A drawing instruction processor refers to a bit map line table that shows whether the bit arrays in the row unit are the same in the order of concentrations. The drawing instruction processor decides whether dither patterns to be used for the adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, by referring to the BLT, and links the drawing ranges to which the same pattern can be applied. Based on this, the drawing processor carries out a batch writing using a dither pattern prepared in advance into the specified range in the page memory. The dither pattern to be used for the drawing is prepared by linking a plurality of the same basic patterns to have a length corresponding to the length of the word length. As a result of such an arrangement, it is possible to achieve a high-speed processing.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for generating drawing data following a drawing instruction described in a page description language (PDL) or the like, and outputting an image drawn by using the generated drawing data.
2) Description of the Related Art
An image output apparatus such as a printer outputs an image onto a medium like a sheet of printing paper based on image information. This image output apparatus generates drawing data following a drawing instruction described in the PDL (which is usually transmitted from a host computer to a printer, in a printer system), and outputs the image onto the medium by using the generated drawing data. This image output apparatus receives the drawing instruction in the PDL format, and can carry out a graphic drawing based on the image information having a gray scale (i.e., gradation). Based on the graphic drawing instruction, the image output apparatus receives the instructions of a graphic range, concentration, and a filling of the graphic range, and can output a gradation image onto the medium.
As conventional examples of this graphic drawing that uses the gray scale, there are two Patent Literatures: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-168681 (hereinafter, "first patent literature") and 2001-13954 (hereinafter, "second patent literature").
The first patent literature titled "A PDL data processing apparatus, a control method therefor, and a pattern expanding apparatus" discloses an example of patterns A to D (refer to FIG. 29) that are used to draw an image, as an embodiment of a grayscale drawing. According to the first patent literature, when a new pattern appears, the old pattern data is deleted, and this new pattern is loaded. The first patent literature shows an example of loading two patterns (refer to FIG. 31), and a pattern count 3 deletes the pattern A to load the pattern C. The first patent literature assumes the drawing of an image under the condition that there occurs no significant problem when two patterns are loaded.
The first patent literature titled "A drawing apparatus, a drawing method, and a storage medium" discloses three image generators, including a mask generator, a background generator, and a gray generator. The gray generator generates a gray image based on object data. The gray generator writes gray image data into an address (which is determined based on the data generated from the mask generator and the background generator) at which the image is to be drawn on the image memory, based on a logic processing.
When the first patent literature is applied to the input drawing data like the photographic image having a mild gradation change, with different concentrations between adjacent pixels (i.e., different gradations corresponding to the number of pixels), the pattern data of the output image are loaded and deleted frequently. Consequently, the processing speed is reduced unavoidably. When there are pattern registers corresponding to the number of pixels, it is theoretically possible to avoid the reduction in the processing speed. However, this method is not realistic. Further, with the hardware disclosed in the first patent literature, it is difficult to hold the registers corresponding to the number of pixels, and this is not realistic from the viewpoint of cost. According to the second patent literature, only the gray data is input to the gray generator. Therefore, when the gray data changes corresponding to the number of pixels of the image such as the photographic image, the bit processing unit (BPU) operates by the number of times corresponding to the number of pixels, which hinders the increase in the processing speed.
The image output apparatus outputs a drawing image having a gradation, based on the graphic drawing instruction using the PDL. The apparatus follows the drawing instruction to fill a specified image drawing range in the page memory by using the specified concentration. According to the conventional practice, the image output apparatus processes each specified drawing range with the specified drawing range as a unit. Therefore, when there are various concentrations between adjacent drawing ranges (i.e., between pixels of the input drawing) like those of a photographic image that has a mild gradation change, each small drawing range has a specified concentration. The image output apparatus writes the bit map data using the concentration specified for each drawing range, into the page memory.
The image output apparatus usually writes the bit map data into the page memory by filling the drawing range with the data in a predetermined dither pattern (i.e., bedding in a tiled pattern) corresponding to the pixel concentration. Therefore, when the image output apparatus processes the photographic image, the apparatus repeats frequently a predetermined drawing processing, including a bit shifting of applying a dither pattern, to each small drawing range. This makes it difficult to increase the processing speed.
As explained above, according to the conventional methods of expanding the drawing data of a gradation image into the page memory based on the PDL graphic drawing instruction, it has been difficult to realize the high-speed processing when the method is applied to an image like a photographic image that has a mild gradation change.

Image processing apparatus, drawing processing method, and computer program


A semiconductor device includes a photodiode, a first transistor, and a second transistor. The photodiode has a function of supplying a charge corresponding to incident light to a gate of the first transistor, the first transistor has a function of accumulating the charge supplied to the gate, and the second transistor has a function of retaining the charge accumulated in the gate of the first transistor. The second transistor includes an oxide semiconductor.

In recent years, a display device provided with a light-detecting sensor (also referred to as a photosensor) has attracted attention. In the display device including a photosensor, a display screen also serves as an input region. A display device having an image pickup function is an example of such a display device (see Patent Document 1, for example).
Examples of a semiconductor device provided with a photosensor are a CCD image sensor and a CMOS image sensor. Such image sensors are used in, for example, electronic apparatuses like digital still cameras or cellular phones.
In a display device including a photosensor, first, light is emitted from the display device. When the light enters a region where an object to be detected exists, the light is blocked by the object to be detected, and is partly reflected. The light reflected by the object to be detected is detected by the photosensor provided in a pixel in the display device, whereby the object to be detected can be found in the region.
In a semiconductor device including a photosensor, light emitted from an object to be detected or external light reflected by the object to be detected is detected directly by the photosensor or condensed by an optical lens or the like and then detected.

Semiconductor device and method for driving the same

SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.


A new system supplying unit comprises a saving area for saving therein common information and a new system storing area for storing the new operating system. A new system installing system comprises an installing process storing unit for storing a procedure for installing the new operating system into the system storing unit, a boot controlling unit for reading the procedure from the installing process storing unit and a executing unit for executing the procedure. The procedure comprises a plurality of steps. The boot controlling unit reads a first step of the plurality of steps, the boot controlling unit supplies the read step to the executing unit, and the executing unit causes the boot controlling unit to read a second step of the plurality of steps after executing the first step. The procedure saves, in the saving area, the common information before the new system is installed in the system storing unit and transfers the common information from the saving area to the system storing unit. The procedure reports, to a higher-rank system, a condition of the system installation executed by the new system installing unit. The common information is included in an existing operating system and comprises suitable information previously provided so that the existing operating system is made suitable for a particular use. The suitable information comprises office automation data, customized parameters and network definition data required to connect the existing operation system to a network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operating system renewing apparatus for installing a new operating system in a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of an operation system renewing apparatus in the related art will now be described with reference to FIG.1. A step S2 (the term `step` will be omitted, hereinafter) switches on the power of a computer system. S4 executes IPL (initial program loading) of an existing operating system. S6 transfers certain sorts of information from the thus loaded existing operating system to a recording medium such as a magnetic tape. The certain sorts of information include office automation (OA) data such as application programs and document files, environment data such as data regarding user resources and customized data such as program parameters set for particular uses, and network definition data regarding another environment such as a network. The certain sorts of data to be transferred are specified one-by one by an operator using relevant commands. Such data transfer is made for a purpose of saving the data. S8 checks whether the above data transfer has been completed. If S8 determines such data-transfer completion, S10 switches off the power of the computer system so as to delete the existing operating system from a memory of the computer system.
S12 loads, in the computer system, a recording medium such as a flexible magnetic disc, a magnetic tape or the like having an independent utility stored therein. The independent utility is a system similar to an operating system having an IPL program. S14 switches on the power of the computer system. In S16, the independent utility installs a new operating system as a result of reading the new operating system from a recording medium such as a magnetic tape. S18 checks whether the new operating system has been properly installed. If S18 determines such proper installation, S20 switches off the power of the computer system so as to delete the independent utility from the memory of the computer system.
S22 switches on the power of the computer system. S24 performs IPL of the new operating system. S26 transfers the above certain sorts of information, previously saved in the recording medium in S6, from the recording medium to the computer system. The operator specifies one-by-one the above certain sorts of information to be transferred using relevant commands. S28 checks whether the transferring of the certain sorts of information has been completed. If S28 determines such data transfer completion, S30 switches off the power of the computer system. S32 switches on the power of the computer system. The new operation system can be practically used in S33.
The operator reports, via telephone or the like, the above completion of the new operating system installation to an operator of a higher-rank managing computer system which manages the above computer system having the above new operating system installed as described above. However, if there are many similar computer systems having similar renewing/installation work performed thereon, it is difficult to appropriately manage execution of the renewing/installation work in all the computer systems in real-time.
In the operation flow shown in FIG. 1, the existing operating system operates between S2 and S10, the independent utility operates between S12 and S20 and the new operating system operates between S22 and S33.
Such an operating system renewing apparatus in the related art requires many processes such as installation of a new operating system, transferring of certain sorts of information and so forth as described above. Further, such an apparatus in the related art requires a special operator who can perform complicated operations such as setting recording media, inputting relevant commands and so forth as described above. Thus, if a user wishes to improve an existing operating system by renewing it with a new operating system, the user has to request that such a special operator come to the relevant site. As a result, such renewal work is costly and requires a large amount of work time. Further, if the user wishes to know how the work is progressing or if a problem has occurred during the work, the special operator has to report such matters to the user via a telephone of the like. Thus, a real-time management of the work is difficult.

Operating system renewing apparatus and method for installing new operating system in computer system


A method for producing low odor meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid is provided whereby a meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid substrate is washed with an aqueous wash medium and subsequently dried, preferably at a temperature of less than 40.degree. C. and a low odor meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid is also provided by this invention.

Meso 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) is a compound analogous to 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (BAL). In contrast to BAL however, DMSA is less toxic, has greater water solubility, limited lipid solubility, and is effective when given orally. (Fund. Appl. Tox 11:715-722 (1988)).
Methods to prepare DMSA are known. For example, acetylene dicarboxylic acid can be reacted with thiolacetic acid or sodium thiosulfate to produce an intermediate which can be hydrolyzed to yield crude DMSA. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,193. Crystalline DMSA is typically obtained by crystallizing crude DMSA from, an alcohol, e.g., methanol and ethanol.
2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic acid exists in two forms, the meso form and the DL form. Because meso-DMSA is easier to synthesize and purify, it is more readily available, and has been used in most published investigations and is the subject of this patent application. Meso-DMSA is sparingly soluble and must be titrated to approximately pH 5.5 to go into solution, or dissolved in 5% NaHCO.sub.3. The DL form on the other hand, is readily soluble in distilled water. (Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 23:193-125 (1983)). As used in this invention, the abbreviation "DMSA", unless otherwise stated, refers to the meso forms. DMSA is available from a variety of biochemical specialty firms.
DMSA was originally introduced by Friedheim and DaSilva in 1954 to promote uptake of antimony during schistosomiasis therapy (J. Pharm. Exp. Therap. 246:84 (1988)), and was first recognized as an antidote for heavy metal toxicity by Liang et al. in 1957 (Acta Physiol. Sin. 21:24-32 (1957)). Since then, DMSA has been shown to remove toxic forms of lead, mercury and arsenic from the body via urinary excretion, presumably by forming water-soluble metal complexes or chelates (Anal. Biochem. 160:217-226 (1987)).
DMSA has been shown to have variable success as an antidote for other toxicities. DMSA was reported to be effective at reducing the concentration of aluminum in the liver, spleen and kidney (Res. Com. Chem. Pathol. Pharm. 53:93-104 (1986)), reducing the concentration of cobalt in the liver, brain, heart and blood (Arch. Toxicol. 58:278-281 (1986)), and as an antagonist for acute oral cadmium chloride intoxication by increasing the urinary elimination of cadmium (Tox. Appl. Pharm. 66:361-367 (1982)). DMSA however, did not increase urinary and fecal excretion of cobalt (Arch. Toxicol. 58:278-281 (1986)), and showed lower efficacy than other chelating agents as an antidote for zinc poisoning (Arch. Toxicol. 61:321-323 (1988)). (See Ann. Rev. Pharm. Toxicol. 23:193-215 (183) for a review of the success and failure of DMSA in treating toxicities).
DMSA has also been labeled with .sup.99 Tc for use in renal scanning (J. Nucl. Med. 16:28-32 (1973), tumor detection (Clin. Otalary 12:405-411 (1987); Clin. Nucl. Med. 13:159-165 (1988)) and for imaging myocardial infarcts (Clin. Nucl. Med. 12:514-518 (1987)).
Recently, administration of DMSA has been used as a treatment for pediatric lead poisoning. Associated with DMSA, is a strong objectionable sulfidic odor. An objectionable odor is generally undesirable, particularly with a product having pharmaceutical utility and oral activity such as DMSA. For compounds administered orally, some degree of voluntary compliance is required and an objectionable odor can negatively impact on patient compliance particularly in pediatric applications.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a low odor DMSA suitable for adult and pediatric oral administration.

Method for the preparation of low odor 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid


An LCD driving circuit and method for increasing effective bit(s) of the source driver is disclosed. A reference voltage generator generates a group of compensated reference voltage levels that are interlaced with original reference voltage level of original reference voltage generator. One of the multiple groups of reference voltage levels is selected by one or more least significant bits (LSBs), and is then inputted to digital-to-Analog converter of the source driver under control of the one or more least significant bits (LSBs), thereby effectively and economically enhancing the gray levels of the display on the LCD panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an LCD panel driving circuit, and more particularly to an LCD driving circuit and method for increasing effective bit(s) of source drivers thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been widely used, for example, in notebook computers or television, for the advantages of low radiation, low power consumption, and light weight. As the 6-bit Digital-to-Analog converter (DAC) of the LCD that only provides 64 scales (or levels) has become unsatisfactory to users, some schemes are disclosed to increase effective bits of the DAC, among which frame rate control (FRC) is a technique, utilized to increase effective bit(s) in the DAC. In the FRC technique, for example, four frames of the original black and white scales are sequentially displayed to make out five different scales in vision effect. Among the five scales, two scales (i.e., the black and white) are the original scales, and the other three scales are generated through the FRC technique. Accordingly, the DAC used in FRC technique having 1 bit (i.e., two original scales) substantially functions as a 3-bit (i.e., 1+2 bits) DAC, in which five scales are displayable. Similarly, a DAC having 2 bits (i.e., four original scales) substantially functions as a 4-bit (i.e., 2+2 bits) DAC, in which 13 (3×3+4) scales are displayable. Likewise, a DAC having 6 bits (i.e., 64 original scales) substantially functions as an 8-bit (i.e., 6+2 bits) DAC, in which 253 (3×63+64) scales are displayable. There is need for improving or even replace the FRC technique for the reason that it does not provide complete set of scales to the DAC. For example, 253 instead of 256 full scales are provided by the 6-bit DAC with the FRC technique. Furthermore, the DAC possesses noise-like flicker on display, especially for the large-size panel.

Driving circuit and method for increasing effective bits of source drivers


In order to reduce the SAS resistance at the cell region with low process cost, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device according to the present invention includes forming a protection layer on a semiconductor substrate on which a cell region and a peripheral region are defined, forming a first trench and a second trench at the respective cell and the peripheral regions by selectively etching the protection layer and the semiconductor substrate, and deepening the second trench by further etching the peripheral region while the cell region being blocked and the peripheral region being exposed.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device and, in particular to a process for forming trenches in different depths at a cell region and a peripheral region for reducing SAS resistance at the cell region.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, as flash memories are widely utilized and price competition grows, various technologies have been developed for reducing the sizes of the devices. One of those is a self aligned source (SAS) technique.
The SAS technique is a method for reducing the cell size in a bit line direction and is essentially adopted for below-0.25 μm line width technology since it can reduce a gap between the gate and the source such that the cell size can be reduced about 20% with the introduction of the SAS technique.
However, the conventional SAS technique has a drawback in that contact resistance of the source per cell dramatically increases because the SAS region is formed along the trench profile.
In the meantime, the below-0.25 μm or below-0.18 μm technology is utilized together with a shallow trench isolation (STI) technique for fabricating the most semiconductor devices.
That is, the STI technique and the SAS technique are essential to reduce the cell size in a word line direction and a bit line direction, respectively. However, simultaneous adaptation of these two techniques causes to dramatically increase the source resistance.
Especially, in case of the flash memory the reduction of the cell size causes to increase the depth of the trench since it uses high internal voltage, resulting in deterioration of the source resistance.
FIG. 1 is a graph illustrating variation of the source resistance according to a trench depth. As shown in FIG. 1, in case of the trench depth of 2400 Å the resistance per cell is 510 Ohm. In the meantime, in case of 3600 Å the resistance per cell becomes about 880 Ohm.
Conventional flash memory and SAS-related technologies have been disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,737, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,765, and the U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,671.
Since the trench depth of the 0.18 technology flash memory cell is 3500 Å, it dramatically degrades the source resistance. In order to solve this problem, mask processes for forming isolation structures are separately carried out at the cell region and the peripheral region.
In this method, the trenches are formed at different depths for the cell region and the peripheral region. For example, the trench is formed at a depth of about 3500 Å for the cell region and at a shallow depth of about 1800 Å for the peripheral.
In order to form the trenches at different depths for the cell and peripheral regions, a photolithography process using a deep ultra violet (DUV) light source is separately adopted at the cell region and the peripheral region.
The conventional technique will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 2a, firstly, a pad oxide layer 110, a pad nitride layer 120, and a dielectric layer 130 which is used as a hard mask are sequentially deposited on a semiconductor substrate 100. In order to simplify the explanation, the semiconductor substrate 100 is divided into a cell region (C) and a peripheral region (P).
Next, in order to form a trench a first DUV photoresist pattern 140 is prepared in a state that the entire peripheral region (P) is blocked and the cell region (C) is exposed at a predetermined width.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2b, one trench (Tc) is formed by sequentially etching the dielectric layer 130, the pad nitride layer 120, the pad oxide layer 110, and the semiconductor substrate 100 in the cell region exposed using the first DUV photoresist pattern 140 as a mask. The trench (Tc) is formed inside the cell region at a required shallow depth.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2c, another trench (Tp) is formed by sequentially etching the dielectric layer 130, the pad nitride layer 120, the pad oxide layer 110, and the semiconductor substrate 100 in the peripheral region (P) exposed using a second DUV photoresist pattern 150 which blocks the entire cell region (C).
Here, the trench (Tp) which is formed in the peripheral region (P) is formed so as to be deeper than the trench (Tc) formed in the cell region (C).
In this conventional method using the DUB light source, the etching process is applied to the cell and peripheral regions separately using the first and second DUV photoresist patterns, respectively.
However, the conventional method has drawbacks in that the mask or reticle and the photoresist, which are used for a fine linewidth processing technique with the short wavelength such as DUV in the isolation process, are very expensive so as to increase the entire manufacturing costs. Accordingly, it is required to develop an improved technique for reducing the manufacturing costs.

Method for fabricating semiconductor device by forming trenches in different depths at a cellregion and a peripheral region for reducing self aligned source resistance at the cell region


A composed business object of a server instance is provided. The server instance is coupled to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance. A data object corresponding to the business object is populated with data retrieved using the plurality of resource managers. Thus, a business object is composed of data from multiple and/or diverse resource managers using a single container.

This application contains subject matter which is related to the subject matter of the following applications, each of which is assigned to the same assignee as this application and filed on the same day as this application. Each of the below listed applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:
xe2x80x9cACCESSING LOCAL OBJECTS USING LOCAL ACCESS PROXIES,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,818;
xe2x80x9cEMPLOYING MANAGEMENT POLICIES TO MANAGE INSTANCES OF OBJECTS,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,303;
xe2x80x9cDELEGATING INSTANCE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS TO UNDERLYING RESOURCE MANAGERS,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,706;
xe2x80x9cFACILITATING WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT BY USING A LOCATION FORWARDING CAPABILITY,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,302;
xe2x80x9cENSURING A GIVEN TRANSACTIONAL UNIT OF WORK ARRIVES AT AN APPROPRIATE SERVER INSTANCE,xe2x80x9d by Clark et al., Ser. No. 09/330,796;
xe2x80x9cPERFORMING NAME RESOLUTION OF COMPOUND NAMES WITHIN A SINGLE CALL TO A RESOLVE METHOD,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,305;
xe2x80x9cFEDERATION OF NAMING CONTEXTS ACROSS MULTIPLE AND/OR DIVERSE UNDERLYING DIRECTORY TECHNOLOGIES,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,301;
xe2x80x9cMAPPING OF NAME SPACE OBJECT IDENTITIES TO DISTINGUISHED NAMES,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,704;
xe2x80x9cA TRANSACTIONAL NAME SERVICE,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/333,058;
xe2x80x9cREGISTRATION OF OBJECT FACTORIES UNDER MULTIPLE INTERFACE NAMES,xe2x80x9d by Frey et al., Ser. No. 09/332,462;
xe2x80x9cSEPERATING PRIVILEGED FUNCTIONS FROM NON-PRIVILEGED FUNCTIONS IN A SERVER INSTANCE,xe2x80x9d by Aman et al., Ser. No. 09/333,059;
This invention relates, in general, to object-oriented computing environments and, in particular, to providing a distributed, object-oriented computing environment that is reliable, secure, transactional and workload managed.
Object-oriented technology continues to be an increasingly important tool for use in building portable application code that can be readily used and reused. A basic premise of object-oriented technology is the use of objects. An object is a run-time entity with a specific set of instance methods and variables associated therewith.
In an effort to enhance the usability, portability, reliability and interoperability of objects, certain standards have been created. One group responsible for such standardization is referred to as the Object Management Group (OMG), which is a consortium of different corporations, businesses and users interested in promoting object-oriented technology.
The Object Management Group has taken great steps in its standardization efforts. For example, the OMG is responsible for the creation of an object request broker (ORB), which is used to provide communications between clients and servers of a computing environment. The ORB is based upon an architecture touted by OMG and referred to as the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).
One goal of the OMG is to provide distributed object-oriented applications and systems that coincide with the needs and desires of the ever-changing computing industry. This goal includes supporting multi-vendor, global heterogeneous networks.
Although efforts have been made to meet the goals of the Object Management Group, and of the object-oriented industry as a whole, further enhancements are still needed. For example, a need exists for a distributed object-oriented computing environment that is reliable, secure, transactional and workload managed.
The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the provision of a method of composing a business object of a server instance. The method includes, for instance, coupling the server instance to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance; and populating a data object corresponding to the business object with data retrieved using the plurality of resource managers, wherein a composed business object is provided.
In one example, the coupling of the server instance to the resource managers includes using a plurality of connection objects to couple the container to the plurality of resource managers. In one instance, each of the plurality of connection objects corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of resource managers.
In a further example of the present invention, the plurality of resource managers includes at least two different resource managers.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of composing objects is provided. The method includes, for instance, coupling a server instance to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance; and storing within an object of the server instance data retrieved via the plurality of resource managers.
In another aspect of the present invention, a system of composing a business object of a server instance is provided. The system includes, for instance, means for coupling the server instance to a plurality of resource managers, wherein the means for coupling uses a container of the server instance; and means for populating a data object corresponding to the business object with data retrieved using the plurality of resource managers, wherein a composed business object is provided.
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, a system of composing objects is provided. The system includes, for instance, means for coupling a server instance to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance; and means for storing within an object of the server instance data retrieved via the plurality of resource managers.
As another embodiment, a system of composing a business object of a server instance is provided. The system includes, for example, a container of the server instance used to couple the server instance to a plurality of resource managers; and a data object corresponding to the business object adapted to receive data retrieved using the plurality of resource managers, wherein a composed business object is provided.
In a further example, a system of composing objects is provided, which includes a container of a server instance used to couple the server instance to a plurality of resource managers, and an object of the server instance adapted to store data retrieved via the plurality of resource managers.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, an article of manufacture including at least one computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing the composing of a business object of a server instance is provided. The computer readable program code means includes, for example, computer readable program code means for causing a computer to couple the server instance to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance; and computer readable program code means for causing a computer to populate a data object corresponding to the business object with data retrieved using the plurality of resource managers, wherein a composed business object is provided.
In another aspect of the present invention, at least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of composing objects is provided. The method includes, for example, coupling a server instance to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance; and storing within an object of the server instance data retrieved via the plurality of resource managers.
The present invention advantageously enables an object to be composed of data from multiple and/or diverse resource managers using a single container.
The invention simplifies the install and configuration of containers, simplifies and consolidates request level interactions in a single data object, improves pathlength because multiple and separate dispatches across multiple containers is eliminated, and provides the application developer a cleaner, more direct mapping of the runtime objects and the application model being implemented.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention.

Providing composed containers and data objects to support multiple resources

International Business Machines Corporation


A data aliginmentation apparatus and method in a LAN adapter. The arrangement includes a data aligner mechanism and a transfer control mechanism that transfer data between this RAM and a PCI bus. A transfer control mechanism pre-calculates the control parameters for the aligner/data-pipe, creates the necessary byte enables for data transfers, and determines the number of transfers needed. This allows the data aligner to create a stream of data words for any arbitrary byte transfer with full PCI data streaming (one 32 bit word every PCI clock cycle).. The Data Aligner provides a shifter and data-pipe that is used to convert the RAMs 64 bit words into PCIs 32 bit words. It is bidirectional and is used to convert 64 bit data from the RAM into 32 bit PCI word(s) and vice versa.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in local area network adapters.
2. Background Art
A local area network (LAN) is a high bandwidth computer network, operating over an area, such as an office or a group of offices. In order for individual computers to communicate with others or with a host or server each computer must have a LAN adapter.
Two styles of LAN adapter have emerged due to the predominance of Ethernet and Token-Ring networks. The Ethernet MAC protocol requires no local processing, so Ethernet adapters tend to be simple "dumb" adapters. The Token-Ring protocol requires local processing of MAC frames by the adapter, so Token-Ring adapters need a local CPU, making them "smart" adapters. These smart adapters usually use some form of "store and forward" architectiure due to the need for local processing. Storage may, for example, be provided by a random access memory (RAM) array.
Fragmentation of data is a feature of many LAN protocols and accordingly there is a need for LAN adapters to be capable of fragmenting data preferably into arbitrary byte length fragments starting on any byte address.
In some protocols, frames are created from, for example, as many as ten separate fragments. Fragments which may be any number of bytes long are not guaranteed to start on a word boundary and of course the word boundary itself is determined by the system.
Advanced buses such as PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), stream data as bursts of word transfers (32 bit on PCI). Fully utilizing the bandwidth possible on such buses and meeting the fragmentation requirements of LAN protocols stacks is a challenging problem.


A fuel assembly locator for guiding and inserting nuclear fuel assemblies into a grid plate of a reactor vessel during reload. In the preferred embodiment, the fuel assembly locator includes a plurality of generally trapezoidal guides each having a multiplicity of serially increasing tiered slope regions for gradually directing the fuel assembly precisely into a grid plate opening. The increasing slope regions allow greater positional tolerance between the exterior of the fuel assembly and the interior opening of the grid plate opening initially, thus requiring less time and precision to align the fuel assembly with respect to the grid plate opening. The tolerance then gradually decreases since the slope of each successive tier is greater than the previous tier, thus precisely directing the fuel assembly into alignment with the grid plate opening for insertion therein.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to nuclear fuel storage systems and, more particularly, to an apparatus for guiding and inserting nuclear fuel assemblies into a reactor vessel or on-site fuel storage pool.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Nuclear fuel is contained in fuel elements which are formed into fuel assemblies and inserted into a grid plate of a reactor vessel. Fuel handling and loading are conducted with the reactor vessel and fuel-handling pool filled with ambient temperature demineralized water. Typically, the loading process is complex and slow, requiring multiplication measurements for fuel placement, slow fuel insertion, and frequent pauses to relocate sources and monitors. Additionally, the results are checked and rechecked until all fuel assemblies are properly installed into the grid plate of the reactor vessel.
Various prior art fuel assemblies include transfer mechanisms for facilitating the fuel loading operation. Many transfer mechanisms include a conical portion for guiding the fuel assemblies into a position proximate the grid plate opening. The fuel transfer guides of the prior art are cumbersome and do not greatly reduce the time and difficulty associated with fuel assembly loading.
Thus, there remains a need for a fuel assembly locator which is compact and easily repositionable while, at the same time, reduces the time and difficulty associated with fuel assembly loading and greatly reduces the risk of fuel assembly damage during fuel reload.


An interface device is provided which may be used to perform rate adaptation and time slot assignment, in either the transmit or receive directions, in a multiplexing unit for interfacing a high rate optical carrier line to a plurality of lower rate information carrier lines. The high rate optical carrier line may be a SONET or SDH carrier line. The interface device according to the present invention may be operationally configured to provide data rate adaptation and time slot assignment between an optical carrier line operating at an OC-12 rate with lower rate lines operating according to OC-3, OC-1, DS-3, or DS-1 protocols, or even virtual channels. A plurality of identical interface devices may be cascaded together and used to perform interface support for various channels operating at various rates, merely by manipulating the operational configuration of the individual interface devices in the cascade.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the art of telecommunication and the multiplexing of digital information. More specifically, the present invention relates to a SONET multiplexed system having the capability of interfacing digital communication lines operating at different data rates.
2. The Background Art
The SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) communication hierarchy has been specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a standard for a high-speed digital hierarchy for optical fiber. The SONET standard is described in detail in ANSI T1.105 and T1.106, and in Bellcore Technical Recommendations TR-TSY-000253, which are incorporated by reference into this application.
The international realization of the SONET communication hierarchy is the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) standard promulgated by the ITU-T (the successor organization to the CCITT) via Recommendations G.707-709. The salient difference between SONET and SDH is that the basic SDH rate, known as Synchronous Transport Module level 1 (STM-1), is 155.52 Mbps and the basic SONET rate, known as Optical Carrier level 1 (OC-1), is 51.84 Mbps. The STM-1 rate is equivalent to the rate of Optical Carrier level 3 (OC-3) of SONET. The respective rates of transport according to the SONET and SDH standards are shown in TABLE 1.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ SONET Optical Carrier and SDH Synchronous Transport Module Levels Line Rate (Mbps) SONET Level SDH Level ______________________________________ 51.840 OC-1 155.520 OC-3 STM-1 466.560 OC-9 622.080 OC-12 STM-4 933.120 OC-18 1244.160 OC-24 STM-8 1866.240 OC-36 STM-12 2488.320 OC-48 STM-16 ______________________________________
Previously there have been disclosed devices for interfacing digital communication lines operating at different rates. The patents to Huizinga et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,007) and Wurst (U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,021) are directed to "conference call" mechanisms where digitized voice data is summed with other similar signals, and the resulting signal is placed in an appropriate, selected time slot on a Pulse Code Modulated (PCM) highway which operates at a fixed data transfer rate. The patents to Hartmann et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,596) and Urui et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,253) are directed to methods of supporting rapid time slot re-assignment in PBX systems that internally carry voice and data services over a PCM highway operating at a fixed data transfer rate. These four patents have in common various interface devices or data ports which support various services, but all eventually interface to the PCM highway at a fixed data transfer rate.
The patent to Narasimhan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,418) is directed to an integrated circuit which supports the basic rate integrated services digital network (ISDN) S-type subscriber interface into a Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX).
Conventional interfaces for PCM highways as exemplified by the above-referenced patents suffer from being expensive and unreliable, and are therefore disadvantageous. A conventional approach is to develop a different integrated circuit to handle each required interface configuration. Accordingly, the cost for development of conventional interface systems, and the cost of maintaining them is high. Each time a new interface configuration is required, a new circuit must be developed to implement the new interface. Each different interface circuit developed requires its own distinct parts inventory and troubleshooting and maintenance processes.
Conventional interfaces which use a time shared bussing architecture are also disadvantageous in that they must operate the tributary units at a fixed data rate equal to the highest data rate of the PCM highway. Operating at such a high data rate uses a great deal of power. Higher power consumption means higher heat generated, necessitating extreme ventilation measures. This too is also a problem.

Bus rate adaptation and time slot assignment circuit for a sonet multiplex system


A system for use with a web printing press for providing overall control of the operations of multiple systems, including a system for measuring the reflective density of printed ink in real time during high speed operation and for controlling the color density and registration of the press. The system digitizes images of targets located in the test print area within an impression and analyzes the images to determine a multiplicity of print characteristics of multiple colors and also determines and controls registration among the various print stations. The system is adapted for use with modern presses having extremely small gap size and extremely small test print area size by initially searching for and locating a registration target pattern and after any necessary adjustment then analyzes digitized images of targets located across the web. The system measures and controls inking and registration of the web up to a key-by-key incremental basis and also includes a process manager for presetting jobs, efficiently carrying out press make-readies, building a database by gathering all necessary operating data on the press and its systems, monitoring press systems and equipment such as the color density and registration control system, web guides, ribbon slicing and convergence systems and the like.

The present invention generally relates to a system for monitoring and controlling the operation of a web printing press and for providing superior operating efficiency and an operating history database. The system includes the capability of acquiring digitized images of predetermined areas printed patterns of ink and analyzing the images to determine reflective density and register misalignment and for generating control signals to make any necessary density and register corrections.
Web printing presses of the type which print full color magazines and other printed material at high speeds generally have a number of printing stations, each of which prints a different color on the web as the web passes through the press. Such presses generally have multiple printing stations which generally print the colors cyan, magenta yellow and often two other colors in addition to black. The quality of the printed matter is a function not only of the proper registration of each of the colors by the respective printing stations, but also by the amount of ink and its resultant pattern of distribution that is printed for each color by the printing stations.
The distribution of ink that is transferred to the web during a printing operation is fundamentally controlled by a number of ink zone control mechanisms, commonly referred to as xe2x80x9ckeysxe2x80x9d that are spaced across the width of the printing press, typically at approximately every 1 to 2 inches, depending upon the press type, and these keys effectively determine zones that regulate the amount of ink that is available to be ultimately transferred to a web. For each color that is being printed, there may be very little or a relatively large amount of ink transferred at each key location of each printing station, depending upon the perceived color in the image that is printed. As is well known to those skilled in the art, a woman in a bright red dress that takes up a significant portion of the area of an impression would require a larger amount of magenta and yellow ink being applied at the magenta and yellow printing stations, since red is a combination of magenta and yellow. The keys in the area of the red dress would be controlled to provide more of such ink than in other areas of the impression being printed. As a general matter, the transfer of the ink being printed at each printing station is important to achieve the desired perceived color in the resulting product.
It has long been a practice in the operation of full color printing presses to print certain test targets of each color of ink in a test print area within an impression (such as pages of a magazine) for the purpose of qualifying the quality of the final finished product by measuring the reflective density of the final printed product using a small hand-held densitometer. Such densitometers give readings that range from approximately 0.5 to 2.5 with the larger number being substantially reduced reflectivity, i.e., black. Such densitometers are quite sensitive in their operation and must often be calibrated to give reliable reflective density readings. After a printing job has been set up, pressmen must take samples at periodic intervals during a press run and perform reflective density measurements to insure that the transfer of ink has not changed. If it has, then they make appropriate adjustments to the press to bring the measurements into conformance. It is also known in the art that adjustment of the press does not result in an immediate change in the transfer of ink. For example, adjustment of one ink key may have an effect on adjacent keys.
In our prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,201, there is described an extremely sophisticated system for generating dynamic reflective density measurements for a web printing press, which system acquires digitized images of particular web targets that are located in the test print area between adjacent impressions. Since the size of the test print area between adjacent impressions represents an area of wasted paper, modern presses continue to decrease the size of the test print area to minimize waste. With the test print area size becoming ever smaller, the targets that are used for densitometer measurements and also register control must necessarily be smaller. The compression of the test print area size also decreases the space between the targets and the actual printed matter which creates an increased technological challenge to providing a system which will reliably operate.
Modern presses are also becoming larger in the sense that they print a wider web which must then be slit into multiple ribbons in the longitudinal direction and then be converged to form a multi-layer composite product that is ultimately cut in the transverse direction to form magazines and other print material. Because of the increased width of the web, registration through the various print stations may vary across the web so that control of the registration on a key-by-key basis is necessary to achieve an acceptable printed product. Because of the flexibility and elasticity of the web, it is possible to introduce a small roller, push member or the like into contact with the narrow portion of the web to buckle that portion of the web and vary its path length relative to the remainder of the web and thereby accomplish register control on less than a web width basis and even on a key-by-key basis.
Many modern press installations have a complete complement of accessory control apparatus, including a web guide at the input of the web, a registration control mechanism, a color density measurement and adjustment apparatus, a ribbon slitting and converging mechanism, as well as a web guide at the upstream end of the same, and web break detectors that are adapted to shut down the press in the event of a web break. Overall control of all of these mechanisms and apparatus is highly desirable to achieve a reliable and efficient press operation.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved system for dynamically monitoring and controlling a web printing press, including apparatus for measuring and controlling reflective density as well as registration of print operations, in addition to monitoring and controlling other auxiliary equipment such as the ribbon slitting and converging apparatus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an improved system which includes a process manager that is adapted to provide the above apparatus with preset values that enables the press to be controlled whereby make ready operations are quickly accomplished which increases the operational efficiency of the press and concomitantly reduces waste.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved system that includes a process manager which interfaces all of the apparatus that operate the press, receives job information from a printing company""s pre-press department which is downloaded into the process manager, and generates the preset values for all of the apparatus for carrying out the printing job.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved system that enables registration to be reliably obtained even though the target pattern used to do so is extremely small and the test print area between successive impressions is extremely small.
A corollary object lies in the provision for obtaining of relatively close registration through use of the presets generated by the process manager and the use of a predetermined register target pattern printing at a specific location. This then enables the color density apparatus to reliably print the various color block sets in the test print area and be reliably located, acquired and analyzed.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved system which has two or more target blocks at each key location across the width of the web which enables registration to be independently measured on a key-by-key basis so that accurate registration control can be achieved across the entire web.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide such an improved system which determines and controls registration of the various print stations by initially using a register target pattern that is preferably printed in the test print area at the center line of the press, which when its digitized image is acquired, enables the apparatus to reliably acquire the image of each of a plurality of other color block sets located in the test print area along the width of the web for the purpose of determining color density. A corollary object lies in the provision for using such block sets for controlling registration at each key location on a continuing basis during a press run.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description, while referring to the attached drawings, in which:

System for dynamically monitoring and controlling a web printing press


A reloading machine is configured to check the length of shell cases of selected caliber against a length specification for the caliber. A shell case entering a workstation tool strikes a sleeve by end-to-end contact, raising the sleeve in direct proportion to any excess length of the shell case. A detector monitors how high the sleeve is raised and triggers a signal if the height indicates the shell case is too long. Length detection is derived from a powder measure assembly by monitoring the raised height of the powder body. Length detection is derived from a powder level check assembly by introducing an intermediate sleeve between the powder check die and check rod assembly. The intermediate sleeve is sized to engage a shell case of the selected caliber, at least when the shell case exceeds the specified length. The raised height of the intermediate sleeve allows determination of case length or identification of shell cases of excess length.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to ammunition making. More specifically, the invention relates to firearm cartridge casings and to finishing operations. Especially in the practice of single stage or progressive ammunition loading and reloading, an improved implement checks the length of a case while conducting another step such as filling, resizing, or reconditioning.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Spent firearm cartridge casings, referred to as cases or brass, often can be reused by reloading. The reloading process involves a series of basic steps, including sizing the case, decapping, priming, powder charging, and seating a new bullet. Some of these steps can be combined or separated into several sub-steps. Additional steps can be performed and may be required with specialized types of cases. These steps and variations of them can be performed either by hand or by machine. A single stage or multistage mechanical press, sometimes called a reloading press, is a useful aid to performing these steps.
A multistage press, such as a progressive, multi-station reloading machine can perform the required steps by incrementally processing a case through an indexed series of workstations. A different die or tool is located at each workstation and performs a processing step on a case when the case is present at the workstation. Commonly, the workstations are arranged in a circle on a tool platform. Such a reloading machine employs a turret or rotary conveyor to carry a series of cases from workstation to workstation.
The rotary conveyor or shell plate defines a plurality of conveyor stations, each adapted to carry a case. The conveyor stations are spaced apart similarly to the workstations, so that the shell plate can be stopped at index points at which each workstation is aligned with a conveyor station. With a case carried in a conveyor station, the shell plate rotates in a parallel circle on a common axis to the workstation circle. When stopped at the index points, the shell plate can be elevated toward the tool platform, thereby raising the carried case toward the die at the workstation to engage the case in the die. Subsequently, the shell plate lowers to remove the case from the die.
The dies or other tools are carried on the tool platform or tool head in a circular array. Commonly, the tool platform provides a threaded bore at each workstation. A die or other tool is installed at a workstation by threading it into the appropriate threaded bore. Each die is adjusted to process a size or length of case by adjusting how deeply the die is threaded into the tool platform. In some instances, the workstation where a die or tool might be installed is chosen from several candidates, while other dies or tools must be installed at a specific workstation or in a specific sequence.
The tools installed at the various workstations perform the required functions in various combinations and with additions or modifications accounting for the different numbers of stations. For example, the reloading machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,410 to Dillon provides eight stations. Seven of these stations have distinct functions, which are: inserting the shell into the machine, sizing the case and decapping to remove the spent primer, swaging the primer cavity, seating a new primer, belling the case and loading a powder charge, seating a new bullet, and removing the reloaded shell from the machine. This patent also discloses a powder dispenser that operates by causing a powder bar to slide in response to elevation of a shell case into the powder charging workstation.
Processing steps such as inserting and removing the case from the rotary conveyor may be performed manually or may employ inserting or removing mechanisms operating from a position other than the tool head, such as from a side of the case or the side of the rotary conveyor. Inserting and removing a case from the conveyor may take place other than at an index point.
The reloading machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,222 to Dillon provides four stations. The first station combines inserting a spent shell into the machine, sizing the shell in a sizing die, decapping with a decapping pin, and seating a new primer. The second station loads a powder charge into the shell. The third station seats a bullet into the shell. The fourth station crimps the shell. The completed shell then advances to the first station for a second time, where it is removed from the machine before another spent shell replaces it on the rotary conveyor. This reloading machine employs a swinging toggle linkage for elevating the rotary conveyor or turret that carries shells between workstations.
Reloading machines with five stations are sold commercially. The technology of operation is similar to that described in the aforementioned patents to Dillon. The functions of the five stations can be: sizing, decapping and priming; powder charging; powder checking; seating a new bullet; and crimping. Inserting and removing the cases is automated and takes place at separate positions, before the first and after the last workstations.
In a progressive reloading machine that employs a tool head with dies or tools carried in a circular pattern, the tool head often is mounted at the top of a frame. The rotary conveyor or shell plate that carries the cases is mounted to the frame below the tool head, on a concentric axis to the circle of tool head bores. The shell plate carries cases with their open end facing up, toward the tool head. The shell plate clips to the base of each case so that the shell plate can both push and pull the cases without separating from the cases.
Some progressive reloading machines operate similarly to a manually operated press. A manually operated lever and crank mechanism elevates the rotary conveyor and all carried shell cases toward the tool head, such that the cases longitudinally engage the dies or tools at the various workstations of the tool head. This longitudinal engagement of cases and dies causes the dies to perform their corresponding functions on the respective engaged cases. Thus, a step of the reloading process takes place at each of the workstations, as respective cases are decapped, primed, charged with powder, and seated with a bullet.
The lever and crank mechanism then is moved in reverse direction to lower the rotary conveyor and its carried cases and to cause the shell plate to advance to the next index position. Thereafter, the sequence is repeated as necessary to process each shell case at each workstation. A lever and crank mechanism for a reloading machine is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,102 to Pickens.
While elevating the conveyor is the common practice, equivalently the tool head could be lowered toward the conveyor to engage the shell cases in the dies or tools at the respective workstations and to thereby perform the respective reloading steps. In such a reversed operation, the tool head must be raised to disengage from the shell cases before the rotary conveyor advances to the next index point.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,483,792 to Williams shows a progressive reloading machine that lowers the tool head instead of raising the turret. In addition, the Williams patent shows six work stations, where the reloading tasks are divided into loading the shell case into the turret, depriming, belling the case mouth and inserting a new primer, loading a powder charge, seating a bullet, and removing the shell from the turret.
Because reloading typically is practiced on used shell cases, initially the cases are deformed such that they do not meet size specifications. Not all cases can be reused. Even after a single firing, some cases are ruined beyond reclamation.
The problem of reforming a spent cartridge case during reloading is partially met by use of a sizing die. Often the first step in reloading is to insert a case longitudinally into a sizing die. Often the sizing die is combined with a decapping pin. Thus, in a progressive or multi-station press, the first workstation after a case is loaded into the shell plate should carry the sizing die. The sizing die will reform the case both from the outside and from the inside. A cavity in the die is suitably shaped to reform the exterior profile of a case to specifications, at least as to maximum sidewall diameter and diametric contour. An expander ball carried on the centerline of the die cavity enters the case mouth to expand the mouth to specified size. Subsequently, when the shell plate is lowered, the case is pulled free of the cavity and of the expander ball. U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,661 to Tuftee shows such a sizing die with internal expander ball.
A sizing die is not always able to restore a case to specified length. If a case is too short, typically it cannot be reused because there is no economical way to lengthen such a case. A case that initially is too long possibly can be restored to specified length. However, the stroke of a reloading machine is fixed or at least is poorly adapted for adjustment to the sizing requirements of each individual spent case.
Machines for trimming long cases independently of a reloading press are known, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,915 to Sinclair and U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,827 to Dugger. These trimmers are not suited for use in a progressive reloading machine. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,813 to Henley proposes a power operated resizing die combined with a case length trimmer, in a form factor adapted for use with a progressive reloading machine.
A sizing die offers length adjustment to coordinate with the stroke of the reloading machine. Such adjustment typically is a batch adjustment that takes into account the maximum length specification for the size of cartridge case being reloaded. The depth of the sizing die in the threaded bore of the tool platform can be set by trial and error, by processing sample cases from the batch and then measuring the resulting cases after they are removed from the reloading press. Measurement tools typically are independent of a reloading press. United States patents that disclose an independent case length measurement tool include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,825 to Lesh and U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,513 to Peterson. Some sizing dies offer length gradations on a threaded adjuster to reduce the amount of trial and error. U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,720 to Fox et al shows a sizing die with measurement markings on an adjuster.
Sizing dies inherently introduce error into the determination and adjustment of case length. Substantially every known sizing die suited for use with a reloading machine relies upon longitudinal withdrawal of the case from the die. Even a sizing die with built-in trimmer, such as taught in the Henley patent, suffers the introduction of inaccuracy when the sized and trimmed case is longitudinally withdrawn from the die. Friction from the die on the external surface of the case, and friction from the expander ball on the internal surface of the case, can lengthen the case by an unknown and unpredictable amount.
Shell cases are lubricated prior to processing in a reloading machine. Lubricant properties differ. The use of different lubricants might result in variations of length as cases are sized.
Even new brass cases vary in configuration, which would be expected in a mass produced product. After a cartridge has been fired, the residual configuration and characteristics of a spent brass case will be still more unique and individual. The frictional interaction between any one spent case and a sizing die can be uniquely different than with a different spent case. For these reasons, the practice of adjusting headspace in a sizing die by using a few test cartridge cases does not necessarily produce an accurate result with any other cartridge case.
Pistol ammunition encounters another source of error during reloading. The case mouth must be belled before the new bullet is seated. The belling step can be performed at any station before the new bullet is applied and seated. Some reloading machines perform the belling step in combination with recharging the case with powder. At a single workstation, the case is elevated against a powder funnel, where the case then raises the powder funnel, triggering the release of a powder charge that drops into the case. For pistol ammunition, the contact end of the powder funnel is configured to bell the case mouth. The rising case raises the powder funnel until the powder funnel strikes a stop. The case rises further, belling the case mouth against the stopped powder funnel. The belled and recharged case then is lowered from the powder funnel. The belling step introduces another opportunity for the case length to change in an unpredictable manner.
The practice of reloading cartridge cases often is motivated by reasons of economy. Clearly it would desirable to identify defectively sized cases as early as possible in the reloading process, before investing needless materials in a cartridge that cannot be used. A key stage in reloading is the seating of the new bullet. When the bullet has been seated, the bullet and powder charge no longer can be safely salvaged from the cartridge. Thus, the cost of the reloaded cartridge has been fully committed. Removing a bullet from a live cartridge is dangerous. Despite the danger, people have tried to disassemble and salvage a fully reloaded cartridge. If for no reason other than to reduce this type of salvage effort, it would be desirable to identify defectively sized cartridges before the bullet is seated.
Cases that are longer than a specified limit are unsafe to use. A reloading machine will push such an overly long case too far forward onto the powder funnel or other belling device. As a product of the excess movement, the brass becomes crimped at the open end. The crimped brass might dig into the bullet and restrict the bullet from clean separation when fired. As a result, the case might fail, presenting a danger to the shooter and possibly damaging the firearm.
A progressive reloading machine offers the advantages of automation to the task of reloading a large number of cartridges. It remains possible to measure every case before seating the bullet by using an independent measuring tool such as those disclosed in the Lesh and Peterson patents. However, use of these tools would require that the case be removed from the progressive reloading machine before performing the bullet-seating step. This interruption of the progressive reloading cycle would defeat the purpose of having such a machine. Therefore, it would be desirable to identify a case having improper length both while the case remains in the progressive reloading machine and before the bullet-seating step.
A single-station reloading machine can perform the same steps as a progressive reloading machine, but done one tool or one step at a time. A first tool might be used to process an entire collection of cases, after which a second tool replaces the first and processes the entire collection of cases, and so on. A significant difference is that only one workstation is present on the single-station tool platform. Of course, the single-station reloading machine does not benefit from an indexing rotary conveyor system that moves the cases from workstation to workstation, as in a progressive reloading machine. Even a single-station reloading machine would benefit by a reduction in the number of tool changes by the combination of several functions into one tool or one step. For example, it would be beneficial to combine case length checking with another function, such as powder loading or powder level checking. Therefore, from the perspective of a single-station reloading machine, it would be desirable to combine case length checking with another function to be performed at one time.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method and apparatus of this invention may comprise the following.


A vehicle equipment control system locks vehicle doors by any one of auto-lock and trigger lock systems. In the auto-lock system, a wide communication area is set that covers an entire vehicle compartment is set. In the trigger lock system, a narrow communication area is set that disables the communication with a portable unit carried by a user near a vehicle. When no response signal is received from the portable unit in the respective communication areas, the respective vehicle doors are locked. Accordingly, even when any one of the auto-lock and trigger lock systems is used, the portable unit is prevented from being left in the compartment, and the respective vehicle doors can be locked.

Conventionally, JP-2003-269023A for example, proposes a vehicle equipment control system. The system has an auto-lock function for automatically locking vehicle doors when a user leaves a vehicle. In the system, the distance permitting auto-locking is specifiable. When a "short distance" is specified, then the auto-lock function is executed upon the condition where LF (low frequency) communication from the vehicle device to the portable unit becomes disabled. On the other hand, when a "long distance" is specified, the auto-lock function is executed upon the condition where UHF (ultra high frequency) communication from the portable unit to the vehicle device becomes disabled.
Further, JP-10-59131A proposes another door locking system. In this door locking system, an operation of a switch provided in a respective door knob of a vehicle is set as a trigger, and two-way communication between an in-vehicle device and a portable transmitter-receiver device (portable unit) is performed in response to that operation. In the event that a normal response signal has been received from the portable unit, a corresponding door of the vehicle is locked through the vehicle device. In this system, when locking the door, a low output verification signal and a high output verification signal are output from the in-vehicle device, thereby to prevent the portable unit from being forgotten in the vehicle compartment. More specifically, the system can be preset such that a receivable range of low output verification signals in the portable unit is substantially the same as those in the compartment. As such, in the event that a response to the low output verification signal has been received, then it can be determined that the portable unit is forgotten in the compartment.
Alternatively, when no response to the low output verification signal has been received, then the high output verification signal is succeedingly transmitted to verify the existence of the response from the portable unit. The receivable range of the high output verification signals is preset to include a predetermined range covering the vicinity of the vehicle. As such, when the response to the high output verification has been received from the portable unit, then it is determined that the user of the portable unit is present in the outside of the vehicle, and hence door is locked.
As described above, the vehicle door locking systems include auto-lock and trigger lock systems. The auto-lock system locks the respective vehicle door automatically upon leaving of the user from the vehicle. The trigger lock system operates in response to a trigger set to the user operation performed on a switch provided in a vehicle door.
In order to improve usability of such systems for users, it is preferable that the vehicle door is lockable by any one of the auto-lock and trigger lock systems. In this case, in the event that the user gets off the vehicle and moves away without operating the switch provided in the vehicle door, the door is locked by the auto-lock system. Alternatively, in the event that the user has operated the switch provided in the vehicle door, the vehicle door is locked by the trigger lock system.
However, in the case that the vehicle door lockable by using any one of the auto-lock and trigger lock systems, such drawbacks as described below may arise.
It is preferable that, as described in JP-10-59131A, in order to prevent the portable unit from being forgotten and confined in the compartment, when locking the vehicle door, an inside transmitter for transmitting request signal towards a vehicle compartment is used to verify whether the portable unit is present in the compartment. However, this approach encounters difficulty in setting a transmission range of the request signal of the inside transmitter to include the overall area in the compartment into a communication area that enables communication with the portable unit. This is because, when the transmitting range of the request signal is set in such the manner, the transmitting wave of the request signal leaks from a window of the respective vehicle door.
When operating a switch of a vehicle door to lock the vehicle door, a user is located relatively close to the vehicle. As such, when the transmission wave of the request signal has leaked, the portable unit carried by the user may react with the leaking request signal and can return a response signal. Consequently, while the user is carrying the portable unit, an alarm indicating that the portable unit has been forgotten in the compartment occurs and the vehicle door cannot be locked.
In order to overcome such drawbacks, it is contemplated that when operating the switch of the vehicle door, the user reduces the transmission output level to an extent not causing the reaction of the portable unit. In this case, however, in the compartment, there occurs a dead zone area that disables the communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit. As such, in the event that, while the portable unit is placed in the dead zone area, the user gets out of the vehicle and executes the auto-lock function under the condition where the two-way communication with the inside transmitter is disabled, the portable unit is undesirably confined in the compartment. Alternatively, suppose that the auto-lock function has been executed under the condition where, as described in JP-2003-269023A, the communication with the transmitter covering the exterior of the vehicle is disabled. In this case, an event can take place in which the vehicle is left in a place in the condition where the auto-lock function is not executed and hence the vehicle doors are unlocked.

Vehicle equipment control system and method


A loudspeaker is disclosed in which an enclosure is provided with a horn. A driver and vent are provided in side walls of the horn, spaced from a central axis of the horn. The vent is aligned so that when the central axis of the horn is horizontal and a central axis of said vent does not lie in a vertical plane containing the central axis of the horn, the central axis of the vent intersects the vertical plane containing the central axis of the horn. The driver, preferably a woofer, may also be aligned so that when the central axis of the horn is horizontal and a central axis of said driver does not lie in a vertical plane containing the central axis of the horn, the central axis of the driver intersects the vertical plane containing the central axis of the horn. The central axis of the vent and the central axis of the driver preferably intersect the central axis of the horn, more preferably intersect the central axis of the horn rearward of the mouth of the horn and most preferably intersect the central axis of the horn rearward of front edges of the vent and driver. The design merges the designs of a horn loudspeaker and bass reflex loudspeaker to arrive at a loudspeaker having some of the benefits of both designs.

This invention relates to loudspeakers and, more particularly, to horn loaded loudspeakers.
The range of hearing for a young person typically includes sound frequencies having wavelengths from approximately 20 Hz to approximately 20 kHz. The upper limit typically falls with age to approximately 10-15 kHz. In speaker design, ideally one would like to have a single speaker that could faithfully reproduce sound over the full range of audible wavelengths. This is generally considered impractical, in part because different loudspeaker characteristics are desirable for reproducing sound at different wavelengths. For example, it is typically desirable to have a driver diaphragm that less mass at higher frequencies and more mass at lower frequencies.
Similarly, it is typically desirable to have a driver magnet having less mass for reproducing sounds at lower frequencies and having more mass for reproducing sounds at higher frequencies.
Because of the different properties that are desirable for reproducing sound waves having different frequencies, different drivers are typically used for reproducing different ranges of frequencies. For example, a sub-woofer may be used to reproduce sound waves having a frequencies of approximately 80-100 Hz or less. A woofer is typically used to reproduce sound waves having frequencies from approximately 80 Hz to approximately 400 or 800 Hz; some woofers are being used to reproduce sound waves having frequencies of as high as approximately 1200 Hz. Mid range drivers are typically used to reproduce sounds from approximately 300 Hz to approximately 7 kHz, and tweeters are typically used to reproduce sounds from approximately 1500 Hz to approximately 20 kHz.
Loudspeakers using horn loading or using a bass reflex system are known in the art, each design offering its own advantages and disadvantages. In a horn loudspeaker, a horn is typically an angled or curved tube with a gradually increasing cross section area that shapes and directs sound radiating from the horn. A horn is typically made of metal, plastic or wood. In designing a horn for a loudspeaker, the curvature of the horn side walls is typically determined using a selected mathematical equation or formula depending upon the desired characteristics of the loudspeaker. Horn loaded loudspeakers offer a number of advantages. For example, a horn loaded speaker, in which a horn is placed in front of a driver, such as a woofer, is a highly efficient speaker, providing relatively high sound pressure levels with relatively low power input. To better understand the improved efficiency and the directivity of a horn loaded loudspeaker, it may be helpful to visualize the effect a megaphone has on cheers or instructions shouted or spoken into it. If the horn is well designed, the horn loaded speaker also offers a smooth frequency response. Although they offer many advantages, horn loaded speakers are not without problems. When the size of the loudspeaker is a concern, a horn loaded speaker is relatively large, particularly when the speaker is designed to extend into lower frequencies.
In a bass reflex or vented box type system, a vent is added to a closed box that typically has a direct radiation driver, and the vent is tuned so that the sound radiating from the vent effectively adds to the direct sound from the driver. A bass reflex system provides good low frequency extension, improving the driver response near the low cut-off frequency, particularly for woofers. Venting such as is done in a bass reflex system provides the most benefits for drivers reproducing low frequency sound waves and does not provide as significant benefits for drivers reproducing higher frequency sound waves such as tweeters and mid-range drivers. When size is of concern, a relatively small bass reflex system can offer good performance, particularly for a speaker designed to extend into lower frequencies. A bass reflex system, however, is relatively inefficient and has higher distortion than a well-designed horn loaded system.

Loudspeaker having horn loaded driver and vent


A method includes receiving, through RRC signaling from a base station, indicating a dormancy cell group having at least a first serving cell and a second serving cell, receiving a first indicator indicating a dormant behavior to the first serving cell is to be activated when the first serving cell is activated, receiving a second indicator indicating a dormant behavior to the second serving cell is to be deactivated when the second serving cell is activated. The method also includes receiving a cell activation indication to activate the first serving cell and the second serving cell, activating the first serving cell and the second serving cell, applying the dormant behavior to the first serving cell based on the first indicator when the first serving cell is activated, and not applying the dormant behavior to the second serving cell based on the second indicator when the second serving cell is activated.

In Carrier Aggregation (CA), two or more Component Carriers (CCs) are aggregated. A User Equipment (UE) may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or multiple CCs depending on its capabilities. CA is supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs. When CA is deployed, frame timing and System Frame Number (SFN) are aligned across cells that can be aggregated. In the case of multiple CCs, the maximum number of configured CCs for a UE may be sixteen for Downlink (DL) transmission, and sixteen for Uplink (UL) transmission.
To enable Bandwidth Adaptation (BA) on the PCell, the gNB configures the UE with UL and DL Bandwidth Part(s) (BWPs). To enable BA on Secondary Cells (SCells) in the case of CA, the gNB configures the UE with DL BWP(s) at least (i.e., there may be none in the UL). For the PCell, the initial BWP is the BWP used for initial access. For the SCell(s), the initial BWP is the BWP configured for the UE to first operate at SCell activation. With BA, the receive and transmit bandwidth of a UE need not be as large as the bandwidth of the cell and can be adjusted: the width can be ordered to change (e.g., to shrink during period of low activity to save power); the location can move in the frequency domain (e.g., to increase scheduling flexibility); and the subcarrier spacing can be ordered to change (e.g., to allow different services). A subset of the total cell bandwidth of a cell is referred to as a BWP and BA is achieved by configuring the UE with BWP(s) and telling the UE which of the configured BWPs is currently the active one.
A UE configured for operation in BWPs of a serving cell, is configured by higher layers for the serving cell. A set of at most four BWPs for UE reception (the DL BWP set) are identified in a DL bandwidth by the parameter BWP-Downlink, and a set of at most four BWPs for UE transmission (the UL BWP set) are identified in an UL bandwidth by the parameter BWP-Uplink. Each DL BWP of the cell may or may not be configured with a PDCCH configuration (i.e., the configuration of the PDCCH for the BWP is optional).
To enable reasonable UE battery consumption when CA is configured, an activation/deactivation mechanism of Cells is supported. When an SCell is deactivated, the UE does not need to receive the corresponding PDCCH or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), cannot transmit in the corresponding uplink, nor is it required to perform Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) measurements. Conversely, when an SCell is active, the UE shall receive PDSCH and PDCCH configurations (if the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH on this SCell) and is expected to be able to perform CQI measurements.
A UE may be configured with a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) functionality that controls the UE's PDCCH monitoring activity. When using a DRX operation, the UE shall also monitor PDCCH according to requirements found in other subclauses of the 3GPP Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification. When in an RRC_CONNECTED state, if a DRX is configured, for all the activated Serving Cells, the UE may monitor the PDCCH discontinuously using the DRX operation specified in this subclause; otherwise the UE shall monitor the PDCCH as specified in the 3GPP Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification.
Pursuant to the 3GPP New Radio (NR) and Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) Overall Description (stage 2), when DRX is configured, the UE does not have to continuously monitor PDCCH. DRX is characterized by the following conditions:                on-duration: the duration that the UE waits, after waking up, to receive PDCCHs. If the UE successfully decodes a PDCCH, the UE stays awake and starts the inactivity timer;        inactivity-timer: the duration that the UE waits to successfully decode a PDCCH, from the last successful decoding of a PDCCH, failing which, it can go back to sleep. The UE shall restart the inactivity timer following a single successful decoding of a PDCCH for a first transmission only (i.e. not for retransmissions);        retransmission-timer: the duration until a retransmission can be expected;        cycle: specifies the periodic repetition of the on-duration followed by a possible period of inactivity;        active-time: the total duration that the UE monitors PDCCH. This includes the "on-duration" of the DRX cycle, the time the UE is performing continuous reception while the inactivity timer has not expired, and the time when the UE is performing continuous reception while waiting for a retransmission opportunity.
Pursuant to the 3GPP MAC protocol specification, when a DRX cycle is configured, the Active Time includes the time while:                drx-onDurationTimer or drx-Inactivity Timer or drx-RetransmissionTimerDL or drx-RetransmissionTimerUL or ra-ContentionResolutionTimer (as described in 3GPP TS 38.321 V15.5.0 subclause 5.1.5) is running; or        a Scheduling Request is sent on Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and is pending (as described in 3GPP TS 38.321 V15.5.0 subclause 5.4.4); or        a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to the C-RNTI of the MAC entity has not been received after successful reception of a Random Access Response for the Random Access Preamble not selected by the MAC entity among the contention-based Random Access Preamble (as described in 3GPP TS 38.321 V15.5.0 subclause 5.1.4).The MAC entity does not need to monitor the PDCCH if it is not a complete PDCCH occasion (e.g., the Active Time starts or ends in the middle of a PDCCH occasion).
In carrier aggregation, SCells may be used to offload large data bursts, which can help increase UE's link throughput, but at the same time increase UE's power consumption. Therefore, to enable reasonable UE battery consumption when CA is configured, some methods may be applied by a network (NW). In one current method, the NW could deactivate the configured SCells by a SCell Activation/Deactivation MAC Control Element (CE). When the SCell is deactivated, the UE may not: transmit Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) on the SCell, report Channel State Information (CSI) for the SCell, transmit on uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) on the SCell, transmit on Random Access Channel (RACH) on the SCell, monitor the PDCCH on the SCell, monitor the PDCCH for the SCell, and/or transmit PUCCH on the SCell. However, for this alternative, although restricting most of the transmissions on the SCell could save a large amount of power, the drawback is a long delay for CQI measurement and/or CQI report at the beginning when the SCell is re-activated, which may degrade the efficiency.
In the current DRX mechanism (e.g., 3GPP Rel-15), when the UE is configured with DRX and the UE is in DRX Active Time, the UE may need to monitor PDCCH on each of the serving cells with a PDCCH configuration. It is well known that even if the UE is not scheduled with data on a SCell, a large percentage of power is spent on that cell for monitoring PDCCH on the cell. Therefore, it would be very useful if a UE can dynamically adapt its PDCCH monitoring on a SCell, e.g., based on its traffic load. In one current method, a NW could de-configure the PDCCH on the SCell. When the PDCCH configuration of the SCell is de-configured, the UE may not need to monitor the PDCCH on the SCell. If the NW would like to schedule the transmission on the SCell, the NW may signal the PDCCH via another cell for the SCell (e.g., based on cross-carrier scheduling). However, for this alternative, to reconfigure the RRC configuration is not time efficient, which may typically take a long time to change the configuration.
As a consequence, some enhancements for dynamically adapting PDCCH monitoring to reduce PDCCH monitoring on a specific serving cell(s) or a specific cell group may be beneficial for power saving.

Method and apparatus for PDCCH monitoring adaptation


The present invention relates to a process for the production of L-amino acids by fermentation of recombinant microorganisms of the Enterobacteriaceae family, wherein    a) the yfiD ORF and/or the pflB gene or nucleotide sequences coding for the gene products are overexpressed in the microorganisms producing the desired L-amino acid, and the microorganisms are cultured in a medium under conditions in which the desired L-amino acid is enriched in the medium or in the cells; and    b) the desired L-amino acid is isolated, in a manner such that constituents of the fermentation broth and/or the biomass in its entirety or in portions (>0 to 100%) either remain in the isolated product or are completely removed.

L-amino acids such as L-threonine are used in human medicine, in the pharmaceutical industry, in the food industry and, very particularly, in animal nutrition. It is known that L-amino acids can be prepared by the fermentation of strains of Enterobacteriaceae, especially Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Serratia marcescens. As a result of the great importance of these amino acids, efforts are constantly made to improve production methods. Process improvements may relate to fermentation engineering measures, e.g., methods of stirring and supplying oxygen, or to the composition of the nutrient media, e.g., the sugar concentration present during fermentation. Alternatively, improvements may relate to the way in which product is purified, e.g., ion-exchange chromatography, or to the intrinsic performance characteristics of the microorganism itself.
Methods of mutagenesis, selection and mutant choice are often used to improve the performance characteristics of microorganisms. In this way, strains are obtained that are resistant to antimetabolites such as the threonine analog α-amino-β-hydroxyvaleric acid (AHV) or that are auxotrophic for regulatorily important metabolites and which produce L-amino acids such as L-threonine. For some time now, methods of recombinant DNA engineering have also been used for improving L-amino acid-producing strains of the Enterobacteriaceae family. This often involves amplifying individual amino acid biosynthesis genes and testing the effect of this amplification on production. A summary of information relating to the cellular biology and molecular biology of Escherichia coli and Salmonella can be found in Neidhardt (ed.): Escherichia coli and Salmonella, Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2nd edition, ASM Press, Washington, D.C., USA,(1996).

Enterobacteriaceae strains over-expressing the yfiD gene for the fermentative production of L-amino acids


A document illumination apparatus includes a first light source configured to emit light. A first lower reflector is configured to reflect the light emitted from the first light source. A first upper reflector is configured to reflect the light reflected by the first lower reflector to illuminate a document. A first non-reflective area is disposed between the first lower and upper reflectors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document illumination apparatus, a document reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to one or more of these apparatuses permitting efficient cooling of a lamp.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is known to use an illumination apparatus in a document reading apparatus of an image forming system, such as a copiers or a scanner. The illumination apparatus uses a fluorescent lamp as a light source to illuminate a document, so that the document can be read by the reading apparatus.
The fluorescent lamp is commonly a xenon lamp which has a high emission efficiency and relatively low power consumption. The xenon lamp has a wider light emitting area and generates a greater amount of light, although it has a lower brightness as compared to a halogen lamp.
The amount of light emitted by the lamp is proportional to an area of the glass tube coated with a fluorescent material. Thus, a relatively large xenon lamp, such as a xenon lamp having a size of 10 mm or more in diameter, is used to emit a large amount of light.
The known illumination apparatus suffer from the disadvantage that the large xenon lamp produces a relatively large amount of heat. High temperatures within the illumination apparatus adversely affect the longevity of the light source, and degrade other components of the illumination apparatus.
Further, the adverse effects caused by these high temperatures are compounded as illumination apparatuses are continually reduced in size. In order to make the illumination apparatuses more compact, it has been proposed to use more reflectors to provide the light path. However, the use of more reflectors increases the complexity of the illumination apparatuses, and it is more difficult and expensive to provide an accurate light path.

Document illumination apparatus, document reading apparatus and image forming apparatus permitting efficient cooling