An electrophotographic apparatus reproduces a picture by expressing a gradation of the picture by use of halftone spots which are each formed by dot pictures within a plurality of pixels. The electrophotographic apparatus has a picture reproducing engine for forming the dot pictures by attaching toner to virtual dot areas each within the pixel, and an image processing unit for causing (i) growth of halftone spots of a first group in a first data range of input image data to increase a gradation of the dot pictures, and (ii) growth of halftone spots or a second group in a second data range of the input image data, which is adjacent to higher gradation level side of the first data range to further increase the gradation of the dot pictures. The gradation of the dot pictures is simply increased by the image processing unit without decrease at a boundary between the first and second data ranges.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus, and an image processing method and an image processing program which are used for the electrophotographic apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus which more smoothes a variation of gradation of a picture of low gradation levels, thereby improving a quality of the picture, and an image processing method and an image processing program which are used for the electrophotographic apparatus.
2, Description of the Related Art
A color electrophotographic apparatus is widely used in various types of image forming apparatus, such as color printers and color copying machine. In the electrophotographic apparatus, a photoreceptor or a photosensitive member is exposed to light containing image information of a picture on an original document, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor. The electrostatic latent image is developed by color toners of such colors as cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) died black (K). The color toner images are transferred and fixed to an image supporting member, e.g., a sheet of paper. In this way, the original picture is reproduced by the electrophotographic apparatus. In the laser beam printer, a laser beam is utilized for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. An electrostatic latent image is formed in a manner that a laser beam is irradiated on pixel areas which are arrayed in a fast or main scan direction in which the laser beam is moved for scanning and a slow scan or sub-scan direction in which the image supporting member is fed. Of those laser beam printers, a laser beam printer or the type in which the pulse width of a pulse signal for driving the laser beam is modulated, is capable of varying an irradiation area of the laser beam within the pixel area. Accordingly, even if the number or pixels per unit area is small, the laser bean printer reproduces a color picture of high resolution and good gradation.
In the laser bean printer of the pulse width modulation (PWM) type, a halftone spot half-toning technique, which is based on the multi-level dithering method, is known for one of the techniques to reproduce a gradation of a gradation image. In the multi-level dithering method, for the gradation data formed every color, which is contained in the input signal, a conversion table is referred to a conversion table, called a look-up table (LUT). The LUT contains image reproducing information determine the size and other items of a virtual dot. The size and other items (dot position in same cases) of the virtual dot within each pixel area are determined by referring to the LUT. The size of the virtual dot is expressed in terms of levels representing divisions of a size from 0 to the maximum size value of the virtual dot. By using the levels, an output signal of each pixel is multi-valued.
The term, "virtual or ideal dot", is defined as an area within a pixel area, which is scanned with the laser beam. A size of the virtual dot as viewed in the fast scan direction is the product of multiplying a time period of driving the laser beam by a scanning speed of the laser beam. A size of it as viewed in the slow scan direction is equal to a size of the pixel area as viewed in the slow direction. The virtual dot and a "dot picture" on a final picture are different in shape for the reasons given below. Accordingly, in the specification, those different terms will be used for the distinguishing purpose. Within the virtual dot of each pixel area, the laser beam is driven and an area irradiated with the laser beam is formed on the photoreceptor. This irradiation area takes a shape radially expanded around the virtual dot since the laser beam has a size, and the rise and fall characteristics when it is driven. The irradiation area of the laser beam, serves a latent image area on the photoreceptor. The latent image in this area is developed into a visual image by toner, and the toner image is transferred onto an image supporting member, e.g., paper. As a result, a dot picture is formed in a final picture. Also during the developing process, the dot picture is further deformed from the virtual dot for some reasons. For example, the toner particles are scattered. Thus, the dot picture is deformed from the virtual dot, and its deformation depends on the electrophotography process. Therefore, the final dot picture can be controlled by controlling the virtual dot formed through the driving operation of the laser beam.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for showing a developing process in a general electrophotography process. A virtual dot area 2 on a surface of a photoreceptor or photosensitive drum 1, which is set at negative voltage (−1000V), is irradiated with a laser boom, so that an electrostatic latent image area 3 at UV is formed therein. Toner 5 charged at a negative Voltage (−500V) on a developing drum 4 is supplied to the photoreceptor drum supporting the electrostatic latent image thereon, so that the negatively charged toner particles 5 attach to the electrostatic latent image area 3 of 0V. Thereafter, the toner attaching thereto is transferred to such an image supporting member as a printing paper, so that a dot picture is formed on the image supporting member.
The halftone spot halt-toning technique forms a dot picture within a single pixel or a halftone spot consisting of a cluster of dot pictures, which covers a plurality of adjacent pixels, and reproduces a gradation of a gradation image by using the size of the halftone spot. To be more exact, as a gradation value of the gradation data of each pixel increases, a virtual dot generates, and a core of growth or a growth nucleus of the halftone spot in the final Picture is generated. When the gradation value of the gradation data further increases, the number of virtual dots and the area of them are increased, and the size of the halftone spot gradually grows. Accordingly, in the technique in which the halftone spot grows with increase of the gradation value of the input gradation data, the area of the virtual dot grows earlier in the pixel located at the center of the halftone spot (near the growth nucleus), and it grows later in the pixel closer to the periphery of the halftone spot (located apart from the growth nucleus).
FIG. 2 is a diagram exemplarily showing how a halftone spot grows. A halftone cell or halftone spot area 10 shown in FIG. 2 takes a cross shape consisting of five pixels PX1 to PX5. The center pixel PX1 serves as a growth nucleus which first grows when the gradation level of the gradation data increases. As shown in (2) in FIG. 2, when the gradation level increases, a virtual dot 12 in the center pixel PX1 gradually increases its size. When it is further increased, the size of the virtual dot 12 within the pixel PX2 increases as shown in (3) in FIG. 2. Subsequently, the virtual dot grows in the pixels PX3, PX4 and PX5 in this order, as shown in (4), (5) and (6) in FIG. 2. Finally, the virtual dot grows to fill all the pixels, and the size of the halftone spot is maximized.
Thus, those plural pixels forming one halftone spot have different area growing characteristics, respectively. For this reason, a plurality or look-up tables (LUTs) are used. In the example of FIG. 2, LUTs are assigned to the pixels PX1 to PX5, respectively. A two-dimensional array consisting of those LUTs as array elements is constructed for each halftone spot. Those two-dimensional arrays are replicatively laid over the input picture image data, as paved with tiles, whereby an overall picture is reproduced by using halftone spot 3. In the specification, the two-dimensional array will be referred to as a look-up table matrix (LUT matrix).
In the electrophotographic apparatus, the virtual dot area within the pixel is irradiated with a laser beam to form an electrostatic, latent image, and toner particles are attached to the latent image area to form a dot picture. And a halftone spot of a dot picture consisting of a plurality of pixels is made to grow. To increase a resolution of a final picture of the dot pictures, it is desirable to increase the number of screen lines connecting the halftone spots per inch as large as possible.
In connection with this, there is a proposal that in a data range of low gradation levels, to stabilize the output characteristic of the electrophotography process, a density of growing halftone spots is held to below and hence, to decrease the number of screen lines per inch. Where the number of growing halftone spots is large, the virtual dot area in each growth nucleus is too small. As a result, a print-dot missing occurs, and gradation levels are inappropriately reproduced in a final picture. Where the virtual dot area is extremely small, a critical point to determine whether or not the dot picture is formed varies depending on ambient conditions where the engine in the electrophotographic apparatus is used. Further, the print-dot missing occurs when such a critical point varies. In the data range of rather high gradation levels, all the halftone spots are simultaneously increased in size, whereby the number of screen lines is increased and hence, a sharp final picture is reproduced at high resolution.
Where such a halftone spot growing technique that in the data range of low gradation levels, the halftone spots are made to grow so as to reduce the number of screen lines, and with increase of the gradation level, the number of screen lines is increased, viz., the number of growth nucleuses of the halftone spots is increased, is employed, the gradation in the final picture, which is formed by dot pictures as finally developed, improperly increased. This fact was found by the inventor of the present patent application. More exactly, the inventor found the following fact: with increase of gradation of input picture image data, a gradation of a final picture produced after the developing process stepwise increases, and in an extreme case, the gradation of the final picture is inverted
From our further study, it was found that at a transient part where the number of screen lines is changed to another number of screen lines with increase of the gradation level of the input picture image data, the gradation of the final picture unnaturally varies or is inverted.

Electrophotographic apparatus and image processing program


The air bag gas generator comprises a housing having a gas discharge port, an ignition unit chamber in which ignition units are accommodated, and a combustion chamber in which a gas generating agent is accommodated, a cylindrical coolant/filter disposed between the combustion chamber and the gas discharge port, so that combustion gas passes through the coolant/filter prior to discharge through the gas discharge port, and the air bag gas generator meeting the following requirements (a), (b), and (c):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas generator for an air bag which protects passengers from an impact.
2. Description of the Related Art
From the viewpoint of passenger protection, various demands have been made in relation to air bag gas generators which are incorporated into an air bag system installed in an automobile. One of these demands is a reduction in size and weight of the air bag gas generator itself in accordance with demands for a reduction in the weight of the vehicle.
A gas generator accommodates therein a coolant/filter for cooling high-temperature combustion gas that is generated upon combustion of a gas generating agent, and trapping combustion residues. However, this coolant/filter is a high-density device formed from a wire mesh or the like, and therefore has a large mass. Accordingly, demands are being made for a smaller, lighter coolant/filter which enables reductions in the size and weight of the gas generator while maintaining a favorable cooling effect and so on.
As prior art of the present invention, U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,805 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,420 can be cited.

Abstract: (a) that the gas generating agent has an amount of heat generation of 10 to 30 kcal/mol;

Abstract: (b) that the mass (g) of the coolant/filter in relation to 1 mol of gas generated during combustion of the gas generating agent be 20 to 65 g/mol; and

Abstract: (c) that the coolant/filter has a thickness of not less than 4.0 mm.


A pipe supporting brace is provided which may be affixed to an interior pipe and adjusted such that a faucet mounted on an exterior wall, and coupled to the interior pipe is brought into secure engagnement with the exterior wall.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to brackets and braces for supporting pipes and the like and particularly to such hangers for securely gripping and supporting pipes in a fixed relationship to a supportive surface.
2. Prior Art
It is often desirable to affix a faucet to an exterior wall, or other exterior mounting surface of a home or other building structure such that water or other liquid may be conveyed from a source interior to the building and made available for exterior use through the faucet. To accomplish this, the faucet is coupled to an interior liquid conveying pipe through the exterior wall or mounting surface. Such faucets must be installed on the exterior of the building and securely affixed to and supported from the wall or other mounting surface to insure proper operation.
A common means of supporting a faucet securely against an exterior mounting surface is a support flange. Typical support flanges include a central opening through which an end of the faucet is passed. On either side of the central opening are smaller openings through which screws or other fastening means may be passed in order to secure the flange to the exterior wall.
One disadvantage of this method of supporting a faucet is the tendency of the fastening means to loosen and in some cases separate from the flange itself, thereby decreasing the effectiveness of the flange. As a result the faucet may become loose or unstable.


The present invention provides a top knot cap (headgear provided with a ponytail) comprising the upper top knot portion (22) formed by extending the top knot portion (20) connected to the crown (10) and the said upper top knot portion (22) may be bundled with the binding cord (31) to form a ponytail or unfurled to cover the neck. The top knot cap may be provided with the meeting and parting portion (23) that splits apart when the said top knot portion (20) is unfurled. The inventive top knot cap may protect the head part of a user and further express various designs full of ornamental effects.

Generally speaking, the shape of a cap varies according to use and function. Most of caps are composed of the crown that covers the head and the visor that cuts off the light from the sun. Some kind of cap, such as hunting cap, is equipped with the ear flaps to protect the ears in winter time. However, most of the caps are prepared for a simple function.
Speaking more in details;
Problems neglected in composing the caps so far are preparation of enough space up to the summit of crown for the convenient movement of head up and down and assurance of ventilation inside the cap, as well as protection of face, method of attaching the ear flap to increase the ear function and neck cover to protect the neck outside the cap. Among the cap makers, such problems have not been considered important so far.
The matter of head movement up and down inside the crown of cap is important to level up the status of ready-made cap, currently produced in a number of standard patterns, to that of a cap made to measurement. In an attempt to adjust standard size caps to the heads of varied sizes as if they are made to measurement, flexibility devices are provided at the back edge of cap, to attain the effect of free-size caps. On the assumption that the relative height of head following the size of head is proportionate to the size of edge, the relative height was thought adjustable by adjusting the size of edge. However, in producing the caps, the relative height of crown of cap is ready made in certain patterns while only the edges are made adjustable. Therefore at the actual use of cap, the problem of relative height becomes outstanding unexpectedly. Sometimes the edge of cap comes down to touch the wearer's ear, or sometimes it remains too high from the level of one's ear so that the cap might be blown away by the wind. To solve such shortcomings, the depth of cap should have a system of adjustment as the back edge of cap is equipped with the flexibility device. For this object, the summit of crown needs to be elastic to assure the space for head movement.
So far, the problems of ventilation and change of air have been underestimated, and a few number of little holes on the crown were not enough to satisfy the absolute quantity of air. Such underestimation came probably from the fact that the cap is easier to be taken off than the shoes are, though keeping the cap in one's hand is inconvenient. So, it is actual that taking hat off is difficult while taking shoes off is not so difficult. It is indeed inside the cap that the health principle of keeping head cool and feet warm is neglected. Therefore the entire cap should be remodeled to improve the volume of ventilation.
The neck cover was attached for protection of skin in the summer and for prevention of cold air in the winter. However, one stretch of thick cloth was stitched into the edge of cap without distinction of neck or ear cover while it was actually both for neck and ear. As it is unable to equip the back edge of cap with flexibility device, the result was the unpleasant feeling coming from tight contact of cap with the skin. Also, the up-lifted neck cover when not in use and the unusual thickness of edge due to the stitch-in of neck cover decreased the beauty point.
In consideration of those problems as mentioned so far, the author invented a top knot cap (headgear provided with ponytail) composed of the top knot function added to the existing cap and had it registered for a number of design rights and utility model rights.
However, there exist various problems, such as limitation in expressing the designs of cap by connecting the knot portion and in the degree of utilization, while the summit of top knot portion connected to the crown of cap was made to be bound or unfastened by the use of binding cord, showing the function of opening or closing the summit of cap.


A method for determining an equivalent load at the output of a gate driving an interconnect having resistive, inductive and capacitive elements. The method includes modeling the interconnect utilizing a passive driving point model to derive a realizable reduced order circuit for the interconnect. In an advantageous embodiment, the realizable reduced order circuit includes a first resistance parallel-coupled to an inductance and series-coupled to a pi-model equivalent circuit that includes a second resistance and first and second capacitances.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to semiconductor design automation systems, and in particular to the simulation of integrated circuit designs of such systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a driving point model utilizing a realizable reduced order circuit for determining a delay of a gate driving an interconnect having resistive, capacitive and inductive elements and a method of operation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Development of a working integrated circuit chip is a process that involves creating a design specification, creating the logical design of the chip (typically in schematic form), validating the design, re-designing as necessary, fabricating the chip and testing the chip. Costs tend to be xe2x80x9cend-loaded,xe2x80x9d i.e., greater towards the end of the process than towards the beginning. The earlier in this process that a design error is detected, the earlier it can be corrected, saving a great deal of cost over a late-detected error. As a result, increasingly sophisticated steps are being taken to validate the design of a new chip, as early in the design process as possible.
Design validation requires thorough examination of the integrated circuit design and expected functional characteristics, taking into account a number of different factors, such as logical correctness of the design, timing factors (including net delay performance, effects of parasitic capacitances, etc.). Among these factors, net performance (specifically, net delay) is one of the most important. Many timing-related problems have been discovered in chips whose designs appear to be xe2x80x9clogicallyxe2x80x9d correct, at least on paper. This is because it is difficult for the designer to anticipate such delay contributors as wiring delays, i.e., net delays and the cumulative effects of distributed resistances, inductances and capacitances on the chips, especially from a post-layout point of view. The accuracy of delay determination affects not only the chip performance, but whether a chip meets its original design specification.
Virtually all integrated circuit designers today use semiconductor design automation systems which facilitate the capture, simulation, layout, and verification of integrated circuit designs. With the advance of semiconductor process technology, integrated circuits are becoming increasingly fast, and the once relatively small delays caused by interconnections, i.e., wiring, on a chip are becoming a more dominant factor in integrated circuit performance. As a result, the ability to accurately model and calculate delays is a crucial requirement for any semiconductor design automation system.
From any driving point to any receiving point on a net, there is an associated delay. This time is due to a complicated combination of parasitic capacitances, wiring resistances, wire lengths, etc. Some nets have multiple drivers, e.g., a number of open-drain or tri-state drivers, or loops, e.g., clock rings, making their (accurate) analysis particularly complicated. The delay for a net is determined by modeling the net and analyzing the delay according to the model. One of the most serious problems in delay calculation (determination) is that accurate models tend to complicate delay calculations, resulting in expensive delays in the design cycle while computation-intensive net delays are being calculated. As a result, most prior-art net delay calculation techniques compromise on the accuracy (faithfulness to reality) of the model of the net in order to decrease the amount of calculation time required. Unfortunately, in doing so most such techniques sacrifice enough accuracy that the results of delay calculation are only very rough approximations of actual chip performance. As a result, many chips, particularly those with complicated timing relationships between signals, have subtle timing-related problems when they are built. The designs of such chips must then be altered, re-simulated, etc., and a new chip must be fabricated. This process is extremely costly.
It has been well established that interconnect effects must be accounted for to ensure accurate static timing analysis. Traditionally, gate level static timing analyzers have broken down the path delay as the sum of the gate delay and the wire or interconnect delay. Since the interconnect is a linear circuit, model order reduction techniques based on moment matching have been employed to compute its delay efficiently. However, since gates are non-linear devices, two distinct approaches have been used for fast computation of gate delay. Firstly, the gate delay is precharacterized in terms of input transition time and output load capacitance using detailed circuit simulators such as SPICE and implemented using lookup-tables. Alternatively, the gate delay is obtained xe2x80x9con the flyxe2x80x9d using fast timing simulators, see, e.g., A. Devgan and R. A. Rohrer xe2x80x9cAdaptively Controlled Explicit Simulation,xe2x80x9d IEEE Trans. On CAD, June 1994.
Regardless of the method used to compute gate delays, an accurate characterization of the loading due to the interconnect at the output of the gate must be made. While a simple approach would be to lump the total capacitance of the interconnect at the output of the gate, the resistive shielding renders such a model inaccurate. A more accurate model for RC interconnect, the so called pi-model, has been used in many timing analysis and physical design tools for modeling the driving point load. However, the pi-model can no longer be used if the inductive effects are significant; and with faster signal transition times, increasing die sizes, and the advent of newer materials such as copper, on-chip inductance can no longer be ignored.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved driving point model that mitigates the above-described limitations in the prior art. More particularly, what is needed in the art is a driving point model for interconnects having resistive, capacitive and inductive elements.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved driving point model for interconnects having inductance.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for determining an equivalent load at a gate driving an interconnect having resistive, capacitive and inductive elements.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for determining a delay at a gate driving an interconnect having resistive, capacitive and inductive elements.
To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a method for determining an equivalent load at the output of a gate driving an interconnect having resistive, inductive and capacitive elements is disclosed. The method includes modeling the interconnect utilizing a passive driving point model to derive a realizable reduced order circuit for the interconnect. In an advantageous embodiment, the realizable reduced order circuit includes a first resistance parallel-coupled to an inductance and series-coupled to a pi-model equivalent circuit, where the pi-model equivalent circuit includes a second resistance and first and second capacitances. In a related embodiment, the first four moments of an input admittance of the interconnect are obtained to model the interconnect, where the first four moments are characterized by:
zxe2x88x921=1/C,
z0=[(1+k)2R2]/4,
z1=Lxe2x88x92({fraction (1/16)})C(1xe2x88x92k)(1+k)3R22, and
z2=({fraction (1/64)})C2(1xe2x88x92k)2(1+k)4R23xe2x88x92(L2/R1),
wherein zxe2x88x921, z0, z1, and z2 are the first, second, third and fourth moments, respectively, L, R1 and R2 are the inductance, first and second resistances, respectively, k is a realizability parameter and the first and second capacitances are defined by (1xe2x88x92k)(C/2) and (1+k)(C/2), respectively. Next, the realizable reduced order circuit is utilized to determine the equivalent load that, in an advantageous embodiment, is an effective capacitance value of the interconnect.
In another aspect of the present invention, utilizing the realizable reduced order circuit to derive the effective capacitance of the interconnect includes approximating a driving point admittance of the interconnect with the realizable reduced order circuit. Next, an effective capacitance value of the interconnect is initialized to be the total capacitance value of the interconnect. Following which, a Thevenin circuit model for the gate is derived. Subsequently, the charges delivered by the Thevenin gate model to the effective capacitance and the realizable reduced order circuit are computed. The effective capacitance value is then updated by equating an average current drawn by the effective capacitance to an average current drawn by the realizable reduced order circuit. The process is repeated beginning with deriving a new Thevenin circuit model with the updated effective capacitance value until the effective capacitance value converges.
The foregoing description has outlined, rather broadly, preferred and alternative features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject matter of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.

Driving point model utilizing a realizable reduced order circuit for determining a delay of a gate driving an interconnect with inductance

International Business Machines Corporation


An insertion member fixing structure includes an insertion member which is inserted into a support hole formed in a support member; and outer and inner adhesive-pouring recesses formed on an inner peripheral surface of the support hole at one end thereof and on an outer peripheral surface of the insertion member, respectively, in a manner so as to face each other and be communicatively connected to each other in a state where the insertion member is inserted into the support hole. The insertion member is fixed to the support member by pouring an adhesive into the outer and inner adhesive-pouring recesses so that the adhesive spreads into the outer and inner adhesive-pouring recess.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insertion member fixing structure which is inserted into a support hole made in a support member to be fixed to the support member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods of fixing an insertion member to a support member after the insertion member is inserted into a support hole made in the support member are known in the art. As examples of conventional structures according to such methods, a structure in which the insertion member is press-fitted into the support hole, a structure in which the insertion member is prevented from coming out of the insertion hole by a lock washer or a lock nut after being inserted into the insertion hole and a structure in which the support member, which includes the support hole, and the insertion member are molded by insertion molding are known. However, these methods have drawbacks in structural miniaturization and reduction of production cost.


A half duplex device and signal processing method thereof. First, a signal detection unit of a signal detector of a half duplex device obtains a short-term power and long-term power. Next, a data update unit of the signal detector sets a short-term power threshold as a default threshold, determines whether the long-term power is greater than the default threshold, sets the short-term power threshold value equal to the long-term power value if the long-term power value is greater than the default threshold value, and provides smooth performance in a noisy environment.

The present invention relates to signal communication, and in particular to a half duplex device and signal processing method thereof.
Currently, since the distance between a speaker and a microphone of a handfree mobile device is very short, vocal signals from a remote user broadcast by the speaker may be received by the microphone, and returned to the remote user, resulting in an echo. One solution to this problem employs a full duplex controller with an echo canceller. This method requires learning echo impulse response produced by the environment. Noise from different surroundings may result in a long echo duration, resulting in the echo canceller being unable to accurately and rapidly eliminate the echo impulse response.
Another method employs a half duplex controller. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a half duplex device, comprising a line detector 110, a line suppressor 120, a half duplex controller 200, an audio detector 310,and an audio suppressor 320. A signal process for a half duplex device is described in the following.
Line detector 110 detects whether vocal signals from a remote user 100 are present, and sends a signal value to half duplex controller 200 according to the detection result, a signal process for line detector 110 is described in FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the signal process of the  line detector shown in FIG. 1. First, no vocal signal from remote user 100 is present (Line.Active=0) (step S11). Next, line detector 110 determines whether a short-term power value produced by vocal signals is greater than a short-term power threshold value (Line.Short.Term.Power>Line.Short.Term.Power.Thershold?) (step S12). If so, the process proceeds to step S131, and, if not, proceeds to step S132.
If the short-term power value is greater than the short-term power threshold value, indicating vocal signals from remote user 100 are present, line detector 110 outputs Line.Active=1 to half duplex controller 200 (step S131). The short-term power value is less than the short-term power threshold value, indicating no vocal signal from remote user 100 is present, such that line detector 110 outputs Line.Active=0 to half duplex controller 200 (step S132), and the process continues to step S12.
Further, in step S12, vocal signal determination is also implemented by determining whether a line power deviation is greater than a line deviation threshold. The line power deviation is the modulus of the difference between a long-term power and a short-term power. At the beginning of a conversation with remote user 100, vocal signals with low sound produce small rise to the short-term power. Although the short-term power value produced by the vocal signals does not exceed the short-term power threshold value thereof, the line power deviation may be great. Because the long-term power remains, it is acknowledged that vocal signals presenting when the line power deviation is greater than the line deviation threshold, compensation for low volume sections at the beginning and the end of the conversation is required.
In addition, a signal process for audio detector 310 is identical with that for line detector 110, described in FIG. 2.
Line detector 110 and audio detector 310 detect whether vocal signals from remote user 100 and receiver 300 are present respectively, and half duplex controller 200 then determines whether to allow vocal signals from remote user 100 or receiver 300 to present first as shown in FIG. 3.
First, line suppressor 120 and audio suppressor 320 are inactivated (Line.Suppress.Active=0 and Audio.Suppress.Active=0) (step S21). Next, half duplex controller 200 determines whether vocal signals from remote user 100 are present and line suppressor 120 is inactivated (Line.Active=1 and Line.Suppress.Active=0) (step S22). If so, the process continuous to step S231, and, if not, to step S232.
Audio suppressor 320 is activated when vocal signals from remote user 100 are present (Audio.Suppress.Active=1) (step S231), preventing vocal signals from receiver 300 from entering, and the process continuous to step S22. Audio suppressor 320 remains in an inactive state when no vocal signal from remote user 100 is present (Audio.Suppress.Active=0) (step S232).
Next, half duplex controller 200 determines whether vocal signals from receiver 300 are present and audio suppressor 320 is inactive (Audio.Active=1 and Audio.Suppress.Active=0) (step S24). If so, the process continuous to step S251, and, if not, to step S252. Line suppressor 120 is activated when vocal signals from receiver 300 are present (Line.Suppress.Active=1) (step S251), preventing vocal signals from remote user 100 from presenting, and the process continuous to step S22. Line suppressor 120 remains in an inactive state when no vocal signal from receiver 300 is present (Line.Suppress.Active=0) (step S252).
Half duplex controller 200 suppresses vocal signals from receiver 300 when vocal signals from remote user 100 are present. A short-term power threshold, however, and line deviation threshold of half duplex controller 200 are predetermined. When remote user 100 is in a noisy environment, such as a subway station, the background noise exceeds the short-term power threshold, causing line detector 110 to receive successive vocal signals from remote user 100. Audio suppressor 320 thus remains in an inactive state, such that vocal signals from receiver 300 cannot present.
Thus, an effective and useful half duplex control is desirable.

Half duplex device and signal processing method thereof


The present invention relates to new molecular sieve SSZ-71 prepared using a N-benzyl-1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane cation as a structure-directing agent, methods for synthesizing SSZ-71 and processes employing SSZ-71 in a catalyst.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to new molecular sieve SSZ-71, a method for preparing SSZ-71 using a N-benzyl-1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane cation as a structure directing agent and the use of SSZ-71 in catalysts for, e.g., hydrocarbon conversion reactions.
2. State of the Art
Because of their unique sieving characteristics, as well as their catalytic properties, crystalline molecular sieves and zeolites are especially useful in applications such as hydrocarbon conversion, gas drying and separation. Although many different crystalline molecular sieves have been disclosed, there is a continuing need for new zeolites with desirable properties for gas separation and drying, hydrocarbon and chemical conversions, and other applications. New zeolites may contain novel internal pore architectures, providing enhanced selectivities in these processes.
Crystalline aluminosilicates are usually prepared from aqueous reaction mixtures containing alkali or alkaline earth metal oxides, silica, and alumina. Crystalline borosilicates are usually prepared under similar reaction conditions except that boron is used in place of aluminum. By varying the synthesis conditions and the composition of the reaction mixture, different zeolites can often be formed.


Quinoline derivatives represented by formula (I): ##STR1## wherein A-B-D represents --C(COO--Y).dbd.CH--C(OR).dbd. (wherein Y represents 8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-yl group and R represents alkyl) or --C(OH).dbd.C(COX--Y)--CH.dbd. (wherein X represents --O-- or --NH--; and Y has the same meaning as described above), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, possess potent 5HT.sub.3 antagonizing activity and are useful as antiemetic agents.

It is known that 5HT.sub.3 antagonists exhibit an antiemetic activity, an antianxious activity, a suppressing activity of mental disorders, etc. [Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 8, 501 (1987)]. 5HT.sub.3 antagonists are effective against carcinostatic agent-induced vomiting, which has not been cured by dopamine antagonists. The 5HT.sub.3 antagonists are thus expected to be antiemetics of new type [Br. J. Cancer, 56, 159 (1987)].
It is disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 72886/85 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,406) that quinoline derivatives represented by formula (A): ##STR2## wherein R.sup.4 represents hydrogen, hydroxy or a lower alkoxy (C.sub.1 to C.sub.4); X.sup.1 represents --O-- or --NH--; and p represents 0 or 1, have a 5HT.sub.3 antagonizing activity and an antiarrhythmic activity. That publication merely discloses a compound having azabicyclononane ring (p=1) in formula (A) (hereafter referred to as Compound C): ##STR3## but is silent about any specific compounds having azabicyclooctane ring (p=0). It is also disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 41429/88 (GB-A-2193633) that the compounds represented by formula (A) are effective against vomiting caused by carcinostatic agents such as Cisplatin. Further, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 203365/89 (EP-B-0323077) describes quinoline derivatives represented by formula (B): ##STR4## wherein X.sup.2 represents a single bond or CO, and R.sup.4, X.sup.1 and p have the same meanings as described above, but no specific compounds having formula (B) are disclosed therein.

Quinoline derivative having serotonin-3 receptor antagonizing activity


The technology disclosed relates to performing speech recognition for a plurality of different devices or devices in a plurality of conditions. This includes storing a plurality of acoustic models associated with different devices or device conditions, receiving speech audio including natural language utterances, receiving metadata indicative of a device type or device condition, selecting an acoustic model from the plurality in dependence upon the received metadata, and employing the selected acoustic model to recognize speech from the natural language utterances included in the received speech audio. Each of speech recognition and the storage of acoustic models can be performed locally by devices or on a network-connected server. Also provided is a platform and interface, used by device developers to select, configure, and/or train acoustic models for particular devices and/or conditions.

The technology disclosed relates to automatic speech recognition (ASR). In particular, the technology disclosed relates to creation, identification, selection and implementation of custom acoustic models in intelligent speech recognition systems.
Speech recognition systems have become more prevalent in today's society. More and more everyday devices, such as appliances, vehicles, mobile devices, etc., are being equipped with speech recognition capabilities. The problem is that these everyday devices are not able to provide meaningful responses based on received speech audio from the user. One of the root causes of this problem is that the everyday devices and/or local or remote services connected thereto are not able to accurately convert the received speech audio to appropriate transcriptions. Typically, the received speech audio is converted to phonemes using an acoustic model. However, these everyday devices and/or local or remote services connected thereto are using acoustic models that are not tailored to their (i) environment, (ii) expected use conditions and/or (iii) expected use case results. Therefore, these everyday devices that are enabled with speech recognition are not able to accurately recognize the received speech audio into a reliable transcription, from which helpful results can be communicated back to the user, and according to which the user or the user's device can appropriately respond.
An example of this problem is provided below. Suppose a coffee shop decides to upgrade their espresso machine to a brand new high-tech machine that is voice activated (i.e., that incorporates a speech recognition system). The acoustic model that is implemented by the espresso machine is generic and it has not been customized to the environment to which it is being used. This particular coffee shop has a minimalistic industrial decor, causing sounds to echo and reverberate much more than what is typical in other environments. Further, the espresso machine is located, such that the area for taking a customer's order is on one side of the espresso machine, there is a sink in front of the espresso machine and the bean grinder is on the other side of the espresso machine. Needless to say, there is a lot of background noise that is received by the speech recognition system of the espresso machine. Additionally, the temperature of the coffee shop tends to be on the warm side and the components of the espresso machine become extremely hot due to constant use. These temperatures cause the characteristics of the one or more microphones and the related electrical components to behave outside of what is considered normal. All of these factors coupled with the generic acoustic model cause the espresso machine to have terribly inaccurate transcriptions and responses to the point that it is impractical to use the speech recognition features of the espresso machine.
These problems provide an opportunity to develop a technology that is capable of implementing acoustic models can be tailored to specific devices and can be tailored based on various environmental and operating conditions, such as those mentioned above. The technology disclosed solves these problems and is able to provide a more accurate speech recognition system and meaningful results.


The present invention is directed to the auditory differentiation among forwarded phone calls within a phone network, and in particular an advanced intelligent phone network. Unique distinctive forwarded ring alerts and distinctive forwarded call waiting alerts are assigned to selected subscriber phone numbers in the phone network. Upon the forwarding of one or more of these subscriber phone numbers to a target phone number within the telephone network, auditory differentiation between the forwarded phone numbers and the target phone number can be achieved by a customer.

Modern public switched telephone networks (PSTN) have separate paths for voice circuits (or other customer-utilized communication circuits) and for information transmitted throughout the network that controls the connection and disconnection of the voice circuits. By contrast, earlier versions of public switched telephone networks transmitted tone signals over the same circuits used as voice paths to control set-up and takedown of calls, to create billing records, and to provide other control for the telephone network.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) developed early versions of common channel interoffice signaling (CCIS). CCIS is essentially a network architecture for a switched telephone network in which information about a telephone call is transmitted over high speed data links that are separate from the voice circuits that are used to transmit the signals of the call itself. Early in the development of common channel interoffice signaling, it was recognized that the interoffice data signaling links could be designed to provide high speed digital data that could first determine whether a call could be completed prior to assigning trunk capacity to set up the voice link. Thus, with common channel interoffice signaling the identity of the called number can be transmitted over the interoffice signaling data links from the originating central office to the terminating central office.
The terminating central office is the central office that services the called number. If the called number is busy, data representing this information is transmitted back over the interoffice signaling link to the originating central office that locally provides an audible busy signal to the caller. Therefore, no long distance trunk capacity is occupied during this process, and the voice circuits remain free for other uses. If the called number is not busy, various devices in the network respond to the information about this call to assign interoffice trunks to set up a connection for the call. While the call is being set up, the originating central office, based on a signal from the terminating central office, returns an audible ring back tone to the caller. Once the called number is answered, an answer signal is passed from the terminating central office to the originating central office, the ring back tone is terminated, and the call is completed.
The public switched telephone network which evolved in the 1980s was designed by AT&T and includes the concept of the "Intelligent Network." The intelligent network concept was expanded through industry consensus in the early 1990s and has become the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). The AIN enables telecommunications call control and database access from any computer or switching system connected to the Signaling System 7 (SS7) network. The Signaling System 7 (SS7) network refers to the current implementation of the CCIS control network used in the United States. The Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) is a standard call control protocol which uses the SS7 network for message transport.
The AIN makes possible a variety of services for customers or subscribers to the AIN. One such service, referred to as call forwarding, permits a subscriber at a first subscriber location to have the phone calls that are destined for that first location forwarded to a second subscriber location on the telephone network. Therefore, the subscriber can have important phone calls forwarded so that these phone calls are not missed. Often, customers have multiple phones or subscriptions on the network such as one or more business phones, residential phones, and mobile or cellular phones, each having a separate phone number, and call forwarding allows a customer to forward business numbers to a cell phone while the customer is away from the office at lunch, meetings, or social functions. Even though several different phone numbers representing, for example, different businesses are forwarded to a single number, all forwarded calls will produce identical rings at the phone to which they have been forwarded. Therefore, the customer can not differentiate between a social call and important business calls. In addition, if one customer's calls are forwarded to another customer's phone, both customers need to be able to differentiate among the calls intended for either customer. In the case where the phone to which the calls have been forwarded is in use and that phone has a call waiting feature, the customer needs to know which announced waiting calls are potential important business calls.
One potential solution is a service known as caller identification where the identity of the calling party is displayed at the receiving phone. However, not all phones are equipped with this feature and this feature can be blocked by the calling party. In addition, this feature requires the user to be close to the phone and to view a display screen on the phone. These requirements present difficulties particularly for sight impaired subscribers. In addition, although the party placing the call may be displayed by caller identification, the number being called may not. Therefore, the customer viewing the caller identification screen must determine which number from among the multiple forwarded phone numbers is being called.

Method for auditory differentiation of forwarded phone calls

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


This disclosure describes techniques in which one or more computing devices receive a signal from a first client computing device. The signal indicates that the first client computing device is available for participation in a communication session that enables communication between the first client computing device and one or more other client computing devices. The one or more computing devices determine a context for a topic of discussion associated with the communication session. The context is associated with a content item capable of being outputted by the first client computing device. Responsive to receiving the signal, the one or more computing devices initiate the communication session and send an invitation to at least one of the one or more other client computing devices to join the communication session. The invitation indicates the context of the communication session to at least one of the one or more other client computing devices.

Various networks, including the Internet, allow users of computing devices to communicate with one another. One or more computing devices may be used by and/or associated with a user. Each computing device in turn may engage in a communication session with one or more other computing devices. The communication session may enable communication between the one or more users associated with each computing device engaged in the communication session. A communication session may feature mufti-way real-time text-based chat, real-time audio conversations, and/or video conferences. A computing device may maintain an association between each user of the computing device and other users associated with each user of the computing device in a variety of ways, such as through a contact list of users. The contact list may enable each user of the computing device to quickly find and communicate with other users. Users of a computing device may also interact with the computing device to select one or more users from the contact list to invite to the communication session.

Initiating a communication session based on an associated content item


A system and method whereby on-line cleaning of black oil heater tubes and delayed coker heater tubes may be effectuated by injecting a high pressure water charge through the tubes during normal process operations so as to prevent tube fouling and heater downtime. The high pressure water charge begins the on-line cleaning process once it enters the heater tube by undergoing intense boiling and evaporation. The cleaning occurs by two methods—a scrubbing action and a shocking action. The scrubbing action occurs because of the complete turbulence caused by the water charge's intense boiling within the heater tubes. The shocking action is caused by the expansion and contraction of the heater tubes resulting from the colder water charge flowing through the heater tubes which is then followed by the hotter process fluid flowing through the heater tubes.

The present invention relates generally to black oil heaters and delayed coker heaters used in crude oil refining. More specifically, the present invention discloses a system and method whereby on-line cleaning of black oil heater tubes and delayed coker heater tubes may be effectuated by injecting a high pressure water charge through the tubes during normal process operation so as to prevent tube fouling and heater downtime. The present invention can be used for a variety of applications including, but not limited to, cleaning the tubes of crude heaters, vacuum heaters, visc breaker heaters, delayed coker heaters and any other heaters that have downstream equipment capable of handling the amount of water/steam injected into the heaters.
The present invention can be best understood and appreciated by undertaking a brief review of the crude oil distillation process, and most particularly, the role delayed coking plays within that process.
In its unrefined state, crude oil is of little use. In essence, crude oil is a complex chemical compound consisting of numerous elements and impurities. Such impurities can include, but are not limited to sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen and various metals that must be removed during the refining process.
Refining is the separation and reformation of a complex chemical compound into desired hydrocarbon products. Such product separation is possible as each of the various hydrocarbons comprising crude oil possess an individual boiling point. During refining, or distillation, crude oil feedstock temperature is raised to a point where boiling begins (the "initial boiling point," or the "IBP") and continues as the temperature is increased. As the boiling temperature increases, the butane and lighter fraction of crude oil are first distilled. Such distillation begins at the IBP and terminates slightly below 100° F.
The next fraction, or cut, begins slightly under 100° F. and terminates at approximately 220° F. This fraction is represented and referred to as straight run gasoline. Then, beginning at 220° F. and continuing to about 320° F. the Naphtha cut occurs, and is followed by the kerosene and gas/oil cuts, occurring between 320° F. and 400° F., and 450° F. to 800° F., respectively. A term-of-art "residue cut" includes everything boiling above 800° F.
The residue cut possesses comparatively large volumes of heavy liquid hydrocarbons which undergo delayed coking operations to produce various more valuable hydrocarbon fractions and coke. Any suitable delayed coking feedstock can be used as starting material, including vacuum tower bottoms from a crude oil refining process.
Delayed coking is generally carried out by initially heating a liquid feedstock in a coker heater to a coking temperature, often between 875° F. and 950° F. The coker heater includes a coil of multiple coker heater tubes wherein the feedstock is heated before passing to a coker drum. During the coker heater operation, there exists temperature and pressure gradients along the coker heater tubes. Thermal cracking of the heated feedstock occurs primarily in the coking drum to yield mixed volatile hydrocarbon vapors and coke. The vapors are drawn off overhead and introduced to a combination tower wherein hydrocarbon fractions including gases, distillate streams and a heavy gas oil stream are separated and subsequently isolated.
Although thermal cracking of the heated feedstock occurs primarily in the coking drum, there is some premature coking occurring in the radiant coker heater tubes which causes tube fouling. Fouling of the internal walls of the coker heater tubes can cause blockages requiring periodic operation shut-downs to clean the tubes. Modern delayed coking operations present the potential for rapid tube fouling due to increased feed rates and increased concentrations of fouling components in feedstocks such as asphaltenes, inorganics and heavy metals. Usually, it is the capacity of the delayed coker heater which limits the refinery capacity. Therefore, anything that can increase the capacity of the delayed coker heater will result in increased production throughout the refinery. Typically, there is a 3/1 or greater factor capacity increase in crude charge rate to the refinery which corresponds to the increase in delayed coker heater capacity.
The methods that have been used to clean the coker heater tubes' internal walls are on-line spalling, pigging and steam-air decoking. In on-line spalling, the coke is removed from the coker heater tube by varying the steam or condensate flow rate on the fouled tube such that a thermal shock is created that breaks the coke from the tube. The spalling medium transfers the coke particles into the coker heater effluent where it is then collected in the downstream coker drum. An advantage to on-line spalling is that the coker heater is allowed to remain in normal hydrocarbon service because commonly only one pass is spalled at a time while the other passes continue normal operation. However, the cleaning effectiveness of on-line spalling decreases each time it is performed.
For example, a clean coker heater would operate with maximum tube metal temperatures at about 1020° F. and would be allowed to operate until the operating temperature reaches about 1200° F., which would occur in approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Once the operating temperature reaches about 1200° F., on-line spalling is performed which results in the operating temperature being about 1040° F. The coker heater would be allowed to operate until the operating temperature again reaches about 1200° F., which would occur in approximately 3 to 5 weeks. On-line spalling would be performed again which results in the operating temperature being about 1060° F. The coker heater would be allowed to operate until the operating temperature again reaches about 1200° F., which would occur in approximately 2 to 4 weeks. At this time, the entire heater would have to be taken down for a complete cleaning, either by pigging or by steam-air decoking. Thus, on-line spalling only delays, but does not eliminate, the complete cleaning of the coker heater.
In pigging, the coke is removed from the coker heater tube by pushing with water a metal studded foam or plastic "pig" through the heater coil. The metal studded "pig" rotates such that it scrapes the coke off the inside of the coker heater tube. Different sizes and abrasiveness "pigs" are used during this process. The "pigs" are usually pumped through the coker heater several times forward and backward until the overall differential pressure across the tube is restored to its original unfouled condition. An advantage to the "pigging" process is that a significant percentage of the coke is removed from inside the tubes. However, a disadvantage of this process is that the coker heater is required to be taken fully out of service anywhere from 1 to 3 days per heater.
In steam-air decoking, the coke is burned off the coker heater tubes by firing the coker heater in a controlled decoking process by circulating a steam-air mixture at elevated temperatures. The air is used to burn the coke off the tubes, while the steam is used to keep the burning temperatures low such that they do not exceed the maximum allowable tube metal temperatures. An advantage to the steam-air decoking process is that almost all the coke is removed from inside the tubes. However, a disadvantage of this process is that the coker heater is required to be taken fully out of service and heater tubes can be damaged if overheated.
What has been lacking, however, until the present invention, and what the industry long has sought, is an on-line cleaning system and method for black oil heater tubes and delayed coker tubes whereby tube fouling is significantly reduced and/or completely eliminated, thereby allowing the black oil heaters and the delayed coker heaters to remain on-line. The present invention cleans the heater tubes by injecting a high pressure water charge through the tubes during operation so as to prevent tube fouling and heater downtime. The water charge is at a lower temperature than the temperature of the heater tubes. Cleaning occurs by two methods, a scrubbing action caused by the water charge boiling and a shocking action caused by heater tube expanding and contracting due to the temperature differential between the water charge and the heater tube.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to disclose and claim an on-line cleaning system and method for black oil heater tubes and for delayed coker heater tubes by injecting a water charge during normal operation.
It is a further object of the instant invention to disclose and claim an on-line cleaning system and method for black oil heater tubes and for delayed coker heater tubes that significantly reduces and/or entirely eliminates tube fouling.
It is still a further object of the present invention to disclose and claim an on-line cleaning system and method for black oil heater tubes and for delayed coker heater tubes that is automated.
It is yet another object of the present invention to disclose and claim an on-line cleaning system and method for black oil heater tubes and for delayed coker heater tubes that cleans by a scrubbing action, caused by the boiling of water, and a shocking action, caused by the temperature difference between the water charge and the heater tube.
It will become apparent to one skilled in the art that the claimed subject matter as a whole, including the structure of the system, and the cooperation of the elements of the system, combine to result in the unexpected advantages and utilities of the present invention. The advantages and objects of the present invention and features of such an on-line cleaning system and a method for black oil heaters and delayed coker heaters will become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying description, drawing figures, and appended claims.

System and method for on-line cleaning of black oil heater tubes and delayed coker heater tubes


A rectangular sporting pipe includes a shaft and at least two bulging portions formed on a surface portion of the shaft, the bulging portions extending in a longitudinal direction of the shaft and bulging outwardly.

The present invention relates to a hollow rectangular sporting pipe having a rectangular cross-section, for sports, especially use in a shaft of an athletic stick used in a game, e.g., an ice hockey, a field hockey, or a cricket.
Hitherto, hollow rectangular sporting pipes of various forms have been known, each of which has a rectangular cross-section (see, e.g., JP-A-6-198010, JP-A-03-234614). Such rectangular sporting pipes are used in various industrial fields, and widely utilized in, e.g., shafts of athletic sticks to be used in games.
The above athletic stick has a shaft to be gripped and held by a user, and a blade for hitting a ball or a puck, which is mounted at a leading end of the shaft integrally therewith and detachably therefrom. It is known that the weight of the shaft of such an athletic stick can be reduced using, e.g., a composite material such as a fiber-reinforced plastic.
As disclosed in the above documents, the rotating-torque acting on the shaft at the ball hitting by the blade portion can be suppressed by cross-sectionally rectangularly shaping the shaft, as compared with the case of cross-sectionally circularly or elliptically shaping the shaft. However, in order to more improve the directionality of a hit ball and to perform fast ball-hitting (or take a fast shot), it is preferable that the athletic stick is configured to suppress the torque acting on the shaft thereof.


Provided are an electronic device. The electronic device includes at least one sensing unit recognizing a plurality of pointing means, a display unit displaying a pointer following a movement of a pointing means having the authority to control the electronic device among the plurality of pointing means, and a controller obtaining context awareness information related to the electronic device, determining the number of pointers required for controlling the electronic device according to the context awareness information, and selecting at least one point means having the authority to control the electronic device from among the plurality of pointing means based on the number of required points.

1. Field
The present invention relates to an electronic device capable of performing a control function by using a pointer displayed on a screen and, more particularly, to an electronic device capable of granting or maintaining, and depriving the authority to control the electronic device of a plurality of pointing units according to the number of points required for controlling the electronic device determined based on obtained context awareness information.
2. Related Art
As the functions of electronic devices such as personal computers, notebook computers, mobile phones, or the like, are diversified, electronic devices are implemented in the form or a multimedia player or device supporting complicated functions such as capturing images or video, reproducing music or video files, playing games, receiving broadcast signals, and the like.
Electronic devices may be divided into a mobile electronic device and a stationary electronic device according to whether the electronic device is portable or not. The stationary electronic device may be, for example, a television, a monitor for a desktop computer, or the like. Recently, an interest in a technique of using a pointer displayed on a display unit to control such mobile and stationary electronic devices is increasing.

Electronic device for granting authority based on context awareness information


Embodiments for heating a catalyst are provided. In one example, a method for controlling an internal combustion engine having an exhaust-gas aftertreatment device during a cold-start phase comprises adjusting a temperature of cooling water to a setpoint operating temperature as a function of a degree of aging of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device of the internal combustion engine, wherein the temperature of the cooling water is increased more quickly as a present degree of aging of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device increases.

For the oxidation of reductants in the exhaust gas from the internal or external combustion of fossil fuels, exhaust-gas catalytic converters are utilized, that is to say exhaust-gas aftertreatment devices with a catalytic noble metal coating.
An exhaust-gas catalytic converter, which is subjected to alternating high and low temperatures, of a motor vehicle is subjected to thermal aging, that is to say a degradation of the oxidation efficiency of the catalytic coating owing to noble metal sintering (shrinkage of the surface of the catalytic coating in contact with the exhaust gas owing to the clumping-together of the catalyst material).
The degree of degradation of the oxidation efficiency is dependent (with an Arrhenius or exponential relationship) on the temperature level and is substantially linearly dependent on the exhaust-gas mass flow speed.
The aging of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device has the result that the light-off temperature of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device in cold-start phases shifts toward higher temperatures over the course of time, which impairs the capability of the exhaust-gas catalytic converter to convert the reductants emitted by the internal combustion engine during cold-start phases.
In the current systems, it is attempted to increase the exhaust-gas temperature in order to accelerate the increase of the catalytic converter temperature beyond the light-off threshold. Said method leads to an increase in fuel consumption owing to the additional heat which is required from internal or external combustion devices.
The inventors herein have recognized the issues with the above approach and provide an approach to at least partly address them. In one embodiment, a method for controlling an internal combustion engine having an exhaust-gas aftertreatment device during a cold-start phase comprising adjusting a temperature of cooling water to a setpoint operating temperature as a function of a degree of aging of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device of the internal combustion engine, wherein the temperature of the cooling water is increased more quickly as a present degree of aging of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device increases.
In this way, a desired level of exhaust pipe cold-start emissions can be maintained with the least possible increase in fuel consumption. The proposed approach is based on limiting the emission of reductants in the engine exhaust gas as a countermeasure against the aging, and the associated rise in light-off temperatures, of exhaust-gas aftertreatment device. This is achieved in that the engine cooling water temperature is controlled as a function of the degree of aging of the exhaust-gas catalytic converter, specifically in such a way that the setpoint operating temperature of the cooling water is reached more quickly with progressive aging of the exhaust-gas catalytic converter.
This has the effect that the thermal losses from the combustion process are reduced, and the gas temperature in the cylinder thus increased, which leads to a reduction of the unburned fuel fraction, and therefore of the reductants, in the exhaust gas.
The advantage of said method is that the energy required to quickly heat the cooling water, which may have a total volume of 4 to 6 liters, to its setpoint operating temperature is significantly lower than the overall energy required to increase the temperature of the inlet gas flow (for example by bypassing the exhaust-gas recirculation cooler or by active heating in the inlet distributor) and/or the temperature of the exhaust-gas flow by use of a later combustion in the cylinder or an external combustion in the exhaust-gas flow.
Furthermore, passive mechanisms such as for example the control of the cooling water circulation in the cooling water tract make it possible to quickly increase the cooling water temperature in the cylinder head. Said cooling water temperature increases very quickly if the cooling water circulation is stopped, either by deactivating the cooling water pump or by control valves in the cooling water circuit.
To accelerate the heating of the cooling water in the case of high degrees of aging of the exhaust-gas catalytic converter, use may furthermore be made of active mechanisms such as for example an electric or microwave heater in the cooling water circuit. The associated effect of the faster heating of the engine oil owing to the coupling to the cooling water circuit through the oil heat exchanger has the secondary effect of reducing engine friction and thus lowering fuel consumption, which in the case of active heating, partially compensates the energy consumption thereof.
The above-described approach permits an optimum compromise between the demands of adhering to both emissions limits and also fuel consumption limits over the operating duration of the internal combustion engine or the service life of the exhaust-gas aftertreatment device.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Method and device for controlling an internal combustion engine


The invention relates to a method for controlling the temperature of a web, which is formed from cellulosic pulp and is to be passed to a dryer, by way of applying temperature-controlled liquid to the web. According to the invention, the thus formed web is passed into a closed space defined by two wires and side deckles, wherein temperature-controlled liquid is applied at controlled pressure and flow rate through the wire to the web.

Conventionally, a traveling cellulosic web has been heated by flooding the web with a liquid, whereby uncontrollable penetration of the liquid into the web occurs. As this overflow-flooding step of heating takes place in an open space, it is hampered by problems from the overflow of the liquid and release of expansion steams.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned problems by virtue of a method characterized in that said closed space is defined by two wires and side deckles, and that said liquid is applied through the wires into the web both from below the bottom wire and from above the top wire.

Method for controlling the temperature of a cellulosic web entering a dryer


A new and distinct cultivar of Argyranthemum plant named ‘M905’, characterized by its compact, upright and rounded plant habit; freely branching habit; dense and bushy plants; freely flowering habit with numerous inflorescences per plant; and anemone-type inflorescences with pink-colored ray florets and golden yellow-colored disc florets.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Argyranthemum plant, botanically known as Argyranthemum frutescens and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'M905'.
The new Argyranthemum originated from an open-pollination in 1999 of a proprietary seedling selection of Argyranthemum frutescens identified as M2/16, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified seedling selection of Argyranthemum frutescens, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar M905 was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from the aforementioned open-pollination in a controlled environment in Narre Warren East, Victoria, Australia on Nov. 15, 1999.
Asexual reproduction of the new Argyranthemum by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment since November, 1999, in Narre Warren East, Victoria, Australia, has shown that the unique features of this new Argyranthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A system includes an apparatus; a first access point configured to transmit a first signal reaching the apparatus; and a second access point configured to transmit a second signal reaching the apparatus during a period other than the first signal is transmitted from the first access point, wherein a signal quality regarding the first access point is estimated on the basis of the first signal but except the second signal.

Due to the recent evolution of hardware and software, smart phones, tablet personal computers (PCs), and other types of mobile terminals include not only a cellular wireless communication module based on code division multiple access (CDMA), long term evolution (LTE), or the like but also another type of wireless communication module that uses a wireless local area network (LAN). Communication operators are pursuing deployment of wireless LAN areas as countermeasures against traffic that are rapidly increasing on cellular networks. When a user of a smart phone or tablet PC moves to a wireless LAN area deployed by a network operator, a switchover is possible from cellular communication to wireless LAN communication.
In a technology known in the prior art, when a beacon signal transmitted from an access point on a wireless LAN is received, information about a channel used by the access point is obtained. If an overlap with the frequency band of the channel is found from the information about the channel, it is inferred that there is interference between radio signals transmitted from access points. In another known technology, a terminal is notified of a switchover to prompt it to switch its connection to an access point having a larger reception level.
The followings are reference documents; Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-142893, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-067178, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-263621

System, apparatus, and method for determining signal quality with multiple access points


The present application provides a refrigerant composition for a single stage refrigeration system operation comprising: more than 25 molar percent but less than 30 molar percent of Nitrogen; at least some but less than 20 molar percent of Methane; more than 30 molar percent but less than 70 molar percent of Propane, Argon, Helium, Neon and combinations thereof, and optionally up to 45 molar percent of Ethane, Ethylene and combinations thereof and a process for preparing the said composition.

Simple refrigeration systems use a method called vapor compression cycle. The vapor compression cycle is a method in which a compressor such as a piston compressor compresses a low-pressure refrigerant vapor. In a next stage, a condenser condenses the warm compressed vapor, resulting in a partial or complete condensation of the vapor. This condensed refrigerant then passes through a fine capillary tube or other constriction into a larger chamber at low pressure. As the refrigerant enters the larger chamber, it evaporates and absorbs heat, resulting in the vapor. This refrigerant vapor is then routed to the intake of the compressor, thus closing the cycle. This is the so-called closed loop refrigeration system.
A single stage refrigerant system is used to achieve temperatures up to −40° C. For temperatures in the range −50° C. to −80° C. a two-stage cascaded vapor compression system has been proposed. This method uses a single refrigerant per stage and two compressors, one for each stage. For still lower refrigeration temperatures, more cascaded stages are required. Typically, four stage cascade vapor compression systems are proposed for reaching cryogenic temperatures, lower than −150 C.
An advance in technology has been achieved by using a single stage compression system with a mixture of refrigerants. This method has been used to achieve temperatures far below those that can be achieved using a cascaded multi-stage system, for example, the range −100° C. to −210° C. This method uses a mixture of several refrigerants each of which with different boiling points.
In mixed gas refrigeration systems, the refrigerant in gaseous form is compressed in a compressor and thereafter cooled to remove the heat of compression to near-ambient temperatures. Partial condensation of the refrigerant may occur in some cases. The refrigerant is then passed through the high pressure side of a heat exchanger, which is arranged in a cryostat. The high pressure refrigerant leaving the heat exchanger is throttled to a lower pressure in a throttling device such as an orifice or a capillary tube. The refrigerant is then passed through an evaporator where it absorbs heat from the substance (solid or fluid) being cooled.
Researchers have proposed several refrigerant compositions. There is still a need for a refrigerant composition that can achieve better efficiency or a greater cooling effect or both.
Soviet Union patent 627,154 has suggested the composition of the refrigerant as follows:
Nitrogen: 25-40 molar percent
Methane: 20-25 molar percent
Ethane: 15-35 molar percent
Propane: 25-45 molar percent
UK patent 1,336,892 has suggested the composition of the refrigerant as follows:
Nitrogen: 20-70 molar percent
Methane: 10-30 molar percent
Ethane: 10-25 molar percent
Propane: 10-25 molar percent
U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,658 has suggested the composition of the refrigerant as follows:
Nitrogen: 30-50 molar percent
Methane: less than 20 molar percent
Propane: greater than 30 molar percent
Ethane: balance
This specification describes the optimum refrigerant composition to be used in a single stage refrigeration cycle.

Refrigerant composition and process for preparation thereof


An extruded aluminum flat multi-hole tube manufactured by extrusion molding includes therein a plurality of refrigerant passages extending in a tube length direction and including an upper wall surface and a lower wall surface opposed to each other and a pair of opposed sidewall surfaces. A ridge extending in the tube length direction is formed only on the upper wall surface of the refrigerant passage. The height of the ridge is 5 to 25% of the vertical width of the refrigerant passage. The ratio of the horizontal width at ½ the height of the ridge with respect to the horizontal width of the refrigerant passage is 0.05 to 0.30. The ratio of the horizontal width per inter-ridge flat portion of the upper wall surface with respect to the horizontal width of the refrigerant passage is 0.20 or less.

There has been often used an all-aluminum heat exchanger as a heat exchanger such as an evaporator, a condenser or the like for use in an air conditioner such as a room air conditioner and a refrigerator. Such an all-aluminum heat exchanger is configured such that a large number of extruded aluminum flat multi-hole tubes are arranged in rows, inserted into and fixed to a pair of headers made of aluminum and a large number of heat dissipating fins made of aluminum are fixed to the large number of flat multi-hole tubes.
For the purpose of increasing the heat transfer performance of the heat exchanger for dedicated cooling and air conditioning, such an extruded aluminum flat multi-hole tube has conventionally been configured such that a ridge is formed in the refrigerant passages extending in the tube length direction to increase a heat transfer area inside the tube.
For example, the fluid passage in the flat tube disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes therein a groove edge portion formed into a curved surface, a groove bottom portion formed into a curved surface, and a linear portion formed between the groove bottom portion and the groove edge portion.
In addition, the flat tube disclosed in Patent Literature 2 is a flat heat exchange tube having a plurality of fluid passages through which a first fluid flows. The wall surface of each fluid passage includes at least one ridge formed extending along the flowing direction of the fluid passage and the wall surface on which the base end of the ridge is located includes a groove extending along the ridge.
Further, in the flat tube disclosed in Patent Literature 3, a plurality of fluid passages extending in the tube length direction are formed side by side in the tube width direction with a partition wall therebetween. One projection extending in the length direction of the fluid passage is formed on an inner surface of a portion facing each fluid passage excluding the fluid passage at both ends in the tube width direction of both flat walls, and one projection extending in the length direction of the fluid passage is formed on both side surfaces of the partition wall. The height of the projection formed on the partition wall is lower than the height of the projection formed on the portion facing each fluid passage excluding the fluid passage at both ends in the tube width direction of both flat walls.

Extruded aluminum flat multi-hole tube and heat exchanger


The invention concerns new tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factors, designated TRAF. The new factors are capable of specific association with the intracellular domain of the type 2 TNF receptor (TNF-R2), and are involved in the mediation of TNF biological activities.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, also referred to as TNF-α) is a potent cytokine produced mainly by activated macrophages and a few other cell types. The large number of biological effects elicited by TNF include hemorrhagic necrosis of transplanted tumors, cytotoxicity, a role in endotoxin shock, inflammatory, immunoregulatory, proliferative, and antiviral responses [reviewed in Goeddel, D. V. et al., Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 51, 597-609 (1986); Beutler, B. and Cerami, A., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 57, 505-518 (1988); Old, L. J., Sci. Am. 258(5), 59-75 (1988); Fiers, W. FEBS Lett. 285(2), 199-212 (1991)]. The literature has reported that TNF and other cytokines such as IL-1 may protect against the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation produced during the course of radiotherapy, such as denaturation of enzymes, lipid peroxidation, and DNA damage [(Neta et al., J. Immunol. 136(7): 2483, (1987); Neta et al., Fed. Proc. 46: 1200 (abstract), (1987); Urbaschek et al., Lymphokine Res. 6: 179 (1987); U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,587; Neta et al., J. Immunol. 140: 108 (1988)]. A related molecule, lymphotoxin (LT, also referred to as TNF-β), that is produced by activated lymphocytes shows a similar but not identical spectrum of biological activities as TNF (see, e.g. Goeddel, D. V. et al., supra, and Fiers, W., supra). TNF was described by Pennica et al., Nature 312, 721 (1984); LT was described by Gray et al., Nature 312, 724 (1984).
The first step in the induction of the various cellular responses mediated by TNF or LT is their binding to specific cell surface receptors. Two distinct TNF receptors of approximately 55-kDa (TNF-R1) and 75-kDa (TNF-R2) have been identified [Hohmann, H. P. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264, 14927-14934 (1989); Brockhaus, M. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87, 3127-3131 (1990)], and human and mouse cDNAs corresponding to both receptor types have been isolated and characterized [Loetscher, H. et al., Cell 61, 351 (1990); Schall, T. J. et al., Cell 61, 361 (1990); Smith, C. A. et al., Science 248, 1019 (1990); Lewis, M. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 2830-2834 (1991); Goodwin, R. G. et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 11, 3020-3026 (1991)]. Both TNF-Rs share the typical structure of cell surface receptors including extracellular, transmembrane and intracellular regions. The extracellular portions of both receptors are found naturally also as soluble TNF-binding proteins [Nophar, Y. et al., EMBO J. 9, 3269 (1990); and Kohno, T. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 8331 (1990)]]. The amino acid sequence of human TNF-R1 and the underlying nucleotide sequence are disclosed in EP 417,563 (published Mar. 20, 1991), whereas EP 418,014 (published 20 Mar. 1991) discloses the amino acid and nucleotide sequences of human TNF-R2.
Although not yet systematically investigated, the majority of cell types and tissues appear to express both TNF receptors.
The individual roles of the two TNF receptors, and particularly those of TNF-R2, in cell signaling are far from entirely understood, although studies performed by poly- and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that are specific for either TNF-R1 or TNF-R2 have provided some very valuable insight into the functions and interactions of these receptors.
It has been observed that both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies directed against TNF-R1 can act as specific agonists for this receptor and elicit several TNF activities such as cytotoxicity, fibroblast proliferation, resistance to chlamydiae, and synthesis of prostaglandin E2 [Engelmann, H. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265, 14497-14504 (1990); Espevik, T. et al., J. Exp. Med. 171, 415-426 (1990); Shalaby, M. R. et al., J. Exp. Med. 172, 1517-1520 (1990)]. Agonist antibodies to TNF-R1 with antiviral activity are disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 07/856,989 filed 24 Mar. 1992.
In addition, polyclonal antibodies to both murine TNF-R1 and TNF-R2 have been developed, have been shown to behave as specific receptor agonists and induce a subset of murine TNF activities. While the murine TNF-R1 was shown to be responsible for signaling cytotoxicity and the induction of several genes, the murine TNF-R2 was shown to be capable of signaling proliferation of primary thymocytes and a cytotoxic T cell line, CT6 [Tartaglia, L. A. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 9292-9296 (1991)]. The ability of TNF-R2 to stimulate human thymocyte proliferation has been demonstrated in experiments with monoclonal antibodies directed against the human receptor.
Monoclonal antibodies against human TNF-R1 that block the binding of TNF to TNF-R1 and antagonize several of the TNF effects have also been described [Espevik, T. et al., Supra; Shalaby, M. R. et al., Supra; Naume, B. et al., J. Immunol. 146, 3035-3048 (1991)].
In addition, several reports described monoclonal antibodies directed against TNF-R2 that can partially antagonize the same TNF responses (such as cytotoxicity and activation of NF-κB) that are induced by TNF-R1 agonists [Shalaby, M. R. et al., Supra; Naume, B. et al., Supra; and Hohmann, H. P. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265, 22409-22417 (1990)].
It is now well established that although the two human TNF receptors are both active in signal transduction, they are able to mediate distinct cellular responses. While TNF-R1 appears to be responsible for signaling most TNF responses, the thymocyte proliferation stimulating activity of TNF is specifically mediated by TNF-R2. In addition, TNF-R2 activates the transcription factor NF-κB (Lenardo & Baltimore, Cell 58: 227-229 [1989]) and mediates the transcriptional induction of the granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene (Miyatake et al., EMBO J. 4: 2561-2568 [1985]; Stanley et al., EMBO J. 4: 2569-2573 [1985]) and the A20 zinc finger protein gene (Opipari et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265: 14705-14708 [1990]) in CT6 cells. TNF-R2 also participates as an accessory component to TNF-R1 in the signaling of responses primarily mediated by TNF-R1, like cytotoxicity ([Tartaglia, L. A. and Goeddel, D. V., Immunol. Today 13, 151-153 [1992]).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factors


The wraps of a scroll device are nonsymmetrical. Additionally, each wrap has a circular outer portion, an involute inner portion with a high order curve therebetween. To equalize displacement, the starting angles of the pockets can be adjusted.

Conventional scroll compressors are designed around involutes of circles. Because this design is inherently eccentric in shape it presents disadvantages in minimizing the size of the compressor since an enclosing diameter which is drawn on center with the wrap will necessarily include some unused space in the outer periphery. As exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,303,379, 4,304,535, 4,477,239 and 4,494,914, shifting the center of the scroll geometry has been employed in an attempt to reduce compressor size. Shifting the center of the scroll geometry is of limited potential, however, since it induces undesired torque fluctuations by shifting lines of action of compression forces. Additionally, you will still have unused space in the outer periphery which could be better used for compressor displacement.
In conventional scroll design, each set of pockets in the scroll set shares identical starting and ending angles. This results in pocket pairs of identical volume and volume ratio. U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,863 discloses a scroll design with unequal starting and ending angles, but the scroll geometry is otherwise conventional and the suction pockets have different displacement volumes.


A printed circuit board (PCB) may be provided that includes a plurality of expansion device connectors mounted to at least two outer edges of the PCB. Each of the expansion device connectors may include a slot aligned in a same plane as the PCB. The slot may be positioned to connect to an expansion device such as to align the expansion device in the same plane as the PCB. Thus, the expansion card may be communicatively connected to the PCB via the expansion card connector. As the PCB includes expansion device connectors on at least two outer edges, the PCB may be positioned in at least two orientations to provide a greater number of expansion device configurations than realized in some PCBs.

Modern server computer hardware designs are evolving to provide shorter product development cycles, rapid scaling, and diverse product feature sets. Some server designs (e.g., cloud-based data center servers) leverage a server architecture that is built with modular hardware building blocks. Within these systems, it is important to enable efficient use of the limited available space. With the advent of new motherboard architectures, the number of possible expansion connectors may increase, which may increase the need for efficient space utilization within the modular building block. Thus, the form factor of such printed circuit boards may be improved upon so as to improve space utilization within the server and to allow for more flexibility in configuring components of the server.

Connector configurations for printed circuit boards