A magnetic resonance imaging system (10) includes a magnetic gradient coil system (22) configured for generating gradient magnetic fields by providing a predetermined temporal electrical current profile to at least one magnetic gradient coil in accordance with a desired magnetic resonance examination mode. An additional device (50), which is not part of the original magnetic resonance imaging system (10) is positioned within an inner region (44) of the magnetic resonance imaging system (10) for special examination or other purposes. The additional device (50) is capable of generating an eddy current in at least a portion of the additional device (50) when exposed to the generated gradient magnetic field. The magnetic resonance imaging system (10) is configured for modifying the predetermined electrical current profile at least on the basis of at least one predetermined parameter set upon receipt of an information indicative of a presence of at least one additional device (50) within an inner region (44) of the magnetic resonance imaging system (10).

In the field of magnetic resonance (MR) examination it is known that time-varying magnetic fields that are intentionally generated by gradient coils of an MR imaging system can generate undesired eddy currents in electrically conductive objects that are part of the MR imaging system.
As one effect, the generated eddy currents themselves in turn generate magnetic fields that may cause serious problems in MR imaging and may result in image distortions, ghosting effects, unreliable water-fat separation, and may affect quantitative parameter evaluations such as q-flow. The eddy currents are therefore usually characterized and compensated for the MR imaging system, and at a limited field of view (FOV).
For instance, patent application US 2012/0229139 A1 describes an MR imaging apparatus including a storage unit, an eddy current correcting unit and a gradient magnetic field power supply. The storage unit stores therein eddy current correction parameters that each correspond to the imaging positions to correct the influence of an eddy current magnetic field. The eddy current correcting unit receives the waveform of the gradient magnetic field calculated in accordance with the imaging condition, performs calculation onto the received waveform of the gradient magnetic field by use of an eddy current correction parameter selected in accordance with the position, and outputs the corrected waveform obtained as the calculation result to the gradient magnetic field power supply. The gradient magnetic field power supply receives the corrected waveform and applies a gradient magnetic field in accordance with the corrected waveform. Xu, et al., "Correcting High Order Eddy Current Induced Distortion for Diffusion-Weighted Echo Planar Imaging", Proc. of Int'l Soc. for Mag. Res. in Imaging, May 7, 2011, page 4564, discloses to compensate compensating for certain high order eddy currents (HOECs) by adjusting the encoding gradients. More in particular, Xu, et al. concerns diffusion-weighted EPI acquisition which suffers from direction dependent distortions due the diffusion gradients generated eddy currents. An observation in Xu, et al. is that the disturbance may be slice dependent as well. To resolve the disturbance, the gradient waveform is modified on a slice-by-slice basis and further correct the distorted images by post processing (to correct for so-called type-II terms). The waveforms are modified on the basis of an evaluation of phase differences between images of the diffusion direction but for opposite polarities on a per slice basis.

Subsequent MRI configuration dependent eddy current compensation


On receipt of a request for a communication session over a communications network, such as an Internet Protocol communications network, a path for the session is established. In a preferred example the communications network is an MPLS network and the method uses a modified version of the SIP messaging protocol. Bandwidth along a chosen path is reserved and a messaging protocol such as CR-LDP used to establish this reserved path for the communication session. This creates a delay in the time taken to establish a communication session because the process of choosing a path and reserving bandwidth must be completed before the CR-LDP protocol is used. This delay is reduced by using modified SIP Protocol to perform the CR-LDP function too.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of establishing a connection between two endpoints in a communications network, and in particular but not limited to, situations where it is required to reduce the time taken to establish the connection. The invention also relates to a communications network within which this method is implemented and also to a computer program for controlling a communications network in order to implement the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One factor that must be taken into account during design of communications systems is that of the time taken to establish a communication session. This should be as short as possible in order that customers are not deterred from using the communications service and for applications in which communication sessions must be established without delay.
The time taken to establish a communication session is a particular issue when providing a guaranteed quality of service for transmission of internet protocol traffic. Quality of service is an important factor; customers require a good quality of service for message transmission especially for real-time applications such as video conferencing and voice. As well as this many customers require a particular level of quality of service to be guaranteed; if quality of service drops below a certain level and transmission is interrupted or noisy this may be acceptable in some situations but unacceptable in others. If particular levels of quality of service can be guaranteed this is particularly advantageous. A number of approaches to provision of guaranteed quality of service for transmission of internet protocol traffic are now described and the time taken to establish such connections discussed.
One approach that has been used is to prioritise individual transmissions that are sent over the network. For example, a system known as "DiffServ" allows messages to be marked to indicate their priority. Nodes in a communications network are then arranged to process high priority messages first. This enables high priority messages to be processed quickly but it does not provide a guaranteed level of quality of service. Also a certain amount of processing time is necessarily taken up in determining the highest priority message at a given node and this can lead to increases in the time taken to set up a communications session.
Another approach has been to reserve bandwidth over a particular route in a communications network. However, systems that use this approach (for example RSVP Resource reSerVation Protocol) typically are poor at implementing aggregation mechanisms—for example they cannot easily combine a number of separate sessions over the same route, each must have its own reservation. Another shortcoming is that they also typically only allow the called party to reserve bandwidth that is required to host a communication session. This does not allow the calling party to specify their requirements and this is problematic, especially because the calling party is typically the party which incurs costs for a call. Also, the time taken to set up reservations is often significant and can introduce delays in the time taken to establish a communications session.
Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a standard messaging protocol that is suitable for carrying Internet Protocol traffic over communications networks such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks and Frame Relay networks.
Constraint-based Routing Label Distribution Protocol (CR-LDP) is also a standard messaging protocol (CR-LDP is defined in Internet Draft: draft-ietf-mpls-cr-ldp-01.txt) that is suitable for use with communications networks that use MPLS. Mechanisms such as CR-LDP allow MPLS the ability to set-up paths between two endpoints over a list of routers, where these paths have ATM-like traffic requirements. However, there is no well-defined mechanism for the choice of the routers in this path that makes full use of the ATM-like traffic parameters. The only existing mechanism (QOSPF Quality of Service Open Shortest Path First) allows routing only in terms of advertised router speed and congestion. In tandem, QOSPF is unable to make the fullest use of CR-LDP as it cannot make use of the detailed traffic descriptions used in CR-LDP; neither can it provide detailed route information. As well as this QOSPF is not able to ensure a connection over a suggested route.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a method of establishing a connection between two endpoints in a communications network, which overcomes or at least mitigates one or more of the problems noted above.

Establishing connections across a communications network


A two-stage submersible propulsor unit comprises a shroud having a water inlet and a water outlet, a shaft assembly centrally mounted within the shroud, an upstream and a downstream propeller, each of which includes a separate hub rotatably mounted on the shaft assembly, first and second electric motors separately rotating the upstream and the downstream propellers. Each motor includes a rotor mounted around the outer periphery of one of the propellers and a stator mounted around the shroud, and first and second thrust bearing assemblies for absorbing the thrust load generated between the hubs of the first and second propellers and the shaft assembly. Both thrust bearing assemblies are contained within a housing located on the downstream end of the shaft assembly. The shaft assembly includes a stationary outer shaft where the first and the second propellers are rotatably mounted, and a rotatable inner shaft which is connected to the hub of the upstream propeller for transferring thrust from the upstream propeller to the first thrust bearing assembly located in the downstream end of the shaft assembly. The foregoing arrangement advantageously avoids positioning a thrust bearing assembly in front of the upstream propeller which in turn would interfere with the smooth flow of water into the unit, and create noise.

This invention relates to submersible propulsor units, and is specifically concerned with a high power, low noise two-stage submersible propulsor unit that is particularly adapted to provide secondary propulsion for submarines and other special vehicles.
Electric motor type propulsor units are known in the prior art. While such propulsors may be used for surface vessels, they find their primary application as secondary drive units for submarines where reliability, low noise emissions, and shock resistance are at a premium. In the prior art, such propulsor units have typically comprised a "canned" or wet-winding type electric motor having an output shaft that is connected to a propeller. Unfortunately, the fact that the canned motor is disposed either directly in front of or behind the flow of water generated by the propeller creates an obstruction to fluid flow that results in unwanted noise, and reduces the effective thrust that can be generated by these units. To compensate for the thrust losses caused by this blockage, higher speed and smaller diameter motors may be used. However, the high shaft speed of these motors results in a high propeller cavitation, which in turn generates an even higher level of unwanted noise.
To overcome these shortcomings, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation developed an integral motor propulsor unit that is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,297. This particular propulsor unit resembles a jet engine in structure and generally comprises a cylindrical shroud having a water inlet and a water outlet, a propeller having a hub rotatably mounted within the shroud on a shaft that is concentrically mounted within the shroud by a plurality of support vanes, and an electric motor for driving the propeller that includes an annular rotor mounted around the periphery of the propeller blades, and a stator that is integrated within the shroud of the unit. The advanced design of this particular prior art propulsor unit substantially increases the thrust output for a propulsor for a given weight and size while at the same time reducing the amount of noise generated due to the largely unencumbered flow of water that the propeller of the device can force through the fluid-dynamically shaped shroud. The quietness of the unit is further improved due to the noise-blocking characteristics of the shroud.
While the aforementioned integral motor propulsor unit provides a substantial advance in the art, the applicants have noted a number of limitations associated with the design of this unit which impair its usefulness in submarine applications. For example, if the thrust output of such a prior unit could be substantially increased, and noise emissions reduced, the uses of the unit could be expanded beyond emergency backup applications and maneuvering applications. Such an increased thrust capacity would allow it to become a truly redundant thrust system should the need arise to take the primary thrust system of the submarine off-line. Of course, such prior art propulsor units could be upscaled to produce more power. However, for certain submarine applications, there are limitations with respect to the width of the propulsor unit which do not allow such an overall upscaling of the device to solve the problem of the need for increased thrust. Specifically, as the width of the propulsor unit increases, the unit as a whole exposes more and more area to fore and aft shock waves that military submarines might be exposed to during combat. Still another limitation resides in the fact that the initial flow of sea water into the propeller within the shroud must be substantially if not completely unencumbered in order to avoid the generation of an unacceptably large amount of unwanted noise caused by cavitation in the inflowing water. Such cavitation may be induced, for example, by upstream support vanes which secure the propeller shaft to the inner diameter of the shroud, or by bearing arrangements which require an enlargement in the upstream end of the propeller shaft. Still another limitation associated with such prior art propulsor units resides in the design of the water lubricated thrust and radial bearings which periodically need to be maintained or replaced. To perform such maintenance or replacement, the unit must be dry docked, and the mechanical arrangement of these bearing components necessitates an almost complete disassembly of the propulsor unit. Finally, the applicants have further observed that the design of the electric motors used in such prior art propulsor units necessitates a very close spacing between the outer diameter of the rotor and the inner diameter of the stator if the electromagnetic coupling between the rotor and the stator is to be effectively implemented. However, such close spacing not only creates drag forces from the thin film of water that is disposed between the stator and the rotor; it also generates additional unwanted noises by increasing the magnitude of harmonic currents flowing through the rotor (which are always present to some degree due to the dissymmetries in the magnetic fields generated by the stator) which in turn causes the rotor to vibrate. The close spacing required between the inner diameter of the stator and the outer diameter of the rotor also creates an unwanted area of vulnerability in the propulsor unit should it be subjected to a high level of mechanical shock, or should salt water debris collect between the stator and the rotor.
Clearly, there is a need for an improved, integral motor-type propulsor unit for use in submarines or other water vessels which maintains all the advantages associated with the latest prior art propulsor unit, but which is capable of generating larger amounts of thrust with a mechanism which does not exceed the maximum width limitations associated with submarine applications. Ideally, such a propulsor unit would have a lower noise signature than prior art units, and would incorporate a design which does not necessitate such close spacing between the rotor and stator in order to decrease the vulnerability of the unit in this region to mechanical shock, or the collection of sea water debris. The bearing assemblies should be easily accessible in the event that a repair or a maintenance operation were necessary without the need for dry docking the unit, or for a large amount of disassembly of the unit. Finally, it would be desirable if the unit were capable of more efficiently generating usable thrust, and were more reliable than prior art propulsor units.

Two-stage submersible propulsor unit for water vehicles


An evaporative fuel controller for an internal combustion engine, which is designed to prevent the engine from experiencing aggravated drivability and rough idle operation with a concomitant stall, which would otherwise occur when a fuel tank is refueled during operation of the engine. The evaporative fuel controller includes a control which, when it detects that the engine is in idle operation and that the fuel tank is being supplied with fuel, then a mode of control over a purge valve is changed from one which accommodates an operating state of the engine to another which permits the continuance of engine idle operation as well as the continuance of the supply of fuel to the tank.

In vehicles, evaporative fuel which leaks into the ambient air from a fuel tank, etc., is described as one of causes of air pollution because of the large content of hydrocarbons (HC). The evaporating fuel also contributes to fuel loss. Accordingly, various techniques are known as a prevention thereagainst, and there is an evaporative fuel controller representative of one such technique. More specifically, in this controller, evaporated fuel from the fuel tank is absorbed by a canister which contains an absorbent such as activated carbon. When an engine is run, then the absorbed fuel is released from the canister so as to be supplied to the intake system of the engine.
Examples of the above-described controller are disclosed in published Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-321774 and 6-117336, as detailed below.
One evaporative fuel controller as disclosed in the 5-321774 publication provides a purge control method in which, when evaporative fuel absorbed by the canister is purged into the intake system of an engine on the basis of a purge duty ratio during engine idle operation, then a weight loss correction factor for correcting a quantity of fuel in accordance with a purging amount of evaporated fuel is set to execute addition and subtraction between the correction factor and a predetermined value, thereby controlling an air-fuel ratio so as to purge the evaporated fuel; and, the purge control method is characterized by the steps of: setting two different predetermined values as the predetermined value; determining a concentration of evaporated fuel during purging thereof; and, shifting the aforesaid predetermined values from one to another, depending upon a higher or lower level of the determined concentration, thereby executing addition and subtraction between the correction factor and the predetermined value.
Another evaporative fuel controller as disclosed in the 6-117336 publication includes a control means for inhibiting the supply of evaporated fuel to the intake system of the engine when the control means detects that the engine is in idle operation.
In the prior art evaporative fuel controllers, when the fuel tank is supplied with fuel during operation of the internal combustion engine, a large amount of fuel vapor, which is generated in the fuel tank, is discharged together with air into the ambient air through the canister. At the same time, the evaporative fuel controller is controlling a purge valve because the engine is running. Thus, evaporated fuel is supplied from the canister to the intake system. This means that the controller supplies a high concentration of evaporated fuel to the intake system when the fuel tank is supplied with fuel during operation of the engine. This causes problems in that the engine operates poorly and further undergoes rough idle operation, with a consequential stall.

Evaporative fuel controller for internal combustion engine


Systems and methods for monitoring an electrical energy storage unit and a parameter related to the load and based on the monitoring, if the load parameter is greater than a second rate of change of electrical power for a second component of an electrical power system, providing power from the electrical energy storage unit to the second component until the load parameter and the second component have equivalent rates of change of electrical power.

Many applications depend on electricity supplied by an electrical power distribution network, such as the electrical power grid operated by an electrical power utility company. Commercial and industrial applications may draw significant electrical power, such as machinery, generator applications, etc. Loads may be dynamic and the power rate of change between the electrical power machinery and the generator power source may be imbalanced. The effect of the imbalance between the power rates of change may lead to transients within the system. Transients may lead to temporary outages in the electrical power distribution network. The cumulative effect of transients may lead to degradation and failure of applications, such as reducing the life of an engine, a generator, etc. The power rate of change imbalance may also lead to an increase in the fuel consumption rate of the electrical machinery, because the machinery has to consume more fuel to account for the transients within the system.
One application that draws significant electrical power is mining. In a mining operation, the electrical power distribution network feeds a variety of loads, ranging from small industrial motors to large draglines. Electrical mining excavators, such as electric shovels and draglines, present a cyclic load to the electrical power distribution network. In some instances, the electrical powered machinery, such as the electrical mining excavator, may operate using a generator as a power source, with a greater rate of power demand than what the generator can supply.
A conventional system matches the peak load of the components within the system. For example, an upper limit is set for the electrical power drawn from the electrical power source. When the input electrical power drawn by the machinery exceeds the upper limit, then the electrical power is supplied by an electrical energy storage unit. An exemplary method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,147,225 that was issued on May 8, 2012.
To improve performance, reliability, economic feasibility, etc. of an electrical power system, it is important to analyze the power demand, compare the power demand between components, and then match the power demands of the components within the system. In some implementations, additional generators have been added to the system until the rate of power was stabilized throughout the system. However, cost and other factors may limit the ability of additional generators to be used. Methods and systems which reduce the number of components in the electrical power system while stabilizing the rate of average power demand within the system are desirable.

Systems and methods for stabilizing power rate of change within generator based applications


A controller of a storage device having a user area storing an operating system, the storage device developing the operating system stored in the user area on a host device in accordance with an access from the host device. The controller includes a user authentication routine storage controlling unit that stores a user authentication routine for executing user authentication before startup of the operating system, in a predetermined area inside the user area, and an access controlling unit that permits access to the predetermined area from the host device when the user authentication routine is used, while prohibiting access to the predetermined area from the host device when the user authentication routine is not used.

Some conventional storage devices send a user authentication routine for executing user authentication to a host device prior to access from the host device to the storage device, and permits data access to the storage device after the user authentication succeeds.
Another types of the conventional storage devices store an authentication program in a Read Only Memory (ROM) area in a hard disk drive (hereinafter, simply referred to as "HDD"), and execute user authentication based on the stored authentication program (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-150455, for example).
Still another types of the conventional storage devices execute user authentication after startup of boot Operating System (OS) of an external storage medium (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-66123, for example).
In general, a storage device such as magnetic disk device has a system area that stores firmware (hereinafter, simply referred to as "FW") of the magnetic disk device itself and a user area that stores OS and the like.
The magnetic disk device assigns a logical block address (LBA) to each sector of the user area. One conventional technique allows access to the magnetic disk device using Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) of a host device and the LBA (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-268861, for example). The host device is prohibited from accessing to the system area inside the magnetic disk device, however, is permitted to access the user area by using LBA.
On the other hand, standard of Storage Working Group (SWG) of Trusted Computing Group (TCG) intends to realize user authentication only by a storage device and a host device. At the startup of the host device, the host device side accesses a part of the storage device called Master Boot Record (MBR) and executes OS startup sequence via this part of MBR.
A storage device implementing TCG standard maps a specific area for reading a user authentication routine to an area accessed at the OS startup, and reads in the user authentication routine in a similar way as the OS startup sequence, and executes the read user authentication routine. When the user authentication is succeeded, the OS startup sequence is executed.
Because the TCG standard is a conceptual standard under planning, there is no specific definition about the area for storing a user authentication routine. For example, in a storage device such as magnetic disk device having only two kinds of areas, namely a user area and a system area, it is conceivable to store a user authentication routine in an user area which is accessible from the host device rather than in a special area separately provided for storing the user authentication routine.
However, when a user authentication routine is stored in the user area, the host device can easily access the user authentication routine. For example, not to mention the setting before the startup of OS which does not require user authentication, even after completion of user authentication, namely when a user authentication routine is not used, access to the user authentication routine from the host device is permitted. Therefore, it is difficult to comply with the TCG standard that prohibits access to the user authentication routine from the host device when the user authentication routine is not used.

Controller of storage device, storage device, and control method of storage device


A method for configuring signaling radio bearer in a wireless communications system includes not ciphering a non-concatenated message on a radio resource control layer or its lower layer and transmitting a concatenated message and the non-concatenated message on different signaling radio bearers, wherein a non-concatenated message consists of a Non-Access Stratum message only and a concatenated message consists of both Non-Access Stratum message and Access Stratum message.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for configuring signaling radio bearer in a wireless communications system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for accurately configuring signaling radio bearer in a wireless communications system, so as to enhance information security.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The third generation (3G) mobile telecommunications system provides high frequency spectrum utilization, universal coverage, and high quality, high-speed multimedia data transmission, and also meets all kinds of QoS requirements simultaneously, providing diverse, flexible, two-way transmission services and better communication quality to reduce transmission interruption rates. According to the related protocol specifications, a protocol stack of the 3G mobile telecommunications system can be segmented into access stratum (AS) and non-access stratum (NAS). The AS comprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Broadcast/Multicast Control (BMC) and other sub-layers of different functions. Those skilled in the art are familiar with the operation of the above-mentioned sub-layers; therefore, they will not be further mentioned.
Long Term Evolution wireless communications system (LTE system), an advanced high-speed wireless communications system established upon the 3G mobile telecommunications system, supports only packet-switched transmission, and tends to implement both Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and Radio Link Control (RLC) layer in one single communication site, such as in Node B alone rather than in Node B and RNC (Radio Network Controller) respectively, so that the system structure becomes simpler.
A complete protocol specification is accomplished with lasting discussion, editing, and modification. Now, parts of the LTE structure are under Technical Report (TR) stage, meaning that the related protocol specifications are not finished. Therefore, many functions are still For Further Study (FFS).
According to the current system structure of the LTE system, the following can be summarized:
1. For User Plane, the layer structure is, from low to high, PHY (Physical layer), MAC, RLC, and PDCP.
2. For Control Plane, the layer structure is, from low to high, PHY, MAC, RLC, RRC, PDCP, and NAS.
3. For User Plane, ciphering is performed in PDCP.
4. For Control Plane, ciphering and IP for RRC messages are done in RRC and ciphering and IP for NAS messages are done in PDCP.
5. NAS messages may or may not be concatenated with RRC messages.
6. No IP from RRC for non-concatenated messages.
7. IP from RRC for concatenated NAS messages is FFS.
8. Protocol error detection and recovery function is performed in RLC.
Therefore, the prior art does not well specify configuration of signaling radio bearer, and the operation of ciphering from RRC for non-concatenated NAS messages.

Method and apparatus for configuring signaling radio bearer in a wireless communications system


In one embodiment, apparatus for controlling spacing of objects conveyed by an object conveyor and for selectively ejecting objects from the object conveyor include flights that extend transversely across the object conveyor to limit travel of the objects to control their relative spacing, and ejectors associated with the flights that can be selectively actuated to eject the objects whose travel has been limited by the associated flights.

It is often desirable to arrange conveyed objects to have a predetermined spacing along the travel direction of a conveyor belt. Such spacing enables downstream processing, such as merging objects from multiple conveying lanes into a single lane.
There are several known systems for controlling the spacing of conveyed objects. Some such systems use sensors and selectively-actuable stops that are controlled in response to information detected by the sensors. Unfortunately, such systems are relatively complex and can significantly limit the speed at which the objects are conveyed.
Other known systems use stops that are not sensor controlled. Although less complex than sensor-controlled systems, the stops of such systems are more likely to, at least intermittently, damage the conveyed objects. For instance, a conveyed object can be punctured or deformed when it runs into a partially-extended stop or when a stop is forced open against an object that is already present in the conveyance path.
In addition, it is further desirable to be able to eject individual objects for various reasons. For example, it is desirable to be able to eject defective objects from a stream of conveyed objects.

Apparatuses and methods for controlling the spacing of and ejecting conveyed objects


Apparatus and methods are provided for a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) quantization circuit. A quantization circuit comprises an input node for an input signal, a VCO quantizer coupled to the input node, and an output generation module coupled to the VCO quantizer. The VCO quantizer is configured to generate a digital code that is representative of the input signal, wherein the digital code has a first code range. The output generation module generates a digital output value based on the digital code, wherein the digital output value has a second code range being greater than the first code range.

In many modern electronics applications, it is desirable to convert an analog signal to a digital value. For example, in a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, a received analog RF signal may be demodulated to an analog baseband signal which is then converted to a digital baseband signal for subsequent digital signal processing. In some applications, voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) quantizers are used to convert an analog signal to a digital representation. In a VCO quantizer, an analog input signal controls the oscillation frequency of a VCO, where the oscillation frequency is proportionally related to the magnitude of the analog input signal. The number of oscillations within the sampling period are counted, resulting in a digital value that corresponds to the magnitude of the analog input signal.
Many VCOs in VCO quantizers consist of an odd number of delay stages (or delay cells) configured as a ring oscillator. In some prior art systems, the number of delay stages correspond to the number of quantization levels achievable by the VCO quantizer. Each delay stage is often realized as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverter (or NOT logic gate). However, in order to achieve high linearity and satisfy other performance metrics, in practice, the CMOS inverters are realized as specialized semiconductor devices that consume substantially more area and power than the other elements of the VCO quantizer when the VCO quantizer is implemented in circuitry.

Unfolding VCO-based quantization circuit


Instrumented rolling bearing device of the type including a non-rotating race, a rotating race, at least one row of rolling elements arranged between two raceways of the rotating and non-rotating races, and an assembly for detecting rotation parameters including a non-rotating sensor assembly and a rotating encoder, and an elastic member intended for axially prestressing the rolling bearing, retained axially on the sensor, the elastic member being of annular shape and having a diameter smaller than or equal to that of the outer race of the bearing, the elastic member including a supporting surface designed to be in contact with an element outside the bearing device in order to exert, directly or indirectly, by reaction, an axial force on the non-rotating race in a direction opposite to the detection assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of instrumented rolling bearings fitted with an assembly for detecting rotation parameters, such as angular position, direction of rotation, speed and acceleration. The invention relates more particularly to an instrumented rolling bearing comprising a sensor secured to a non-rotating race and an encoder secured to a rotating race.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Instrumented rolling bearings are used, for example, for controlling synchronous electric motors. The indexing of the sensor makes it possible to know, in particular, the speed of rotation and the angular position of the poles of the rotor in relation to the poles of the stator.
Document EP-A-1037051 discloses an instrumented rolling bearing device in which an encoder member is secured to a shaft, a sensor unit being secured to a rotating race. The non-rotating race is mounted in a bore in a fixed part to allow an axial displacement relative to the fixed part, conical washers exerting an axial force on the non-rotating race in order to keep it in position.
Because such a device uses a plurality of prestressing washers that are independent of the rolling bearing and of the detection system, the motor maker must thus manage, handle and assemble a large number of components.


An expansion circuit for a server system includes a first output terminal, a second output terminal, a switch circuit and a detection circuit. The first output terminal receives a first voltage and providing the first voltage to a first hard disk drive group. The second output terminal receives the first voltage and provides the first voltage to a second hard disk drive group. The switch circuit is connected between the first and the second output terminals. The detection circuit detects a number of the at least one server which is electrically connected to the expansion circuit. When two servers are electrically connected to the expansion circuit, the detection circuit switches off the switch circuit. When a server is electrically connected to the expansion circuit, the detection circuit switches on the switch circuit.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an expansion circuit for a server system and a server system using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In a server system, servers are usually placed in an enclosure and configured to control hard disk drives. Generally, one server controls corresponding one hard disk drive group. However, when a number of the severs is less than a number of the hard disk drive groups, one or more hard disk drive groups cannot be used, causing a waste of resources.
What is needed is to provide a means that can overcome the above-described limitations.

Expansion circuit for server system and server system using same

ScienBiziP Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A method for processing a compressed signal of digital video is disclosed. The method generally includes the steps of (A) generating a decompressed signal by decompressing the compressed signal of digital video, (B) generating a filtered signal by spatial filtering the decompressed signal, wherein the spatial filtering is arranged to reduce mosquito noise within the decompressed signal and (C) generating a video signal by adding synchronization information to the filtered signal, the synchronization information being suitable for synchronizing a video display to the filtered signal.

Mosquito noise refers to distortion of images around sharp edges in digital video pictures. The sharp edges exist in movie titles, types of bikes/cars in racing video and around similar high-contrast edges. The mosquito noise appears as artifacts such as haziness or shimmering around edges. The artifacts are created when the images undergo discrete cosine transforms during compression. The artifacts become more visible in high frequency content with sharp transitions between foreground entities and a background.
Conventional mosquito noise reduction solutions involve special techniques during encoding to reduce the artifacts. A common approach has been to soften the sharp edges to prevent the mosquito noise from being created. However, the special techniques to not afford a solution to deal with the mosquito noise at the decoding/display end.

Mosquito noise reduction filter in digital decoders


A light-emitting device having one or more diamond layers integrated therein and methods for forming a light-emitting device with integrated diamond layers. The diamond is grown either directly on the semiconductor material comprising the light-emitting structure, on a nucleation layer deposited on the semiconductor material, or on a dielectric layer deposited on the semiconductor material before growth of the diamond layer. The device can include a trench or thermal shunt formed in the substrate on the backside of the device, or can include a heat sink to provide additional thermal management.

The past several years have seen remarkable improvement in laser technology. Much of this is due to improvements in material growth, device design and device fabrication. Despite significant improvements in efficiencies, it is becoming increasingly clear that III-nitride laser are limited by the ability to dissipate heat and thus must run at significantly reduced pulse length and duty cycle. Recent thermal simulations indicate that the substrate is not the primary source of the thermal impedance, rather it is the ability of the GaN to locally spread the heat to the surrounding material and substrate due to the extraordinarily high power dissipation density in the light generation device region.
Many groups have studied CVD polycrystalline diamond films. More recently nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films have gained significant attention due to their high nucleation density and excellent thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. See e.g., J. Philip, P. Hess, T. Feygelson, et al. "Elastic, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Nanocrystalline Diamond Films," Journal of Applied Physics 93 pp. 2164-2171 (2003)
Much different from the CVD polycrystalline diamond films from the past, NCD films can be extremely smooth, dense and have very low in-grown stress. The improvement in NCD films is a direct result of a new seeding process based on the uniform coating with 'detonation nanodiamond' seeds on the target substrate surface. The nanodiamond particles are on the order of 3-5 nm and with appropriate 'seeding' conditions very high surface densities (>1×1012 cm−2) can be achieved. Such high seeding densities result in high nucleation density and very high quality, pin-hole-free and dense films.
Factors such as deposition temperature, chemistry, and growth conditions also play a large role in NCD film quality. Key NCD film properties are surface roughness, nucleation interface density, pinhole density, thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, dielectric loss, and impact on the host substrate/films. Obtaining the highest quality NCD films while minimizing the impact on the target heterostructures is one of the major goals of this program. High quality NCD seeding and film growth are typically obtained under conditions that may not be compatible with those of the host substrate.
Key issues include the optimum NCD seeding and film deposition conditions in order to maintain high quality 2DEG in the target films is critical and will be the first area investigated under the proposed program. Understanding the fundamental electrical behavior of diamond on GaN will be the second task investigated under the program. Optimizing the overall III-nitride laser structure to include a heat spreading layer and a thin first dielectric layer. Diamond, like GaN, is a wide bandgap material and can have very high resistivity, however the effective band offset between diamond and GaN may be type II and thus tunneling into the diamond may be an issue. This impacts the dielectric between the GaN and the diamond, thus potentially reducing the heat spreading effect offered by diamond. Another consideration is that the preferred passivation layer for GaN is typically an ex-situ plasma deposited or in-situ grown SiN layer.
Thus, it is desirable to incorporate diamond films in III-nitride semiconductor lasers to improve thermal management in such devices.

Light-emitting devices with integrated diamond

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A venue display system displays personalized messages from a client and includes a playlist containing a sequence of composition playlists (CPLs) that can have the personalized messages. Also included are: a box, a server that communicates with the box and includes a processor to perform a validation of a received personalized message for compliance with a standard, and if complaint, then it is validated and a notification sent to the client. If the client fails to make the personalized message compliant, in a selected time period, the venue display system releases a screening slot of the personalized message in the playlist. A content server is part of a screen management system (SMS). Also included are a venue display management system, a digital projector and a storage device.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for displaying of personalized messages, and more particularly to systems displaying personalized messages at a display venue.
Description of the Related Art
A DCI-compliant digital cinema screen requires a digital projector and a computer known as a "server".
Movies are supplied to the theatre as a digital file called a Digital Cinema Package (DCP). For a typical feature film this file will be anywhere between 90 and 300 GB of data (roughly two to six times the information of a Blu-ray disc) and may arrive as a physical delivery on a conventional computer hard-drive or via satellite or fiber-optic broadband. Currently (December 2013) physical deliveries are most common and have become the industry standard. Trailers arrive on a separate hard-drive and range between 200 and 400 MB in size.
Regardless of how the DCP arrives it first needs to be copied onto the internal hard-drives of the server, usually via a USB port, a process known as "ingesting". DCPs can be, and in the case of feature films almost always are, encrypted. The necessary decryption keys are supplied separately, usually as email attachments and then "ingested" via USB. Keys are time limited and will expire after the end of the period for which the title has been booked. They are also locked to the hardware (server and projector) that is to screen the film, so if the theatre wishes to move the title to another screen or extend the run a new key must be obtained from the distributor.
The playback of the content is controlled by the server using a "playlist". As the name implies this is a list of all the content that is to be played as part of the performance. The playlist is created by a member of the theatre's staff using proprietary software that runs on the server. In addition to listing the content to be played the playlist also includes automation cues that allow the playlist to control the projector, the sound system, auditorium lighting, tab curtains and screen masking (if present) etc. The playlist can be started manually, by clicking the "play" button on the server's monitor screen, or automatically at pre-set times.
Since 2005, more than 125,000 display venue screens have been digitized on the planet using D-Cinema technology per DCI specifications. This is a worldwide success which allowed replacing annual 1.5 billion of 35 mm positive print rolls by file download or disking delivery for few % of the print costs. Those 125,000 D-Cinema screens operating 7×7 have proven the reliability of the workflow making the DCI specifications a successful industry defacto standard.
Using D-Cinema in private locations would make the right owners (The Studios) concerned about potential misusage of secured D-Cinema servers without any strong surveillance.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System for displaying personalized messages, images and the like at event centers including cinema


An intravascular prostheses is delivered transarterially or transvenously to occlude cardiac defects. The defects, which may include the patent ductus arteriosus, the ventricular septal defect and the atrial septal defect. The prostheses is a device having a distal occluder attached to a string and a proximal occluder connected to the string. The occluders are delivered to the heart by known methods. With the distal occluder on the distal side of the defect and the proximal occluder on the proximal side of the defect the occluders are adjusted according to the thickness of the heart structure at the defect. In one embodiment the adjustment is by moving the distal occluder over a series of knots or buttons in the string. In another embodiment the proximal occluder is connected to the distal occluder by an elastic string so that the elastic tension of the strings bring the occluders into position. A radiopaque button is placed upon the string to aid positioning the occluders.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to intravascular prostheses, delivered transarterially or transvenously, for the occlusion of cardiac defects. Such defects include the patent ductus arteriosus, the ventricular septal defect and the atrial septal defect.
(2) Description of the Related Art
U.S. Patents: KING et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,388, SIDERIS, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,089.
Publications: Rashkind--Circulation--vol 67, No. 4, April 1983.
Patent ductus arteriosus is an important vessel for the fetus, because a large percentage of the cardiac output is bypassing the lungs through the ductus. However, the ductus after birth is constricted after exposure to oxygen in the majority of children. Patency of ductus arteriosus after birth is common in premature babies (30%), and uncommon in term babies (<1%). Persistence of the ductus arteriosus is associated with left to right shunt with increased volume of blood crossing from the aorta to the pulmonary artery and the lungs. Left to right shunt can cause deterioration of the lung disease in premature infants, congestive heart failure in infancy and pulmonary vascular obstructive disease in older children. Patency of ductus arteriosus carries the risk of infection (endarteritis or endocarditis), in all ages. For this reason occlusion or surgical ligation of the ductus arteriosus is recommended in all cases.
Surgical ligation or division carries low risk especially in older children. However, it is always associated with significant morbidity because of the need of thoracotomy, general anesthesia, placement of chest tubes, intensive care. The discomfort and the expense are significant. For these reasons attempts have been made for the transcatheter occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus.
Ventricular septal defect is the commonest heart defect. It causes congestive heart failure to a number of children and it often requires surgery in early life. Unfortunately most of the defects do not have adequate rim and therefore are not amenable to umbrella occlusion. However, some of them (muscular VSDs) could be closed provided that a device existed to be applicable in small children and adjustable for the ventricular septal thickness.
Historically, the first transcatheter occlusion of PDA was performed by Posner in Germany transarterially, utilizing an Ivalon foam plug. The method has been used primarily by German and Japanese investigators in adults and older children. It requires a large femoral artery for the entry and it is associated with significant arterial complications.
Sporadic reports about detachable balloons, special bags, or metals have followed.
KING and MILLS invented a Double Disk device, (U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,388) for the occlusion of intracardiac defects and primarily ASDs. The device was bulky, requiring a 23 F introduction. Modifications on the same principle were made by others. The most successful one was the one by RASHKIND, commercialized by BARD. The device employs two discs on the same catheter. The discs are made by polyurethane foam and a metal skeleton. They are connected through a complex release mechanism to the main catheter. The distal disk is released in the arterial side of the ductus and the proximal disk in the pulmonary artery side, in case of transvenous PDA occlusion. The RASHKIND device requires a large introduction (11 F) for PDAs larger than 4 mm and an 8 F introducing sheath, for small PDAs. Therefore, the method has not found application in small children with large communications. Indeed this is the group where occlusion is most urgent. Furthermore, it is not applicable to long and tubular PDAs or even very short ones. Because of the large introducing sheath, there is often the need of dilation of the small ductus by angioplasty balloons prior to the occlusion. The incidence of residual shunts is significant, especially in large PDAs. A common objection to the method is the persistence of the ductal channel despite its occlusion, since the device is only obstructing the narrow part of the ductus.
Another recent modification of the KINGS and MILLS device was the "Clumshell" device. It was applied successfully for ASD, PDA and VSD occlusion. However, it was withdrawn because of wire fracture. It was quite bulky, requiring an 11 F introduction and therefore was not applicable in small children.
In 1990 a patent was issued for the "Buttoned Device For The Occlusion Of The Intracardiac Defects" (U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,089). This device is made by two independently introduced disks that are eventually buttoned across a defect. It requires a small sheath (7-8 F) for introduction and it can be used in small children. However, the distance between the two disks is predetermined since the button loop has a length of 2-4 mm for the ASD application. Therefore, what it can be applicable for an ASD occlusion cannot be used for a long "tubular" PDA occlusion. Ventricular septum has a different thickness than the atrial septum and therefore an ASD occluding buttoned device cannot be used for a ventricular septal defect occlusion.

Adjustable devices for the occlusion of cardiac defects


A transport device such as an ISO container that is adapted to be transported by air or surface transportation. The transport device includes a base, a plurality of movable ISO corner blocks movably coupled to the base, and a plurality of adjustment mechanisms. Each adjustment mechanism is adapted to couple a respective corner block to the base and to selectively move the corner block with respect to the base between an air transport position, wherein the bottom surface of the corner block does not extend beyond the bottom surface of the base, and a surface transport position wherein the bottom surface of the corner block is located below the bottom surface of the base. The base includes a plurality of roller plates that form the bottom surface of the base and that are adapted to engage rollers of an aircraft cargo handling system. The transport device also includes detent rails that are removably attached to the base. The detent rails includes tabs and detents that are adapted to cooperate with an aircraft cargo handling system to releasably secure the transport device in place within an aircraft.

The present disclosure is directed to an internal air transportable transport device such as an ISO container that can directly interface with internal aircraft cargo handling systems and with standard International Organization for Standardization (ISO) container handling systems used in truck, train and ship cargo transportation.
ISO containers have to conform to specific ISO transportation requirements for truck, train and ship modes of transportation. Current ISO shipping containers do not directly interface with traditional aircraft cargo handling systems. Internal aircraft cargo handling systems rely upon the container being shipped having a flat bottom adapted to roll on the internal roller conveyor system of the cargo handling system, and having detent rails along the outside bottom edges of the container being shipped that are adapted to lock the container into position and secure the container in place. The ISO transportation requirements do not require that containers have a flat bottom or detent rails.
Certain requirements within the ISO transportation guidelines dictate against having a flat bottom and dictate the specific size and configuration that a container must maintain. In land or sea transportation an ISO container must include ISO corner blocks that are adapted to lock the container into position and hold it securely. The ISO corner blocks are located at each of the eight corners of the container. The four bottom ISO corner blocks are required to maintain an average distance of approximately one-half inch (12.5 millimeters) below any other part of the container base. This is in direct opposition to the requirements of an aircraft cargo handling system. Therefore, in order to ship an ISO container within an aircraft it has been necessary to place the ISO container on an intermediate structure such as an airlift pallet for container roll-in/out platform as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,640 of AAR Corp.


This invention is directed to improved treatment for glaucoma. It involves delivering to the eye molecules which increase the outflow of aqueous humor, in conjunction with masking agents. The masking agents reduce the side effects of the therapeutically active molecules by masking the sulfhydryl reactive groups on the molecules. The masking agents can be delivered separately from the molecules, or as adducts of the molecules.

Glaucoma is any condition of the eye characterized by elevated intraocular pressure. It may be chronic or acute, and may be due to disease, injury, or the result of conventional operative techniques. Glaucoma can cause loss of sight, loss of light perception and/or intense pain.
There are various treatments for glaucoma, although none are entirely satisfactory for all indications. A relatively recent advance in the treatment of glaucoma is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,089 to Dr. David L. Epstein. This patent discloses a method for treating glaucoma by increasing aqueous humor outflow in the eye of a patient, thereby reducing intraocular pressure. Increasing outflow is accomplished by treating the eye with a molecule that contains a group capable of reacting with the sulfhydryl groups in the trabecular meshwork of the eye, and in particular treating the eye with ethacrynic acid and analogs thereof.
The present invention involves substantial improvements to the subject matter of the foregoing patent.

Method and products for treating the eye


A shoe includes an upper having a heel portion that has a rear wall adapted to extend around the heel of a foot. At least one adjustment pad is attached loosely to the rear wall within the heel portion. The adjustment pad includes an intermediate part, first and second ends on two opposite sides of the intermediate part, a first surface confronting the rear wall, and a second surface opposite to the first surface. A strap passage unit is provided on the rear wall. A strap is attached to the adjustment pad, and passes movably through the strap passage unit. When the strap is pulled to move through the strap passage unit, the strap is tensed, and the adjustment pad is moved inward so as to abut against the foot in the shoe.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe having with an adjustment unit for adjusting the fitting of the shoe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional shoe 1 is shown to include an outsole 11, an upper 12, and a sole pad 13.
An upper side of the outsole 11 and the upper 12 cooperatively define a receiving chamber 14. The sole pad 13 is fitted in the receiving chamber 14. In use, after the wearer puts his foot into the receiving chamber 14 of the shoe 1, a shoelace (not shown) usually provided on the shoe 1 is tightened to prevented slippage of the shoe 1 and to protect the wearer's foot. The shoelace helps prevent slippage of the shoe because the shoelace is provided at an instep part of the upper 12 such that when the shoelace is tightened, an opening of the receiving chamber 14 can be contracted to prevent slippage of the shoe 1.
However, although the shoe 1 can be prevented from slipping off the wearer's foot, since a heel part of the upper 12 is not provided with any tightening means, a heel 15 of the wearer may twist relative to the wearer's shin due to movement of the wearer's ankle when the wearer exercises, thereby resulting in injury to the wearer's ankle.
It is known in the art to provide an embedded soft pad in the heel part of the upper for positioning the heel of the wearer. However, the shoe is relatively difficult to put on or take off due to the height and thickness of the pad at the heel part. Besides, the pad will deform after a period of use, and the upper will likewise become slackened, thereby affecting adversely the heel positioning effect of the shoe.


The invention relates to a multi-port memory, wherein data is written into, and read from, a memory cell in multi-port scheme. The memory is designed to solve the problem that the data-writing speed decreases when data-writing and data-reading with respect to the same memory cell conflict with each other. To solve the problem, when data-writing and data-reading with respect to the same memory cell (102) conflict with each other, a bit-line load control circuit (130) is connected, in accordance with address signals and write-enable signals, to bit lines (BLa, /BLa, BLb, /BLb) for selecting the memory cell (102) and turns off bit-line load circuits (117, 127) for supplying a predetermined potential to the bit lines (BLa, /BLa, BLb, /BLb), thereby preventing the data-reading speed from decreasing.

Generally, a multi-port memory is used as a cache memory which functions as a memory common to the CPUs incorporated in a multi CPU system, or as an image memory in which the same address must be accessed at the same time. A plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines are connected to each memory cell of the multi-port memory. If data is written into any memory cell, while other data is being read from the same memory cell, the data read from the memory cell may not remain identical to the data stored in the cell before the reading of data. Hence, the processor or the like incorporated in the system usually reforms control, so that the data-writing and the data-reading may not conflict with each other.
In a system wherein data-writing and data-reading can be simultaneously performed on the same cell, any data is read from the cell after the data has been written into the cell, whereby the data remains identical. In this case, however, the read-access time increases. To avoid an increase in the read-access time, a method is employed in which the data to be read is bypassed to the bit line of a readout port or to the output of a sense amplifier.
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a conventional 2-port memory device.
Opposing data items are stored in a memory cell 602. One of the data items stored in the memory cell 602 are output to a bit line BLa via a transfer gate 603 in accordance with the potential of a word line WLa. The inverted data item stored in the memory cell 602 is output to a bit line /BLa through a transfer gate 605 in accordance with the potential of a word line WLa. In accordance with the potential of a word line WLb, the data stored in the memory cell 602 is output to a bit line BLb through a transfer gate 613 in accordance with the potential of a word line WLb, and the data inverted with respect to this data is transferred from the memory cell 602 to a bit line /BLb through a transfer gate 615.
Bit-line load circuits 617 and 627 designed for holding the potentials of the bit lines at power-supply potential V.sub.DD are connected between the bit lines BLa and /BLa and between the bit lines BLb and /BLb, respectively. More specifically, the current paths of the MOS transistors 618a and 618b forming the bit-line load circuit 617 are connected, at one end, to the bit lines BLa and /BLa and, at the other end, to the power-supply potential V.sub.DD. A write-enable signal /WEa is supplied to the gates of these MOS transistors 618a and 618b. The MOS transistors 628a and 628b constituting the bit-line load circuit 627 are connected, at one end, to the bit lines BLb and /BLb and, at the other end, to the power-supply potential V.sub.DD. A write-enable signal /WEb is supplied to the gates of these MOS transistors 628a and 628b.
Hereinafter, the input/output path using the bit lines BLa and /BLa shall be called "port a," and the input/output path using the bit lines BLb and /BLb shall be called "port b." When the write-enable signal /WEa for the port a is input to the gates of the MOS transistors 618a and 618b of the bit-line load circuit 617, and the port a is not used for writing data, the potentials of the bit lines BLa and /BLa are held at the power-supply potential V.sub.DD. Similarly, when the write-enable signal /WEb for the port b is input to the gates of the MOS transistors 628a and 628b of the bit-line load circuit 627, and the port b is not used for writing data, the potentials of the bit lines BLb and /BLb are held at the power-supply potential V.sub.DD.
The data-reading through the port a and the data-writing through the port b may conflict with each other, with respect to the memory cell 602. In this case, the bit-line load circuit 617 of the port a may delay the data-writing into the cell, or may render it impossible to write data thereinto at all. This is not only because the data the memory cell 602 latches is rewritten, but also because the data on the bit lines of the part a, i.e., the data-reading side at which the bit-line load circuit 617 remains on, is inverted. The more ports provided, the more prominent this problem is.
If data is read out after the delayed writing of the data described above, it is natural that much time is required to read the data. If no data can be written, it is can no longer be guaranteed that the data read out is identical to the data written.
As is shown in the figure, the memory cell 602 is an E/R-type cell which comprises an enhancement-type MOS transistor and a resistor. In the case where the memory cell is a full CMOS cell which comprises a CMOS only, the memory cell can hold data more stably than an E/R-type cell, and the problem described above is more acute.
FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining how the potentials of the bit lines BLa, /BLa, BLb, and /BLb change when the data-reading through the port a and the data-writing through the port b conflict with respect to the memory cell of the conventional memory device.
With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, it will now be described how the potential of each bit line changes when the data-reading and the data-writing conflict with each other. Here it is assumed that, before time T.sub.0, the first memory node 650 connected to the transfer gates 605 and 515 of the memory cell 602 are at a low level "L," and the second memory node 660 connected to the transfer gates 603 and 613 are at a high level "H." Also, before time T.sub.0, the potential of each bit line is the difference between the power-supply potential V.sub.DD and the threshold voltage V.sub.th of the MOS transistors of the bit-line load circuit.
First, at time T.sub.0, the potentials of the word lines WLa and WLb rise, whereby the transfer gates are operated. Then, a current path is formed between the memory cell 602 and the bit lines BLa and /BLa, and a current path is formed between the memory cell 602 and the bit lines BLb and /BLb. The potentials of the bit lines /BLa and /BLb are thereby lowered to the low level, whereby a potential difference occurs between the bit lines BLa and BLb.
Next, at time T.sub.1, the write-enable signal /WEb falls, and the writing of data is started. Then, until the signal /WEb rises again, the bit-line load circuit 627 of the port b remains off. Thereafter, at time T.sub.2, the potential of the bit line BLb and that of the bit line /BLb are inverted due to the data-writing operation. Then, at time T.sub.3, the potential of the bit line BLa and that of the bit line /BLa are inverted. T.sub.3 -T.sub.1 =.tau.W, where .tau.W is the period between the rising of the write-enable signal /WEb and the completion of inversion of the bit-line potentials of both ports. In the circuit shown in FIG. 6, the reading of data is effected at the same time as the writing of data, and the bit lines of the port a, whose bit-line load circuit 617 is on, are driven Hence, the data-writing period .tau.W is long.


A tunable capacitor using an electrowetting phenomenon includes a first electrode; a second electrode which is spaced apart from the first electrode and faces the first electrode; a fluidic channel which is disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; a first insulating layer which is disposed between the first electrode and the fluidic channel; and a conductive fluid which is disposed in the fluidic channel and moves along the fluidic channel when a direct current (DC) potential difference occurs between the first and second electrodes. Accordingly, it is possible to fabricate the tunable capacitor with the simplified fabrication process, good reliability and durability, and no restriction on the tuning range.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to a tunable capacitor, and more particularly, to a tunable capacitor using an electrowetting phenomenon, which facilitates a fabrication process, provides good reliability and durability, and has no limitation on a tuning range.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present-day radio portable communication is advancing to multipurpose electronic devices that cover various functions such as camera, game, music play, broadcast, and Internet, beyond the basic telephone function and the messaging function. To service those various functions, it is required to transmit radio frequency (RF) data containing various additional information corresponding to the functions. Currently, a variety of frequency bands and communication protocols are being used for the RF data transmission. Particularly, fabrication of a reconfigurable RF transceiver, which can operate in the multibands and multistandards to meet a user's requirements, is necessary so as to integrate various communication standards into a handheld portable terminal. A tunable matching network using a tunable capacitor and a tunable inductor is requisite to this end.
Diverse techniques have been developed and utilized to fabricate a low and high frequency tunable capacitor. Specifically, the fabrication of a small tunable capacitor mostly adopts microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technique, which can be divided according to a driving scheme into material property tuning (ferroelectric materials), electrostatic actuation, piezoelectric actuation, thermal actuation, electromagnetic actuation, electrodynamic actuation, and so forth. While using the diverse driving schemes, capacitance C to be ultimately controlled is expressed as a simple equation as below:C=∈·A/d where ∈ is a dielectric constant of a dielectric material, A is an area of parallel electrodes, and d is a distance between the parallel electrodes. Except in a case where the dielectric constant ∈ of the dielectric material is changed, when tuning by varying the area A or the distance d, movement of a microstructure is requisite.
FIG. 1 depicts a dual-type tunable capacitor which varies the distance d between the parallel electrodes using the electrostatic actuation, for example of the MEMS tunable capacitor. Unfortunately, since the MEMS tunable capacitor, like many other MEMS elements, has a movable substance, its fabrication is complicated. Even after the fabrication, fatigue by the repetitive operations obstructs the durability and the reliability. In addition, the movable substance supported by a spring is vulnerable to impacts.
To tune the capacitance by varying the dielectric constant E of the dielectric material, a ferroelectric material such as Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) is used. Alternatively, two unmixable fluids having different dielectric constants are inserted into the microchannel including the parallel electrodes and then tuned by moving them. The former method takes advantage of a property that the ferroelectric material becomes a paraelectric material above the Curie temperature Tc and that the dielectric constant of the paraelectric material is changed by an external voltage. The BST allows controlling Tc to the room temperature and provides high dielectric constant in the microwave frequency and low loss, whereas it is needed to ensure the stable property of matter in view of the material. The latter method achieves the tuning by inserting two unmixable nonconductive materials between the fixed parallel electrodes and adjusting the quantity of the fluids between the electrodes. The greater difference between the dielectric constants of the two fluids, the larger tuning range. Since the nonconductive fluid, rather than the solid structure, is movable, the durability and the reliability can be achieved for a long term but another driving method is required to move the fluids.

Tunable capacitor using electrowetting phenomenon


A system and method for power conversion synchronizes multiple phases at a desired phase angle difference. The power conversion involves variable frequency switching, fixed on-time and provides power factor correction. A relative measure of a phase angle difference between two phases permits each phase to be controlled to obtain the desired phase angle difference. The power conversion involves transition mode switching to help reduce switching losses. A phase angle difference detector may be provided for each phase. The various phases may have different inherent frequencies that vary with switching frequency, and are synchronized to an average frequency.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multiple power converters used in conjunction, and relates more particularly to power converters used in conjunction with interleaved phases.
2. Description of Related Art
Performance improvements in interleaved, multiphase power supplies result from advantages such as reduced input current ripple, reduced peak output current and higher frequency output ripple current, the output ripple being thus easier to filter. A particular type of switching power supply has a variable switching frequency to obtain desired power supply output characteristics based on input power. Due to the variable frequency nature of the power supply switching, it can be challenging to synchronize the various phases to obtain one or more of the above-described advantages.
Obtaining high efficiency in switching power supplies is also challenging, and can be improved with multiple interleaved phases when properly synchronized. Another aspect for improving efficiency of switching power supplies is to achieve zero voltage switching and zero current switching, so that switching losses can be reduced, especially at high frequencies. Various types of switching modes are employed in switching power supplies to achieve desired output characteristics. For example, a switching power supply may operate in continuous, discontinuous or transition mode, depending on the desired operating characteristics for the power supply. One advantage to transition mode operation is the potential for zero voltage and/or zero current switching in the power supply.
Transition mode operation can also contribute to improving the power supply power factor by keeping the input voltage in phase with the input current. However, the variable frequency nature of the switching power supply makes synchronization of the various power phases somewhat challenging as frequency changes to deliver desired output power characteristics. It is desirable to properly align the phases of an interleaved power supply to obtain the advantages of a properly synchronized multiphase interleaved power supply. For example, if a multiphase interleaved power supply has two phases, the waveforms of the phases should be 180° apart. For a three-phase interleaved power supply, the waveforms of the phases should be maintained 120° apart. In general, the phase angle separation is equal to 360°/N, where N is the number of phases in the interleaved power supply.
One way to correct for mismatch in phase separation is to employ a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) to maintain an appropriate phase angle separation. Such a concept is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,191, where a slave stage of a power converter is maintained 180° out of phase with a master power converter stage. One drawback to this approach is the challenge of acquiring and maintaining a phase lock over a wide range of conditions. The PLL capture range must encompass the difference between the free-running frequencies of the master and slave(s), which may prove difficult or costly in practice.

Method and apparatus for power converters having phases spaced at desired phase angles


A transportable utility carrier apparatus for coupling to a transport vehicle, including an upper frame, a recessed platform connected to the upper frame, a wheeled base, a lift system interposed between the base and the upper frame for moving the wheeled base relative to the platform between a transport position and a freestanding position, a square hitch tube connected to the upper frame, and a rollered receiver hitch mountable to the transport vehicle. The wheels are spaced from the ground in the transport position. The square hitch tube is receivable within the rollered receiver hitch and the rollered receiver hitch eases insertion of the square hitch tube thereinto to prevent binding on unleveled ground.

Pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are designed to carry cargo, but for heavier items and containers, loading and unloading the cargo becomes problematic due to its weight and bulk. Further, while many trucks and SUVs are equipped with hitching connections, the heavy cargo cannot be directly connected to the hitch.
There is therefore a need for a cargo container system that may be transported by a hitch equipped vehicle that does not need to be lifted into the vehicle. The present invention addresses this need.


A film capacitor having moisture resistance includes a capacitor element having (a) a multilayer structure made of stacked dielectric films or a wound dielectric film, each dielectric film having a metallic layer formed on its surface, and (b) a pair of outer electrodes electrically connected to the metallic layer, and a coating layer covering the capacitor element. The coating layer is made from at least one polysiloxane, at least one organometallic compound or a combination of the polysiloxane and the organometallic compound, wherein the organometallic compound is selected from the group consisting of organoaluminum compounds, organosilicon,compounds, organotin compounds and organotitanium compounds. The organometallic compound has at least one functional group attached to the metallic atom of the organometallic compound, the functional group of which is reactive to inorganic and organic materials and represented by the formula -OR, wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, oxygen-containing hydrocarbyl, nitrogen-containing hydrocarbyl and oxygen- and nitrogen-containing hydrocarbyl.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film capacitor having reliable and excellent moisture resistance, which is suitable as an electronic component used in electronic or electric appliances, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A film capacitor is required to have improved moisture resistance to improve its performance as an electronic component. Also, studies are directed to make a film capacitor, as well as electronic components in general, smaller and lighter. Regarding the moisture resistance, a film capacitor has conventionally been rated under the condition of 40.degree. C. and 95% relative humidity (RH). Recently, however, the moisture resistance of a film capacitor is required to be rated under more severe conditions, such as those of 60.degree. C. and 95% RH, or 85.degree. C. and 85% RH, or 121.degree. C., 2 atmospheres and 100% RH (a condition of a pressure cooker test).
Among various film capacitors, there is known a metallized film capacitor which is made by forming a metallic layer on a surface of a dielectric base film and then stacking the thus metallized film. Because a metallized film capacitor has very thin metallic layers as electrodes and can be made small, it has found an increasing demand especially as an electronic component for industrial machines used under medium or high voltage. A metallized film capacitor, however, generally has a problem of poor moisture resistance and is far from satisfactory under the above-mentioned moisture conditions.
A metallized film capacitor includes a wound-type capacitor such as shown in FIG. 5, and a stacked-type capacitor such as shown in FIG. 6. Each of the capacitors can be manufactured in the following manner. First, a multilayer structure of either a wound metallized film or stacked metallized films is prepared. Then, a pair of outer electrodes 12 are formed on two side faces of the multilayer structure opposing to each other. For example outer electrodes are formed by the use of a metal spraying method, thereby obtaining a capacitor element. Finally, the capacitor element is either placed in an appropriate casing or covered otherwise, thereby yielding a desired capacitor.
In the manufacture of a stacked-type capacitor, the manufacturing procedure can be described more specifically as follows. First, metallized films having a rectangular shape are stacked to each other, thereby giving a multilayer structure. Second, a pair of outer electrodes are formed on two side faces of the multilayer structure opposing to each other, so as to cover the longer edges of the rectangular metallized films. Then, the thus obtained multilayer structure having a pair of outer electrodes is cleaved along the faces normal to the longer edges of the rectangular metallized films, thereby obtaining capacitor elements of specific sizes. Finally, the facets generated by the above-mentioned cleavages are generally covered by resin layers, thereby yielding desired stacked-type capacitors.
To the inside of the above-mentioned metallized film capacitors as shown in FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B, moisture penetrates easily through the outer electrodes 12, because these outer electrodes 12 have porous structures. The penetration of moisture also occurs easily through the dielectric films 11. In the stacked-type capacitor as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, each of facets 14, which is generated by the cleavage during the above-mentioned manufacturing process, is covered by a resin layer 13. The resin layer 13, however, can not completely prevent the penetration of moisture. The moisture that reaches the inside of the capacitor may be condensed, resulting in defects of the capacitor such as a decrease in the electric capacity.
In order to minimize the above-mentioned problem, the capacitor element of a metallized film capacitor has been either placed in a sealed resin casing or provided with a sufficiently thick resin layer as the resin layer 13. The resin layer 13 may be extended so as to cover the entire surface of the capacitor element.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual view showing a partial cross section of a stacked-type capacitor. The capacitor element of the stacked-type capacitor includes a multilayer structure made of metallic layers 15 and dielectric films 16, and outer electrodes 17 electrically connected to the metallic layers 15. A side face of the multilayer structure is covered by a resin layer 13 which is made of urethane resin or epoxy resin. In a conventional capacitor such as shown in FIG. 7, the resin layer 13 cannot completely prevent the penetration of moisture 21 from the outside of the capacitor. Once penetrated into the inside of the capacitor, moisture may be easily condensed according to the change in temperature, thereby giving water particles 22 and 23. These water particles 22 and 23 cause corrosion and elution of the metallic layers 15, resulting in a decrease in the electric capacity. Furthermore, the resin layer 13 which is in contact with the metallic layers 15 tends to be partially removed to give interspaces along the facet (i.e., cleaved surface) of the multilayer structure. These interspaces may collect the water particles 22 and 23, thereby accelerating the corrosion of the metallic layers 15. The facet of the multilayer structure is susceptible to corrosion especially when voltage is applied to the capacitor, because of the electrolytic reaction.
Regarding the size of the capacitor, a microminiature chip metallized film capacitor has been recently developed, which has a contact area of 3.2 mm.times.1.6 mm with regard to a substrate on which the capacitor is to be mounted. In such a microminiature capacitor, a resin layer required to provide the capacitor with moisture resistance occupies a considerable volume of the capacitor, thereby preventing the further miniaturization of the capacitor.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-181409 discloses a method for coating a thin resin layer on the surface of a chip film capacitor except for the surface of the outer electrodes of the capacitor and for the surface of the capacitor which is to be in contact with a printed circuit board. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 64-77911 discloses a method for forming resin layers on the two facets generated by the cleavage of a chip film capacitor. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 64-77913, 64-77917 and 64-77920 disclose methods for fixing by heat and pressure a specific sheet material as a coating layer on the surface of a capacitor. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-43718 discloses a method for applying and curing a resin layer on the facet of a capacitor. According to these methods, the volume of the coating-layer of a chip film capacitor can be made significantly small.
As a metallized film capacitor is further miniaturized, precise operation becomes more difficult for coating a resin sheet thereon or applying a resin solution thereto. With regard to productivity, an advantageous coating method would be, for example, a method of immersing a number of capacitor elements at the same time into a resin solution. This coating method, however, cannot be employed for the manufacture of a chip film capacitor, because the resin layer is required to be formed only on specific faces including the facets of the capacitor, without covering the outer electrodes of the capacitor.

Film capacitor and method for manufacturing the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A footswitch assembly with a position memory includes adjustable mounting mechanisms. A first adjustable mounting mechanism moves the heel cup portion on the treadle pedal assembly to a predetermined position to accommodate the length of a user's foot. A second adjustable mounting mechanism moves the side wing assembly to predetermined position to accommodate the width of a user's foot. A third adjustable mounting mechanism adjusts the force needed to move the treadle pedal assembly.

Footswitch assemblies such as those used to provide a control input are often found with sophisticated pieces of medical equipment. Such footswitch assemblies give a medical professional the ability to use his/her hands when positioning and manipulating instruments while conducting a medical procedure on a patient. Such footswitch assemblies are used to control surgical parameters using small foot movements.
Typical footswitch assemblies have a base housing portion and a movable treadle pedal pivotably mounted to the base housing portion. In some footswitches, the base housing portion also includes side wings which are located on either side of the treadle pedal. On and off switches are located on the side wings. Within the base housing portion are typically located the mechanical support for the pivotable mounting of the movable treadable pedal and an array of electrical connections.
The physical inputs into a footswitch assembly by a healthcare professional, particularly a surgeon, are often used to regulate very critical parameters. If these delicate parameters are not properly regulated, disastrous consequences can result.
Users of footswitch assemblies typically become accustomed to the feel of certain footswitches and are able to repeatedly execute successful procedures quickly and efficiently because of the muscle memory associated with the use of footswitches having a generally uniform design. Unfortunately, different sophisticated medical equipment systems use different styles and different types of footswitches. Because of the size, the complexity, the variety and the cost of footswitches, those using footswitches on a regular basis do not have their own customized universal footswitch which can be transported and used to operate a variety of different types of equipment.
Further complicating the problem of the use of footswitches is that users of footswitch assemblies have different sized feet. Specifically, foot sizes vary in both length and width. Not only does the variation in foot sizes require that the footswitch assemblies accommodate the feet of all expected users, but the length of a user's foot also affects the amount of force needed to move the movable treadle pedal of the footswitch assembly with respect to its pivotable mounting. When a user is paired up with a footswitch assembly that has never been previously used by that user, the user must get used to the control "touch and feel" of the footswitch assembly to make the proper control inputs when operating a piece of equipment; for example, a piece of equipment used to perform surgical procedures.
If the footswitch assembly is being used to control a piece of equipment to perform a delicate medical procedure such as cataract or vitreoretinal surgery, the beginning of such a delicate surgical procedure is not the most propitious time for the vitreoretinal surgeon to practice becoming accustomed to the control touch and feel of a new footswitch assembly.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a footswitch assembly with position memory which automatically adjusts to the size of an operator's foot and the desired control touch and feel of the user.

Footswitch assembly with position memory


An example information processing device may include an operation part and a sound input part. The information processing device may further include at least one processor configured to receive an operation performed with respect to the operation part and receive sound input to the sound input part. The at least one processor may further be configured to perform information processing based on the sound input to a sound input part and, when the operation performed with respect to the operation part is received, substantially invalidate the sound input to the sound input part.

Conventionally, there is a device provided with an operation part such as a button, a key board or a touch-sensitive panel for the user to perform operation and a sound input part such as a microphone. Examples of such devices include various types of devices such as a game machine, a mobile phone, a personal computer and a voice recorder.
There has been such a problem in a device including both an operation part and a sound input part that operation sound generated at the operation part is input to the sound input part when the user performs operation with respect to the operation part. This problem tends to arise when the sound input part is located near the operation part or when the operation part and sound input part are placed in one housing.
In a game machine for example, a so-called voice chat is widely used, which is a function of transmitting sound between game machines through a network for users to have conversations. Here, the users have conversations while performing game operation. This causes operation sound to be input to the sound input part, transmitted through a network and output to a device on the other party's side. Such operation sound may be uncomfortable noise to the user.
An example information processing device described herein involves an operation acceptance part for accepting operation performed with respect to an operation part; a sound information processing part for performing information processing based on sound input to a sound input part; and a sound invalidation part for substantially invalidating sound input to the sound input part when the operation with respect to the operation part is accepted by the operation acceptance part.
The above and further objects, features, aspects and effects of the technology described herein will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.

Recording medium, information processing device, information processing system and information processing method


A photo-pulse from a photo-pulse generating apparatus is branched, where one branch is radiated to an examined body and the reflected light reflected within the examined body is delayed in time in proportion to the depth from the surface of the examined body and is led to a time-analyzing reflected light measuring apparatus. In this measuring apparatus, the other branched reference photo-pulse or reference signal pulse is input as delayed by the time for which the photo-pulse reflected within the examined body returns and only the reflected light component synchronized with the entering timing of this reference light pulse is analyzed in the time and is detected. By varying the detection sensitivity of this measuring apparatus in response to the depth from the surface of the examined body, the interior can be observed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an examined body interior information observing apparatus high in sensitivity and favorable in S/N by using photo-pulses for obtaining information of an examined body interior.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the importance of vein contrasting has increased along with the increase of circulatory system and brain vein system diseases and the prevalence of the utilization of images in the diagnosis. However, although the vein contrasting has become comparatively easy with the progress of digital radiography, in case it is applied to a human body, the danger and the pain of the examinee should not be neglected.
The information within an examined body such as a living body has been non-invasively measured mostly by X-rays without contact. However, regarding the use of X-rays, there are known problems regarding the influence of radioactive rays and the difficulty of imaging the living body functions. There are also problems in that the apparatus of the NMR-CT method is large and costly and the perspective obtained by ultrasonic waves is low in spatial resolution.
Now, it is known that a hemoglobin (Hb) in blood shows a peculiar spectral variation in response to the oxygenizing degree against the light in the near infrared ray region. By utilizing this feature, as shown, for example, in the article "Living Body Measurement by Using Light" mentioned in the magazine "O plus E", May 1987 to March 1988, the research relating to such non-invasive measurement of living body interior information, such as the blood oxygen saturated degree measurement, are being actively made. It is also shown in the article "Basic Investigation Relating to Visualizing Veins within Living Bodies by Near Infrared Rays" in the Technical Research Report of Electronic Information Communication Society that the hemoglobin (Hb) in blood is so high in the degree of extinction in the infrared ray region than living body tissue as to be able to detect the vein in the tissue as an image by using light.
Aside from the above-mentioned method of observing the interior of a living body from outside the body by using a transmitted light, as shown in the publication of Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 85417/1988 and in the article "Femtosecond Optical Ranging in Biological System" in the Optics Letters, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1986, pp. 150 to 152, the interior can be measured also by reflected light. Therein, a light of a pulse width so short as to be of a half value width of several hundred femto- to several pico-second is radiated from a light source to an examined body and the variation over time of the intensity of the reflected light is measured to observe the interior of a living body. In other words, as the lapse of time until the light reflected from a structure at a certain depth from the surface of the living body returns corresponds to the depth, the state of the blood distribution and structure of the living body interior tissue can be measured.
However, it is disclosed in the article "Application of the 1-D diffusion approximation to the optics of tissues and tissue phantoms" in the Appl. Opt., Vol. 28, 1989, pp 2311 to 2317 that near infrared light rays are higher in transmittivity than visible light rays, but the intensity of the transmitted light will attenuate by about 1 to 2 figures even in case the transmitted light passes through a thickness of 1 cm of a muscular tissue, for example, within a living body. In other words, in the above-described method of detecting the reflected light, the deeper in the living body, the lower the intensity of the reflected light due to the absorption and dispersion by the living body tissue and the detected reflected light intensity will no longer correspond to the actual light intensity from the deep part. Also, light intensity from the deeper part will be so low that, with an ordinary detector, the sensitivity will be low and the S/N will be severely attenuated. In such case, it will be considered easy to increase the sensitivity of the detector to detect a feeble signal from the deeper area. However, the strong reflected light from the part near the surface will be simultaneously detected, therefore the signals will be saturated over the allowable detectable range of the detector and, in the worst case, the detector wills seize.

Examined body interior information observing apparatus by using photo-pulses controlling gains for depths