A semiconductor structure includes a stack of two semiconductor chips. An edge of the chips forms a side surface of the stack. Insulation and adhesive is located between the chips, and a wire contacting circuitry on one of the chips extends through the insulation to the side surface. A first conductor contacts the wire on the side surface. The first conductor is self-aligned to the wire and extends above the side surface. The first conductor facilitates pads or connectors on the side surface that are insulated from the semiconductor chips. The self-aligned first conductor is an electroplated or electroless plated metal.

The use of multiple layers of chips provides the opportunity to form very dense electronic circuitry with a very high rate of communication between chips in the stack. The key problem has been to provide wiring to interconnect the chips and for external contact.
In one well known chip stacking structure, transfer wires embedded in insulation on the planar surface of each chip of the stack extend between chip circuits and one edge of the chip, these chip edges forming a side surface of the stack. Stacks of adhesively bonded together chips have these chip edges aligned. Large T-connect pads for interconnection and external connection are located on that side surface contacting ends of those transfer wires.
Because the chips may vary significantly in thickness and alignment, and because the adhesive and insulation between chips may vary in thickness, the position of a transfer wire end on the side surface is uncertain. The uncertainty has made quite difficult the traditional photolithographic semiconductor processing method of using a mask to open contact through an insulator to all desired locations on the side surface at once.
One proposed solution, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,921, to Carsen et al. (the '921 Patent), was to selectively etch the silicon on the side surface, thereby leaving tips of transfer wires extending beyond the etched silicon surface. A side surface insulator, such as polyimide, was then deposited and polished back to expose the tips of transfer wiring for electrical contact. Now, metal could be deposited and T-connect pads photolithographically formed without risk of shorting to conductive edges of the silicon chips since the conductive silicon surface was covered by the side surface insulator. A problem with the solution of the '921 Patent was that the silicon-polyimide interface was seriously eroded by the silicon etch, leaving a gap therebetween creating significant downstream processing problems. In addition, the process exposed for contact, not just the desired transfer wire but all metal layers that happened to be along the chip edge, including lower level kerf metal layers. The T-connect pads next deposited tended to short all these metal layers together.
An alternative proposed solution used photolithographic processing with an individual exposure to form a channel via on the edge of each chip of the stack. Significant attention was needed in opening this via to avoid exposing lower levels of metal and bare silicon edges of the chips during the steps to expose and contact the transfer wires. The spacing and alignment variations necessitated (1) the addition of thicker insulation, (2) the use of extra masking steps on the chip planar surface, and (3) extra photoexposure and masking steps on the side surface of the stack to avoid opening contact to kerf metal and conductive chip edges. In addition, the use of thicker insulation between chips added significantly to mechanical problems in providing for external contact because polymeric insulation, such as polyimide, has a thermal expansion coefficient much greater than that of silicon.
Thus, a better solution is needed that provides a lower cost and more reliable method of forming contact pads at the ends of each transfer wire on the side surface of the stack, the contacts well insulated from the silicon substrates and kerf metal, and this solution is provided by the following invention.

Self-aligned connector for stacked chip module

International Business Machines Corporation


An improved technique for mixing picture signals directed at a monitor screen. Two analog video signals (such as an analog VGA input and an analog RGB signal produced in response to a stored digital still or moving image) may be multiplexed in analog form. An analog chromakey mixer detects a background color in the first video signal (such as the analog VGA input), and replaces the portion of that first video signal with the second video signal. The time delays of the first video signal and the second video signal may be adjusted so that they reach the monitor screen (by means of an a multiplexer output) at the same time. An alignment detector may attempt to align two known signals (such as a VGA sync signal and a signal generated for this purpose), and may adjust a set of time delays in the analog chromakey mixer until the time difference between the first and second video signals falls below a threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an analog video chromakey mixer and to a method for calibrating and using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
When still or moving images in digital form are displayed in a computer system, the digital images must generally be decoded and displayed as images on a computer monitor screen. Typically, the monitor screen is the only monitor screen in the computer system. However, those decoded and displayed images must be coordinated with other display signals directed at the same monitor screen, such as those signals directed that the monitor screen by an RGB or VGA monitor driver. Typically, the two sets of signals directed at the monitor screen must be multiplexed in some way.
Generally, it is desired that the two sets of signals must be smoothly multiplexed, with no breaks that would be visible to the human eye. It is also generally desired that the two sets of signals should be multiplexed quickly, so that high quality, high speed images may be displayed. It is also generally desired that any method for multiplexing the two sets of signals should work with a wide variety of computer systems and with a minimum of adaptation required for any of them.
However, one problem that has arisen in the art is that high quality, high speed multiplexing of analog and digital video signals can be difficult. For example, if it were desired to digitize the analog video signals and multiplex them with the digital signals entirely digitally, it could require an AID converter that produced 16 million colors (24 bits) at a 75 MHz pixel rate. Present A/D converters do not operate at this combination of precision and speed, at least not at anything near a reasonable cost for a personal computer system.
One method of the prior art has been to multiplex the digital data provided by the computer system""s processor (or CPU) to the monitor driver. While this method sometimes achieves the goal of synchronizing digital and analog video sources, it has the drawback that it requires substantial information about the method of color encoding used by the VGA monitor driver. As monitor drivers have been changed with improvements in monitors and in drivers, this method also has the drawbacks that it may fail to work for certain classes of monitor drivers.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved technique for mixing picture signals directed at a monitor screen.
The invention provides an improved method for mixing picture signals directed at a monitor screen. In a preferred embodiment, the time delays of the first video signal and the second video signal may be adjusted so that they reach the monitor screen at the same time. An alignment detector may attempt to align two known signals (such as a VGA signal and a video signal), and may adjust a set of time delays until the time difference between the first and second video signals falls below a threshold. Adjustable time delays may include coarse and fine time delays, and may include time delays between any two of-input ports for the first and second video signals, a chromakey detector, an analog multiplexer, and an output port.

Method and apparatus for automatic calibration of analog video chromakey mixer


A tire deflation device includes (1) a component having a plurality of bores, (2) a plurality of spikes removably insertable into the plurality of bores and (3) a keeper within each among the plurality of bores, the keeper being configured to contact a sidewall surface of a spike among the plurality of spikes and to exert force upon the sidewall surface. In an embodiment, the tire deflation device includes (a) a component including a bore in a material, the bore including a receiving region, a sidewall surface and a base surface, (b) a channel extending from the sidewall surface into the material, (c) a keeper having a first section housed within the channel and a second section which extends past the sidewall surface into the receiving region, and (d) a spike removably insertable into the bore.

Deflation of one or more tires of a vehicle is one method that is utilized to disable or stop a vehicle. Deflation devices such as barrier strips are often utilized by law enforcement to disable a fleeing vehicle. Such devices are typically placed in the path of an oncoming vehicle and are configured to puncture one or more tires of the vehicle as the vehicle passes over the device.
A variety of deflation devices have been developed which have either solid spikes or hollow spikes. In some instances, the spikes are removable such that upon puncturing a vehicle tire the spike becomes detached from the device to remain imbedded in the tire. When a hollow type spike is utilized to puncture a tire and is retained by the tire, such can serve as an air passageway allowing air to pass through the hollow spike to efficiently deflate the tire.
Removable spikes, either hollow or solid types, can be difficult to mount utilizing conventional spike retention systems. Additionally, conventional devices can have spikes that are difficult to remove from the device such that spikes remain in the device rather than becoming lodged in the punctured tire. Further, some conventional spike retention systems allow spikes to easily disengage from the device such that spikes become lost or otherwise unintentionally removed from the device prior to tire puncture. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop alternative spike retainers and tire deflation devices.


A game apparatus includes a CPU, and the CPU generates a game Background Music (BGM) corresponding to a proceeding situation of a game, and etc. The CPU selects data, from a main memory conductor, according to the proceeding of the game, and etc., and generates BGM data regarding one or more track data included in the conductor data. When generating the BGM data, rhythm data, within a rhythm group designated by the track data, is selected in predetermined order or at random, and phrase data, within the same designated phrase group, is selected at random. Then, the BGM data is generated from the selected rhythm data and the phrase data.

Conventionally, in game software operated in a game such as a television game device, a liquid crystal game device, etc., a BGM is prepared, in order to enhance liveliness of a game, and a player plays the game listening to the BGM. Similar to a game screen, a plurality of kinds of BGM are prepared in advance and selectively output accordingly as the game proceeds. Generally, data of a musical composition of this BGM is performed from a start to an end, and this performance is repeated. In addition, in order to prevent the BGM from becoming monotonous, when a player character encounters an enemy character, and when a game scene is changed to a fighting scene, a different BGM is performed. Or, if a time limit set in advance approaches, the tempo of the performance becomes fast, and so forth.
In addition, in order to prevent the BGM from becoming monotonous, the BGM can automatically be generated according to a method taught in Japanese Patent No. 3271282 [G10H 1/00, G10H 1/40] registered on Jan. 25, 2002. In the automatic generating method of the BGM taught in this prior art, a phrase database is prepared in advance, a phrase is newly generated based on a selected phrase, and a melody is automatically generated.
However, even if the BGM is changed accordingly as the game proceeds, and the tempo of the BGM is changed as in the former, the same BGM is performed in the same scene, so that the player may be tired of the BGM, and the player's interest in the game may decrease.
In the latter, it is possible to generate a variety of BGMs, to prevent a probable loss of interest. However, as an apparatus that generates the BGM for a game, its scale may be large. In addition, the generating process of the phrase and the melody may be huge, so there is a problem that a different process needed for the game proceeding may be suppressed. As such is the case, the taught art may not be suitable for the game device.
The illustrative embodiments provide: a novel storing medium that stores a game BGM generating program, a game BGM generating method, and game device.
The illustrative embodiments provide: a storing medium that stores a game BGM generating program, a game BGM generating method, and a game device capable of generating a variety of BGMs while not increasing the process load.
A storing medium that stores a game BGM generating program according to an illustrative embodiment, and the game BGM data generating program, are executed by a game device. The game device comprises a phrase data storing means, a rhythm-pattern storing means, a BGM-data reproducing means, a tone-color-data storing means, and a sound outputting means. The phrase data storing means stores different kinds of a plurality of phrase data, by each group, based on a musical characteristic, that designate a length and a pitch of a pronunciation of a tone color. The rhythm-pattern storing means stores at least one kind of rhythm pattern data, constructed of two or more sets of rhythm data that designate a length in performance for playing a phrase, and a pronunciation timing of the phrase. The BGM-data reproducing means reproduces BGM data constructed of at least one part. The tone-color-data storing means stores data of a sound output according to the BGM data. Furthermore, the sound outputting means outputs the sound according to the BGM data reproduced by the BGM-data reproducing means. The game BGM generating program allows a processor of the game device to execute a phrase selecting step, a rhythm selecting step, and a BGM generating step. The phrase selecting step randomly selects one kind of the phrase data from one group stored in the phrase data storing means. The rhythm selecting step selects one rhythm data from one kind of the rhythm pattern data stored in the rhythm-pattern storing means according to a predetermined rule. Furthermore, the BGM generating step generates the BGM data from the phrase data selected by the phrase selecting step and the rhythm data selected by the rhythm selecting step.
More specifically, the game device (12: reference numeral used for illustrative purposes only) comprises a phrase data storing means (40, 76), a rhythm-pattern storing means (40, 78), a BGM-data reproducing means (36), a tone-color-data storing means (40, 54), and a sound outputting means (34a, 52, 62). The phrase data storing means (40, 76) stores different kinds of a plurality of phrase data that designate a length and a pitch of a pronunciation of a tone color, by each group, based on a musical characteristic. The phrase corresponds to a musical score (musical script) of one part of a music composition, the data corresponding thereto is the phrase data, for example. The rhythm-pattern storing means (40, 78) stores at least one kind of rhythm pattern data, constructed of the rhythm data that designates a length in performance for performing a phrase, and a pronunciation timing of the phrase. The rhythm is defined by a musical tone, and the data corresponding to the musical tone is the rhythm data, for example. The BGM-data reproducing means (36) reproduces BGM data constructed of at least one part (musical instrument and orchestra). The tone-color-data storing means (40, 54) stores a sound output according to the BGM data, that is, data representing the musical instrument and the orchestra. The sound outputting means (34a, 52, 62) outputs the sound according to the BGM data reproduced by the BGM-data reproducing means (36, S113, S183). That is, the BGM is reproduced. The game BGM generating program allows a processor of the game device to execute a phrase selecting step (S91, S157), a rhythm selecting step (S59, S133), and a BGM generating step (S113, S183). The phrase selecting step (S91, S157) randomly selects one kind of phrase data from one group stored in the phrase data storing means (40, 76). The rhythm selecting step (S59, S133) selects the rhythm data from one kind of rhythm pattern data stored in the rhythm-pattern storing means (40, 78) according to a predetermined rule. The BGM generating step (S113, S183) generates the BGM data from the phrase data selected by the phrase selecting step (S91, S157) and the rhythm data selected by the rhythm selecting step (S59, S133).
According to an illustrative embodiment, the BGM data is generated from the phrase data selected randomly and the rhythm data selected according to a predetermined rule so that it is possible to generate the various BGM data. In addition, the phrase data and the rhythm data are prepared in advance so that a generating process of the data is not needed, this makes it possible to prevent a process load from becoming too large.
According to a certain feature of an illustrative embodiment, the rhythm selecting step includes a random-selecting step for randomly selecting the rhythm data from one kind of rhythm pattern data. More specifically, the random-selecting method (S133) randomly selects a rhythm from one kind of rhythm pattern data so that it is possible to perform the BGM according to the various rhythm patterns.
In another feature of an illustrative embodiment, the rhythm selecting step includes a sequential-selecting step for selecting the rhythm data from one kind of rhythm pattern data in predetermined order. More specifically, the rhythm selecting step (S59) selects the rhythm data from one kind of rhythm pattern data in predetermined order so that it is possible to perform the BGM according to a rhythm pattern set in advance.
In a certain feature of an illustrative embodiment, the game device further comprises a continuous counter for counting the number of times the same phrase has been selected. The phrase selecting step includes an incrementing step and a re-selecting step. The incrementing step increments the continuous counter when the phrase data selected last time and the phrase data selected this time agree. The re-selecting step re-selects the phrase data when a count value of the continuous counter is greater than a predetermined value. More specifically, the game device (12) further comprises a continuous counter (40, 82d) for counting the number of times the same phrase has been selected. The incrementing step (S95, S161) increments the continuous counter (40, 82d) when the phrase data selected last time and the phrase data selected this time agree. The re-selecting step (S91, S157) re-selects the phrase data when a count value of the continuous counter (40, 82d) is greater than a predetermined value. That is, the BGM is prevented from becoming monotonous as a result of the same phrase being repeatedly selected.
In another feature of an illustrative embodiment, the game device further comprises an operating means for inputting an operation from a player; and a performance-change data storing means for storing performance-change data that changes a performing method of a BGM. The game BGM generating program further allows the processor to execute a performance-change data storing step, and a BGM-data change step. The performance-change data storing step allows the performance-change data storing means to store the performance-change data corresponding at a minimum to the operation of the operating means. The BGM-data change step applies a predetermined change to the BGM data corresponding to the performance-change data stored in the performance-change data storing means by the performance-change data storing step. More specifically, the game device (12) further comprises an operating means (22, 26) for inputting an operation from a player; and a storing means (40, 80) for storing performance-change data that changes a performing method of a BGM. The game BGM generating program executes a performance-change data storing step (S21, S25, S33), and a BGM-data change step (S119, S121, S125, S171, S187, S191). The performance-change data storing step (S21, S25, S33) stores performance-change data into the performance-change data storing means (40, 80) corresponding to at least the operation of the operating means. However, the performance-change data may also be stored corresponding to a proceeding situation of the game, a predetermined event, etc. The BGM-data change step (S119, S121, S125, S171, S187, S191) applies a predetermined change to the BGM data corresponding to the performance-change data stored in the performance-change data storing means (40, 80). That is, as a result of the performance of the BGM being changed, corresponding to the operation of the player, etc., a staging effect of a game content, etc., is enhanced not only by a game screen but also by the BGM.
In a certain feature of an illustrative embodiment, the BGM-data change step includes a tempo change step for changing a tempo of the BGM data according to the performance-change data. More specifically, the tempo change step (S125, S191) changes the tempo of the BGM data according to the performance-change data. That is, it is possible to alter the performance speed of the BGM.
In another feature of an illustrative embodiment, the game device further comprises a period designating data storing means for storing period designating data that designates a performing period and a performance suspended period of the phrase. The BGM-data reproducing means suspends a reproduction of the BGM data in the performance suspended period based on the period designating data. The game BGM generating program further allows the processor to execute a period counting step, for counting the performing period and the performance suspended period, designated by the period designating data, by the number of times the rhythm data is selected. More specifically, the game device (12) includes a period designating data storing means (40, 82b, 82c) for storing period designating data, that designates a performing period and a performance suspended period of the phrase. The BGM-data reproducing means (36) suspends a reproduction of the BGM data in the performance suspended period, based on the period designating data. In the game BGM generating program, a period counting step counts the performing period and the performance suspended period, designated by the period designating data, by the number of times the rhythm data has been selected. Thus, the performing period and the performance suspended period are counted by the number of times the rhythm is selected, so that even where the state is returned (moved) from a performance suspended state to a performing state, no deviance occurs to a performing timing of the BGM.
A game BGM generating method according to an illustrative embodiment is a game BGM generating method in a game device provided with a phrase data storing means, a rhythm-pattern storing means, a BGM-data reproducing means, a tone-color-data storing means, and a sound outputting means. In this game device, the phrase data storing means stores different kinds of a plurality of phrase data that designate a length and a pitch of a pronunciation of a tone color, by each group, based on a musical characteristic. The rhythm-pattern storing means stores at least one kind of rhythm pattern data, constructed of two or more sets of rhythm data, that designate a length in performance for performing a phrase, and a pronunciation timing of the phrase. The BGM-data reproducing means reproduces BGM data constructed of at least one part. The tone-color-data storing means stores data of a sound output according to the BGM data. Furthermore, the sound outputting means outputs the sound according to the BGM data reproduced by the BGM-data reproducing means. This game device (a) randomly selects one kind of phrase data from one group stored in the phrase data storing means, (b) sequentially or randomly selects one rhythm data from one kind of rhythm pattern data stored in the rhythm-pattern storing means, and (c) generates the BGM data from the phrase data selected by the step (a) and the rhythm data selected by the step (b).
A game device according to an illustrative embodiment is a game device that performs a BGM corresponding at a minimum to a proceeding situation of a game. This game device comprises a phrase data storing means, a rhythm-pattern storing means, a BGM-data reproducing means, a tone-color-data storing means, a phrase selecting means, a rhythm-pattern selecting means, a BGM generating means, and a sound outputting means. The phrase data storing means stores different kinds of a plurality of phrase data that designate a length and a pitch of a pronunciation of a tone color, by each group, based on a musical characteristic. The rhythm-pattern storing means stores at least one kind of rhythm pattern data, constructed of two or more sets of rhythm data, that designate a length in performance for performing a phrase, and a pronunciation timing of the phrase. The BGM-data reproducing means reproduces BGM data constructed of at least one part. The tone-color-data storing means stores data of a sound output according to the BGM data. The phrase selecting means randomly selects one kind of phrase data from one group stored in the phrase data storing means. The rhythm-pattern selecting means selects one rhythm data from one kind of rhythm pattern data stored in the rhythm-pattern storing means according, to a predetermined rule. The BGM generating means generates the BGM data from the phrase data selected by the phrase selecting step and the rhythm data selected by the rhythm pattern selecting step. Furthermore, the sound outputting means outputs the sound according to the BGM data reproduced by the BGM-data reproducing means.
In an illustrative embodiment of the game BGM generating method and also in the game device, similar to the illustrative embodiment of the storing medium that stores the game BGM generating program, it is possible to generate a variety of BGMs without increasing the process load.
The above described features of the illustrative embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Game music generating method and game apparatus


The invention relates to a system and method for estimating global rig state. The system comprises a model incorporating multiple variables related to rig state, at least one camera operably connected to at least one processor wherein said camera is capable of gathering visual data regarding at least one variable of rig state and said processor is capable of compiling rig state data, estimating global rig state, or both. The system further comprises multiple sensors for measuring variables related to global rig state wherein said sensors are operably connected to said processor. The method comprises sensing various aspects of the rig state, collecting visual data corresponding with said sensor data, compiling multiple sources of rig data, and estimating the overall rig state.

Modern drilling involves scores of people and multiple inter-connecting activities. Obtaining real-time information about ongoing operations is of paramount importance for safe, efficient drilling. As a result, modern rigs often have thousands of sensors actively measuring numerous parameters related to vessel operation, in addition to information about the down-hole drilling environment.
Despite the multitude of sensors on today's rigs, a significant portion of rig activities and sensing problems remain difficult to measure with classical instrumentation, and person-in-the-loop sensing is often utilized in place of automated sensing.
By applying automated, computer-based video interpretation, continuous, robust, and accurate assessment of many different phenomena can be achieved through pre-existing video data without requiring a person-in-the-loop. Automated interpretation of video data is known as computer vision, and recent advances in computer vision technologies have led to significantly improved performance across a wide range of video-based sensing tasks. Computer vision can be used to improve safety, reduce costs and improve efficiency.
There are hundreds of sensors on a modern drilling rig, each of which records detailed information about a very small part of the rig behavior—e.g., one sensor measures the flow in a pipe, another measures down-bore pressure, another measures pit volume. Making sense of all the data from each individual sensor is typically left to the rig operator, or, in some cases, to an automated (computerized) process that is responsible for alerting the user to unexpected measurements or well-behaviors (e.g., losses, influxes, stuck pipe, etc.).
Due to the complexity of modern drilling and the number of possible interacting human behaviors on a rig, aggregating data from each of these individual sensors is a very complicated task. Importantly, none of the individual sensors has direct access to the big-picture rig state. In other words, the large-scale activities occurring on the rig (e.g., adding barite to the pits, tripping, drilling ahead) are not readily deducible from each sensors readings in isolation, nor in aggregate.
Although not directly observable in the low-level sensor data, the rig-state is often obvious to the drilling engineer, who can visually survey the rig, and identify large-scale behaviors. For example, the rig operator could visually deduce that "we are pulling out of the rig, but currently the drill stand is in slips," or "someone is adding barite to the pits, and is doing so after the flow sensor, which will cause pit volume measurements and flow-out measurements to diverge, so I should pay attention to the flow-out measurements to identify possible influx or losses, but ignore changes in the pit volume for the time being." This level of visual information aggregation provides significant benefits to human-in-the-loop data processing, and also provides a level of information not currently easily available in post-drilling analyses.
Significant effort is often spent analyzing hours and days of video feeds from rigs to perform time & motion studies ("T&M studies"), which are typically focused on one or two classical "drilling states"—e.g., improving time spent pulling out of hole. Since raw video data is not annotated, it is extremely difficult to "jump" to the next instance of any particular state without having watched and annotated the whole video first; which is very time consuming and error-prone. It is also currently not possible to automatically determine, from the observed video and down-well data, the amount of time spent in any one state. However, these important T&M parameters could be automatically estimated if state data could be automatically inferred and added to the video data stream. Incorporation of this information could make all other rig automation and sensing technologies operate more smoothly and produce overall higher quality results.
Therefore there is a need for an automated computer vision based technique for observing and estimating large-scale information about the complete rig state. This will enable improved low-level processing by incorporating rig state into decision making, and enable improved T&M analyses and processing by providing automatically annotated video feeds for rig understanding.
Furthermore, the incorporation of computer vision technologies to estimate rig state enables automated identification of dangerous or uncommon states and state transitions. Alerts regarding uncommon scenarios may be presented to the user in plain-English descriptions of the observed state.
Finally, automated rig state detection also enables improved automated decision making and rig control.

System and method for estimating rig state using computer vision for time and motion studies


An elevator car call register apparatus and a method thereof, which relates to processing a car call which a passenger registers in an elevator car and in which a plurality of call buttons of a multiple of 10 and a plurality of call buttons of a single digit are separately provided, is capable of controlling calls for a large number of floors with a plurality of call buttons having the smaller number than the number of floors. When a passenger presses a call button of a multiple of 10 and a call button of a single digit, the apparatus according to the present invention stores each data generated in accordance with calls of the multiple of 10 and the single digit in a memory in a predetermined format, when the passenger presses a set button, the apparatus determines that the call for a desired floor is normally performed, and combines the data stored in the memory, and outputs to a car controller, thus enabling the elevator car to move to the desired floor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to registering a call in an elevator car, and in particular to an improved elevator car call register apparatus and a method thereof, capable of registering a call with respect to the whole floors in a building where an elevator provides service by using less call buttons.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram roughly illustrating a control panel of a conventional elevator car. As shown therein, a closing button 2 and an opening button 3 are positioned at a lower part of a control panel 1, and a plurality of call buttons BT1-BT60 which equal to the number of floors where the elevator provides service are sequentially located at an upper part of the panel 1, wherein each number marked on each of call buttons BT1-BT60 indicates each floor. In this specification, suppose that there are 60 floors that the elevator provides service, and thus the number of call buttons is 60.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are circuit diagrams illustrating a state that a car call is registered in the conventional elevator car, of which FIG. 2A is an input circuit diagram, and FIG. 2B is a car call register indicating circuit diagram.
As shown in FIG. 2A, an input circuit includes a plurality of input buffers IB1-IB60, which equal to the number of the floors, that is 60, are connected in parallel between a first power source line P24B and a communication line NOC, and the plurality of call buttons BT1-BT60 are respectively connected between a second power source line GD22A and each of the input buffers IB1-IB60. Here, the first power source line P24B receives a first power source, the second power source line GD22A receives a second power source, and the communication line NOC is connected with a car controller (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 2B, a car call register indicating circuit includes a plurality of lamps LED1-LED60 and a plurality of output buffers OBUF1-OBUF60, equivalent to the number of floors and are connected in series between a third power source line A24 and a signal line B24. The third power source line A24 receives a third power source, and the signal line B24 is connected with the car controller.
The operation of the thusly described circuit will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.
First, when a passenger presses a call button, on which a number corresponding to a destination floor where he/she wants to reach is marked, among the 60 call buttons BT1-BT60 installed in the control panel 1, the second power source line GD22A supplies power to a corresponding input buffer among the input buffers IB1-IB60, and accordingly the corresponding input buffer is enabled and outputs a call signal, and the thusly outputted call signal is transmitted to the car controller.
Accordingly, the car controller controls the elevator car to move to the desired floor and outputs an enable signal to the signal line B24, a corresponding one of the output buffers OBUF1-OBUF60 is enabled by the enable signal, whereby the third power source is supplied to a corresponding lamp of the lamps LED1-LED60, connected with the output buffers OBUF1-OBUF60, through the third power source line A24, and accordingly the corresponding lamp is turned on.
Since each of the lamps LED1-LED60 is installed inside the corresponding call button of a transparent material, the passenger may notice whether the call of the desired floor is registered.
If a passenger boarding on a first floor presses a call button BT27 to reach a 27th floor, a call signal is outputted from an input buffer IB27, the car controller outputs a corresponding enable input signal, and an output buffer OBUF27 is set by the enable signal, and a lamp LED27 corresponding to the 27th floor is turned on. Accordingly, the passenger may know that the call for the 27th floor is registered.
However, in the conventional art, the number of call buttons are identical to the number of the floors that the elevator car provides service. Therefore, when it is a building of 60 floors, 60 call buttons should be installed in the control panel 1. So, the higher the building is, the more call buttons should be installed in the control panel. Accordingly, the constructions of the circuit for processing a call for each floor, and the control panel become more complicated, and consequently the manufacturing cost is increased.
In addition, once a call for a desired floor is registered by a passenger, it is impossible to cancel the call registration though it is the wrong call, so that the elevator car provides service to an undesired floor. Accordingly, power is unnecessarily consumed, and also the passenger may be displeased at delay of service.

Elevator car call register apparatus and method thereof


A perpendicular magnetic recording medium 100 having a magnetic recording layer 122, wherein a particle diameter of crystal grains in layer 122 improves a SNR while a high coercive force is maintained. There also is at least a ground layer 118, a first magnetic recording layer 122a, and a second magnetic recording layer 122b in this order on a disk base 110. The first layer 122a and the second layer 122b are ferromagnetic layers, each having a granular structure in which a grain boundary part made of a non-magnetic substance is formed between crystal grains each grown in a columnar shape, and A<B when an average particle diameter of the crystal grains in the first magnetic recording layer 122a is taken as A nm and an average particle diameter of the crystal grains in the second magnetic recording layer 122b is taken as B nm.

With an increase in capacity of information processing in recent years, various information recording technologies have been developed. In particular, the surface recording density of an HDD using magnetic recording technology is continuously increasing at an annual rate of approximately 100%. In recent years, an information recording capacity exceeding 160 GB per one magnetic disk with a 2.5-inch diameter for use in an HDD or the like has been desired. To fulfill such demands, an information recording density exceeding 250 Gbits per one square inch is desired to be achieved.
To attain a high recording density in a magnetic disk for use in an HDD or the like, a magnetic disk of a perpendicular magnetic recording type has been suggested in recent years. In a conventional in-plane magnetic recording type, the axis of easy magnetization of a magnetic recording layer is oriented in a plane direction of a base surface. In the perpendicular magnetic recording type, by contrast, the axis of easy magnetization is adjusted so as to be oriented in a direction perpendicular to the base surface.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology regarding a perpendicular magnetic recording medium configured to have a ground layer, a Co-type perpendicular magnetic recording layer, and a protective layer in this order formed on a substrate. Also, Patent Document 2 discloses a perpendicular magnetic recording medium having a structure attached with an artificial lattice film continuous layer (exchange coupling layer) exchange-coupled to a particulate recording layer.
In the perpendicular magnetic recording type, compared with the in-plane recording type, a thermal fluctuation phenomenon can be suppressed, and therefore the perpendicular magnetic recording type is suitable for increasing the recording density.
Also, conventionally, for the purpose of improving a coercive force Hc and a Signal-Noise Ratio (SNR), a structure in which a magnetic recording layer is formed of two layers has been suggested. For example, Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration in which, with a magnetic recording layer being formed of two layers, one recording layer on a base side has a composition containing CoCrPtTa and the other recording layer on a side away from the side has a composition containing CoCrPtB.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-92865    Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,670    Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-256632

Perpendicular magnetic recording medium and method of manufacturing perpendicular magnetic recording medium


A method for writing servo information in a disk drive that includes a write head and one or more recording surfaces includes: writing a first portion of a first spiral with the write head on a first recording surface of the one or more recording surfaces while controlling a radial position of the write head with a controller that is configured with a first set of controller parameter values; after the read head crosses a second spiral formed on a second recording surface of the one or more recording surfaces, determining a radial position error for the write head based on information associated with the second spiral; and in response to the radial position error exceeding a disturbance threshold value, writing a second portion of the first spiral with the write head while controlling the radial position of the write head with the controller while the controller is configured with a second set of controller parameter values.

In a typical hard disk drive (HDD), servo sectors on the disk are used to provide position information about the location of a magnetic head over a disk surface. A common approach for writing such servo information on one or more disk surfaces in an HDD is referred to as spiral-based self-servo writing, or spiral-based SSW. According to this approach, multiple spiral-shaped servo information patterns (or "servo spirals") are written on at least one disk surface prior to the SSW process. During the SSW process, a magnetic head of the HDD is positioned relative to a disk surface based on timing and position information in the servo spirals, so that the final servo information (the servo sectors) can be written on the disk surface by the magnetic head.
For an error-free and robust SSW process, the servo spirals used should be precisely written on the disk surface with a predetermined and constant slope. Such servo spirals may be written on the disk surface with an external media writer before assembly of the disk drive, or with a servo writing machine that uses an external precision actuator to position the disk drive actuator with a mechanical push pin through an opening in the disk drive housing. In either case, setup and use of such external equipment for each individual HDD is time-consuming and expensive in the context of high-volume manufacturing.
In light of this, in-drive spiral-writing schemes have been employed, in which an HDD itself writes servo spirals prior to performing the SSW process, in a so-called "blank disk spiral write" process. For example, a set of coarsely positioned spirals may be written by the HDD while the actuator is moved across a disk surface by applying a suitable open-loop voltage profile, or by using velocity control that is based on back electromotive force (back-EMF) feedback. More precisely positioned sets of spirals can then be written in one or more subsequent closed-loop spiral-writing processes, by demodulating signals from the more coarsely positioned sets of spirals. For example, a set of coarse servo spirals, a set of fine servo spirals, and a set of final servo spirals may be progressively written by the HDD itself in this way. The servo sectors are then written on a disk surface by positioning the magnetic head based on the final, most accurately positioned set of servo spirals in a spiral-based SSW process.
In a blank disk spiral write process, spirals are typically written by controlling a disk drive actuator at a constant linear velocity while the disk rotates at constant angular velocity. Therefore, the relative velocity between the magnetic read/write head and a disk surface includes both linear and angular components. As a result, the spirals written on the disk surface are substantially parallel to each other. During either track following or seeking, a servo system of the disk drive measures spiral position and timing whenever the read element of the read/write head crosses the spiral.
During a blank disk spiral write process, it is important to maintain constant linear velocity of the read/write head in the radial direction, so that each spiral follows a predetermined spiral trajectory as accurately as practicable. In this way, the servo spirals are written with uniform spacing therebetween. However, during the iterative processes of spiral writing, the disk drive actuator for the read/write head can be exposed to various unpredictable disturbances, such as external vibrations or impacts, changes in the flex bias of a flexible circuit board coupled to the disk drive actuator, changes in the pivot friction within a pivot bearing of the actuator, and the like. Because such disturbances cannot always be adequately compensated for by the servo system of the disk drive, the actuator sometimes deviates from the target trajectory. As a result, spirals can be written with non-uniform spacing to a disk surface, and sometimes can even cross adjacent spirals. Such inaccurately positioned spirals in a disk drive can deleteriously affect the ability of the disk drive to correctly write servo sectors, or even prevent the disk drive from writing servo sectors at all, resulting in scrapping or reworking of the disk drive.

Gain scheduled controller to handle unpredictable disturbances during spiral write

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation


This invention relates to a method for protecting the integrity of the reactor container base in nuclear power plants, and a device for implementing the method.. The proposed method and device are applicable to all reactor types (PWR or pressurized water reactor, BWR or boiling water reactor, HWR or heavy water reactor, etc.) and to all types of containing system (large dry type, steam suppression type, condensation on ice type, subatmospheric type etc.), although for simplicity the present text will describe only their application to a PWR with a steam suppression and large dry containing system.

This invention relates to a method for protecting the integrity of the reactor container base in nuclear power plants, and a device for implementing the method.
The proposed method and device are applicable to all reactor types (PWR or pressurized water reactor, BWR or boiling water reactor, HWR or heavy water reactor, etc.) and to all types of containing system (large dry type, steam suppression type, condensation on ice type, subatmospheric type etc.), although for simplicity the present text will describe only their application to a PWR with a steam suppression and large dry containing system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,271 of the present applicant describes a system for protecting the base or foundation slab of the reactor containing building in nuclear power plants against erosion and degradation by molten material escaping from the reactor pressure vessel as as result of serious accident, the system comprising a chamber holding at least part of said pressure vessel and comprising below the vessel a cavity containing a structure immersed in a cooling fluid and composed of a plurality of superposed beams arranged suitably offset in layers, to intercept the molten material escaping from the reactor pressure vessel in the case of melt-down of its core, and to uniformly and three-dimensionally distribute the molten material over a large heat transfer surface, hence preventing its direct contact with the base of the cavity. According to the aforesaid patent each of said beams forming the structure or pile immersed in the cooling fluid can be of double T cross-section with a U-shaped upper flange and can be constructed for example of stainless steel. In this manner the molten material can be redistributed into a plurality of layers of small thickness to rapidly cool and resolidify, aided in this by the cooling fluid in which the pile of beams is immersed.
This very rapid contact between the molten material and the cooling fluid which floods the cavity below the reactor pressure vessel and in which said pile of beams is immersed gives rise however to the risk of so-called steam explosions due to the violent conversion of heat energy into mechanical energy. In order to avoid this risk, one embodiment of the aforesaid patent proposes to mount a suitable temporary collection structure below the reactor pressure vessel but above the level of the cooling fluid in said cavity, so that the molten material falls into the underlying fluid over an extended time.
The object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the problem of protecting the integrity of the reactor container base in nuclear power plants in which the potential risk of steam explosions is prevented more effectively, reliably and economically than in the aforesaid previous solution of the applicant.

Method for protecting the base of the reactor container in nuclear power plants, and a device for implementing the method


The present invention is a flexible plastic membrane which supports embedded components such as light emitting diodes and plastic pressure switches, and conductors on a plastic ribbon which connects the embedded light emitting diode and plastic pressure switch to a connector. The flexible plastic membrane supports an adhesive which enables it to be stick to the surface of the module face plate. The inventive structure is more economical to build and install than presently used mechanical spring loaded push switches and light emitting diodes as they must be physically mounted to the face plate and hardwired when the module is manufactured. In addition, the inventive structure can be replaced in the field when a fault develops without disturbing or disconnecting the optical fiber connected to the front or rear of a module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an overlay having embedded components for attachment to a telecommunication optical fiber distribution frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Optical fiber distribution frames typically serve the function of cross-connecting incoming optical fiber cables to customer transmission equipment. A frame typically includes a multiplicity of shelves, where each shelf includes a plurality of modules selectively connected to the ends of optical fiber cables. Cross connect jumper cables (also known as patch cords) are applied in the front of modules to selectively cross-connect optical fibers.
There is currently deployed in telecommunication central offices and other facilities many millions of optical fiber jumper cross connects on optical fiber cross connect frames. These frames generate millions of dollars of revenues. Modifications to the frames by adding, repositioning or removing patch cords must be done without any service disruptions associated with the process. Needless to say, this is not accomplished easily or carelessly. Obviously, to provide uninterrupted service which is necessary to protect the revenue stream, telecommunications service providers jealously protect their service carrying fibers from all forms of interruption. The great majority of modules contain multiple optical fiber connectors mounted on face plates of plastic or metal. Patch cords are used to interconnect the optical fibers. On equipment which is currently deployed in the field, the faceplates have labels which identify each fiber.
One of the problems that exist at customer locations is accureatly keeping track of the connectivity of the jumpers at that location. Without accurate databasing, it is difficult to determine where the ends of each optical patch cord are connected. Frequently, to satisfy a customer""s changing business needs, optical patch cords must be rearranged, added and/or removed. The identification of the various optical patch cords, and of the optical fibers to which they are connected are most often recorded manually in either a paper log book or in a computer database. However, technicians sometimes neglect to update the database each time a change is made. Inevitably, the database is less than 100% accurate and a technician has no way of accurately identifying the optical fiber jumper ends. Accordingly, when a technician needs to change an optical patch cord, the technician must manually trace that patch cord between the two connector ports. To perform a manual trace, the technician first locates an end of a patch cord and then manually follows the patch cord to the opposite end. One of the problems which exists is the high density of optical connections, typically 72-144 connections per shelf. The great number of cross connections and optical trough congestion makes it difficult to accurately trace a patch cord. Clearly, not only does it take a significant amount of time for a technician to manually trace a particular patch cord, but the process is error prone. Technicians can accidentally go from one patch cord to another during a manual trace which may result in finding an incorrect end. To facilitate the tracing of the fiber connections, mechanical push button switches and light emitting diodes are mounted in the face plate of each module, and hardwired to a host computer. The face plate supports a permanently mounted mechanical spring loaded push button switch and a light emitting diode for each connector port or jack. A host computer has stored therein the optical connectivity of each jumper on the frame. When a craftsperson desires to optically cross-connect two optical connector ports, he or she presses a push button switch on the face of the module associated with each port. Depression of the push button switch signals the computer to indicate where the jumpers are connected. Two light emitting diodes associated with the two connector ports that are to be interconnected light up (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,675 issued to Leone).
One of the problems which exists is the relatively high cost of installing and hardwiring the mechanical push button switches and light emitting diodes assemblies into a module. Another problem is that of having to physically remove a module and thus, cause an interruption of service when a mechanical push button switch becomes inoperative or the connecting conductors develop a fault.
It is desirable to provide a more economical structure for identifying connector ports or jacks and, in addition, to provide a structure for identifying connector ports which can be replaced or initially installed without causing an interruption of service.
The present invention is a flexible plastic membrane which supports embedded components such as light emitting diodes, plastic pressure switches, and conductors on a plastic ribbon which connects the embedded light emitting diode and plastic pressure switch to a connector. The flexible plastic membrane supports an adhesive which enables it to be stick to the surface of the module face plate. The inventive structure is more economical to build and install than presently used mechanical spring loaded push switches and light emitting diodes as they must be physically mounted to the face plate and hardwired when the module is manufactured. In addition, the inventive structure can be replaced in the field when a fault develops without disturbing or disconnecting the optical fiber connected to the front or rear of a module.

Overlay for telecommunications distribution frame


The present invention provides an apparatus and a corresponding method useful for electron paramagnetic resonance imaging, in situ and in vivo, using high-isolation transmit/receive (TX/RX) coils, which, in some embodiments, provide microenvironmental images that are representative of particular internal structures in the human body and spatially resolved images of tissue/cell protein signals responding to conditions (such as hypoxia) that show the temporal sequence of certain biological processes, and, in some embodiments, that distinguish malignant tissue from healthy tissue. In some embodiments, the TX/RX coils are in a surface, volume or surface-volume configuration. In some embodiments, the transmit coils are oriented to generate an RF magnetic field in directions substantially orthogonal to a static gradient field, and the receive coils are oriented to sense RF EPR signal in directions substantially orthogonal to the transmitted field and to the static field, to minimize coupling of the transmitted signal to the receive coils.

Attached as part of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/306,917 titled "HIGH-ISOLATION TRANSMIT/RECEIVE SURFACE COILS AND METHOD FOR EPRI" filed Feb. 22, 2010 by Howard J. Halpern are Appendix A (titled "A Versatile High Speed 250-MHz Pulse Imager for Biomedical Applications" by Boris Epel, et al. Concepts Magn. Reson. Part B (Magn. Reson. Engineering) 33B: 163-176, 2008), Appendix B (titled "Imaging radio frequency electron-spin-resonance spectrometer with high resolution and sensitivity for in vivo measurements" by Howard Halpern et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 60(6), June 1989), Appendix C, Appendix D, and Appendix E which form a part of that provisional application, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety including its appendices.
Cells activate protein signaling in response to crucial environmental conditions. Among the best studied is the cellular response to chronically low levels of oxygen, hypoxia. Cells respond to hypoxia by increasing hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), a signaling peptide which is the master regulator of hypoxic response. HIF1α promotes genes and their protein products, orchestrating cell, tissue, and organism hypoxic response such as new vessel formation and increase in red cell volume.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,977,502 to David Hertz issued Dec. 20, 2005 titled "Configurable matrix receiver for MRI" is incorporated herein by reference. Hertz describes a configurable matrix receiver having a plurality of antennas that detect one or more signals. The antennas are coupled to a configurable matrix comprising a plurality of amplifiers, one or more switches that selectively couple the amplifiers in series fashion, and one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that convert the output signals generated by the amplifiers to digital form. For example, a matrix that includes a first amplifier having a first input and a first output, and a second amplifier having a second input and a second output, a switch to couple the first output of the first amplifier to a the second input of the second amplifier, a first ADC coupled to the first output of the first amplifier, and a second ADC coupled to the second output of the second amplifier. In one embodiment, the signals detected by the antennas include magnetic resonance (MR) signals.
United States Patent Application Publication 2008/0084210 by Vaughan et al. published Apr. 10, 2008 titled "Multi-Current Elements for Magnetic Resonance Radio Frequency Coils" is incorporated herein by reference. In Publication 2008/0084210, Vaughan et al. disclose a current unit having two or more current paths allows control of magnitude, phase, time, frequency and position of each of element in a radio frequency coil. For each current element, the current can be adjusted as to a phase angle, frequency and magnitude. Multiple current paths of a current unit can be used for targeting multiple spatial domains or strategic combinations of the fields generated/detected by combination of elements for targeting a single domain in magnitude, phase, time, space and frequency.
United States Patent Application Publication 2008/0129298 by Vaughan et al. published Jun. 5, 2008 titled "High field magnetic resonance" is incorporated herein by reference. In Publication 2008/0129298, Vaughan et al. disclose, among other things, multi-channel magnetic resonance using a TEM coil.
An article co-authored by the inventor of the present invention is titled "Imaging radio frequency electron-spin-resonance spectrometer with high resolution and sensitivity for in vivo measurements" by Howard Halpern et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 60(6), June 1989, was attached as Appendix B to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/306,917 titled "High-isolation transmit/receive surface coils and method for EPRI" filed Feb. 22, 2010 by Howard J. Halpern, which is also incorporated herein by reference. Halpern et al. describe a radio frequency (RF) electron-spin-resonance spectrometer with high molar sensitivity and resolution. 250-MHz RF is chosen to obtain good penetration in animal tissue and large aqueous samples.
Another article co-authored by the inventor of the present invention is titled "A Versatile High Speed 250-MHz Pulse Imager for Biomedical Applications" by Boris Epel, et al. at the Center for EPR Imaging In Vivo Physiology, Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 60637 (Concepts Magn. Reson. Part B (Magn. Reson. Engineering) 33B: 163-176, 2008) was attached as Appendix A to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/306,917 titled "High-isolation transmit/receive surface coils and method for EPRI" filed Feb. 22, 2010 by Howard J. Halpern, which is also incorporated herein by reference. Epel et al. describe a versatile 250-MHz pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) instrument for imaging of small animals is presented. Flexible design of the imager hardware and software makes it possible to use virtually any pulse EPR imaging modality. A fast pulse-generation and data-acquisition system based on general purpose PCI boards performs measurements with minimal additional delays. Careful design of receiver protection circuitry allowed us to achieve very high sensitivity of the instrument. In this article, Epel et al. demonstrate the ability of the instrument to obtain three-dimensional (3D) images using the electron spin echo (ESE) and single-point imaging (SPI) methods. In a phantom that contains a 1 mM solution of narrow line (16 μT, peak-to-peak) paramagnetic spin probe, their device achieved an acquisition time of 32 s per image with a fast 3D ESE imaging protocol. Using an 18-min 3D phase relaxation (T2e) ESE imaging protocol in a homogeneous sample, a spatial resolution of 1.4 mm and a standard deviation of T2e of 8.5% were achieved. When applied to in vivo imaging this precision of T2e determination would be equivalent to 2 Torr resolution of oxygen partial pressure in animal tissues.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,763 to Schmalbein Mar. 14, 1989 titled "Electron spin resonance spectrometer" is incorporated herein by reference. Schmalbein describes an electron spin resonance spectrometer that includes a resonator containing a sample and arranged in a magnetic field of constant strength and high homogeneity. A microwave bridge can be supplied with microwave energy in the form of an intermittent signal. Measuring signals emitted by the resonator are supplied to a detector and a signal evaluation stage. A line provided between a microwave source and the microwave bridge is subdivided into parallel pulse-shaping channels, one of them containing a phase shifter, an attenuator and a switch for the signal passing through the pulse-shaping channels. In order to be able to set, if possible, an unlimited plurality of pulse sequences for experiments of all kinds, the pulse-shaping channels are supplied in equal proportions from the line by means of a divider. All pulse-shaping channels are provided with a phase shifter and an attenuator. The pulse-shaping channels are re-united by means of a combiner arranged before the input of a common microwave power amplifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,639,406 to Boskamp, et al. issued Oct. 28, 2003 titled "Method and apparatus for decoupling quadrature phased array coils", and is incorporated herein by reference. Boskamp, et al. describe a method and apparatus for combining the respective readout signals for a loop and butterfly coil pair of a quadrature phased array used for magnetic resonance imaging. The technique used to combine the signals introduces a 180-degree phase shift, or multiple thereof, to the loop coil signal, thereby allowing the loop coil signal to be decoupled from other loop coil signals by a low-input-impedance preamplifier in series with the signal. This patent describes a surface coil that is applied to one surface of the body part being examined.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,659,719 to Vaughan, et al. issued Feb. 9, 2010 titled "Cavity resonator for magnetic resonance systems", and is incorporated herein by reference. Vaughan, et al. describe a magnetic resonance apparatus that includes one or more of the following features: (a) a coil having at least two sections, (b) the at least two sections having a resonant circuit, (c) the at least two sections being reactively coupled or decoupled, (d) the at least two sections being separable, (e) the coil having openings allowing a subject to see or hear and to be accessed through the coil, (f) a cushioned head restraint, and (g) a subject input/output device providing visual data to the subject, the input/output device being selected from the group consisting of mirrors, prisms, video monitors, LCD devices, and optical motion trackers. This patent describes a volume head coil that surrounds a human head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,805 Swartz, et al. issued Jan. 13, 1998 titled "Apparatus and methodology for determining oxygen tension in biological systems", and is incorporated herein by reference. Swartz, et al. describe apparatus and methods for measuring oxygen tensions in biological systems utilizing physiologically acceptable paramagnetic material, such as India ink or carbon black, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. India ink is introduced to the biological system and exposed to a magnetic field and an electromagnetic field in the 1-2 GHz range. The EPR spectrum is then measured at the biological system to determine oxygen concentration. The EPR spectrum is determined by an EPR spectrometer that adjusts the resonator to a single resonator frequency to compensate for movements of the biological system, such as a human or animal. The biological system can also include other in vivo tissues, cells, and cell cultures to directly measure pO2 non-destructively. The paramagnetic material can be used non-invasively or invasively depending on the goals of the pO2 measurement. A detecting inductive element, as part of the EPR spectrometer resonator, is adapted relative to the measurement particularities.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,746 to Murugesan, et al. issued Feb. 2, 1999 titled "In vivo imaging and oxymetry by pulsed radiofrequency paramagnetic resonance", and is incorporated herein by reference. Murugesan et al. describe a system for performing pulsed RF FT EPR spectroscopy and imaging includes an ultra-fast excitation subsystem and an ultra-fast data acquisition subsystem. Additionally, method for measuring and imaging in vivo oxygen and free radicals or for performing RF FT EPR spectroscopy utilizes short RF excitations pulses and ultra-fast sampling, digitizing, and summing steps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,096 to Karthe, et al. issued Jul. 21, 1981 titled "Spectrometer for measuring spatial distributions of paramagnetic centers in solid bodies", and is incorporated herein by reference. Karthe, et al. describe a spectrometer in which gradient coils are provided in order to create an inhomogeneous magnetic field for use in analyzing individual regions within the sample under examination. The gradient coils and the modulating coils are operated by discrete pulses, rather than continuously. A keying unit coordinates the interaction of the various components of the spectrometer in order to monitor resonance of the sample under examination while such pulses occur.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,216 to Tschudin, et al. issued Oct. 27, 1998 titled "Gated RF preamplifier for use in pulsed radiofrequency electron paramagnetic resonance and MRI", and is incorporated herein by reference. Tschudin et al. describe a gated RF preamplifier used in system for performing pulsed RF FT EPR spectroscopy and imaging or MRI. The RF preamplifier does not overload during a transmit cycle so that recovery is very fast to provide for ultra-fast data acquisition in an ultra-fast excitation subsystem. The preamplifier includes multiple low-gain amplification stages with high-speed RF gates inserted between stages that are switched off to prevent each stage from overloading during the transmit cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,886 to one of the present inventors, Howard Halpern, issued Dec. 22, 1987 titled "Magnetic resonance analysis of substances in samples that include dissipative material", and is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,886 describes magnetic resonance images of the distribution of a substance within a sample that are obtained by splaying a pair of magnetic field generating coils relative to each other to generate a magnetic field gradient along an axis of the sample. In other aspects, electron spin resonance data is derived from animal tissue, or images are derived from a sample that includes dissipative material, using a radio frequency signal of sufficiently low frequency.
There is a need for an improved apparatus and method of electron-spin-resonance spectrometry and/or imaging to non-invasively provide images representative of particular internal structures and processes in the human body, and to be able to distinguish malignant tissue from healthy tissue.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High-isolation transmit/receive surface coils for EPRI


The present invention provides an electrodeposition apparatus and a method for reconditioning gravure cylinders through electrodeposition. The electrodeposition apparatus includes a container for holding an ionic fluid bath and a reservoir for holding a supply of deposition material in fluid communication with the ionic fluid bath. An object, such as a gravure cylinder, is held in contact with the ionic fluid bath. Charges of opposite polarity are applied to the object and to the supply of deposition material. A barrier member and a diffusion member disposed between the supply of electrodeposition material and the object prevent contaminants from moving into contact with the object and also facilitate the dispersion of ions moving through the fluid bath between the supply of electrodeposition material and the object. Thus, once the charges are appropriately applied to the object and the supply of deposition material, ions will be attracted to the object in uniform manner to provide a uniform layer of deposition material on the object. Additionally, restrictive filters are used to filter fluid which is added to the ionic fluid bath and to facilitate uniform dispersion of this fluid along the entire length of the fluid bath.

Electrodeposition has long been used as a method for plating objects with a particular material. Electrodeposition is a relatively easy way to coat an object with a material, such as copper, where it would be difficult to provide a thin uniform coating by other methods.
Electrodeposition has been used to plate gravure cylinders, which are commonly used in printing processes. A gravure cylinder is plated with a thin layer of a material such as copper and then the desired print is etched into the copper layer. In such cases, a steel or aluminum cylinder usually forms the substrate which supports the electrodeposition layer. Once the print run is finished, the gravure cylinder must be reconditioned so that a different print may be etched into the cylinder. Reconditioning requires that the electrodeposition layer be removed, at least partially, to remove the previous etching so that a new electrodeposition layer may be placed on the cylinder. As before, once the new layer of electrodeposition material covers the cylinder, the desired etching may be made for future printing.
An electrodeposition system requires an ionic fluid bath which contacts the object to be plated. The ionic fluid bath includes ions of the deposition material. A supply of the electrodeposition material must also be in contact with the ionic fluid bath to supply the fluid bath with additional ions once the plating process begins.
For example, when a gravure cylinder is to be plated with copper, the cylinder will be submerged or rotated while in contact with a fluid bath containing copper ions. A tray of copper nuggets or copper bars would typically be submerged in the fluid bath in proximity to the gravure cylinder. An electrical field would then be established across the object and the supply of deposition material. The charge applied to the object would be opposite to the charge of the ions in the fluid bath thus attracting the ions to the object. In this manner, the ions are deposited on the object forming a layer or plating on the object. Meanwhile, additional ions break free from the deposition material supply and enter the fluid bath generally replacing the ions that were attracted to the object. In the gravure cylinder . example, the cylinder can be rotated through the fluid bath while the electrodeposition process takes place so that a layer of deposition material will be applied generally over the entire surface of the gravure cylinder.
Often, during the electrodeposition process, oxides and other contaminants are given off when the electrodeposition material supply ionizes; that is, when ions break face from the deposition material supply and enters the fluid bath. This is due largely to impurities which exist in the supply material. Thus, the ionic fluid which is used in the fluid bath is usually cycled through a larger reservoir of ionic fluid. Before returning to the fluid bath, the ionic fluid is filtered and resupplied to the fluid bath. In Bergin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,610, a method is disclosed for copper plating a gravure cylinder in which a typical plating system is used. A cylinder is rotatably mounted in contact with an electrolyte which is retained in a vat. The electrolyte consists essentially of a solution of copper sulfate and sulfuric acid in water. The cylinder is partially immersed in the ionic fluid bath and rotated while an electric field is established across the cylinder and a solid copper supply.
A problem with prior art devices such as the Bergin device is that those devices were not able to deposit material on the object being plated in a precise uniform manner. This presented problems when plating or reconditioning objects such as gravure printing cylinders, which require an extremely precise and 15 uniformly smooth surface. To obtain such a desired uniform surface using prior art plating devices, an old layer of deposition material was first removed and then the object was thoroughly cleaned. Following its cleaning, the object was typically plated with a relatively thick layer of the electrodeposition material and then the layer underwent a refining process which involved rough cutting the electrodeposition layer to a generally uniform finish, fine cutting the rough cut finish, and then polishing the surface until it had the desired smooth and uniform characteristics. This process, however, was time consuming and wasted substantial electrodeposition material.
The inventor has determined that the nonuniformity of the electrodeposition layer achieved using prior art plating apparatus is caused largely by uneven dispersion of the ions as they are attracted to the object and by contaminants which enter the fluid bath and become attached to the object which is being plated. It would be advantageous to prevent contaminants from being introduced to the fluid bath from either the electrodeposition material supply or from the recycled ionic fluid which is introduced into the fluid bath. Additionally, it would be advantageous to uniformly disperse of ions in the fluid bath as ions are introduced into the fluid bath from either the electrodeposition material supply or from the ionic fluid being recycled to the fluid bath. For example, a problem with the prior art systems was that ionic fluid was introduced into the fluid bath through orifices which generally sprayed columns of fluid into the fluid bath. Such columnar spraying was found to cause uneven plating of the cylinder leaving high spots and low spots in the material deposited on the cylinder according to the location of the supply orifices.
Other methods and devices for electrodeposition of a material are disclosed in patents such as Datwyler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,942 and Katano et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,709. However, nothing in these prior art references adequately addresses the problems discussed above.


A method for providing a gift includes receiving gift information from a first computing device. The gift information includes a maximum gift amount, a gift recipient, and a gifter financial account and gift redemption information. The method includes generating a tokenized PAN associated with the gifter financial account, identifying a second computing device associated with the gift recipient, determining one or more gift redemption locations and receiving gift recipient location data. The method includes determining that the second computing device has entered a gift-eligible location based on the gift recipient location data and the one or more redemption locations and transmitting data indicative of a gift for display by the second computing device. The method further includes outputting an instruction to debit the gifter financial account with an amount of money in response to determining that a transaction has been executed using the tokenized PAN at the gift-eligible location.

Gift cards are a convenient means for people to provide a financial gift to one another that can be more personalized or allotted for a particular use than exchanging cash. To obtain a gift card, a purchaser typically pays an amount matching the desired value of the gift card (plus any gift card fees), receives the physical gift card, and provides it to the recipient for future use with one or more associated merchants that accept the card or for general use (similar to a credit card) depending on the type of gift card. While convenient, conventional gift cards often come with significant drawbacks. For example, conventional gift cards require that the purchaser spend the money to obtain the card before the money can be used by the recipient. Additionally, if the recipient only spends a portion of the value of the gift card or loses possession of the gift card, the recipient will not receive the full value that the gifter paid for the gift card, unnecessarily wasting some of the gifter's money. Furthermore, because conventional gift cards are either tied to specific merchants or available for general use (similar to a credit card), a gifter who wishes to give a customized gift for redemption from a particular merchant may find it unduly burdensome to hunt down a conventional gift card associated with that merchant, or may find that gift cards for the desired merchant do not exist. Further, before being redeemed, a conventional gift card must be transferred to the possession of the recipient so that the recipient may decide when and where to redeem the gift card, which prevents a gifter from including an element of surprise in association with a particular purchase. Accordingly, due to these limitations of conventional gift-giving, both the gifter and the gift recipient may lose out on the excitement that may be derived if, for example, the gift recipient received a gift upon arriving at a location at which the gift may be imminently used.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems that may allow a gifter to provide a location-activated, customized gift that may be used at any designated merchant that may be discerned via purchase authentication request data, and that does not require the gifter to spend money on the gift before the recipient redeems the gift. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to this and other considerations.

Systems for providing and processing customized location-activated gifts


A crystalline form of a drug, ways to make it, compositions containing it and methods of treatment of diseases and inhibition of adverse physiological events using it are disclosed.

Crystallinity of drugs effects, among other physical and mechanical properties, their solubility, dissolution rate, hardness, compressability and melting point. Because these properties may, in turn, effect a drug's manufacture and their utility, there is an existing need in the chemical and therapeutic arts for identification of crystalline forms of drugs and ways of reproducibly making them.

Salt and crystalline forms thereof of a drug


An apparatus in a node of a wireless network for setting the data rate for sending data to a remote node, and a method for setting the data rate. The method includes receiving a packet from the remote node, determining a measure of signal quality for the received packet; and selecting the data rate for communicating to the remote node according to at least the determined signal quality. The measure of signal quality is a measure of the EVM of the received packet. One implementation conforms to one or more variants of the IEEE 802.11 standard that uses OFDM packets.

This invention relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to a method and apparatus to select the data rate of a wireless network link according to a measure of error vector magnitude at a receiver.
A wireless network such as a wireless local area network (WLAN), includes a number of nodes each containing a wireless transceiver and modulator/demodulator (a "radio"). A wireless network may conform to one or more standards, e.g., one or more variants of the IEEE 802.11 standard such as IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g. In an ad-hoc network, called an independent basic service set (IBSS), any nodes acts as station (STA) and communication is from STA to STA, while in an infrastructure network, a radio may be a (client) STA or an access point (AP), and all communication is via the AP.
Many wireless network standards permit a plurality of data link rates, each data rate typically having one or more modulation schemes and coding rates. A radio (AP or STA) needs to select a data link rate from those available, for example in order to optimize traffic throughput in the WLAN. For each of the data rates, the quality of a signal received at a receiver, e.g., the received signal-to-noise ratio or received carrier-to-noise ratio, needs to be above a particular level in order to achieve a "good-enough" level of performance, e.g., a low enough bit error rate or packet error rate. Moreover, the wireless link, i.e., the wireless channel from one radio to another, varies over time. Therefore, in order for the throughput to be optimum at all times, there is a need for radios not only to select the best initial data rate to use, but also to vary the data rate over time as conditions change.
One method for selecting the data rate is to consider the received signal strength indication—the RSSI—of signals received at a receiving radio from another radio. The RSSI, however, is not in itself a good indicator of signal quality. For example, a high RSSI signal in a strong multipath environment, such as in many indoor environments may in fact be signal of relatively low quality, albeit of high signal strength.
Another rate selection method is to iteratively determine the rate by starting with the an initial rate, which may be the highest rate, or may be some middle rate based on history, and retrying until a satisfactory rate is achieved. The iterative method includes the one radio starting transmitting to the other at the highest available rate, and if that initial rate does not lead to a response from the other radio indicating satisfactory reception, retrying at a reduced rate. The retries are repeated until a response is received indicating successful reception at the other radio. A variation that can be used with radios that have configurable transmit antennas, e.g., an array of switched antennas, or smart antennas, retries at the same rate but using a different antenna configuration. The rate is lowered when no antenna configuration provides good enough communication at a given rate. A history of attempts typically is maintained for this purpose.
Yet another method combines the iterative approach with requesting all potential interferers not to transmit. For example, in an IEEE 802.11 conforming network, a request-to-transmit (RTS) packet may be transmitted by the radio. The RTS is sent at the lowest rate and informs all other radios that the RTS-transmitting radio is about to transmit. A radio receiving the RTS does not transmit for a period of time.
Yet another method combines the iterative method and the RSSI-based method.
Any iterative method takes time to achieve the appropriate rate. An iterative method starting with the highest rate may take as many as 24 attempts before deciding to give up. Each additional attempt reduces the throughput in the wireless network.
There thus is a need to provide an improved method for a radio to select the data link rate for transmitting to a remote radio.

Selecting the data rate of a wireless network link according to a measure of error vector magnitude


Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for a clothing article including a first fabric having a first set of threads coupled to one another, wherein each thread in the first set of threads includes a metal compound with electropermanent magnet properties. Additionally, a second fabric may be coupled to the first fabric, wherein the second fabric includes a second set of threads having the metal compound with electropermanent magnet properties. In one example, electrical current may be applied to one or more target threads, wherein the electrical current may initiate a slide of the first fabric across the second fabric and/or initiate creation of a fold among the target threads.

Conventional clothing articles may be made of fixed-size pieces of fabric that are stitched together with thread. The sizes and shapes of the fabric pieces, together with the type of stitch may be selected by a fashion designer in order to determine the style and fit of clothing. Once an article of clothing is created, making adjustments may involve manually re-stitching (e.g., by a tailor) various portions of the clothing. Moreover, regardless of the changes made by a tailor, the overall cut of the clothing may remain the same.

Cut-changing clothing based on adjustable stitching


The current invention teaches a universal manifold for delivering chemical liquids to a storage container. The universal manifold contains a universal mating system that enables a single manifold to attach to a number of variously sized storage containers that include a number of variously sized fill apertures. This enables the use of the same universal manifold for the delivery and collection of liquid chemical to the storage container at different times.

High performance chemical liquid chromatography, also known as high pressure chemical liquid chromatography and HPLC, is a commonly used analytical procedure and machine which involves the use of a plurality of different chemical liquids whereby a plurality of different chemical liquids flow through the chromatograph to analyze the chemical composition of the plurality of different chemical liquids. HPLC also requires the use of a storage container in which, upon completion of the analytical procedure, the plurality of different chemical liquids is accumulated and stored. Furthermore it is common for the plurality of different chemical liquids to include at least one chemical liquid that is hazardous.
It is known in the art that a storage container for storing chemical liquids from an HPLC machine must be fully sealed to prevent the chemical liquids from evaporating into the atmosphere. This is even more important when a hazardous chemical liquid is used. Over time the hazardous chemical liquid will also evaporate into the atmosphere, and may come into contact or even be inhaled by humans and animals. Inhaling hazardous chemical liquid vapor is even more likely when the plurality of different chemical liquids is stored within an enclosed or semi-closed environment like a laboratory.
Caps and filtration systems that reside on the storage container in an effort to seal the storage, container have been devised to reduce and even eliminate chemical liquid from evaporating into the environment. Over time, caps were further developed to enable the insertion of a supply tube in an effort to seal the storage container while still supplying chemical liquids. The purpose of the supply tube is to transport chemical liquids from the HPLC machine to the storage container when collecting. The supply tube was also designed to insert directly through a hole in the cap and into the storage container. Multiple holes in caps were then developed such that one storage container may receive a plurality of chemical liquids. Furthermore it was found that providing a means for securing the supply tube to the cap was desirable. Therefore ports were developed in the cap which often comprise of a threaded means to enable a secure method of attaching a supply tube to the cap.
Although the further developments in caps as described above have reduced and even eliminated hazardous chemical liquid from evaporating into the environment when using a storage container to accumulate and store chemical liquids from an HPLC machine or a machine that requires an accumulation and storage means for chemical liquids or solvents, the caps still have limitations.
One limitation in the design is realized when a plurality of supply tubes are attached to a cap where the number of supply tubes are limited by the surface area of the cap. Furthermore, when a plurality of supply tubes are attached to a cap, attaching each additional tube becomes difficult due to the limitation of space for one's fingers or for tools to enable the attachment of the supply tube to the cap.
Another limitation is realized when identifying a storage container. There are many variously sized storage containers available in the market to facilitate the larger and smaller capacity requirements, storage area constraints in a laboratory, chemical liquid types and even storage containers that store chemical liquids for the delivery of chemical liquids to a machine. The variously sized storage containers also contain variously sized fill apertures in which the cap attaches to the storage container. These result in requiring a multitude of caps that are specific to the size of storage containers.

Universal manifold for delivering hazardous liquid


A device and method for dynamically optimizing a power converter is disclosed. The dynamically optimized power converter unit includes a processor that maximizes efficiency of a power converter supplying energy to a load.

It is known in the art that the use of limited energy power sources has increased rapidly. Limited energy power sources are any energy source that has a limited energy capacity either by design or by its nature such as batteries, solar cells, fuel cells and even generators. These types of energy sources are at the heart of a number of electronic devices, such as, for example, cell phones, hand held games, and laptop computers. It is also known in the art that electric- and hybrid-electric-vehicles that use limited energy power sources, such as fuel cells, have a high cost to energy ratio. Similarly, lead acid batteries have a high weight to energy ratio. Such limited energy power sources point to the desirability to minimize the losses when providing energy to a load while increasing the energy supply between recharging or refueling periods in order to allow a user to operate the device or vehicle for longer durations.
A conventional power converter, which is the link between the energy source and load, tends to be a significant percentage of total system power loss, limiting the system efficiency, (i.e. the average output power divided by the average input power). Although the loss in efficiency may be as low as 5%, any loss limits or compromises the overall performance of the system. The loss in efficiency may be related to various parameters that include, but are not limited to, power consumption, switching frequency, temperature, component variations.
The temperature, for example, may be controlled to improve the efficiency by providing a heat sink for the power converter; however, the heat sink requires space thus, undesirably increasing the size of the electronic device. In many cases the heat sink is larger than the rest of the converter. In another example, size of the converter is also related to the switching frequency. For example, efficiency may be maximized when the switching frequency is reduced, which is achieved at the expense of more expensive and bulkier magnetic components and capacitors. Thus, there is a tradeoff and relation between size and the efficiency of the power converter.
Efficiency may change over the operating power consumption range (i.e. low power consumption, medium power consumption, and high power consumption). At low power consumption, the bias supply loss usually dominates the efficiency. For example, in a high frequency switching power supply, bias power is fixed and output power is reduced as the system operates at a lower power; therefore, the fixed bias power becomes a higher percentage of the overall total power loss, and, in some instances, when the system is operated at a relatively low power, the bias power may equal or exceed the output power. At the medium power consumption, switching losses dominate the efficiency formula, which are typically the source of most losses when both maximum output voltage across the switches and maximum current through them occur. At high power consumption, resistive losses dominate the efficiency formula.
In addition, the characteristics of the power components may vary when selected from a similar field of components. Even further, the power component tolerances (e.g. capacitive and inductive values) naturally change over time. Yet even further, physical changes to power components may occur over time as a result of being exposed to varying environmental conditions, such as temperature (e.g. varying environmental temperatures may have a detrimental effect on the insulative materials used in a component. Thus, physical changes and tolerance changes to power components may also result in a non-optimal application that was originally designed to operate at an optimal standard.
In most situations, power converters are normally optimized at a specific worst-case condition, such as, for example, maximum power consumption or highest operating temperature. In some situations, worst case condition efficiency optimization is set at a presumed operating condition that includes a combination of multiple parameters for example; operating at a high peak power for a short time, which relates to the peak operating temperature, for a system operating at 30% of the maximum power load. However, worse case condition settings may not always provide maximum efficiency if the system is not operated at the specific presumed settings. In a more application-specific example, a power converter efficiency optimization for a vehicular power brake system may include a worse case optimization for non-highway applications; conversely, the vehicle may be operated more often on a highway, thereby having shorter current duration periods and associated current surges that significantly decreases the optimization of the system. As a result, cost and size of the power brake system is increased as efficiency is decreased.
As understood from the explanation above, once the worst-case condition is defined, the process of optimization typically becomes a tradeoff between different design criteria (i.e. physical size of the electronic device and switching frequency). The end result is a static optimization at a presumed/predefined operating point, which typically occurs at maximum operational power and maximum temperature rating. This points to the deficiency of optimizing at one operating point in that the power converter may not operate at a presumably optimized point very often.
Conventional analog and digital controls cannot be designed to adapt to changing conditions without the additional cost of extra complicated circuitry. Even further, specific circuitry implemented for conventional analog and digital controls undesirably restricts functional monitoring of specific parameters for specific changing conditions. Even further, conventional analog and digital controls cannot adapt to constantly changing component tolerances. Thus, although adequate for monitoring specific parameters, conventional analog and digital controls undesirably restricts monitoring parameters and increases cost while also not considering dynamic changes in component tolerances.
Accordingly, it is therefore desirable to provide an ideal apparatus and method for efficiency optimization at every operating condition and component tolerance that can optimize power converter efficiency over the power converter's operating power range in an adaptive, dynamic manner.