An optimized Yb: doped fiber mode-locked oscillator and fiber amplifier system for seeding Nd: or Yb: doped regenerative amplifiers. The pulses are generated in the Yb: or Nd: doped fiber mode-locked oscillator, and may undergo spectral narrowing or broadening, wavelength converting, temporal pulse compression or stretching, pulse attenuation and/or lowering the repetition rate of the pulse train. The conditioned pulses are subsequently coupled into an Yb: or Nd: fiber amplifier. The amplified pulses are stretched before amplification in the regenerative amplifier that is based on an Nd: or Yb: doped solid-state laser material, and then recompressed for output.

Regenerative amplifiers utilizing chirped pulse amplification (CPA) have been the dominant means for obtaining higher pulse energies with picosecond and femtosecond pulse duration. The CPA regenerative amplifier was first demonstrated for picosecond amplification in Nd:glass in by Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland, Compression of Amplified Chirped Optical Pulses, Optics Communications 56 (3): 219-221, Dec. 1, 1995.
The development of broad band solid state lasers as regenerative amplifiers was first demonstrated by D. Harter and P. Bado, Wavelength Tunable Alexandrite Regenerative Amplifier, Applied Optics 27 (21): 4392-4395, Nov. 1, 1988 and by D. Harter, O. Montoya, J. Squier and W. Rapoport, Short Pulse Generation in Ti: doped materials, CLEO 1988 PD6. These systems were utilized for femtosecond amplification and were reported by M. Pessot, J. Squier, G. Mourou and D. Harter, Chirped-Pulse Amplification of 100-Fsec Pulses, Optics Letters 14 (15): 797-799, Aug. 1, 1989 and by J. Squier, F. Salin, G. Mourou and D. Harter, 100-FS Pulse Generation and Amplification in Ti-Al2O3, Optics Letters 16 (5): 324-326, Mar. 1, 1991.
It is the Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier that has been the dominant method for obtaining femtosecond pulses in the microjoule to millijoule range. These systems have been made more practical by using modelocked fiber lasers as the source of the short pulses, as first reported by A. Hariharan, M. E. Fermann, M. L. Stock, D. Harter and J. Squier, Alexandrite-pumped Alexandrite Regenerative Amplifier for Femtosecond Pulse Amplification, Optics Letters 21 (2): 128-130, Jan. 15, 1996 and later patented by Clark in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,582 "Fiber source for seeding an Ultrashort optical pulse amplifier." This seeding has been studied in a number of Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifiers, as reported by A. Hariharan, D. Harter, T. S. Sosnowski, S. Kane, D. T. Du, T. B. Norris and J. Squier, Injection of Ultrafast Regenerative Amplifiers with Low Energy Femtosecond Pulses from an Er-Doped Fiber Laser, Optics Communications 132 (5-6): 469-473, Dec. 15, 1996.
Alternative sources for microjoule level femtosecond pulses are emerging by all fiber designs as first described by M. E. Fermann, A. Galvanauskas and D. Harter, All-Fiber Source Of 100 nJ Subpicosecond Pulses, Appl. Phys. Letters Vol. 64, 11, 1994, pp. 1315-1317. During the past decade, there has been intensive work in making such systems practical. The recent results were reported by M. Stock, H. Endert and R. Patel, Time-Tailored Laser Pulses: a New Approach for Laser Micromachining and Microfabrication Processing, SPIE Photonics West 2003, San Jose and SPIE Publication # 4984-28. Such systems should be useful for lower energy applications such as LASIK as reported by T. Juhasz, H. Frieder, R. M. Kurtz, C. Horvath, J. F. Bille and G. Mourou, Corneal Refractive Surgery with Femtosecond Lasers, IEEE Journal Of Selected Topics In Quantum Electronics 5 (4): 902-910, July-August 1999.
However, for higher pulse energies, the regenerative amplifiers will continue to dominate because of practical uses such as micromachining as described by Xinbing Liu and Gerard Mourou, Ultrashort Laser Pulses Tackle Precision Machining, Laser Focus World, August 1997, Vol. 33, Issue 8, page 101.
For the micromachining applications, more industrially compatible regenerative amplifiers are being developed. These systems are based on Nd: or Yb: doped materials, rather than the Ti:sapphire that has dominated the scientific market. There are two basic reasons for this change. Commercial markets typically do not require the shorter pulses that can only be obtained from the Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier and the Nd: and Yb: based materials can be directly diode pumped, which makes these systems more robust and less expensive. An unresolved technical issue for Nd: or Yb: based regenerative amplifiers is the need for an equally robust seed source for the femtosecond or picosecond pulses. The present lasers are mode-locked solid-state lasers with questionable reliability. It would be preferable to have a robust fiber laser similar to that which has been developed for the Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier.
Historically, both Nd: doped crystals and glasses have been the laser material for most solid-state lasers. The only commercially available regenerative amplifiers for picosecond or femtosecond pulse besides Ti:sapphire have been Nd: based materials. Ti:sapphire can produce much shorter pulses. The Nd: crystalline materials such as Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF and Nd:Vanadate produce pulses around 10 picoseconds. The Nd:glass regenerative amplifier produces pulses around 0.5-2.0 picoseconds. The Nd:glass regenerative amplifier is the source used in the Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) application and the laser is described by C. Horvath, A. Braun, H. Liu, T. Juhasz and G. Mourou, Compact Directly Diode-Pumped Femtosecond Nd:glass Chirped-Pulse-Amplification Laser System, Optics Letters 22 (23): 1790-1792, Dec. 1, 1997.
Recently, there has been interest in replacing Nd: lasers with Yb: lasers. The reasons are related to diode pumping. The absorption transition is broader than the absorption transition in Nd: lasers, so it is easier to tune the laser diodes to the transition. It is also possible to dope the crystals heavily so the diodes are absorbed in a small area leading to higher gain. The final reason is that the transition has a small quantum defect from the laser transition so more efficient lasing is obtained with less heat deposition. The broader transitions also allow shorter pulse generation. A very good review of the advantages of Yb: materials for short pulse is reported by J. Nees, S. Biswal, F. Druon, J. Faure, M. Nantel, G. A. Mourou, A. Nishimura, H. Takuma, J. Itatani, J. C. Chanteloup and C. Honninger, Ensuring Compactness, Reliability, and Scalability for the Next Generation of High-Field Lasers, IEEE Journal Of Selected Topics In Quantum Electronics 4 (2): 376-384 March-April 1998.
However, Yb: materials have some idiosyncrasies that make them more challenging to use. Typically, the regenerative amplifier active material is a four level transition and the gain shape is very constant. This is true with Nd: doped materials and Ti:sapphire. An early exception is alexandrite, which has a quasi—three level lasing transition. The spectrum is quite stable but can be tuned for example by the excitation level or by large temperature differences. This was illustrated where the temperature of alexandrite can be used so the gain spectrum of one crystal overlaps the absorption spectrum of another crystal. A room-temperature alexandrite laser can pump another hot alexandrite laser as was disclosed by A. Hariharan et al., Alexandrite-pumped Alexandrite Regenerative Amplifier for Femtosecond Pulse Amplification, Optics Letters 21 (2): 128-130, Jan. 15, 1996.
Wavelength shifting of the gain spectrum is also seen in Yb: doped regenerative amplifiers as is shown in FIG. 6 from H. Liu, J. Nees, G. Mourou, S. Biswal, G. J. Spuhler, U. Keller and N. V. Kuleshov, Yb:KGd(WO4)2 Chirped-Pulse Regenerative Amplifiers, Optics Communications 203 (3-6): 315-321, Mar. 15, 2002. In this case, the seed femtosecond pulse was at 1027 nanometers and the output was 1038 nanometers. Thus, to obtain the optimized wavelength, one needs to inject a different wavelength in order to obtain the optimized wavelength. However, Table 1 shows that the optimum wavelength is dependent on loss (OC) and can vary as much as 28 nanometers. In fact, the optimum wavelength changes by 1-3 nanometers per percentage of loss!
For Yb:glass, the spectral shift of the input seed to the output is shown clearly in FIG. 4 from H. Liu, S. Biswal, J. Paye, J. Nees, G. Mourou, C. Honninger and U. Keller, Directly Diode-Pumped Millijoule Subpicosecond Yb:glass Regenerative Amplifier, Optics Letters 24 (13): 917-919, Jul. 1, 1999. This behavior is partially explained from the family of curves in FIG. 2 from C. Honninger, R. Paschotta, M. Graf, F. Morier-Genoud, G. Zhang, M. Moser, S. Biswal, J. Nees, A. Braun, G. A. Mourou, I. Johannsen, A. Giesen, W. Seeber and U. Keller, Ultrafast Ytterbium-Doped Bulk Lasers and Laser Amplifiers, Applied Physics B-Lasers and Optics 69 (1): 3-17, July 1999. The gain peak changes with excitation dramatically and as the seed pulse is amplified the excitation value is changing with the saturation of the laser material. Table 2 shows that, with a 7% change in loss, the spectral peak moves 30 nanometers and the spectral width changes 65% in Yb:glass. Such specification changes need to be considered for long-term operation where the loss does increase with time.
It should be clear that it is difficult to design the seed laser for Yb: regenerative amplifiers due to the large changes in the center line width and bandwidth caused by pumping level, losses and the Yb: host material.
There are additional differences with Yb: materials that make them challenging. One is the round trip gain is lower compared to that in a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier. In order to obtain the required gain, there must be additional round trips in the regenerative amplifier and with more round trips the system is more susceptible to changes in loss due to environment. Also, a 1% change in the round trip loss is a small change in the overall gain when the round trip gain is 200% in Ti:sapphire, but is a very large change in the overall gain when the round trip gain is 10% as is the case in these Yb:doped regenerative amplifiers.
The thin disk configuration is being considered for high power industrial applications. The thin disk refers to doped lasing material where the pump laser is passed multiple times for absorption. The thin disk is mounted on a conductive mirror so that the heat is removed perpendicular to the face of the crystal rather than radially removed in the typical rod configuration. In a thin disk regenerative amplifier, short pulse amplification has been shown without the use of chirped pulse amplifiers. This is possible due to the shorter propagation distances in and larger spot sizes in the thin disk compared to conventional rod solid state desings. This work has been reported by C. Honninger, I. Johannsen, M. Moser, G. Zhang, A. Giesen and U. Keller, Diode-Pumped Thin-Disk Yb:YAG Regenerative Amplifier, Applied Physics B-Lasers And Optics 65 (3): 423-426, September 1997. More recent results have been published by M. H. Niemz, A. Kasenbacher, M. Strassl, A. Backer, A. Beyertt, D. Nickel and A. Giesen, Tooth Ablation Using a CPA-Free Thin Disk Femtosecond Laser System, Applied Physics B-Lasers And Optics 79 (3): 269-271, August 2004. The laser system is described in International Application No. WO 04/068657 A1. In these experiments, a Yb:YAG and a Yb:glass mode-locked laser have been used as the seed source, respectively. These sources have not met the required stability for an industrial source and there has been great interest in developing stable mode-locked fiber lasers for this application.
A fiber laser has been built to seed an Yb: based regenerative amplifier. A brief description of this fiber laser for this application is given in U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,356, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. This fiber laser is based on the identical erbium mode-locked laser that operates at 1.55 micrometers and is converted to 780 nanometers for seeding Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifiers. However, the frequency is converted to 1040 nanometers for injection seeding the Yb: regenerative amplifier. This fiber laser system is described in detail in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/576,772 entitled MODULAR, HIGH ENERGY, WIDELY-TUNABLE ULTRAFAST FIBER SOURCE and was reported by M. E. Fermann, A. Galvanauskas, M. L. Stock, K. K. Wong and D. Harter, Ultrawide Tunable Er Soliton Fiber Laser Amplified in Yb-Doped Fiber, Optics Letters, Vol. 24, No. 20 pp. 1428-1430, Oct. 15, 1999.
However, it is now desirable to have a simpler laser and thus more cost effective solution. An early experiment in injection seeding with a fiber laser is described by M. Hofer, M. H. Ober, F. Haberl, M. E. Fermann, E. R. Taylor and K. P. Jedrzejewski, Regenerative Nd Glass Amplifier Seeded with a Nd Fiber Laser, Optics Letters 17 (11): 807-809, Jun. 1, 1992. However, this fiber laser required 6 prisms intracavity and over a meter of free intracavity spacing, and thus, this laser is no more than a proof of principle demonstration.
Co-Pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/576,772, filed May 23, 2000, which is assigned to the common assignee and the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses the use of a Yb: oscillator, which can be used for the seed source of regenerative amplifiers with the additional system considerations described here.

Utilization of Yb: and Nd: mode-locked oscillators in solid-state short pulse laser systems


The present invention relates to a image processing apparatus and the method thereof which can change image to be shown on a reflection surface of an object. The image processing apparatus for generating image data to be displayed on a predetermined display screen, comprises: a processor for performing a filling process of filling a polygon to generate image data based on positional information of said polygon on two-dimensional coordinates corresponding to said display screen and texture data associated with said polygon; a frame buffer memory for storing the image data corresponding to said display screen; and a reflection map memory for storing image data to be shown on a reflection surface in said display screen, wherein said processor generates said image data to be shown on said reflection surface based on viewpoint information corresponding to said reflection surface and positional information of a polygon which lies in said reflection surface, stores said generated image data in said reflection map memory, and further generates said image data to be displayed on said display screen based on viewpoint information corresponding to the display screen, positional information of a polygon which lies in said display screen, and said image data in said reflection map memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus using a computer, and, more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and method which can change an image to be shown on a reflection surface when this reflection surface is the surface of an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer aided image processing techniques are used in simulation apparatuses, game machines and the like. Generally, simulations and games are provided by computer programs in such a manner that each object of an image or the viewpoint on the display is moved in accordance with the manipulation by an operator and the resultant image is displayed on a monitor TV or the like. In this case, the coordinates of objects and texture, such as the color and pattern of the surface of each object, which are acquired by computation performed by a computer program, are subjected to a rendering process (filling process) to obtain color data pixel by pixel, which is in turn written in a frame buffer memory. The pixel-by-pixel digital color data written in the frame buffer memory is converted to analog color data, which is then displayed on the monitor TV or the like.
When texture of the surface of an object is a reflection surface, the aforementioned rendering process can similarly directly be utilized by treating an image to be shown on that surface as one kind of texture data.
According to the conventional image processing, however, what is used for an image to be shown on such a reflection surface is merely image data simply drawn in a fixed form, and no attempts have been made to show even an object, which is changing or moving in real time by a computer program, on such a reflection surface. Even when the viewpoint is changing frame by frame, an image to be shown on a reflection surface does not change and thus appears unnatural. For pictures with scenes always changing as in a video game, therefore, it is desirable to produce an image to be shown, which changes in real time in accordance with the movement of a real image.


A mobile content delivery system that optimizes the delivery of especially bandwidth-consuming content (or the flow of any peak-hour data traffic) in a way that best utilizes the free capacity in the radio network, thus enabling considerably more efficient usage of the radio capacity. It also allows new services and pricing structures to be used in the cellular network, that otherwise would not be possible. The class of delivery of message content can be selected by the user on a transaction basis, or subscription-based and pre-defined in a user profile. By choosing a scheduled delivery the user can receive the content at a fraction of the price compared to instant delivery, since the content is sent at a time when the network is least utilized.

Traditionally, the majority of data messages have been sent across radio networks in real-time when the user requests them. This common practice of "Deliver NOW" is utilized extensively in the growing area of text-based message or voice services of cellular networks. The delivery of data in real-time ignores the fact that wireless network data traffic is unevenly distributed. The maximum network capacity is dimensioned to match the network load peaks, thus leaving a lot of unused capacity in the network. Typically, in a twenty-four hour day cycle (except for a few traffic peaks during office hours), more than half of the network capacity is unused.
Typical message delivery systems on wireless networks have sustained themselves due to strict adherence to a small file size requirement. The cost of a wireless network delivering larger file size content such as a video clip or an image file on demand would be prohibitively expensive, as well as time-consuming, to the end-user. Many current wireless network delivery systems have addressed the problem by adding additional network base stations and fine tuning coding techniques. These methods only lead to additional capacity without reducing the cost to send the actual data over the wireless network. If the sending device tries to send a message and the recipient is not available (e.g. terminal is turned off) the service center continues to send messages so long it can reach the recipient device (the amount of time the service center attempts to send the message can be limited to a pre-determined time window).
Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method whereby a user could specify, using his or her wireless terminal device, whether a message is to be delivered in real-time which will prevent the system from managing present network load conditions while the message is being delivered, or to be time delayed to suit the existing demands on the wireless network.


A bumper apparatus for a vehicle is provided. The bumper apparatus includes a bumper and a spring comprising a flexible ribbon of material. The spring has a first connector portion coupled to the bumper and a second connector portion adapted to couple to the vehicle. The spring also has a curvy portion coupled to the first and second connector portions. The bumper apparatus further includes a stop engaging the spring to hold the spring in a partially flexed state to preload the spring.

The present disclosure relates to bumpers for vehicles, and particularly, to devices for coupling bumpers to chassis of vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to spring bumpers for vehicles.
Bumpers provided at the front and the rear of vehicles are well known. Such vehicle bumpers typically are mounted to the remainder of the vehicle by one or more devices that are capable of absorbing a certain amount of impact force imparted on the bumper. During an impact, these impact-absorbing devices permit the associated bumper to move relative to the remainder of the associated vehicle and then restore the bumper to its pre-impact position after the impact. As long as the impact forces imparted on the bumper are not too great during an impact, bumpers and the associated bumper mounting devices may absorb the impact sufficiently to prevent damage to other portions of the vehicle.


A ruggedized electronic enclosure for in-ground installation is disclosed. In one embodiment, the ruggedized electronic enclosure comprises a top cover which is exposed above a top surface of the ground and a cylindrical base portion which is embedded within the ground. The top cover and the cylindrical base portion are configured to create a channel conveying an adhesive toward the center of the ruggedized enclosure when the top cover and the cylindrical base portion are coupled.

In temperate climate zones, some utility meters are located in enclosures close to residences or other buildings. Utility companies use wireless technology to facilitate automatic collection of utility use data. For example, a wireless transceiver and antenna can be coupled with a meter and can be read using a remotely located reader device. As a result, the collection of billing data can be performed more quickly and reliably than when a person had to access the meter and manually record the billing data. One type of antenna used is called a "pit antenna" which is disposed within, or proximate to, a pit enclosure of a utility meter. Such pits are usually in the ground with the top of the housing enclosure exposed.

Ruggedized electronic enclosure for in-ground installation


A method for digitally processing motion image signals comprises the steps of: (a) obtaining digital motion image signals that originated from a sequence of motion picture frames; (b) using a frame averaging technique to reduce noise in the digital motion image signals, thereby producing noise-processed motion image signals; and (c) producing output digital motion image signals by sharpening the noise-processed motion image signals with a sharpening filter designed in the spatial domain with a 2D kernel that increases the noise in order to provide a desired grain response.

All pictures taken on film exhibit some degree of "graininess" because of the discrete crystals of silver halide in the photographic emulsion. In still image photography, this graininess may be imperceptible in a typical 3″×5″ print. In motion picture imaging, the random nature of the grain structure will cause successive frames of the same scene to "sparkle" or "boil". Aggravating the problem is the fact that motion pictures are displayed with high magnifications making graininess more visible for theatre-goers seated closer to the screen.
Small film areas (e.g. 8 mm, 16 mm) require more magnification to fill a movie screen thus magnifying the grains. Moreover, noise accumulates with each intermediate stage of film transfer as the image chain progresses from capture to release print.
Thanks to the advent of digital image processing, it is possible to design filters to reduce noise in a digital image by sampling the same image across multiple frames. Many modem movies involve some form of digital intermediate where the image is digitized using a film scanner. The digital intermediate stage is required for inserting computer graphics into live action shots and for a variety of special effects. The pixels in every frame of a movie can be altered before being printed back to film.
During the 1990's, motion imaging digital effects were tailored to match the quality of traditional 35-mm film processes. Subsequently, digital effects processes expanded into long form digital intermediate. This allows high speed processing of an entire feature film, while preserving the quality and look of the optical film process. Systems analyses indicate that we have the opportunity to distribute to theaters film or digital images that provide a significant increase in overall theatrical image quality by introducing a new generation of digital intermediate. This preferred approach uses current 35-mm film, and involves modest changes in production costs and theater equipment.
Consequently, by exploiting advances in digital technology, using new algorithms and high-speed high-resolution scanning and recording we can give film a clearly superior look. In fact, it will become possible to provide at least 70 mm quality by digitally processing images originated in a 35 mm format. Similarly pre-compensating for artifacts and losses in digital electronic projectors can be achieved in postproduction.
Well-known techniques for filter design can be applied to filtering of motion picture sequences. The difficulty lies in designing a filter that leaves the desired image content intact while removing the undesirable noise. As there is normally some degree of "art" to filtering because the process can change the "look" of the image, what is needed is a technique for adjusting the filters to emulate a desired grain response, such as that of larger film formats.

Method and system for motion image digital processing


The present invention relates to a method for realizing HARQ in multi-carrier cell, comprising: when distributing high-speed shared resource for UE, Node B distributes the high-speed downlink packet service to N frequencies, and reports the information of the established physical channel, including the frequency information, to RNC and said UE; after Node B establishes the high-speed shared resource for said UE at N frequencies, it establishes N HARQ sub-entities on the HARQ entity built for said UE, each sub-entity independently processes the high-speed downlink packet service at one frequency; correspondingly, said UE also establishes N HARQ sub-entities on the HARQ entity; Node B configures parameters for each HARQ sub-entity and notifies the configuration information to RNC and said UE through upper-level signaling; Node B and UE complete their configuration for each sub-entity of HARQ entity according to the information, and realize the HARQ function in the service. The present invention can realize HARQ function on multiple frequencies simultaneously and is compatible with current protocol in TD-SCDMA system that utilizes multi-carrier HSDPA technique.

One significant feature of the third generation mobile communication system is the unbalance of the traffics between uplink and downlink; the traffic of the downlink is generally heavier than that of the uplink. Based on this feature, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) introduces HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) characteristic in the 3G standard, HSDPA technology is to provide high-speed downlink data service for multiple users and is suitable for the services downloading a large amount of information, such as multi-media and Internet etc.
According to the current 3GPP protocol, the cell corresponds to the earner one-to-one in the TD-SCDMA system. The method of configuring HSDPA related channel resource in single-carrier cell is: one HS-DSCH (High Speed Downlink Shared Channel), multiple HS-SCCHs (High Speed Shared Control Channel), and HS-SICHs (High Speed Shared Information Channel) that correspond to HS-SCCH one-to-one; when the network side configures HS-DSCH resource for one UE (User Equipment), it configures one to four HS-SCCHs to form one HS-SCCH set, and configures HS-SICHs that correspond to HS-SCCHs one-to-one; during the transmission process of HS-DSCH data, at each HS-DSCH TTI (Transition Time Interval), Node B transmits HS-DSCH related control information in one HS-SCCH channel, the UE obtains the information by reading the channel and sends out feedback information in one HS-SICH channel that corresponds to said HS-SCCH.
On the Node B side, MAC-hs selects one HS-SCCH to be used by a certain UE at each HS-DSCH TTI, namely to transmit the HS-DSCH related control information to said UE in said HS-SCCH channel. On the UE side, if no HS-SCCH in the HS-SCCH set is distributed to be used by the UE, the UE will continuously monitor this HS-SCCH set and search for the HS-SCCH that is practically distributed to it by reading "UE identity" information in the HS-SCCH and comparing it with the UE's own identity until the UE finds out the HS-SCCH channel that is distributed to itself; the next TTI starts, the UE only monitors and receives this HS-SCCH, uses the control information carried by this HS-SCCH to receive the HS-DSCH data, and sends out feedback information in one HS-SCCH channel that corresponds to said HS-SCCH until at a certain TTI, the UE can not find and read the UE identity that fits itself in said HS-SCCH or it can not find and read said HS-SCCH, then the UE remonitors the distributed HS-SCCH set until it finds out the HS-SCCH that is distributed to itself.
Among the features of HSDPA, by introducing AMC (Adaptive Modulation and Coding), HARQ technique as well as the related technology of reducing network processing delay, downlink packet service with higher speed is provided to increase the utilization ratio of frequency spectrum.
The AMC technique determines the current channel capacity according to the channel condition (Channel Status Information, CSI), the suitable modulation and coding scheme based on the channel capacity, etc., so as to transmit the information to the maximum extent and realize relatively high speed; moreover, the AMC is able to provide changeable modulation and coding solution according to the changes of channel quality of each user, thereby increasing the transmission speed and the utilization ratio of frequency spectrum.
HARQ is an error correcting method that, combines the traditional ARQ (Automatic Retransmission Request) technology with the EEC (Forward Error Correct) technology. In HARQ, the code sent out by the sending end can not only detect errors but also has certain ability of correcting the errors. After the receiving end receives the information, if the error is within the correction ability of the correcting code, the error will automatically be corrected; if the error is beyond the correction ability of the correcting code but it can still be detected, the receiving end will send the corresponding feedback, signals to the sending end, asking for a retransmission.
The HSDPA technology newly introduces HS-DSCH (High Speed Downlink Shared Channel) and MAC-hs (High Speed Multi-media Access Control) sub-layer. The MAC-hs is realized at the Node B on the network side to perform data transmission on the HS-DSCH transmission channel.
In Node B, each cell possesses one MAC-hs entity. The MAC-hs not only completes HS-DSCH data processing and dispatching, it is also responsible for the management and distribution of HSDPA physical resources. As shown in FIG. 1, MAC-hs entity comprises four function entities, i.e. flow control, dispatching/priority control, HARQ function and TFRC (Transport Format and Resource Choice).
1) Flow control: used to control the data flow from MAC-d (Dedicated Media Access Control) in order to satisfy the empty capacity. Through flow control, the time delay and congestion is reduced. For each MAC-d data flow having separate priority, the flow control is independent.
2) Dispatching/priority control: dispatching according to HARQ entity and priority. It determines new transmission and retransmission based on the channel and ACK/NACK feedback. Priority and the number of the data block are set.
3) HARQ: one UE (User Equipment) corresponds to one HARQ entity; one HARQ entity corresponds to multiple HARQ processes; one HS-DSCH TTI corresponds to one HARQ process.
4) TFRC (Transport Format and Resource Choice): selecting suitable transport format according to the channel condition and resource situation.
In the MAC-hs entity of Node B, each UE is distributed with one HARQ entity and N-Channel SAW (Stop and Wait Protocol) is executed; SAW protocol is called N-channel Stop and Wait Protocol for short, namely the HARQ entity executes N-Channel-SAW-HARQ protocol. One HARQ entity corresponds to multiple HARQ processes; in the current TD-SCDMA protocol of 3GPP, the HARQ entity of one UE can include eight HARQ processes at most; different HARQ processes are identified by process IDs; one HS-DSCH TTI corresponds to one HARQ process.
On the UE side, one UE has one MAC-hs entity, including four function entities of HARQ function, distributing, reordering and resolving, as shown in FIG. 2.
HARQ: responsible for the HARQ protocol, generating ACK/NACK (Data Block Feedback Information, ACK represents correct while NACK represents wrong) etc.
Distributing: distributing MAC-hs PDU (MAC-hs Protocol Data Unit) to the corresponding reordering queue.
Reordering: used to ensure that the data packets arrive at the upper layer in order. It orders the disordered data blocks generated by the HARQ entity and reports to the upper layer; one queue corresponds to one reordered entity; it performs reordering according to the number of the data block (TSN) of each priority queue. In order to prevent dead lock problems such as time-out from happening, the method such as timer can be used.
Resolving: resolving MAC-d PDU from MAC-hs PDU and sending it to MAC-d.
The HARQ entity of the UE and the HARQ entity in Node B are peer entities, including the same number of HARQ processes; each process forms the one-to-one protocol entity through the process ID and the process on the Node B side to receive the MAC-hs PDU (Protocol Data Unit) data packets.
The TD-SCDMA system in the current 3GPP protocol is a single-carrier system, namely one cell corresponds to one carrier: the frequency spectrum width for a single carrier is 1.6M; since TD-SCDMA employs TDD (time division duplex) scheme of relatively narrow band, the theoretical peak speed of a single carrier is 2.8 Mbps; the downlink peak speed provided by a single carrier is relatively low and can not satisfy the needs of operators for high-speed packet data service in the future. Therefore, some technical improvements needs to be performed based on single-carrier cell HSDPA technology to satisfy the higher needs of the operators for the high-speed packet data service.
In the multi-carrier cell, one cell has multiple frequencies, the maximum number of the users in this cell is N times (N represents the number of frequencies) of the maximum number of the users in single-frequency cell. In the multi-carrier cell, HSDPA resources of some UEs can be distributed on multiple frequencies simultaneously, namely the HS-DSCH of said user can be distributed on multiple frequencies simultaneously.
As a result, it is more complicated for Node B to dispatch and distribute HSDPA resources for the UEs in the multi-carrier cell than in single-frequency cell. Specifically, in the multi-earner cell, the MAC-hs of Node B manages more UEs and the flow control is relatively complicated; the dispatching for each UE by MAC-hs of Node B comprises: frequency information, time interval and code channel, namely, the data service of the UE can be carried on multiple time intervals on multiple frequencies as well as multiple code channels, requiring HARQ entitles being able to process HS-PDSCH (High Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel) data on multiple frequencies simultaneously.
According to the 3GPP protocol, the number of the HARQ processes of one UE is eight. When in the multi-earner cell, the HS-PDSCH of the UE can be earned on multiple frequencies, the maximum number of HARQ processes is 8*N (N represents the number of the frequencies of the UE). Under such condition, the method of configuring HARQ process by simply using process ID and the method of configuring the memory parameters of the HARQ process in the current protocol are both unfeasible, and an effective solution is immediately needed.

Realization method for HARQ in multiple frequency points cell


An applicator for dry particulate matter has an operating module body having a handle and trigger. The applicator lacks a back-pack and particulate matter is instead stored in a flexible tube. A flow path in the body is partially blocked and fully opened by a battery operated reciprocating gate valve that can be operated by the trigger on the body's handle. The tube is long enough to pass around a user's neck when the operating module is held by a hand of the user's extended arm, so that the free end can be manipulated by the user's other hand. A microprocessor in the body is adapted to regulate the operation of the gate valve to adjust the quantity of particulate matter dispensed according to user inputs.

Much of the motivation for the present invention arises from the needs of large commercial plant-production nurseries However, it will be appreciated that the resulting inventive solutions find use and application in a variety of dispensing and application environments such as for applying dry fertilizers and other dry granulated materials in the early stages of growth of open-area forestry and in general landscaping, and including the application of herbicides and pesticides in various situations.
Depending on the nature of the plants being grown, the climate and other factors, many large production nurseries have ongoing requirements such as the following:
a. The deposition of small individual quantities of dry particulate top dressings of fertilizers and sometimes pesticides and herbicides applied to the surface around plants growing in containers or in the ground, in both cases most usually in the open. These types of dressings are usually in the form of dry pellets or small spheres which range from about 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm (⅛th to ⅕th inch) in diameter, and are sometimes much finer particles.
b. The application of small individually-measured quantities of dry fertilizer pellets or prills in a process immediately following "dibbling", which usually takes place in an immobile machine. In this latter process, containers for future plants are typically arranged in a row on a moving belt or rotating platform on a pot-filling machine. Immediately after each pot is filled with the growing medium, a hole is mechanically formed in the top of the growing medium for the specific purpose of receiving a small measured quantity of fertilizer, followed by a new plant.
Worldwide research to date has indicated that all current methods of measuring and applying such dry materials in small individual quantities in production nurseries are to some extent unsatisfactory.
In order to make these types of applications more efficient, equipment is required to perform such operations economically, accurately and quickly, while providing a higher degree of simplicity and reliability. Where the process occurs in the hands of the human operator, it is also required that the equipment be light and comfortable to use.


According to one embodiment, an image processing system includes an acquisition unit, a determination unit, and an output unit. The acquisition unit acquires a rendering condition used for generating a parallax image group from volume data. The determination unit sets corresponding information for causing a space coordinate of a stereoscopic image viewed stereoscopically by referring to a stereoscopic display device that displays the parallax image group to correspond to a space coordinate of a captured site in the volume data based on the rendering condition and a display size and determines a scale for converting a length in a space of the stereoscopic image into a length in a space of the captured site based on the corresponding information. The output unit performs output control such that the scale is displayed.

Conventionally, monitors enabling an observer to view two-parallax images captured from two points of view stereoscopically by using a specific device, such as a pair of stereoscopic vision glasses, have been in practical use. Furthermore, in recent years, monitors enabling an observer to view multi-parallax images (e.g., nine-parallax images) captured from a plurality of points of view stereoscopically with the naked eyes by using a beam control element, such as a lenticular lens, have also been in practical use. Such two-parallax images and nine-parallax images displayed on monitors enabling stereoscopic vision may be generated by estimating depth information of an image captured from one viewpoint and performing image processing using the information thus estimated.
For use in medical image diagnosis apparatuses, such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatuses, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatuses, and ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses, apparatuses capable of generating three-dimensional medical image data (hereinafter, referred to as volume data) have been in practical use. Conventionally, volume data generated by such a medical image diagnosis apparatus is converted into a two-dimensional image by various types of image processing, and is displayed two-dimensionally on a general-purpose monitor. For example, volume data generated by such a medical image diagnosis apparatus is displayed two-dimensionally on a general-purpose monitor as a two-dimensional image (e.g., an axial image) obtained by cutting the volume data along a predetermined section (e.g., an axial plane) by rendering processing.
Furthermore, there has been developed a conventional technology for displaying a scale (a gauge) in the X-Y direction for causing a two-dimensional image to correspond to a real space of a captured site in volume data together with the two-dimensional image.

Image processing system, image processing apparatus, and image processing method for displaying a scale on a stereoscopic display device


A coil arrangement is provided that is configured to be used with a magnetic resonance imaging system. The arrangement can include a first coil element and a second coil element positioned adjacent to the first coil element. The second coil element may be different in size from the first coil element. The coil elements may be generally circular or rectangular in shape, or can have other shapes, and they may have different sizes from one another. In one exemplary embodiment, the coil elements overlap one another. In a further exemplary embodiment, three coil elements may be provided in an orientation such that a center coil is immediately adjacent to two outer coils, and the center coil element may be smaller than the outer coil elements. In still further exemplary embodiments, the coil elements may be configured in the form of a linear array or a two-dimensional array.

MRI is a well-established imaging technique. A conventional MRI device can provide a homogenous magnetic field (conventionally referred to as B0), which may be aligned along an axis in a human body to be imaged. The magnetic field can cause nuclear spins to align, and their magnetic moments may then precess around the direction of the main magnetic field. A subsequent radiofrequency pulse (e.g., an excitation pulse) can be applied by a radio frequency ("RF") transmit coil, thereby causing the nuclear spins to absorb energy. This can perturb a magnetic moment of the nuclear spins around the axis of B0.
After the excitation pulse, the precessing magnetic moments can return to a steady state by a process referred to as free induction decay ("FID"). During FID, the absorbed energy may be released, and the NMR signals can be detected by a RF coil, which may be configured to only transmit or to both transmit and receive. The measured signal can be processed to extract additional information such as, e.g., data that may be used to generate cross-sectional images of the human body, or generation and examination of spectroscopic data. Pulse sequences can be developed and/or refined to improve the quality and type of image data. More specifically, radiofrequency pulses and field gradients can be varied to create images and/or data suitable for various clinical and research purposes.
When using MRI techniques, it can be desirable to have excitation and/or reception interactions be spatially uniform in the imaging volume. This can, e.g., provide better image uniformity. Excitation field homogeneity can be obtained by using a whole-body volume RF coil for transmission. An NMR signal generated by excited tissue can then be received either by the body coil itself, or by another coil such as, e.g., a surface coil which can be located immediately adjacent to the NMR signal region of interest. The surface coil can be configured as a "transmit only" coil or a "transmit/receive" coil. A whole body volume coil that is utilized as a receive coil may produce a lower signal-to-noise ratio ("SNR") than a local surface coil, because it may be located farther from the signal-generating target. Surface coils can also reduce noise contributions from electrical losses in the object being imaged, which can result in a higher SNR as compared to a remote coil. This can result in an improved image quality or data acquisition.
A high SNR can be achieved for a region being imaged by using a surface coil element having a diameter, D, which is approximately equal to the distance from the coil to the region being imaged. The region of tissue being imaged can often be located directly below a surface coil at approximate depth ("DP") from the coil itself. As the diameter of a surface coil element is decreased, the corresponding SNR generated using the coil element may increase, which can provide better image or data quality. A field-of-view ("FOV") that can be obtained using the surfaced coil may decrease with a decreasing coil element size. The size of a surface coil can thus be selected to provide a compromise between improved resolution and a larger field-of-view.
Two or more coil elements may be combined in a surface coil to increase the effective FOV. A surface coil having more than one conductive element and that is configured to minimize or reduce mutual inductance between the elements may be referred to as a phased array coil or a multi-channel phased array coil. A phased array coil can maintain a high SNR associated with individual coil elements, while enlarging the overall FOV and minimizing or reducing noise and/or artifacts in the image data obtained. However, a mutual inductance between the coil elements can cause a decrease in the frequencies detected and/or resolved, and may degrade the SNR associated with the involved loops.
A phased array arrangement configured to combine signals from an array of smaller coils to obtain a higher SNR than may be achieved using a single large diameter loop coil with the same FOV is described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,162 to Roemer et al. ("Roemer"). Roemer describes certain techniques for decoupling both adjacent and non-adjacent coil elements. The adjacent coil elements can partially overlap in certain arrangements to eliminate a mutual impedance within these coil elements (e.g., "next-to interactions"). Mutual impedance in non-adjacent elements (e.g., "next-to-nearest interactions") within a plurality of coil elements can be reduced or eliminated by, e.g., connecting individual elements to preamplifier units which may have a low impedance, but which may have a high impedance with respect to individual elements. This decoupling can reduce or prevent current flow in an antenna in response to an induced voltage. The magnetic field associated with such a current could induce signals in a neighboring antenna in the absence of such decoupling.

Coil arrangement for magnetic resonance imaging apparatus


An enterprise data warehouse or business intelligence system having a plurality of processors and memory resources. The system includes at least a database server, a workload management system, a query compiler, and a query executor. The database server configured to receive a database query from an application at a database client system. The query compiler configured to prepare the execution plan for the query and compute the number of executive server processes (ESPs) in each ESP layer of the query. The workload management system is configured to generate an affinity value, and the query executor is configured to execute the query. As disclosed herein, placement of the executive server process layers of the query onto processors of the computing system is determined using the affinity value. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to computer and software systems. More particularly, the present application relates to parallel database systems.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a typical business intelligence (BI) environment, the database system processes a large number of queries with a wide spectrum of complexities. The complexity of the queries range from small queries accessing few rows in a database table, to medium queries processing millions of rows, to large queries processing billions of rows. This type of concurrent mixed workload presents challenges for the BI and enterprise data warehouse (EDW) systems. These systems generally include a large number of processors working cooperatively to process the workload.

Allocation of resources for concurrent query execution via adaptive segmentation

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Industrial fabrics which contain thermoplastic weft or filling filaments characterized by having at least one segment of the filament's cross sectional area consisting of a foamed polymer are described. The unfoamed segment or segments of the filament contribute axial strength while the foamed segment or segments of the filament contribute to radial compressibility. Industrial fabrics utilizing these filaments have reduced permeability, reduced weft denier, and improved fabric rigidity.

In industrial processes such as the production of paper, woven, spiral, and especially constructed fabric belts are utilized to support and transport the cellulosic fibers as they are moved through the papermaking process and converted from a thin slurry into finished paper. Mechanical stability and permeability control of these fabric belts are critical to the manufacture of consistent, high quality paper. Paper machines are generally divided into three sections; forming, where thin pulp slurry is partially drained and formed into a thin wet sheet of pulp; pressing, where mechanical pressure is used to squeeze water from the pulp sheet; and drying, where the pulp sheet is heated against hot rolls and converted into a paper sheet. As paper machine speeds have increased, fabrics designed for use in all sections of papermaking machines are increasingly exposed to higher temperatures and more damaging environmental conditions. This is especially true in the dryer section. These more extreme service conditions have caused the useful life of dryer fabrics to be less than satisfactory. An additional problem has recently arisen which is associated with the use of recycled pulp, the presence of oils and inks which stick to the papermaking fabrics and have the potential to cause faults in the paper sheet. The need for affordable, high performance filaments to construct fabrics for use under these more demanding industrial conditions has led to a continuing search for materials and constructions which will improve the service life of industrial fabrics.

Industrial fabrics having filaments characterized by foam segments within their cross section


Wall and floor structures of a building each comprise a base layer comprising prefabricated panels with grooved inner faces and a covering layer disposed over the panels to cooperate with walls of the grooves to define channels extending along the panels. Selected grooves contain in-floor heating elements and electrical wiring and routing components. A prefabricated corner panel is formed by notching out an oversized channel in the same type of panel, bending the panel along the channel and filling a remaining gap at the so-formed corner bend with a higher r-value insulation than the rest of the panel. Wall and floor panels are joined by a connector having a C-shaped portion that caps exterior floor panel edges and an integral projecting portion inserted into a slot formed in the wall panel's insulating layer at a bottom edge of the floor panel.

The idea of using prefabricated panels in the construction of homes and other buildings in order to reduce on-site construction times has been known for many years. For example, it is known to use composite structural insulated panels each comprising a sandwiched or layered arrangement featuring a layer of foam insulation material between two metal skins in order to erect load bearing insulating walls by interconnecting such panels edge-to-edge to produce a vertical wall section, without needing to first produce a wall framework to support the insulation-providing panels. However, there is still much room for improvement in this field, for example with regard to reduction of on site completion time, reduction of production costs or improvement in insulation values.

Prefabricated building panels and structures, building, methods and systems relating to same


Methods and systems provided herein relate to forming an item with desired spatial features. The item may be a food item, such as a baked item or a cake. The desired spatial features may include two-dimensional shapes and/or three-dimensional features. The item may be formed into the desired shape by forming a moldable substance and/or flexible strips.

Field of the Invention
Methods and systems provided herein relate to forming an item with desired spatial features. The item may be a food item, such as a baked item or a cake. The desired spatial features may include unusual two-dimensional shapes and/or three-dimensional features. The item may be formed into the desired shape by forming a moldable substance and/or a flexible strip.
Description of the Related Art
A variety of baked goods are made by pouring a batter into a baking pan and baking the pan and the batter. Typically, the baked item will then be characterized with a shape that is substantially similar to a shape of the baking pan. For example, 13×9-inch rectangular pans or 9-inch circular pans can be used to produce cakes with corresponding dimensions.
In some instances, it may be desirable to produce a baked item of a nonstandard shape. It may also be desirable to produce a three-dimensional baked item, such that one feature of the cake "pops out" compared to others. One approach for producing a baked item with a nonstandard two- or three-dimensional feature includes producing a large baked item and subsequently removing sections of the large item to form the desired shape. However, it may be difficult to visualize the results of the removal steps, and mistakes during the removal step may be difficult or impossible to repair. Additionally, cutting the baked item often produces a great number of crumbs, making subsequent frosting or icing steps more difficult. Further, a substantial fraction of the baked item may be wasted in this process.
Another approach includes producing a plurality of baked items and combining (e.g., stacking) them to produce the desired shape. This approach is limited based on the sizes of the plurality of baked items, and may also require removing sections of the plurality of baked items, which is subject to disadvantages described above. Further, combining the plurality of baked items may rely upon frosting and/or wooden supports to keep the baked items together. Improper support may cause the plurality of baked items to separate, crumble or break.
Yet another approach for producing a baked item with a nonstandard feature includes using a pan that incorporates the feature. For example, a cake may be baked within a heart-shaped pan. However, a separate pan may then need to be purchased for each desired shape. This adds expense to the baking process. It may also be inconvenient to store the pans, especially pans required to produce large cakes. Further, there may not be a pan available with the desired spatial characteristics.

Moldable substances and strips for making baked items with desired spatial features


A system, method and program product for implementing image recognition. A system is disclosed that includes a training system for generating a multi-feature multi-matcher fusion (MMF) predictor for scoring pairs of images, the training system having: a neural network configurable to extract a set of feature spaces at different resolutions based on a training dataset; and an optimizer that processes the training dataset, extracted feature spaces and a set of matcher functions to generate the MMF predictor having a series of weighted feature/matcher components; and a prediction system that utilizes the MMF predictor to generate a prediction score indicative of a match for a pair of images.

Improving image recognition technologies, such as facial recognition accuracy, remains an ongoing challenge. Deep learning neural networks (DNN) are a leading technology used in such applications, and are particularly effective when dealing with high quality images. DNNs generally work by training the neural network with training data to determine an optimal set of weights in order to extract features that can be used to compare subject matter with a pair of images. A typical set of measurable properties or "feature space" consists of a fixed number of dimensions, e.g., 256.
Once trained, individual images can be passed through a neural network to generate a set of measurement values (i.e., a feature vector) as defined by the feature space. To determine if a newly acquired image matches a stored image, the feature vectors of the two images are compared, e.g., using a matcher function such as a classification or a distance algorithm. However, as database searches become large and larger, higher accuracy is required. In addition, in more challenging situations, e.g., where the inputted image quality is bad due to low resolution, bad pose, bad illumination, etc., additional improvement in accuracy is required.

Multi-level deep feature and multi-matcher fusion for improved image recognition

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a short-circuit unit comprising: a plurality of signal lines divided into a plurality of groups, each group comprising multiple signal lines, and the multiple signal lines in a same group are not adjacent to each other; a plurality of short-circuit lines, each group of the signal lines correspond to one short-circuit line, and the short-circuit line electrically connects all of the signal lines in the group corresponding to the short-circuit line, the plurality of short-circuit lines are disposed in different layers and the short-circuit lines in different layers are insulated from each other. The present invention also provides an array substrate. In the short-circuit unit of the present invention, the short-circuit lines are disposed in different layers. Compared to the existing solutions in which the short-circuit lines are provided in a same layer, the width occupied by the short-circuit unit of the present invention is smaller.

During manufacturing of liquid crystal display panel, firstly the aligned and assembled liquid crystal cell is cut to from a liquid crystal display panel. After the liquid crystal display panel is formed, the liquid crystal display panel is subjected to a lighting detection to determine the quality of the liquid crystal display panel.
When performing the lighting detection on the liquid crystal display panel, a short-circuit unit is required. FIG. 1 shows a common short-circuit unit including short-circuit lines 102 and signal lines 101 disposed in different layers, wherein the number of the short-circuit lines 102 is six, the number of the signal lines 101 is the same as the number of data lines of the liquid crystal display panel provided with the short-circuit unit. The signal lines 101 can be divided into six groups each corresponding to a short-circuit line 102, and the signal lines 101 are electrically connected to a corresponding short-circuit line 102 through a via hole 103.
When performing the lighting detection, the signal lines 101 are connected in one-to-one correspondence with the data lines of the liquid crystal display panel. After the lighting detection is completed, the short-circuit unit will be removed from the array substrate using laser beam L having certain diameter. Since the short-circuit unit has large width and the diameter of the laser beam is limited, during removal of the short-circuit unit, there is a risk that the short-circuit lines in the short-circuit unit are not completely removed. If the diameter of the laser beam L is increased, the laser beam L may have insufficient power, resulting in the like problem that the short-circuit lines in the short-circuit unit are not completely removed. If there is residue of the short-circuit unit on the array substrate, the subsequent test equipment would be damaged.
Since the short-circuit unit occupies larger width, it is not conducive to a narrow frame design of the liquid crystal display panel, and there is a risk that the short-circuit lines in the short-circuit unit are not completely removed.

HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a perpendicular magnetic recording medium which does not cause medium noise to increase due to soft magnetic underlayers, is capable of easily controlling the thickness of a nonmagnetic layer disposed between soft magnetic underlayers, and capable of improving the corrosion resistance of the soft magnetic underlayers. According to one embodiment, in a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, an adhesion layer is formed on a substrate, a soft magnetic underlayer is formed on the adhesion layer, a seed layer and an intermediate layer are formed above the soft magnetic underlayer, and a perpendicular layer is formed on the intermediate layer. The soft magnetic underlayer has a first soft magnetic layer, a second first soft magnetic layer, and an antiferromagnetic coupling layer disposed between the first soft magnetic layer and the second soft magnetic layer, the first soft magnetic layer and the second soft magnetic layer are formed of an alloy comprising Fe as a main ingredient, the antiferromagnetic coupling layer is formed of an Ru—Fe alloy, and an Fe content is from 40 at % to 75 at %.

In recent years, increasing the capacity of magnetic recording apparatus has been demanded and improvement in the recording density has been required since a magnetic disk of a small size and large capacity is mounted not only in personal computers but also in electric products for home use, for example. While development of magnetic heads, magnetic recording media, etc., has been conducted vigorously, the main stream of the recording system has been transited from the in-plane magnetic recording system to the perpendicular magnetic recording system and a further improvement of the recording density has become possible. In the perpendicular magnetic recording medium, it has been known that the efficiency of the recording magnetic field from the magnetic head can be improved by using a two-layered perpendicular magnetic recording medium having a soft magnetic underlayer and this can cope with increases in the coersivity of the recording film.
For the soft magnetic underlayer, a soft magnetic material of high saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) may be formed as compared with that of a recording layer in order to circulate the recording magnetic field from a magnetic head and, accordingly, noise due to the soft magnetic underlayer has caused a problem. The main cause of the noise is attributable to the leakage magnetic field from magnetic walls formed in the soft magnetic layer, and a method of suppressing the formation of the magnetic walls or a method of decreasing the leakage magnetic field has been studied so far.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-129946 ("Patent Document 1") and Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-191217 ("Patent Document 2"), there have been proposed a method of disposing a hard magnetic pinning layer between a soft magnetic underlayer and a substrate thereby aligning the magnetization of the soft magnetic underlayer in one direction, or a method of suppressing the movement of magnetic walls in the soft magnetic underlayer by exchange coupling with antiferromagnetism with the direction of the magnetic spins being aligned as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-103554 ("Patent Document 3"). Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-155321 ("Patent Document 4"), there has been proposed a method of constituting the soft magnetic underlayer with two or more soft magnetic layers separated from each other by a nonmagnetic layer and using Ru for the nonmagnetic layer thereby antiferromagnetically exchange coupling the two soft magnetic underlayers. The stacked soft magnetic layers aligned anti-parallel each other less generates leakage magnetic field from magnetic walls, spike noises or demagnetization of recording magnetization can be suppressed without a magnetic domain control layer and the robustness for stray magnetic field is also improved. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-302238 ("Patent Document 5") describes that since the magnetic flux circulates between the layers by making the magnetic moment equal between the antiferromagnetically coupled two amorphous soft magnetic layers, this has a great effect for suppressing the spike noise and the amplitude modulation of reproduced signals, and this can provide an effect of improving the robustness against stray magnetic field by providing a uniaxial anisotropy in the radial direction of the first amorphous soft magnetic layer and the second amorphous soft magnetic layer to decrease the coersivity. Further, Patent Document 5 describes that the antiferromagnetic coupling exerting between amorphous soft magnetic layers can be strengthened by making the nonmagnetic layer into a sandwich structure put between Co series ferromagnetic layers, or by using RuCo or RuFe for the nonmagnetic layer.
As described above, the material used for soft magnetic underlayer is not particularly restricted so long as it has high Bs, is provided with a uniaxial anisotropy in the radial or circumferential direction of a disk substrate, and excellent in the surface planarity, and amorphous alloys comprising Co or Fe as the main ingredient have been used so far. However, a problem that the soft magnetic underlayer of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium suffers from corrosion has been arisen recently and it has been found that corrosion tends to occur particularly in a case of using Co alloys. Since Co alloys are not excellent in the corrosion resistance and have an extremely basic potential in the circumstance of an aqueous solution, they suffer from galvanic corrosion (corrosion between different kinds of metals) relative to an adjacent intermediate layer. Since Ru or Ru alloys well known as the intermediate layer has an extremely high potential because they are noble metal and the potential difference between both of them reaches as high as about 1.0 V, corrosion of the Co alloy is extremely accelerated by the galvanic corrosion than the corrosion for a single element. On the other hand, Fe series alloys have a relatively high potential although their corrosion resistance is not so different from that of the Co alloys and scarcely cause galvanic corrosion even when they are in adjacent with Ru.
As described above, a method of separating the two soft magnetic layers by the Ru nonmagnetic layer and antiferromagnetically exchange-coupling them is extremely effective in that noise due to the soft magnetic underlayer is eliminated. The optimized thickness of the Ru nonmagnetic layer for maximizing the exchange-coupling of the soft magnetic layer is different depending on the material of the soft magnetic layer. In a case of using a Co alloy for the soft magnetic layer, the optimized film thickness of the Ru is about 1 nm, whereas the optimized film thickness as thin as 0.4 nm in a case of using an Fe alloy material. Further, in a case of using the Fe alloy material for the soft magnetic layer, since the dependence of the exchange-coupled magnetic field on the thickness of the Ru film is large compared with the case of using the Co alloy as to be described later, the margin for the film thickness is narrow and control thereof is difficult in view of the mass production.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A gas turbine engine includes a compressor, a turbine, and an engine shaft coupled to the compressor and the turbine; a gear assembly including a driveshaft and an accessory gearbox, the driveshaft rotatable by the engine shaft and the accessory gearbox rotatable by the driveshaft, the accessory gearbox including an AGB output, and the gear assembly defining a first overall gear ratio between the engine shaft and the AGB output; and a phasing gearbox coupled to the accessory gearbox and including a PGB output, and the phasing gearbox defining a second overall gear ratio between the AGB output of the accessory gearbox and the PGB output, wherein the second overall gear ratio is an inverse of the first overall gear ratio.

When manufacturing gas turbine engines, the spool(s) of the engines generally must be balanced to ensure they are within design specification limits. This may be accomplished generally by rotating the spools at high speeds via engine operation, for a moderate period of time, and measuring rotational information, such as rotational speed, imbalance and location (phase) of the imbalance using properly placed accelerometers. Computer algorithms may then be used to determine if the spool is properly balanced, and if not, the location and magnitude of weight that is needed to bring it to proper balance is calculated and applied.
Measuring this rotational information may be done by using an optical indicator positioned within the engine to scan a timing mark on the spool being balanced. Such generally requires positioning the optical indicator within the core with a line of sight access to the spool. With at least certain gas turbine engines, such may require a relatively involved process of removing panels and other components of the gas turbine engine to provide such line of sight access for the optical indicator. For example, with at least certain engines, this process may take as much as ten to fifteen man-hours. Further, optical devices generally do not provide a "clean, sharp" output signal that is beneficial to precise balancing.
Accordingly, the inventor of the present disclosure has discovered that a method for determining a position of one or more shafts of the engine without requiring the same degree of disassembly would be useful.


A storage control apparatus includes an uncorrectable error generation flag management section configured to manage an uncorrectable error generation flag in a memory configured to store a first error detection and correction code corresponding to a first data unit, and a second error detection and correction code corresponding to a second data unit including first data units, the uncorrectable error generation flag representing whether or not an uncorrectable error with the first code has occurred, the uncorrectable error generation flag being managed for each second data unit, a controller configured to prohibit access to the second data unit representing that the uncorrectable error has occurred when a command for the access with data change is issued, and a correction section configured to use the second code to correct the second data unit when the second data unit representing that the uncorrectable error has occurred is restored.

The present disclosure relates to a storage control apparatus, a storage apparatus, and an information processing system that correct error detection and correction in a memory, a processing method therein, and a program that causes a computer to execute the processing method.
In a storage apparatus including a non-volatile memory and a memory controller that controls the non-volatile memory, the memory controller generates, for each writing unit, an error detection and correction code (ECC) with respect to data input to improve the properties for storing data. On the memory, data and ECC parity is stored in relation to each other. When the data is read, also the ECC parity is read together with the data. The data on which a bit error detection process and a bit error correction process are performed is output. The properties for storing data of a cell of a non-volatile memory are deteriorated as the number of writing times increases. Therefore, using an ECC with higher correction capabilities results in enhancement of the reliability. On the other hand, because the size of parity for protecting the same wiring unit increases if the correction capabilities are high, it needs to expand capacity for storing ECC parity, resulting in increase in cost.
In view of the above, it has been proposed to improve the reliability of data by preparing a second ECC with high correction capabilities for protecting a plurality of writing units in addition to a first ECC for protecting a predetermined writing unit in the past (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-081776).

Storage control apparatus, storage apparatus, information processing system, and storage control method therefor


A measurement signal from a detector may have a complementary polarity. For example, an RF power detector may generate an output signal that decreases in magnitude in response to an increasing input signal. In one embodiment, the RF power detector may include a series of transconductance detector cells arranged to progressively turn off as the input signal becomes progressively larger.

In standard wireless communication systems, data is sent from a transmitter to a receiver by modulating the data onto a radio frequency (RF) carrier signal. In radio telephony, multiple users share a narrow range of frequencies assigned by prior agreements. Because spectrum space is severely limited, the modulation techniques chosen for digital telephony are of crucial importance, and are designed to transmit the highest amount of data within the narrow confines of a small sub-range of the total spectrum allocated for a particular service provider.
The Global System for Mobile (GSM) telephony prescribes standards for modulating data from multiple users onto a composite RF carrier. In GSM, packages of digital data are sent in modulated periods of RF power called "bursts", transmitted at regularly-spaced intervals during a sequence of "time slots", allocated to different users (at different carrier frequencies). The power of the transmitted carrier remains constant during each burst, because the data is modulated onto the carrier using a constant-amplitude technique that varies only its phase.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical GSM burst. The outer boundaries 1 and 2 of the burst form a conceptual "envelope" within which the high-frequency (usually between 0.8 and 2.2 GHz) carrier signal 3 is modulated. The amplitude of the signal begins at essentially zero and ramps up during an initial period of about 20 microseconds (μs). The amplitude is then held constant for about 560 μs after which it is ramped back down to zero. The controlled-rate ramp-up and ramp-down portions of the signal are included to prevent interference between adjacent channel frequencies. If the power level of each burst increased or decreased almost instantaneously to its final value, spurious high-frequency harmonics would be generated, causing significant power to appear outside of the band assigned to a certain channel. In severe cases, the power transmitted in adjacent channels, or even channels at more remote frequencies, would exceed the limits prescribed by the regulatory body (for example, the FCC in the USA).
During the data burst interval, the transmitted power must be accurately controlled to conform to GSM and relevant regulatory standards. If the signal is transmitted with too little power, the link between the transmitter and receiver will be lost, when the bit error rate (BER), caused by noise in the receiver, exceeds a limit above which error correction is no longer possible. If the signal power is too high, it may interfere with adjacent channels (due to receiver selectivity limitations), or violate regulatory limits, or reduce "talk time" in a battery-powered handset. Thus, the power control in either a base-station or handset transmitter demands the use of very accurate circuitry.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art system for controlling the power of an RF telephony system. A power amplifier (PA) 10 drives an antenna 12 with an RF output signal which it generates by amplifying a lower-power RF carrier signal that has data modulated thereon. The amount of power gain is controlled by an Automatic Power Control signal VAPC. A directional coupler 14 extracts the signal RFIN which is an attenuated sample of the output power of the PA flowing toward the antenna. The control system 16 includes a detector 18 which transforms this RF sample to a corresponding baseband signal VMEAS, to provide a measurement of the power delivered to the antenna. The detector can use a simple diode circuit, a logarithmic amplifier (log amp), an amplitude-squaring cell, which may or may not be preceded by an amplifier, or other suitable detector. A comparison element 20 generates an error signal IERR which represents the difference between the actual signal measurement, VMEAS, and the "set-point" signal, VSET, which determines the desired antenna power. This deviation between the signal representations of actual and desired power, in this example assumed to be in current form, is integrated by a capacitor C1 and buffered by an amplifier 22, usually having a small non-inverting gain, which provides the power-control signal, VAPC, for use by the PA. The comparison element, integrating capacitor and buffer amplifier can collectively be viewed as an error-nulling circuit.
The set-point signal VSET is an independent variable, accurately scaled to conform to the design parameters of the overall detector sub-system. For example, if the detector is based on a logarithmic amplifier (log amp), the design parameters are the logarithmic slope and intercept. Whenever a certain VSET is applied to the set-point input, the control loop adjusts the output from the PA until the input to the detector corresponds very closely to the demand level represented by the set-point signal. On the other hand, the signal generated by the detector system, VAPC, which controls the PA, is the buffered output from the error integrator. VAPC assumes the generally imprecise value needed by a variety of PA types to provide the power required to satisfy the set-point demand, as represented by RFIN.
The generalized detector system of FIG. 2 is readily adaptable for use in RF power control for GSM modulation. A log amp is especially suited as the detector element, since it provides a wide measurement range (typically up to 60 dB, which is a 1000:1 range in transmitted power). Being essentially an envelope detector, it responds to the modulation envelope of the data bursts. In GSM telephony, the aforesaid ramping process is controlled within the transmitter, usually by generating a time-sequence of values in software which are transformed into a voltage waveform using a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC). Since the system of FIG. 2 is designed to maintain closed-loop power control continuously, from the beginning of the ramp-up, throughout the data burst interval, and during the ramp-down, it is well-suited to the basic GSM modulation format, in which the RF signal has a constant power amplitude during the burst.

Detector with complementary response slope


The present inventions are a paper skew correcting device and a bill depositing/dispensing apparatus. The paper skew correcting device comprises first and second driving rollers 21 and 22 disposed on the left and right sides of a conveying route for paper 2 and first and second driven rollers 23 and 24 with narrow contact faces placed opposite to the first and second driving rollers 21 and 22 via the conveying route. The second driving roller 22 is formed in a tapered roller with a tapered outer peripheral surface and its rotation shaft 22a is provided aslant so that the contact part of the tapered roller is almost parallel with the conveying route. The second driven roller 24, corresponding to the second driving roller 22, is laterally moved according to the skew angle of the conveyed paper 2 so as to change its contact position with the second driving roller 22 so that the feeding speed of the right side of the paper 2 can be accelerated or decelerated to correct the skew paper.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper skew correcting device for correcting paper skew (papers inclined and conveyed askew) conveyed on a belt or the like through a processing device, and more particularly, relates to a paper skew correcting device and a bill depositing/dispensing apparatus that use the skew correcting device, which can correct various types of paper skew of different paper sizes, paper quality and the like, with high accuracy, without creasing any piece of paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional paper skew correcting device may be seen in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H6-115767, which proposes a conventional paper skew correcting device. In FIGS. 11A and 11B of that Publication, a conventional paper skew correcting device 100 comprises a pair of tapered rollers 111 and 112 disposed on a driving shaft 110 at a predetermined interval in such a way that their respective small diameter end surfaces are opposed to each other at the center of a paper conveying route and a pair of pinch rollers 121 and 122 which are provided for a driven shaft 120 in such a way as to press the tapered rollers 111 and 112. The pinch rollers 121 and 122 are provided along the driven shaft 120 in such a way that they can slide along the shaft, and pushing both sides of each of the pinch rollers 121 and 122 by springs 123a and 123b, and 124a and 124b, respectively, which are pierced through the driven shaft 120, regulates the slides.
In a configuration such as the conventional paper skew correcting device 100, the stress generated when paper moves askew is applied to each of the pinch rollers 121 and 122, the pinch rollers 121 and 122 move and change the pressing position of each of the tapered rollers 111 and 112 to automatically correct the paper skew.
However, in the above-described conventional paper skew correcting device 100, since the driving shaft 110 pierces through the center of each of the tapered rollers 111 and 112 and the driving shaft 110 and the driven shaft 120 are fixed in parallel to each other in a specific position, both types of rollers lose contact with each other when either of the pinch rollers 121 or 122 that touch on the center of the tapered surface of each of the tapered rollers 111 and 112 moves to the small diameter side of the tapered surface. Therefore, paper skew cannot be corrected for this structural reason.
Furthermore, in the above-described conventional paper skew correcting device 100, although paper skew are corrected by moving each of the pinch rollers 121 and 122 using the stress generated when papers move askew, the amount of movement of each of the pinch rollers 121 and 122 depends on the elasticity of the springs 123a and 123b, and 124b and 124b, respectively. However, since the stress generated when papers move askew varies depends on variables such as the size of the papers, paper quality, and so forth, the springs 123a, 123b, 124b and 124b, which possess specific elasticity, cannot completely correct various types of paper skew.
For example, although high reliability is required for a bill depositing/dispensing apparatus simultaneously capable depositing and/or dispensing bills of several countries, paper skew are easily caused, which in turn causes jams or poor reading of the bill type since bill sizes vary for each respective country. Thus, although more highly accurate paper skew correction is required for such a bill depositing/dispensing apparatus, such highly accurate paper skew correction cannot be realized by correcting paper skew using the stress generated when papers move askew, such as in the above-described conventional paper skew correcting device 100.
Furthermore, although it is preferable in a bill depositing/dispensing apparatus for a bill fed to a customer to have no creases and folds, in the conventional paper skew correcting device 100, there is a possibility that creases, folds or breaks may be caused when each of the pinch rollers 121 and 122 for pressing papers moves along each of the tapered rollers 111 and 112. Therefore, the conventional paper skew correcting device 100 cannot be applied to the correction of paper skew in a bill depositing/dispensing apparatus.
Patent reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H 6-115767

Paper skew correcting device and bill depositing/dispensing apparatus


A multiple cavity electrical header connector and associated box-type female terminal. The header is made in a one-piece as an injection molded connector body having a generally rectangular cross sectional configuration and a low-profile when mounted with its longitudinal axis parallel to the planar mounting surface of an associated printed circuit board. The header front face mates with a system module with male terminal blades protruding therefrom to be individually received in the female terminals individually carried in the header cavities. The header connector body is side-cored to provide resilient flex lock arms integrally joined to the header body that in their free state protrude one into each cavity space. Each arm is yieldably flexed back by an associated terminal when such is inserted into the cavity, and then snaps out and holds the terminal locked in its cavity. The header cavities are arranged in two parallel rows with their blade entrances opening to the header front face. An integral soldertail forms an asymmetric extension of each terminal top wall and protrudes from the header rear face for insertion into an associated printed circuit board opening. A downwardly protruding tang of the terminal provides an abutment edge for locking engagement with the flex lock arm free end. Two blind-end slots in the header at each cavity slidably individually receive the terminal locking tang and a protruding guide fin of the terminal during telescopic terminal assembly into its header cavity.

The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and more specifically to cavity-type header connectors for receiving female terminals.
Multiple cavity headers are conventionally used in automotive electronic circuitry construction for receiving and mounting female terminals, and wherein the header is mounted to a printed circuit board and the header receives mating male blades of an associated electrical module for thereby making electrical and mechanical connection of the module to the printed circuitry. Multiple cavity headers that are made in one piece conventionally require that the female terminal part have a protruding spring tang that will lock the terminal into the header cavity when telescopically inserted fully therein. Such tang type terminals, however, present problems in terms of breakage of the protruding tangs during part handling and other operations in the manufacturing process, as well as during installation and hook-up of circuitry components. This renders their mounting and ultimate electrical connection in the circuitry less than fully reliable and cost effective. In addition the coring required to produce the internal cavity structure for receiving the tang-type female terminal requires a large opening in the header face that receives the terminal blade from the module. This causes insertion problems and misalignment in making the push-in type connections to the header-installed female tang terminals.
On the other hand, tangless female terminals have been provided, but in order to achieve secure retention of the same in a molded plastic header, hitherto the header has had to be made in two pieces with mating half cavities formed in each mating and mutually juxtaposed faces of the two header pieces. With this two-piece construction the tangless terminals can be individually sandwiched between the two header parts and the same locked together by some type of locking structure to thereby retain the tangless female terminal in the header. However, this type of two-piece header construction increases the manufacturing labor costs and also incurs additional manufacturing costs in tracking the two pieces into an assembly of the same as well as requiring additional tooling costs in the molding of the pieces. In addition, the manufacturing of the header in two parts increases the tolerance stack-up associated with the nose piece typically used with a tangless terminal that can lead to misalignment with the mating blades of a module as well as in coupling to the printed circuit board.
Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention are to provide an improved cavity-type header electrical connector adapted for receiving and retaining a tangless female terminal that overcomes one or more of the aforementioned problems.
Another object is to provide an improved one-piece header connector having multiple cavities for individually receiving female connectors that overcomes the problems of two-piece headers and in which the header structure provides easy, snap-in spring tang retention for female terminals individually received in cavities of the header, thereby eliminating the need for providing a spring barb type tang on the female terminal.
Another object is to provide an improved female terminal with an integral solder-tail that protrudes from the header for insertion into a printed circuit board and that is designed for cooperation with the improved aforementioned multiple cavity single piece header connector.
Another object is to provide an improved header connector of the aforementioned type which has an improved insertion entrance way for guiding the male blade of a cooperative module into the interior electrical contact structure of the female terminal as the latter is held captured and reliably and accurately positioned in the header cavity.
As shown in simplified semi-diagrammatic form in FIG. 13-16, the terminal receiving cavity 104 is shown with the female soldertail terminal 118 received therein, fully inserted in assembled condition and locked in place in the cavity 104 by the header cavity spring finger 120. Opening 116 is formed by a retractable side core in the injection molding tooling which cooperates with retractable end coring used to form the main cavity 104. Thus, spring finger 120 is integrally joined at one end 122 to the main body portion of header 100 and projects substantially toward the mating face 102 (FIG 14). Finger 120 is constructed and arranged to spring out to a flexed or retracted position or state 123 and spring back to a free or locked position or state 121 in order to capture the terminal box of each terminal 118 with only about a 0.2-0.5 mm deflection travel range in order to reliably capture the terminal 118 within the cavity 104, 106. Because the deflection of the finger 120 is minimal, the header 100 and finger 120 can be molded of a composite material containing glass fibers or of a glass-filled and reinforced plastic injection molding material (shown in FIG. 14). Side lock arm 120 is deflected outward by the leading edge and side of terminal 118 as it is being inserted telescopically into the cavity 104, 106 during initial assembly thereof into the header 100. The free end 124 of side lock arm 120 thus forms a locking spring tang which cooperates with a locking tab 126 provided on the mutually facing side of terminal 118, as best seen in FIG. 14.
Preferably each female terminal is a progressive die formed and bent box type having parallel top and bottom walls and parallel opposite side walls with internal opposed fixed and spring contacts for cooperating with the associated mating blade of the module. An integral soldertail terminal is formed as an asymmetric extension coplanar with the top wall of the terminal box and protruding from the rear face of the header for insertion into an associated openings in the printed circuit board array. Each terminal has a protruding tang and an associated adjacent space in one of its side walls for receiving the free end of the associated flex lock arm of the header in assembled and locked position. The tab provides an abutment edge for locking engagement with the free end of the flex lock arm. Each terminal also has a fin or keel protruding from its top wall in a direction opposite to the protrusion of the locking tang. The header has blind-end slots for slidably individually receiving the terminal fin and locking tab during telescopic terminal assembly into the associated header cavity. Each header cavity has an entrance way in the header front face, for receiving the mating blade of the module, in the form of a rectangular opening having four beveled edges for guiding insertion of the free end of the blade into the associated terminal captured in the cavity.

Terminal-side locking electrical header connector