A stress compensation type semiconductor laser emitting laser light of 0.98 .mu.m.about.1.02 .mu.m wavelength includes a semiconductor substrate, a cladding layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate, and a multiple quantum well structure active layer disposed on the cladding layer and comprising a plurality of well layers and barrier layers. In the laser, when the number, strain, and thickness of the well layers are n, f.sub.w, and t.sub.w, respectively, and the number, strain, and thickness of the barrier layers are m, f.sub.b, and t.sub.b, respectively, the average strain f.sub.av of the well layers and the barrier layers, and the total thickness t.sub.total of the well layers and the barrier layers is given by ##EQU1## where .upsilon. is the Poisson ratio, b.sub.o is the magnitude of a Burgers vector of a perfect dislocation, b.sub.p is the magnitude of a Burgers vector of partial dislocation, and r.sub.c is the half loop radius of a dislocation. Therefore, an active layer having required stress compensation performance is realized with high reliability and high reproducibility.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor laser including an active layer of a stress compensation type multiple quantum well structure, disclosed in, for example, Applied Physics Letter, Vol. 62, No.14 (1993), p.1644.
The semiconductor laser shown in FIG. 3 emits laser light of wavelength 0.98.about.1.02 .mu.m, and includes an active layer in which plural well layers and plural barrier layers are alternatingly laminated. In the 0.98.about.1.02 .mu.m band semiconductor laser, the lattice constant of a crystalline semiconductor constituting the well layers must be larger than the lattice constant of a crystalline semiconductor constituting the substrate. However, when there is no lattice-match between the crystalline semiconductors, defects tend to occur due to a stress generated between the crystalline semiconductors. Therefore, the stress generated between the crystalline semiconductors is offset by making the lattice constant of the crystalline semiconductor constituting the barrier layers smaller than that of the crystalline semiconductor constituting the substrate.
To be specific, the semiconductor laser 1 shown in FIG. 3 comprises an n type GaInP lower cladding layer 3, an undoped GaInAsP first light confinement layer 4, an active layer 15, an undoped GaInAsP second light confinement layer 12, a p type GaInP upper cladding layer 13, and a p type GaAs contact layer 14, which are successively disposed on an n type GaAs substrate 2. The active layer 15 comprises an undoped GaAsP first barrier layer 5, an undoped InGaAs first well layer 6, an undoped GaAsP second barrier layer 7, an undoped InGaAs second well layer 8, an undoped GaAsP third barrier layer 9, an undoped InGaAs third well layer 10, and an undoped GaAsP fourth barrier layer 11.
In has an effect of increasing the lattice constant of GaAs, and P has an effect of reducing the lattice constant of GaAs. Using the properties of In and P, the lattice constant of each well layer comprising InGaAs is made larger than that of the substrate 2 comprising GaAs, and the lattice constant of each barrier layer comprising GaAsP is made smaller than that of the substrate 2 comprising GaAs. Thus, the stress generated between the crystalline semiconductors is offset to provide an active layer 15 having required stress compensation performance.
When the respective semiconductor layers described above are grown on the substrate 2, for example, MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) is employed. However, the following problems arise in the MOCVD growth when switching gases for crystal growth supplied to a reaction furnace.
When the well layers 6, 8, and 10 comprising InGaAs and the barrier layers 5, 7, 9, and 11 comprising GaAsP are alternatingly grown, source gases of these materials should be switched. However, quick switching between the source gas for As (AsH.sub.3) and the source gas for P (PH.sub.3) is particularly difficult.
This problem will be described in more detail. The composition ratio of As in InGaAs constituting the well layers 6, 8, and 10 is different from the composition ratio of As in GaAsP constituting the barrier layers 5, 7, 9, and 11. In addition, the barrier layers 5, 7, 9, and 11 contain P whereas the well layers 6,8,and 10 do not contain P. Therefore, when the well layers 6, 8, and 10 and the barrier layers 5, 7, 9, and 11 are alternatingly grown, switching of the supply amount of AsH.sub.3 gas and switching between suplying and stopping of PH.sub.3 gas are performed.
On the other hand, group V gases, such as AsH.sub.3 gas and PH.sub.3 gas, tend to remain in the reaction furnace and, therefore, reliable switching of the group V gas is not easy. Besides, if the switching of the group V gas is not carried out reliably, desired lattice constants of the well layers 6, 8, and 10 and the barrier layers 5, 7, 9, and 11 are not realized. As a result, an active layer 15 having expected stress compensation performance is not produced. That is, in the prior art laser mentioned above, it is difficult to stably produce the above-described active layer 15.

Stress compensation type semiconductor laser


More selective and efficient Ni hydrotreating catalysts are those which contain more than about 60% of the Ni content on the peripheral surface of porous supports, such as extruded alumina, which may be obtained by spraying an atomized solution of a Ni compound onto the support and drying it at a temperature in the range of from 200 to 600° C. When used, for example, to remove acetylenic compounds from butadiene streams, higher recovery of the desired butadiene with lower acetylenic content and low heavy polymer deposition is obtained than was possible with prior catalysts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to new selective hydrogenation catalysts and the method of making the catalysts, which are useful for hydrogenation, such as selective hydrogenation of acetylenic impurities in crude olefin and diolefin streams. In particular the invention relates to nickel-based catalysts.
2. Related Information
In the manufacture of olefins such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, isoprene, etc., acetylenic impurities such as acetylene, methyl acetylene, vinyl acetylene, ethyl acetylene, 2-methyl-1-buten-3-yne, etc. in various crude mixed C2-C5 streams need to be removed with a minimum loss of useful materials such as ethylene, propylene, butenes, butadiene, isoprene, etc. in the feed streams.
1,3-butadiene is an important raw material used to produce various polymers such as butadiene-styrene copolymer. One of the processes for producing 1,3-butadiene is co-production of various olefins by steam cracking of petroleum fractions. The crude mixed C4 stream from a steam cracker is selectively hydrogenated to partially remove C4 acetylenic compounds. The selectively hydrogenated stream is sent to the 1,3-butadiene recovery unit where solvent extractive distillation techniques are used to separate 1,3-butadiene from the rest of components in the mixed stream. Solvent extractive distillation is expensive to operate and energy consumption is intensive.
Complete removal of C4 acetylenic compounds in the stream with high recovery of 1,3-butadiene is highly desirable to reduce the production cost of 1,3-butadiene and produce a premium quality product for polymer production. However, formerly it was technically impossible to completely remove C4 acetylenes in crude mixed streams by selective hydrogenation without unacceptably high loss of 1,3-butadiene due to over-hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene. Therefore, an improved inexpensive process via a highly active and selective catalyst is highly desirable to produce premium quality 1,3-butadiene without paying a penalty for high loss of 1,3-butadiene due to over-hydrogenation.
The preferred technique for the purification in commercial practice is the selective hydrogenation of acetylenic compounds over hydrogenation catalysts. Supported Pd, Ni, Cu and Co catalysts are known as useful for the hydrogenation of acetylenes (Handbook of Commercial Catalysts, pp. 105-138, Howard F. Rase, CRC Press, 2000). The most preferred catalysts in prior commercial applications of selective hydrogenation of acetylenes are palladium-based catalysts such as Pd, Pd/Pb, Pd/Ag or Pd/Au on a support such as alumina and the copper catalysts on a support such as alumina. Pd catalysts were the most preferred catalysts because of high activity and supposedly superior selectivity compared with other metal catalysts.
Palladium-based catalysts are not selective enough to completely remove C4 acetylenes without an unacceptable amount of 1,3-butadiene loss due to over-hydrogenation. Another inherent problem of palladium-based catalysts is the loss and migration of palladium due to the formation of soluble Pd complex compounds by the reaction of Pd atoms on the catalyst surface with vinyl acetylene, if the hydrogenation is carried out in the presence of liquid phase. Silver and gold have been used to minimize the loss of palladium and reduce catalytic polymerization of acetylenic compounds.
The copper-based catalysts are very selective so that the recovery of 1,3-butadiene from the mixed stream is very high compared with palladium-base catalysts. However, since the activity of copper catalysts is very low compared with palladium-based catalysts, a large volume of catalyst and large reactor are required. Also because of deposition of heavy carbonaceous materials on the catalyst is relatively fast, frequent regeneration of catalysts necessitates multiple reactors.
Ni catalysts in any form are very active catalysts for selective hydrogenation of acetylenes and dienes. According to R. S. Mann et al. (Can. J. Chem. 46, p. 623, 1968), Ni and Ni—Cu alloy catalysts are effective for methyl acetylene hydrogenation. The catalytic activity rapidly increases with addition of copper to nickel up to 25 wt. % in alloy catalyst. The selectivity to propylene and extent of polymerization increase with the increase of copper in the alloy. According to H. Gutmann and H. Lindlar (Organic Synthesis, Chapter 6), vinyl acetylene and 2-methyl-1-buten-3-yne are difficult to selectively hydrogenate to 1,3-butadiene and isoprene by using the usual palladium, nickel or cobalt catalysts. Nickel-based catalysts have been used in commercial processes for the selective hydrogenation of acetylenic impurities in mixed steams of olefins and diolefins.

Ni catalyst, process for making catalysts and selective hydrogenation process


A retroreflective sheeting includes a first array of cube corner element opposing pairs and a second array of cube corner element opposing pairs. The symmetry axes of the cube corner elements in the first and second arrays are tilted in a backward direction at an angle of about 12.degree. to about 30.degree. from an axis normal to a base surface. The second array of cube corner elements is oriented approximately perpendicular to the first array to yield a retroreflective article providing generally uniform total light return about a 360.degree. range of orientation angles and/or a minimum total light return of about 5% across such 360.degree. range. Also disclosed is a mold assembly suitable for use in forming the present retroreflective sheeting and a method of making a retroreflective article using the mold.

Retroreflective materials are characterized by redirecting incident light back toward the originating light source. This property has led to the wide-spread use of retroreflective sheeting in a variety of conspicuity applications. Retroreflective sheeting is commonly applied to flat, rigid articles such as, for example, road signs and barricades to improve their conspicuity in poor lighting conditions. Retroreflective sheeting is also used on irregular or flexible surfaces. For example, retroreflective sheeting can be adhered to the side of a truck trailer, which requires the sheeting to cover corrugations and protruding rivets, or the sheeting can be adhered to a flexible body portion such as a road worker's safety vest or other such safety garment.
Many conspicuity applications are governed by specific performance standards for retroreflective sheeting. Manufacturers must demonstrate that their retroreflective sheeting is capable of meeting the relevant performance standards to be considered as a supplier in the marketplace. A body of standards exists both for describing retroreflection (see ASTM Designation E808-93b, Standard Practice for Describing Retroreflection) and for measuring retroreflectors, (see ASTM Designation E809-94a, Standard Practice for Measuring Photometric Characteristics of Retroreflectors).
Two known types of retroreflective sheeting are microsphere-based sheeting and cube corner sheeting. Microsphere-based sheeting, sometimes referred to as "beaded" sheeting, employs a multitude of microspheres typically at least partially embedded in a binder layer and having associated specular or diffuse reflecting materials (e.g., pigment particles, metal flakes or vapor coats, etc.) to retroreflect incident light. Illustrative examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,190,178 (McKenzie), 4,025,159 (McGrath), and 5,066,098 (Kult). Due to the symmetry of beaded retroreflectors, microsphere-based sheeting exhibits relatively uniform entrance angularity when rotated about an axis normal to the surface of the sheeting. Therefore, the retroreflective performance of beaded sheeting is relatively insensitive to the orientation at which the sheeting is placed on the surface of an object. In general, however, microsphere-based sheeting exhibits relatively low retroreflective efficiency. Beaded retroreflective sheeting typically exhibits a total light return of approximately 5% to 15% in an observation cone angled about 2.degree..
Cube corner retroreflective sheeting comprises a body portion typically having a substantially planar base surface and a structured surface comprising a plurality of cube corner elements opposite the base surface. Each cube corner element comprises three mutually substantially perpendicular optical faces that typically intersect at a single reference point, or apex. The base of the cube corner element acts as an aperture through which light is transmitted into the cube corner element. In use, light incident on the base surface of the sheeting is refracted at the base surface of the sheeting, transmitted through the respective bases of the cube corner elements disposed on the sheeting, reflected from each of the three perpendicular cube corner optical faces, and redirected toward the light source.
One aspect of many performance standards requires retoreflective sheeting to return specified percentages of light incident on the face of the sheeting at various entrance angles. The total light return characteristic of a retroreflective sheeting as a function of the entrance angle of incident light is generally referred to in the art as the `entrance angularity` of the sheeting. A retroreflective sheeting capable of returning a significant percentage of light incident at relatively high entrance angles can be characterized as having strong or wide entrance angularity, such as disclosed in the isobrightness curves in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,258 (Hoopman).
By contrast, retroreflective sheeting with poor entrance angularity loses its retroreflective brightness (total light return decreases) rapidly as the angle of incidence deviates from 0.degree.. Moreover, entrance angularity typically varies about a 360.degree. range of orientation angles (orientational uniformity), requiring proper alignment of the retroreflective sheeting for each application. The entrance angularity and orientational uniformity of a retroreflective sheeting is a significant performance factor because it materially affects the ability of a driver to see an object such as a traffic sign or a safety barrier in poor lighting conditions at various orientations.
The symmetry axis, also called the optical axis, of a cube corner element is the axis that forms an equal angle with the three optical surfaces of the cube corner element. Cube corner elements typically exhibit the highest optical efficiency in response to light incident on the base of the element roughly along the optical axis. The amount of light retroreflected by a cube corner retroreflector drops as the incidence angle deviates from the optical axis.
Cube corner elements offer the advantage of being significantly more efficient retroreflectors than beads. The terms `active area` and `effective aperture` are used in the cube corner arts to characterize the portion of a cube corner element that retroreflects light incident on the base of the element. A detailed teaching regarding the determination of the active aperture for a cube corner element design is beyond the scope of the present disclosure. One procedure for determining the effective aperture of a cube corner geometry is presented in Eckhardt, Applied Optics, v. 10, n. 7, July, 1971, pp. 1559-1566. U.S. Pat. No. 835,648 (Straubel) also discusses the concept of effective aperture. At a given incidence angle, the active area can be determined by the topological intersection of the projection of the three cube corner faces onto a plane normal to the refracted incident light with the projection of the image surfaces for the third reflections onto the same plane. The term `percent active area` is then defined as the active area divided by the total area of the projection of the cube corner faces. The retroreflective efficiency of retroreflective sheeting is directly proportional to this percent active area. The maximum theoretical total light return of truncated cube corner elements commonly used in retroreflective sheeting is approximately 67%, while in practice cube corner retroreflective sheeting exhibits a maximum total light return of approximately 35%, due to sealing, front surface losses, and reflection losses at the cube faces.
Predicted total light return (TLR) for a cube corner matched pair array can be calculated from a knowledge of percent active area and ray intensity. Ray intensity can be reduced by front surface losses and by reflection from each of the three cube corner surfaces for a retroreflected ray. Total light return is defined as the product of percent active area and ray intensity, or a percentage of the total incident light which is retroreflected. A discussion of total light return for directly machined cube corner arrays is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,706 (Stamm).
The light return profile of the basic cube corner element is inherently asymmetric in nature. The breakdown of total internal reflection (TIR) is the most significant cause of this asymmetry in non-metallized cube corner retroreflectors. Coating the reflecting faces with a specular reflector substantially reduces the asymmetry in the reflection pattern. Metallized cube corner arrays, however, are typically not white enough for daytime viewing, such as on signing applications. The durability of the specular vapor coat may also be inadequate. Finally, a portion of the asymmetry is due in part to the asymmetric physical geometry of a cube corner element. See Rityan, Optics of Corner Cube Reflectors, Soviet Journal of Optics Technology, v. 34, p. 195 (1967).
Retroreflective sheeting formed from cube corner elements exhibits a corresponding asymmetry in its light return profile. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,706 to Stamm ('706 patent) discloses the three-lobed light return profile characteristic of a single cube corner element. Similarly, U.S. Pats. No. 4,202,600 (Burke) and 4,243,618 (Van Arnam) disclose an array of cube corner elements having a plurality of zones with different angular orientations, such that the total light return retroreflected by cube corner retroreflective sheeting varies as a function of the entrance angle of the incident light and the orientation angle of the sheeting on the substrate. The six-lobed light return profile of Burke and Van Arnam is characteristic of a matched pair of cube corner elements.
One approach to reducing the asymmetry of retroreflective sheeting is by providing a retroreflective sheeting construction with a plurality of discrete cube corner arrays disposed at different orientations; a technique referred to in the art as `tiling`. Burke and Van Arnam patents disclose retroreflective sheeting having arrays of conventional truncated cube corner elements with equilateral base triangles tiled in a variety of different orientations on the surface of the sheeting. While the constructions suggested in these references address the issue of asymmetry, the cube corner geometries disclosed in these references suffer a rapid decline in total light return at entrance angles greater than about 40.degree., since only a small portion of the cubes are optically functional at a particular orientation. Therefore, retroreflective sheeting in accordance with these references do not provide adequate total light return at high entrance angles for many applications.
Another approach to accommodating this variation in entrance angularity is to design retroreflective sheeting to have specific planes of improved entrance angularity. By way of example, the Hoopman patent discloses a retroreflective sheeting wherein the cube corner elements are arranged in opposing matched pairs having their respective symmetry axes tilted toward one another. This geometry results in a retroreflective sheeting with improved entrance angularity in a plane substantially coincident with the plane that contains the symmetry axes of the cube corner elements, identified as the X-axis plane, and also in a Y-axis plane perpendicular to the X-axis plane. In use, the sheeting is preferentially oriented on the substrate such that these planes coincide with the planes in which light will become incident on the sheeting. By way of example, a preferred orientation for the sheeting on a road sign is to align the X-axis plane substantially parallel with the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,151 (Nilsen) discloses matched pairs of retroreflective cube corner elements that are tilted or canted between more than 1.0 degree and less than about 7.0 degrees in a negative direction. A section of one of the cube corner elements in the matched pair is removed, creating a smaller element which produces increased observation angle performance.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/5887,719 (Nestegard et al.), entitled Dual Orientation Retroreflective Sheeting, discloses a retroreflective sheeting with alternating zones of cube corner arrays oriented such that their primary planes of entrance angularity are approximately perpendicular to one another.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a retroreflective sheeting that maintains a visibly useful total light return across a 360.degree. range of orientation angles, particularly at entrance angles greater than about 40.degree.. Additionally, there is a need in the art for a retroreflective sheeting having relatively small variations in total light return across a 360.degree. range of orientation angles at higher entrance angles and particularly at entrance angles greater than about 40.degree..

Tiled retroreflective sheeting composed of highly canted cube corner elements

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company


A golf ball excellent in abrasion resistance and rebound characteristics. The golf ball according to the present invention is characterized in that the golf ball comprises a base resin constituting the cover containing a polyurethane having a polyisocyanate and a polyol as the constituents thereof and the polyol further comprises a hydroxyl group-containing diene polymer and/or a hydrogenated derivative of the hydroxyl group-containing diene polymer.

This invention relates to a golf ball having a cover, and in particular to a golf ball having a polyurethane cover.
Ionomer resins and polyurethanes have been used as the base resins constituting the covers of golf balls. Although golf balls having a cover made of an ionomer resin are superior in rebound characteristics, durability, processability, and the like and thus have been widely used, various problems associated with these balls have been pointed out that the golf balls are inferior in hitting feeling, insufficient in spin performance, inferior in controllability, and the like due to the high stiffness and hardness of these balls. To solve the problems, Japanese Patent No. 2709950, for example, discloses a method of improving the hitting feeling and spin performance by blending hard and soft ionomer resins, but blending of a soft ionomer resin is inevitably accompanied with decrease in rebound characteristics and abrasion resistance of the resulting golf ball. On the other hand, polyurethanes have been used as the base resin constituting the cover, because the resins provide golf balls more improved in hitting feeling and spin performance than ionomer resins. However, the rebound characteristics and abrasion resistance of the covers using polyurethanes are still at an unsatisfactory level. To solve these problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-360740 discloses, for example, a golf ball using a mixture of a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer and a thermoplastic polyamide elastomer as the base resin constituting the cover.


A display panel, a gate driver and a control method are disclosed herein. The gate driver includes series-coupled driving stages. One of the driving stages includes an input unit and a shift register circuit. The input unit outputs a shift signal to a control node according to a gate driving signal from the previous driving stage and the gate driving signal from the next driving stage. The shift register circuit is electrically coupled to the control node, and outputs the gate driving signal. During the enabling period of the gate driving signal from the previous driving stage and the enabling period of the gate driving signal from the current driving stage, the shift register circuit keeps the voltage level of the control node being at a first voltage.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a display panel. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a gate driver of a display panel.
Description of Related Art
Recently, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been widely applied in various kinds of products. To increase a visible area of LCD, new techniques about a slim border in the LCD keep coming out.
Reference is made to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional shift register circuit 100 which is a commonly used circuit of the shift register. As shown in FIG. 1, the shifter register circuit 100 is configured to receive a scan control signal CS to change the voltage level of a control node A, so as to generate a gate driving circuit SR_OUT.
Explained in a detailed way, when a previous stage of the shift register circuit 100 outputs the gate driving signal SR_OUT, the control node A in the current stage of the shift register circuit 100 is pulled up to a high level voltage by the scan control signal CS. When the current stage of the shift register circuit 100 outputs the gate driving signal SR_OUT, the control node A is floating. In this present time, the control node A may be charged only by a clock signal CLK/XLCLK through certain parasitic capacitances, and thus the current stage of the shift register circuit 100 can correctly output the gate driving signal SR_OUT.
However, if the threshold voltages of the switches N1-N3 are reduced and the leakage current of the switches N1-N3 are increased due to device aging and/or process variations, the voltage level of the control node A, which is floating, may be not correctly kept at the high level voltage. In other words, when the current stage of the shift register circuit 100 outputs the gate driving signal SR_OUT, the voltage level of the control node A may be changed to a voltage with a higher level by the clock signal CLK/XCLK. Alternatively, the voltage level of the control node A may be pulled down to the low level voltage when the leakage current is too large. As a result, the operations of the shift register circuit 100 are failure.
Therefore, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Display panel, gate driver and control method


Systems and methods for AI assisted analysis of a user experience study are provided. A study objective (a goal of the study) and data relating to all possible navigation routes within a digital interface are received. Simulated clickstreams for navigating from any state of the digital interface to the study objective are generated. This simulated clickstream data is then used to train one or more machine learning models to determine a most efficient path to achieve the study objective from any state of the digital interface. Subsequently, study results from many different participants is received. Key events are then identified within the study results. Additionally, the likelihood of failure for each of the plurality of study results is predicted using the machine learning model, and information density of the plurality of study results is determined.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for the AI assisted analysis of user experience studies that allow for insight generation for the usability of a digital interface. These digital interfaces may commonly be a website, but may include application interfaces and the like. Generally, this type of testing is referred to as "User Experience" or merely "UX" testing.
The Internet provides new opportunities for business entities to reach customers via web sites that promote and describe their products or services. Often, the appeal of a web site and its ease of use may affect a potential buyer's decision to purchase the product/service.
Especially as user experiences continue to improve and competition online becomes increasingly aggressive, the ease of use by a particular retailer's website, or other digital interface, may have a material impact upon sales performance. Unlike a physical shopping experience, there are minimal hurdles to a user going to a competitor for a similar service or good. Thus, in addition to traditional motivators (e.g., competitive pricing, return policies, brand reputation, etc.) the ease of a website to navigate is of paramount importance to a successful online presence.
As such, assessing the appeal, user friendliness, and effectiveness of a web site is of substantial value to marketing managers, web site designers and user experience specialists; however, this information is typically difficult to obtain. Focus groups are sometimes used to achieve this goal but the process is long, expensive and not reliable, in part, due to the size and demographics of the focus group that may not be representative of the target customer base.
In more recent years advances have been made in the automation and implementation of mass online surveys for collecting user feedback information. Typically these systems include survey questions, or potentially a task on a website followed by feedback requests. While such systems are useful in collecting some information regarding user experiences, the studies often suffer from biases in responses, and limited types of feedback collected.
User experience testing however, is an extremely data intensive endeavor that is not well suited for analysis by simple rules or presently available automated methods. As such, analysis of user experience testing data is manually intensive, which injects a bottleneck into the process of generating insights from such testing.
Secondly, visualization generation that combines the clickstreams of multiple users into a single view are challenging, and to date are not effective. This is complicated by the fact that each web page can be labeled with many different URLs, and may contain many different graphical components as the result of online ads and other dynamic content. The inability to aggregate the different views of each web page into flow diagram visualizations causes the flow diagram analysis to be exceedingly difficult and tedious.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for advancements in the analysis of studies into user experiences that allows for AI assisted workflows. Such systems and methods allow for improvements in website design, marketing and brand management through the resulting insights that are generated from the analysis.

Systems and methods for the analysis of user experience testing with AI acceleration


A system and method for monitoring a lifting device is disclosed. The method receives location information from a position determiner module coupled with a point of interest associated with the lifting device and determines an autonomous position of the point of interest based on the location information. The method further includes monitoring the lifting device based on the autonomous position of the point of interest.

Cranes are used in many different applications. For example, on construction sites, cranes are used to move large and/or heavy objects from one location to another. One important objective when operating a crane is to avoid collisions with other cranes and/or objects on the site, since collisions can be very hazardous and expensive.
To avoid collisions, a crane is operated manually by a human operator located inside a cab of the crane. Some times, the human operator can not see the load being moved and relies on directions from ground spotters that have visual contact with the load to operate the crane.
In addition to directions provided by ground spotters, locations of various components of the crane are provided to the crane operator to help prevent collisions. Typically, mechanical sensors are used to extrapolate a position of a component based on mechanical relationships between various components of the crane. For example, the height of an object being lifted can be determined based on the length of cable paid out from the crane.
One problem with this approach is that it is possible for the mechanical sensors to provide inaccurate information. In the example above, a mechanical sensor may not take into account the stretch of the cable and thus the height information provided to the operator could be inaccurate. In addition, since the mechanical sensors rely on physical relationships between various components, deflection of the components due to wind or other factors can lead to inaccurate readings from the mechanical sensors.
Inaccurate location information of crane components can lead to problems such as collisions with other objects and/or crane failures. The result of crane collisions and/or failures can be deadly and financially costly.

Determining an autonomous position of a point of interest on a lifting device


A method and charged particle beam column are presented for directing a primary charged particle beam onto a sample. The primary charged particle beam, propagating along an initial axis of beam propagation towards a focusing assembly, passes through a beam shaper, that affects the cross section of the primary charged particle beam to compensate for aberrations of focusing caused by astigmatism effect of a focusing field produced by an objective lens arrangement of the focusing assembly, and then passes through a beam axis alignment system, that aligns the axis of the primary charged particle beam with respect to the optical axis of the objective lens arrangement.

Charged particle beam columns are typically employed in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which is a known technique widely used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, being utilized in a CD metrology tool, the so-called CD-SEM (critical dimension scanning electron microscope) and defect review SEM. In a SEM, the region of a sample to be examined is two-dimensionally scanned by means of a focused primary beam of electrically charged particles, usually electrons. Irradiation of the sample with the primary electron beam releases secondary (and/or backscattered) electrons. The secondary electrons are released at that side of the sample at which the primary electron beam is incident, and move back to be captured by a detector, which generates an output electric signal proportional to the so-detected electric current. The energy and/or the energy distribution of the secondary electrons is indicative of the nature and composition of the sample.
SEM typically includes such main constructional parts as an electron beam source (formed with a small tip called "electron gun"), an electron beam column, and a detector unit. The electron beam column includes inter alia a gun alignment system, a beam blank means, a beam axis alignment system (usually called "aperture alignment coils"), a beam shaper system (typically a "stigmator" composed of one or more quadruple lenses), and a focusing assembly (including an objective lens arrangement) and one or more deflectors. A primary electron beam propagating towards a focusing assembly undergoes beam axis alignment while passing through the alignment coils, and is then affected by a stigmator.
The alignment of the primary beam axis is typically aimed at correcting various aberrations of focusing, and consists of deflecting the primary beam axis to ensure that the beam axis passes through a specific point of the objective lens arrangement, usually called the "central" point thereof. This "specific point" is such that changing the energy of a beam that passes through this point in the objective lens arrangement will not cause the beam deflection by the objective lens arrangement. Generally speaking, the beam axis should be aligned with respect to the optical axis of the objective lens arrangement so as to ensure minimal spot-size imaging of the cathode-tip onto the sample's surface. A stigmator, in turn, typically creates a magnetic or electrostatic field affecting the cross section of the primary beam to compensate for aberrations of focusing caused by astigmatism effect of the objective lens arrangement (e.g., axial asymmetry of the focusing field of the objective lens arrangement), and to ensure a substantially circular cross section of the primary beam that has been focused onto a sample by the focusing assembly.
The detector unit may be located outside the path of the primary beam propagation through the column. In this case, a generator of orthogonal electric and magnetic fields (known as Wien-filter) is employed to direct secondary electrons to the detector (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,894,124; 5,900,629). To ensure detection of those secondary electrons that are not sufficiently deflected by the Wien-filter, a target or extracting electrode made of a material capable of generating a secondary electron when an electron collides therewith is additionally used. Such a target is formed with an aperture and is located such that the axis of the primary beam propagation towards the focusing assembly intersects with this aperture, which thereby serves as a primary beam hole.
As disclosed in WO 01/45136 assigned to the assignee of the present application, the detector unit includes a detector having a primary beam hole that is located in the path of a primary electron beam propagating towards the focusing assembly. Here, a deflection system associated with the focusing assembly operates to affect the trajectory of the primary electron beam such that the primary electron beam impinges onto a sample along an axis forming a certain angle with the sample's surface (the so-called "tilt mode"). The tilt mode is usually utilized to inspect samples that have a surface relief, i.e., pattern in the form of a plurality of spaced-apart grooves to detect the existence of a foreign particle located inside a narrow groove.
Generally, a tilt mechanism can be implemented by mechanically tilting either the sample carrier relative to the charged particle beam column (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,734,164; 5,894,124; 6,037,589) or the column relative to the sample's stage (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,125). According to the above-indicated technique of WO 01/45136, a tilt mechanism is achieved by affecting the trajectory of the primary electron beam using single- or double-deflection. The use of a double-deflection technique, namely, pre-lens and in-lens deflection stages, for stereoscopic visualization of a sample is also known, being disclosed, for example, in EP 1045426.

Charged particle beam column and method for directing a charged particle beam


In a packet-based communication network a central control unit indicates its presence on the first channel by in addition to data traffic transmits regular beacons with a specified time interval, and upon detecting radar signals on a first channel the central control unit transmits a channel switch message and immediately switches to a second channel and resumes data traffic on that second channel, thereafter repeatedly transmitting a channel switch message on the first channel and a beacon on the second channel by switching back to the first channel to transmit second channel switch messages (either contained in beacons or separately) and switching back to the second channel to transmit regular beacons for each permissible beacon transmission time slot, until as many devices as possible associated with the central control unit has followed to the second channel.

The 802.11a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard defines operations in the 5 GHz radio frequency band. In this frequency band, there are regulatory requirements, at least in Europe, to avoid transmissions in frequency bands or channels that are occupied by radar signals. Since these radar signals do not necessarily remain on a single channel, it might be necessary to cease normal data transmissions or data traffic on one channel and change to another channel so as not to disturb the radar. Another circumstance in which a channel switch may be necessary is if a channel has become subject to high interference. In this case, it is not necessary to cease transmission but the probability of receiving a transmission of data successfully is sufficiently low that the effect on the data output is very similar.
The so-called 802.11h draft standard specifies a method for channel switching, whereby a central control unit or controller in a network can indicate to the other wireless devices associated with it that it will change to another channel by a message transmitted either as part of the regular announcement (called the beacon in 802.11), or in a separate channel switch announcement which contains the message. This message causes a channel switch to be scheduled either immediately after the current transmission, or before the Nth subsequent beacon transmission with repeat transmissions of the channel switch message in each beacon leading up to the actual channel switch time.
The reason for delaying the channel switch in this manner is that a number of stations or devices in the network may be in so-called power-save or sleep mode and thereby unable to receive the messages. A graphical description of this so-called STA sleep functionality can be found in FIG. 1. According to the 802.11 protocol, these sleeping stations or devices are required to return to operating condition shortly before each expected beacon transmission time in order to check for pending traffic. Hence, the known method implies that the central controller repeats the message in subsequent beacons until all stations associated with the central controller are guaranteed to have awoken from power-save or sleep mode. This procedure is shown graphically in FIG. 2. A flow-chart of the known method is shown in FIG. 3.
A drawback of this known method is that, according to certain regulatory requirements in the standard, all normal data traffic on a channel must cease once radar signals have been detected on the channel (i.e. after the first channel switch announcement sent by the central controller). The requirements allow sending the beacons on the old channel enough times to ensure that all connected devices have heard the announcement, typically 10 seconds total with a maximum of 20 ms control traffic accumulated. This means that all the currently active devices or terminals in the network must cease sending data traffic until all of the necessary beacon messages have been sent (with a typical spacing between beacons of 0.1 s and a typical sleep duration in the range of some seconds), before the channel switch occurs and the terminals can resume operation on the new channel. This causes an undesirable disruption in the data traffic that is particularly disastrous for data traffic with so called quality of service (QoS) requirements on maximum delay, such as video or voice traffic.
A second drawback of the known method is that if the channel switch is made too quickly, with too few repeats of the announcements, there might be terminals or devices in the network that are left without a central control unit on the old channel. This means that the terminal or device must start searching through a list of frequencies or channels to try to find the old central controller or an alternative one, which is time consuming. In QoS terms, this will be a lost link.
A third drawback of the known method is that if the announcements are repeated many times, there will be a loss of traffic during the times when the announcements are made which will also lead to a lost link.

Method and a central control unit for channel switching in a packet-based wireless communication network

Infineon Technologies Wireless Solutions Sweden AB


A targeted advertisement system may include influencer computers each associated with a respective content influencer and configured to receive respective influencer content associated with a given product for purchase. The targeted advertisement system may also include a remote server coupled to each of the influencer computers. The remote server may be configured to obtain purchaser data associated with a plurality of purchasers and generate targeted advertisement content based upon the influencer content. The remote server may also be configured to send the targeted advertisement content to respective purchaser computers of the corresponding purchasers along with an associated digital promotion and based upon the purchaser data.

Sales of a particular product or service may be based upon how well that product or service is marketed to a consumer. One form of marketing is called influencer marketing. Influencer marketing enables a brand, for example, to connect with potential customers.
Sloggers, for example, may be considered one type of highly regarded influencer. In many instances, a consumer may trust an influencer, such as a blogger, over other types of content, for example, brand content. An influencer may address the shortcomings of brand content or a typical marketing campaign by using the influencer's media reach to educate consumers on the given product and/or provide positive feedback about the given product.
Another form of marketing is an offer, for example, a coupon or rebate, typically in paper form, for a discount toward the product or service. Some offers may be retailer specific, for example, only redeemable for the discount at a particular retailer, while other offers may be product specific from a manufacturer and redeemable at any retailer.
A coupon or rebate, for example, while typically in paper form, may be in digital form and may be referred to as a digital promotion or offer. A digital promotion may be selected or "clipped" via a mobile phone and saved to a digital wallet for redemption at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, for example, or post-transaction. A typical coupon or rebate is applicable to a given product and has a redeemable value that may vary based upon the quantity of a given item, for example, brand of item, size of the product in terms of packaging, and/or the price point of the given item. A typical coupon or rebate may also be redeemable only at a given retailer and/or within a threshold time period.

System for generating targeted advertisement content based upon influencer content and related methods


A camera has a housing with a bottom face and a front face. A support leg is pivotable away from the bottom face of the housing and a handle is pivotable away from the front face of the housing which can together, but not individually, stably support the housing upright when they are both pivoted away from the housing.

No matter how good a camera may be, it cannot yield really acceptable results if it is moved during the exposure. Much of the poor definition obtained by photographers is caused by camera shake during the time the shutter is open. At shutter speeds slower than 1/25 second some sort of camera support is always essential.
A tripod is undoubtedly the most effective answer to camera shake and should be used wherever possible; certainly whenever top quality results are desired. The tripod is a three-legged stand on the top of which the camera is fixed. Most tripods have telescoping or folding legs to make them compact for portability.
As shown in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,609 issued Jan. 24, 1995, the tripod can be integrated with the camera. This eliminates the need to attach the camera to the tripod whenever the tripod is to be used.


The invention concerns a method of bonding a diamond substrate to at least one metal substrate. According to the invention:. at least one of the faces of the diamond substrate is covered with a piece of aluminum foil; PA1 said diamond substrate and said piece of aluminum foil are disposed in a chamber under a controlled atmosphere, and they are bonded together by a first thermocompression step under Argon or under a vacuum, thereby forming a composite multilayer substrate; PA1 said composite multilayer substrate is disposed on a metal substrate, the aluminum surface being in contact with the metal substrate; and PA1 said composite multilayer substrate and said metal substrate are bonded together by performing a second thermocompression step.

Conventional cooling means involving soldering the component to a copper track, itself mounted on an electrically insulating ceramic of the AlN type or the like serving to insulate the high potential track and the component from the soleplate and grounded cooling device.
The copper-track-and-AlN multilayer structure is well suited to electrically insulating such a power component. However, the numerous interfaces, soldering, glues, and greases used to manufacture the multilayer structure constitute a considerable thermal resistance (about 15.times.10.sup.-6 kelvins per watt (K/W) for 625 .mu.m of AlN and 300 .mu.m of Cu) affecting the capabilities of the structure to remove suitably the Joule heat losses from the power components, by itself or via a cooling device.
Furthermore, the more the potential is increased, the thicker the dielectric ceramic layer must be, whereas it is known that ceramic dielectrics are not good conductors of heat.
It is known that artificial diamond may be used, offering the advantage of being an excellent electrical insulator, and of having thermal conductivity approximately 10 times greater than AlN (diamond: 1,500 watts per meter kelvin (W/m.K); AlN: 180 W/m.K).
Bonding an artificial-diamond substrate to a copper or aluminum track generally involves:
a PVD metal-plating first step during which a fine layer of titanium, of platinum, and of gold is deposited on the artificial-diamond substrate; and PA1 a soldering second step in which conventional soldering methods are used to solder the diamond/Ti,Pl,Au composite substrate to the copper or aluminum track. PA1 at least one of the faces of the diamond substrate is covered with a piece of aluminum foil; PA1 said diamond substrate and said piece of aluminum foil are disposed in a chamber under a controlled atmosphere, and they are bonded together by a first thermocompression step under Argon or under a vacuum, thereby forming a composite multilayer substrate; PA1 said composite multilayer substrate is disposed on a metal substrate, the aluminum surface being in contact with the metal substrate; and PA1 said composite multilayer substrate and said metal substrate are bonded together by performing a second thermocompression step.
The heat dissipation gain is about 25% to 30% compared with the AlN multilayer structure.
That gain is small compared with what might be expected in view of the heat-conducting properties of artificial diamond.
This is due to the soldering which creates considerable thermal resistance (total thermal resistance of about 13.times.10.sup.-6 K/W for 300 .mu.m of diamond, 100 .mu.m of solder, and 300 .mu.m of Cu, including 12.times.10.sup.-6 K/W induced by the solder and the interfaces).
Furthermore, the very high purchase price of artificial diamond makes the ratio between production cost and heat dissipation gain much higher than with the AlN technique and therefore prohibitive for mass production purposes.

Method of bonding a diamond substrate to at least one metal substrate


A track system is made by setting a longitudinally extending row of concrete high-pressure injection piles in grown soil and then positioning atop the piles a succession of sleeper frames each including a pair of longitudinally extending rigid concrete beams held together transversely by a rigid steel structure. A longitudinally extending body of concrete is then cast between the beams around the steel frame. Finally longitudinally extending rails are fastened atop the beams.

Higher and higher rail traffic speeds have led to progressively more problems associated with the conventional railway design with a ballasted track. In the high-speed railway networks of Germany and other European countries the conventional ballasted track as a long-established, tried-and-tested system has reached its physical limits and is no longer capable of meeting requirements such as minimal susceptibility to faults and low maintenance costs combined with close distance spacing and high track capacity and therefore has no long-term future.
As an alternative, in 1972 DB AG, scientific institutes and the construction industry developed the so-called fixed track construction style, "Rheda," which together with the construction style, "Züblin," has been approved as the standard track for high-speed sections of German Federal Railways since 1992. In fixed track systems, the track formation layer and the gravel ballast of the conventional ballasted track are replaced by a hydraulically bound subbase with an asphalt or concrete base course on top. The overall structure is regarded, and hence treated as a system—earthwork/concrete base course—that is to be statically dimensioned. In contrast to ballasted track, it is very rigid and computationally determinable. The basic idea in developing the fixed track is to guarantee a uniform resilient bedding for the track, this being achieved almost exclusively by resilient intermediate layers in the region of the rail fastening or by resilient sleeper support systems. As a result, even in the speed range above 200 km/h the track is supported uniformly and with lasting positional stability, which means that e.g. larger cambers and hence higher cornering speeds become possible but also that maintenance outlay is negligible compared to the conventional trackbed.
Fixed track systems are subdivided mainly into two construction styles or design principles: in the case of the first, concrete sleepers (also concrete-block and steel tie-bars) or support blocks are embedded in concrete and therefore connected to form a monolithic structure, the track grating having to be fitted and vibrated and/or bedded in with millimeter accuracy. Later, this was changed to mounting and anchoring the track gratings directly on an asphalt or concrete base plate, which in turn has to be done continuously with millimeter accuracy. This has the advantage—not provided by a monolithic style of construction—of enabling the exchange of the individual sleepers. Here, the individual suppliers of fixed track systems vary in terms of conceptions and detail solutions. There are currently seven selected systems being tested on an operating trial section between Mannheim and Karlsruhe, including systems without sleepers, where the rail has been fastened directly onto support points of the concrete base course.
While the fixed track system offers many incontestable advantages, it does of course also have drawbacks, some of them system-related. The main points of criticism are listed and explained below.
The Federal Audit Office has criticized the high cost of installing fixed track and pointed out that to break even financially with the conventional ballasted track a useful life of at least 60 years would have to be achieved. The counter-argument to this is that it is possible to eliminate measures such as screening, retamping and renovating old ballast sections that incur cost and disrupt rail traffic and therefore to increase the degree of utilization of the railways. Despite automation and prefabrication, it is impossible to push the cost of creating the existing conventional fixed track systems down to the level, or below the level, of ballasted track, although there are always attempts at optimization. The high capital outlay for creating fixed track systems is due to their more complex manufacture, which is also reflected in a much longer construction period. This arises from the need for very high accuracy when laying track gratings and/or installing base plates, the need for costly upgrading of the soil (except for tunnel construction), and the construction period interruptions entailed by hydraulically bound layers and troughs supported on and in one another. The fundamentally required preliminary work, referred to here as costly upgrading of the soil, specifically means an exchange of the soil to a depth of, at times, over 3.0 m and subsequent layer-by-layer incorporation and compaction of precisely mutually tuned functional base layers in order to achieve the requisite properties, such as elasticity, stability, load distribution, frost protection, drainage etc. This also means i.a. that the renovation and conversion of an existing double-tracked ballasted section to the fixed track system may be carried out normally only by totally closing both tracks owing to the dimensions and shape of the trench.
As the next specific problem, the increased emission of airborne noise caused by the rigid structure and the absence of noise absorption is cited in many sources. Measurements and calculations have resulted in an airborne noise level increase of at most 3 dB(A), which has led to the use of cost-intensive sound absorbers and other sound-absorbing measures at the surface and in the edge region of the fixed track.
As a final and not unimportant drawback of all previous fixed track systems, the limited adaptability of the rail fastening and rail position owing to the monolithic structure is cited. Because the rail fastening points are invariably fixed and the displaceability of the rails is therefore limited to a minimal value, thereby making it relatively impossible to modify or adapt the operating pattern, very high demands are placed on the planning and surveying and designing of the route and the rail track. In contrast to the ballasted construction style, therefore, both subsequent modifications of the rail position and minor alteration of the track route or enlargement of the camber as well as point installation etc., if they are possible at all, are possible only with an extremely high outlay.
In summary, it should be stressed that with the currently available fixed track systems high capital costs are incurred as a result of the following parameters:                very high planning outlay also with regard to long-term operational planning,        very high outlay for soil exchange according to requirements,        very high surveying outlay simultaneously with execution of construction work,        very high construction outlay owing to the need for extreme accuracy.
What is more, conversion of an existing, heavily used section is not possible these days because of the need for total closure of both tracks and the long construction period.


An organic light emitting diode display and an aging method thereof are presented. The method provides the organic light emitting diode display with improved reliability as a progressive dark defect is removed, and the lifetime and the white balance of the organic light emitting diode display is secured by executing an aging treatment of high luminance using a pixel circuit including an aging circuit for supplying the organic light emitting diode with an aging pulse.

1. Field
The field relates to an organic light emitting diode display and an aging method thereof, and more particularly, to treating pixels with a high luminance by way of a pixel circuit which includes an aging line and an aging control switching transistor.
2. Description of Related Technology
An organic light emitting diode display is one kind of a flat panel display using an organic light emitting diode (OLED) in which light is generated by the recombination of the electron supplied by a cathode and the hole supplied by an anode. The organic light emitting diode display has advantages in that it is thin, wide viewing angle, and high speed responsive.
A conventional organic light emitting diode display includes a pixel circuit formed at the area near which a scan line, an emission control line and a data line cross one another. The pixel circuit includes a driving transistor which is driven according to the data signal supplied by the data line, a storage capacitor for storing the voltage between a source electrode of the driving transistor and a gate electrode, and an organic light emitting diode which emits light according to a driving current controlled by a plurality of switching transistors and driving transistors.
In some embodiments, the organic light emitting diode display is fabricated through a process wherein a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed and an organic light emitting diode is formed on the thin film transistor. Among the processes used, during the process wherein an organic light emitting diode layer is formed, a dark defect can be generated by a short circuit between an anode and a cathode caused by the foreign body generated during the step in which an organic layer is deposited. In addition, where the organic light emitting diode is lit immediately after the organic layer is deposited, luminance can decrease relatively suddenly due to an initial degradation effect. Furthermore, for a full color organic light emitting diode display, the white balance generated by mixing of a red pixel, a green pixel and a blue pixel can degrade in a short time.
Conventionally, in order to solve the aforementioned problems and increase reliability of the organic light emitting diode display, a variety of technologies have been developed. For passive matrix organic light emitting diode display (PMOLED), an aging method is used. Because foreign substances causing a defect can be removed, the possibility of the defect being generated is reduced before the light emitting diode display comes onto the market, thereby increasing reliability thereof.
For active matrix organic light emitting diode display (AMOLED), however, it is not easy to use the aging method because organic light emitting diode is formed on the thin film transistor.

Organic light emitting diodes display and aging method thereof


An active self discovery system and method for a network. The network includes a management server having a corresponding server address and one or more managed devices. The management server includes a management database that is used to store management information and corresponding network addresses for each of the managed devices. Each managed device includes an active discovery agent that initiates management by sending its management information and network address to the management server. The managed device sends its management information upon initialization or anytime after the device becomes active on the network. Also, the managed device sends updated management information to the management server if and when the management information changes. Such changes include any status or configuration changes of the managed device or a new network address if the device""s address is dynamically changed. Communication may be according to HTTP, where the management information is sent using HTTP post transactions. The HTTP post transactions may comprise HTML forms field formatted data and/or a tagged entity body with a MIME descriptor.

The present invention relates to systems and network management, and more particularly, to a method and system for active self discovery of devices that participate in a network.
In computer network environments, it is advantageous to manage the various software and hardware components coupled to the network from a central location or from a remote location. Such central or remote management of a network is commonly accomplished using industry standard protocols, such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or the Desktop Management Interface (DMI). The discovery of devices on a network is a requirement for management of those devices by management software. Traditional network discovery is performed in one of the several ways. One method is called explicit discovery, where the network address of the device is explicitly specified to the management software. Another traditional method is Internet Protocol (IP) pinging, where the management software enumerates a range of network addresses and individually pings the addresses to detect active devices. Yet another traditional method is performed using router tables, where the management software collects potential device addresses from network router tables.
In the case of explicit discovery, it is necessary to learn the address of each device and enter the value in the management software. This is a time consuming process in a network of any substantive size. Additionally, since many devices are dynamically assigned network addresses, the explicitly entered information may become invalid with the passage of time. IP pinging is time consuming, consumes network bandwidth, and may produce inconclusive results. Additionally, when the presence of the device is detected, no information as to what sort of device has been detected is available. The use of router tables is also subject to similar deficiencies as IP pinging.
In all of these traditional cases, the fact that the address of a device can be dynamically changed is an ongoing problem. Once a device""s address is changed, the management software is no longer be able to communicate with it. These techniques rely on low level network protocols, and changes in network infrastructure technology often renders these traditional methods less effective or even non-effective.
It is desired to provide a network management system with improved discovery of devices attached to or that otherwise participate in a network. It is desired to reduce network traffic related to management functions, such as discovery, and to enable device information to remain updated regardless of network changes. It is desired to provide information about devices at the time of discovery, rather then requiring continued communication.
A network management discovery system for a network according to the present invention includes a management server having a corresponding server address and at least one managed device. The management server includes a management database that is used to store management information and corresponding network addresses received from the network. The one or more managed devices each include an active discovery agent which initiates management of the corresponding managed device by sending management information to the management server using the server address. In this manner, the management server is automatically provided with the management information and network address of each managed device that supports active self discovery.
The managed device may send its management information and its network address upon initialization, such as upon power-up or reset. In this manner, management of the managed device begins once the managed device becomes active on the network. Furthermore, the managed device may send updated management information to the management server if and when the management information changes. Such changes may include, for example, any status or configuration changes of the managed device. Also, the managed device may send a new network address to the management server if the network address of the managed device is dynamically changed. In this manner, the active discovery agent of the managed device keeps the management server updated with any management information changes in a very efficient manner.
The management server may include a network interface and a back end process or module that processes management information and network addresses received via the network into the management database. The back end module may comprise a single processes that strips management information from each management package, formulates the information into an appropriate format for the management database and stores the information therein. Alternatively, the back end module is split into at least two separate processes and an intermediate transaction file. For example, the back end module may include a first module that transfers management information and addresses into the transaction file as received, and a second module that processes the management information and addresses from the transaction file into the management database. In this manner, the first back end module is able to quickly transfer management packages into the intermediate file with little processing to reduce network overhead associated with management. The second module processes the management information independently of the network and thus without adding further management overhead to the network.
The active discovery agent may support the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and act as an HTTP client to send the management information, where the management server includes a web server that supports HTTP. In this manner, the active discovery agent and the web server communicate according to HTTP. The server address may be an actual address or may comprise a symbolic address. For HTTP, the symbolic address is resolved into an Internet Protocol address using the Domain Naming Service (DNS) or the like. For HTTP, the active discovery agent may formulate the management information and the network address into an HTTP post transaction that is sent to the web server according to HTTP. The HTTP post transaction may include an entity body or payload. The content of the entity body may be described by an HTTP content-type tag, which may further be described using a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) descriptor.
A method of active self discovery of devices participating in a network according to the present invention, for a network that includes at least one managed device and a management server, includes steps of providing a managed device with a server address corresponding to the management server, formulating, by the managed device, management information and a network address corresponding to the managed device into a management package, and sending, by the managed device, the management package to the management server using the server address to initiate management of the managed device. In this manner, the management server is not required to initiate management and is automatically provided management information from each managed device which supports active self discovery.
During operation, the managed device further may formulate and send updated management packages each time the management information changes. Such changes may include, for example, status or configuration changes or a change of the network address of the managed device. The method may further comprising processing, by the management server, any management packages received via the network into a management database. Such processing may be performed by a single back end process or a split process for faster response and reduced network overhead. The method may further comprise formulating a management package into an HTTP post transaction and sending the HTTP post transaction to the management server according to HTTP. Again, the HTTP post transaction may include an entity body or payload. The content of the entity body may be described by an HTTP content-type tag, which may further be described using a MIME descriptor.
It is appreciated that active self discovery according the present invention provides a network management system with improved discovery of devices. Active self discovery reduces network traffic related to management functions and enables device management information to remain updated regardless of network changes. The management server is automatically provided information about managed devices at the time of discovery, and does not have to rely on traditional discovery methods such as explicit discovery, IP pinging, router tables, etc. Such traditional methods usually require continued communication that significantly reduces network bandwidth available for normal communications.

Active self discovery of devices that participate in a network

Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P.


Systems and methods to process vehicle operation data are described. A data module associated with a vehicle can collect a set of metrics relating to the operation of the vehicle, as well as events related to an operator's interaction with the vehicle. The data module can correlate the set of metrics with the events to generate a correlated set of data. A user can request various contexts in which to view the data, such as via a vehicle context or an operator context. The data module can generate, using the correlated set of data, a data view according to the request. Further, the correlated set of data and the various contexts can be updated on a real-time basis.

Vehicle fleet managers or administrators manage several drivers and units of equipment when overseeing operation of the vehicles of the fleet. For example, the fleet can have several trucks that can be driven, interchangeably, by several drivers or operators. Systems and modules associated with the vehicles can sense and record observations related to safety, compliance, fuel efficiency, location, and other metrics. The observations and data can be collected by in-cab units or computing systems. Further, the vehicle fleet managers or administrators can use the data to manage the fleet, schedule drivers, schedule vehicle maintenance, and perform other tasks.
However, current systems and methods only report the observations and data in the context of a single entity, such as an operator or a vehicle. For example, safety- or fuel-related event observations are associated with vehicles, while compliance-related information is associated with drivers. The current systems cannot switch contexts and view the event observations organized by drivers or vehicles, interchangeably. Therefore, more complex data processing is necessary to correlate the data. Further, the current systems cannot organize the multi-context data on a real-time basis.
A need therefore exists for systems and methods for associating operator- and vehicle-related data. More particularly, a need exists for platforms and techniques for reporting performance data interchangeably by associating operator- and vehicle-related data on a real-time basis.

Systems and methods for processing vehicle data to report performance data interchangeably


A guardrail base can include a base body, which can include a first foot, a second foot, and a raised portion between the first foot and the second foot; and a rail mount mounted on the raised portion of the base, the rail mount configured to angularly pivot about and between a first position towards the first foot and a second position towards the second foot.

When working on an elevated surface, such as a roof, it can be desirable or required to have a guardrail positioned around at least a portion of the perimeter of the elevated surface to prevent accidental falls. However, most roofs are inclined and many roofs that are relatively level, such as commercial buildings, can be uneven in portions of the roof, so a flat base positioned on the inclined or uneven roof will have posts extending upward from the base at an acute angle relative to the base and the inclined surface. The angled posts can cause the guardrail to be lower than desired. Further, the angle of the post can cause the guardrail to be in an undesired position relative to the base, making it easier for the guardrail to fail and tip when a load is placed on it, such as a worker gripping or leaning on the guardrails during work on the roof.


Disclosed an up converter of base station transmitter of an wireless communication and method of controlling outputs of the up converter to control output signals of the up converter in accordance with the conditions of the strength of input signal and/or output signal of by detecting the input signal level and/or output signal level of the up converter. The up converter of the present invention comprises an input level detection section for detecting an input signal of the up converter; a variable attenuator for attenuating converted frequency in the up converter; an output level detection section for detecting an output signal of the up converter; a processor for outputting a control signal to adjust the variable attenuator in accordance with the detected results of the input level detection section and the output level detection section.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an up converter of a base station transmitter of an wireless communication system and more particularly to an up converter of base station transmitter of an wireless communication and method of controlling outputs of the up converter to maintain stabilized outputs, matching the wireless communication system in accordance with improving a structure of the up converter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An up converter is a communication device for converting a lower frequency signal into a higher frequency signal, and has been used to convert a intermediate frequency modulated from a low frequency into a higher frequency to transmit in a long distance at a video and audio transmitter for a TV broadcasting system or an wireless communication system. Generally, the video signal for TV broadcasting system is converted to VHF or UHF signal and the audio signal is converted into a higher frequency, matching bandwidths of communication manner, i.g. from about 64 Mhz to 1.2 GHz.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an up converter of a base station transmitter in mobile communication system based on Code Division Multiple Access Type. The up converter of a base station transmitter shown in FIG. 1 is general type, and has been applied to general base station transmitter.
With reference to FIG. 1, an analog signal output from a baseband processing circuit of a base station transmitter is inputted to an attenuator 11 and attenuated the input signal at predetermined power level. Both an output signal of the attenuator 11 and a single frequency provided from a local oscillator 19, are inputted to a mixer 12 to mix each other. Thus, first of all, frequency of the input signal of the up converter is up converted in the stage.
Subsequently, an output signal of the mixer 12 is inputted to a band pass filter 13 and filtered to pass only a predetermined frequency bandwidth. An output signal of the band pass filter 13 is inputted to an amplifier 14 and amplified with a predetermined amplification ratio. Both an output signal of the amplifier 14 and a single frequency generated from a local oscillator 20 up/down convert an input frequency, are inputted to a mixer 15 to mix each other. Thus, the frequency of the input signal, which is already converted, is up converted in the stage.
Next, an output signal of the mixer 15 is inputted to a band pass filter 16 and filtered to pass only a predetermined frequency bandwidth. An output signal of the band pass filter 16 is inputted to a variable attenuator 17 and adjusted with the output signal level of the band pass filter 16 by the operation of a processor 21. At this event, a adjustment voltage of the variable attenuator 17 is setup in initial stage of applying the up converter to adjust the output signal of the attenuator 17. And an output signal of the variable attenuator 17 is inputted to an amplifier 18 and amplified with a predetermined amplification ratio, and transmitted to outward through a power amplifier and an antenna which are not shown in FIG. 1.
As described above, there was problems that the input signal of the up converter is directly inputted to the first mixer 33 and the output signal of the variable attenuator is directly transmitted to the outward through the second amplifier in the related art of up converter. Accordingly, if the radio signal transmitted form the up converter is not reached completely to a corresponding base station""s area, a managing station of the mobile communication system could not find exact causes that the problem is caused by no applying the input signal to the up converter or working at out of order in the related up converter. The manager of the mobile communication system have to check each state of a lots of base station transmitters including an up converter in order to repair in the circumstance.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the disadvantage involved in the related art, and to provide an up converter of base station transmitter of an wireless communication and method of controlling outputs of the up converter to control output signals of the up converter in accordance with the strength of the input signal level and output signal level of the up converter.
Also, it is the other object to provide to an up converter of base station transmitter of an wireless communication and method of controlling outputs of the up converter to minimize the variation of output signals of the up converter caused of characteristics and temperature of elements equipped in the up converter or the variation of communication circumstance by improving the structure of the up converter.
In order to achieve the above object, there is provided to an up converter of a base station transmitter in an wireless communication system, the up converter comprises an input level detection section for detecting an input signal of the up converter; a variable attenuator for attenuating converted frequency in the up converter; an output level detection section for detecting an output signal of the up converter; a processor for outputting a control signal to adjust the variable attenuator in accordance with the detected results of the input level detection section and the output level detection section.
In order to achieve the other object, there is provided to an up converter of a base station transmitter in an wireless communication system, the up converter comprises an input level detection section for detecting an input signal of the up converter; a first variable attenuator for attenuating converted frequency in the up converter by a first control voltage; a second variable attenuator for attenuating converted frequency outputted from the first variable attenuator; a processor for providing a second voltage to the second variable attenuator in order to adjust a strength of the output of the first attenuator; an output level detection section for detecting an output signal of the up converter; an automatic gain controller for outputting the first control voltage to adjust the first variable attenuator in accordance with the detected results of the input level detection section and the output level detection section, and the second voltage provided from the processor.

Up converter of base station transmitter in wireless communication system and method of controlling outputs thereof


The invention relates to a container which is formed at the upper portion of the main body with the foldable portion having folding lines for easily folding the foldable portion. Processes for forming the container include a first step for forming a perform by injection molding and a second step for forming the finished product having the foldable portion by blow molding.

Generally, container spouts could not be folded in so that the user inclined the container to drink the contents of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,324 discloses a container with a bellows shaped foldable portion, but it is difficult to mold the bellows shaped foldable portion so that it cannot be in use commonly.
Further, it is a problem that when the inner pressure is applied to the container, the foldable portion is unfolded.

Container with a foldable portion and method for manufacturing the same


Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for managing encryption for volumes in storage pools. At least one storage pool is defined in a database, wherein storage pools are defined to include a plurality of data volumes, wherein each volume is included in at least one storage media. An encryption status is indicated for storage pools indicating whether encryption is enabled for the storage pool. An encryption key is provided for volumes included in storage pools for which encryption is indicated as enabled. The encryption keys for volumes included in the storage pools for which encryption is enabled are stored. The database associates the encryption keys with the volumes and the volumes with the storage pools.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and article of manufacture for managing encryption for volumes in storage pools.
2. Description of the Related Art
A storage manager server manages the backup and archival of data on various client systems and provides a repository for information on the archived data. A storage management server may store data objects on volumes which are grouped in storage pools, and use a database to track information about the stored data and their storage pools. After data objects have been stored, the storage management server may copy or move the data objects within volumes in the same storage pool or to volumes in other storage pools. Data volumes and the server's database may be exported to removable media and taken offsite to ensure multiple distributed copies of the data and the database for disaster recovery.
The data volumes associated with storage pools may be encrypted in a storage media to protect the data from unauthorized access. Data encryption is especially useful for business that store personal data on their customers. Recent government regulations place requirements and legal obligations about companies storing personal data to report any loss of storage media containing personal information which was not encrypted. Typically, the client application determine which data volumes to encrypt and manage the encryption keys used to encrypt and decrypt the data volumes. In certain implementations, encryption operations may be offloaded to another device.

Managing encryption for volumes in storage pools

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques for training multiple resolution deep neural networks (DNNs) for vehicle autonomous driving comprise obtaining a training dataset for training a plurality of DNNs for an autonomous driving feature of the vehicle, sub-sampling the training dataset to obtain a plurality of training datasets comprising the training dataset and one or more sub-sampled datasets each having a different resolution than a remainder of the plurality of training datasets, training the plurality of DNNs using the plurality of training datasets, respectively, determining a plurality of outputs for the autonomous driving feature using the plurality of trained DNNs and the input data, receiving input data for the autonomous driving feature captured by a sensor device, and determining a best output for the autonomous driving feature using the plurality of outputs.

Some vehicles are equipped with an advanced driver assistance (ADAS) or autonomous driving system that are configured to perform one or more assistance or autonomous driving features (adaptive cruise control, lane centering, collision avoidance, etc.). Many of these features utilize deep neural networks (DNNs) and various input data (camera images, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) point cloud data, etc.) to generate determinative outputs, such as object detection and tracking. Conventional systems typically utilize a single DNN trained with a single training dataset. The trained DNN, however, could still potentially suffer from a desired level of accuracy and robustness. The same trained DNN could also be run in separate instances and then the outputs are compared, but this still may not produce the desired levels of accuracy and robustness, particular for ADAS and autonomous applications. Accordingly, while these conventional systems do work well for their intended purpose, there exists an opportunity for improvement in the relevant art.

Multiple resolution deep neural networks for vehicle autonomous driving systems


A reluctance machine system including a reluctance machine having a stator including at least one phase winding and a rotor defining rotor poles and inter-pole gaps, where permanent magnet inserts are positioned within the inter-pole gaps to interact with the currents in the phase windings to provide permanent magnet torque and to improve the machine's performance.

In general, a reluctance machine is an electric machine in which torque is produced by the tendency of a movable part to move into a position where the inductance of an energized phase winding is maximized. In one type of reluctance machine the energization of the phase windings occurs at a controlled frequency. These machines are generally referred to as synchronous reluctance machines. In another type of reluctance machine, circuitry is provided for detecting the position of the movable part (generally referred to as a "rotor") and energizing the phase windings as a function of the rotor's position. These types of machines are generally known as switched reluctance machines. The present invention is applicable to both synchronous and switched reluctance machines.
The general theory of the design and operation of reluctance machines in general, and switched reluctance machines in particular, is known in the art and is discussed, for example, in Stephenson and Blake, "The Characteristics, Design and Applications of Switched Reluctance Motors and Drives", Presented at the PCIM '93 Conference and Exhibition at Nuremberg, Germany, Jun. 21-24, 1993.
As explained above, the basic mechanism for torque production in a traditional reluctance motor is the tendency of the rotor to move into a position to increase the inductance of the energized phase winding. In general, the magnitude of the torque produced by this mechanism corresponds to the magnitude of the current in the energized phase winding such that the motor torque is heavily dependent on the phase current waveforms. For an ideal traditional reluctance motor with no magnetic saturation, the instantaneous torque T, per phase, is: ##EQU1## Where i is the instantaneous current in the energized phase winding and dL/d.theta. is the derivative of the phase inductance L with respect to the rotor position .theta.. While all practical reluctance motors have some magnetic saturation, this equation is useful for purposes of the present analysis.
Because torque production in a traditional reluctance machine is almost exclusively a function of the current flowing in the phase winding, the power drives that are coupled to a traditional reluctance machine are required to have a rating corresponding to the highest expected torque output, and thus the highest expected phase current. This requirement often increases the costs of the power drives that must be used in conjunction with a given reluctance machine.
Alternately, when the costs of the power drives is a limiting function, the maximum torque output available from a traditional reluctance machine is limited by the maximum current rating of the available power converter. This current limit effectively limits the maximum available torque output from the machine.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these and other limitations of traditional reluctance machines by, among other things, providing a reluctance machine system that allows for greater torque production for a given machine/power converter power rating, or conversely, allows the same torque to be produced with a lower phase current level, thus requiring a lower rated, and less costly, power converter. Moreover, it is a further object of the present invention to achieve these results with a machine that is rugged and easy to manufacture.

Reluctance machine with permanent magnet rotor excitations


A durable, rigid, low-cost device to sense an impact of a ball over a wide area and to provide response to a user that said impact has occurred. The sensing mechanism is a low-cost acoustic sensor, acoustically coupled to an essentially single sheet of plastic material. Sensor electronics filter the input and measure amplitude to determine if a valid hit has occurred. If so, the device reports an activate signal to the response electronics that in turn provide feedback to the user by playing a digitally recorded audio message, recorded specifically for the event. Variously, the activate signal may be transmitted to a remote device that contains the response electronics.

Accuracy is critical to sport. In tennis, for example, the serve is practiced with repetitive drills intended to develop an accurate and powerful serve. There are several methods known in the art for developing accuracy skills that provide user feedback. One is for the coach to build a pyramid consisting of four tennis balls. The balls are placed in a desired practice location and the player is instructed to hit the pyramid. When the pyramid is hit, the balls are scattered, the coach or player is forced to retrieve them, taking valuable time from practice sessions. Often it takes longer for the coach to set up the target than for the player to disrupt it. Placing multiple targets simultaneously is often counter productive as scattered pyramids frequently topple other pyramids.
While a number of electronic targets have been proposed to provide a more repeatable and less time-consuming feedback means, none are used, due to one or more of the following reasons:
1) Cost--Some of the prior art targets incorporate highly expensive components. PA1 2) Poor simulation of normal playing conditions--While the player focuses primarily on accuracy, the coach analyses spin and power, as judged by the bounce after striking the target. An ideal tennis target will bounce the ball accurately after striking the target. Furthermore, an ideal target will have its topmost surface contiguous or nearly contiguous with the playing surface. PA1 3) A sense of fun and mental stimulation--It is well-known that practice must remain fun and interesting to maintain player motivation. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from scattering the pyramid of balls that is not provided by the "beep" or flash of prior art targets. An ideal target could be readily modified to provide customized feedback for each student thereby providing a sense of fun and mental interest. PA1 4) Portability--Were targets useful and economically viable, they would be moved back and forth on a daily or even hourly basis, requiring them to be light and highly transportable in order to be practical. For example, at the beginning and end of each day, many targets (a dozen or so) would be moved simultaneously, necessitating lightness. PA1 5) Adaptability--Targets must be easily adaptable to the needs of each student. They must allow ready placement to any location.
Prior art targets include most pertinently: U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,664 to Faurot et al. which offers a rigid flat panel, however with several drawbacks. The rigid sandwich construction, required to create an inner chamber capable of transmitting a pressure wave, necessitates a device of substantial thickness, thereby poorly mimicking the true nature of the playing surface both in terms of its thickness and in the deflection associated with a large diaphragm. Furthermore, pressure sensors are relatively expensive. The high weight of the device also renders it impractical. U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,517 to Krist employs metal wires or strips built into the court, providing a highly expensive and completely non-adaptable system. Indeed, the system was designed as a judging function, for which it performs well, but cannot be adapted to suit the present need. Other wide area sensors include a compliant, force sensitive top surface that strongly affects the flight of the ball and are therefore undesirable. Force sensitive materials such as force sensitive resistiors, and piezo films are far too expensive.
Therefore, what is desirable is a sport target that provides feedback to both player and coach that does not contain inherently expensive components. It is further desirable to simulate normal playing conditions with respect to both bounce and spin, and without having significant thickness. It is further desirable for the target to be light and portable so that a dozen may be comfortably carried to and from a storage facility to the place of use. It is yet further desirable to have a flexible feedback system between coach and student that allows the training regimen to remain varied and fun, a system that stimulates the mind as well as the muscles by offering variation and novelty in the practice regimen.