A frame-rate converter reduces halo artifacts along edges of moving objects. Halo artifacts occur on interpolated frames where a moving object covers and uncovers pixels along its edges. Motion estimation among three original frames produces hybrid direction motion vectors that are bi-directional for background and objects, but are unidirectional for covered and uncovered regions, since motion vectors with large matching errors are deleted. Covered regions in the interpolated frame are detected as intersecting only a forward but no backward hybrid motion vector. Bi-directional motion estimation from the hybrid motion vectors of two original frames produces refined motion vectors for the interpolated frame. Refined motion vectors in the covered regions are deleted and replaced with hybrid motion vectors from the original frames. Hybrid motion vectors from the original frames are assigned to the critical covered regions rather than using interpolated vectors in the covered regions, reducing halo artifacts.

The image quality of flat-panel televisions and other displays has improved in part due to higher refresh or frame rates. While film and video standards such as NTSC and PAL have fixed frame rates, up-converters in modern TV's and displays allows a higher frame rate to be displayed to the viewer. Higher frame rates have less time between adjacent frames, allowing for smaller movement of display objects between frames. Moreover, the LCD display hold time of each frame is reduced at higher frame rates. As a result, the after-image and thus the perceived motion blur is reduced. Motion appears smoother and less jerky with higher frame rates. Newer technologies such as 3D TV's require higher frame rates so that slightly different images can be displayed to each eye using active shutter glasses. In 3D TV's with active shutter glasses, left eye views and right eye views are displayed alternately. So the actual frame rate received by the viewer is reduced by half. Frame rate up-conversion is used to maintain the frame rate for each eye so as to keep motion as smooth as in 2D videos.
While frames could simply be replicated to increase the frame rate, modern graphics processors may create new frames between existing frames. The new frames may be interpolated from the two surrounding original frames. Each frame can be divided into MacroBlocks (MB's) and then generating Motion Vectors (MV's) for each MB. Each MB is then translated along the MV to construct the interpolated frame between the two original frames.
FIG. 1 shows frame interpolation for Frame-Rate Conversion (FRC). Frames 1, 2, 3 are original frames in an original video sequence having a lower frame frequency. Interpolated frame 1.5 is created from frames 1 and 2 by translating MB's from either frame 1 or frame 2 along MV's. Likewise, interpolated frame 2.5 is created from original frames 2 and 3 by macroblocks being translated along motion vectors. The translated distance to frame 2.5 may be half of the translation distance between frames 2 and 3 for each motion vector.
The final sequence of frames produced by interpolation has double the number of frames, with one interpolated frame inserted after each original frame.
Some foreground objects may be moving faster than the background, such as the honeybee moving toward the flower in the sequence shown in FIG. 1. These foreground objects (objects) have larger motion vectors relative to the motion vectors for background objects (background).
FIG. 2 highlights an object moving relative to a background, occluding covered regions. Object 10 in frame N−1 is in motion relative to the background, shown as a grid. Object 10 from frame N−1 moves to the location of object 10′ in frame N. Object 10 is translated along a motion vector to find the location of object 10 in interpolated frame N−0.5.
The location of object 10 moves lower and to the right for object 10′, as seen when frames N−1 and N are stacked on top of each other as shown in the bottom of FIG. 2. The apparent motion of object 10 creates an uncovered region U, and a covered region C. The uncovered region U is a portion of the background image that was hidden by object 10 in frame N−1 becomes visible in frame N. Likewise, covered region C is a portion of the background image that was visible in frame N−1 but becomes hidden by object 10′ in frame N.
Such covering and uncovering, or occlusion and disocclusion, by object 10 complicates frame interpolation.
FIG. 3 highlights missing motion vectors for covered and uncovered regions. The frames are shown edge-on in FIGS. 3A-B. In FIG. 3A, forward motion vectors 14 point to the locations where macroblocks from frame FN−1 appear in next original frame FN. Object motion vectors 12 for object 10 point to the new location for object 10′ in frame FN. The location of object 10 in interpolated frame FN−0.5 can be determined by translation of macroblocks in object 10 by half of the distance of object motion vectors 12, just as macroblocks for the background image can be located at half the distance of motion vectors 14.
However, object 10 is moving relative to the background. The apparent motion of object 10 causes some of the macroblocks in frame Fn to have no valid motion vector 14. For example, macroblocks just above object 10 in frame FN−1 are covered by object 10′ in frame FN, so these macroblocks have no matching macroblocks in frame FN.
In FIG. 3B, backwards motion vectors 14 point to the locations where macroblocks from frame FN appear in next original frame FN−1. Object motion vectors 12 for object 10′ point to the prior location for object 10 in frame FN−1. The location of object 10 in interpolated frame FN−0.5 can be determined by backward translation of macroblocks in object 10′ by half of the distance of object motion vectors 12, just as macroblocks for the background image can be located at half the distance of motion vectors 14.
Using backwards motion vectors also results in some of the macroblocks in frame FN to have no valid motion vector 14. For example, macroblocks just below object 10′ in frame FN were uncovered by the apparent movement of object 10 to frame FN, so these macroblocks have no matching macroblocks in frame FN−1.
Occlusion and disocclusion may cause problems for frame-rate converters. Since there are no valid motion vectors for covered or uncovered regions, simple motion estimation and macroblock translation breaks down along the edges of moving objects. The edges of objects can appear jumpy rather than move smoothly. Visible artifacts may be created by the frame rater converter when occlusion processes fail. For example, visible artifacts may take the form of a halo around the edges of a moving person's head. Thus these kinds of visible artifacts are sometimes known as halo effects, although they can occur along the edges of any moving object.
Various methods have been used to reduce such halo effects. Sometimes these methods are effective for some objects. but some combinations of objects and backgrounds can cause these methods to fail. For example, when the background is itself complex and changing, the methods may make incorrect assignments, causing some macroblocks from background objects to be placed over foreground objects. Ragged edges or blocky artifacts may also result from incorrect identification of covered and uncovered regions.
Some methods fail when the background is featureless. Detection may fail on object boundaries, resulting in ragged edges. The motion vectors may be inaccurate near covered regions, or may be incorrectly assigned, resulting in further visible artifacts. Computational load may be excessive for these methods of halo reduction.
What is desired is a frame-rate converter that generates interpolated frames with fewer visible artifacts. It is desired to generate macroblocks for interpolated frames in covered and uncovered regions even when motion vectors in both directions are not valid. Reduction of halo effects along the edges of moving objects is desirable.

Halo reduction in frame-rate-conversion using hybrid bi-directional motion vectors for occlusion/disocclusion detection

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company, Limited


There is provided an image forming apparatus which can output a job with a higher priority level in a timely manner without processing other jobs first, when a container has been attached to the image forming apparatus. Images on sheets are formed in accordance with an image forming job by a color MFP 104. The sheets on which the images have been formed is conveyed to a stacker tray 1207 detachably attached to an inserter 108 attached to the black-and-white MFP 105. Storage of the sheets on which the images have been formed in the stacker tray 1207 is controlled to selectively inhibit or allow the storage according to the priority level of the image forming job by a CPU 1805 of the color MFP 104.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and in particular to an image forming apparatus that executes image forming jobs that have priority levels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a system where a color image forming apparatus (color copy apparatus) and a black-and-white image forming apparatus (black and white copy apparatus) are connected to a network, when the images of a plurality of originals that contain both color originals and black-and-white originals are copied and printed out, users have been able to obtain a print result in which both color image pages and black-and-white image pages are mixed by having the images of all of the plurality of originals printed out by the color copy apparatus.
On the other hand, image formation processing by a color copy apparatus takes longer and is more costly than image formation processing by a black-and-white copy apparatus, so that there are demands for having the black-and-white originals in a plurality of originals in which both color originals and black-and-white originals are mixed printed out by a black-and-white copy apparatus. To meet such demands, when the images of a plurality of originals in which both color originals and black-and-white originals are mixed are copied and printed out, it is conceivable to have the black-and-white originals printed out by the black-and-white copy apparatus and the color originals printed out by the color copy apparatus.
In this case, in order to combine the recording sheets that have been printed by the black-and-white copy apparatus and the recording sheets that have been printed by the color copy apparatus into a single bundle like the original plurality of originals, the user has had to insert the recording sheets outputted by one of the copy apparatuses into the recording sheets outputted by the other copy apparatus by hand in order to arrange the originals in the page order.
This means that when the user wishes to collect a plurality of printed sheets together into a single document, part of the task cannot be performed by computer and the user has had to spread out the printed sheets on a desk and perform the task by hand, which has been very inefficient.
To improve this, the following conventional method has been proposed. A stacker tray (storage means) for temporarily storing color output sheets that have been outputted from a color MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) and an insert tray (refeeding means) for inserting color output sheets into black-and-white output sheets outputted from a black-and-white MFP when performing a color/black-and-white mixing are formed of a single common construction (hereinafter such common construction will be referred to as "the stacker tray"). Color output sheets that have been printed by the color MFP, whose output speed is lower than that of the black-and-white MFP, are stacked and stored in the stacker tray, and the stacker tray is attached to an insert apparatus (inserter) of the black-and-white MFP, so that the color output sheets are refed to perform color/black-and-white mixing control.
According to this color/black-and-white mixing control method, a variety of information for mixing color and black-and-white sheets, that is, information such as job numbers related to the color/black-and-white mixing job, designation of a printer for mixing, sheet size, the number of copies, stacking method, and material (a sheet type such as plain paper or thick paper) is set via a server that is connected to the network. Based on the set information, information on color originals is downloaded from the server and/or is read out from a storage means inside the image forming apparatus to form color images, and a color/black-and-white mixing operation is performed for color image sheets and black-and-white image sheets. By doing so, the occurrence of miscopied originals due to input errors by the user when making the settings has been suppressed.
However, with the above-described related art, when miscopies occur due to the erroneous insertion of one of a plurality of stacker trays or due to setting errors when a stacker tray is attached to an inserter, a large burden is placed on the user. In particular, setting errors for an inserter in the case where a plurality of black-and-white and color image forming apparatuses are connected via the network cause a large number of miscopies to be made and result in significant downtime. Also, in recent years there has been increasing demand for color/black-and-white mixing jobs of small lot sizes, so that it is desirable to stack output sheets for a plurality of jobs in a stacker tray.
According to one proposed solution of the above problem, the stacker tray is internally equipped with a memory that can be read and written and a variety of information on a plurality of jobs for performing color/black-and-white mixing is stored in advance in the memory. When the stacker tray is attached to an inserter, such information is automatically read. By performing color/black-and-white mixing control for one job or a plurality of jobs using such information, the erroneous attachment of the stacker tray and setting errors can be avoided.
FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming system comprised of a color MFP 2001 and a black-and-white MFP 2003, according to the proposed solution. It should be noted that in the illustrated example, output sheets related to a job that originally has a lower priority level are stacked on top of output sheets related to a job that originally has a higher priority level. A stacker 2002 is attached to the color MFP 2001 and is comprised of a stacker tray 2011 that is detachably attached and stores color output sheets, a storage device 2012 that stores a variety of information on a plurality of jobs, a lifter unit 2013 that can be raised and lowered and stacks color output sheets thereon, a discharge opening through which color output sheets are discharged from the color MFP 2001 to the stacker tray 2011, a sensor 2015 that detects a sheet surface inside the stacker tray 2011, a sensor 2016 that detects a position of the lifter unit 2013, a sensor 2017 that detects the attachment of the stacker tray 2011, gears 2018, 2019 that constitute a lifting mechanism for the lifter unit 2013, and so forth.
An inserter 2004 is attached to the black-and-white MFP 2003, and is comprised of a sensor 2021 that detects the attachment of the stacker tray 2011, sheet feeding rollers 2022 that feed black-and-white output sheets to an inside of the stacker tray, a multiple feeding prevention roller 2023 that prevents a plurality of black-and-white output sheets from being fed together, and so forth. After being detached from the stacker 2002 which is attached to the above-described color MFP 2001, the stacker tray 2011 can be attached to the inserter 2004. A large-capacity stacker 2005 is attached to the inserter 2004 and is comprised of a sensor 2031 that detects the attachment of the stacker tray 2011, a discharge opening 2032 through which output sheets are discharged from the inserter 2004, and so forth. Also, the above-described stacker tray 2011 can be detachably attached to the large-capacity stacker 2005 in the same way as with the inserter 2004.
However, there has been the following problem with the proposed solution described above. When a large number of output sheets that relate to a plurality of jobs have been stacked in the stacker tray 2011, if, as shown in FIG. 27 referred to, the stacker tray 2011 is attached to the inserter 2004 in a state where output sheets relating to a job with a lower priority level have been stacked on top of output sheets relating to a job with a higher priority level, output will be performed starting with the job with the lower priority level. This means that it is difficult to output the job with the higher priority level in a timely manner.

Image forming apparatus that executes image forming jobs having priority levels


A corner shelf system for providing a shelf in a corner location. A first wall and a second wall are joined at a corner edge. A shelf base has a third biscuit slot located at a first side surface and a fourth biscuit slot located at a second side surface. An inner portion of a first biscuit and an inner portion of a second biscuit are partially housed in the third biscuit slot and the fourth biscuit slot, respectively. An outer portion of the first biscuit and an outer portion of the second biscuit have asymmetric edges. The outer portion of the first biscuit and the outer portion of the second biscuit are partially housed in a first biscuit slot of the first wall and a second biscuit slot of the second wall, respectively.

When installing a shelf in a corner location, such as a shower or bath stall, an installer would typically have to prop up the corner shelf while the corner shelf sets in place, as well as tile around the shelf edges. This process of installing a corner shelf is cumbersome and time-consuming. Moreover, the corner shelf may fall out of place while it is being propped-up. Hence, there is a need for a corner shelf that is more convenient for installing.
The system of the present invention provides an easy and fast means of installing a corner shelf, and an installer does not have to tile around the edges of the corner shelf once it is installed.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.


A method of routing calls from a mobile unit to a destination location can include registering the mobile unit with a wireless adjunct, wherein the wireless adjunct is in communication with a switching unit and a packet based network and is operable to receive data from the switching unit and place the data, in packetized form, on the packet based network. The method can further include responding to a call setup request from the mobile unit and querying a subscriber database to determine if the mobile unit is a resident or a guest. If the mobile unit is a resident, communications data can be routed from the mobile unit through the switching unit to a first destination location. If the mobile unit is a guest, communications data can be routed from the mobile unit through an RF source to a second destination location.

As the rate of adoption of cellular or mobile telephone use continues to increase, there is a need to provide greater wireless coverage of service areas. One method of increasing that coverage, while also providing additional benefits, is the installation of in-building solutions for customers. In-building solutions feature a wireless adjunct unit in communication with a Private Branch Exchange ("PBX") within a customer's building. While the PBX services the customer's general desk top telephone needs, the wireless adjunct unit acts as an extension of a service provider's mobile telephone network that services the wireless needs of the service provider's customers within the building.
Incoming telephone calls to the PBX may be routed to the desktop telephone and a user's mobile unit, either simultaneously or in some predefined sequential order. When a user goes off-hook on either the mobile unit or the desktop phone, the call is setup and connected through the off-hook device, and any ongoing attempt to setup a call with the non-responding device is terminated. Thus, a user may receive an inbound PBX based call at either the traditional desktop telephone or at her mobile phone. Similarly, outbound calls from the user's mobile unit may be received by the wireless adjunct unit and routed through the building PBX to a destination number. Unfortunately, only users who have access to the PBX may utilize the in-building solution to place outbound calls or to receive inbound calls. Users who are guests within the building are at the mercy of the quality of coverage provided by external base station sites; often, poor coverage from such sites within the building is a large factor in the decision to install the in-building solution.
The wireless adjunct unit may provide base station functionality by interfacing to one or more antennae or repeater sites hardwired to the wireless adjunct unit placed throughout the building. Installation of such a hardwired system can be expensive and time consuming, as wiring needs to be installed or retrofitted throughout the building in order to provide signaling between the antennae or repeater sites and the PBX. In addition, the interfaces between the PBX and the adjunct unit and between the adjunct unit and the repeater sites are generally proprietary to the manufacturer of the equipment, thus limiting customer choice in purchasing and installing in-building solutions.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems identified above.

LAN based wireless communications system


A method and a device for operating a combustion engine allow a plausibility check of two pressure sensors in a mass-flow line of the combustion engine in any operating range of the combustion engine. At least one component effecting a pressure drop is provided in the mass-flow line, and a first pressure is measured upstream from the at least one component with the aid of a first pressure sensor, and a second pressure is measured downstream from the at least one component with the aid of a second pressure sensor. The first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are checked for plausibility as a function of at least one modeled variable characterizing at least one pressure drop in the mass-flow line between the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor.

Methods for operating a combustion engine which has a mass-flow line in the form of an exhaust branch and in which at least one component effecting a pressure drop is arranged in the exhaust branch, e.g., a turbine of an exhaust turbocharger, and/or a catalytic converter, are already known. In this context, it is also known that a first pressure can be measured with the aid of a first pressure sensor upstream from the turbine, and a second pressure in the exhaust branch can be measured with the aid of a second pressure sensor downstream from the turbine or downstream from the catalytic converter.
Currently, only limited measures are known to monitor the two pressure sensors in the exhaust branch. At very low engine speeds, or when the engine is turned off, the sensor values of the two pressure sensors are easy to compare with one another since the pressure differential between the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor is negligible. For other operating points, e.g., at greater rotational speeds, there are rough estimation methods for the monitoring of the pressure sensors which, however, do not consider the actual loading of a particle filter in the exhaust branch, in particular.

Method and device for operating a combustion engine


A method for organizing a communication system with automatic handoff. The method includes steps of: (i) sending a message from a first remote unit to a monitoring site during a specific time slot within a frame of time slots, wherein the first remote unit has a unique identification code and the message includes the unique identification code from the first remote unit; (ii) relaying the message including the identification code from the monitoring site to a central authority during a reserved time slot within the frame, the reserved time slot reserved for the relaying step; (iii) transmitting an acknowledgment message from the central authority to the monitoring site, wherein the monitoring site is determined from an updated lookup table of communications links between monitoring sites and remote units, during a time slot reserved for the acknowledgment message; and (iv) retransmitting the acknowledgment message from the monitoring site to the remote unit.

In tracking systems that include many portable, tracked remote units it is important coordinate the handoff between different monitors as the portable, tracked remote units move about and lose contact with one or another monitor. This problem is especially severe when communication requires line-of-sight (LOS) transmission of signals. In such systems, it is additionally desirable or essential to be able to assure that a message from a remote unit will be acknowledged by the monitoring sites in an organized fashion that assures reception of the acknowledgment by the remote unit that sent the initial message. This is particularly critical when the message that is being sent by the remote unit is an emergency (911) call which additionally provides descriptive information through a selectable canned message library or though a character-limited text message.
Thus, what is needed is a practical, economical method for providing seamless handoff between a multiplicity of monitors that are monitoring a (typically larger) number of remote units via a time division multiple access (TDMA) communications linkage. In such a system, it is particularly important to provide an acknowledging signal in an orderly fashion, especially when the initial communication is urgent.

Communication system with automatic handoff


Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments system of migration and validation. An embodiment operates by receiving an indication of a plurality of documents for migration from a legacy data format to a new data format of a computing system. A first set of data statistics corresponding to a selected one of the subset of documents prior to a performance of the migration, and a second set of data statistics corresponding to the selected document after the performance of the migration are determined. Both the first set of data statistics and the second set of data statistics side-by-side for the selected document are displayed. An indication whether the migration is validated or invalidated is received.

As business and technical systems are upgraded and changed, often times existing business documents need to be reformatted or migrated from a current or legacy document format to a new document format. One of the challenges in performing migrations is ensuring that no data from the existing documents is lost during the migration process from the legacy format to the new format. To ensure no data is permanently lost, the migration process should be validated prior to removing the old or existing business data in the legacy format.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.


A liquid-ring, rotating-casing compressor comprises a shaft carrying an impeller having a core and a plurality of radially extending vanes rotatably coupled to the shaft for rotation around a first axis, and a tubular casing mounted for rotation relative to the impeller around a second axis that is parallel to and offset from the first axis. The casing and impeller define a compression zone wherein edges of the vanes rotate in increasing proximity to an inner surface of the casing and an expansion zone wherein edges of the vanes rotate in increasing spaced-apart relationship along an inner surface of the casing. An inlet port communicates with the expansion zone, an outlet port communicates with the compression zone, and a drive imparts rotating motion to the casing. The eccentricity ecr of the casing relative to the impeller is between about (1−c)/4 and (1−c)/9, preferably less than half (1−c)/3.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,523 discloses an LRC and expander having a rotating jacket, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This known LRC, however, has several disadvantages: while the jacket is free to rotate by the liquid ring which is driven by the rotor, the velocity of the rotating casing lags behind the rotor's tips, rendering the flow unstable namely, causing inertial instability, especially when the angular momentum becomes smaller with large radiuses (the angular momentum of a liquid element located at a radius r is defined as the product u·r, where u is the tangential velocity). As the liquid velocity near the jacket follows the jacket's velocity, when the jacket's velocity lags behind the rotor's velocity, the friction, which is formed between the liquid and the jacket and the liquids between the liquid ring and the rotor vanes, will cause instability in the compressor.
Furthermore, in the prior art LRC, the lateral disc-shaped walls of the compressor are stationary. Thus, the liquid ring which rotates around the wet stationary walls, will also generate friction, detracting from the overall efficiency of the compressor.


The invention relates to improved variants of the anti-serum albumin immunoglobulin single variable domain DOM7h-11, as well as ligands and drug conjugates comprising such variants, compositions, nucleic acids, vectors and hosts.

WO04003019 and WO2008/096158 disclose anti-serum albumin (SA) binding moieties, such as anti-SA immunoglobulin single variable domains (dAbs), which have therapeutically-useful half-lives. These documents disclose monomer anti-SA dAbs as well as multi-specific ligands comprising such dAbs, eg, ligands comprising an anti-SA dAb and a dAb that specifically binds a target antigen, such as TNFR1. Binding moieties are disclosed that specifically bind serum albumins from more than one species, eg human/mouse cross-reactive anti-SA dAbs.
WO05118642 and WO2006/059106 disclose the concept of conjugating or associating an anti-SA binding moiety, such as an anti-SA immunoglobulin single variable domain, to a drug, in order to increase the half-life of the drug. Protein, peptide and NCE (new chemical entity) drugs are disclosed and exemplified. WO2006/059106 discloses the use of this concept to increase the half-life of insulintropic agents, eg, incretin hormones such as glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1.
Reference is also made to Holt et al, "Anti-Serum albumin domain antibodies for extending the half-lives of short lived drugs", Protein Engineering, Design & Selection, vol 21, no 5, pp 283-288, 2008.
WO2008/096158 discloses DOM7h-11, which is a good anti-SA dAb. It would be desirable to provide improved dAbs that are variants of DOM7h-11 and that specifically bind serum albumin, preferably albumins from human and non-human species, which would provide utility in animal models of disease as well as for human therapy and/or diagnosis. It would also be desirable to provide for the choice between relatively modest- and high-affinity anti-SA binding moieties (dAbs). Such moieties could be linked to drugs, the anti-SA binding moiety being chosen according to the contemplated end-application. This would allow the drug to be better tailored to treating and/or preventing chronic or acute indications, depending upon the choice of anti-SA binding moiety. It would also be desirable to provide anti-dAbs, that are monomeric or substantially so in solution. This would especially be advantageous when the anti-SA dAb is linked to a binding moiety, eg, a dAb, that specifically binds a cell-surface receptor, such as TNFR1, with the aim of antagonizing the receptor. The monomeric state of the anti-SA dAb is useful in reducing the chance of receptor cross-linking, since multimers are less likely to form which could bind and cross-link receptors (eg, TNFR1) on the cell surface, thus increasing the likelihood of receptor agonism and detrimental receptor signaling.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method and apparatus is provided for encoding and decoding to facilitate coherent communication. In encoding, reference symbols are inserted into a stream of input data symbols to form a reference coded stream of input data symbols. Subsequently, the reference coded stream of input data symbols are prepared for transmission over a communication channel by spreading the reference coded stream of input data symbols with a spreading code prior to transmission over the communication channel. In decoding, a received communication signal is despread with a spreading code to derive a stream of reference samples and a stream of data samples. The channel response is estimated by utilizing the stream of reference samples. Finally, an estimated data symbol is detected from the stream of data samples by utilizing the estimated channel response.

Communication systems take many forms. In general, the purpose of a communication system is to transmit information-bearing signals from a source, located at one point, to a user destination, located at another point some distance away. A communication system generally consists of three basic components: transmitter, channel, and receiver. The transmitter has the function of processing the message signal into a form suitable for transmission over the channel. This processing of the message signal is referred to as modulation. The function of the channel is to provide a physical connection between the transmitter output and the receiver input. The function of the receiver is to process the received signal so as to produce an estimate of the original message signal. This processing of the received signal is referred to as demodulation.
One type of communication system is a multiple access spread-spectrum system. In a spread-spectrum system, a modulation technique is utilized in which a transmitted signal is spread over a wide frequency band within the communication channel. The frequency band is much wider than the minimum bandwidth required to transmit the information being sent. A voice signal, for example, can be sent with amplitude modulation (AM) in a bandwidth only twice that of the information itself. Other forms of modulation, such as low deviation frequency modulation (FM) or single sideband AM, also permit information to be transmitted in a bandwidth comparable to the bandwidth of the information itself. However, in a spread-spectrum system, the modulation of a signal to be transmitted often includes taking a baseband signal (e.g., a voice channel) with a bandwidth of only a few kilohertz, and distributing the signal to be transmitted over a frequency band that may be many megahertz wide. This is accomplished by modulating the signal to be transmitted with the information to be sent and with a wideband encoding signal.
Three general types of spread-spectrum communication techniques exist, including direct sequence modulation, frequency and/or time hopping modulation, and chirp modulation. In direct sequence modulation, a carrier signal is modulated by a digital code sequence whose bit rate is much higher than the information signal bandwidth.
Information (i.e. the message signal consisting of voice and/or data) can be embedded in the direct sequence spread-spectrum signal by several methods. One method is to add the information to the spreading code before it is used for spreading modulation. It will be noted that the information being sent must be in a digital form prior to adding it to the spreading code, because the combination of the spreading code and the information typically a binary code involves modulo-2 addition. Alternatively, the information or message signal may be used to modulate a carrier before spreading it.
These direct sequence spread-spectrum communication systems can readily be designed as multiple access communication systems. For example, a spread-spectrum system may be designed as a direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system. In a DS-CDMA system, communication between two communication units is accomplished by spreading each transmitted signal over the frequency band of the communication channel with a unique user spreading code. As a result, transmitted signals are in the same frequency band of the communication channel and are separated only by unique user spreading codes. These unique user spreading codes preferably are orthogonal to one another such that the cross-correlation between the spreading codes is approximately zero.
Particular transmitted signals can be retrieved from the communication channel by despreading a signal representative of the sum of signals in the communication channel with a user spreading code related to the particular transmitted signal which is to be retrieved from the communication channel. Further, when the user spreading codes are orthogonal to one another, the received signal can be correlated with a particular user spreading code such that only the desired user signal related to the particular spreading code is enhanced while the other signals for all of the other users are not enhanced.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that several different spreading codes exist which can be used to separate data signals from one another in a DS-CDMA communication system. These spreading codes include but are not limited to pseudonoise (PN) codes and Walsh codes. A Walsh code corresponds to a single row or column of the Hadamard matrix.
Further it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that spreading codes can be used to channel code data signals. The data signals are channel coded to improve performance of the communication system by enabling transmitted signals to better withstand the effects of various channel impairments, such as noise, fading, and jamming. Typically, channel coding reduces the probability of bit error, and/or reduces the required signal to noise ratio usually expressed as error bits per noise density (i.e., E.sub.b /N.sub.o which is defined as the ratio of energy per information-bit to noise-spectral density), to recover the signal at the cost of expending more bandwidth than would otherwise be necessary to transmit the data signal. For example, Walsh codes can be used to channel code a data signal prior to modulation of the data signal for subsequent transmission. Similarly PN spreading codes can be used to channel code a data signal.
However, channel coding alone may not provide the required signal to noise ratio for some communication system designs which require the system to be able to handle a particular number of simultaneous communications (all having a minimum signal to noise ratio). This design constraint may be satisfied, in some instances, by designing the communication system to coherently detect transmitted signals rather than using non-coherent reception techniques. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a coherent receiver requires less signal to noise ratio (in E.sub.b /N.sub.o) than that required by a non-coherent receiver having the same bit error rate (i.e., a particular design constraint denoting an acceptable interference level). Roughly speaking, there is a three deciBel (dB) difference between them for the Rayleigh fading channel. The advantage of the coherent receiver is more significant when diversity reception is used, because there is no combining loss for an optimal coherent receiver while there is always a combining loss for noncoherent receiver.
One such method for facilitating coherent detection of transmitted signals is to use a pilot signal. For example, in a cellular communication system the forward channel, or down-link, (i.e., from base station to mobile unit) may be coherently detected, if the base station transmits a pilot signal. Subsequently, all the mobile units use the pilot channel signal to estimate the channel phase and magnitude parameters. However, for the reverse channel, or up-link, (i.e., from mobile to base station), using such a common pilot signal is not feasible. As a result, those of ordinary skill in the art often assume that only non-coherent detection techniques are suitable for up-link communication.
As a result, many recent publications have focused on optimizing non-coherent reception in DS-CDMA systems. For example see the following articles.
A. Salmasi and K. S. Gilhousen, "On The System Design Aspects of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Applied to Digital Cellular And Personal Communications Networks," Proc. of VTC'91, pp. 57-62, 1991.
F. Ling and D. Falconer, "Orthogonal/Convolutional Coding for Reverse Channel CDMA Communication," Proc. of VTC'92, pp. 63-66, May, 1992, Denver, Colo.
L. F. Chang and N. R. Sollenberger, "Comparison of Two Interleaving Techniques for CDMA Radio Communication Systems," Proc. of VTC'92, pp. 275-278, May, 1992, Denver, Colo.
Y. J. Liu, "Soft Decision Decoding for a Bit-Interleaved Convolutionally Encoded Code Division Multiple Access System over Rayleigh Fading Channel," Proc. of PIMRC'92, pp. 128-132, October 1992.
Each of these articles show that a substantial difference in performance exists when different coding, modulation, detection and interleaving techniques are used for up-link communication in cellular communication systems.
In the A. Salmasi and K. S. Gilhousen article, a DS-CDMA communication system is described which uses bit-by-bit interleaving within convolutional and orthogonal coding scheme to optimize non-coherent reception in DS-CDMA communication systems.
In the F. Ling and D. Falconer article as well as the L. F. Chang and N. R. Sollenberger article, an up-link DS-CDMA system that employs Walsh coding (i.e., orthogonal coding), non-coherent detection and using orthogonal symbol (i.e., word-by-word) interleaving instead of bit-by-bit interleaving was disclosed. The L. F. Chang and N. R. Sollenberger article shows that a word-by-word interleaved convolutional and orthogonal coding scheme requires about 1 to 1.4 dB less E.sub.b /N.sub.o than the similar bit-by-bit interleaving scheme described by in the A. Salmasi and K. S. Gilhousen article when the communication system which employs either scheme also utilizes power control of mobile communication units which move at different speeds (e.g., move at rates ranging from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour). While the word-by-word interleaving convolutional/orthogonal coding scheme has better performance than the bit-by-bit one, it has less implicit diversity than the latter. Moreover, it is still a non-coherent communication system and the combing loss can not be avoided.
Finally, the Y. J. Liu article describes a more sophisticated detection technique in which the performance of the up-link DS-CDMA communication system with Walsh coding and bit-level interleaving can be improved with a 4-port diversity combining without changing the interleaving method.
However, even in view of the above-described improvements for non-coherent communication systems, a need still exists for a communication system which employs coherent detection techniques.

Method and apparatus for coherent communication in a spread-spectrum communication system


What is described is a process for reading a chain (34) of code characters which is arranged annularly on a transparent bottle (10) in the bottom area of the same, by photographing at least the bottom area of the bottle through the bottle neck by means of a camera (24) and simultaneously illuminating the bottom area of the bottle from below. With a zero relative speed of rotation between camera (24), bottle (10) and illumination source (32), a snapshot of the bottom area of the bottle with the complete code character chain (34) is taken from the inside of the bottle with the camera (24) and is stored as an image for the later decoding of the code character chain. The code-reading process is a very rapid process, because the fraction of a second in which the bottle (10) is in a line with the camera (24) and the illumination source (32) is adequate for reading the code. The evaluation of the image of the code character chain (34) which is photographed occurs using a histogram technique by comparison with a stored annular pattern which is divided into sectors.

The invention relates to a process for reading a chain of code characters which is arranged on a transparent bottle or the like in the lower region of the same in an annular manner, by directing a camera through the neck of the bottle onto the lower region of the bottle, illuminating of the lower area of the bottle from outside and storing and decoding of the code character chain photographed with the camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,792 of the Applicant describes a process for introducing optically readable code characters onto the surface of containers, preferably plastic bottles, by producing cavities in the surface by means of a laser, so that the base of each code character is designed as a diffusely dispersing reflector. In the case of plastic bottles, this involves preferably multitrip PET bottles, i.e. PET bottles which are returned by the customer and then re-filled, which is intended to be done about 25 times per bottle. The code which according to this older German patent of the Applicant, is introduced by means of a laser, replaces, for example, the known Saint Gobain code of convex or depressed points, by means of which the blow die number is normally stated on the surface of the bottle, requires less time to apply than the known code and can record considerably more information. Moreover, it can be read more reliably. This reading takes place automatically with a reading head, for example, according to the further U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,415 of the Applicant. The reading head contains an optical electrical sensor which, by means of light guides, casts a beam of light sent out by a light source onto the surface of the bottle, and transmits a beam of light reflected by a code character back to a photoelectric receiver. For the reading procedure the bottle feed is interrupted when the bottle is opposite the sensor, and the bottle is rotated several times about its longitudinal axis, so that the sensor can record the chain of code characters several times.
This suspension of the feed and repeated rotation of each bottle opposite the sensor requires time, which should be as short as possible, as in inspection machines for re-fillable PET bottles the inspection capacity reaches 600 PET bottles/minute. Moreover, as multitrip plastic bottles become scratched more easily and are less stable in shape and resistant to ageing than glass ones, it can happen that with each refilling of the multitrip PET bottle, the process for the correct reading of its code creates further difficulties, because for example, the code character chain has altered its position or is noticeably blurred or indistinct. Furthermore, the known code-reading process is often made more difficult by the fact that bottles which are to be re-filled carry remains of labels or complete labels from the washing plant, or have been so badly scratched on the outside in use and for this reason create so much scattered light, that it is impossible to read the code correctly.
One code-reading process known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,405 avoids the last-mentioned problems by using for code-reading a camera which is so arranged that it points downwards through the neck of each bottle and is focussed on its base. A grid on the base of the bottle contains a code which indicates the number of the mould cavity in which the bottle has been manufactured. A code of nine characters is used, two of which indicate the beginning or end of the code. Light is projected from below through a gap onto the base of the bottle by means of an illumination source. In order to read the bottle code, its feed is interrupted underneath the camera, and the bottle is then rotated about its longitudinal axis. The code characters are provided in two concentric grid circuits on the base of the bottle. Each code character is composed of two bits, namely one in the outer grid circuit and one in the inner grid circuit. In order to read the code reliably, the bottle is rotated four times about its longitudinal axis during each reading procedure. The camera is a line-scanning camera which serially photographs the code characters passing the gap in the form of the graticule markings. This known reading process is certainly impaired less by external influences, as the camera photographs the code characters from the inside of the bottle, but it requires time and equipment on account of interruption of feed and repeated rotation of the bottles during each reading procedure, and on account of the apparatus necessary for clamping and rotating the bottle. The code used is costly, because the code character chain is composed of two concentric circular rings, which can only be provided on the bases of bottles. This would hardly permit more than mould cavity number information to be coded and would be applicable to glass bottles in any case. In this known process, working with code characters in two grid circuits cannot be avoided, however, because on the one hand each code character is composed of two bits, and on the other hand the beginning and end of a code character chain has not otherwise been able to be marked.
It is also already known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,151 to provide a code character chain in two rastered circles on the bottle wall above the bottom, the illumination and reading of these being performed, however, from the outside as in the Applicant's above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,415. The difference is simply that in place of the light sensor there is a camera.
A code reading process is in fact already known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,918, in which the code character chain is composed of only one circular ring which is provided on the base of a glass or plastic bottle, but in any case in this known process all the above-mentioned problems would appear to occur. In this known process, the light of a lamp is directed from above through the neck of the bottle onto the bottle base, and the bottle does not have to be rotated about its longitudinal axis during the reading procedure. A light detector is provided underneath the bottle base and has a reading head which is rotated about the longitudinal axis of the bottle, for the serial recording of the code characters. This is to say, the so-called scanner technique is used for working, in which a reading head rotates instead of the bottle. The time expended does not become less, although possibly the expenditure on apparatus does, as it is easier to set a reading head rotating constantly in the same position and alignment than bottles, which have to be clamped and rotated in succession over the one and the same reading head in as identical as possible an alignment and position. In the case of this known process also, each code character is composed of several bits. In order that the beginning of the code character chain can be determined, a special character combination of four grid markings arranged close beside each other is provided with which reading-off is intended to begin. Data sampling preferably takes place several times, in order to increase the reading accuracy. Nevertheless, the use of a self-correcting code with parity markings is provided for this known process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,883 describes a process and a device for the identification of a bottle, in which the code used corresponds to that used in the process described heretofore. A laser beam which is directed through the neck of the bottle onto the base of the bottle is used in order to illuminate the code character chain. Underneath the bottom of the bottle is arranged a mirror, which directs the emerging laser beam onto a sensor. For the reading procedure, it is necessary to set in rotation either the laser beam or, once again, the bottle, which is fraught with the problems described above.
Finally, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,314 are known a device and a process for identifying the mould cavity of a bottle, in which a lamp arranged over the bottle mouth and directed onto the bottom of the bottle and a reading unit arranged underneath the bottom of the bottle are at rest, but a rotatable prism is provided between the reading unit and the bottom of the bottle which directs the image of the bottom of the bottle via a condensing lens onto the reading unit and sets it rotating on the latter. The code character chain which is provided on the bottom of the bottle here again consists of two concentric rings. Because of the necessary relative movement between lamp and bottle on the one hand and reading unit on the other hand, which is created here by the rotating prism, the same problems arise as with the other known processes and devices in which this relative rotary movement is likewise necessary. With regard to the time expended at least, it is insignificant that a prism is rotated instead of the bottle or the reading device in order to achieve a serial reading of the code characters.
The problem of the invention is to improve a code-reading process of the type hereinbefore mentioned in such a way that the code can be read expending considerably less time and with a greater information content without any loss of accuracy.

Process for reading a chain of code characters from a transparent bottle


Sorting apparatus has a conveyor belt or equivalent mechanism for moving particles at a speed sufficient to generate a stream of particles in air, which particles can be graded such that selected material can be removed. The grading or sorting is conducted by a primary scanning system for analysing light reflected from particles in the stream in a plurality of wavelength ranges. Ejectors for removing particles from the stream are disposed downstream of the scanning system, and are instructed in response to signals received from the scanning system. An auxiliary scanning system is also included to establish the presence of material in the stream, and in the event that a void is detected in a given region, then the analysis of that region by the primary scanning system and any corresponding activation of the ejectors is inhibited If the auxiliary scanning system operates on the basis of light transmitted in the infra-red wavelength, then the scanning system can differentiate between a situation in which it is receiving light reflected from a product piece in a product stream, and light transmitted across the path of the product stream in the absence of a product piece therefrom. By this means, the monitoring of light received from the path of the product stream in the infra-red range can be used to perform all functions.

This invention relates to sorting apparatus, It is particularly concerned with sorting apparatus which grades particles in a flowing stream according to their color characteristics, and activates an ejection mechanism based on that grading to remove selected particles from the stream.
A particular color sorting apparatus of the above type is available from Sortex Limited of London, England under the designation Sortex 5000. That apparatus uses a bichromatic system for scanning particulate material in free flow through air, which system grades each particle in the stream, and instructs ejectors located downstream to remove from the stream particles not matching the predetermined acceptance criteria.
Various sorting apparatus which grade particulate material according to its ability to reflect light in different wavelength ranges are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,066,797; 4,203,522; 4,513,868; and 4,699,273, the disclosures whereof are incorporated herein by reference. Reference is also directed to British Patent No. 993,063. In apparatus disclosed in the '522 patent detectors are responsive to light reflected from the particles in different wavelength ranges and generate signals indicative of different qualities of the product. These signals are compared and analyzed, to generate a comparison signal which can activate an ejector to remove the relevant particle from the product stream.
Problems can arise in sorting apparatus of the above general type if some individual particles in the product stream are of different sizes. A larger dark product can in some circumstances reflect more total light than a much smaller light object. These problems can to some extent be met by the use of carefully selected background colors, but this solution usually involves a degree of compromise, even where a line scan system is employed. One of the problems in a line scan system is that spaces between products can appear as for example, dark defects. To obtain a matched background across the whole extent of the line scan the variation in illumination across the corresponding particles would have to be correlated both in color and brightness to the background. Even if this were attainable, it would be difficult to maintain in operation. A further degree of enhancement and flexibility in bichromatic sorting may be achieved by creating a say, red/green Cartesian map divided into accept and reject portions. Any background would limit and complicate the full implication of such a method of operation. thus, the best solution is to eliminate the background from the color measurement.


Devices and methods for stimulation of the vagus nerve to modulate (e.g., reduce, suppress, etc.) bone erosion. Methods and apparatus for modulating bone erosion may modulate levels of Receptor Activator for Nuclear Factor κ B Ligand (RANKL), and/or to modulate (increase, enhance, etc.) osteoprotegerin (OPG) and/or OPG/RANKL ratio. Devices may include electrical stimulation devices that may be implanted, and may be activated to apply current for a proscribed duration, followed by a period without stimulation.

RANKL is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) cytokine family that is a ligand for osteoprotegerin, and functions as a key factor for osteoclast differentiation, activation and survival. Targeted disruption of the related gene in mice leads to severe osteopetrosis and a lack of osteoclasts. These deficient mice exhibited defects in early differentiation of T and B lymphocytes, and fail to form lobulo-alveolar mammary structures during pregnancy.
The balance between RANKL, as a principle activator of osteoclast differentiation and activity, and its decoy ligand OPG has been shown to be the primary regulator of bone resorption. RANKL has been further validated as a mediator and biomarker of bone destruction that can be independent of coexisting cartilage damage and inflammation in arthritis.
Modulation of RANKL and/or OPG may therefore be beneficial in treatment of disorders implicated in osteoclast differentiation and/or activity, including bone regulation (e.g., resorption, remolding and/or growth). Suppression or inhibition of RANKL may be therapeutic in a range of other indications as well, including (but not limited to): glucocorticoid-induced and postmenopausal osteoporosis; reduction in bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and other systemic inflammatory diseases; increase in bone mass in patients treated with aromatase inhibitors or androgen deprivation therapy; prevention and treatment of bony metastases in solid tumors and multiple myeloma; and reduction in arterial plaque progression and rupture in atherosclerosis.
Overproduction of RANKL is implicated in a variety of bone diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. RANKL inhibitors (such as denosumab) have been proposed to treat osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. Further, inhibition of RANKL has been examined as a treatment for metastases from a variety of solid tumors and lytic bone lesions in multiple myeloma. For example, metastatic tumor cells may commandeer osteoblasts and other cells in bone to produce RANKL; the tumor cells then uses the resident osteoclasts to breakdown bone matrix and establish metastatic foci and also allow the metastases to grow.
Currently there are a number of pharmacological agents being examined to inhibit RANKL, increase OPG, or increase the OPG/RANKL ratio. For example, as mentioned above, Denosumab is an anti-RANKL antibody that inhibits RANKL. Unfortunately, there are many disadvantages to these therapies, including undesirable side effects and patient compliance. Thus, there is a need for a non-pharmacological therapy to modulate RANKL, OPG and/or OPG/RANKL ratio.
As described in detail herein, the inventors have surprisingly discovered that stimulation of the vagus nerve profoundly and significantly modulates RANKL, OPG and/or OPG/RANKL ratio. Although stimulation of the vagus nerve has been previously described, this is the first time that such stimulation (and particularly electrical stimulation) has been suggested to modulate RANKL.
For example, stimulation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) has been shown to modulate inflammation. CAP is a physiologic regulator of systemic inflammation which utilizes the vagus nerve to reflexively reduce inflammatory responses. Brief, intermittent neurostimulation of the vagus nerve (NCAP) has been shown to be effective in a variety of animal models of acute inflammation (Nature Rev Immunol 2009; 9:418). NCAP using implantable stimulation devices also holds promise as a potential therapeutic approach for chronic human inflammatory diseases. To date, however, the biological pathways affected by NCAP have not implicated RANKL or bone morphology.
For example, US 2006/0178703 to Huston et al. describes treatment of inflammation and inflammatory disorders (including rheumatoid arthritis) by electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve. Although Huston broadly teaches the stimulation of the vagus nerve (including using an implantable stimulator), this references does not optimize the stimulation with respect to osteoprotegerin (e.g., RANKL or OPG).
By targeting the stimulation parameters specific to RANKL/OPG, the methods and devices described herein may avoid potentially undesirable and unnecessary side effects of pharmacological intervention to modulate RANKL/OPG, and may provide for the first time, an implantable, electrical or mechanical devices for modulating RANKL/OPG; non-implantable electrical and mechanical modulation means are also contemplated and described. This data has been prepared using a rodent animal model to examine the effect of vagus stimulation in a rat model, examining bone morphology generally and RANKL/OPG specifically.

Devices and methods for modulation of bone erosion


The present invention presents an improved clip and an improved block wherein the material requirements for the clip are reduced and transmission performance for the assembly is improved. The present invention also presents a method of manufacturing the improved clip. The clips are of the type generally referred to in the art as 66 type clips. The clip of this invention has an oval opening with parallel sides between the base and that portion of the clip which holds the wire; and the oval aperture is flanked by arm portions of diverging width from the top of the aperture to the bottom of the aperture. In other words, the sides of the arms adjacent to the aperture are parallel, and the sides of the arms remote from the aperture diverge outwardly. This makes the arms thicker in width as they approach and join the base. This construction achieves the important advantage of a tapered beam element, which is well known to result in superior stress distribution than beams whose thickness is uniform. The design of the tapered arm portions of the present invention thereby produces equal or slightly higher normal forces than the prior art 66 clips with approximately 25 percent less material. Also, when displaced by a terminated wire, the clip of the present invention provides higher normal force than the prior art clip described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,845, which has greater material content.

This invention relates to the field of terminal clips and blocks, and connecting block assemblies thereof, used in telephone and data transmission interconnect assemblies. More particularly, this invention relates to a material reduced and transmission enhanced clip and block for clips of the type generally referred to in the art as 66 type clips. This invention also relates to a novel method of manufacturing such terminal clips.
Clip and block assemblies for 66 type clips are well known in the art and have been in use for many years. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,112,147 and 3,518,618 to Pferd et al and to Swanson et al, respectively. These assemblies include a dielectric block or housing in which are located an ordered array of terminal clips. The clips are located in a series of openings in the block, and the top, or interconnect, end of each clip projects through the opening to extend above the upper surface of the central portion of the block. The bottom or base portion of each clip is retained within the body of the block by a combination of interaction with the block and a retainer plate which connects to the bottom of the block and retains the clips in position in the block.
Recently, a requirement has arisen for a small 66 type clip that will be both (a) less expensive, because of reduced volume of material present in the clip, and (b) suitable for and capable of functioning in and for the same applications for which the previous 66 type clips have been used.
One attempt at a smaller and less expensive 66 type clip, and a block therefore, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,845 to Ayer et al. According to the '845 patent, the thickness of the clip is reduced relative to a previous 66 type clip of U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,147, the upper portion of the clip is unchanged in configuration relative to that previous clip, and the base is reduced in size relative to that previous clip, so that the overall height of the clip is about three-fourths that of the previous clip and the clip requires about two thirds of the material of that previous clip. The '845 patent is the closest prior art to this invention known to the inventors of the subject matter of this application.
An important feature of the Ayer et al '845 patent is that the lower part of the clip has a downwardly divergent aperture (76) between the base and that portion of the clip which holds the wire, and that aperture is flanked by arm portions (78,80) of constant width. The aperture (76) is triangular in shape, and the opposed inner and outer surfaces of the arm portions (78 and 80) are parallel.
As with prior art patents, most notably the Swanson '618 patent, the terminal block assembly described by the Ayer et al '845 patent consists of a block body that positions clips at a constant spacing and a slidably engageable retaining plate designed to captivate the clips in said block body. An important limitation of these and other prior art patents is that the regular clip spacing causes uniform capacitive coupling between adjacent rows of clips such that, when used with twisted-pair wires, the capacitive coupling between "tip" and "ring" wires that constitute a pair is equal to that of adjacent conductors from different pairs. Since crosstalk performance is determined by the capacitive imbalance between pairs (i.e., the difference in capacitive coupling between each conductor of a pair and a conductor of another pair), the constant spacing between rows poses a limitation in terms of crosstalk performance between adjacent circuits.
While it is appreciated that crosstalk performance may be improved by simply increasing the constant spatial separation between rows, such an approach has limitations and trade-offs in terms of diminished insertion loss and return loss performance caused by increased separation between tip and ring conductors of a pair, as well as limited compatibility with tools, adapters and other devices designed to plug directly into selected groups of clips on the connecting block assembly. Examples of such tools and plug-on devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,194,256, 4,585,290, 4,820,195, 4,883,430, 4,924,345 and 4,944,698, all of which are assigned to the assignee hereof.
All prior art blocks of this type are also limited by their height and the amount of material used to manufacture the connecting block body. The heights of the Pferd and Swanson blocks are determined by the height of the clip whereas the height of the Ayer et al block is determined by the combined height of the clip and that of the retainer ribs that support the clips. The disadvantage of these designs is that they are more limiting than other popular connecting block designs, such as the well known 110-series blocks disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,812 (also assigned to the assignee hereof), in terms of the vertical clearance required for the block assembly when it is installed in telecommunications cabinets or other shallow telecommunications distribution facilities. The relatively greater height of the prior art block designs also requires more plastic material, which poses other limitations in terms of manufacturing cost and shipping weight.

Material reduced, transmission enhanced connecting block and clip and method of manufacture thereof


A High Electron Mobility Transistor structure having: a GaN buffer layer disposed on the substrate; a doped GaN layer disposed on, and in direct contact with, the buffer layer, such doped GaN layer being doped with more than one different dopants; an unintentionally doped (UID) GaN channel layer on, and in direct contact with, the doped GaN layer, such UID GaN channel layer having a 2DEG channel therein; a barrier layer on, and in direct contact with, the UID GaN channel layer. One of the dopants is beryllium and another one of the dopants is carbon.

As is known in the art, current collapse (or dispersion) in pulsed IV measurement is a leading indicator of RF performance and power added efficiency (PAE) of a high frequency HEMT transistor. Gallium nitride (GaN) based HEMTs are prone to high levels of current collapse (CC). The geometry of the device structure, surface passivation, and the epitaxial structure of HEMTs all contribute to the CC. In terms of the epitaxial structure, the doping schemes used in the GaN buffer layer and/or barrier, the density and location of defects (such as impurity atoms or dislocations), and the quality of layer interfaces have particular impact on the CC. One such HEMT epitaxial structure is shown in FIG. 1. Here the structure includes:
A Substrate, such as Si, Al2O3, or SiC;
A Nucleation layer, such as AlN or Graphene, may not be present;
A High-Resistivity (typically greater than 1×105 ohm*cm) GaN Buffer, typically doped such as to render GaN insulating (dopants such as carbon, magnesium, iron) with thickness 200 nm to several microns;
An Unintentionally Doped (UID) GaN Channel, no intentional dopants, typical thickness 50-500 nm, 2D electron gas (2DEG) resides near UID GaN Channel to barrier interface;
A Barrier layer, such as AlGaN, InAlN, InAlGaN (traditional III-Nitrides), or ScAlN (rare earth-Nitrides); and
A Cap Layer, such as GaN, AlN, or SiNx, may not be present.
While CC reduction is critical, for highest performance, it should be simultaneously accompanied with low levels of gate leakage and drain leakage in the "off" state of the transistor, which has made the task of designing a low CC structure more elusive.
Gallium nitride and its related Group III-Nitride ternary and quaternary compounds have a high density of dislocations and other point defects due to the epitaxy of the material and lack of well suited lattice matched substrates. These defects induce current pathways through the buffer that are detrimental to both DC leakage and RF performance. Typically, in GaN HEMT structures, the buffer is heavily doped with carbon and/or iron impurities to mitigate the leakage in the epitaxial buffer. However, due to their close proximity to the 2DEG GaN channel, the carbon and iron impurity dopants also act as long lived traps, which may have lifetimes of microseconds, or longer, for charge carrier electrons in the 2DEG channel, significantly increasing the CC in the final HEMT device and negatively impacting performance.
As is also known in the art, theoretical calculations of the ionization energy of substitutional beryllium in GaN have estimated the ionization energy to be between 60 meV (see Bernardini et al., Theoretical evidence for efficient p-type doping of GaN using beryllium, arXiv:cond-mat/9610108v2 (1997)) and 550 meV (see J. L. Lyons et al., Impact of Group-II Acceptors on the Electrical and Optical Properties of GaN, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 52, 08JJ04 (2013)). In addition, interstitial beryllium has been calculated to have a low formation energy and to act as a double donor (see C. G. Van de Walle et al., First-principles studies of beryllium doping of GaN, Phys. Rev. B, 63, 245205 (2001)) that has the potential to lead to the compensation of substitutional beryllium acceptors. In practice, beryllium doped GaN material exhibits insulating behavior (see K. Lee et al., Compensation in Be-doped Gallium Nitride Grown Using Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Material Research Society Symposium, Proc. Vol. 892 (2006)) and has been used to mitigate the effects of conductive buffer layers in GaN HEMTs (see D. F. Storm et al., Reduction of buffer layer conduction near plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy grown GaN/AlN interfaces by beryllium doping, Appl. Phys. Lett., 81, 3819 (2002)). While suitable as a buffer dopant, beryllium doping at 1×1019 atoms/cm3 has been shown to have deleterious effects on the 2DEG mobility, 2DEG sheet density, and transistor performance when the UID GaN layer is less than 200 nm thick (see D. F. Storm et al., Proximity effects of beryllium-doped GaN buffer layers on the electronic properties of epitaxial AlGaN/GaN heterostructures, Solid-State Electronics, 54, 1470-1473 (2010)). Beryllium doping levels up to 3×1019 atoms/cm3 have been shown to cause no significant degradation of the GaN crystal quality (see D. F. Storm et al., Growth and characterization of plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxial-grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on free-standing hydride vapor phase epitaxy GaN substrates, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B., 23, 1190 (2005)), however, it is expected that higher levels of beryllium doping impurities will eventually cause a deterioration of the GaN crystal quality.

Gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) having reduced current collapse and power added efficiency enhancement


A food package container including a base and a body in alignment with and peelably sealed to each other is provided. At least one of snap closure assembly is provided on the respective peripheral flanges of the base and body, and this snap closure assembly provides an audible snapping signal when the consumer recloses the food packaging container. The closure assembly includes an insertion projection and an opening in general registry therewith which is undersized with respect to the projection.

The present invention generally relates to food packaging containers and method of forming the containers including locking members for snap locking together a base member thereof and a body member thereof. More particularly, the snap locking members include at least one mating snap closure assembly having a projection on one of the container members which enters into and snappingly engages an undersized opening in the other member of the packaging container. The projection may be subjected to crimping after it has been thermoformed into the package member. An audible snap sounds when the food packaging container is closed by pressing the package base member and body member together. The projection and the undersized opening are formed in the respective peripheral flanges of the base member and body member and at a location that is spaced outwardly from a peelable hermetic seal of the food packaging container.
Food packaging containers of the type that include a semi-rigid and/or thermoformed base member and a body member having a bubble portion for defining a cavity that encloses a food product are well known. Packaging containers of this type have long been used for merchandising packaged foods such as sliced luncheon meats, cheeses and the like. In these types of packaging containers, the food product is hermetically sealed inside the cavity under vacuum packaging conditions in a manner well known in the art. At times, mechanical pressure may be used in order to generally shape or form the food to the package cavity.
A desired objective of many of these types of packaging containers is to provide a food packaging container that is resealable, at least to the extent that the base and body or bubble portion will be readily reclosed after the hermetic seal has been broken and the package has been opened, typically to remove a portion of the food product within the cavity. Attempts in this regard have included the use of pressure sensitive adhesives which remain tacky through a number of openings and closings.
At times, consumers desire a re-securement arrangement that is more readily detectable and more positive-acting. Prior attempts to meet this desire have included various interengaging profiles wherein a component of the base portion generally lockingly engages another component of the body or bubble portion of the food packaging container. These attempts have met with a varied degree of success. One difficulty with some of these structures is the problem of knowing when proper alignment of the interengaging profiles has been achieved so that the interlocking engagement for which the package is designed will be achieved without requiring a great deal of care and attention on the part of the consumer. This can be particularly important for consumers who either do not possess the keen eyesight that might be needed to check that interlocking profiles have been fully engaged. This can also be important in that a typical consumer would like to be assured that the proper degree of interengagement has been achieved by proceeding with what might amount to only casual resealing action, rather than the need to proceed with a studied and careful procedure.
One such approach that can be used in informing the consumer that the designed extent of reclosure has been accomplished is to provide an audible snapping sound which informs the consumer that the package has been reclosed. For merchandising food packaging containers it is essential that any such reclosure means may readily be combined with packaging wherein the packaged foods are formed to the package with vacuum and often also with mechanical pressure.
The present invention responds to a need in the art for food packaging containers which are easily openable and easily reclosable in a positive manner to the extent that the consumer is provided with an audible sound signifying that the package has been reclosed in order to provide at least a perception of freshness preservation. In addition, the reclosing is easily accomplished without requiring close visual study or careful attention by the consumer. This packaging thus provides the consumer with a clear signal that reclosure has been accomplished to ensure that the cavity will not be inadvertently opened and to provide a non-hermetic barrier for retarding deterioration of the food product within the cavity.
In summary, the food packaging container according to the present invention includes a base and a body which together define a bubble enclosure that provides a cavity within which the food product is tightly enclosed. The food is hermetically sealed within the cavity by suitable peelable sealing means. Peripheral flanges of the base and body are positioned outside of the cavity and peelable sealing means, and locking means for snap locking the peripheral flanges together are formed therewithin. The locking means includes at least one closure assembly of a projection and an undersized opening positioned one on the base and the other on the body. The projection and opening are in registry with each other when the base and body are hermetically sealed to each other. After the package has been opened, this registry is easily re-established, at which time the projection enters into the undersized opening, and an audible snap will sound when reinsertion has been accomplished. Preferably, the projection is thermoformed into the package base or body, and it is of an adequate size to allow crimping thereof either before or after filling and sealing of the food packaging container. Post-thermoforming crimping of the projection causes or at least greatly enhances the audible snapping sound which is experienced when the base and body are pressed together.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide an improved food packaging container and method of forming same.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved food packaging container and method of forming same, which container incorporates at least one flange area snap closure assembly that effects an audible snap when the food packaging container is reclosed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved food packaging container and method of making same which provide a positive and clear signal to the consumer that the package has been reclosed.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved food packaging container and method of making same, which container can be readily reclosed without requiring a great deal of time, skill or attention on the part of the consumer, which can be further facilitated by a hinge assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved food packaging container and method of making same, which incorporates reclosure members that do not substantially increase the cost of the container and that are readily visible from the front of the container.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.

Reclosable food packaging having snap closure and method of making same


A microprocessor having a pipelined floating point unit operable to bypass pre-rounded results at clock cycle i and provide the pre-rounded results as an operand for a second instruction at clock cycle i+2. In one embodiment, the pipelined execution unit includes at least a first execution step at clock cycle i, and a second execution step at a clock cycle i+1 and clock cycle i+2. The unit includes a bypass leading from the first execution step at clock cycle i, however, there is no bypass leading from the second execution step at clock cycle i+1. The bypass carries the pre-rounded results from the end of the first execution step to the front end of the pipeline via a latched data path which delays the pre-rounded result one clock cycle.

Floating point within a microprocessor operations typically include multiple steps. In a first step, the arithmetic operation is performed to an infinite precision. In a second step, the result computed in the first step is normalized. In a third step, the result of the second step is rounded according to a rounding mode specified by the instruction. In particular, step three involves conditionally incrementing the mantissa of the result by a Unit in Last Place (ULP). Step three may also include checking for exceptions and responding to exceptions accordingly.
Typically, the latency of a floating point pipeline is reduced by hiding the third step. For example, assume in an instruction stream, instruction "n" is followed by instruction "n+1" which wants to use the results of instruction "n" as an operand.
The results of instruction "n" may get incremented (i.e., rounded) by a ULP in the third step of its execution. In other words, the result mantissa, generated by the second step and the result mantissa generated by the third step will typically only differ by a ULP. As a result, the latency of the floating point pipeline can be reduced by "bypassing" the results of instruction n following the second step as is illustrated in the flow diagram of FIG. 1.
More specifically, the intermediate results of instruction "n" may be bypassed from the end of step two to the front end of the floating point pipeline and made available as an operand for a dependent instruction (e.g., "n+1.") Assuming the results of instruction "n" were to have been rounded up during the third step, the rounding operation may be performed on the bypassed results in the first step of execution instruction n+1 in the floating point unit. In addition, the results from step three may also be bypassed to the front end of one floating point pipeline.
As previously stated, step three of the floating point operations may also involve detecting exceptions and manipulating the results in the case of exceptions. As a result, step three may require more than one microprocessor clock cycle in today's high frequency microprocessors.
For example, referring to FIG. 2, a floating point pipeline unit is shown wherein step three takes two clock (clk) cycles namely "i+2" (step 3a) and "i+3" (step 3b). If an intermediate result is unable to be bypassed from step 3a at the clock cycle i+2, there will be a "pipeline bubble" in the bypassing scheme. That is, there may be a bypass from the end of step two at clock cycle i+1 and a bypass from the end of step 3b at clock cycle i+3, no bypass would be available from step 3a at clock cycle +2. As a result, a pipeline bubble exist at the end of step 3a because the results of step 3a cannot be bypassed to the front of the floating point unit.
One solution is to provide a third bypassing path in the pipeline from step 3a at the clock cycle i+2 (i.e., the rounding stage). However, this solution necessitates additional silicon investments.
A second solution is to have the compiler compensate for the pipeline bubble in the bypassing scheme. However, the second approach results in compiler complexity and loss in performance due to unavailable bypassing paths.
As such, it can be appreciated that there is a need for a more efficient mechanism for eliminating pipeline bubbles in the bypassing scheme of a floating point pipeline.

Apparatus for bypassing intermediate results from a pipelined floating point unit to multiple successive instructions


An engine control system (32) apportions smoke and NOx in engine-out exhaust gas by a strategy (38) that corrects a target percentage for fresh air and a target percentage for exhaust gas to re-calculate a set-point for fresh air mass flow. The target percentage for fresh air mass flow is calculated as a function of engine speed (N) and an engine output torque request (TQI_DRIV).

Primary control of the torque output of a motor vehicle engine is performed by an accelerator input to an engine control system. The accelerator input may come from an accelerator position sensor (APS) operated by an accelerator pedal. The control system processes the accelerator input as an engine output torque request that is a function of accelerator pedal position. The more the pedal is depressed, the larger the torque request.
The torque request is processed by the engine control system as an element of overall engine control strategy which includes controlling engine operation in ways that enable the engine to comply with relevant tailpipe emission standards. In other words, while the control strategy seeks to operate the engine in accordance with the torque request, operation is controlled in coordination with a tailpipe emission control strategy.
Smoke and NOx are constituents of engine exhaust gas. "Engine-out" exhaust gas is exhaust gas that comes from the engine cylinders and into an exhaust manifold before entering an engine exhaust system. "Tailpipe-out" exhaust gas is exhaust gas that enters the surrounding atmosphere after having passed through the exhaust system. For any of various reasons, the quantities of various constituents in tailpipe-out exhaust gas may not be the same as in engine-out exhaust gas. For example, an exhaust system may include after-treatment, and engine-out exhaust gas may include some unburned fuel that is combusted in the exhaust system for exhaust after-treatment. NOx is typically controlled by controlling exhaust gas recirculation. Smoke, which comprises mostly particulate matter, is typically controlled by controlling air/fuel ratio.
The dynamic nature of motor vehicle engine operation, i.e. accelerations and decelerations, gives rise to transients that impact an engine control strategy and can change the proportions of constituents in engine-out exhaust gas in ways that affect compliance with tailpipe emission regulations.

Engine emission control strategy for smoke and NOx

International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC


A seat belt system includes a spool, a harness, a wedge clamp, and a load limiting plate. The harness is at least partially wound about the spool. The wedge clamp selectively engages the harness. The load limiting plate, which has deformable teeth, is operably attached to the spool. The teeth engage a pin. The pin deforms the teeth after a vehicle impact.

Most vehicles have a seat belt assembly that limits passenger movement during a crash. Sometimes, a pretensioner is used to preemptively lock the seat belt before the crash occurs. Even when engaged, however, pretensioners do not prevent the seat belt from moving. For example, slack can accumulate when a seat belt is wound on a spool. Simply engaging the pretensioner does not eliminate the slack. Referred to as the film spooling effect, during a collision, the slack must be taken up before forward movement of the passenger can be stopped.

Seat belt retractor with wedge clamp and load limiter