According to one aspect of this disclosure, the configuration of which Interference Measurement Resources, “IMRs”, a given user equipment, “UE”, should measure for Channel State Information, “CSI”, reporting is made more or less invariant to dynamic traffic variations affecting the set of Coordinated Multi-Point, “CoMP”, transmission points used for serving the UE, or to the use of dynamic blanking for those transmission points. These goals are achieved at least in part by configuring one or more of the transmission points to follow a first rule embodying a negative logic. According to the first rule, the transmission point transmits on a given IMR if it has been deemed as being not likely to transmit data at a time relevant to the IMR, and, conversely, to not transmit the IMR if it has been deemed as being likely to transmit data at a time relevant to the IMR.

Multi-antenna techniques can significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. The performance is in particular improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas, which results in a multiple-input multiple-output, "MIMO", communication channel. Such systems and/or related techniques are commonly referred to as MIMO.
The LTE standard is currently evolving with enhanced MIMO support. A core component in LTE is the support of MIMO antenna deployments and MIMO related techniques. For instance, LTE-Advanced supports a spatial multiplexing mode that provides for channel-dependent precoding. The spatial multiplexing mode is intended for high data rates in favorable channel conditions and it relies on antenna precoding, which, as noted, may be channel dependent. This is also commonly referred to as closed-loop precoding, where the aim is to focus the transmit energy into a subspace that is strong in the sense of conveying much of the transmitted energy to the targeted user equipment or "UE". In addition, the precoder matrix—which comprises the per antenna signal weightings—also may be selected to strive for orthogonalizing the channel, meaning that after proper linear equalization at the UE, the inter-layer interference is reduced.
Channel State Information Reference Symbols, "CSI-RS", were introduced in LTE Release-10, for use in estimating channel state information or "CSI". A CSI-RS resource can loosely be described as the pattern of resource elements on which a particular CSI-RS configuration is transmitted. A CSI-RS resource is determined by a combination of "resourceConfig", "subframeConfig", and "antennaPortsCount" parameters, which are configured by Radio Resource Control, "RRC", signaling.
The CSI-RS provide several advantages over basing the CSI feedback on common reference symbols, "CRS", which were used for CSI estimation in previous releases. First, the CSI-RS are not used for data signal demodulation, and thus do not require the same density—i.e., the overhead of the CSI-RS is substantially less than the CRS. Second, the CSI-RS provide a much more flexible basis for configuring CSI feedback measurements from UEs—e.g., which CSI-RS resource(s) to measure on can be configured in a UE specific manner. Moreover, supporting antenna configurations larger than four antennas must resort to the use of CSI-RS, because the CRS are only defined for a maximum of four antennas.
By measuring on a CSI-RS, a UE can estimate the effective channel the CSI-RS is traversing, including the radio propagation channel, antenna gains, and any possible antenna virtualizations—i.e., a CSI-RS port may be precoded so that it is virtualized over multiple physical antenna ports. In other words, the CSI-RS port can be transmitted on multiple physical antenna ports, possibly with different gains and phases. In more mathematical rigor this implies that if a known CSI-RS signal xn is transmitted, a UE can estimate the coupling between the transmitted signal and the received signal—i.e., the effective channel.
Hence if no virtualization is performed in the transmission of xn, the received signal yn can be expressed asyn=Hnxn+en,and the UE can estimate the effective channel Heff=Hn. Similarly, if the CSI-RS is virtualized using a transmit precoder matrix WNT×r asyn=HnWNT×rxn+en,then the UE can estimate the effective channel Heff=HnWNT×r, where NT=the number of transmit antennas used for precoding and r=the rank, i.e., the number of spatial multiplexing layers used.
The concept of zero-power CSI-RS resources—also known as a muted CSI-RS—is related to CSI-RS. Zero power CSI-RS resources are configured just as regular CSI-RS resources, so that a UE knows that data transmissions are mapped around those resources. However, the intent of the zero-power CSI-RS resources is to enable the network to mute transmissions on the corresponding resources, to thereby boost the signal-to-noise-plus-interference, "SINR", of a corresponding non-zero power CSI-RS that is possibly transmitted in a neighbor cell/transmission point.
Release 11 of LTE introduces a special zero-power CSI-RS, for which a UE may be mandated to use in measuring interference plus noise. The UE can assume that the transmission points or "TPs" of interest are not transmitting on the zero-power CSI-RS resources, and the received power at the UE can therefore be used as a measure of the interference plus noise.
Based on a specified CSI-RS resource and on an interference measurement configuration—e.g. a zero-power CSI-RS resource—the UE can estimate the effective channel and noise plus interference, and consequently also determine which rank, precoder and transport format to recommend as best matching the particular channel.
For CSI feedback, LTE has adopted an implicit CSI mechanism in which a UE does not explicitly report the complex valued elements of a measured effective channel, for example. Instead, the UE recommends a transmission configuration for the measured effective channel. The recommended transmission configuration thus implicitly gives the network information about the underlying channel state.
In LTE, such CSI feedback is given in terms of a transmission rank indicator or "RI", a precoder matrix indicator or "PMI", and one or more channel quality indicators or "CQIs". The CQI/RI/PMI report from a UE can be wideband or frequency-selective, depending on the configured reporting mode.
The RI corresponds to a recommended number of data streams that are to be spatially multiplexed and thus transmitted in parallel over the effective channel. The PMI identifies a recommended precoder, e.g., an index pointing to precoder matrix WNT×r in a codebook, to use for precoding the transmission. The PMI thus relates to the spatial characteristics of the effective channel. The CQI represents a recommended transport block size—i.e., the code rate. There is thus a relation between the CQI and the SINR of the spatial stream(s) over which the transport block is transmitted.
Coordinated Multipoint or "CoMP" transmission and reception refers to a system where the transmission and/or reception at multiple, geographically separated antenna sites is coordinated in order to improve system performance. More specifically, CoMP refers to coordination of antenna arrays that have different geographical coverage areas. An antenna covering a certain geographical area as a point is referred to herein as a "transmission point" or "TP". Coordination among a set of CoMP TPs can be based on distributed or centralized control.
LTE uses CoMP to improve high data rate coverage, cell-edge throughput and/or to increase system throughput. In particular, the goal is to distribute the user-perceived system performance more evenly in the network by taking control of the interference in the system, either by reducing the interference and/or by better prediction of the interference.
CoMP operation targets many different deployments, including coordination between sites and sectors in cellular macro deployments, as well as different configurations of heterogeneous deployments, where for instance a macro node coordinates the transmission with pico nodes within the macro coverage area.
There are many different CoMP transmission schemes that are considered, including these examples:                dynamic point blanking where one or more transmission points mute their transmissions on time-frequency resources (TFREs) allocated to UEs experiencing significant interference;        dynamic point selection where the data transmission to a UE switches dynamically (in time and frequency) between different transmission points, so that the various transmission points are fully utilized;        coordinated beamforming where the transmission points coordinate their transmissions in the spatial domain, based on beamforming the transmission power in such a way that the interference to UEs served by neighboring transmission points are suppressed; and        joint transmission where the signal to a UE is simultaneously transmitted from multiple transmission points on the same time/frequency resource, with the aim of joint transmission being an increase in the received signal power and/or a reduction in the received interference, if the cooperating transmission points otherwise would serve some other UEs without taking the joint-transmission UE into consideration.
CoMP feedback is a common denominator for the CoMP transmission scheme examples given above, and for CoMP systems in general. In this regard, CoMP feedback provides the network with needed CSI information, not only for the serving transmission point, but also for the channels linking the neighboring transmission points to a given UE. For example, by configuring a unique CSI-RS resource per transmission point, a UE can resolve the effective channels for each transmission point by measurements on the corresponding CSI-RS. Here, it should be noted that the UE likely is unaware of the physical presence of any particular transmission point; instead, the UE simply is configured to measure on a particular CSI-RS resource, without knowing the association between the CSI-RS resource and the particular transmission point.
CoMP feedback for LTE Release-11 builds upon per CSI-RS resource feedback, which corresponds to separate reporting of CSI for each of a set of CSI-RS resources. Such a CSI report could for example correspond to a PMI, RI, or CQI, which represent a recommended configuration for a hypothetical downlink transmission over the same antennas used for the associated CSI-RS, or as the RS used for the channel measurement. More generally, the recommended transmission should be mapped to physical antennas in the same way as the reference symbols used for the CSI channel measurement. Potentially there could be interdependencies between the CSI reports; for example, they could be constrained to have the same RI.
Typically there is a one-to-one mapping between a CSI-RS and a transmission point, in which case per CSI-RS resource feedback corresponds to per-TP feedback. That is, a separate PMI/RI/CQI is reported for each transmission point. The considered CSI-RS resources are configured, e.g., by an eNodeB or other network node, as the "CoMP Measurement Set".
Interference measurements are important for efficient CoMP operation, and it is as important to capture appropriate interference assumptions when determining the CQIs in a CoMP environment, as it is to capture the appropriate received desired signal. In uncoordinated systems, a UE or other wireless device can effectively measure the interference observed from all other transmission points or cells, which will be the relevant interference level in an upcoming data transmission. The UE typically performs such interference measurements by analyzing the residual interference on CRS resources, after subtracting the impact of the CRS signal.
In coordinated systems performing CoMP, such interference measurements become increasingly irrelevant. Most notably, within a coordination cluster, i.e., a set of CoMP transmission points, the coordinating node(s) to a large extent can control which transmission points interfere with a UE in any particular Time-Frequency Resource Element or "TFRE." Hence, there will be multiple interference hypotheses for the UE, each depending on which transmission points are transmitting data to other UEs.
Release 11 of LTE introduces certain new functionality to improve interference measurements. In particular, it is now agreed that the network will be able to configure a UE to measure interference on a particular Interference Measurement Resource, "IMR". Each defined IMR identifies a particular set of TFREs that is to be used by the UE for a corresponding interference measurement. The network can thus control the interference seen by a UE on any given IMR by controlling which transmission points within a CoMP cluster transmit on the IMR. If all transmission points in the cluster are muted on that IMR, the IMR may be used by the UE for measuring inter-cluster interference. With respect to a given IMR, the particular pattern of transmitting and non-transmitting transmission points defines the intra-cluster interference hypothesis represented by that IMR.
The network must be able to accurately evaluate the performance of the UE for different CoMP transmission hypotheses; otherwise dynamic coordination becomes meaningless. Thus the network must to be able to track and estimate different intra-cluster interference levels corresponding to the different transmission and blanking hypotheses. See, for example, FIG. 1 in which two transmission points 10-1 and 10-2 operated as a CoMP set of transmission points 10 for a UE 12. The CoMP set also may be referred to as coordination cluster.
FIG. 2 illustrates a table embodying a dynamic transmission-point blanking scheme which may be applied to the transmission points 10-1 and 10-2, also referred to as "TP1" and "TP2", respectively. In the table, one sees three rows, each corresponding to a different defined IMR, i.e., IMR1, IMR2, and IMR3. As noted, each IMR nominally represents a different interference hypothesis. In the table, a "1" indicates that the TP 10 is transmitting on the IMR and a "0" indicates that the TP 10 is blanked (muted) for the IMR.
Assuming that TP1 is the serving TP 10 for the UE 12, there are two relevant interference hypotheses. In a first relevant hypothesis, the UE 12 sees no interference from the coordinated neighboring transmission point TP2, because TP2 is muted and hence the UE 12 will only experience the signal from its serving transmission point, TP1, in addition to any uncoordinated inter-cluster interference including background noise and interference from uncoordinated devices. In the second relevant hypothesis, the UE 12 sees interference from the neighboring point, TP2, as well as the signal from its serving transmission point TP1 and any inter-cluster interference.
To enable the network to effectively determine whether or not a TP 10 should be muted in this example, the UE 12 can report two CQIs corresponding to the different interference hypotheses. The set of IMRs defined in FIG. 2 represent one way to obtain these multiple CQIs from the UE 12.
In particular, the first IMR, IMR1, corresponds to the first relevant hypothesis mentioned above, i.e., no interference from TP2, and with the implicit assumption that the desired signal originates from the TP1, hence no interference from TP1. Note that the IMR only covers the interference part of the CoMP transmission hypothesis, the desired signal part of the transmission hypothesis is configured using a CSI-RS that defines the channel between the UE 12 and a hypothetical signal source. In other words, to accommodate a CoMP transmission hypothesis where the desired signal originates from TP1, one should use an associated IMR that applies blanking or muting of TP1, represented with "0" in the table, so that the signal from TP1 is not counted as interference.
The second IMR or IMR2 corresponds to the second relevant hypothesis. Again, the "0" blanking or muting of TP1 represents the fact that it is the source of a desired signal rather than an interfering signal, while the "1" in row2/column2 means that TP2 is transmitting an interfering signal on the TFRE of IMR2.
Finally there is also a third IMR defined but this one is of no interest for the illustrated UE 12, because TP1 is the serving TP. It is not interesting to consider it as a source of interference for the UE 12. The network can therefore configure the UE 12 to only measure and report CSI feedback for IMR1 and IMR2.
The above example illustrates the principle of selecting relevant IMRs for a dynamic point blanking CoMP scheme. In such a scheme, the only IMRs that are relevant to a given UE 12 are those IMRs in which the serving TP 10 is muted, because the serving TP 10 is not a source of interference for the served UE 12. Of course, in other CoMP schemes, such as in dynamic point switching in particular, the IMRs representing interference from the serving TP 10 could also be of interest.
With the scheme exemplified in FIG. 2, the likelihood that the different interference hypotheses are actually realized in a downlink transmission is dependent on the system load. For example, at relatively high levels of system loading, it is less likely that all TPs 10 within a given coordination cluster are muted, because muting is costly. That is, muting on the TFREs associated with a given IMR represent a forfeiture of transmission resources that otherwise could be used for data transmission, and such forfeitures obviously become more "costly" as system resources become more precious in higher loading scenarios.
Moreover, for a given UE 12, the network in many cases can make a qualified guess that different interference hypotheses will result in similar performance for the UE 12. For example, if two different interference hypotheses differ only in terms of which weakly interfering TPs 10 are blanked, the actual reception performance at the UE 12 may not differ much between the different interference hypotheses. In an example case, the network receives Reference Signal Received Power, "RSRP", measurements from the UE 12, which allow it to recognize which TPs 10 in the CoMP cluster are "weak" interferers with respect to the UE.
The network thus may reduce complexity without any appreciable loss in performance by using one IMR to approximate another, in cases where the two IMRs yield similar effective interference scenarios as the UE 12. A consequence of this recognition is that the importance of receiving CSI that is based on a specific IMR varies from UE 12 to UE 12. The importance also depends on the overall traffic situation in the network. For each UE 12, the network may order the IMRs in a priority list, where some IMRs are more important to include in CSI reporting than others.
This priority allows the network to reduce the amount of CSI reporting without compromising on quality. However, the network remains responsible for configuring the transmissions so that the interference measured on the different IMRs corresponds to the desired interference hypotheses. That is, for each IMR, a set of TPs 10 will be muted, and intra-cluster interference only from the remaining coordinated and/or un-coordinated TPs 10 will be present on the IMR.
In the currently known solutions, the data transmission from a specific TP 10 will be present, or muted, on the TFREs of the IMRs where interference from the transmission point is expected to be present, or absent. This scheme is nicely illustrated in the table given in FIG. 3.
The table in FIG. 3 assumes the presence of three TPs 10 in a CoMP cluster, denoted as TP1, TP2 and TP3. For this set of three TPs 10, seven IMRs are needed to capture all possible muting patterns.
Unlike the scheme illustrated in FIG. 2, the IMRs are defined in terms of regular data transmissions by the TPs 10. For a given IMR, a given one of the TPs 10 will either be muted or will be engaging in a regular data transmission. Thus, in the table, one sees that each IMR is defined by a pattern of 0s and Ds, where a "0" entry indicates that the TP 10 is muted for that IMR and a "D" entry indicates that the TP 10 is engaged in a regular data transmission for the IMR, e.g., to another UE 12. In particular, "D1" denotes a regular data transmission by TP1, "D2" denotes a regular data transmission by TP2, and so on.
Now, assume that a given UE 12 is "connected" to TP1. In this serving role, TP1 is not a relevant source of interference with respect to the UE 12. Thus, the interference hypotheses that are potentially relevant to the UE 12 include those represented by IMR1, IMR4, IMR6 and IMR7. Thus, the UE 12 would provide the network with all channel information for all relevant muting combinations by reporting CSI for IMR1, IMR4, IMR6 and IMR7.
Constructing the IMR table around regular data transmissions as exemplified in FIG. 3 is referred to in this disclosure as "Configuration Methodology A" or "CM-A". A chief advantage of CM-A, as compared to the fixed scheme illustrated in FIG. 2 is that the feedback reporting captures the effects of some TPs 10 being occasionally silent in terms of data transmissions, e.g., because of a low traffic load.
However, there is a significant risk of a UE 12 underestimating interference for one or more IMRs, when dynamic point blanking is applied in the context of CM-A, or, similarly, if the data traffic is highly fluctuating when CM-A is in use. The underestimation of interference occurs because the IMR definitions assume that non-muted TPs 10 will be engaged in regular data transmissions, which will not be true to the extent that there is no data to transmit and these TPs 10 are actually silent on a given IMR. Note that data traffic may fluctuate significantly for any number of reasons. For example, there is a significant fluctuation in data traffic for Transfer Control Protocol or "TCP" connections, which include a slow-start ramping up of traffic flow.
It should also be noted that when the actual blanked/transmitting pattern of a given IMR differs from its nominally defined pattern because of dynamic point blanking, the IMR generally will correspond to the interference hypothesis covered by another IMR. Thus, dynamic point blanking can cause a loss of uniqueness between or among the defined IMRs.
Of course, the network is aware of any dynamic muting that occurs on the IMR in question and the controlling node(s) could be instructed to disregard CSI reports from UEs 12 that are made on IMRs that have been disrupted by dynamically muted transmissions. Even so, it will be recognized that ignoring such CSI reports represents waste of uplink resources and a waste of valuable opportunities to acquire CSI.
Traffic fluctuations can be more problematic with respect to CM-A. For example, when the load in the network is low, there may be many TPs 10 that are silent over longer periods because of low UE density. When a TP 10 is silent, it becomes impossible to acquire CSI feedback indicating what would happen if the TP 10 suddenly began transmitting data, e.g., because an active UE 12 is handed over to it, or because a previously idle UE 12 returns to the active connection state and begins downloading data. Furthermore, the IMRs that have been configured to capture interference variations due to the on/off behavior of the TP will essentially measure the same interference level.
This problem can be addressed to a limited extent by reconfiguring the UEs 12, using RRC signaling, i.e., by reconfiguring specific UEs 12 as regards the IMRs on which they measure and report CSI. Such reconfiguration would be needed as soon as the resource utilization in the system varies, e.g., such as when new UEs 12 arrive or leave. RRC reconfiguration is however a relatively lengthy and cumbersome procedure and therefore is not a suitable mechanism for dealing with dynamic traffic variations. A known alternative to the CM-A approach decouples the signals transmitted on IMRs from the regular data transmissions at the TPs 10. In this second configuration methodology, which is termed "Configuration Method B" or "CM-B", the network maintains IMRs with fixed interference patterns that cover all relevant interference hypotheses—i.e., fixed and distinct combinations of on/off coordination of the different TPs 10 within the coordination cluster.
Such an approach is shown in FIG. 4, again using the example of three TPs 10 in a coordination cluster, denoted as TP1, TP2 and TP3. Again, seven IMRs are needed to capture all possible muting patterns. A "0" entry indicates that the TP 10 is silent in the corresponding IMR, and a "1" entry indicates that an interfering signal is transmitted by the TP 10 on the IMR, independent of any regular data transmission). A UE 12 that is served by TP1 could for instance be configured to report CSI based on IMRs 1, 4, 6, and 7, in order to capture all muting combinations of the interfering TPs 10. The CM-B configuration hence allows a UE 12 to measure IMRs and report corresponding relevant CSI regardless of whether the system load is low or high—i.e., independent of traffic fluctuations at the various TPs 10.
Thus, a primary benefit of the CM-B configuration as compared to the CM-A configuration is that the interference patterns represented by the different IMRs are invariant to fluctuations in data traffic caused by changes in loading, etc. That is, the IMR patterns remain distinct, meaning that a given UE 12 is able to measure and report CSI for a unique pattern of interference on each of its relevant IMRs. This approach means that no CSI report has to be disregarded and that none of the IMRs will, in actuality, overlap, even during times of low resource utilization within the system. Thus, the network will always be able to receive CSI reports for all IMRs that are relevant to a given UE 12. Here, a "relevant" IMR is an IMR that represent an interference hypothesis that is deemed relevant by the network, e.g., an interference hypothesis that is likely to be realized and that provides important information about the strongest interfering TPs 10 for the UE 12 that is under consideration.
However, the CM-B configuration has a number of disadvantages. For example, it is recognized herein that the configuration fails to capture the concept of uneven likelihoods associated with the interference hypotheses represented by different IMRs. Indeed, in some sense, the CM-B configuration treats all IMRs as equally important. To illustrate why this can be disadvantageous, consider a UE 12 that can only afford to feed back one CSI report each reporting instance. The one CSI report should be based on the IMR that corresponds to the most likely interference hypothesis, which typically is the interference hypothesis that is most similar to the interference seen on the regular data resource elements.
Unfortunately, the most relevant IMR changes as a function of changing traffic patterns within the coordination cluster. To keep the UE 12 reporting on the most relevant IMR thus requires an RRC-based reconfiguration any time there is a meaningful change in the traffic patterns within the coordination cluster. The CM-A configuration avoids this problem in that a UE 12 feeding back only one CSI report per reporting interval will base that report on the IMR where only its own serving TP 10 is muted and regular data transmissions by the other, interfering TPs 10 are present—e.g., IMR1 in row 1 of the table shown in FIG. 4.
It is further recognized herein that the CM-B configuration has a similar problem in the case where a UE 12 is configured to report multiple CSI reports, where a first report determines one or more properties of the other reports. For instance, it is advantageous to use the same transmission rank in all CSI reports, because the scheduling towards a UE rank cannot vary in frequency. Thus, the controlling network node(s) can use the multiple CSI reports for frequency selective scheduling by, for example, scheduling a transmission based on CSI from one report on certain subbands and CSI from another report on other subbands, because all such reports are based on the same rank.
In order to achieve this goal, the system may be configured such that the CSI report corresponding to the most likely interference hypothesis for a UE 12 determines the properties, including rank, of the other CSI reports. This will effectively minimize any negative aspect of restricting the properties because the most relevant CSI report remains unrestricted. Using CM-B, most likely the CSI process corresponding to the most relevant CSI report will have to be reconfigured with a new IMR if a second UE 12 is activated for downlink transmission from a previously inactive TP 10.

Load-invariant configuration of interference measurement resources


A frequency manager in a multi-band wireless microphone system provides the synchronization of fixed RF devices (for example, transceivers) operating in distant parts (for example, two or more frequency bands) of the frequency spectrum. Each transceiver may be paired with a wireless microphone and provides synchronization with the paired wireless microphone. Antenna signals are separated or combined into a plurality of frequency bands using a multi-band filter. Band-specific low noise amplifiers and power amplifiers may be utilized for each frequency band so amplifier performance can be optimized. Prior to distribution by a splitter, the plurality of frequency bands is combined or separated using a second multi-band filter. Transceivers that are connected to the frequency manager may then independently operate in one band, different frequency bands or a combination of bands. A cascade feature allows multiple frequency managers to synchronize, further increasing the system's simultaneous microphone channel capacity.

Multiple (sometimes many) wireless microphones are typically utilized in order to have a desired coverage for a performance/entertainment venue. However, to do so, each wireless microphone is typically assigned one or more frequencies in an available frequency spectrum. Frequency assignment may present a number of challenges when configuring and operating a wireless microphone system for the venue.
Wireless microphones are prone to interference, drop-outs, and may other radio frequency (RF) problems. For example, RF interference may be caused by other wireless microphones, wireless telephone services, facility lighting, and so forth. These problems may be disastrous for both live productions and installed systems. When a wireless microphone suffers from static or intermediate dropouts during a live event, the event is often spoiled. Malfunctions lasting even a fraction of a second can throw off presentations and performances, causing consternation and apprehension for technical crews, event coordinators, and the audience. Consequently, any improvements to frequency assignment to wireless microphones and associated rack equipment would be beneficial to wireless microphone systems.

Bi-directional multi-band frequency manager for a wireless microphone system


A shopping cart modified for vehicle transport and advertising method provides shoppers with a personal shopping cart they keep and use to transport groceries from the store to their home without unloading the groceries out of the cart multiple times, it includes a shopping cart modified with a locking support assembly comprising a rigid horizontally deposed inter support member with a connection plate member. The inter support member slides horizontally inside of a horizontal outer support member connected to a base plate that is connected to the lower side of a shopping cart basket whereby the shopping cart can be lifted and transported by locking the shopping cart onto a carrier means coupled to a receiver hitch of a vehicle. The advertising method comprises the steps of providing at least one removably attached advertising placard on a surface of the front wall, rear wall, and opposed side walls.

The present invention relates to shopping carts and more particularly to a shopping cart modified for vehicle transport and advertising method comprising a shopping cart modified to be lifted and carried behind a vehicle with advertising placards on the side walls, front wall and rear wall thereof whereby to carry promotional material which is visible to a user person and other shoppers and the advertising method wherein the promotional material generates additional income to a owner of the shopping cart by increasing sales and providing a payback of the shopping cart.

Shopping cart modified for vehicle transport


A driver assistance system includes a mobile terminal provided on an automobile, and a detection server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes an image capture apparatus which captures images around the automobile, and an image transmission unit which transmits the captured image to the detection server. The detection server includes an image filter which carries out a working process for the image, and a detection engine which receives the image after the working process by the image filter as an input thereto and detects whether or not the image includes an object. If it is decided that the image includes an object, the detection server transmits the result of the decision to the mobile terminal.

In recent years, to realize crash-proof cars, driver assistance systems have been developed that monitor pedestrians, area in front of the vehicle, pedestrians or roadway obstructions to detect potentially dangerous situations and, if necessary, intervene automatically in an effort to avoid a collision. In a typical driver assistance system that detects pedestrians, a camera mounted on the vehicle captures images around the vehicle, and then a vehicle controlling computer called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) detects and processes objects from the captured images.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-250501 discloses a vehicle system which arithmetically calculates the degree of risk of the driver's vehicle colliding with an object, using image data to determine whether the detected object is a pedestrian.

Driver assistance system, driver assistance method and information storage medium


A cremation display is incorporated into a decorative receiver that is operably controlled by a motioning mechanism. The motioning mechanism is located within a base. The base fully supports the decorative receiver. The receiver can take on a decorative element; certain embodiments incorporate an American flag, while certain other embodiments incorporate a heart. Within the decorative receiver is a liquid that creates a decorative effect when the motioning mechanism is activated. The receiver is also configured to hold the cremated remains.

The reality of death is something we all must face. While various rituals, practices and methods of internment are used, many rely the use of cremation. This process produces ashes of the deceased that can be spread over a physical area, buried or kept by the descendants in an urn. Many who decide to keep the ashes in an urn then must decide how to best display the urn while maintaining respect for the deceased.
Unfortunately, most urns are of a gloomy nature, and do not fit in well with most decorating schemes. However, out of respect, the family keeps the urn displayed, where it turns into an item that depresses occupants rather than serving as a reminder of pleasant memories. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which the cremated remains of a loved one can be kept by descendants without the disadvantages as described above. The use of the present invention allows descendants to remember deceased members of the family in a respectful manner while keeping past memories alive.


An optical pickup used to record information on and/or reproduce information from an optical recording medium, the optical pickup including an optical module to emit a light beam; and a front photo-detector to monitor power of the light beam; wherein the optical module is coupled to the front photo-detector so that a fixed distance is maintained between the optical module and the front photo-detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup, and, more particularly, to an optical pickup including a front photo-detector to detect power of light incident on an objective lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 schematically shows the structure of an optical pickup used in an optical disc drive. Referring to FIG. 1, the optical pickup includes a light source 1, a grating 2, a collimating lens 3, an objective lens 9, and a main photo-detector 7. The light source 1 emits a light beam having a predetermined wavelength. The grating 2 diverges 0th-order and ±1st-order beams from the light beam. The collimating lens 3 transforms the divergent beams emitted from the light source 1 into parallel beams. The objective lens 9 enables the light beam to be focused as a light spot on a recording surface of an optical disc 10. The main photo-detector 7 receives a light beam reflected from the recoding surface of the optical disc 10 to detect an information signal and/or an error signal.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a beam splitter that enables the light beam emitted from the light source 1 to be incident on the objective lens 9, and that guides the light beam, which has been reflected from the optical disc 10 and passed through the objective lens 9, toward the main photo-detector 7. A concave lens 6 may be interposed between the beam splitter 4 and the main photo-detector 7 to prevent astigmatism.
A light beam having a predetermined power level should be incident on the optical disc 10 so as to record information and/or reproduce information from the optical disc 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical pickup further includes a beam splitter 5 and a front photo-detector (FPD) 8. The beam splitter 5 splits the light beam, which has passed through the beam splitter 4, into two beams so as to be incident on the objective lens 9 and the FPD 8, respectively. The FPD 8 detects power from the incident beam portion. When the detected light power is lower or higher than a predetermined level, the power of the light source 1 is adjusted so that a light beam having a predetermined power level is incident on the optical disc 10.
As described above, optical elements of an optical system are installed on a pickup base which moves in a radial direction of an optical disc. When an optical pickup is manufactured, it is necessary to adjust locations of the optical elements and angles among them when installing the optical elements. In other words, the installation locations and angles for the optical elements must be precisely adjusted to focus the light beam emitted from the light source 1 as a light spot of a predetermined size on a predetermined portion of the optical disc 10.
The FPD 8 should always be located relative to the light source 1 to precisely adjust the light power of the light source 1 to a predetermined level, so that the light power detected by the FPD 8 is proportional to the light power of the light source 1. However, as described above, when the locations of the light source 1 and the FPD 8 are separately adjusted, the locations of light source 1 and the FPD 8 may vary when an optical pickup is manufactured. In this case, the relationship between the light power of the light source 1 and the light power detected by the FPD 8 may vary when an optical pickup is manufactured. Thus, it is quite difficult to adjust the light power of the light source 1 to a predetermined level. Accordingly, whenever the location and angle of the light source 1 are adjusted, the location and angel of the FPD 8 must be adjusted. As a result, the cost of manufacturing an optical pickup may increase.


A method and apparatus to compensate for a difference between an actual torque constant and a modeling torque constant used for servo design in a disc drive. The method has operations of: performing predetermined test seeks with respect to test seek positions into which a disc is divided; obtaining torque compensation constants from the test seeks; storing the torque compensation constants in a torque compensation constant table; and compensating for a gain of a seek control loop at a position where a seek is performed in a seek mode, using the torque compensation constants stored in the torque compensation constant table.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc drive control method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus to compensate for a difference between an actual torque constant and a modeling torque constant used for servo design in a disc drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-367307 discloses a device detecting a current and a voltage using a voice coil motor (VCM) current detector and a VCM inter-terminal voltage detector, calculating a coil resistance value and a torque constant, and correcting a seek loop gain based on the coil resistance value and the torque constant.
A data storage device, i.e., a hard disc drive contributes to a computer system operation by reproducing data from a disc using a magnetic head and recording data onto the disc. With high capacity, high density, and a compact structure of a hard disc drive, a bit per inch (BPI) indicating a density in a rotating direction of a disc and a track per inch (TPI) indicating a density in a radial direction thereof have been increased. As a result, a fine mechanism is desired.
A hard disc drive includes a plurality of magnetic transducers that read and/or write information by sensing a magnetic field of one or more rotating discs and/or magnetizing the one or more discs. Information is stored in a plurality of sectors positioned within an annular track. Track numbers are positioned across a surface of a disc. Numbers owned by vertically similar tracks are referred to as cylinder numbers. Accordingly, each track may be defined by a cylinder number.
Each transducer is typically integrated within a slider included in a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The HGA is attached to an actuator arm, which has a voice coil positioned adjacent to a magnetic assembly. The voice coil and the magnetic assembly define a VCM. A hard disc drive typically includes a driving circuit, and a controller to supply current that excites the VCM. The VCM rotates the actuator arm and thus moves transducers across the surface of the disc.
When writing and/or reading information, the hard disc drive may perform a seek routine to move the transducers from one cylinder to another cylinder. During the seek routine, the VCM is excited by current and moves the transducers to a new cylinder position across the surface of the disc. The controller performs a servo routine to guarantee that the transducers are moved to an exact cylinder position and to a center of a given track.
It is preferable to minimize a time required to read information from and/or write information to a disc or discs. Accordingly, the seek routine performed by the hard disc drive should be implemented so that the transducers are moved to the new cylinder position within a short time. In addition, a time to stabilize the HGA should be minimized, so that the transducers quickly write and/or read information and are positioned adjacent to the new cylinder at one time.
Since a torque constant of the VCM of the hard disc drive changes depending upon a state of a head disc assembly and a component characteristic of the VCM, a modeling torque constant determined during servo design may be different from an actual torque constant appearing in the hard disc drive during operation. A big difference between the modeling torque constant and the actual torque constant affects servo performance, and therefore hinders fine seek servo and elongates seek time.

Method and apparatus for compensating for torque change in seek servo


The invention involves a method for an Applet to be stored on a hard drive attached or available to a computer, such that the Applet is available to other programs running on the same computer wishing to make us of the Applet without transferring the Applet over the Internet.

An Applet is a program made up of java byte code, often written in the Java Programming Language. Applets are primarily used in conjunction with HTML pages, possibly including or referencing scripts written in JavaScript, VBScript, or another scripting language, where they are controlled by a computer program, typically a web browser displaying the HTML page or executing the script or scripts. Applets may also be controlled by other programs, in a fashion determined by the program using the Applet. In either case, Applets are used to provide functionality not present in or not allowed by a standard web browser or other program, to provide functionality already available but at significantly increased performance, to provide additional security over that provided by the web browser or other program, or to perform any additional function normally associated with Applets.
Conventional use of an Applet is to construct an HTML page, possibly including or referencing an associated script or scripts, said page referencing an Applet or Applets residing on a hard drive attached or available to a server computer attached to the Internet. The HTML page is then placed on the same or another hard drive attached or available to the same or another server computer, also attached to the Internet. The server computer or computers are configured to provide access to the HTML page and Applet (and possibly other files) to a user using a web browser or other program designed to access content over the Internet.
When the user accesses the HTML page, the HTML page is copied from the server computer over the Internet to the user's computer, where it is interpreted by the web browser. As the HTML page has been constructed to reference the Applet, the web browser transfers the Applet from the server computer over the Internet to the user's computer where the browser, or an auxiliary program such as a Java Virtual Machine under control of the browser execute, the Applet. The functions performed by the Applet are determined by the program code making up the Applet and the HTML or JavaScript that caused the browser to access the Applet. This use of an Applet is shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 illustrates a client computer 110 running a web browser or other computer program 111 capable of displaying HTML and making use of a Java Virtual Machine 112. The client computer 110 has access over the Internet 120 to a server computer 130 running a web server or other computer program 131 capable of servicing requests for documents residing on one or more hard drives 132 either connected directly to the server computer 130 or available over a local network. One of the hard drives 132 contains, possibly among other files, an HTML document 133 referencing an Applet 134 also contained on the same or another of the hard drives 132.
When a user using the client computer 110 instructs the web browser 111 to access the HTML document 133, the web browser 111 requests the HTML document 133 over the Internet 120 from the web server 131. The web server 131 retrieves the HTML document 133 from the hard drive 132 containing the document and transfers it over the Internet 120 to the web browser 111. The web browser 111 then interprets the HTML document 133. Because the HTML document 133 references the Applet 134, the web browser 111 requests the Applet 134 over the Internet 120 from the web server 131. The web server 131 retrieves the Applet 134 from the hard drive 132 containing the Applet and transfers it over the Internet 120 to the web browser 111. The web browser uses the Java Virtual Machine 112 to execute the Applet 134 as determined by the HTML document 133.
As the Applet 134 is requested from the web server 131 and transferred over the Internet 120 each time the user accesses the HTML document 133, the client computer 110 must be connected to the Internet 120 (which it also must be to access the HTML document 133) and the server computer 130 and Applet 134 must be available. Should any of these not be the case, the functionality provided by the Applet 134 will not be available to the user. Even if all these conditions are met, the Applet 134 must be transferred over the Internet 120, which may take a considerable amount of time depending upon the size of the Applet 134, the type of connections the client computer 110 and server computer 120 have to the Internet 120, network congestion, and other factors.
Another conventional use of an Applet is to construct an HTML page, possibly including or referencing an associated script or scripts, said page referencing an Applet or Applets residing on a hard drive attached or available to a server computer attached to the Internet. The HTML page is then transferred to one or more user's computers over the Internet, possibly contained in an e-mail message to the user. The user then uses his or her web browser to view the page now stored locally. As the HTML page has been constructed to reference the Applet, the web browser transfers the Applet from the server computer over the Internet to the user's computer where the browser, or an auxiliary program such as a Java Virtual Machine under control of the browser, execute the Applet. The functions performed by the Applet are determined by the program code making up the Applet and the HTML or JavaScript that caused the browser to access the Applet. This use of an Applet is shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 illustrates a client computer 210 running a web browser or other computer program 211 capable of displaying HTML and making use of a Java Virtual Machine 212. The client computer 210 makes use of one or more hard drives 213 either connected directly to the client computer 210 or available over a local network. One of the hard drives 213 contains, possibly among other files, an HTML document 214 referencing an Applet 233.
The client computer 210 has access over the Internet 220 to a server computer 230 running a web server or other computer program 231 capable of servicing requests for documents residing on one or more hard drives 232 either connected directly to the server computer 230 or available over a local network. One of the hard drives 232 contains, possibly among other files, an Applet 233.
When a user using the client computer 210 instructs the web browser 211 to access the HTML document 214, the web browser 211 transfers the document from the hard drive 213 containing the HTML document 214 to the client computer 210. The web browser 211 then interprets the HTML document 214. Because the HTML document 214 references the Applet 233, the web browser 211 requests the Applet 233 over the Internet 220 from the web server 231. The web server 231 retrieves the Applet 234 from the hard drive 232 containing the Applet and transfers it over the Internet 220 to the web browser 211. The web browser uses the Java Virtual Machine 212 to execute the Applet 233 as determined by the HTML document 214.
As the Applet 233 is requested from the web server 231 and transferred over the Internet 220 each time the user accesses the HTML document 214, the client computer 210 must be connected to the Internet 220 (which it need not be to access the HTML document 214) and the server computer 230 and Applet 233 must be available. Should any of these not be the case, the functionality provided by the Applet 233 will not be available to the user. Even if all these conditions are met, the Applet 233 must be transferred over the Internet 220, which may take a considerable amount of time depending upon the size of the Applet 233, the type of connections the client computer 210 and server computer 220 have to the Internet 220, network congestion, and other factors.
The conventional uses of Applets suffer certain drawbacks. Among these drawbacks are the necessity of copying what may be a large file containing the Applet from a hard drive attached or available to a server computer over the Internet to a local computer; the necessity for the local computer to be connected to the Internet even if the browser or other program controlling the Applet and the HTML page or other document describing what functions the Applet should perform are local and need not be transferred over the Internet; and the possibility that access to the Applet may not be available even if the local computer is attached to the Internet, due to network congestion, the server computer or hard drive storing the Applet not being available, or other problem.
Another use of Applets exists similar to those described above, where the Applet has been cryptographically signed and is known as a Persistent Applet. Persistent Applets can be installed on a local computer, obviating the need to transfer the Applet over the Internet. However, this method also suffers certain drawbacks, among which are the difficulty in removing Persistent Applets once installed; the difficulty of updating the Persistent Applet to a newer version containing bug fixes, new functionality, enhanced security, or other modified characteristics; the difficulty in maintaining multiple incompatible versions of the Applet, for example to allow making use of legacy programs or documents requiring an older version while still allowing current programs or documents to use the most recent version; the difficulty in preparing Persistent Applets; and the requirement for a user to have Administrator privileges to install Persistent Applets on computers running certain operating systems, said privileges often not being available to users, particularly in corporate environments. For these and other reasons, Persistent Applets are rarely used in practice, despite the advantages they provide over regular Applets.


A printing control apparatus includes an image pickup unit, a storing unit, a receiver, a display unit, a selector, a communicator, and a control unit therefor. The control unit is configured to calculate the number of image data possible to be included in printing control information based on at least one item in a power value received from a printing device and selected by the selector, the image data selected by the selector and a capacity of a memory used for communication of the printing control apparatus or/and the printing device, and to generate at least one printing control information according to the calculated number of the image data.

The present invention relates to an image printing control apparatus and an image printing control method capable of establishing a direct connection with a printing device to perform image printing of a photographed image without interposing a personal computer or the like.
Heretofore, since a digital camera has a photographing section but has no printing section, image data of a photographic object is once moved to an information processor such as a personal computer, and the printing of a photographed image is then performed by a printing device (hereinafter referred to as "printer") according to an application program or the like, which processes the image data, of the personal computer to print the photographed image.
In recent years, in order to attain easier image printing, a digital camera capable of being directly connected to the printing device and performing the printing of the photographed image without interposing the personal computer, and a system utilizing such a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as "direct printing system") have been developed.
According to the direct printing system, information related to printing processes and functions executable by a printer is notified to the digital camera, which is connected directly with the printer, by a script file of a text format. When printing the photographed image by utilizing the direct printing system, an information notifying process for the digital camera to recognize the printing processes (printing functions) executable by the printer is performed at first. Next, the digital camera presents the printing processes executable on the printer to a user (a person who handles the printing processes) in a form of menu or the like by using a display, according to the information notified from the printer. The user then selects the desired printing processes from the printing processes presented on the display.
The printing functions included in the information notified from the printer to the digital camera are, for example, a printing size of the image, a size of a printing paper, printing quality, and a layout of the printing. Besides, there is also an index printing (which prints a thumbnail image of each image) as the printing functions by which a list of the images stored in the digital camera is printable.
In the printing processes by the digital camera, "printing control information", in which the printing processes selected by the user of the digital camera who desires the printing are described, is generated, and the digital camera transfers the generated printing control information to the printer. The printer interprets control elements described in the received script file mentioned above to execute the printing processes. The digital camera, when transferring the script file to the printer, once stores the printing control information into a buffer memory included in the digital camera to perform such a communication process. The buffer memory here is a freely readable/rewritable nonvolatile memory.
In the digital camera of the direct printing system described above, when a large amount of photographed images is printed at once by the index printing for example, a size of the file becomes large since the control element information described in the script file increases according to the number of files of the photographed images specified by the user. Accordingly, it is possible to make an available size of the printing control information large if a capacity of the buffer memory used for the communication process is increased, so that a large amount of instructions for printing photographs can be handled at once. However, there is a limitation in a storage capacity of the buffer memory since the volume for implementing such a memory in the digital camera is limited. Due to the limitation in the storage capacity of the buffer memory, there is a limit in information on the image files describable in one printing control information as well.
Each FIG. 12A and FIG. 13A shows an example of description of printing control information for carrying out an index printing process, by which 6 photographed images are printed per page, by using a digital camera in which the number of image file names of the photographed images describable in one printing control information is 15 at maximum, due to the limitation in the transfer buffer capacity of the digital camera. Each FIG. 12B and FIG. 13B shows an example of the index printing outputted by the index printing process according to the printing control information of FIG. 12A and FIG. 13A, respectively. When the user photographs 30 images and executes the printing processes, since this exceeds the number of image file names describable in one printing control information, two printing control information such as those shown in FIGS. 12A and 13A are necessary.
Referring to FIGS. 12A and 13A, 15 image file names as objects to be printed are described in each of the printing control information represented therein. The image file names as the printing objects are those described between "<printFile>" to "</printFile>" such as RIMG001.JPG. Also, information (information from "<listLayout>" to "</listLayout>") representing that the printing processes are performed by using the layout in which 6 images (6 frames) are printed on one page, is included in each of the printing control information.
When the printing processes according to the printing control information shown in FIGS. 12A and 13A are performed, outputs shown in FIG. 12B and FIG. 13B can be obtained. Wherein, P1 shown in FIG. 12B represents a page primarily outputted by the printing control information shown in FIG. 12A, by which images corresponding to respective first to sixth lines of the specified image files are printed. P2 is outputted secondarily by the printing control information shown in FIG. 12A by which the images corresponding to respective seventh to twelfth lines are printed, and the page P3 is outputted thereafter. It is to be noted here that, since 6 images are printed per page according to the printing layout, the images as the printing objects outputted by the printing control information in P3 are 3 images from thirteenth to fifteenth lines, and are printed according to the layout same as those of P1 and P2.
FIG. 13B shows an example of pages outputted by the printing control information shown in FIG. 13A. Referring to FIG. 13B, P4 is a page primarily outputted by the printing control information shown in FIG. 13A, by which images corresponding to respective first to sixth lines of the image file names as the printing objects are printed. Similarly, P5 is a page printed secondarily, and P6 is a page printed thirdly. As in the page P3 shown in FIG. 12B, 3 images from thirteenth to fifteenth lines of the image file names of the printing control information shown in FIG. 13A are printed in the third page (P6) according to the printing control information of FIG. 13A. These pages P4 to P6 are outputted after the page P3 shown in FIG. 12B is outputted. Hence, such a printout is obtained as if a page break process is performed between the output P3 and the output P4. Because the number of images selected is 30 and the printing layout which prints 6 images per page is used, the printing of 30 images should be possible by 5 pages of printing areas. However, the printing processes which require 6 pages are actually performed.
A cause for the generation of the page break, which is not specified by the user, is in the above-mentioned transfer buffer capacity determined by a specification of the digital camera. Obviously, a similar phenomenon is likely to happen by a receiving buffer capacity of the printer as well.
As ways to solve this problem, increasing of the transfer buffer capacity of the digital camera, and/or increasing of the receiving buffer capacity of the printer may be considered. In this case, however, the same phenomenon occurs eventually when the number of images printed at once by the user is further increased. Hence, the increasing in the buffer capacity cannot be a fundamental solution for the problem.
In order to cope with the problem, a system which, when printing control information does not arrive from the camera to the printer within a certain period of time, judges that there is no more printing control information within the divided printing control information that is to be arrived, and executes the printing processes requested by the printing control information already arrived, is developed. However, there is a drawback in such a system that this makes the time required for completing the entire printing process long since the standby time for judging the presence of the continuing information is necessary. It is also necessary to standardize the timer conditions between both the camera and the printer, so that a limitation in a system construction increases. Further disadvantage of the system is that in the event of a failure in the printing processes, the printing processes cannot be carried out normally even when the successive printing control information is received.

Image printing control apparatus and image printing control method


Minoxidil has been shown to stimulate hair growth or inhibit the loss of hair in a number of patients beginning to develop androgenic alopecia. The mechanism by which minoxidil (2,4-pyrimidinediamine, 6-(1-piperidinyl)-3-oxide) alters the hair growth cycle is uncertain, but is thought to act by increasing vascular circulation to the hair follicle. Inhibitors of steroid metabolism, particularly those that inhibit the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, have shown effects on hair cycles, including inhibition of hair loss. One class of enzymes targeted by these inhibitors are the steroid 5-alpha reductases. Minoxidil used in conjunction with effectors of steroid metabolism, leads to enhanced hair growth and decreased rates of hair loss. This specification relates to the use of antisense oligonucleotides targeting 5-alpha reductases used in conjunction with other hair growth enhancers and/or hair loss inhibitors.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of reducing hair loss and promoting hair regrowth, and more particularly to methods using antisense oligonucleotides that effectively reduce the expression of 5-alpha reductase types 1 or 2 in conjunction with the use of (2,4-pyrimidinediamine, 6-(1-piperidinyl)-3-oxide) (commonly known as minoxidil) for the treatment of androgenic alopecia.

Combination therapy for androgenic alopecia with antisense oligonucleotides and minoxidil


A thermal recording element comprising a support having thereon a recording layer comprising a J-aggregate derived from an oxonol dye dispersed in a hydrophilic binder.

In recent years, thermal transfer systems have been developed to obtain prints from pictures which have been generated electronically from a color video camera According to one way of obtaining such prints, an electronic picture is first subjected to color separation by color filters. The respective color-separated images are then converted into electrical signals. These signals are then operated on to produce cyan, magenta and yellow electrical signals. These signals are then transmitted to a thermal printer. To obtain the print, a cyan, magenta or yellow dye-donor element is placed face-to-face with a dye-receiving element. The two are then inserted between a thermal printing head and a platen roller. A line-type thermal printing head is used to apply heat from the back of the dye-donor sheet. The thermal printing head has many heating elements and is heated up sequentially in response to one of the cyan, magenta or yellow signals. The process is then repeated for the other two colors. A color hard copy is thus obtained which corresponds to the original picture viewed on a screen. Further details of this process and an apparatus for carrying it out are contained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,271, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Another way to thermally obtain a print using the electronic signals described above is to use a laser instead of a thermal printing head. In such a system, the donor sheet includes a material which strongly absorbs at the wavelength of the laser. When the donor is irradiated, this absorbing material converts light energy to thermal energy and transfers the heat to the dye in the immediate vicinity, thereby heating the dye to its vaporization temperature for transfer to the receiver. The absorbing material may be present in a layer beneath the dye and/or it may be admixed with the dye. The laser beam is modulated by electronic signals which are representative of the shape and color of the original image, so that each dye is heated to cause volatilization only in those areas in which its presence is required on the receiver to reconstruct the color of the original object. Further details of this process are found in GB 2,083,726A, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Still another way to generate an image in a thermal recording process is to use a direct thermal recording element which contains a material which, when heated with a thermal head or an infrared laser, forms a visible image. In this process, there is no transfer of dye to a separate receiving element.


Systems for web page or web application instrumentation. Embodiments commence upon identification of a computer-readable user interface description comprising at least some markup language conforming to a respective document object model that is codified in a computer-readable language. An injector process modifies the user interface description by inserting markup text and code into the user interface description, where the inserted code includes instrumentation code to invoke dynamic generation of instrumentation locator IDs using the hierarchical elements found in the document object model. The modified computer-readable interface description is transmitted to a user device. Log messages are emitted upon user actions taken while using the user device. The log messages comprise the instrumentation locator IDs that are formed using hierarchical elements found in the document object model.

Web application designers often want to track how users interact with deployed interfaces in their web applications. For example, a web application designer might want to know "what features are used most frequently", or "what navigation paths are most frequently traversed", or "how often does a user begin to use the application but then quits before receiving results". Markup languages used in web application user interfaces often include structural constructions (e.g., named HTML elements) and support for behaviors (e.g., scripts) that facilitate inclusion of instruments into the web pages. For example, a button (e.g., a "submit" button) can be associated with an observation and logging behavior (e.g., send a log message when the user presses the "submit" button).
Unfortunately, legacy techniques for including such observation and logging instruments (e.g., code) into web pages rely on location identifiers that are hard-coded with respect to the web page structure or are hard-coded with respect to an ad hoc data structure (e.g., a dictionary). Such hard-coded location identifiers are used to report (e.g., via emitted log messages) whatever action was taken by the user as pertaining to the web page element (e.g., "submit" button) that corresponds to the hard-coded location identifiers. Techniques involving hard-coding (e.g., hard coding an identifier in the form of a statically-determined URL) fail to provide needed capabilities, at least inasmuch as such statically-determined IDs become out of date when updated versions of the web page or web application are deployed. For example, if a button or widget is moved from one location in a web page to another location in the web page, the location identifier based on the original location would remain hard-coded in the containing web page, thus making the statically-determined original location identifier wrong. Some legacy techniques attempt to ameliorate the problem of keeping instrumentation locators up-to-date with deployed web pages by traversing a document object model and merely concatenating all of the names of the classes between the target element and the root document node, and then using that concatenation of classes as a unique identifier. Unfortunately, this legacy technique is deficient at least in that any change to the traversed hierarchy (e.g., changing a class name) would cause the target element to generate a new event identifier—and that new event identifier would not match the previous identifier used for the same class or element being tracked.
What is needed is a technique or techniques to improve over such legacy approaches.

Dynamic generation of instrumentation locators from a document object model


A method includes generating, by a network element, a radio map of a single-frequency network having multiple cells. The radio map represents power levels of radio signals at several locations in the network. A first function is selected to be applied, wherein the first function is based on the radio map and includes physical cell identity, PCI, modulo 3 values for the multiple cells as input. Different combinations of the PCI modulo 3 values are applied in the first function. Each candidate PCI modulo 3 value is selected from a group of three available options. An output of the first function is determined with respect to each combination. It is determined which combination provides the output fulfilling a predefined criterion. Those PCI modulo 3 values, which correspond to the output fulfilling the predefined criterion, are allocated to the multiple cells in order to reduce interference between primary synchronization sequences.

In the LTE air interface, a physical (-layer) cell identity (PCI) is used for cell identification and for channel synchronization. Thus, the PCI planning may affect the performance of the network, especially in a scenario with overlapping cells. For example, from the point of view of an operator, it may be very important to perform the PCI planning as optimally as possible in order to provide an efficient and a customer-friendly communication network.

Allocation of physical cell identification


A full color active matrix electroluminescent display includes an active matrix of pixel electrodes, a broad spectrum electroluminescent phosphor stack placed atop the active matrix of pixel electrodes and a transparent electrode placed atop the electroluminescent phosphor stack. A liquid crystal color shutter device is placed atop the transparent electrode for selectively filtering light from the electroluminescent phosphor stack selectively permitting the transmission of red, green or blue colored light in response to commands from a synchronizing circuit that synchronizes the operation of the shutter with the illumination of selected pixels in the active matrix display. Performance is further enhanced by the use of a double notch filter for the white light emitting broad spectrum electroluminescent phosphor so as to provide it with a uniform response at all waves lengths of interest.

Active matrix electroluminescent (AMEL) display screens are very useful for head mounted and other personal display applications because of their low weight, compact size and ruggedness. Monochrome AMEL displays processed on single crystal silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates have demonstrated high-resolution with high luminescence and reliability in a compact package suitable for personal viewer display applications.
A desirable object of personal viewing devices is the provision of full color. In thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) devices there are several methods of obtaining a full color display. One such method is the use of patterned filters superimposed over a "white" screen to provide the three primary colors. An example of a TFEL screen of this type is shown in Sun, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,059.
The problem with this type of structure is that each pixel consists of three sub-pixels, each emitting red, green or blue, respectively. This adds greatly to the size and bulk of the display, requires more interconnects to the driving electronics and, accordingly, tradeoffs must be made between resolution and the size of the display. Another problem with white screen and filter architecture is that insufficient blue is provided due to the limited phosphor emission below 470 nanometers and the broad absorption edge of the filter.
The same technique can be accomplished with four active matrix pixels to produce a single color pixel, but the large die area needed for such an array adversely effects the IC process yield display cost. The energy dissipation in such a device is four times greater than an even smaller monochrome display with the same resolution using AMEL architecture.
What is needed, therefore, is a high-resolution, color, AMEL display device which can provide improved color performance, reduced power consumption and low manufacturing cost.


There is disclosed a method for accelerating the cure of cyanoacrylate adhesive by contacting the adhesive with a coating of an accelerator on a tape or sheet. Preferred embodiments relate to bonding a fabric to a substrate by placing a fabric in pressure contact with a substrate, said fabric having cyanoacrylate adhesive on one side thereof and openings of sufficient size between adjacent fibers to permit cyanoacrylate adhesive to pass through to the opposite side of the fabric and then contacting adhesive on the side away from the substrate with a polymerization accelerator coated on a backing. There is also disclosed a backing material such as a tape or sheet having a polymerization accelerator for cyanoacrylate adhesive coated on one side thereof, preferably, wherein the backing material does not bond to the cyanoacrylate on the side carrying the coating. Use of the method and backing material is particularly described for use in the manufacture of serigraphic screens.

Cyanoacrylate adhesives are useful in a wide array of industrial and domestic applications. In order to accelerate the cure of the cyanoacrylate adhesive, a polymerization accelerator such as an aromatic amine, is applied to the surface of the cyanoacrylate. Such use is common for the attachment of a screen fabric to a frame in the serigraphic (silk screen) printing industry. The screen fabric is stretched and placed in taut and touching communication with the peripheral surface of a rigid frame structure. The frame structure, although generally flat or planar in configuration, can also be curvilinear or cylindrical in cross section. The cyanoacrylate adhesive is applied over the screen fabric portions in communication with the frame structure to contact the adhesive with the frame through the mesh of the screen fabric. Alternatively, the adhesive can be applied directly to the frame area which comes in contact with the screen fabric. The adhesive is generally applied as a bead by the use of a plastic squeeze bottle having a small opening in a dispensing nozzle and is then spread out such as with a spatula, a card or other suitable flat, generally flexible implement. This flattens out the adhesive bead over the surface of the screen, assists in pressing adhesive through the mesh of the screen and provides proper contact of the adhesive with all portions of the screen in contact with the frame. In the case of large openings between adjacent fibers or low adhesive viscosity, the adhesive does not require pressing to pass through the openings of the fabric.
Various techniques are described in the prior art for contacting the cyanoacrylate adhesive with a polymerization accelerator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,783 of Oct. 27, 1987 to W. H. Mason sprays a polymerization accelerator on the cyanoacrylate such as with an aerosol propellant. In spraying the accelerator, accelerator particles contaminate the work place and when an aerosol is used in the spray, volatile organic contaminants are placed in the atmosphere. Additionally, spraying techniques and use of aerosol is wasteful of accelerator. Furthermore, after the adhesive is cured, it has a rough surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,200 of Nov. 16, 1993 to A. Puder accelerates the cure of cyanoacrylate adhesive in uses such as that of the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,783 patent. However, instead of contacting the adhesive with the accelerator, the method of this U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,200 patent contacts the screen which in turn is in contact with the frame with an absorbent wicking material that is permeated with accelerator solution. The cyanoacrylate is subsequently applied over the screen which has been previously contacted with the accelerator. The applicator used for applying the accelerator is similar to a felt tip pen marker. This method is time consuming, requires the use of wicking material together with a holder and leaves a relatively rough surface on the adhesive. Furthermore, application of the accelerator is to the silk screen over the frame and not directly to the adhesive. This process is not as effective as applying the accelerator over the surface of the adhesive which overlies both the frame and screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,173 of Jul. 29,1980 to D. Hubbard discloses a method for bonding substrates of porous materials such as wood with cyanoacrylate by applying to the porous material a chalkable solid polymerization accelerator of a basic reacting solid material, such as sodium hydroxide, and then applying a coating of cyanoacrylate to at least one of the bonding surfaces before pressing the bonding surfaces together. The method disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,173 patent is time consuming since the chalkable material needs to be uniformly applied over the bondable surfaces. Furthermore, it is limited to the application of solid accelerator chalkable materials by rubbing over the surface of the wood or other porous material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,827 of Aug. 18, 1987 to L. Russo. Russo does not contact a cyanoacrylate adhesive with polymerization accelerator and is simply concerned with preventing a low viscosity cyanoacrylate from bonding brush bristles in a bottle containing cyanoacrylate. Russo pre-wets brush bristles with an anhydrous solvent, such as acetonitrile, which can then be placed in a bottle of cyanoacrylate adhesive so that the adhesive does not bond to the bristles.

Method for bonding with cyanoacrylate adhesive


An inventive semiconductor chip is provided. Generally, shallow trenches containing field oxide are provided on a substrate. At least one semiconductor device is formed between the shallow trenches. An oxide layer is formed over the at least one semiconductor device and the field oxide. An etch stop layer is formed over the oxide layer. An inter layer dielectric layer is formed over the etch stop layer. At least one contact hole is etched through the inter layer dielectric layer, the etch stop layer and at least partially through the oxide layer. The contact hole is filled with a conductive material.

High Density Plasma (HDP) oxide film is used to fill shallow trenches to isolate different transistor regions. The isolation HDP oxide filled regions are referred to as Field Oxide (FOX) for providing Shallow Trench Isolation (STI). To facilitate understanding, FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a prior art process of manufacturing on a semiconductor chip formed by at least one semiconductor device with a borderless contact using STI on a substrate. When the space between a contact edge and an active area edge is reduced to zero by design, these contacts are called borderless contacts and local interconnect. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of part of a substrate 204 of a semiconductor chip with field oxides 208 formed to provide Shallow Trench Isolation (STI). A nitride layer 212 is placed over the substrate 204 to provide an etch stop. An oxide layer 216 is placed between the nitride layer 212 and the substrate 204 to prevent damage to the substrate 204 by the nitride layer 212. Such protective oxide layers may be called "pad oxide layers." Generally, a field oxide is deposited and then a Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is used to polish the surface so that excess FOX is removed, providing a flat surface as shown, using the nitride layer 212 as a stop for the polishing (step 104). The final height of the FOX may be >1000 Å above the substrate surface.
The nitride layer may then be etched away (step 108). Phosphoric acid may be used to remove the nitride layer. Such a wet etching may have a high selectivity between the nitride layer 212, the oxide layer 216, and the FOX 208. FIG. 3 is an illustration of the substrate in FIG. 2 after the nitride layer has been etch away. Due to the high selectivity, minimal amounts of oxide may be removed, providing negative angles 304 at the top of the FOX 208. A Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) wet etch may be used to remove the oxide layer 216, reduce the height of the FOX 208, and change the angle of the FOX 208 at a transistor active edge, by establishing a positive slope 404, as shown in FIG. 4 (step 112). The HF etch effectively moves the edges of the FOX back away from the transistor region.
A semiconductor device may be formed in the transistor region 408 between the FOXs 208 (step 116). An example of such a semiconductor device is illustrated in FIG. 5. In this example, the semiconductor device 504 comprises a source and a drain 508, a gate oxide 516, a polysilicon gate 520, and metal silicides 524 for forming electrical contacts. The process of forming the semiconductor device may expose the FOX 208 to as many as ten wet etches, which may etch away part of the FOX 208 to the point of the top of the FOX 208 that is in contact with the implant areas forming the source and drain 508. Such etchings may cause the edge between the FOX and the transistor to recess as much as 1100 Å.
A Nitride (SiN) layer 530 may be placed over the semiconductor device 504 and substrate 204, forming an etch stop barrier layer and spacers on the sides of the polysilicon gate 520 (step 120). An Inter-Level Dielectric (ILD) layer 540 may be placed over the nitride layer 530 (step 124).
An electrically conductive contact 604 may then be formed in the ILD layer 540, as shown in FIG. 6 (step 128). To form the contact 604, a trench may be etched in the ILD layer 540 and through the nitride layer 530. Such an etch may further etch the FOX 208.
To reduce Integrated Circuit (IC) sizes, current device designs may provide the placement of contacts that may be coincident with the edge of the transistor active region, so that part of the contact may be above the FOX, as shown in FIG. 6. If the FOX 208 has been etched too far, the contact 604 may come into contact with the well region of the substrate 204, which is the region of the substrate below the source or drain 508. Contact between the electrical contact 604 and the well region may cause a short to the well region, which may cause junction leakage.
The amount of FOX loss and recess may be enhanced with a PreGate Nitrogen Implant (PGNI), which may cause the FOX level to be below the transistor junction, causing a short to the well or ground. In addition, the variation in an ILD stack, consisting of both a layer of phosphorus oxide and silicon nitride, combined with plasma etch selectivity on both the type of the feature to be etched and the pattern density of features on a wafer, may result in longer etch time and a higher over etch percentage, to insure that all features are open to the transistor region. This higher percentage of contact (or LI Local Interconnect) over etch may punch deep into the field oxide, causing the final electrical connecting plug to make contact with the well region beneath the junction, causing a short to the wells. The variation of ILD thickness may also be dependent on polysilicon gate density. For ASIC devices, the polysilicon gate density may vary with different devices, making it hard to control ILD thickness, adding to the above-mentioned variation in an ILD stack.
In addition, there may be limitations on the selectivity between PSG and SiN during a PSG etch. There may also be limitations on the selectivity between SiN and FOX during an SiN etch.
It would be desirable to prevent contact between an electrical contact and the well region.

Semiconductor chip with borderless contact that avoids well leakage


Process for the production of olefins such as ethylene from a hydrocarbon such as ethane. The process involves passing a mixture of the hydrocarbon and an oxagen-containing gas through a catalyst zone which is capable of supporting combustion beyond the fuel rich limit of flammability to produce the olefin. The catalyst zone comprises at least a first catalyst bed and a second catalyst bed. The second catalyst bed is located downstream of the first catalyst bed, is of a different composition to the first catalyst bed and comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W, and groups IB, IIB, IIIB, IVB, VB, VIIB and VIII of the Periodic Table. Suitably, the first catalyst bed comprises platinum and the second catalyst bed comprises tin- or copper-promoted nickel, cobalt or iridium catalyst or a copper-only catalyst.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of olefins.
Olefins such as ethylene and propylene may be produced by the catalytic dehydrogenation or cracking of a hydrocarbon feed. In this specification the term "cracking" will be used to embrace both of these chemical reactions.
The cracking of hydrocarbons is an endothermic process. Accordingly, heat has to be consumed for the reaction to occur. In a process known as auto-thermal cracking, the heat required for cracking is generated by combusting a portion of the original feed stock. This is achieved by passing a mixture of a hydrocarbon feed and an oxygen-containing gas over catalyst capable of supporting combustion beyond the fuel rich limit of flammability. The hydrocarbon feed is partially combusted, and the heat produced by the combustion reaction is used to drive the cracking of the remainder of the feed. An example of an auto-thermal cracking process is described in EP-A-0332289.
Generally, in known auto-thermal cracking processes, a reactant stream of a hydrocarbon and an oxygen-containing gas are passed over a single catalyst bed to produce product olefin. Typically, the catalyst bed comprises at least one platinum group metal, for example, platinum, supported on a catalyst support. Recently, research has been conducted on how to improve the selectivity of these catalysts to olefin product. One method is to modify the catalysts with a metal promoter from Groups IIIA, IVA, VA of the Periodic Table and/or from the transition metals. For example, WO 97/26987 discloses that the selectivity of platinum catalysts may be enhanced by incorporating tin or copper onto the supported platinum catalyst.
In WO 97/26987, the promoted platinum catalysts are prepared by impregnating a catalyst support in a platinum-containing solution, and thereafter into a solution containing the tin or copper promoter. As a result, the platinum and copper or tin promoter are distributed uniformly throughout the support. After prolonged use, however, the concentration of promoter on the support may decrease through evaporation, leading to a loss of activity.
According to Journal of Catalysis 191, 62–74 (2000), the problem of loss of promoter may be addressed by adding the tin to the catalyst by an on-line addition technique. More specifically, an aqueous solution of SnCl2 may be added to the hot operating catalyst support to deposit a thin coating of metal on to the front surface of the support. This compensates for the loss of tin due to evaporation, and restores the catalyst's initial performance. This in-situ regeneration technique is also described in Catalysis Letters 63 (1999), 113–120.
The catalytic behaviour of a supported Cr2O3 catalyst is studied in detail in Applied Catalysis A (1999), 187(1), 13–24. This reference proposes the theory that the Cr2O3 catalyst exhibits a distinctive boundary between the oxidising environment at the front of the catalyst and the reducing environment at the rear of the catalyst. In the oxidising environment near the front face of the catalyst, the catalyst acts as an oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst. Once the majority of the oxygen has been consumed at the front end of the catalyst, however, Cr2O3 acts as a dehydrogenation catalyst, using the heat generated by oxidation reactions at the front of the catalyst to crack the hydrocarbon feed. To support this premise, a Pt-coated monolith was placed in front of a series of Cr2O3 monoliths. At high C2H6/O2 ratios, the arrangement showed higher C2H4 selectivities than the Pt-monolith alone, confirming that Cr2O3 can utilise heat generated by the exothermic oxidative reactions occurring over the Pt-monolith to crack any unreacted hydrocarbon in the feed.
The teaching of Applied Catalysis A (1999), 187(1), 13–24, however, is very specific to Cr2O3. There is nothing in the reference to suggest that other catalyst beds could be employed to increase olefin selectivity in a corresponding manner.


The invention relates to an exhaust manifold (18) of an interna! combustion engine (20), with a number of exhaust pipe bends (1) corresponding to the number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine (20), said exhaust pipe bends being brought together at one end into an input flange (2 ) which can be fastened to the internal combustion engine (20), and being brought together at the other end; with a supply gas duct (21) which is connected at one end to a collector component (4) and at the other end to a rotor space (15) of a turbine housing (17) of a turbine of an exhaust-gas turbocharger; and with at least one compensator (19′) for compensating for thermal stresses in at least one exhaust pipe bend (1) and the supply gas duct (21), wherein the at least one compensator (19′) is designed as a component which is integrated in at least one exhaust pipe component (1).

An exhaust manifold of this type is known from EP 1 426 557 A1.
A technical problem occurring in the case of exhaust manifolds of this type is thermal expansion which occurs both between the exhaust pipe bends themselves, but also between said pipe bends and a supply gas duct of the turbine housing of an exhaust-gas turbocharger connected to the exhaust manifold. This thermal expansion has to be compensated for in order to avoid damage. If the exhaust manifold is designed as a double-walled, air-gap-insulated (AGI) manifold, use is made as compensators therefor of internal sliding fits which are not, however, gastight, since the pipe components forming the sliding fits are merely plugged one inside another, but are not welded in a gastight manner to one another. However, the leakages which occur as a result at the inner pipes of the AGI manifold smooth the exhaust pressure pulsations which are needed in the case of twin scroll applications for better utilization of power and therefore for increasing performance. Sliding fits at the connecting points result in the volume surrounding the pipe components and being formed by the outer, gastight casing being filled and emptied by the exhaust pressure pulsations.
The composition of the exhaust mixture in said outer volume changes, for example, with the degree of flushing of the cylinders with fresh air.

Exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine


An information recording method and an information recording apparatus are disclosed, wherein x-bit long binary data are converted into m multi-level data of n levels (x is an integer equal to or greater than 3, m is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and n is an integer equal to or greater than 3). The x-bit long binary data are treated as a word, where two or more words constitute a row of data sequence. Two or more rows of data sequence constitute an error correction block, each row having address information attached. The multi-level data, to which the error correction block is added, are recorded in an information recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an information recording method that records multi-level data in an information recording medium, such as an optical disk, and an information recording apparatus that records multi-level data in an information recording medium, such as an optical disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to a conventional method to improve error correction capability in the case of continuous data error (burst error) due to a crack, and the like on the optical disk (for example, Patent Reference 1),
a data sequence in the direction of an inner code correction of a product code (i.e., a lateral data sequence, and often called a row) is made longer,
an ECC block is divided into four product-code blocks, for example, and
data are interleaved between blocks in the direction of the inner code correction such that the burst error is distributed.
Further, in order to increase the capacity of the optical disk, another conventional method (for example, Non-Patent Reference 1) raises recording density by performing multi-level recording (octal code recording) that records 0 through 7, instead of binary code recording that records 0 and 1, wherein 11-bit binary data are converted into four symbols of multi-level (8-level) data.
[Patent Reference 1] JPA, 2001-67813
[Non-Patent Reference 1]
Akihiko Shimizu, et al., "Multi-level Recording on Phase-change Optical Discs", Ricoh Technical Report No. 28, pp. 34-41.
[Problem(s) to be Solved by the Invention]
However, according to the conventional information recording method described above, 16 data frames are divided into four 172 B blocks, inner parity code (PI) and outer parity code (PO) are added to each block and complicated interleaving is performed, which requires a greater scale of circuit.
Further, two 2 KB of user data blocks, ID (address information), and RSV (reserve: reserved space for future expansion and storing information such as user information, producer information, and copyright protection) constitute a data frame.
According to the present DVD, RSV is added every 2 KB of user data. It is desirable that data (contents) recorded in the present DVD can be recorded in an optical disk of the next generation in the same way as at present.
Assuming that the next generation optical disk is capable of storing, e.g., three times as much data as present, contents, such as movie software and computer software, stored in three DVD disks now, for example, can be stored in one disk. At this future time, it is desirable that no reworking be required. Specifically, it is necessary that RSV data can be attached every 2 KB.
According to the conventional technology, there is a problem that the present contents data cannot be recorded as they are, i.e., without reworking.
Next, according to the latter conventional information recording method described above, wherein recording density is raised, a modulation method when recording multi-level data and a demodulation method when reproducing the multi-level data are disclosed; however, a data structure of error correction is not disclosed, which hinders realizing a practical optical disk system.

Information recording method and an information recording apparatus