Various recording apparatuses and methods, each capable of repeatedly attaching the same meta-data as information related to binary data to a plurality of binary data to generate a plurality of binary data having meta-data.

Along with the spread of digital still cameras or digital video cameras, the quantity of binary data such as still image data, moving image data, and voice data to be processed in general homes is greatly increasing. To use the binary data, a certain search method or management method is required. For this purpose, a method has been used in which meta-data as information related to the contents, characteristics, and meanings of binary data, e.g., a person's name, event title, date, and keyword described in the binary data are attached to the binary data, and the binary data is searched for or managed using this attached meta-data.
When meta-data representing personal information is attached to each binary data, the person who owns the binary data can be discriminated. Hence, even when a plurality of persons share and use one server, the meta-data can be used for personal management of binary data or privacy protection.
In many cases, however, no meta-data is attached to binary data sensed with a digital still camera or digital video camera, and the meta-data method is not effectively used. One reason for this is that even when an application for processing meta-data is used, generation of meta-data and attachment of it to binary data are time-consuming. For example, to attach appropriate meta-data to binary data, the meta-data must be generated and attached while confirming the contents of the binary data. Even when the same meta-data can be repeatedly used for binary data generated under almost the same conditions, the meta-data must be repeatedly generated and attached in units of binary data. In addition, often no meta-data is attached to binary data because in loading binary data in a server, generation and attachment of meta-data to the binary data are time-consuming.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and has as its first object to provide a first recording apparatus and method capable of easily generating meta-data as information related to binary data such as still image data, moving image data, or voice data, generating binary data such as image data and voice data, and repeatedly attaching the same meta-data generated to a plurality of generated binary data to easily generate binary data having meta-data.
It is the second object of the present invention to provide a second recording apparatus and method capable of easily generating meta-data, using binary data loaded from a storage medium or the like, and repeatedly attaching the same meta-data generated to a plurality of loaded binary data to easily generate binary data having meta-data.
It is the third object of the present invention to provide a third recording apparatus and method capable of using meta-data loaded from a storage medium or the like, generating binary data, and repeatedly attaching the same meta-data loaded to a plurality of generated binary data to easily generate binary data having meta-data. The present invention also provides a meta-data generation apparatus and method for easily generating meta-data and storing it in a storage medium.

Recording apparatus and method and storage medium

Abstract: A first recording apparatus generates binary data by image sensing and also generate meta-data as information related to the binary data. This apparatus can repeatedly attach the same meta-data generated to the generated binary data to easily generate a plurality of binary data having meta-data.

Abstract: A second recording apparatus loads and uses binary data instead of generating it and can generate meta-data and repeatedly attach the same meta-data to a plurality of loaded binary data to easily generate binary data having meta-data.

Abstract: A third recording apparatus can generate the meta-data using a dedicated meta-data generation apparatus, store the meta-data in a storage medium, and load and use the meta-data from the storage medium, and also generate binary data and repeatedly attach the same meta-data loaded to generated binary data to easily generate a plurality of binary data having meta-data.


A baseband processing unit includes a baseband processor configured to receive a plurality of component carriers of a radio access technology wireless service, and a delta-sigma digitization interface configured to digitize at least one carrier signal of the plurality of component carriers into a digitized bit stream, for transport over a transport medium, by (i) oversampling the at least one carrier signal, (ii) quantizing the oversampled carrier signal into the digitized bit stream using two or fewer quantization bits.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to communication networks, and more particularly, to digitization techniques in access communication networks.
Emerging video-intensive and bandwidth-consuming services, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and immersive applications, are driving the growth of wireless data traffic in a significant manner. This rapid growth has made the network segment of mobile fronthaul (MFH) networks a new bottleneck of user experience. Various technologies have been proposed and investigated to increase the spectral efficiency of MFH networks and enhance the quality of services (QoS) for end users, such as analog MFH based on radio-over-fiber (RoF) technology and digital MFH based on common public radio interface (CPRI), etc. These conventional proposals, however, have been unable to keep up with the increasing pace of growth of wireless traffic.
In a new paradigm of 5G new radio (5G-NR), heterogeneous MFH networks are proposed to aggregate wireless services from multiple radio access technologies (multi-RATs), and then deliver the aggregated services in a shared ubiquitous access network, as described further below with respect to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a conventional access network architecture 100. Architecture 100 includes a core network 102, a baseband processing unit (BBU) pool 104, and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) 106 (e.g., RRHs 106(1), and mobile users 106(2) and wireless users 106(3), which connect with a respective RRH 106(1)). Architecture 100 is, in this example, a cloud-radio access network (C-RAN) that includes a plurality of centralized BBUs 108 in BBU pool 104 to enable inter-cell processing. Core network 102 includes one or more service gateways (S-GWs) 110, or mobile management entities (MMEs), in operable communication with BBU pool 104 over a mobile backhaul (MBH) network 112. That is, MBH network 112 constitutes the network segment from S-GW/MME 110 to BBUs 108 or BBU pool 104. In a similar fashion, a mobile fronthaul (MFH) 114 is defined as the network segment from BBUs 108/BBU pool 104 to RRHs 106.
In operation of architecture 100, MBH 112 transmits digital bits 116 of net information, whereas MFH 114 transmits wireless services 118 in either an analog waveform 120 based on RoF technology, or in a digital waveform 122 using a digitization interface, such as CPRI. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, architecture 100 represents a heterogeneous MFH network, for aggregating and delivering a plurality of services 124 from different radio access technologies (RATs), including Wi-Fi, 4G long term evolution (4G-LTE), and 5G-NR, to RRHs 106 by way of a shared fiber link 126. Service aggregation of the same RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi channel boning, LTE carrier aggregation (CA), etc.) is referred to as intra-RAT aggregation, whereas heterogeneous aggregation of services from different RATs is referred to as inter-RAT aggregation. A heterogeneous MFH network offers traffic offloading among different RATs and enhances the seamless coverage and provides a ubiquitous access experience to end users.
Accordingly, the conventional MFH technologies include: (1) analog MFH based on RoF technology, which is described further below with respect to FIGS. 2A-B; and (2) digital MFH based on CPRI, which is described further below with respect to FIGS. 3A-B.
FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration of a conventional analog MFH network 200. MFH network 200 includes at least one BBU 202 in operable communication with an RRH 204 over a transport medium 206 (e.g., an optical fiber). BBU 202 includes a baseband processing layer 208, an intermediate frequency (IF) up-conversion layer 210, a frequency domain multiplexer (FDM) 212, and an electrical-optical (E/O) interface 214. In a similar manner, RRH 204 includes a radio frequency (RF) front end 216, an RF up-conversion layer 218, a bandpass filter (BPF) 220, and an optical-electrical (O/E) interface 222.
In operation of MFH network 200, BBU 202 receives digital bits from MBH networks (not shown in FIG. 2A). The received bits are processed by baseband processing layer 208, which provides an OFDM signal to IF up-conversion layer 210 for synthesis and up-conversion to an intermediate frequency. Different wireless services are then multiplexed by FDM 212 in the frequency domain, and finally transmitted through E/O interface 214 to RRH 204 over an analog fiber link of transport medium 206. At RRH 204, after O/E interface 222, the different services are separated by bandpass filter(s) 220, and then up-converted by RF up-converter 218 to radio frequencies for wireless emission. Since these wireless services are carried on different intermediate frequencies (IFs) during fiber propagation, this operation is also referred to as intermediate frequency over fiber (IFoF).
FIG. 2B is a schematic illustration of a conventional analog MFH link 224 for network 200, FIG. 2A. In an exemplary embodiment, MFH 224 represents a system implementation of an analog MFH link based on RoF/IFoF technology, and includes a plurality of transmitters 226 (e.g., corresponding to a respective BBU 202) configured to transmit a plurality of respective signals 228 over link 206. Signals 228 are aggregated by FDM 212 prior to transmission over fiber 206 by E/O interface 214. The aggregated signals 228 are received by O/E interface 222, which provides signals 228 to respective receivers 230 (e.g., of a respective RRH 204). It can be seen from the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2B that the respective RF devices include mixers 232 and local oscillators 234, for both BBUs 202 and RRHs 204, for IF up-conversion and RF up-conversion, respectively. In this embodiment, transmitters 226 are depicted to illustrate the IF up-conversion.
Due to its high spectral efficiency, simple equalization in the frequency domain, and robustness against inter-symbol interference (ISI), orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) has been adopted by most RATs, including WiMAX, Wi-Fi (802.11), WiGig (802.11ad), 4G-LTE (3GPP), and 5G-NR. However, OFDM signals are vulnerable to nonlinear impairments due to their continuously varying envelope and high peak-to-average ratio (PAPR). Therefore, it has become increasingly difficult to support high order modulation formats (e.g., >256QAM) using OFDM over MFH networks. To transmit the higher order formats required by LTE and 5G-NR signals without nonlinear distortions, digital MFH networks based digitization interfaces, such as CPRI, has been proposed and implemented. A digital MFH network is described below with respect to FIGS. 3A-B.
FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration of a conventional digital MFH network 300. Digital MFH network 300 is similar to analog MFH network 200, FIG. 2, in many respects, and includes at least one BBU 302 in operable communication with an RRH 304 over a transport medium 306 (e.g., an optical fiber). Network 300 differs from network 200 though, in that network 300 transmits mobile services using digital waveforms over medium 206, which is implemented by the digitization interface of CPRI. BBU 302 includes a baseband processing layer 308, a Nyquist analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 310, a first time division multiplexer/demultiplexer (TDM) 312, and an electrical-optical (E/O) interface 314. In a similar manner, RRH 304 includes an RF front end 316, an RF up-converter 318, a Nyquist digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 320, a second TDM 322, and an optical-electrical (O/E) interface 324.
FIG. 3B is a schematic illustration of a conventional digital MFH link 326 for network 300, FIG. 3A. In an exemplary embodiment, MFH 326 includes a plurality of transmitters 328 (e.g., corresponding to a respective BBU 302) configured to transmit a plurality of respective bit streams 330 over fiber link 306. Operation of network 300 therefore differs from that of network 200, in that, after baseband processing (e.g., by baseband processing layer 308), the waveforms of baseband signals from processor 308 are digitized into bits 330 by Nyquist ADC 310. The digitized bits 330 are then transported to respective receivers 332 (e.g., of a respective RRH 304) over a digital fiber link (e.g., transport medium 306) based on mature optical intensity modulation-direct detection (IM-DD) technology. In the configuration depicted in FIG. 3B, the waveforms of the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of each wireless service are sampled and quantized separately, and the bits 330 from I/Q components of the different services are multiplexed in the time by first TDM 312. At the respective RRHs 304, after time division de-multiplexing by second TDM 322, Nyquist DAC 320 recovers the I/Q waveforms from received bits 334, which are then up-converted by RF up-converter 318 to RF frequencies and fed to RF front end 316.
Thus, when compared with analog MFH network 200 based on RoF/IFoF technology, digital MFH network 300 demonstrates an improved resilience against nonlinear impairments, and may be implemented by existing digital fiber links, such as, for example, a passive optical network (PON). However, these conventional digital MFH networks suffer from the fact that CPRI has a significantly low spectral efficiency, and may only accommodate few narrowband RATs, such as UMTS (CPRI v1 and v2), WiMAX (v3), LTE (v4), and GSM (v5). Additionally, because CPRI uses TDMs to aggregate services, time synchronization is an additional challenge to the coexistence of multiple RATs with different clock rates. With the low spectral efficiency and the lack of support to Wi-Fi and 5G-NR, CPRI has proven to be a technically-infeasible and cost-prohibitive digitization interface for 5G heterogeneous MFH networks. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop more universal digitization techniques that enable cost-effective carrier aggregation of multiple RATs (multi-RATs) in the next generation heterogeneous MFH networks.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for delta-sigma digitization


A novel method that uses the source port field in the transport or connection layer (L4) header to encode control plane information is provided. Specifically, the method encodes control plane information in UDP or TCP source port field of data plane tunnels in an overlay network such as VXLAN. Network virtualization is implemented by a network controller over an overlay network on the physical fabric. The network controller provides a mapping table to the data plane hosts for mapping the encoded bits in the source port field to semantically richer information. The data plane hosts in turn uses the encoded source bits and the mapping table to infer this semantically richer information. This semantically richer information is used to allow receivers of proxied traffic to learn the address of the original sender. The semantically richer information can also be used to enable ECMP for the transmitted packets.

Overlay Logical Switches (or overlay logical networks) provide L2 (layer 2) connectivity to a collection of Virtual Machines (VMs) over an underlying L3 (layer 3) network. The overlay is implemented using a tunneling mechanism such as VXLAN (Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network), STT (Stateless Transport Tunneling), GENEVE (Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation), GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation), etc. Of these, VXLAN is gaining traction in the networking industry at this time and is being implemented in physical switches from a number of switch vendors.
Since certain applications may be hosted on physical servers, there is often a need to provide layer 2 connectivity between a number of ports/VLANs in the physical network and an overlay logical network. Handling of traffic destined to Broadcast/Unknown-unicast/Multicast (BUM) MAC addresses poses some challenges. Such traffic needs to be replicated and delivered to all virtual machines that have an interface on the overlay logical switch, and all physical machines on physical networks/VLANs being connected with the overlay logical switch.
In some network systems, the above replication functionality is offloaded—BUM traffic to be replicated is forwarded to a replication node which then replicates the traffic to all end-points that should receive the traffic. However, Reverse Path Filtering (RPF) policies in some of these systems drop packets in which the source IP address does not match the IP subnet of the interface that the packet was received on. In such network systems, the replication node modifies the source IP address in the replicated packet to its own so as to pass RPF checks in the physical network. By doing so, the context of the original sender of the BUM traffic is lost, and a receiving node cannot infer this information and hence cannot use BUM traffic to populate its Layer 2 forwarding tables.

Encoding control plane information in transport protocol source port field and applications thereof in network virtualization


A solenoid unit includes a plurality of solenoid valves having respective valve bodies for attachment with a main casing of an automatic transmission and a case equipped with the solenoid valves in a manner that the solenoid valves can be installed in the main casing collectively. In the unit, the wiring for the solenoid valves has been completed in the casing prior to assembling the unit to the automatic transmission unit. With the arrangement mentioned above, if only attaching the solenoid unit to the main casing, it is possible to assemble the valve bodies of the solenoid valves to the main casing with a predetermined arrangement. Further, since the wiring for the solenoid valves has been already completed in the case, it is possible to omit the post-operation, such as soldering.

The present invention relates to a solenoid unit by which it is possible to install a plurality of solenoid valves in a main casing of an automatic transmission unit of a vehicle, collectively.
When assembling the plural solenoid valves in the automatic transmission unit of the vehicle, the solenoid valves have been individually installed in the main casing and furthermore, a wire harness and electrical wires for earthing have been connected to terminals of the respective solenoid valves by means of soldering or the like.
However, it should be noted that there is a drawback in workability in the above-mentioned method since the solenoid valves have to be assembled to the main casing individually and further, the wire harness and the earthing wires have to be connected to the solenoid valves individually.

Solenoid unit for an automatic transmission unit


A method and a computer program product are used generating an index of a scoring payload dataset. Correlation coefficients for correlations between input data values and output data values of the machine learning model provided by the scoring payload datasets as well as performance data values of the processes provided by process datasets are calculated. Features of which feature values are used as input data values are ranked according to their importance using the correlation coefficients. For the features of a set of highest-ranking features feature value sets with feature values of the respective features are selected from the scoring payload datasets and a database index of the selected feature value sets is generated.

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of machine learning and, more specifically, to selecting feature value sets from a set of scoring payload datasets of a machine learning model for indexing.
Machine learning models often lack transparency, acting as a kind of black box. Thus, a machine model may present a result in form of an output; but without proper means to understand and explain the processing of input by the machine learning model, it may be difficult to assess the quality of the output. It may even be difficult to ensure that the machine learning model is indeed doing what it should have been trained for in a suitable way.

International Business Machines Corporation


The brush holder 12 of a brush device for a d.c. machine is provided with plural pairs of brush boxes 12a each having an open front portion and an open inner diameter portion, and a pair of projections 12d at outer portions; lead wires 14a, 14b for each pair of brushes 13a and 13b have such length that they can avoid interference with the projections 12d, and the brushes 13a, 13b can be fitted to the brush boxes 12 from the front side and in the axial direction of the brush holder 12; brush springs 15 are put at the top portion of the brushes 13a, 13b; and an insulating plate 16 is attached to the front of the brush holder 12, whereby assembling work for the brushes 13a, 13b can be automated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brush device for a d.c. machine such as a starter motor.
2. Discussion of Background
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a conventional brush device as disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,184. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 designates a commutator for a d.c. machine, numeral 30 designates an insertion opening for receiving the commutator 1, and numeral 2 designates a brush holder of a molded product of a synthetic resinous material wherein four brush boxes 2a having a channel-like shape in cross-section are formed in one side of the brush holder 2. Each top portion in the radial direction of the brush boxes 2a is closed but the inner portion of each of the brush boxes 2a is open, and the front end side of the brush boxes 2a to which an insulating plate 6 (which is described later) is contacted has an open portion 2b. A pair of projections 2d are formed in the brush holder 2 so as to project outwardly. The brush boxes 2a receive brushes 3a of a negative pole and brushes 3b of a positive pole. A brush spring 5 is put in each of the brush boxes 2a so as to push each of the brushes 3a, 3b toward the insertion opening 30.
Numeral 6 designates an insulating plate which is engaged radially with an engaging portion 2c of the brush holder 2 and which closes the opening portion 2b of each of the brush boxes 2a to thereby form brush receiving portions 31. The insulating plate 6 insulates the brushes 3a, 3b from the rear bracket of the d.c. machine.
Numerals 7a, 7b designate a pair of fitting pieces which are fitted to a the pair of projections 2d of the brush holder 2 and push or clamp, for engagement and position-determination, the insulating plate 6 to the brush holder 2. The fitting pieces 7a, 7b are made of metal and are provided with threaded holes so that they are attached to the rear bracket by means of bolts. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the fitting piece 7b.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 7c designates a pair of projections which are formed integrally with the fitting piece 7a and which are connected by welding with lead wires 4a extended from the pair of brushes 3a of a negative pole, whereby the brushes 3a are electrically connected to the rear bracket. Lead wires 4b are extended from the pair of brushes 3b of a positive pole and are electrically connected to a single lead wire 9.
Explanation of the above-mentioned conventional device will be made as to how to attach the brushes 3a, 3b to the brush holder 2.
First, each of the lead wires 4a for the pair of brushes 3a is connected to the fitting piece 7a by means of each of the projections 7c formed integrally with the fitting piece 7a, whereby a brush connector is formed. Before attaching the insulating plate 6, the brush connector is located in the vicinity of the projection 2d which is extended to the left side of the brush holder 2, and then, one of the brushes, e.g. the brush 3a located at the upper part is fitted to the upper left brush box 2a by hand. Pushing the upper brush 3a into the brush box 2a, which is fitted to the brush box 2a so that the brush 3a does not come off the brush box 2a, the fitting piece 7a is moved beyond the projection 2d from the front side to the rear side of the projection 2d so as not to interfere with the projection 2d. In this case, the lower brush 3a which is not yet fitted to the other brush box 2a is in a state of hanging from the fitting piece 7a at the lower side of the projection 2d, which has been moved beyond the projection 2d together with the upper brush 3a. Then, the lower brush 3a is brought to the front side and is fitted to the lower left brush box 2a. Thereafter, each brush spring is put under compression to the top portion of each of the brushes 3a.
Next, the pair of lead wires 4b connected with the brushes 3b and the lead wire 9 are connected to the right fitting piece 7b. In the same manner as the case of the fitting piece 7a, the fitting piece 7b is located in the vicinity of the right projection 2d, and the pair of brushes 3b are successively fitted to the upper and lower right brush boxes 2a.
The insulating plate 6 is brought to the front side of the brush holder 2, and the right and left fitting pieces 7a, 7b are moved radially toward the center of the brush holder 2 to be fitted to the projections 2d. At the same time, the edges of the insulating plate 6 are clamped from the right and left sides by means of the fitting pieces 7a, 7b. In the state that the pair of brushes 3a are fitted to the brush boxes 2a, the brushes 3a can be moved in the radial direction so that there is looseness in the lead wires 4a. Accordingly, it is possible to attach the fitting piece 7a from the left side of the projection 2d.
When the fitting piece 7a is moved from the front side to the rear side of the brush holder 2 after the pair of brushes 3a have been fitted to the brush boxes 2a, there is interference between the fitting piece 7a and the projections 2d, and accordingly, the movement of the fitting piece 7a is impossible. Even though the brushes 3a are moved outwardly in the radial direction, it is impossible to avoid both projections 2d. Since the projections 2d are provided at a position deflected to the front side of the brush holder 2 (in FIG. 1B, the projections 12d are formed at the upper and lower right portions of the brush holder 12), the brushes 3a fitted to the brush boxes 2a are not on the same plane with the fitting piece 7a under a condition that fitting piece 7a is in contact with the projections 2d from the front side, and accordingly, the lead wires 4a are inclined, whereby the length of the lead wires 4a becomes short. On the other hand, in accordance with the above-mentioned method, the brushes 3a fitted to the brush boxes 2a are flush with the fitting piece 7a, and the brushes 3a can be freely movable in the radial direction in the brush boxes 2a, whereby there can be looseness in the lead wires 4a.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional brush device, when the brushes 3a, 3b are put in the brush boxes 2a of the brush holder 2, it is necessary to put them in the brush boxes 2a in the axial direction after the brushes are moved inwardly in the radial direction. Accordingly, automation of assembling the brushes is difficult, and manual operation of such assembling work decreases productivity.

Commutator brush device for automated assembly


A steering apparatus for an automotive vehicle having a steering shaft connected at one end thereof with a steering gear and provided at the other end thereof with a steering wheel to be rotated by steering effort applied thereto and a planetary gear set assembled with the steering shaft. The planetary gear set is composed of a sun gear mounted on the steering shaft for rotation therewith, a ring gear rotatably mounted on the steering shaft in surrounding relationship with the sun gear to be rotated by an electric motor assembled therewith, a carrier rotatably mounted on the steering shaft to be retained in place by a reaction mechanism assembled therewith, and a set of planetary gears supported by the carrier and meshed with the sun gear and ring gear to transmit an input torque applied from the electric motor to the sun gear. The electric motor is arranged to apply the input torque to the ring gear when it is activated to effect automatic steering operation of the vehicle and to act as a reaction element of the ring gear when it is deactivated to effect manual operation of the steering wheel, while the reaction mechanism is arranged to permit free rotation of the carrier in a condition where the electric motor is deactivated and to fixedly retain the carrier in place in a condition where the electric motor is activated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering apparatus for an automotive vehicle capable of effecting normal steerage of the vehicle caused by manual operation of a steering wheel and of effecting automatic steerage of the vehicle for assist of the normal steerage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 6(1994)-206553 is a steering apparatus of this kind which includes an input shaft provided thereon with a steering wheel to be rotated by steering effort applied thereto and to be rotated by a first electric motor with an electromagnetic clutch and a steering shaft connected at one end thereof with the input shaft by means of a planetary gear set and at the other end thereof with a steering gear. The planetary gear set is composed of a sun gear mounted on the input shaft for rotation therewith, a carrier connected to the one end of the steering shafts a ring gear arranged in surrounding relationship with the sun gear to be rotated by a second electric motor and a set of planetary gears supported by the carrier and meshed with the sun gear and ring gear. The electromagnetic clutch of the first electric motor acts to apply a reaction force to the input shaft when disengaged in manual operation of the steering wheel and to retain the input shaft in place when engaged in automatic operation of the steering shaft. The second electric motor acts as a reaction element of the ring gear in manual operation of the steering wheel and acts as a torque input element of the ring gear in automatic operation of the steering shaft.
In the steering apparatus described above, the ring gear of the planetary gear set is rotated by activation of the second electric motor for automatic operation of the steering shaft in a condition where the electromagnetic clutch of the first electric motor is engaged to retain the input shaft in place. If the control system of the second electric motor fails to activate the second electric motor during automatic operation of the steering shaft, there will occur a difference in rotation phase between the steering wheel and the steering shaft. As a result, the steered position of the steering shaft may not be recognized by the driver when the electromagnetic clutch of the first electric motor is disengaged to permit rotation of the input shaft.
Since in the steering apparatus, the electromagnetic clutch of the first electric motor is adapted to apply a reaction force to the input shaft in manual operation of the steering wheel, the control system of the first electric motor becomes complicated in construction to ensure high reliability of the steering apparatus. Since in the steering apparatus, the input shaft is separated from the steering shaft and is operatively connected to the steering shaft by means of the planetary gear set, the steering wheel may not be applied with a reaction force from road surfaces in its manual operation. This deteriorates the steering feel of the driver.

Steering apparatus for automotive vehicle


A system and method for providing a heating system with good thermal efficiency by adjusting combustion air flow in response to fuel-input rate changes over a wide range. An AC motor operates in a slip mode whereby as the fuel-input rate changes, the combustion air density is affected. In response, changes in the load and thus the speed of the motor occur. Consequently, the quantity of combustion air flow increases in response to a fuel-input rate increase. The motor switches to a synchronous speed in response to the fuel-input rate reaching a set value, e.g., 70 percent of maximum rate.

The present invention relates generally to heaters or furnaces and, more particularly, to a fuel-input modulated furnace with improved thermal efficiency.
Contemporary heating systems, for example, furnaces for space heating or make-up air heating, are generally equipped with fuel valves which can be used to modulate the fuel-input rate to the heater in order to maintain a stable and controlled temperature. This type of system generally has a limited range of fuel-input modulation. In addition, these contemporary heaters suffer from a loss of thermal efficiency as the fuel-input rate is reduced below their full fuel-input rate.
Alternatively, such controlled temperature systems may also include some type of damper to open or close a combustion air by-pass. As a result of the ability to vary the amount of combustion air accessible to the system, these systems offer a broader possible range of fuel input modulation. Typically, however, the damper has only a few static positions available, which limits the actual control over the ratio of fuel to air.
Other known heating systems provide improved thermal efficiency by controlling the supply of fuel and combustion air in predetermined incremented amounts. However, these systems are complex and costly, requiring accurate sensor systems, flow control devices such as mechanical jackshafts, and the application of algorithms and control units to regulate the thermal efficiency.
There is a need, therefore, for a system and method for improving the thermal efficiency of a heating system by controlling the quantity of combustion air in response to the fuel-input rate modulation.

System and method for improving the thermal efficiency of a heating system


A tire pressure detecting apparatus has an identification rewriteable tire pressure detector and a setting apparatus. The tire pressure detector is securely mounted on a valve stem inside a tire of a vehicle and has a micro-processing module, a sensing module, a transmitting module and a receiving interface, where the micro-processing module has a memory unit. The setting apparatus is capable of reading or inputting an identification from a failure tire pressure detector, transmits the identification to the identification rewriteable tire pressure detector and writes the identification into the memory unit.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a tire pressure detecting apparatus, and more particularly to an identification rewriteable tire pressure detecting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMSs) may be applied for monitoring air pressure inside tires of a vehicle to alert a driver of abnormal tire pressure or to easily check correct tire pressures are set, and a conventional TPMS comprises a tire pressure detector connected to an inner end of a valve stem. Normally, an average lifetime of the tire pressure detectors is five years, users need to change the tire pressure detectors after the tire pressure detector is failure. However, tire pressure detectors have different installation methods depending on manufacturers of the tire pressure detectors, to request an original manufacturer for installing a new tire pressure detector is necessary but troublesome.
For instance, FIG. 4 shows an existed tire pressure detecting system (70), the tire pressure detecting system (70) comprises a monitoring apparatus (72) and four tire pressure detectors (74). The monitoring apparatus (72) is installed inside a car (80) and the tire pressure detectors (74) are respectively installed inside four tires (82) of the car (80). The monitoring apparatus (72) continuously receives wireless signals sent from the tire pressure detectors (74). Each tire pressure detector (74) has an identification (ID) recorded therein so that the wireless signal sent by the tire pressure detector (74) may be recognized by the monitoring apparatus (72) since the wireless signal stream comprises the identification. In other words, the monitoring apparatus (72) recognizes the tire pressure detectors (74) by identifying the IDs in the received wireless signals. Hence, when one of the tire pressure detector (74) is replaced by a new one, a setting apparatus (90) is necessary for introducing a new ID of the new tire pressure detector (74) to the monitoring apparatus (72). The setting apparatus (90) has a receiving module (92), a controller (94) and a download module (96). The receiving module (92) is electronically connected to the controller (94), receives wireless signals from the tire pressure detectors (74) and sends the received wireless signals to the controller (94). The controller (92) controls the download module (96) to write the ID of the tire pressure detector (74) into the monitoring apparatus (72), thereby the monitoring apparatus (72) may start to read wireless signal after the ID is recognizable.
However, the setting apparatus (90) is only fitted with some specific tire pressure detectors (74) that have to be manufactured by the same company. Flexibility and convenience of changing the tire pressure detector (74) are not good since users have to look for specific service centers that have the setting apparatus (90) to change the tire pressure detectors (74).
The present invention provides a tire pressure detecting apparatus to obviate or mitigate the shortcoming of the conventional the tire pressure detector.

Tire pressure detecting apparatus and tire pressure detector identification copying method for the same


An arithmetic processing apparatus includes a shift register configured to store a plurality of transactions each having one or more destinations; and a processor coupled to the shift register and configured to: select a first transaction among the transactions stored in the shift register based on a state of a destination of each of the transactions, determine whether or not the first transaction is issuable, select a second transaction based on destinations of the first transaction when it is determined that the first transaction is not issuable, issue the first transaction when it is determined that the first transaction is issuable, and issue the second transaction when it is determined that the first transaction is not issuable.

There is a multi-core arithmetic processor in which a plurality of cores each of which is an arithmetic processing circuit is coupled to a memory serving as a primary storage device and a memory access controller (MAC) unit. Each core includes a register file and an arithmetic execution unit (execution unit: EU). Further, each core is coupled to a corresponding load store unit (LSU). Each load store unit is coupled to one instruction issuance unit (instruction unit: IU). When the number of installed cores is large, it is common to share an access bus connecting to the main memory among the plurality of cores in consideration of the mounting of circuits.
An instruction issuance unit receives a memory access instruction which is an instruction to read or write data with respect to a memory, from an upper layer. Then, the instruction issuance unit decodes the acquired memory access instruction, and issues the memory access instruction to a load store unit, as a request. The load store unit performs a reading or a writing of data between the memory and the register file of the core according to the issued memory access instruction. The register file stores data acquired from the load store unit. The arithmetic execution unit performs an arithmetic operation using the data stored in the register file.
With one memory access instruction, requests may be issued to a plurality of load store units. In addition, a load store unit that is accessing the memory becomes a busy state, and cannot receive a new request.
In such a multicore arithmetic processor, in order to efficiently utilize all the load store units, the memory access instruction is executed in an out-of-order different from the appearance order of instructions in a program. Specifically, while the instruction issuance unit monitors busy signals from all the load store units, the instruction issuance unit arrange the requests of the memory access instruction in an appropriate order, and issues the requests to the load store units.
An overtaking instruction queue is used to implement the out-of-order execution of memory access instructions. The overtaking instruction queue refers to a queue described hereinbelow. The overtaking instruction queue stores the memory access instruction acquired from the instruction decoder in the instruction issuance unit, as a request, in a shift register. Then, the overtaking instruction queue selects an appropriate request from the requests stored in the shift register based on the busy signals of all the load store units, and issues the selected request to the load store unit. In the overtaking instruction queue, unlike a simple queue, a request arrived later can overtake a request arrived earlier. The overtaking instruction queue includes, for example, a K-stage shift register, an overtaking circuit, and two K input selectors.
In the K-stage shift register, requests are arranged without vacancy in an order from the head. The overtaking circuit selects and issues an issuance target request which is the headmost request among the requests satisfying an issuance permission condition that none of the destination load store units are in the busy state, in the requests stored in the K-stage shift register. The K-stage shift register erases the issued request and fills the requests in the head side such that the registers as entries do not become vacant from the head.
Here, in the related art of a queue control technique, a command is stored in a queue along with information indicating a selectable command range, and a command that needs to be issued within a performance guarantee period is preferentially selected and issued based on the information indicating the selectable command range. Further, in another related art, memory access requests are divided, a memory access request set with an issuable flag among the divided memory access requests is preferentially processed, and when one of the divided memory access requests is processed, the issuable flag is set in the other of the divided memory access requests.
Related techniques are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2014-021952 and 2011-013835.

Arithmetic processing apparatus, information processing apparatus, and control method for arithmetic processing apparatus


The hydrothermal treatment is based on placing the crude residual plant material in contact with hot water in a closed reactor, comprising the following steps:                a) placing the material to be treated in contact with water in a closed reactor, and adjusting the solid/liquid ratio so that it ranges from 1/5 to 1/15 (w/v):        b) stirring;        c) heating to a temperature between 180 and 240° C., and at a pressure so that the water is maintained in liquid phase;        d) constantly stirring the mixture for a time period between 4 and 30 minutes; and        e) cooling the reactor to approximately 40° C., unloading the mixture, filtering and recovering the liquid fraction.

Currently, the olive oil extraction system according to a two-phase extraction process [J. Alba, F. Hidalgo, Ma A Ruiz, F. Martínez, Ma J. Moyano, A. Cert, Ma C. Pérez and Ma V Ruiz. "Características de los aceites de oliva de primera y segunda centrifugación" Grasas y Aceites 47, (1996) 163–181] has substantially reduced the volume of wastes produced with the traditional three-phase system which requires the supplementary addition of water. Nevertheless, there is still a high quantity (approximately 2,600,000 tons/year in Spain) produced of a residue, called two-phase pomace or "alpeorujo", formed by the pulp, the pit and the vegetable water. The depleted product, with a fat content lower than 1% and a humidity around 65%, is an inconvenient and very abundant residue (around 80% of the ground olive), impossible to store in the olive-oil mill. Due to the environmental, economic and social problems caused by the large quantity of sub-product generated, it is necessary to find solutions for a comprehensive treatment thereof, which is feasible from an economic point of view and does not negatively affect the environment.
The reuse of this sub-product in the conventional olive-pomace oil extractors for an additional extraction of the remaining oil contained therein, poses a difficult problem associated with its characteristics of having a paste consistency and a high content in sugars and fine solids, which make its use as such very difficult in conventional olive-pomace drying systems. Although several investigations are being performed to optimize the drying process from an operational and energy-saving point of view [R. Arjona, A. García and P. Ollero. "The drying of alpeorujo, a waste product of the olive mill industry", Journal of Food Engineering 41 (1999) 229–234], the high energy cost of the humidity reduction phase is a clear drawback from the economic point of view. Another alternative treatment to reduce the volume of this residue, such as its incineration in combustion plants, also requires the prior drying of the material and may also imply a series of environmental problems related to the emission of toxic exhaust gases. In this regard, it would be necessary to use suitable gas cleaning systems, which would substantially increase the overall economic cost of the process.
The alpeorujo contains all the sugars and other soluble substances that are dissolved in the vegetable water of the conventional olive oil extraction process. Thus, there is a possibility of revaluating this residue by the production of products of high added value therefrom, which would mean an improvement in the management of sub-products from the olive-producing industry, whilst permitting the use of a cheap source of raw materials for products of industrial interest. An example of this approximation to the revaluation of alpeorujo is in patent application ES 2060 549, which discloses a process to produce mannitol and products derived from alpeorujo, by processes of diluting, filtration, decanting or centrifuging.
In addition to compounds such as mannitol, the majority of the polyphenols present in the olive pulp and pit are found in this sub-product, for which reason it may constitute a suitable source of natural phenolic antioxidants. The phenolic compounds of the olive pulp have been extensively researched given their importance in fruit processing. The most abundant glycoside in olive pulp, oleuropein, is formed by the heterosidic ester of elenolic acid and hydroxytyrosol and is what gives olives their bitter taste. Oleuropein is very abundant in the green fruit and their percentage is quantitatively reduced on reaching maturity. Ligustroside and verbascoside are also present in the pulp. In the pit, the described glycosides are similar to the above and of the ligustroside type, of which tyrosol instead of hydroxytyrosol forms a part.
The most abundant phenolic compounds in alpeorujo are tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, together with p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic and vanillic acids in less quantity. The hydroxytyrosol mainly comes from the oleuropein of the fruit, which is hydrolysed by means of an esterase present therein during the olive grinding. These polyphenols, which are mainly present in the fruit, but also in less quantity in the leaves, flowers and other plant organs, are natural antioxidant compounds, which perform various functions. In a recent study, their antioxidant effect has been proven as they block the process in the initiation phase, either oxidizing themselves by forming more stable natural peroxidic compounds, or acting on the already formed radicals to prevent the propagation phase. On the one hand, the phenols present in the olive protect the oil from degrading [Gutfinger, T. "Polyphenols in olive oils" J. Am. Oil Chem Soc. 58 (1981) 966–7], and they have infinite potent biological actions on the human metabolism, which have been studied in vitro. The most important of them is the inhibition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, which constitutes an essential phase within the atherogenic process. However, phenolic compounds also have important free-radical scavenging activity [F. Visioli, G. Bellomo, C. Galli. "Free radical-scavenging properties of olive oil polyphenols". Biochem Biophys Res. Municipality 247 (1998) 60–64] against the production of the superoxide anion and hypochlorous acid, which means they act as protection against oxygen free radicals and their toxic effects and, therefore, prevent cellular aging and tumours [R. W Owen, A. Giacosa, W. E Hull, R. Haubner, B. Spiegelhalder, H. Bartsch. "The antioxidant/anticancer potential of phenolic compounds isolated from olive oil" Eur. J. Cancer 36(10), (2000) 1235–1247], they protect against heart disease and are closely related to the benefits attributable to the consumption of olive oil in the Mediterranean diet. Some of them, such as hydroxytyrosol, are potent inhibitors of platelet aggregation and thromboxane generation and counteract the production of the potent pro-inflammatory agent leukotriene B4.
The high potential for these phenolic compounds in the pharmaceutical and food industry has caused a growing interest in the last few years in their production from olive leaves and fruit for various applications. For example, the Japanese patent application JP08119825 discloses the application of the hydroxytyrosol obtained from olive oil extraction as an active component in cutaneous formulations for skin treatments. The patent application WO 00/36936 discloses the preparation of food compositions which have increased levels of phenolic compounds from olive oil to improve their nutritional qualities. The patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,475 relates to the use of oleuropein in various medical or agricultural applications, as well as a method to prepare an aqueous extract rich in this compound which comes from the fruit. Nevertheless, there are almost no references on the use of plant materials, such as the pulp, that remain after the extraction of the untreated olive oil (crude), as a substrate for the recovery of polyphenols, the use of this crude substrate forming one of the novel aspects of the present invention. A work published by the applicants for the production of bioethanol from alpeorujo [I. Ballesteros, J. M Oliva, M. J. Negro, P. Manzanares, M. Ballesteros. "Ethanol production from olive oil extraction residue pretreated with hot water" Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 98–100 (2002) 717–732], discloses that, after a hydrothermal treatment performed to promote the subsequent transformation of the cellulose contained in the substrate to ethanol, phenolic compounds are obtained such as those disclosed in the present application. However, the residue used in said work has undergone a washing and drying process before being used with the aim of promoting the subsequent fermentation process to which it is subjected. Surprisingly, the applicants have now found that the use of this substrate when crude, i.e. as it is received from the olive-mill, without undergoing any prior washing and drying treatment, is advantageous in a process to extract phenolic compounds as is disclosed in this application. Firstly, the use of crude alpeorujo avoids the expense of water in the washing phase and the subsequent generation of a liquid residue, whose management may be problematic from an environmental point of view. Furthermore, it is a clear advantage from an energy-saving point of view as it avoids the drying phase, after that of the washing, which is disclosed in the aforementioned work. Finally, as it uses the crude substrate, a higher yield of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol are obtained than that corresponding to the same substrate after being washed and dried.
As regards the extraction methods of the phenolic compounds mainly present in the leaves and the fruit, these vary depending on the type of starting material. Thus, polyphenol extraction methods with organic solvents such as methanol/water have been disclosed to extract from fruit [D. Ryan, H. Lawrence, P. Prenzier, M. Antolovich, K. Robards. "Recovery of phenolic compounds from Olea europaea" Analytica Chimica Acta 445 (2001), 67–77], alcohol to extract from leaves (patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,150) and ether/ethyl acetate [A. D. Bianco, I. Muzzalupo, A. Piperno, G. Romeo, N. Uccella. "Bioactive derivatives of oleuropein from olive fruits" J. Agric. Food Chem. 47 (1999), 3531–3534] or methanol [F. Angeroso, N. D'Alessandro, Konstantinou. P., L. Di Giacinto. "GL-LC evaluation of phenolic compounds in virgin olive oil" J. Agric. Food. Chem. 43 (1995), 1802–1807] applied to polyphenol extraction from olive oil L. Lesage-Meessen et al., [L. Lesage-Meessen, D. Navarro, S. Maunier, J-C Sigoillot, J. Lorquin, M. Delattre. J-L Simon, M. Asther and M. Labat. "Simple phenolic content in olive oil residues as a function of extraction systems" Food Chemistry 75(4) (2001) 501–507, disclose the extraction of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol from the residue obtained from olive oil using ethyl acetate, permitting the recovery of around 30% of the total amount of phenols present in the residue. However, all these methods have the drawback of their high cost as regards the use of solvents and the generation of wastes which are difficult to eliminate.
The patent WO 01/45514 discloses a method to extract antioxidant compositions from the fruit and olive oil extraction sub-products, in a multi-phase process that uses several aqueous and/or polar extractions and solid matrixes which is considerably more complex than the present application. The Spanish patent application ES 2143939 discloses the use of a steam explosion process to recover the structural phenolic components from the olive pits and the kernel shell. With this process, the materials are treated in a 2 l steam explosion unit at temperatures around 200° C. for time periods of 2–4 minutes, there then occurring an abrupt decompression and the subsequent unloading of the reactor. The results obtained show that hydroxytyrosol is extracted from the pit in soluble extract concentrations of up to 1% in dry weight of the pit, less quantity than that obtained in the pulp, where this polyphenol is mainly found. In the case of the kernel shells, tyrosol is obtained in concentrations of up to 0.5% in dry weight and it is verified that the addition of acid to the material before the treatment appreciably increases the quantities of phenols detected in the soluble extract.
The object of the present invention is to extract the phenolic derivatives present in crude residual plant materials, in particular, in the residue remaining after olive oil extraction by a two-phase centrifugation process (alpeorujo), using a hydrothermal treatment that uses water at a high temperature and at a pressure to keep the water in liquid phase.
In the sense used in this description, the term "crude residual plant materials" includes residues of plant origin which contain phenolic derivatives, in particular phenolic derivatives of industrial interest, such as alpeorujo, olive pit debris, olive kernel shell, corncob residues, etc, which have not undergone, prior to their use, any washing and/or drying process.
As is used in this description, phenolic derivatives of industrial interest include the phenols tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol.
In the present invention, a hydrothermal treatment is used, which uses hot water in liquid phase, to extract phenolic derivatives from the crude olive oil extraction residue. This application of treatment with hot water to the recovery of phenolic compounds, is a new use thereof which, up to the present time, has basically been used as a pre-treatment of lignocellulosic materials prior to an enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose to glucose, as disclosed in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,787. This treatment, in the case of crude alpeorujo, is an advantage to the aforementioned extraction methods as it allows the recovery of phenols of interest without the exogenous addition of solvents or acids, which means the overall process is more economic and gives less quantity of residues to eliminate.
The method of extraction by hydrothermal treatment of this invention is based on subjecting the material to be treated to a treatment with hot water, at a temperature of 180 to 240° C., in an closed autoclave-type reactor, at a pressure that permits maintaining the water in liquid phase, during an appropriate time period, of 4 to 30 minutes, with the aim of solubilizing the phenolic derivatives, mainly present in said material. Next, the liquid fraction is recovered by filtration and its phenol concentration is determined. During the treatment of the substrate of the present invention, an autohydrolysis of the hemicellulosic debris occurs in said pulp residue that produces the liberation of acetyl groups and, in consequence, a reduction in the pH of the liquid fraction, thus promoting the solubilization of the phenols of interest. Once the phenolic derivatives have been extracted, their concentration in the aqueous extracts is determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques or gas chromatography-mass spectometry (GC-MS) or spectroscopy techniques, which are well known by those skilled in the art.

Process to extract phenolic compounds from a residual plant material using a hydrothermal treatment

Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales Y Technologicas


A system having a host unit and a plurality of stacked modules which are electrically connected to the host unit. The host unit communicates with the plurality of stacked modules through a RS-485 interface. Upon power up, each module of the plurality of stacked modules is powered and enumerated in sequence, allowing the host unit to know the sequence the plurality of stable modules are connected.

Many systems and devices, such as a panel meter for machine controls required modules to be added and electrically connected to a host unit to allow for functionality to be added to the host unit. The modules allow for customization of the system.
However, as modules are added, the host unit does not know the positioning of the modules. Consequently, the communication between the modules and the host unit is inefficient. In addition, as the host unit does not know the positioning of the modules, the host unit cannot determine the last module in the chain resulting in the inability to terminate the data lines which in turn results in poor signal integrity. In addition, hot plugging modules cannot be prevented.
It would be beneficial to know the last module in the stack to allow the termination to be applied to the data lines for better signal integrity and disabling hot plugging modules by activating the reset-out line of the last module. It would also be beneficial to provide a system which overcomes the deficiencies of the know art, allowing the host unit to determine the exact sequence and location of the modules, and to provide a system in which the host unit can determine proper termination of the signal line for better signal integrity.

System of determining the sequence and positioning of pluggable modules


A method and system are described for managing a computer network. In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a collection computer is assigned a management domain identifier uniquely associated with a management domain in which each collection computer resides. Information that includes the management domain identifier is received in at least one management computer from the collection computer. A database of the information accessed using the management domain identifier is maintained within the at least one management computer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to consolidating network topologies in duplicate Internet Protocol (IP) networks.
2. Background Information
Management stations connected to a network are often configured by a management software package to discover the network topology, for example, the network nodes and node interconnections. From the network topology, the station constructs a network management map, which comprises a collection of various sub-maps. Each sub-map corresponds with a different view of the network and any sub-map can be displayed on a display device. These sub-maps can be arranged in a hierarchy.
For example, a network management map implemented in the known "OPENVIEW"™ management software, commercially available from the Hewlett-Packard Company, U.S.A., has a root sub-map defined at a root level representing the highest logical level sub-map in the hierarchy and shows objects acting as anchor points for different sub-map hierarchies, each hierarchy being a separate management domain, for example, a network, logical grouping of nodes, or some other domain. An Internet sub-map is defined at an Internet level and is generated by exploding an object (i.e., providing more data regarding the object) within the root sub-map. This process of exploding can be iteratively repeated to any desired level of detail.
Hewlett-Packard's "OPENVIEW"™ Network Node Manager (NNM) product, for example, maintains a network topology data of all the network elements that it knows of or discovers. The topology is populated by various techniques, such as discovery of network elements, manual addition of network elements by the end user and by collection of topology information sent by other NNM stations, known as collection stations. Collection stations send their data to another NNM station known as the management station. When a NNM management station receives data concerning a network element with an Internet Protocol (IP) address as a part of topology data from a collection station, it determines if some other collection station also reported the same IP address for a network element. If so, the NNM management station makes one network element a primary element and the other a secondary element. Management station-collection station concepts are discussed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,055 (Pulsipher et al.), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In managing computer networks, difficulties can arise when different networks use identical (duplicate) IP addresses. A duplicate IP address can be a repeated IP host/interface address, a repeated hostname, or a repeated network name or address. Duplicate IP addresses can occur when different companies use the same private or unregistered IP addresses. Duplicate IP addresses can also occur as a result of, for example, improperly configured network devices in which network elements in the same collision domain are communicating with the same IP address or two network nodes have the same hostname. Duplicate IP addresses can also occur as a result of stand-by router configurations (where the router and its stand-by use the same IP address).
A problem arises when a network manager deploys collection stations (which are remotely-located collection computers reporting back to one or more central management stations) at different customer sites having duplicate IP addresses, because network management products use IP addresses as a key in their databases. For example, two network elements with the same IP address cannot be stored in a single topology with these products. For example, NNM cannot store elements with the same IP address from different customers as primary elements, even when they are actually unique network elements.
A known technique for consolidating duplicate IP addresses into a single network topology involves displaying networks of different companies in a single console window, but separating them within that window in different customer containers based on the originating collection computer. However, this technique does not provide the network manager with a consolidated network topology of all the customer networks that the network manager is managing, as the topology of each collection computer is displayed individually.
It would be desirable to provide an improved method to consolidate network topology data having duplicate IP addresses occurring across companies.

Method and system for consolidating network topology in duplicate IP networks

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A fragrance supplying apparatus for a vehicle for supplying an interior of an air-conditioning duct of the vehicle with a fragrance or deodrant so that the fragrance or deodrant is carried by a flow of air from a blower of the air-conditioning system into the cabin of the vehicle, the fragrance supplying apparatus including a fragrance supplying apparatus having control valves for controlling the supply of the fragrance or deodorant into the air-conditioning duct; a random number producing unit for producing random numbers; and a control unit for controlling the control valves of the fragrance supplying unit based on the random numbers to set varying patterns of supply and cessation of the fragrance or deodorant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fragrance supplying apparatus for a vehicle, more particularly to a fragrance supplying apparatus for a vehicle which maintains a pleasant cabin atmosphere over a long period.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the summer and the winter, when car windows are closed and the air-conditioning system is used to cool or heat the cabin interior, there is a problem in that the body sweat of the driver and passengers and cigarette smoke slowly accumulate in the cabin or air-conditioning duct and the machinery and equipment in the air-conditioning system. As a result, it is common to provide an apparatus in the cabin or system so as to eliminate or mask the odor.
Fragrance supplying apparatuses for vehicles which eliminate unpleasant odors and emit pleasant fragrances are commercially available, but it is difficult to maintain a pleasant cabin atmosphere over a long period. For example, such fragrance supplying apparatuses initially release large amounts of the deodorant or fragrance and gradually release less and less along with the passage of time. Also, since the deodorant or fragrance is emitted continuously after the apparatuses are opened, the driver and passengers eventually become physically "acclimated" to it and it loses effect. To solve these problems, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication (Kokai) No. 1-75435, for example, proposes a fragrance supplying apparatus with a lid which opens and closes to supply a fragrance in a vehicle intermittently.
Also, in many cases, the fragrance supplying apparatus is manufactured separate from the air-conditioning system and installed in the system only as a later option. This sometimes requires major modification of the system.
Further, more advanced fragrance supplying apparatuses are activated along with the turning of the ignition switch. In recent systems, however, the blower is not started until various sensors are started and warmed up, so much of the deodorant or fragrance is wasted.

Fragrance supplying apparatus for vehicle


The present invention aims at offering the semiconductor device which can improve the strength to the stress generated with a bonding pad. In the semiconductor device concerning the present invention, a plurality of bonding pads are formed on a semiconductor chip. In each bonding pad, a plurality of second line-like metals are formed under the first metal formed using the wiring layer of the top layer. And a bonding pad is put in order and located along the long-side direction of a second metal to achieve the above objects. That is, a bonding pad is put in order and located so that the long-side direction of a second metal and the arrangement direction of a bonding pad may become in the same direction.

A mechanical stress is applied to a bonding pad formed on a semiconductor chip upper surface in the case of probing in an electrical test of a semiconductor chip, and a wire bonding at the time of assembly of a semiconductor device. The stress applied to the bonding pad makes the interlayer insulation film under the pad concerned generate a crack, and has become a cause which causes a pad separation at the time of wire bonding.
Therefore, a method of making the metal layer concerned absorb the stress was conventionally taken by laying a metal layer, such as tungsten, as a foundation of the bonding pad. Usually, a bonding pad is formed using an uppermost wiring layer (top layer wiring layer), and a metal layer of the foundation is formed using a via hole (Via) for connecting an upper wiring layer and the wiring layer under it (lower-layer wiring layer). That is, formation of a foundation metal layer is performed at the same step as the original formation of a via hole for connecting an upper wiring layer and a lower-layer wiring layer.
It is necessary to make the size of a foundation metal layer into same extent as the size of a bonding pad, and it becomes a large caliber extremely as compared with an original via hole. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of a conventional semiconductor device, a via hole (foundation metal layer) of a large caliber and a via hole (original via hole) of a small caliber are formed simultaneously. However, since a via hole of a large caliber differs in an etch rate from a via hole of a small caliber, it is difficult to obtain suitable etching quantity in both the via hole of the large caliber, and the via hole of the small caliber, and the forming accuracy will fall. When making a metal deposit in a via hole, since a via hole of a large caliber takes a long time to bury a metal thoroughly compared with that of a small caliber, the thickness of the metal cannot be fully secured, but it is easy to cause dishing of the upper surface of the via hole of the large caliber, originating from it. That is, since the height of the upper surface of the foundation metal layer becomes uneven, it will become difficult to make uniform the height of the upper surface of the bonding pad formed on it. Sure probing and wire bonding will become difficult when the height of the upper surface of the bonding pad is uneven, and the reliability of the semiconductor device will fall.
On the other hand, the technology which makes a foundation metal layer of a bonding pad a shape of a plurality of lines (shape of a long size) instead of a via hole of a large caliber, and forms it is known (for example, Patent References 1-3). The upper problem will be solved when a foundation metal layer is made into a shape of a plurality of lines.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-110731
[Patent Reference 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 10-199925
[Patent Reference 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-196525
However, when a foundation metal layer of a bonding pad is made into a shape of a plurality of lines and formed, as compared with the case where a via hole of a large caliber is formed as a foundation metal layer, we are anxious about strength falling greatly to the stress from a specific direction. In Patent Reference 1, for example, it is disclosed that when a long-side direction of a foundation metal layer (the direction of a line) and an advancement direction of a probe in the case of probing become vertical in plan view (namely, when an applying direction of a stress is vertical to a direction of a line of a foundation metal layer in plan view), it is easy to generate a crack from between the side wall of a line-like foundation metal layer and the interlayer film.
When a crack occurs in an insulating layer under a bonding pad and it reaches even a wiring according to the stress from the outside applied to the bonding pad, the metal migration resistance of the wiring concerned will deteriorate. The structure located so that wirings may pass along a lower part of a bonding pad is in the tendency that the strength is comparatively weak and a crack becomes easy to generate. Therefore, in order to prevent the generation of a crack, it is desirable not to let wirings pass carelessly in the lower part of the bonding pad. However, in order to integrate a semiconductor device highly, the region under a bonding pad is also needed to be used effectively and it is obliged to locate wirings also under the bonding pad.


A farrier's stand of steel rod construction having an elliptical-shaped hoof cradle. A method for constructing the stand includes bending parallel, connected rods over a mandrel in a jig. The rods are separated between certain connections to form a hoof cradle. The inverted U-shaped stand is supported by a composite apex leg and two spaced-apart, singular rod legs.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a farrier's stand and, more particularly, to a unitary, three-legged stand which safely and efficiently supports the hoof of an animal in an open, elliptically-shaped cradle.
2. Background Information
Maintaining animal hooves is an exacting art involving considerable physical labor including raising and holding the hoof, usually between a farrier's legs, while preparing and fitting the hoof with a shoe. The work may also include pulling nails, filing, cutting and hammering. The farrier works with the knowledge that mistakes made during the process may disable the animal. Farriers are confronted with horses which tend to lean on the shoer, or may be startled or disturbed by the shoeing operation or environmental conditions.
The prior art in this area seeks to reduce the farrier's burden. However, prior art stands are plagued with problems. Some stands are mounted on large heavy blocks, restricting use and portability. U.S. Pat. Nos. 120,119; 124,452; and 1,270,204, all teach some kind of physical strap or clamping member to restrain the animal's hoof on the stand. This stand can be extremely dangerous if the animal becomes excited and bolts or jumps with its leg strapped in the stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,653, seeks to avoid the "trapped hoof" problem by providing an adjustable constraining apparatus operated by the farrier's foot. This device still lends itself to trapping the animal's hoof. Further, the stand has multiple parts increasing manufacturing costs and maintenance costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,869 discloses a collapsible stand which does not retain the animal's leg. However, the stand contains several complicated springs and assemblies and depends upon a relatively fragile physical relationship between two parts to properly support a horse's hoof. The stand is supposed to adequately support the horse's hoof during various care operations, and to easily collapse if the animal lifts its hoof off of the stand. Thus, if the animal chooses to life its hoof and reset it more comfortably, the stand tends to collapse requiring the farrier to reset the stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,216 illustrates a multipurpose stand for accommodating hoofed animals. This stand, while simple in construction, is unstable. It is meant to be easily tipped over into one of two different working positions. Thus, during use it may easily be flipped inadvertently.
Therefore, there exists a need for a farrier's stand which is lightweight for transport, stable, and trap-free. In addition, the stand must be manufactured from minimum parts to ensure minimal manufacturing and maintenance cost.


A system and method for managing content between different client devices in various domains (such as vehicle, home, and person). The system and method include receiving an input from a user on the first client device to pause the content. After receiving the input, the first client device determines whether the first client device is connected to a wireless communication system. If the first client device is connected to the wireless communication system, the first client device sends a data message to the second client device through a host system. In one embodiment, the second client device will then store the content in the second client device after receiving the data message to permit the user to resume playback of the content on the second client device. In another embodiment, the host system will store the content itself or access the content from a content provider and transfer the content directly to the second device with a data message that indicates the paused location of the content.

Digital video recorders exist that allow a user to pause and store video content and playback the video content at a later time. Conventional systems, however, are limited in that they only deal with storing video content and playing back the content in a single domain.
A need exists for a user to seamlessly listen to (or watch) audio (or video) content when moving from one domain (such as a vehicle) to a different domain (such as a home) without missing a portion of that content. For instance, assume that a user is driving in their vehicle and listening to an audio broadcast content such as a talk show or a sporting event. When the user arrives at their home and parks the vehicle, the user may wish to continue listening to the broadcast content at a later time and, preferably, in a different domain (such as their home). Currently, the user cannot pause the broadcast content in the vehicle and resume the broadcast content at the exact spot later in their home. The same applies for video, e.g., pause a digital video recorder at home and resume playing the video content on an entertainment system in the vehicle.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a system and method to overcome or minimize most, if not all, of the preceding problems especially in the area of managing content in different domains.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

System and method for managing content between devices in various domains


Chemically amplified positive resist compositions comprising a polymer obtained by copolymerizing a silicon-containing monomer with a polar monomer having a value of LogP or cLogP of up to 0.6 and optionally hydroxystyrene, a photoacid generator and an organic solvent are sensitive to high-energy radiation and have a high sensitivity and resolution at a wavelength of less than 300 nm and improved resistance to oxygen plasma etching.

In the drive for higher integration and operating speeds in LSI devices, the pattern rule is made drastically finer. The rapid advance toward finer pattern rules is grounded on the development of a projection lens with an increased NA, a resist material with improved performance, and exposure light of a shorter wavelength. In particular, the change-over from i-line (365 nm) to shorter wavelength KrF excimer laser (248 nm) brought about a significant innovation, contributing to the mass-scale production of 0.25 micron rule and subsequent devices. To the demand for a resist material with a higher resolution and sensitivity, acid-catalyzed chemical amplification positive working resist materials are effective as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,491,628 and 5,310,619 (JP-B 2-27660 and JP-A 63-27829). They now become predominant resist materials especially adapted for deep UV lithography.
Resist materials adapted for KrF excimer lasers enjoyed early use on the 0.3 micron process, passed through the 0.25 micron rule, and currently entered the mass production phase on the 0.18 micron rule. Engineers have attempted test fabrication on the 0.15 micron rule and started investigation on the 0.13 micron rule, with the trend toward a finer pattern rule being accelerated. A wavelength change-over from KrF to shorter wavelength ArF excimer laser (193 nm) is expected to enable miniaturization of the design rule to 0.13 μm or less. Since conventionally used novolac resins and polyvinylphenol resins have very strong absorption in proximity to 193 nm, they cannot be used as the base resin for resists. To ensure transparency and dry etching resistance, some engineers investigated acrylic and alicyclic (typically cycloolefin) resins as disclosed in JP-A 9-73173, JP-A 10-10739, JP-A 9-230595 and WO 97/33198.
With respect to F2 laser (157 nm) which is expected to enable further miniaturization to 0.10 μm or less, more difficulty arises in insuring transparency because it was found that acrylic resins are not transmissive to light at all and those cycloolefin resins having carbonyl bonds have strong absorption. Polymers having benzene rings have a somewhat improved transmittance in proximity to 160 nm wavelength, which is far below the practically acceptable level. It was found that in single layer resists, reducing carbon-to-carbon double bonds as typified by benzene rings and carbon-to-oxygen double bonds as typified by carbonyl groups is essential for insuring a light transmittance (see International Work Shop 157 nm Lithography MIT-LL, Boston, Mass., May 5, 1999). It was reported in J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B17(6), November/December 1999 that introduction of fluorine is effective to improve transmittance. A number of fluorinated polymers for resist compositions were proposed in J. Photopolymer Sci. and Technol., Vol. 13, No. 4 (2000), pp. 657-664 and pp. 451-458. However, the transmittance of these polymers does not reach that of polyhydroxystyrene and derivatives thereof adapted for KrF exposure and poly(meth)acrylic derivatives and polycycloolefin derivatives adapted for ArF exposure.
As is known in the art, the bi-layer resist method is advantageous in forming a high-aspect ratio pattern on a stepped substrate. It is also known that in order that a two-layer resist film be developable with a common alkaline developer, high molecular weight silicone compounds having hydrophilic groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups must be used.
Among silicone base chemically amplified positive resist compositions, recently proposed were those compositions for KrF laser exposure comprising a base resin in the form of polyhydroxybenzylsilsesquioxane, which is a stable alkali-soluble silicone polymer, in which some phenolic hydroxyl groups are blocked with t-BOC groups, in combination with a photoacid generator (see JP-A 6-118651 and SPIE vol. 1925 (1993), p. 377). Positive resist compositions comprising as a base a silsesquioxane of the type in which cyclohexylcarboxylic acid is substituted with an acid labile group were proposed for ArF laser exposure (see JP-A 10-324748, JP-A 11-302382, and SPIE vol. 3333 (1998), p. 62). Positive resist compositions comprising a silsesquioxane having hexafluoroisopropanol as a dissolvable group as a base were proposed for F2 laser exposure (see JP-A 2002-55456). The above polymer bears in its backbone a polysilsesquioxane containing a ladder skeleton produced through polycondensation of a trialkoxysilane or trihalosilane.
Silicon-containing (meth)acrylates were proposed as a resist base polymer having silicon pendants (see JP-A 9-110938, J. Photopolymer Sci. and Technol., Vol. 9, No. 3 (1996), pp. 435-446).
The silicon-containing polymer of the (meth)acrylate type has the drawback that its resistance to dry etching with oxygen plasma is weak as compared with the silsesquioxane polymer. A low silicon content and a different polymer main skeleton account for this weak dry etching resistance. The (meth)acrylate of siloxane pendant type also has the drawback of poor developer wetting that it is likely to repel a developer solution. SPIE vol. 3678 (1999), pp. 214, 241 and 562 describes a polymer comprising (meth)acrylate of the trisilane or tetrasilane pendant type having an increased silicon content and a silicon-containing substituent which can be eliminated with acid so that the polymer is improved in alkali dissolution. Despite absorption at a wavelength of less than 200 nm due to silicon-to-silicon bonds, this polymer is so transparent relative to KrF excimer laser beams of 248 nm that it is a useful polymer having a silicon-containing acid-eliminatable group and improved etching resistance. Besides, silicon-containing acid labile groups other than the foregoing have been investigated as reported in SPIE vol. 3678 (1999), p. 420.
The applicant/assignee proposed novel acid labile groups having silicon introduced therein in JP-A 2001-278918 and JP-A 2001-158808 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,089). These polymers have the advantages of an improved acid elimination ability and prevention of T-top profiling as well as the advantageous feature that they are fully transparent at the wavelength of ArF excimer laser because of the inclusion of a carbon atom between silicon atoms and the exclusion of a silicon-to-silicon bond.
Drawbacks of the silicon-containing resist compositions include poor line edge roughness and the generation of scum on substrates. Silicon-containing groups, especially alkyl-substituted silyl groups are extremely hydrophobic so that they interfere with development with alkaline water and incur swelling. As a result, the line edge roughness is exaggerated, and residues following dissolution become scum on the substrate or resist pattern.

Resist composition and patterning process


A terminal fitting (1) has a rectangular tubular main portion (10) and a stabilizer (30) to guide the main portion (10) into a cavity formed in a connector housing. The stabilizer (30) is folded between two adjacent walls (13, 14) of the main portion (10) so that the stabilizer (30) is integral to each of the adjacent walls (13, 14).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a terminal fitting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-68385 discloses a terminal fitting with a rectangular tubular main portion that extends in forward and backward directions. The main portion is configured to be inserted forwardly into a cavity. A stabilizer is formed integral to a side wall of the main portion and is folded. The stabilizer functions to guide the main portion into the cavity. A force on the stabilizer is intended to be distributed to the side wall to prevent deformation of the stabilizer.
Part of the above-described stabilizer is connected with the side wall of the main portion, but an end edge of the stabilizer is not supported at all. Thus, a strong force could deform the stabilizer. A locking lance may engage the rear end of the stabilizer to retain the terminal fitting in the cavity. However, a deformable stabilizer may not provide sufficient locking force on the terminal.
The invention was developed in view of the above and an object thereof is to form a stabilizer with high rigidity so that a sufficient locking force can be obtained even if a locking lance is engaged with the rear end of the stabilizer.


A frame is provided, and a quiver assembly is attached to the frame. The frame, preferably made from aluminum, is manufactured by using an axis of extrusion that is perpendicular to the primary axis of the quiver assembly. A top portion of the quiver assembly provides blade covers with foam inserts to store, for example, expandable broadheads. The blade covers are non-circular in shape, so that broadheads can be rotated approximately ninety degrees to a secure position. The quiver also utilizes a set screw that allows a the hunter to adjust the camming force required for loading and unloading the quiver from the bow. The quiver assembly utilizes rubber posts that allow for a quiet operation, as well as a secure means of locking the quiver assembly to a bow.

One of the issues with expandable broadheads is that they can potentially rattle while in the quiver, or possibly allow the blades to predeploy while in the quiver. In order to address this concern, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, a quiver holds the blades of an expandable broadhead in the retracted and locked position. This is accomplished by providing foam inserts in the hood of the quiver that are an oval (or, more generally, a non-round) in shape. The arrow is inserted into the hood with the blades in line with the major axis of the opening in the foam. After insertion, the arrow is then rotated, which causes the foam to exert inward pressure on the blades, therefore stabilizing them to keep them from rattling or pre-deploying.
Another issue with known quiver assemblies is that they do not provide the user with the ability to adjust the camming force required for loading and unloading the quiver from the bow. One or more embodiments of the present invention advantageously provide the user with the ability to set a desired force that is required for loading and unloading the quiver from the bow.
Yet another problem with the manufacture of quiver frames is material waste and attendant increased cost. I have discovered a way to more cost-effectively manufacture quiver frames by utilizing an axis of extrusion that is perpendicular to the primary axis of the quiver assembly.


A traffic management device and the method thereof are disclosed. The traffic management device includes a control logic unit, a first counting unit, and a second counting unit. The traffic management method follows the dual leaky bucket mechanism. A first count value and a second count value are generated by the first counting unit and the second counting unit, respectively, such that the control logic unit controls the average rate by checking whether the first count value falls within the range of a first threshold and controls the peak rate by checking whether the second count value falls within the range of a second threshold. When both the conditions are satisfied, packets in the queue are transmitted. Thus, the network flow is controlled effectively.

The present invention relates to a traffic management device and the method thereof.
Due to the fast development of computer application and network communication technologies, the number of network users has dramatically increased. Thus, the increase in the traffic in the router is fast and significant. Although the bandwidth connectivity to the servers is improving, traffic congestion is still inevitable. This is caused by the poor quality of network service.
As to the network applications that require quality of service (QoS) such as Video Conferencing, Distance Learning, and Video on Demand, all specify a guaranteed throughput level for maintaining the connection quality. During the transmission process, the transmission speed is affected by the network quality. When various packets are simultaneously transmitted, it is difficult to guarantee a minimum bandwidth and a stable connection for every flow.
A common solution is to increase the bandwidth with the help of technologies such as asymmetrical digital subscriber lines (ADSL) provided by Internet Service Provider (ISP) or broadband access service provided by cable modems. However, at the user end, these two kinds of services use an Ethernet connection that provides the maximum bandwidth. If no limit on the maximum bandwidth at the user end exists, the network devices enter an overloaded state. Moreover, for network administrators, the bandwidth needs to be limited in order to cope with the exponential growth and dramatic increase of the network traffic, such that network congestion is avoided.
Thus, there is a need to provide a new traffic management device and a method thereof that not only improves the conventional network congestion but also effectively employs the bandwidth of each flow for overcoming the abovementioned shortcomings.

Traffic management device and method thereof


An adapter having female contacts (24) is inserted into a slot provided in an electronic apparatus. The adapter includes a memory card (20) permanently connected to the female contacts, and an opening for receiving an IC card (30). Alternatively, the adapter (80) may use a inductive coil (84) and a circuit unit (83) to interface with a non-contact IC card (50). The latter adapter may include a keyboard (85), display (86), and power supply (87).

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus such as an electronic organizer, a pocket computer, a personal computer, a programmable measuring instrument or the like, and to an adapter for the electronic apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an electronic apparatus which is provided with various functions by a device such as a memory card (a card containing either ROM or RAM, or both) detachably mounted in the apparatus body, and to an adapter for the electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the prior art
Electronic apparatuses such as electronic organizers are provided with various functions by a memory card containing a memory such as a ROM or the like, mounted in the apparatus body. Interfaces which may be used for the connection of the memory card to the electronic apparatus include multiple-pin contact connections, 8-pin contact connections, non-contact electromagnetic induction connections, non-contact radio wave connections, and various others. Since these interfaces are not compatible with each other, a device having, for example, a non-contact electromagnetic induction interface cannot be directly connected for use with an apparatus having an ordinarily used contact interface. Therefore, data transmission between an apparatus with a contact interface and a memory card with a non-contact interface is usually achieved using a reader-writer, which means that the apparatus is required to be equipped with an interface for special use with the reader-writer in addition to the interface for the memory card. Hence, the problem arises that the apparatus body will become larger in size to house the extra interface.
Generally, a memory card uses a multiple-pin contact interface with 30 to 50 pins, and the thickness of the memory card is 2 to 5 mm. Apart from such memory cards, in recent years IC cards have been coming into wide use which contain a CPU and can be written to. The IC card uses either an 8-pin contact interface or a non-contact interface, and the thickness is approximately 0.76 mm. The IC card is usually used with an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) or the like. Since the IC card thus has a thinner construction than the memory card for special use with a given electronic apparatus, and since the IC card uses an interface of different type from that of the memory card, the IC card cannot be used with the electronic apparatus by inserting it into the memory card slot of the apparatus body. To use the IC card as well as the memory card, an electronic apparatus is required, as shown in FIG. 13, to be equipped with a memory card slot 92 for mounting the memory card and an IC card slot 93 for mounting the IC card in its body 90. Hence, the problem arises that the apparatus body 90 will become larger in size. If the construction is so made that the memory card slot 92 and the IC card slot 93 are disposed one on the top of the other, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus body 90 to some extent, but in the case of a portable electronic apparatus such as an electronic organizer with which the memory card is usually used, the size may still be too bulky for the portable purpose for which such apparatus is designed.

IC card adapter for use in memory card slot with or without superimposed memory card