable upon impact and may thereby cushion the force exerted by the visor body against a body impacting the yieldable edge of the visor body. The outer longitudinal edge of the visor body has a width of at least approximately 0.75 inches and the visor body may also include yieldable transverse edges.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle sunshade visors.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known to provide a sun visor for the windshield of a vehicle wherein the sun visor is mounted on the vehicle body roof for movement between a storage position adjacent the vehicle roof headliner, a first use position adjacent the windshield, and a second use position adjacent a side door window. A conventional sun visor comprises a solid inner core board of a rigid material, such as pressed wood, and an outer upholstery covering such as a foam-backed cloth adhered to or otherwise connected to a paper backing material. The covering is folded over the core board and is sewn along a seam circumjacent the periphery of the core board. More recently, sun visors have been constructed with a molded plastic inner core. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,416, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, illustrates a sun visor having a plastic inner core and an outer covering assembly folded over the plastic core and is expressly incorporated herein by reference. It is also known to manufacture the plastic inner core using modular parts as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,118 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/703,819, both assigned to the assignee of the present application, the disclosures of which illustrate a variety of modular core components which may be used in the construction of a sun visor assembly and which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. The outer covering assembly which is folded over the molded plastic core typically consists of a relatively rigid foundation of a paperboard material and an outer upholstery covering folded over the rigid foundation and sewn along a seam circumjacent the periphery of the paperboard foundation.


A rapid-fire weapon has a barrel with a projectile insertable into the barrel, which comprises several sub-projectiles disposed one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the barrel and supporting each other. A propellant charge and an ignition means are provided behind each sub-projectile for the sequential ignition of the propellant charges so that the sub-projectiles are successively ejected from the barrel. The sub-projectiles (4) are firmly connected with each other in the area of the propellant charges (6, 6′) in each case by means of a mechanical connection and the connections have in each case at least one rated break point (7, 7′) which is broken in a defined fashion after the ignition of the respective propellant by the pressure of the propellant gases.

The invention relates to a weapon, in particular a rapid-fire weapon.
Such a rapid-fire weapon is e.g. known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,395 or EP-A1-1069394. This weapon comprises a barrel and a projectile that is insertable into the barrel and comprises several sub-projectiles that are stacked one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the barrel and supported on each other, a propellant charge being provided behind each sub-projectile. As a rule, the sub-projectiles are accommodated in a sleeve, the wall of the sleeve being provided with electric igniters in the area of the individual propellant charges. The igniters are successively electrically ignited by means of an ignition means and, due to this, the propellant charges are sequentially ignited so that the sub-projectiles are successively ejected from the barrel.
As a rule, the individual sub-projectiles have a caliber of 40 mm; the fire frequency ranges from 2 to 5 Hz.
Due to the simple stacking of the sub-projectiles in the sleeve, the ejection forces cannot be reproduced in a defined manner for the individual shots. Moreover, the electrical igniters that are always present in the sleeve are susceptible to corrosion and aging and are not safe against electromagnetic interferences which, among other things is a problem for transport and storage.

Nico-Pyrotechnik Hanna-Juergen Diederichs GmbH & Co. KG


A method of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is disclosed which employs a diamagnetic contrast agent comprising gas-carrying, microparticles, which are preferably microspheres consisting of minute gas bubbles encapsulated by stabilized biocompatible material. The MRI is carried out to produce a shortened T2* effect. The method is especially useful in imaging the vascular system as in angiography or venography.

Heretofore contrast agents for improving magnetic resonance imaging of protons have consisted of magnetizable substances comprising metals or metallic compounds. Such contrast agents may be paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, or superparamagnetic, and act through dipole interactions with tissue protons. Where the substance is toxic, such as gadolinium, it can be administered in chelated form. In another kind of MRI contrast agent, ultrafine particles of a ferromagnetic or superparamagnetic material, such as magnetite (Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4), have been dispersed in a biodegradable matrix material, and formed into microspheres which are capable of passing through capillaries. Such MRI contrast agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,675,173 and 4,849,217. A preferred biodegradable material is human serum albumin. Albumin is not known to have any MRI contrast-producing properties. It is the magnetizable particles dispersed in the albumin which produces the MRI contrast effect.
It is known that gas microbubbles are strong scatterers of ultrasonic waves in fluid media, and may therefore be useful as an imaging agent for ultrasonic echographic imaging (U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,885). The preparation and use of microbubble ultrasonic imaging agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,718,433, 4,572,203, 4,657,756 and 4,774,958. U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,756 suggests that microbubbles can alter the transmission characteristics of electromagnetic waves and therefore might have applications in "x-ray imaging (e.g., CT scanning), NMR imaging, microwave imaging, and marine sonar" (col. 3, lines 43-44). However, the patent contains no examples or other disclosure as to how such applications could be carried out.
Stabilized, concentrated gas-center microspheres in small enough diameters to pass through the capillaries are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,882. A product of this kind designed for ultrasonic imaging use has been produced by Molecular Biosystems, Inc., of San Diego, Calif., and is known by the registered trademark "ALBUNEX". Another kind of gas-carrying ultrasonic imaging particles are described in published European Patent Application 0 365 467. Gas bubbles are carried by solid particles that are small enough to pass through the capillaries.
As far as is known no one has heretofore described a method for using microbubbles as an MRI contrast agent. MRI utilizes radio frequency pulses and magnetic field gradients applied to a subject in a strong field to produce the images. The scientific principles and mechanisms involved are entirely different from ultrasonic imaging which utilizes high frequency sound waves.
There is voluminous literature on magnetic resonance imaging, and a number of United States and foreign companies manufacture equipment for experimental and clinical MRI applications. Existing knowledge in the field of contrast agents for use in MRI was surveyed in a recent treatise entitled "Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging", edited by Val M. Runge (1989, C. V. Mobsy Company); and see also Peter G. Morris, "Nuclear Magnetic Imaging in Medicine and Biology", (1986, Oxford University Press). Accepted MRI terminology includes the following definitions which are applicable to this application.

Method of magnetic resonance imaging using diamagnetic contrast


In a method or apparatus for reading information from each of a plurality of information tracks arranged in a longitudinal direction on an information recording medium by relatively moving the information recording medium the orthogonally to the longitudinal direction of the tracks relative to a sensor array for reading information from the information tracks, wherein relative skew between the direction of arrangement of sensors of the sensor array and the longitudinal direction of the track is detected, and information is read from the information tracks while the recording medium and the sensor array are relatively moved in the longitudinal direction of the information tracks and, if desired, while the sensor array and the recording medium are relatively moved in such a manner as to compensate for deviation of an information reading area of an information track from a proper position caused by the skew in the course of the relative movement, based on the result of the detection.

The present invention relates to a method for controlling relative movement between a recording medium and a sensor array when information is sequentially read by moving the sensor array relative to the information recording medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for controlling a recording medium and a reproducing head when an information track of an information recording medium is optically focused onto a sensor array and a bit pattern linearly recorded on the information track is read.
Recently, many types of optical recording and reproducing apparatus which use information recording media, such as optical files or compact disks have been proposed. A card-like optical information recording medium (optical card) which is easier to carry than such information recording media, and which has a large capacity relative to its size, has also been proposed.
FIG. 1(a) shows a schematic plan view of a record format of the optical card, and FIG. 1(b) shows a partial enlarged view of the record format.
In FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), a record area 2 is provided on an optical card 1 which is the information recording medium. The record area 2 has a plurality of bands 3 arranged thereon. Each of the bands 3 has a plurality of tracks 4 arranged thereon, and each of the tracks 4 comprises information tracks 4a having an information capacity of several tens to one hundred bits, and a portion of a reference line (R line) 5 which delimits the bands 3. An arrow A indicates a direction of movement of the optical card 1 in a reproduction mode, and an arrow C indicates a direction of scan for reading information by the optical head in the reproduction mode.
FIG. 2 shows a diagram of the optical card reproducing apparatus, and FIG. 3 illustrates an operation of the reading head.
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the optical card 1 is movable in the direction A by a rotation mechanism 6. The information recorded on the optical card 1 is read and reproduced by the optical head 11 for each of the tracks 4. A light from a light source 7, such as an LED, is focused by an illuminating optical system 8 and irradiated as a spot onto the track 4 on which information has been recorded. The image on the track 4 is focused onto a sensor array 10 by a focusing optical system 9 so that an electrical signal representing the information recorded on the track 4 is produced by the sensor array 10. After the reading of the track 4, the optical card 1 is moved in the direction A and the optical head 11 is moved in the direction C so that the information on the next track is read in a similar manner.
FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show reading areas on the optical card by the sensor array.
In FIG. 4(a), the direction of arrangement of information on the information track 4a of the optical card 1 and the longitudinal direction of the read area 17 by the sensor array 10 are parallel, and in FIG. 4(b), the direction of arrangement of information and the longitudinal direction of the read area 17 are not parallel.
Usually, when the optical card 1 is to be loaded to the optical card reproducing apparatus, the direction of arrangement of the tracks (arrow E) of the information tracks 4a and the direction of movement of the optical card 1 (arrow A in FIG. 2) are not parallel, because of positional deviation when the optical card is loaded or abrasion of the optical card 1. Namely, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the longitudinal direction of the read area 17 of the sensor array 10 and the direction of arrangement of the information track 4a (arrow D) are not parallel but have an angle .theta. therebetween. As a result, when the optical card 1 is moved in the direction A in the reproduction mode, the information track 4a deviates from the illumination spot irradiated to read information from the track, in the direction C. If the angle .theta. is relatively large, the information track 4a moves off the illumination spot and information cannot be reproduced.

Recording and reproducing method and apparatus compensating for predicted deviation based on detected relative skewing of recording medium


A frontal airbag for vehicle occupants comprises a contact panel (26) facing the vehicle occupant in the inflated state and including upper and lower edges (146, 148) as well as two lateral edges (150). In the interior of the airbag, tension means (30) that withhold portions of the contact panel (26) in the inflated state are arranged at the contact panel (26) so that the contact panel has plural indentations. The contact panel (26) is composed of plural interconnected cut parts (42, 44).

The invention relates to a frontal airbag for vehicle occupants, especially a passenger airbag, comprising a contact panel facing the vehicle occupant in the inflated state and having an upper edge, a lower edge as well as two lateral edges, wherein tension means restraining portions of the contact panel in the inflated state of the airbag are attached to the contact panel in the interior of the airbag.
An airbag of this type is known from DE 10 2015 004 956 A1. In said airbag, the beads formed by the indentations are differently large so that the lateral beads extend more closely to the occupant than the central beads in order to hold the vehicle occupant in the case of diagonal impact.