Display device comprising an electro-optical medium, for example an LCD of the (super)twisted nematic type in which the capacitive influence on the switching behaviour of extra (dummy) electrodes employed to neutralize the difference in electro-optical behaviour (discoloration) is compensated by giving the extra electrodes a fixed voltage or by providing a pattern of the dummy electrodes on the other substrate, particularly on non-overlapping parts of the picture electrodes.

The invention relates to a display device comprising an electro-optical medium between two supporting plates provided with electrodes which define pixels at overlap locations. The invention particularly relates to such a display device in which the electrodes on at least one supporting plate extend on the supporting plate beyond the area of the pixels where they are provided with drive elements.
The electro-optical medium is, for example a liquid crystal material, particularly a (super)twisted nematic liquid crystal material.
Such display devices are used in alphanumerical displays for measuring instruments, dashboards etc., but also, for example in computer monitor screens.
Display devices of the type described above are generally known. A problem which may occur particularly, but not exclusively in supertwisted nematic liquid crystal display devices is the phenomenon of discoloration because the distance between the two supporting plates is not the same throughout; notably this distance differs at the location of (between) two pixel-defining electrodes from that at the location of (between) an electrode and a supporting plate not provided with an electrode. Since the color difference increases at larger thicknesses of the electrodes, this problem frequently occurs in display devices in which the electrodes on at least one supporting plate extend on the supporting plate beyond the area of the pixels where they are provided with drive elements, because the electrode tracks should have a minimum thickness to ensure a good contact for connecting these drive elements, for example via chip-on-glass (COG) techniques. Moreover, a certain thickness is advantageous because there will be less voltage drop across the electrode and a more uniform display is obtained. The minimum thickness for this purpose is approximately 100 nm.

Display device with discoloration--prevention electrodes


A connector for fibre optic cable includes a housing having a plurality of female connectors therein. A multi-fibre optic cable has an end extending into the housing. Each of the fibres of the multi-fibre optic cable terminate at a respective one of the female connectors. Adhesive encases the fibres of the multi-fibre optic cable within the housing to inhibit movement thereof. A method of forming a multi-connection connector for a multi-fibre optic cable and an adapter for optically coupling a pair of optic fibres are also disclosed.

Fibre optic cable is used to communicate digital and analogue information by the transmission of pulses of light. By necessity, the fibre optic cable must have joints or connections with other fibre optic cable. Signal strength can be weakened by losses at joint or connections due to reflection or absorption of light at the joint between the fibre optic cables. It is desirable to minimize these losses either by minimizing the number of joints in the fibre optic transmission line or by ensuring that any joints or connections are of the highest optical quality.
Normally, two pieces of equipment are interconnected by connecting one end of a short section of fibre optic cable (called a patch cord) to the jack provided on the external surface of one of the pieces of equipment, and by connecting the other end of the patch cord to a patch panel. The patch panel has a housing upon which are secured a plurality of jacks, each of which is optically connected to one end of an individual fibre optic cable which forms part of am multi-fibre optic cable. The multi-fibre optic cable exits from the patch panel and runs to the other piece of equipment or to another patch panel which in turn is connected to the other piece of equipment.
Traditionally, one fibre optic cable is connected to the other fibre optic cable either by physical contact (butt-joining) or by melting them together (fusion).
Butt-joints are made by grinding the end surfaces of the two fibre optic cables to a smooth, convex radius and securing the mating cables so that their respective end surfaces are provided with secure physical contact. Failure to do this may result in the optical connection between the fibre optic cables being broken. Butt-joining is used to attach patch cords to patch panels.
Two fibre optic cables can also be joined by heating their end portions to a plastic or melted state, holding them together in alignment and permitting the fibres to solidify together. This process is usually referred to as fusion or as fusing the fibre optic cables together.
The conventional method for connecting a multi-fibre optic cable to a patch panel is to insert the end of the multi-fibre optic cable into the housing of the patch panel and divide the multi-fibre optic cable into its individual fibres. The fibres are wrapped around a spool within the patch panel housing to allow for additional fibre for making connections in case the end of the fibre is damaged in an initial attempt and to prevent bending of the cable to the extent that the optical fibre breaks. Spools of such type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,510 issued Dec. 11, 1990 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,587 issued Jul. 27, 1993.
Each individual fibre is then optically connected to an external connector attached to the housing of the patch panel either by:
(a) fusing the end of the individual fibre optic cable to a pigtail which in turn is butt-joined to the external connector; or PA1 (b) grinding the end of the individual fibre, attaching a field connector to the fibre and attaching the field connector to a coupler attached to the housing of the patch panel.
As will be appreciated, each process (the butt-joining and the fusion process) requires specific equipment to be used to machine the ends of the fibre optic cable or to soften or melt the ends of the fibre-optic cable while at the same time establishing the proper relative alignment of the fibre optic cables. The equipment is relatively easy to use in a factory environment where energy the plentiful and environmental conditions are easily controlled. In a field environment however, the grinding, heating and aligning steps are more difficult to do well and consume time and energy in the installation process.
Thus there is a need for a patch panel device which is easily used in the field to provide a reliable connection between a patch cord extending from one piece of equipment and a fibre optic cable extending to another piece of equipment or to another patch panel. There is also a need for a connector which will securely retain a fibre optic cable so as to prevent movement of it within a housing to inhibit damage to the fibre optic cable.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel connector for fibre optic cable, a novel method of forming the same and a novel adapter for optically coupling a pair of optic fibres.


A process of tracking mail during postal handling includes an initial step of sorting an incoming stream of mail on an automated sorting machine to a series of pockets based on a sort scheme. During sorting, RFID-tagged, machine-sortable markers are introduced into the incoming mail stream at intervals and the RFID-tagged markers are sorted with the mail into pockets of the sorter. Mail and markers are swept from the pockets into trays, and the markers are introduced such that at least one marker is swept to each of a set of trays containing the sorted mail. The trays containing the mail and markers are then transported away from the automated sorting machine. During a postal operation subsequent to the initial sorting, one or more of the RFID-tagged markers are scanned to identify mail from the initial sorting.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) receives and delivers an enormous volume of mail each day through a system that includes regional processing and distribution centers (P&DC's) and local post offices within each region served by a P&DC. See, for example, the diagram presented as FIG. 1 in Allen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,821. Mail received from postal patrons in each region is sorted at a high level, such as by the first three digits of the zip code at each P&DC, according to a sort scheme that also separates mail that should be sent to one of the local post offices within that region from mail that should be shipped to another P&DC for high level sorting ("outgoing mail".) Each P&DC thus sends and receives mail from other P&DC's, and also receives for sorting collection mail from within its associated region. Commercial mailers create bulk mailings that qualify for discounted postal rates which bypass some of the channels that collection mail is sent through and is presorted to a greater or lesser degree.
The USPS is committed to achieving delivery times that meet its published goals and seeks to avoid loss of mail in transit. If an error occurs in a sorting process that occurs at a P&DC, such goals can be seriously compromised. The sorting machines used at P&DC's scan mail moving rapidly on a pinch belt conveyor and sort it to one of a large number of bins or pockets. As these pockets become full during the sorting process, a postal worker sweeps the mail from each pocket into a postal tray. Each tray can hold 200-400 mail pieces. Thus, at the end of a sorting run, there are often two or more sets of trays containing mail that will be processed together at the next step, whether that step is a second sort or shipment to another P&DC. These trays are often grouped together on a cart, but trays containing mail from a single pocket in the previous sort may be split among several carts when necessary.
Errors are very costly to the USPS and can occur if some of the mail that should have been transported on to a secondary process is overlooked. If a single tray of mail is misplaced and found later in the P&DC, the mail in the tray will have missed the second step (such as a secondary sort) and have to be processed separately. This will also delay delivery of the misplaced mail to its recipient to a time much later than the stated postal performance goal. At present, however, the USPS must rely on human workers to make certain that mail is transported rapidly and accurately within each P&DC. Occasional errors cannot be avoided, and no automated system has been proposed to eliminate these errors in a manner that is practical considering the circumstances under which postal sorting facilities operate.
Placement of RFID tags on mail pieces in order to identify them has been proposed. See, for example, Sadatoshi et al. U.S. Patent Pub. 20050077353, which allows multiple mail pieces in a tray to be read by RFID. Most RFID readers presently available specify 4 inches between tags because the tag in front relative to the reader shades the one behind it. The system of Sadatoshi et al solves that problem, but it only works if the tray is moved parallel and in close proximity to the reader antenna with mail perpendicular to the plane of movement. This would not be practical for a cart of mail in trays, but could be made to work in a tray management system where the trays are moved down conveyors.
The USPS is implementing a system for tracking mail which they have called an "intelligent mail bar code", which is a 4-state 65-bar code that can encode 31 digits of information. This will allow mailers to apply a unique tracking identification number to each mailpiece. When the mail arrives at the facility, electronic manifests coupled with a unique tray and/or pallet identifier, such as an RFID tag as described in Pintsov U.S. Pat. No. 6,801,833, can enable a hierarchical tracking of the mail as the trays are removed from the pallet and sent to a sorting system such as a Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS). Pintsov also describes placing an RFID tag on each mail piece, but this has several drawbacks including the cost of the tags and the difficulty doing an RFID tag read on a cart carrying thousands of mail pieces. Even reads of a tray of mail where each piece has an RFID tag are not reliable because the transmission of one tag can "shade" the transmission of adjacent tags. RFID tags cannot be scanned as fast as bar codes and thus it is not practical to scan them as the mail is being transported on a sorting machine conveyor at high speed.
Given that it is not practical to put an RFID tag on each mail piece, identification of the mail in a tray is not possible after the mail has been removed from the original tray and mixed with other mail in a sorting operation. Each time a mail piece is sorted on a sorting machine, the barcode is read and tracking data is available, but it is not practical to keep track of the mail as it is removed from a pocket on the sorter and placed in a mail tray in today's operation. This is because the operator sweeping the system must leave a small amount of mail in the pocket for safety reasons, so it is not known how much of the mail was removed. The operator also typically prints up tray labels in batches and keeps them near the appropriate trays. These labels contain routing information only and cannot be used to uniquely identify trays. To make a unique identifier, the operator would either have to print a unique tag for each tray as the tray is filled, or a means would have to be provided to identify the tray as it is filled. Neither of these methods is practical because the operator is too busy to wait for a tag to be printed and the sorting machines are quite large, so a distributed tray reading system would be very expensive.
The USPS has been tracking mail manually within its facilities for decades, and no workable solution to the problem of tracking mail within a postal sorting center has been found. A practical solution to the foregoing problems with tracking mail within the postal system, i.e. within a single postal sorting plant and as mail is shipped from one facility to another, must require little or no element of human intervention or judgment. Ideally such a process would be fully automated, or nearly so. The present invention provides a solution to this difficult and long-felt problem.


A sterilization system includes a communication hub that is configured to transfer information between devices of the system such as a sterilizing cabinet, biological indicator analyzer, and a server in order to allow a user to track a medical device throughout a sterilization process. The server may provide data to the sterilizing cabinet during a sterilization process that may be used to verify that the medical device is compatible with the sterilizing cabinet, and to automatically select a compatible sterilization cycle to perform on the medical device. Automatic selection of sterilization cycles and confirmation of compatibility reduces the possibility for user error, which could result in contaminated medical devices being placed back into service. Automatic selection of sterilization cycles also allows users to more efficiently configure and perform sterilization cycles while being confident that the medical device will be sterile upon completion.

Re-usable medical devices such as certain surgical instruments, endoscopes, etc., may be sterilized before re-use to minimize the likelihood that a contaminated device might be used on a patient. Various sterilization techniques may be employed, such as steam, hydrogen peroxide, and vapor phase sterilization, either with or without a gas plasma and ethylene oxide (EtO).
Sterilization of medical devices may be performed with an automated sterilization system such as a STERRAD® System by Advanced Sterilization Products of Irvine, Calif. Examples of automated sterilization systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,519, entitled "Power System for Sterilization Systems Employing Low Frequency Plasma," issued Sep. 6, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,279, entitled "Sterilization with Temperature-Controlled Diffusion Path," issued Feb. 8, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,277, entitled "Sterilization System Employing a Switching Module Adapter to Pulsate the Low Frequency Power Applied to a Plasma," issued Feb. 8, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,719, entitled "Power System for Sterilization Systems Employing Low Frequency Plasma," issued Sep. 10, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Each different medical device may require a different arrangement and sterilization process.
While a variety of systems and methods have been made and used for medical device sterilization, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used the technology as described herein.

System and method for automating verification of medical instrument sterilization compatibility and sterilization cycle selection


A method and system are disclosed for handling logical-to-physical mapping and increasing the amount of mapping table information that may be stored in a cache in volatile memory. The method includes the storage device storing in fast access memory, such as RAM, a copy of only a portion of the complete mapping information for non-volatile memory of the storage device using a compressed format by compressing the mapping data when a skip pattern of interleaved sequential writes to non-volatile memory are found in the mapping information. The system includes a storage device having volatile memory, non-volatile memory and a controller in communication with the volatile and non-volatile memory that is configured to carry out the method noted above.

Non-volatile memory systems, such as flash memory, are used in digital computing systems as a means to store data and have been widely adopted for use in consumer products. Flash memory may be found in different forms, for example in the form of a portable memory card that can be carried between host devices or as a solid state disk (SSD) embedded in a host device. These memory systems typically work with data units called "pages" that can be written, and groups of pages called "blocks" that can be read and erased, by a storage manager often residing in the memory system.
In a SSD or other non-volatile memory storage there is a mapping table or other data structure that typically stores a map of all logical addresses to physical addresses. When data is written to a flash memory, the mapping table or other data structure that tracks the location of data in the flash memory must be updated. The time involved in updating data structures for file systems to reflect changes to files and directories, and accessing these data structures, may affect the performance of the storage device. Typically, runs of logical addresses exist which are written at the same time to contiguous runs of physical addresses, but the memory system should to be able to handle worst case scenarios where no contiguous runs exist and each logical address is mapped to randomly to different physical addresses.
Thus, in SSDs or other non-volatile memory storage devices, a fine granularity mapping table is required to allow best write performance. This table can typically be very large. The full table or subparts of it are generally required to perform read and write tasks so it is desirable to store a working copy in random access memory (RAM) to ease random read and write overhead. It may not be economically feasible or technologically viable to use a RAM sufficiently large to hold the entire table. However, if the entire mapping table is not held in RAM then read and write performance may slow down and write wear may increase in any flash memory that is used to hold portions of the mapping table that is not held in the RAM.

Method and system for dynamic compression of address tables in a memory


When encoding data bits in a CRC code word and "0" information is received for every bit by a dividing circuit, the CRC code word is divided by a generation polynomial and remainder data resulting from the division is output from parallel data output terminals of the dividing circuit. The remainder data is added to a CRC intrinsic value in the adder to produce a sum. The sum is a CRC code in a CRC code word for transmission. When a code error is detected, data having a plurality of bits in a CRC code word and a CRC code are received by the dividing circuit, where they are divided by the generation polynomial and remainder data is output from the respective parallel data terminals. The remainder data is added to the CRC intrinsic value in the adder to produce a sum, and the sum is processed into a logical sum in a logical sum circuit. The logical sum is output as a CRC flag. The present invention provides a CRC code generation circuit for generating a CRC code in a CRC code word at high speed as well as a code error detection circuit for detecting a code error in a CRC code word at high speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CRC code generation circuit, a code error detection circuit and a CRC circuit used in CD-ROM MODE 1 or CD-ROM MODE 2, for example, in the field of communication or storage media etc. More specifically, the present invention relates to a CRC code generation circuit for generating a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) code or an EDC (Error Detection Code) code (hereinafter, these codes are referred to in general as an error detection code (CRC code)), a code error detection circuit for detecting an error using the CRC code, and a CRC circuit which functions both as a CRC code generation circuit and a code error detection circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A CRC code word use in CD-ROM MODE 1 consists of a fixed pattern for synchronization, data following this pattern, and an error detection code (CRC code) which is added to the fixed pattern and the data. Japanese Patent publication No. 4-81896 discloses a decode error detection circuit for detecting a code error, in which the CRC code word mentioned above is regarded as one block.
The error detection circuit disclosed in the above-mentioned reference comprises a dividing circuit consisting of a shift register to which data in a CRC code word and CRC code are inputted, a NOR circuit which receives a result output from the dividing circuit and outputs a signal indicating "no error" when all the bits in the result from the dividing circuit are "0" and a signal indicating "error" when even one bit is "1", and an initial setting circuit for setting the initial state of a register constituting the dividing circuit to the same state as that is obtained when the fixed pattern of the CRC code is inputted sequentially.

CRC code generation circuit, code error detection circuit, and CRC circuit having functions of both the CRC code generation circuit and the code error detection circuit


Provided is an optical pickup actuator for writing/reading data in/from an optical storage medium. The optical pickup actuator includes a heat sink member or a heat conductive material for minimizing a bad influence of heat generated from a coil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup actuator for writing/reading data on/from an optical medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical pickup actuator functions to constantly maintain a relative distance between an object lens and an optical medium (e.g., a disk) by moving a lens holder holding the object lens. Consequently, the optical pickup actuator enables the object lens to follow a track of the optical medium to write/read data on/from the optical medium.
A related art optical pickup actuator includes an object lens for focusing a laser beam emitted from a laser diode on a recording layer of the optical disk, a lens holder safely holding the object lens, a magnet attached around the lens holder to generate a magnetic force therearound, a yoke protruded from a pickup base to fix the magnet, a coil attached to the lens holder and moved in a focusing direction or a tracking direction of the lens holder by an interaction with the generated magnetic force when a current is applied thereto, and an elastic support having one end fixed to one surface of a fixed frame and the other end fixed to a side of the lens holder so as to drive the lens holder.
When the optical pickup actuator is driven for a long time, heat is generated due to the current applied to the coil. The generated heat badly affects an operation of the optical pickup actuator.
Specifically, the generated heat is transmitted through the lens holder to the object lens. The transmitted heat may cause the object lens to have an increased aberration or cracks due to a corresponding thermal stress.
With the development of multimedia technology, the optical pickup actuator tends to be ceaselessly used for a long time for enjoyment of movies, games, etc.
Accordingly, there is required an optical pickup actuator that can rapidly dissipates the generated heat to prevent the heat from badly affecting it in spite of its long use.


One embodiment disclosed relates to a method for a switch to respond to a new client. A new client is detected at a port of the switch. The switch temporarily assigns the port to be an untagged member of a virtual local area network (VLAN) which is configured for unauthorized clients. Initialization services are provided to the new client via the unauthorized-client VLAN. The new client may be authenticated by way of an authentication session using the unauthorized-client VLAN. If the new client is authenticated, then the untagged membership of the port in the unauthorized-client VLAN is dropped, and the port is assigned to be an untagged member of a specified VLAN.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to networking. More particularly, the present invention pertains to access security for networks.
2. Description of the Background Art
Local area networks (LANs) of various types that are IEEE 802 compliant may be connected together with media access control (MAC) bridges. The IEEE 802.1Q standard defines the operation of virtual LANs (VLANs) within a bridged LAN infrastructure.
Under IEEE 802.1Q, VLANs are not restricted to a single switch. Such VLANs can span many switches (and may even span across a wide area network). A tag field with a VLAN identifier (VLAN ID or VID) is included with the data frame. The tag with VID serves to communicate the VLAN membership information between switches. Within IEEE 802.1Q, the VID can range from 1 to 4094.
A switch port which is IEEE 802.1Q compliant may be configured to transmit tagged frames to other IEEE 802.1Q-compliant devices (such as, for example, other IEEE 802.1Q-compliant switches), or it may be configured to transmit untagged frames to devices that are non-IEEE 802.1Q-compliant (such as, for example, typical network interface cards for printers or computers). A non-IEEE 802.1Q-compliant device that receives a tagged frame will not comprehend the VLAN tag and will typically drop the frame. Hence, a port should be configured to send untagged frames if non-IEEE 802.1Q-compliant devices are attached to the port.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional IEEE 802.1Q-compliant switch 100 with ports configured as members of various VLANs. The switch 100 includes a switching section 102, a plurality of switch ports 104, a switch operating system (OS) 106, and a switch configuration file 108.
The switching section 102 is coupled to each of the ports 104. The switching section may include, for example, a crossbar switch or other circuitry, and makes connections between the ports 104 so that frames can be transferred from one port to another port.
Eight switch ports 104 are shown in this example. The ports 104 are shown as numbered, for example, as #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8. Under IEEE 802.1Q, each port may be assigned untagged membership in one VLAN. More specifically, there is an ingress list and an egress list of VLANs. The ingress list helps determine how to classify frames onto VLANs when they are received. The egress list determines the format (tagged or untagged) the frames will have when transmitted. It is possible to have many untagged VLANs on the egress list in untagged format, but typically in ingress, there is only a single untagged VLAN. In other words, as far as the ingress list is concerned, typically a port 104 may be an untagged member of only one VLAN, but it may be a tagged member of more than one VLAN. Even if a port 104 is not an untagged member of any VLAN, it may still be a tagged member of one or more VLANs and pass along frames with those VLAN tags.
The untagged membership of each port 104 in FIG. 1 is indicated by a Port VLAN ID or PVID. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1: port #1 has been configured with PVID 2; port #2 has been configured with PVID 1; port #3 has been configured with PVID 2; port #4 has been configured with PVID 3; port #5 has been configured with PVID 2; port #6 has been configured with PVID 1; port #7 has been configured with PVID 2; and port #8 has been configured with PVID 1. In other words, ports # 2, #6, and #8 are untagged members of the VLAN having VID 1. Ports #3, #5, and #7 are untagged members of the VLAN having VID 2. Port #4 is an untagged member of the VLAN having VID 3. Port #1 is not an untagged member of any VLAN.
In the example illustrated, port #1 is coupled to another switch that is 802.1Q compliant. As such, the other switch can receive and decode frames with VLAN tags. Such tagged frames may be sent via port #1 to the other switch. For example, port #1 may be a tagged member of the VLAN with VID 3. For example, if port #2 of the switch 100 received a broadcast data frame tagged with VID 3, that tagged data frame would then be transmitted via port #1 to the other switch. In addition, an untagged version of the data frame would be broadcast via port #4.
The switch OS 106 includes software routines used to control the operation of the switch 100. The switch configuration file 108 includes configuration information utilized by the switch OS 106. For example, the switch configuration file 108 may include the untagged and tagged VLAN membership data for each port 104 of the switch 100.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart depicting a conventional method 200 for responding to a new client at a port when the port is under the control of the IEEE 802.1X port access control scheme. For purposes of discussion, consider the new client to be accessing the network via switch port #7 of the switch 100 in FIG. 1. The new client is detected 202 by the port. For example, the new client may be a laptop computer of a university student, and the student may be trying to access a network in a teaching laboratory at the university. In this example, the laboratory network utilizes an implementation of the IEEE 802.1X protocol to authenticate student computers before allowing the computers access to the network.
IEEE 802.1X is an example of a network access server (NAS) protocol. IEEE 802.1X runs at layer 2 of the OSI networking model, and so IEEE 802.1X may be completed prior to a client obtaining an internet protocol (IP) address (which is a layer 3 type address). Under IEEE 802.1X, an authentication session may utilize, for example, the Radius protocol between an authentication server and supplicant software at the new client.
A branch in the process 200 occurs depending on whether or not 204 the new client has the resources present to enable an authentication session. For example, the branch would occur depending on whether or not the student's computer has IEEE 802.1X-compliant supplicant software.
Let's first consider the situation where the situation where the new client does have the resources to enable the authentication session (the Y or Yes branch from 204). For example, the student's computer has the IEEE 802.1X supplicant software already installed. In this situation, an authentication session occurs 208 with the new client in order to authenticate the new client. The authentication may involve, for example, checking the new client against a secure database of authorized users. If the new client does not pass authentication, then access by the new client to the network would be denied 206. If the new client passes the authentication, then access via the switch port 104 would be granted 212 to the new client. In our example, if access was via port #7 of FIG. 1, then the new client would be able to receive untagged frames on the VLAN with VID 2.
However, now consider the situation where the student's computer does no have IEEE 802.1X supplicant software currently on it. In other words, the new client does not yet have installed the resources needed to enable the authentication session (the N or No branch from 204). For instance, IEEE 802.1X software is included in Microsoft Windows XP, but not in prior versions of Windows. Hence, a laptop running one of the prior versions would not have the IEEE 802.1X supplicant installed as part of the operating system. In this situation, since the authentication session is not enabled, access is simply denied 206. This result is undesirable because the new client may be "friendly" (for example, it may be a properly registered student with an older Windows operating system on her laptop). In other words, if the new client had the proper resources, then authentication may have been completed. However, due to a lack of the resources, the authentication session was not enabled to be performed. In another example, the new client may have the supplicant software installed, but it may not yet have a valid account.
The above-described problems and disadvantages may be overcome by utilizing embodiments of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for access security services

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A screening device for wastewater includes a perforate screening member through which wastewater in an associated channel flows from a bottom side thereof to a top side thereof. An overfall wall is positioned in the wastewater channel. A clearing member is shiftable relative to the screening member for cleaning screenings therefrom, and is positioned upstream of the overfall wall. A waterwheel is positioned in the wastewater channel at a location downstream of the overfall wall, and is operably connected with the clearing member for mechanically shifting the same to remove the screenings from the screening member without using external power.

The present invention relates to a wastewater screening device for retaining solids at overflows which are carried along in the wastewater, having an apparatus for clearing away the screenings. The wastewater screening device includes a drive for the screen clearing apparatus which is upstream of an associated overfall, and is oriented such that the wastewater flows through the screening device from bottom to top.
Wastewater screening devices are generally know from DE 42 15 002 A1. In the latter, the screening device has a plurality of rods which are arranged in a parallel relationship, with a space or distance between the rods of several millimeters. An apparatus for clearing away the screenings lodged between the screening rods has wiper elements, which are moved by a drive that is arranged between the screening rods, and can be moved to and fro in order to remove the screenings from between the screening rods. The rods of the screening system are of a straight design, and arranged horizontally. The wiper elements are mounted in pivoting levers, which can pivot about an axle arranged above the rods. The rods are pivoted by a drive unit, which is mounted in an upper cross member of a frame of the screening device, and which is composed of a motor and a gear mechanism, with the drive unit being attached to a cover or to a wall of a structure which forms the rain overflow basin. It contemplates using an electric, pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder as the linear drive.
A disadvantage associated with this type of screening device is that the structure for holding the screening device, which includes the apparatus for clearing way the screenings and the drive, is extremely tall owing to the arrangement of the drive above the maximum wastewater level. Furthermore, the positioning of the screening device, and in particular of the drive, is tied to a predetermined location, because the drive requires a power source for the motor, such as an electric motor, a pneumatic motor, or a hydraulic cylinder. It is therefore not possible to mount the screening device at any desired location. On the other hand, this outside or extraneous energy drive is located in a region of the installation, such as a high water spillway installation, in which it is subjected to moisture, which results in an increased risk of faults or of failure of the drive for the screen clearing apparatus.
EP 1 223 252 A2 describes a screen device which is mounted in a dividing wall between a wastewater main channel and an associated side channel. This screening device has a fixed drum which is enclosed at the sides, and divides the main channel from the side channel. The drum is provided with a large opening on its side facing the main channel, with the result being that the wastewater can pass into the drum from the main channel via the opening. On the side facing the side channel, the drum is provided in its lower region with a screen, so that material which is carried along in the wastewater is retained at the drum when the flow passes through the drum, and only clean water can pass from the drum into the side channel. An apparatus for clearing away the material is rotatably mounted within the drum. The device is driven by a waterwheel, which is arranged downstream of the screen in the direction of flow. The rotating waterwheel rotates the apparatus for clearing away the screenings via a belt or a drive.
Screening devices which are configured in a similar manner to that disclosed in DE 42 15 002 A1 are also described, for example, in DE 195 15 924 A1, WO 98/31882, WO 99/49145 and WO 01/75249 A1.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An imager pixel array capable of separating and detecting the spectral components of an incident light without the use of a color filter array. The imager pixel array employs a grating layer which allows one or more spectral components of incident light to be transmitted therethrough, but diffracts other spectral components of the incident light. Both the transmitted and diffracted spectral components can be sensed by photosensors in the imager pixel array and used in subsequent data processing, thereby improving the quantum efficiency of the imager device. The grating layer can be formed of first and second materials each having a refractive index which are substantially the same at a predetermined wavelength.

Solid state image sensors, also known as imagers, have commonly been used in various photo-imaging applications. An imager absorbs incident radiation of a particular wavelength (such as optical photons or x-rays) and generates an electrical signal corresponding to the absorbed radiation. There are a number of different types of semiconductor-based imagers, including charge coupled devices (CCDs), photodiode arrays, charge injection devices (CIDs), hybrid focal plan arrays, and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagers. These imagers, when used with appropriate imaging circuits, capture, process and display images for various purposes. Current applications of solid state imagers include cameras, scanners, machine vision systems, vehicle navigation systems, video telephones, computer input devices, surveillance systems, auto focus systems, star trackers, motion detector systems, and image stabilization systems among other uses.
Imagers are typically formed with an array of pixel cells containing photosensors, where each pixel cell produces a signal corresponding to the intensity of light impinging on that element when an image is focused on the array. The signals may then be stored, for example, to display a corresponding image on a monitor or otherwise used to provide information about the optical image. Photosensors are typically photogates, phototransistors, photoconductors or photodiodes. The magnitude of the signal produced by each pixel cell is proportional to the amount of light impinging on the photosensor.
To capture a color image, a color filter array (CFA) is typically employed and placed in front of the array of pixel cells. For example, each pixel cell is covered with a color filter, such as e.g., a red (R), green (G) or blue (B) filter. In a typical CFA layout, the red, green, and blue filters are arranged in a mosaic sequential pattern, such as a Bayer filter pattern, which is quartet-ordered with successive rows that alternate red and green filters, then green and blue filters. When a CFA is used, photosensors separately detect red, green or blue photons.
When using the CFA technique to differentiate colors, the quantum efficiency of an imager can be compromised as color filters allow only a narrow spectral band of incident light (e.g., red, green, or blue light) to pass through while absorbing the rest of the photo energy. Color filter arrays made by current CFA manufacturing processes can also be susceptible to a number of process issues, such as non-planarity and streaks, which can lead to fixed pattern noise and other defects. Moreover, a captured image having individual color pixels must then be processed using a color demosaicing technique, which can increase processing time and the complexity of the imager.
Accordingly, it is advantageous to provide an imager pixel array capable of more efficiently and effectively separating and detecting spectral components of incident light to improve the quantum efficiency of imagers.

Method and apparatus providing imager pixel array with grating structure and imager device containing the same


A crystal unit includes: a crystal blank in which a depression which function as a vibration region is formed; first and second excitation electrodes formed on both principle surfaces, respectively, of the crystal blank in the vibration region; first and second extending electrodes provided so as to extend from the first and second excitation electrodes, respectively, toward the outer periphery of the crystal blank; and a receptacle body. Bonding of the first extending electrode with eutectic alloy at one point of the outer periphery of the crystal blank electrically and mechanically connects the crystal blank to the receptacle body with the one point as the fixed end. The second extending electrode extends as far as the position of the fixed end and is electrically connected to the receptacle body by wire bonding at the position of the fixed end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quartz crystal unit for use at high frequencies of, for example, 100 MHz or more, and more particularly to a crystal unit having excellent secular change characteristics and oscillation characteristics, and to a holding structure for the crystal unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crystal units in which a quartz crystal blank is accommodated inside a receptacle are incorporated in oscillators as frequency control devices, and particularly, as the reference for communication frequencies. With the increasing use of optical communication in recent years, crystal units with higher oscillation frequencies are now in demand.
In a crystal unit that employs an AT-cut quartz crystal blank, which is a representative crystal blank, the resonance frequency is inversely proportional to the thickness of the crystal blank. To obtain a crystal unit having higher oscillation frequencies, crystal units are being developed in which a depression is provided in the vibration region of the crystal blank and the thickness of the crystal blank in this depression decreased, whereby not only is the oscillation frequency raised, but the vibration region is held and the mechanical strength maintained by the relatively thick portions around the periphery of the depression. This type of crystal blank is disclosed in, for example, U.S. patent application Publication Ser. No. 2004/0135471 A1.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a sectional view showing one example of a crystal unit of the prior art, respectively. FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a state in which cover 10 of the crystal unit has been removed.
The crystal unit is provided with rectangular AT-cut crystal blank 1, crystal blank 1 being accommodated inside receptacle body 2. A circular depression is formed in substantially the central portion of one principle surface of crystal blank 1, and the crystal blank is thinner in the bottom surface of the depression than at the outer periphery, this thin portion being vibration region 3. A pair of substantially circular excitation electrodes 4a and 4b is formed on the both principle surfaces of crystal blank 1 in vibration region 3, respectively. Extending electrodes 5a and 5b are provided on the respective principle surface so as to extend from corresponding excitation electrodes 4a and 4b toward the two opposing ends of crystal blank 1. Each of extending electrodes 5a and 5b connects to a corresponding excitation electrode over approximately half of the outer circumference of the excitation electrode and extends to the outer periphery of crystal blank 1 by way of a fan-like expanding region. This expansion of the connection region between the excitation electrodes and extending electrodes reduces the electrical conductive resistance between the excitation electrodes and the extending electrodes to a low level.
Receptacle body 2 has a depression and is composed of laminated ceramics. A pair of internal terminals 6a and 6b composed of a thick-film metal are formed on the inside bottom surface of receptacle body 2, and internal terminals 6a and 6b are electrically connected to a pair of external terminals 7a and 7b for surface mounting that are provided on the outer surface of receptacle body 2.
Crystal blank 1 is electrically and mechanically connected to receptacle body 2 by securing one end of the crystal blank to which extending electrode 5b is extended on one internal terminal 6a that is provided on the inside bottom surface of receptacle main body 2 by means of eutectic alloy 8. In addition, the other end of crystal blank 1 to which extending electrode 5a is extended is electrically connected to the other internal terminal 6b by wire bonding that uses gold wire 11.
In order to prevent the other end of crystal blank 1 from bending upon wire bonding, the other end of crystal blank 1 is placed on pillow member 9 provided on the inside bottom surface of receptacle body 2. After wire bonding has been completed, the open face of receptacle body 2 is covered by cover 10 to hermetically seal crystal blank 1 inside the receptacle and thus complete crystal unit.
In the crystal unit according to the foregoing description, only one end of crystal blank 1 is secured to receptacle body 2 by eutectic alloy 8, and crystal blank 1 oscillates with this secured end as the fixed end. The other end of crystal blank 1 functions as a free end even though this end is placed on pillow member 9 and connected to gold wire 11 of wire bonding. In this configuration, the securing of crystal blank 1 at only one point prevents the occurrence of distortion caused by the difference in thermal expansion between crystal blank 1 and receptacle body 2, and further, maintains an excellent frequency-temperature characteristic of the crystal unit.
However, in a crystal unit of the above-described configuration, a pillow member 9 is necessary for carrying out wire bonding at the other end of crystal blank 1, and this other end therefore contacts pillow member 9 when crystal blank 1 is oscillating. In other words, the other end of crystal blank 1 is not a completely free end, and the possibility therefore exists for difficulty in initiating vibration at the crystal unit as well as for a deterioration in the characteristics of the crystal unit.
To eliminate this possibility of deterioration, pillow member 9 is preferably removed after carrying out wire bonding, but pillow member 9 is difficult to remove from inside the depression of receptacle body 2 after securing crystal blank 1. This removal becomes particularly difficult with increased miniaturization of the crystal unit. In addition, even if pillow member 9 can be removed, there is the problem of an increased number of fabrication steps.

Quartz crystal unit and holding structure for same


A safety device for use with an elliptical exercise machine includes a holder frame, a movable member, a locking member, and an operating member. The holder frame is fixedly mounted in the elliptical exercise machine at a predetermined selected location. The movable member is movably mounted in the elliptical exercise machine. The locking member is movably mounted in the holder frame in order to selectively lock the movable member from moving. The operating member is operable to move the locking member. A user can lock the movable member of the elliptical exercise machine after each exercise. When the user uses the elliptical exercise machine again and steps on the pedals of the elliptical exercise machine before starting to exercise, the user will not accidentally fall from the elliptical exercise machine due to an unexpected displacement of the center of gravity.

Elliptical exercise machines are common machines used for physical exercises. Such machines generally have two pedals and two handlebars connected with the pedals for holding by the user while stepping on the pedals. When using the elliptical exercise machine, the user steps on the pedals and hold the handlebars with the hands, and then the user can simultaneously move their hands and legs, causing the pedals to be moved back and forth along the designed motion track.
According to the conventional design, the user can start to exercise when stepping on the pedals of the elliptical exercise machine. However, when the user steps on the pedals before starting to exercise, the pedals will be forced to move under the weight of the user. The sudden displacement of the pedals may cause the user to accidentally fall from the pedals.
There are commercial elliptical exercise machines with brake mechanisms. However, when either friction type or electromagnetic type brake mechanisms are used, the pedals will still be forced to move when the user steps on the pedals with sufficient force to overcome the brake mechanism, and there still exists the risk of a falling accident.

Safety device for elliptical exercise machines


Technologies for identifying rogue access points having an actual location different from a registered location include a computing device to receive a unique identifier of each access point of a plurality of access points within a communication range of the computing device from the corresponding access point. The computing device determines a registered physical location of each access point based on the unique identifier. Additionally, the computing device determines a reference distance between the computing device and each access point based on a transmitted signal received from each corresponding access point and a spatial distance between each access point and each other access point based on the registered locations of the access points. Based on the spatial distances and reference distances, the computing device identifies which of the access points are rogue access points.

Location-based services continue to be integrated into countless applications for mobile computing devices. Accordingly, to provide helpful services, the location of the computing device must be accurately determined. Trilateration is a method of determining a relative or geodetic location of a computing device relative to multiple reference points with known locations. For example, a computing device can attempt to determine its location using trilateration methods given its relative distances to various reference points in the area. Oftentimes, the computing device retrieves the locations of the reference points from an external public database or from the reference points themselves.
The existence of rogue reference points can significantly influence the accuracy of trilateral algorithms. An external database storing the location data regarding the reference points may have incorrect information due to human error or a malicious attack. For example, an adversary may "poison" the location database with false locations of reference points and/or induce the reference points themselves to provide false location advertisements. Based on this "poisoned" location data, the resultant location of the computing device will likely be erroneous.


According to one embodiment, an information storage device includes a recording/reproducing head, a positioning controller, a position detector, a storage module, and a position error detector. The position detector detects the position of the recording/reproducing head. The storage module stores servo control filters. The position error detector generates a new position error signal from a target position and the position of the recording/reproducing head when the positioning controller performs positioning control with control current obtained from a position error signal having passed through each servo control filter. Upon occurrence of a recording/reproducing error, learning to calculate a vibration amount from the position of the recording/reproducing head is sequentially performed for the servo control filters for a predetermined time. The positioning controller performs the positioning control with control current obtained from the position error signal having passed through one of the servo control filters where the vibration amount is smallest.

1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an information storage device and a computer product.
2. Description of the Related Art
To prevent head positioning control performance from being lowered due to influence of vibration applied to an information storage device such as a hard disk device, a technology has been proposed in which positioning control is performed based on a position error signal received from servo information obtained by the head using a servo control filter.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-95119 discloses a conventional technology for generating a correction signal. According to the conventional technology, when vibration is detected in a disk device, one or more filters are selected from a plurality of filters prepared in advance to remove frequency signals of different bands.
In the conventional technology, a correction signal is generated using one or more filers selected from a plurality of filters prepared in advance according to the band of vibration detected in a disk device. Therefore, considerable time is required to select filters most suitable for various types of vibrations detected in the disk device. This delays a response to a host side, resulting in degradation of the performance.

Information storage device and computer product


An optical device and an information recording/reproducing apparatus using the optical device are disclosed. Incident light is output to a path selected from a plurality of paths so that an optical path can be secured with high precision for a separated (two-part) optical system. The optical device and the information recording/reproducing apparatus include a first reflective unit for reflecting the incident light in a fixed direction, and a second reflective unit for reflecting the light received from the first reflective unit to a second optical path. The two reflective units are movable in a body between two positions, one position being on a first optical path, and the other position being in an evacuation position where the first optical path is not intercepted.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an optical disk apparatus 1.
The optical disk apparatus 1 includes a spindle motor 11, an optical device 12, a control unit 13, and a signal-processing unit 14. The optical. disk apparatus 1 is provided with an optical disk 2. The optical disk 2 is engaged by the spindle motor 11. The spindle motor 11 rotates the optical disk 2 at a predetermined rotational speed according to directions from the control unit 13.
The optical device 12 irradiates light to the optical disk 2. The light is reflected by the optical disk 2, and the light reflected by the optical disk 2 is supplied to the optical device 12. The optical device 12 detects the reflected light from the optical disk 2, and outputs a signal that is detected. The detected signal output from the optical device 12 is supplied to the signal-processing unit 14. The signal-processing unit 14 demodulates and decodes the detected signal, and information recorded on the optical disk 2 is obtained. The information decoded by the signal-processing unit 14 is supplied to an external storage apparatus 3.
Various optical recording media are currently available, such as compact disks (CD), and digital video disks (DVD). The optical disk apparatus 1 is required to be compatible with the various optical recording media.
A high data density is obtained if a semiconductor laser included in the optical device 12 irradiates short wavelength light. The diameter of an optical spot formed by a condensing optical system with a given numerical aperture (Numerical Aperture, NA) is proportional to the wavelength of the light to be used. By using a short wavelength laser for reading and writing information, recording pits can be made small, and high density can be attained. Previously, it was difficult for a semiconductor laser to generate short-wavelength light, because the gain required for laser oscillation was difficult to obtain. However, recently and continuing, semiconductor lasers capable of oscillating at a wavelength of 410 nm at normal temperature for a long time are being commercialized, and are used in optical disk apparatuses. Further, research on recording materials for short-wavelength is advancing.
The condensing spot can be made small, when the wavelength is held constant, by increasing NA of the condensing optical system. For example, NA of a pickup for a CD is 0.45, and NA of an objective lens for a DVD is 0.60.
In order to avoid collisions between the disk and the lens, the optical disk apparatus 1 is provided with a sufficient working distance. Further, weight of the objective lens provided to a carriage must be as light as possible in order to facilitate movement. For this reason, the objective lens cannot be thick.
It is possible to realize a thin lens having a high NA by designing the lens surface as an aspheric surface that is defined by a high order polynomial. However, in the past it was difficult to manufacture a lens with the required precision. Through improvements in processing technology, such an objective lens that can be applied to an optical disk apparatus has at last become available.
Further, requirements concerning aberration of the lens having a high NA are also severe, coma aberration generated by inclination of a medium increasing in proportion to the third power of the NA. The influence of the aberration is reduced by making substrate thickness of the disk less than conventional optical disks. For example, a CD having a diameter of 120 mm, and having a capacity of 640 MB, is 1.2 mm thick, while a DVD that has the same diameter, and a capacity of 4.7 GB uses two substrates, each of which is 0.6 mm thick, that is, 1.2 mm thick in total.
As mentioned above, specifications of recording media change as higher densities become available. For this reason, optical disk apparatuses are required to be capable of reading/writing not only new higher-density media but also conventional media. Accordingly, an optical head that is capable of providing sufficient optical properties to recording media of differing operating wavelength, NA and substrate thickness is needed. Considering apparatus size and manufacturing cost, it is not realistic to install separate light sources and optical systems corresponding to various media. A common configuration capable of reading/writing different media is required.
Conventionally, a method is considered, whereby the objective lens is common. However, it is difficult to eliminate the aberration generated by the difference in substrate thickness. Especially, in the case of a separated (two body) optical system that is designed for high-speed access, wherein the light source and the detection system are fixed, and only the objective lens moves for seeking; since the objective lens moves extensively in relation to the light source, the light incident on the objective lens cannot be greatly different from parallel light. If the incident light turns into divergent or convergent light, the luminous intensity of light changes according to whether the objective lens is near the center of a disk or near the edge of it, and performance is degraded. Accordingly, control of the aberration of the incident light is difficult.
Conversely, when the light source common, the configuration is such that a short wavelength light source is used, and the light is made to pass along an optical path that is different depending on the kind of medium, and different objective lenses are used. Since each objective lens is designed for a substrate for reading/writing at the optimal wavelength to be used, even if there is a difference in substrate thickness, it is easy to suppress the aberration.
Further, NA is determined such that the required spot is obtained, considering the difference in optimal wavelength. About optimization of the diameter of the spot, the difference in optimal wavelength can be compensated for by setup of the NA of an optical system.
The wavelength dependability of a medium and a method of optical-path switching pose problems. The wavelength dependability of the medium appears as a reduction of the signal properties when the wavelength shifts from the optimal wavelength. The problem of wavelength dependability can be solved by designing the optical system so that the resolution is high, and a wide margin of tolerance is provided for normal reading/writing operations of the signal.
On the other hand, as for the problem related to switching of the optical path, a method wherein two objective lenses are mounted to a switching mechanism that switches by rotation is used.
A block diagram of an example of the conventional optical system is shown in FIG. 2.
The conventional optical system shown in FIG. 2 adopts a one-body optical head with all components installed on a carriage.
A one-body optical pickup 20 shown in FIG. 2 includes an integrated optical head 21, a collimating lens 22, a mirror 23, objective lenses 24 and 25, and a stage 26, all of which are mounted on a carriage 27.
The integrated optical head 21 is an optical device that further includes a light source, a detector for focal error detection, a detector for tracking error detection, and a detector for reproducing-signal detection, all of which are integrated. The light that is irradiated from the integrated optical head 21 is incident to the collimating lens 22. The collimate lens 22 changes the divergence light from the integrated optical head 21 into parallel light. The light output by the collimating lens 22 is incident on the mirror 23. The mirror 23 reflects the light from the collimating lens 22 in the direction of the disk 2, i.e., the direction of arrow B.
The light reflected by the mirror 23 is converged by one of the objective lens 24 or the objective lens 25, and is irradiated to the disk 2. The light irradiated to the disk 2 is reflected by the disk 2, and passes through the objective lens 24 or 15, the mirror 23, and the collimating lens 22 again, and is supplied to the integrated optical head 21.
The objective lenses 24 and 25 are fixed to the stage 26. The stage 26 is arranged so that it can rotate in the direction of arrow C. When the stage 26 rotates, either of the objective lenses 24 or 25 is located above the mirror 23, i.e., the objective lens is switched. The switching of the optical system is carried out in this manner.
The rotating mechanism of the stage 26 (not shown) has to be large in size in order to attain precision. If the stage 26 is enlarged, the mass of the optical pickup 20 becomes large. When the mass of the optical pickup 20 becomes large, there are problems, such as track-seeking speed being decreased.
Further, the optical pickup 20 shown in FIG. 2 requires adjustments of the objective lenses 24 and 25, and adjustments of the switching mechanism, i.e., axial adjustment of the stage 26, which poses problems, such as the assembly process becoming complicated.
For this reason, it is desired that an optical-path switching mechanism of a separated optical system that is capable of high-speed seeking be provided to the fixed optical unit.
The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned desire, and aims at offering an optical device, and an information recording/reproducing apparatus using the optical device, wherein optical-path switching is made possible using a separated optical system.
Further, the present invention aims at offering an optical device, and an information recording/reproducing apparatus using the optical device, that can provide an optical path with high precision using a separated optical system.

Optical device, information recording/reproducing apparatus using the optical device


The present invention embraces a fruit pulp extraction process that avoids the concentration or freezing of the pulp, together with the packaging method that allows the processor to offer fresh and natural tasting fruit pulps to be consumed at any moment by only adding water and thus obtaining instantly a naturally fresh tasting fruit juice. The invention also includes the product obtained through this process-packaging combination.

One of the primary goals in the field of food sciences, in particular with the area of industrial mass food production, is maintaining the best fidelity to the features of the natural product. This is not an easy task, since many of the processes and additives that permit a high yield at an industrial level are precisely those that alter the original features of the food product, thus leading to an optimization process where one is obligated to choose between yield in the process or fidelity to the natural product.
In the field of fruit pulps, much research and development has taken place with the purpose of maintaining the original taste qualities of recently extracted pulp. The recently extracted pulp tastes like fresh fruit pulp made at home, and maintains the physiochemical characteristics of the fruit. On the contrary, when the pulp is subject to freezing and concentration (which is typical in the prior art), its taste and physicochemical characteristics vary, and the texture of the juice as the end product is degraded, thus lowering the final quality of the product. For purposes of this document, it is important to establish the difference between fruit pulp and fruit juice. The pulp is the material extracted directly from the fruit, which normally is mixed with water or another liquid to drink (i.e. most consumers do not consume the pulp directly). The juice is precisely this blend of the pulp with water, in other words, the end product for the consumer.
When the fruit is peeled or opened, the pulp suffers almost immediately from biological degradation caused by various factors, which makes it especially hard to process, transport, or store at an industrial level, especially at room temperature. One of the most important problems is the oxidation process. In the presence of light and oxygen, the pulp's natural flavor becomes bitter and at the same time turns to the color brown which gives it an unacceptable appearance. Various solutions have been proposed in the prior art to resolve or slow down this process, e.g., concentration of the fruit pulp, freezing or refrigeration, addition of chemical preservatives, and the reduction of oxygen in the final packaging. However, a satisfactory product that has high fidelity for home extracted fruit pulp and that avoids the oxidation process without the need for concentrating or refrigerating has not been obtained.
Alteration of the fruit pulp by microbiological action also exists. Recently extracted fruit pulps contain numerous microorganisms of different types (bacteria, molds and yeasts). The first microbiological alteration that can be occur quickly at room temperature is alcohol fermentation, which is caused by different yeasts and in some cases accompanied by superficial proliferation of molds and of lactic fermentation. For this reason, recently extracted fruit pulp must be considered an extremely perishable article. Solutions for this problem in the art of food preservation generally include the use of preservatives of wide commercial use, such as sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, as well as refrigeration and concentration.
At industrial production levels, additional problems also exist for the processing of the fruit pulp or its byproducts. One of them is maintaining homogeneity in the final product, since it is natural for variations to exist within different batches of fruit used to provide the raw material for the pulp, particularly where different species of fruits are used, or when they come from different geographical zones. Two key variable characteristics are the acidity, measured in pH, and the sugar levels, also known as the "Brix level". The acidity is typically leveled with the introduction of citric acid. The sugar level is leveled with the sucrose, fructose, or glucose.
Another problem that presents itself at the industrial level is that of maintaining a continuous and well preserved source of fruit. Many times it is necessary to import the fruit or the pulp from different regions with the purpose of satisfying the market demand, which also implies the adequate preservation of this fruit or pulp during its transportation and storage. The worldwide renowned solution for this problem has been to use the concentrated and/or frozen pulp as the raw material. The concentrated or frozen pulp permits easier handling, and at the same time provides a homogenous source at the moment of reconstituting the concentrate so as to once again obtain the pulp. At an industrial level, a production plant is more efficient when it uses concentrated or frozen pulp, instead of obtaining its own fruits and processing them. The concentrated and frozen pulp is easy to come about, is always available, especially where futures markets exist for this commodity. The pulp concentrate is produced by one of the various concentration processes well known in the state of the art (for example, low pressure evaporation). In theory, the dilution of a good fruit pulp with the adequate amount of water should provide a product equal to fresh made juice. The reality is very different because of the alterations that happen during its production and storage, which naturally affect the taste properties of the pulp considerably. For example, the concentration process almost always implies a thermal evaporation process, which subjects the pulp to temperatures that without a doubt induce important chemical changes. Alternatively, the darkening process is also more problematic in the case of concentrates and implies the use of refrigeration or chemicals to counteract it. The use of concentrates also makes it impossible for the maker of the product to regulate the initial flavor and texture of the recently extracted pulp, which is a critical aspect if one desires to reproduce pulp freshly obtained at home. Obviously, if one desires to reproduce a home made pulp, the process for making freshly made pulp at home must be simulated; however, it is common for concentrate manufacturers to tend to make good use of the capacity of their machines to practice an excessive extraction that allows yield improvement, but with adverse effects to the taste properties and the stability of the pulp. No suggestion nor teaching exists in the state of the art, in relation to the industrial production of pulps, to go directly from the recently extracted pulp to the packaging process, and moreover, the opposite seems suggested: it is almost mandatory to use frozen pulp or concentrate as a raw material for reasons of efficiency and convenience.
Another serious problem that results during industrial level production is the degradation of the pulp's texture as a final product. The natural texture of the juice, known as mouthfeel, must reflect a certain quantity of solids that are normally present in the pulp after the fruit is extracted. A great portion of the texture degradation occurs during the freezing of the concentrate (for its transportation and storage), which causes rupture in the cellular walls of the pulp's compounds, thus seriously affecting the texture of the final juice. The rest of the degradation is the result of the use of mixers, pumps, and filters during the production process. A known solution to give back the original texture to the juice is the latter addition of pulp, with the purpose of trying to recreate the natural mouthfeel created by the presence of solids in a defined ratio. (For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,086--for orange juices). Degradation of the frozen pulp or concentrate also exists at the level of colloidal alterations, by means of which the concentrate's elevated viscosities can give way to gelatination phenomenon, which of course results in the loss of all of its commercial value. This last type of degradation can be avoided with the addition of chemicals such as sodium citrate, or through the inactivation of pectolytic enzymes by thermal processes.
The conventional commercial presentation of the fruit pulp is a package, typically refrigerated or frozen, that contains a large serving, in other words, for 4 or more glasses of juice. To prepare the juice, the consumer must mix the pulp in water (or other liquid, such as milk), and in many cases a blender is used given the frozen state of the pulp. The majority of consumers consider that it is only worthwhile to prepare juice (in other words, mix the pulp with water) when various glasses will be prepared and not only one. Likewise, this juice is normally only prepared where it is possible to maintain the pulp refrigerated, and where methods exist for mixing the pulp with water. In other words, the conventional fruit pulp package does not allow the consumer to carry an individual portion of pulp (say in her pocket) and to mix it easily with water at any time of day.

Process for manufacturing recently extracted fruit pulp, packing method and the product obtained thereby


A method for capturing dust generated during movement of sand through a sand delivery system includes positioning an inlet at a first end of each of a plurality of conduits for collecting dust in a corresponding space surrounding a corresponding point along a conveyor. A second end of each of the plurality of conduits is coupled in fluid communication with a manifold system including at least one manifold extending generally parallel to the ground. Substantially an entire length of the conveyor, including the space corresponding to the inlet of each of the plurality of conduits, is covered with a cover for containing dust generated during movement of sand along the conveyor. Air is drawn through the manifold system and the plurality of conduits to capture dust generated during the movement of sand along the conveyor through the inlet of each of the plurality of conduits.

Hydraulic fracturing ("fracing") is a well known technique for releasing oil and natural gas from underground reservoirs within rock formations having a limited permeability. For example, fracing is often used to release oil and natural gas, such as natural gas or oil, from shale formations.
Fracing is a well completion technique performed after the drilling of the wellbore, which in the case of releasing natural gas from shale, is commonly a horizontal wellbore, although occasionally the wellbore is vertical. Fracing fluid, which is primarily water and chemicals that form a viscous gel, is pumped into the well to create fractures within the surrounding rock. The viscous gel carries a "proppant" into the fractures, such that when the pumping stops, the fractures remain substantially open and allow the oil and natural gas to escape into the wellbore.
One typical proppant is "frac sand." Frac sand is normally high purity silica sand with grains having a size and shape capable of resisting the crushing forces applied during the closing of the fractures when the hydraulic force provided by the pumping is removed. However, given that frac sand contains a high proportion of silica, the loading, transportation, and unloading of frac sand presents significant safety challenges.
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") lists silica as a carcinogen. In particular, the exposure and inhalation of silica dust has been linked to silicosis, which is an irreversible lung disorder characterized by inflammation and scarring of the upper lobes of the lungs. The best, and perhaps only way, to reduce or eliminate the threat of silicosis is to carefully control worker exposure to silica dust.
OSHA lists a number of different ways to limit worker exposure to silica dust, including limiting worker time at a worksite, limiting the number of workers at a worksite, watering roads and other worksite areas, enclosing points where silica dust is released, and requiring workers to wear respirators. These techniques do not, at least on their own, provide a complete solution to the problem of controlling silica dust. Furthermore, these existing techniques, while commendable, are nonetheless burdensome, time-consuming, inefficient, and impractical.

Systems and methods for controlling silica dust during hydraulic fracturing operations


Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a evaluating the quality of a lapping plate. In one embodiment, an information receiver receives information while the lapping plate is being used to lap a slider. The information indicates the quality of a lapping plate. A quality determiner that evaluates the quality of the lapping plate based on the information while the lapping plate is being used to lap the slider.

Most computers use disk drives to store data. A disk drive typically includes platters that the data is stored on and a recording head that is used to write data onto the platters and to read the data from the platters. The recording head is manufactured to include what is commonly known as a slider that has aerodynamic properties to fly over a platter. A slider flies over a location on a platter for the purpose of writing data to that location or reading data from that location.
FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a conventional slider. The slider 100 includes a write head 108 for writing data to a platter and a read sensor 106 for reading data from a platter. The read sensor 106 has a height, which is commonly known as a stripe-height 102. The air bearing surface 104 (ABS) of the slider 100 provides the aerodynamic properties that enables the slider 100 to "fly" over a platter and to be positioned over a desired location on the platter.
In order for the slider 100 as well as the read sensor 106 and the write head 108 to function properly, the ABS 104 needs to be very flat and smooth and the read sensors 106 need to have an appropriate stripe-height 102. A lapping plate is used for grinding and/or polishing the ABS 104 (commonly referred to as the "lapping process") in order to achieve the desired smoothness and the desired stripe-height 102. A lapping plate typically has abrasive particles, such as diamond particles, on its surface that can be used to remove material from the slider 100. Diamonds are typically embedded into the plate surface using what is commonly known as a "charging process." It is necessary that the lapping plate be able to remove a sufficient amount of material from the ABS 104 of the slider 100 within an appropriate amount of time.
The dimensions of read heads are shrinking in order to achieve greater recording densities. The smaller dimensions of the read heads makes the sensors 106 more susceptible to damage from mechanical stress that results from the lapping process. Lapping process inherently is a mechanical stress process since the diamond particles have to remove materials from sliders. The quality of a lapping plate may not be good enough to be used for lapping sliders 100 when the lapping plate damages read sensors 106 due to excessive stress even though the lapping plate is very capable of removing material. For example, large scratches may form on the surface of a lapping plate due to the charging process or lapping process. Another example is that many small diamond particles can cluster together to effectively form large diamond particles. In both cases, the stress on read heads may be sufficient to damage sensors 106.
Typically, sliders 100 are removed from the lapping process, washed and placed in an external tester to determine their (100) magnetic performance and to determine whether the sensors 106 have been damaged by the lapping process. Removing sliders 100 from the lapping process in order to test the sliders 100 makes it difficult to provide fast feed-back to the lapping process.
For these and other reasons, there is a need to evaluate the quality of a lapping plate. For these and other reasons, there is also a need to reduce mechanical stress caused by the lapping process which can result in damaged sensors associated with sliders. For these and other reasons, there is also a need to provide fast feed-back to the lapping process.

Apparatus for evaluating the quality of a lapping plate

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Netherlands, B.V.


A method is disclosed for defining surface properties in a virtual world. An object includes vertices defining a surface and surface properties. A number of vertex data layers are provided that permit a user to define several properties, including color, that are then combined according to user-specified vertex layer interactions to produce layer values specifying physical properties of the surface. When user input is received at a specified layer, and an object surface property, such as color, is modified. A physical property of the object is updated by combining properties from multiple vertex layers according to user-specified vertex layer interactions to modify the layer values.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to defining surface properties in a virtual world. In particular, it relates to facilitating interaction between surface properties in a controllable way.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer aided design and computer gaming are converging fields in the sense that both use an increasingly common underlying framework to create realistic renderings of a virtual world. Objects are typically represented in a scene tree, that defines a hierarchical set of relationships between objects, constituent objects, and vertices, of which all the objects in a scene are ultimately composed.
As the capabilities of such frameworks increase, and the power of the processing systems that run them also increases, implementation of these capabilities in a manageable way becomes increasingly difficult. Theoretically, such systems are capable of a high degree of realism. However, the provision of such capabilities is no longer a question of science: it has become a problem in complexity management. Furthermore, it is not strictly the case that such systems have to model the physical appearance and other properties of real objects in a natural way. Creative use of such systems relies upon there being provided a user interface that encourages users to explore and create ideas that would be impossible or unlikely in the real world.
Management of the properties of virtual objects is an overwhelmingly complex subject. In the art, this complexity is hidden from the users of design systems so as to ensure that the creative workflow is not interrupted. However, the potential for such systems is thereby considerably reduced.


A device and method for framing articles such as photographs, certificates and the like is comprised of a sheet-like frame having a viewing side and a reverse side. Single-sided tape adheres to the reverse side of the frame and a layer of static-cling film having first and second surfaces is positioned so that the first surface is in contact with the tape. An article having a display face adheres to the second surface of the film. The device with article affixed and framed is capable of being mounted by using static-cling film, double-sided tape, or a tack, depending upon the type of surface to which the device is to be mounted. Several versions of the device and method are disclosed. Such device and method facilitate quick, inexpensive framing of photos or the like, particular when such articles are planned to be displayed more or less temporarily.

Throughout history, people have employed various devices in order to appropriately display articles such as pictures, photographs and certificates of award or recognition. These devices include the traditional picture frame that is used for the wall mounting of articles. Such frames, usually rigid three-dimensional structures, require some form of hooking device mounted on the wall working in tandem with a wire or protrusion attached to the back of the frame, thereby enabling the frame to hang on the surface of a wall. Another type of framing device utilizes a brace that extends from the back of the frame, thereby allowing the frame to stand on a level surface such as a desk or table top.
A shortcoming of both of these framing devices is that their relative cost prevents them from being widely used to display informal candid photographs of people, pets, or scenery taken during parties, vacations, or everyday occurrences. Many such photographs are displayed on a refrigerator, filing cabinet or locker using a magnet. Such method of display offers no form of protection for the article--nor is it particularly attractive aesthetically. This lack of protection results, in many cases, in some type of disfigurement of the display either in the form of torn or curled edges or damage to the face of the article.
Another form of informal display involves putting the article beneath a glass table or desk top or the clear cover sheet of a desk blotter. Such display is limited in that the article is usually visible only to the person sitting behind the desk or table.
An inexpensive, easy-to-use device and method for framing that would allow for both the protection and display of significant numbers of candid photographs and other articles on any surface and at modest cost would be an important advancement in the art.

Device for framing pictures, certificates and the like


The present invention is directed to double prodrugs containing polymeric-based transport forms. These polymeric prodrugs are preferably of the formula: ##STR1## wherein: B is a leaving group or a residue of an amine-containing target moiety;. G is ##STR2## or CH.sub.2 ; Y.sub.1-2 are independently O or S; PA1 M is X or Q; where X is an electron withdrawing group and Q is a moiety containing a free electron pair positioned three to six atoms from C(.dbd.Y.sub.2); PA1 R.sub.1, R.sub.4, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9, R.sub.10 and R.sub.13 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C.sub.1-6 alkyls, C.sub.3-12 branched alkyls, C.sub.3-8 cycloalkyls, C.sub.1-6 substituted alkyls, C.sub.3-8 substituted cycloalkyls, aryls, substituted aryls, aralkyls, C.sub.1-6 heteroalkyls, substituted C.sub.1-6 heteroalkyls; PA1 R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C.sub.1-6 alkyls, C.sub.1-6 alkoxy, phenoxy, C.sub.1-8 heteroalkyls, C.sub.1-8 heteroalkoxy, substituted C.sub.1-6 alkyls, C.sub.3-8 cycloalkyls, C.sub.3-8 substituted cycloalkyls, aralkyls, aryls, substituted aryls, such as aryls substituted with halo-, nitro- and cyano-; carboxy-, C.sub.1-6 carboxyalkyls and C.sub.1-6 alkyl carbonyls; PA1 (m) is zero or one; PA1 (n) is zero or a positive integer; PA1 (p) is zero, one or two; and PA1 R.sub.11 is a substantially non-antigenic polymer.. The first prodrug is generated when the polymeric portion of the double prodrug is cleaved and the parent molecule is generated rapidly thereafter in vivo, as a result of a trialkyl lock type lactonization-type reaction.

Over the years, several methods of administering biologically-effective materials to mammals have been proposed. Many medicinal agents are available as water-soluble salts and can be included in pharmaceutical formulations relatively easily. Problems arise when the desired medicinal agent is either insoluble in aqueous fluids or is rapidly degraded in vivo. For example, alkaloids are often especially difficult to solubilize.
One way to solubilize medicinal agents is to include them as part of a soluble prodrug. Prodrugs include chemical derivatives of a biologically-active parent compound which, upon administration, eventually liberate the parent compound in vivo. Prodrugs allow the artisan to modify the onset and/or duration of action of an agent in vivo and can modify the transportation, distribution or solubility of a drug in the body. Furthermore, prodrug formulations often reduce the toxicity and/or otherwise overcome difficulties encountered when administering pharmaceutical preparations. Typical examples of prodrugs include organic phosphates or esters of alcohols or thioalcohols. See Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 16th Ed., A. Osol, Ed. (1980), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Prodrugs are often biologically inert, or substantially inactive, forms of the parent or active compound. The rate of release of the active drug, i.e. the rate of hydrolysis, is influenced by several factors but especially by the type of bond joining the parent drug to the modifier. Care must be taken to avoid preparing prodrugs which are eliminated through the kidney or reticular endothelial system, etc. before a sufficient amount of hydrolysis of the parent compound occurs. By incorporating a polymer as part of the prodrug system, one can increase the circulating half-life of the drug. However, in some situations such as with alkaloids, it has been determined that when only one or two polymers of less than about 10,000 daltons are conjugated thereto, the resulting conjugates are rapidly eliminated in vivo especially if a somewhat hydrolysis-resistant linkage is used. In fact, such conjugates are so rapidly cleared from the body that even if a hydrolysis-prone ester linkage is used, not enough of the parent molecule is regenerated in vivo. This is often not a concern with moieties such as proteins, enzymes and the like even when hydrolysis-resistant linkages are used. In those cases multiple polymer strands, each having a molecular weight of about 2-5 kDa, are used to further increase the molecular weight and circulating half-life.
Although the above-mentioned concept of prodrug-based delivery systems has proven to be useful in many instances, there are nonetheless situations where alternatives are desired. For example, Bundgaard in "The Double Prodrug Concept and Its Applications" in Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 3 (1989) 39-65, (the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference) pointed out that in many cases it is difficult to obtain a prodrug which has the proper combination of adequate stability in vitro and high susceptibility to regenerate the parent drug in vivo. As pointed out by Bundgaard, a promising means of overcoming some of the previously encountered shortcomings involves the use of cascade latentiation or "pro-prodrugs". In such systems, the hydrolytic reaction sequence involves a first step which usually is an enzymatic cleavage and the second involves a non-enzymatic hydrolysis that occurs only after the first has taken place.
It is believed that in spite of the reported work in the field of double prodrugs, some specific problems were not addressed sufficiently. For example, the previously reported techniques do not sufficiently address the solubility problems of many parent compounds. In addition, the problem of designing in a sufficient increase in circulating half-life for the prodrug was also not sufficiently developed. Thus, there continues to be a need to provide additional technologies for forming prodrugs which would benefit from the double prodrug concept. For example, it would be advantageous to provide the artisan with alternative techniques for transport carrier attachment so as to regulate biological effect. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide additional techniques to address problems associated with involving amino residues of parent compounds and thus avoid excessively fast or slow hydrolysis of the transport form from the parent compound at physiological pH.

Trialkyl-lock-facilitated polymeric prodrugs of amino-containing bioactive agents


Systems and methods for commonality factoring for storing data on removable storage media are described. The systems and methods allow for highly compressed data, e.g., data compressed using archiving or backup methods including de-duplication, to be stored in an efficient manner on portable memory devices such as removable storage cartridges. The methods include breaking data, e.g., data files for backup, into unique chunks and calculating identifiers, e.g., hash identifiers, based on the unique chunks. Redundant chunks can be identified by calculating identifiers and comparing identifiers of other chunks to the identifiers of unique chunks previously calculated. When a redundant chunk is identified, a reference to the existing unique chunk is generated such that the chunk can be reconstituted in relation to other chunks in order to recreate the original data. The method further includes storing one or more of the unique chunks, the identifiers and/or the references on the removable storage medium.

The present invention generally relates to data storage systems and, but not by way of limitation, to data storage systems that store information on removable media.
Conventional backup involves of a series of full, incremental or differential backups that saves multiple copies of identical or slowly changing data. This approach to backup leads to a high level of data redundancy.
For years, there has been a considerable disparity between the prices of tape and disk-based storage systems with tape-based storage being less expensive. Therefore, conventional data storage solutions have been tape based storage systems that compress data using conventional algorithms for an average compression ratio of about 2:1. Advantageously, tape-based storage systems use removable tape cartridges that can be taken to off-site location for disaster recovery. However, the process of recovering data in a tape based storage system is slow, complex and unreliable.
Data de-duplication, known as commonality factoring, is a process of reducing storage needs by eliminating redundant data. Data de-duplication is a disk-based data storage system that greatly reduces disk space requirements. However, disk-based data storage systems including de-duplication methods are not easily exported to removable media. In order to export de-duplicated data to removable media, the de-duplicated data has to be first reformulated to its original format and then be recorded on removable tape cartridges, thereby, requiring more storage space than the de-duplicated version.
Data de-duplication is a resource intensive process, which is implemented in software as part of the commonality factoring solutions. Due to the intensive computational process, top of the line multi-core/multi-processor servers are used to provide adequate performance to perform the de-duplication process. The amount of performance gained by the use of multi-core/multi-processor servers depends on the algorithms used and their implementation in software. However, the overall cost and power consumption of these multi-core/multi-processor servers are high.

Commonality factoring for removable media


A lighting assembly is configured to create an emergency notification. The lighting assembly has a housing with a housing first surface and a housing second surface. A plurality of strobe lights is arranged into at least one row and at least four columns. A direct current power system is joined to the plurality of strobe lights and further comprising a printed circuit board electrically coupled to radio frequency relay switch, and a battery. A wireless remote is communicatively coupled to the radio frequency relay switch. Activating the wireless remote directs the printed circuit board to provide power to the plurality of strobe lights creating the emergency notification.

In the past, it was difficult to locate an emergency. This caused a person in emergency to suffer while assistance was delayed. For example, public surveillance cameras cannot alert an emergency response team when an emergency arises. Although digital and voice command services may be available for use in emergencies, this can be an investment of time with constant frequent pauses and limited vocabulary.

Emergency response and crime-reducing lighting system