An automatic gain control device includes: reading unit for reading information signal from a recording medium; servo loop including servo control unit for controlling position of the reading unit with respect to the recording medium; mixing unit for mixing a disturbance signal into the servo loop; gain control unit detecting gain of the servo loop in accordance with level of the disturbance signal and varying the gain of the servo loop; and level detecting unit for discriminating whether level of the information signal read by the reading unit is higher than a predetermined level or not, wherein the mixing unit mixes the disturbance signal into the servo loop when the level of the information signal is higher than the predetermined level.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a servo control device, and more particularly to a gain control technique for a servo control device installed in an optical information recording and reproducing device.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Normally, in a device for recording or reproducing information on or from a disc such as a Compact Disc or a Laser Disc, servo control is very important for accurately reading out information recorded on a disc. Servo control circuit generally includes a closed servo loop for feeding back information relating to a relative speed of a pickup for reading information with respect to the disc, information relating to a position of the pickup with respect to tracks or information relating to focusing condition of objective lens. In such a servo control technique, an error signal is generated based on a read-out signal from pickup, and it is necessary to control gain of the servo loop so that error signal becomes an appropriate voltage level. For this reason, an automatic gain control circuit is frequently provided in a servo control device. Recently, some types of automatic gain control circuits have been proposed. One of automatic gain control circuits detects magnitude level of an error signal and carries out gain control so that error signal supplied to a servo equalizer circuit becomes an appropriate magnitude level. However, in use of such a circuit, gain of servo loop largely varies, due to characteristic differences of individual pickups or circuits and/or temperature characteristics, after the servo loop is closed, and therefore gain control cannot be accurately performed. In this view, an automatic gain control utilizing disturbance source is advantageous. In such gain control, disturbance signal having a given magnitude level and a given frequency is mixed into servo loop, and disturbance signal traveled through servo loop is picked up and its magnitude level is detected, with a delay time, so as to detect a loop gain peculiar to the servo loop including a disc. Then, level of error signal is varied by an attenuator or the like to be an appropriate level for a following servo equalizer.
In a known automatic gain control device, gain control described above is carried out in a certain time period prior to reproduction of disc. In an automatic gain control device utilizing disturbance source, a pickup mechanically fluctuates dependent upon the disturbance signal after mixing the same. However, disturbance signal is of audible frequency and is mixed into servo loop prior to reproduction of audio information (i.e., no music period), and hence disturbance signal may leak in audio information to be reproduced and sensed by listener as discordant and uncomfortable noise. This is illustrated in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a disc is set in a reproduction device at time t.sub.1, and the focus servo is closed at time t.sub.2 so that a light beam from an pickup is focused on a track by an object lens. At time t.sub.3, tracking servo loop is closed and the pickup starts following the tracks. When the focus servo control and the tracking servo control are completed, automatic gain control commences. However, during the automatic gain control soon after the time t.sub.3, MUTE signal is effective and no audio information is output. Namely, no music is reproduced before searching a head portion of music to be reproduced, and in this period disturbance signal is audible as discordant noise.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relation between a position of an objective lens with respect to a pickup and a level of error signal. In FIG. 2, X-axis represents a deviation, i.e., an offset, measured from a lens-center which is a center of a lens movable range on a pickup, and Y-axis represents a level of tracking error signal. Namely, FIG. 2 illustrates variation of tracking error signal corresponding to position of lens. As seen from FIG. 2, level of tracking error signal largely varies depending on an offset from lens-center, and therefore a servo control device is required to have an automatic gain control function for absorbing variation. In an automatic gain control device, gain control is performed with no dependency upon position of lens relative to pickup. In consideration of the fact that level of error signal varies dependent upon offset from lens-center, there is developed a gain control device which arithmetically operates an appropriate gain control value from variation amount. Since variation amount is peculiar to individual discs, gain control value may be decided for respective discs. A technique of this kind is disclosed in a Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-289520.
However, an automatic gain control device described above has the following problems. Firstly, in normal reproduction, since the pickup is positioned at an appropriate position by tracking servo control, central position of pickup rarely deviates from a target track of disc and a lens actuator corrects only very slight positional deviation of lens due to eccentricity of disc or the like. Namely, lens rarely moves largely to the extent of lens movable range, and is positioned within a narrow appropriate range (e.g., the range A in FIG. 2) near the lens-center by servo control. In other words, in normal reproduction, lens moves only within a narrow range in the vicinity of lens-center. However, in a special operation such as track jump, jumping access or the like, pickup jumps to a target track and then positioned by servo control. In this case, while pickup jumps and moves to a correct tracking position according to carriage control, lens moves largely within its movable range by fine position control, and may be positioned at an area other than an appropriate area near lens-center (e.g., range B in FIG. 2). In this situation, since level of error signal is low as shown, gain of an amplifier provided in gain control device should be increased for correctly performing servo control. However, in a normal reproduction, the pickup is positioned near lens-center and therefore loop gain set at position with large offset (largely deviated from lens-center, e.g., range B) is so high that error signal of appropriate level cannot be supplied to servo system. As a result, correct servo control cannot be performed. In addition, if carriage servo is unstable, lens temporarily stays near inner or outer edge of lens movable range, that is, shifted from lens-center. Normally, gain control is performed within a necessary and sufficient gain valuable range, and hence an automatic gain control device cannot set correct gain if lens is shifted in the above manner. This deteriorates servo characteristics and may result in a drop of product quality.
Generally, if position of pickup deviates from lens-center, level of tracking error signal asymmetrically varies. Therefore, in a reproduction of disc having relatively large eccentricity, error signal level largely varies during movement of carriage because lens rarely stays near lens-center, and hence control is unstable. Further, if loop gain is controlled irrespective of lens position in a case of disc having large eccentricity, loop gain is adjusted so that randomly detected tracking error level becomes appropriate level. Therefore, gain adjustment may be erroneous. The above description relates to problems in tracking servo control, however, there exists a similar problem in focus servo control. Namely, if lens position on pickup deviates from lens-center, sensitivity of lens varies. Therefore, if gain adjustment is carried out at an arbitrary position of disc having relatively large eccentricity, variation of controlled gain become large.


A detector pixel, an array substrate, an apparatus and a method for detecting an intensity of a ray are provided. The detector pixel includes substrate, first transistor, second transistor, storage capacitor, photosensitive element, first control line, second control line, first data line and second data line. The first and the second transistors are dual-gate transistors; the first transistor has a bottom gate connected to the first control line, a top gate connected to the second control line, a first electrode connected to the storage capacitor, and a second electrode connected to the first data line; the second transistor has a bottom gate connected to the second control line, a top gate connected to the first control line, a first electrode connected to the storage capacitor, and a second electrode connected to the second data line; and the storage capacitor is connected to the photosensitive element.

Digital X-ray detectors are more and more widely used in the field of medical imaging, which have significant advantages over conventional imaging plate technology, such as high definition, easy operation, high imaging speed and low cost. Nevertheless, lifespans of the digital X-ray detectors are subject to bad influence of X-rays.

Detector pixel, array substrate, apparatus and method for detecting intensity of ray

HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A cap for an implantable medical device electrical connector lead assembly and methods of use. A cap for protecting an electrical connector lead assembly of an implantable medical device is disclosed. The cap includes a body defined by a mating surface and a non-mating surface. The mating surface is adapted for electrically insulating engagement with an electrical connector lead assembly of an implantable medical device. The cap includes a body having a mating surface and an electrical network disposed therein. The electrical network includes first and second contacts exposed at the mating surface, a first circuit element, and two conductive pathways connecting the contacts to the circuit element. The body is configured to mate with the electrical connector lead assembly such that each contact conductively engages a corresponding contact of the electrical connector lead assembly when the cap and electrical connector lead assembly are mated.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to implantable electrical leads, and more particularly, to a cap for an implantable electrical lead assembly.
Related Art
Devices that have one or more components designed for temporary or permanent implantation in a recipient provide numerous therapeutic and/or other benefits. Examples of such implantable medical devices include implantable medical devices such as cardiac assist devices, pacemakers, hearing prostheses, drug delivery devices, monitoring systems, and so on. Oftentimes, implantable medical devices have multiple implantable components. Typically, the implantable components are connected to each other electrical lead assemblies suitable for transferring data, instructions, programs and other information, as well as power, between the implanted components.
Some implantable medical devices are designed to be arranged in different configurations, with some configurations having a different combination of implantable components. The implemented configuration of such implantable medical devices may change over time as the treated condition or desired functionality changes. Other implantable medical devices are designed to accept new implantable components in the future. As such, it is not uncommon for implantable medical devices to include implantable components which have one or more electrical lead assemblies that are not connected to another implantable component at time of surgery. Such electrical lead assemblies may be associated with an unused configuration or may be provided to facilitate incorporation of a new component in the future.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cap for an implantable electrical lead assembly


An apparatus to sense temperature in a glassware forming machine. A mold body includes an exterior surface, a mold cavity having an interior mold surface, and a blind hole having a closed end including a closed end surface adjacent to and spaced outwardly from the interior mold surface, wherein the blind hole extends outwardly from the closed end surface toward the exterior surface. The mold body is removably carried on a mold hanger, and a light collector is carried by the mold hanger to collect infrared light emitted within the blind hole.

Glassware articles, for instance, glass containers, are typically molded at two stations of a forming machine of the type known as an individual section (I.S.) machine. In a blank station, a molten gob of glass is received and molded into a parison of a finished container by a blank mold including separable blank mold sections (e.g., halves) that are moved together to define a blank mold cavity for forming the parison. After forming of the parison, the blank mold sections are separated, and an invert mechanism transfers the glass parison to a blow station that includes a blow mold body that has separable blow mold sections (e.g. halves) that are moved together to define a blow mold cavity for forming the finished glassware container shape. In the blow station, the parison is received into the blow mold cavity and blow molded into the finished container shape by a blow mold operation. After forming of the finished container, the blow mold sections are separated and a take-out mechanism removes the formed container from the I.S. machine for further processing. The I.S. machine also includes mold hangers for mounting and carrying the mold sections. A U.S. patent that illustrates a machine of this type for molding glass containers is U.S. Pat. No. 7,698,907.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide an apparatus to measure the temperature of a glassware mold that is more reliable and less susceptible to damage compared to a conventional thermocouple or infrared camera.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided to sense temperature in a glassware forming machine. The apparatus includes a mold body including an exterior surface, a mold cavity having an interior mold surface, and a blind hole having a closed end including a closed end surface adjacent to and spaced outwardly from the interior mold surface, wherein the blind hole extends outwardly from the closed end surface toward the exterior surface. The apparatus also includes a mold hanger on which the mold body is removably carried, and a light collector carried by the mold hanger to collect infrared light emitted within the blind hole.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a glassware forming apparatus includes a glassware mold body including a longitudinally extending inboard axis, an inboard side, an outboard side, a lower end, and an upper end, a mold cavity in the inboard side for forming a glassware article, and a blind hole in the glassware mold body extending outwardly toward an exterior surface of the mold body from a closed end surface of the blind hole adjacent to an interior surface of the mold body cavity. Also, the apparatus includes a mold hanger disposed at the outboard side of the mold body and on which the mold body is removably carried and including an inboard side, an outboard side, a lower end, and an upper end, and a hanger hole extending between the outboard side and the inboard side in alignment with the blind hole of the mold body. Additionally, the apparatus includes a pyrometric apparatus including a pyrometer, and a light collector at least partially disposed in the hanger hole to collect infrared light from the blind hole for transmission to the pyrometer.


An apparatus for determining a quantitative property of a sample substance by means of magnetic resonance is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a conveyor for conveying sample containers containing the sample substance through a measuring station. The measuring station comprises a magnet system for generating a constant magnetic field of high homogeneity. The measuring station, further, comprises a probe head adapted for letting sample containers be conveyed therethrough and for generating a high frequency magnetic field. A magnetic resonance measuring unit determines the quantitative property of the sample substance contained in the probe head. The probe head excites and detects, resp., the magnetic resonance essentially only within that section of the sample container which contains the sample substance. The probe head comprises a split-ring resonator which, as seen in a conveying direction of the conveyor, has a passage cross-section for letting run the sample containers therethrough. The high frequency magnetic field is generated essentially only in an area of the passage cross-section through which the sample containers run during conveying.

Within various chemical and pharmaceutical processes it is necessary to exactly determine a quantitative property of a certain amount of substance, for example the weight or the mass thereof. This is, for example, of particular importance in the course of the automatic filling of pharmaceutical agents into appropriate containers because it is mandatory that the amount of substance filled be exact.
Certain pharmaceutical agents that are intended to be used for a medical injection are, for example, filled into vials as powders. When doing so, the amount of powder fills only a portion of the vial. The vials are closed by means of a lid being made of metal or of a hard plastic material. The lid has a central opening being closed by an elastic seal. Immediately prior to using the agent, the medical doctor draws an appropriate solvent into a syringe, pierces the seal by means of the syringe needle and injects the solvent into the free volume of the vial. By vigorously agitating the vial, the agent powder is dissolved in the solvent. The solution which is thus prepared, is then again drawn into the syringe and may be injected into a patient. It goes without saying that during the filling process within the premises of a pharmaceutical production plant, the amount of the agent contained within the vial must be metered exactly.
Within a filling installation, pharmaceuticals are produced in large quantities, typically with filling rates of several hundred units per minute.
A thorough weight control may not be effected under these circumstances by conventional balances. One has, therefore, only been able in the past to take random samples and to check same by proper weighing, for example by weighing each hundredth packing unit. However, this procedure more and more has been considered insufficient. Therefore, the pharmaceutical industry works on appropriate standards (so-called "PAT-Initiative"), which set standards for certain pharmaceuticals, for example the above-explained injection pharmaceuticals, by making mandatory a weight control of each individual packing unit.
U.S. Pat No. 6,759,601 discloses a check weighing apparatus and method in which the weight of a filled amount of a substance may be determined in a contactless manner. Such apparatuses are identified in the art as "NCCW" (non contact check weigher). In such installations, the samples are conveyed on a conveyor belt into the area of a measuring station.
The measuring station contains a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measuring installation. The installation consists of at least one high frequency coil and an iron magnet system having its magnetic poles arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt. The samples run on the moving conveyor belt through the high frequency magnetic field generated by the high frequency coil. The magnet system generates a constant magnetic field of high homogeneity at the position where the samples run therethrough, the constant magnetic field having a direction being transverse with regard to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt. The high frequency magnetic field generated by the high frequency coil extends perpendicular thereto.
By properly tuning the field strength of the constant magnetic field to the frequency of the high frequency magnetic field, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is excited within the sample substance. The resonance signals are received by the high frequency coil and are fed to an appropriate evaluation unit. The nuclear magnetic resonance signal is a measure for the quantity of sample substance. By comparing with a nuclear resonance signal of a calibration sample of known weight and consisting of the same substance, the weight of the sample substance to be measured may be determined.
However, during the measuring of the magnetic resonance, the solid state material used for making the lid or the seal of the sample container, may give rise to spurious signals. If, for example, rubber or plastic materials are used, then the hydrogen atoms thereof give rise to NMR signals which may render inaccurate the measuring result as such.
In some embodiments of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,601, cf. FIGS. 1, 7 and 8, the probe head configured as a high frequency solenoid coil surrounds the entirety of sample substance and sample container. These embodiments, therefore, are only adapted to be used for the measurement of liquid sample substances because it is the entirety of sample substance and sample container that is exposed to the high frequency magnetic field. Spurious signals emanating from the sample container, in particular from the lid, will not become apparent in this situation if the high frequency pulses used for the measurement are only adapted to the long relaxation times of liquids. The relaxation times of solids, in contrast, are essentially shorter, so that these solids do not contribute any spurious signals when such high frequency pulses are used. However, such long relaxation times require that the samples that are fed to the apparatus at high velocity, be magnetically biased prior to reaching the high frequency coil. For that purpose the prior art apparatus has a magnet system being configured so large that the constant magnetic field is already effective in an area upstream of the high frequency coil.
On the other hand, there is a substantial need for installations, for example NCCW installations, which are likewise capable of measuring quantitative properties of solid sample substances, for example for measuring the weight of the injection pharmaceuticals discussed at the outset.
Further embodiments of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,601, cf. FIG. 9, therefore, are adapted to excite magnetic resonance only within a portion of the sample container in which the sample substance is contained. By doing so, the excitation of spurious signals from the lid or from the seal shall be avoided. For that purpose, according to a first alternative, gradient coils are arranged within the measuring station, in order to superimpose magnetic field gradients on the constant magnetic field, thus permitting a local excitation of magnetic resonance. According to a second alternative, high frequency solenoid coils are arranged within the measuring station below the conveyor belt, so that they are arranged closer to the sample substance as compared to the lid or to the seal, resp.
The afore-mentioned first alternative has the disadvantage that the structural complexity of the installation is greatly increased by the need of providing an additional gradient system together with an appropriate supply and signal evaluation. The operation of the installation becomes likewise more complicated.
The second alternative, first, has the principal disadvantage that the excitation of spurious signals from the lid or from the seal, resp., may be reduced only slightly because the sample substance is located in the direct vicinity of the lid and of the sealing, resp., in particular when the probe container is fully filled with sample substance. In such a situation, the high frequency magnetic field being generated by a solenoid coil arranged below the conveyor belt and being directed upwardly, reaches the lid or the seal, resp., at almost unreduced amplitude. Another disadvantage consists in the fact that a high frequency magnetic field being irradiated from below at a distance is significantly less homogeneous as compared to a field that is generated, for example, by a solenoid coil surrounding the sample. This may lead to errors in the measuring result. Finally, the magnetic field must be irradiated at a high intensity. All these problems become more important, the bigger the distance is between the high frequency coil and the sample substance. Moreover, this second alternative requires separate structural units, one above and one below the conveyor belt.

Apparatus and probe head for determining a quantitative property of a sample substance by means of magnetic resonance


A pre-charge buffer for sampling input signals and generating a sampled output signal includes a coarse sampling circuit, a fine sampling circuit, and a sample and hold circuit. The coarse sampling circuit pre-samples the input signals during hold phases and for a first predetermined time interval during sample phases of the corresponding sample and hold cycles, and generates a first output signal. The fine sampling circuit samples the input signals during sample phases and generates a second output signal. The sample and hold circuit receives the first and second output signals, and generates a sampled output signal. The coarse sampling circuit provides the first output signal for a predefined time interval during the sample phases to reduce the effect of charge injection and charge sharing. The system uses bottom plate sampling to reduce charge injection caused by switches in the coarse sampling circuit.

The present invention relates generally to analog to digital converters (ADC), and, more particularly, to a pre-charge buffer for an ADC that pre-samples input signals.
Sampler circuits are widely used to sample input signals in signal processing applications such as in ADCs and digital-to-analog converters (DACs). A sampler circuit samples an input signal during a sample phase of a sample and hold cycle and holds the input signal during a hold phase of the sample and hold cycle.
Typically, the sampler circuit is used with an ADC to sample multiple input signals (i.e., channels). The sampler circuit includes multiple input channels for receiving the input signals, multiple input switches, and a sample and hold circuit. The sample and hold circuit is connected to the input channels by way of the input switches. The sample and hold circuit includes a sampling capacitor and a sampling switch. The sampling switch provides the input signals to the sampling capacitor when one of the corresponding input switches is active.
During the sample phase, the sampling capacitor receives an input signal via a corresponding input switch. The sampling capacitor is charged to a voltage level of the input signal, thereby sampling the input signal. During the hold phase, the sampling capacitor holds the input signal and provides it as a sampled output signal to the ADC, which then generates a corresponding digital sampled output signal.
In applications such as adaptive backlight illumination and battery voltage monitoring, which use the sampler circuit along with the ADC, the time required to charge the sampling capacitor to a voltage level of the input signal can be longer than the sample phase. Hence, the sampling capacitor may not be charged to the voltage level of the input signal during the sample phase, which can cause the sampling capacitor to provide an incorrect measure of the input signal to the ADC. The input channels corresponding to such input signals are referred to as "weak input channels."
One way to overcome the weak channel problem is to use a pre-sampling circuit that samples the input signal before the sample phase. The pre-sampling circuit is connected to an electrode of the sampling capacitor, and pre-samples the input signal and then outputs the pre-sampled input signal during the sample phase. The sampler circuit samples the input signal after the pre-sampling and provides the sampled input signal to the sampling capacitor. Pre-sampling of the input signal allows the sampling capacitor sufficient time to provide a correct measure of the input signal.
However, the input and sampling switches are implemented using transistors and when such transistors are closed (ON), a channel region of the transistor injects charge into the source and drain regions (known as charge injection). This charge injection is propagated to the sampling capacitor, which can introduce an error in the input signal sampled by the sampling capacitor, and consequently the sampling capacitor may provide an incorrect measure of the input signal to the ADC.
Further, during the sample phase, the charge is transferred from the sampling capacitor to the input switches. Such charge transfer, referred to as "charge sharing", may reduce the charge stored in the sampling capacitor, such that the sampling capacitor may provide an incorrect measure of the input signals to the ADC.
It would be advantageous to have a sampling circuit that pre-samples the input signals and reduces the effects of charge sharing and charge injection.

Pre-charge buffer for analog-to-digital converter


A data entry system (100, 100') has an ergonomic base (102, 102') including upper surface controls (104, 104') which generate a first set of electrical signals, and side surface controls (106, 106') which generate a second set of electrical signals when operated independently. A third set of electrical signals are generated when the side surface controls (106, 106') are operated in combination with the upper surface controls (104, 104'). Data entry system (100, 100') further includes mode selection controls (108) for establishing the first, second and third sets of electrical signals as device control signals responsive to a first mode being selected and respective sets of alphanumeric and keyboard control signals responsive to a second mode being selected.

Field of the Invention
This invention directs itself to ergonomic keyboard systems for providing data entry to one or more devices. In particular, this invention directs itself to a data entry system which can function as a game controller and as an ergonomic keyboard. Still further, this invention directs itself to a data entry system having an ergonomic base with a central support portion supporting a plurality of upper surface controls. The ergonomic base further includes a back side having a plurality of side surface controls. More in particular, this invention pertains to a data entry system wherein upper surface controls and side surface controls can be used independently, or in combination to provide alphanumeric and keyboard control signals in a keyboard mode, while also functioning independently in a device mode.


A method of providing for customer selection of a circuit selection algorithm for use in a public network comprises the steps of storing a plurality of circuit selection algorithms in public network memory, translating a routing number for a call into customer data, matching the customer data with a trunk block circuit selection algorithm and controlling the delivery of calls to a customer in accordance with the trunk block circuit selection algorithm. The customer may also custom design their own circuit selection algorithm and input their custom designed algorithm into public network memory along with others for selection in accordance with their customer criteria, for example, time of day or day of week, low traffic period, high traffic period or other criteria. Apparatus for providing for customer selection of a circuit selection algorithm for use in a public network comprises a public network memory for storing a plurality of circuit selection algorithms and a controller for translating a routing number for a call into customer data, matching the customer data with a circuit selection algorithm and controlling the delivery of calls to a customer in accordance with the circuit selection algorithm. The apparatus preferably comprises a switching center for toll or local call switching.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications trunk group selection and, more particularly, to providing telecommunications trunk group selection in accordance with customer preferences.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In the field of telecommunications switch design, it is well known to provide for the selection of idle trunks or other circuits such as service circuits for connecting calls to customers. The customer, for example, may be the provider of an airline reservation system. Such an airline reservation system may be provided via an automatic call distributor for distributing calls to service representatives manning service positions. To provide for the great number of incoming calls to such an airline reservation system, a plurality of trunk groups incoming to the customer may be provided from a toll switch through a local exchange carrier to the customer. Each trunk group may contain multiples of twenty-four trunks which may comprise, for example, T1 carrier channels.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a toll network 100 comprising a plurality of toll switches such as toll switch 110. By way of example, toll switch 110 may comprise a #4ESS switch of Lucent Technologies, Inc. Toll trunks connect toll switch 110 with other toll offices via trunk circuits and facilities such as trunks of trunk groups 111 or 112. A network adjunct 115 may provide adjunct services in toll network 100 such as voice response unit (VRU) and dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling, reception and translation.
A caller desirous of obtaining an airline reservation may dial an incoming WATS telephone number such as 1-800-555-AIRS. Once the dialed number is received at an originating toll central office, for example, a #4ESS, the dialed number is translated into a routing number so that the caller may be routed through the network 100 to the customer interface 160. When the call reaches the destination toll switch 110, the several incoming trunk groups (four are shown) 125 are provided for connecting the caller via local exchange carrier (LEC) 150. Each trunk group, for example trunk group 120, may comprise twenty-four trunks, hereinafter referred to as blocks of trunks. Of the trunks in trunk group 120, several may be already busy and in use by other callers and some may be free.
Referring briefly to FIG. 2, there are pictorially represented N trunk blocks twenty-four (24) trunk circuits each, by way of example. Referring to trunk group 1, there are shown an indication of busy/idle status for all twenty-four trunks in each trunk block. The problem of the present invention relates to how to expeditiously pick an idle trunk circuit of a trunk block and how to pick a trunk block for selecting an idle trunk.
There are many and various ways of selecting a trunk block and an idle trunk. Typically, a toll switch will hunt for an idle trunk in blocks of twenty-four trunks. In the depicted example of FIG. 1, it may be assumed that there exist four trunk blocks of twenty-four trunks each. There may be a link list and a hunt list. The trunk blocks are maintained on a link list in memory. In one trunk selection algorithm, the trunk blocks may be jumbled, for example: 4, 2, 1, 3; in another, the trunk blocks may be in order, for example: 1, 2, 3, 4. One may continue to use trunk block #1 with each incoming call to the switch 110, for example, during low traffic periods when there are mostly idle trunks. It may be that the customer desirably wishes to have evenly spaced traffic over all the trunks of all the trunk blocks. In an alternative algorithm, the switch may hunt sequentially through all the trunk blocks until an idle trunk is found and then continue from that point with the next incoming call to be connected.
Continuing to track a given call to a customer 160, a trunk circuit is selected by a predetermined algorithm according to the prior art and the caller is connected typically to a voice response unit 161, such as a Lucent Conversant(TM) system. The system 161 speaks to the caller, prompts for a response and determines a caller selection, for example, from DTJF input, such as international reservations, and then an automatic call distributer of,customer interface 160, not shown, connects the call to an international service representative.
Certain customers may want a first in first out (FIFO) means of selecting trunks so that calls may be evenly dispersed among serving voice response units 161 on the customer premises. Others may want still other algorithms for trunk/trunk block selection. The trunk circuit selection algorithms known in the art comprise, for example, the following: lowest idle circuit first, highest idle circuit first, A- sequential (on the first call, select the first circuit, then the second circuit and so on), least used circuit, longest idle circuit, normal #4ESS selection algorithm and custom circuit selection. Others include most idle, least hunted; most busy, most hunted; and circular trunk hunt or circuit selection. Trunk circuit selection algorithms are many and varied and only limited by the imagination.
As suggested by these different types, the circuit selection algorithm may be switch dependent. That is, a #4ESS may have a preferred trunk circuit selection algorithm and a Northern Telecom digital multiplex switch a different one. In fact, there may be different trunk selection algorithms performed by each switch manufacturer: Siemens, Ericcson, Stromberg Carlson, Fujitsu and so on. Presently, trunk circuit selection algorithms may be switch dependent, that is, each manufacturer may prefer their own.
Since customers may not wish to be tied down to specific circuit selection algorithms, there remains a problem with the present telecommunications network that circuit selection algorithms, although many different algorithms exist, cannot be selected by customers or otherwise selected, for example, by time of day, traffic usage, day of week or circuit or trunk type.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the problems of prior art telecommunication network circuit selection criteria are solved by providing a plurality of circuit selection algorithms at a switching center that may be associated with a customer by the customer""s directory or routing number. Consequently, upon routing a call to the customer, a circuit selection algorithm selected and predetermined by the customer from the plurality of available and different algorithms may be applied for routing calls to that customer. Apparatus for providing a customer selectable circuit selection algorithm includes the provision in memory at the switching center of a table of possible different circuit selection algorithms, input means for receiving customer preferences and a controller for operatively connecting calls to the customer via circuits selected according to the predetermined selected circuit selection algorithm, predetermined by the customer.
In a further embodiment of the idle circuit selection algorithm features of the present invention, the customer may further determine certain times of the day and/or days of the week, high or low traffic usage characteristics, circuit or trunk type and the like for selecting one as opposed to another predetermined algorithm. Moreover, the customer may implement their own circuit selection algorithm of their own design via the same or different input means. The present invention is not limited to implementation in a toll network and will find application as well at a local exchange carrier or in a large private network.
These and other features of the present invention will become clear from an appreciation of the drawings and the following detailed description thereof.

Method and apparatus for providing telecommunications trunk group selection for use in a public network in accordance with customer preference


A vice mounted on a vehicle is provided including a vehicle with an adjustable vertical mounting mechanism coupled to a rear extent thereof. Further provided is a vice coupled to the adjustable vertical mounting mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle mounted vices and more particularly pertains to a new VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE VEHICLE MOUNTED VICE for allowing vertical movement of a vice coupled to a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of vehicle mounted vices is known in the prior art. More specifically, vehicle mounted vices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art vehicle mounted vices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,356; U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,748; U.S. Pat. Des. No. 282,143; U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,016; U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,147; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,088.
In these respects, the VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE VEHICLE MOUNTED VICE according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of allowing vertical movement of a vice coupled to a vehicle.

Vertically adjustable vehicle mounted vice


A display device includes: a plurality of pixel electrodes; a counter electrode provided so as to oppose the plurality of pixel electrodes to form a display capacitor between each of the plurality of pixel electrodes and the counter electrode; a plurality of storage capacitor electrodes provided so as to respectively oppose the plurality of pixel electrodes to form storage capacitors therebetween; a storage capacitor line electrically connecting together the plurality of storage capacitor electrodes; a test storage capacitor line terminal electrically connected to the storage capacitor line; and a test counter electrode terminal electrically connected to the counter electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device including: a plurality of pixel electrodes; a counter electrode provided so as to oppose the plurality of pixel electrodes to form a display capacitor between each of the plurality of pixel electrodes and the counter electrode; a plurality of storage capacitor electrodes provided so as to respectively oppose the plurality of pixel electrodes to form storage capacitors therebetween; and a storage capacitor line electrically connecting together the plurality of storage capacitor electrodes, and the present invention also relates to a method for testing the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
When manufacturing a liquid crystal panel, various tests are performed in various manufacturing steps.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-333275 discloses providing shorting lines to various signal lines such as scanning lines and source lines around the edge of a substrate of a liquid crystal panel for a display test, performing a display test by giving various signals to the shorting lines, and shaving (cutting) off the shorting lines after the test. It also discloses separately providing test terminals for controlling various signal lines such as scanning lines and source lines using a plurality of transistors in order to perform further display tests after cutting off the shorting lines.
In the liquid crystal panel manufacturing process, the test terminals are cut off after performing various electrical tests and display tests on the liquid crystal panel. Thereafter, a polarization plate is attached to the display surface of the liquid crystal panel. In a polarization plate test performed after attaching the polarization plate to the liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal panel is tested as to the presence/absence of minute defects such as a scratch on the polarization plate or foreign matter or bubbles stuck between the polarization plate and the substrate, wherein it is necessary to control the liquid crystal panel in a white display or a black display so that the defects, etc., are more conspicuous.
Test methods in which the liquid crystal panel is lit in a solid-pattern display such as a white display or a black display are generally classified into solid-pattern lighting tests in which signals are input directly to signal input terminals of scanning lines and data lines of the liquid crystal panel without using the liquid crystal driver IC, and actual driving tests in which signals are input to signal input terminals of scanning lines and data lines using the liquid crystal driver IC. In these tests, a test probe is used for inputting signals to the signal input terminals.
Recent liquid crystal panels include a total of about 4000 scanning lines and data lines for an XGA (Extended Graphics Array; resolution: 1024×768 dots) class and a total of about 6000 scanning lines and data lines for a UXGA (Ultra Extended Graphics Array; resolution: 1600×1200 dots) class, with the same number of signal input terminals for the scanning lines and data lines, whereby the signal input terminals are arranged at a very small pitch, which is typically 50 to 70 μm. Therefore, it is necessary to use an expensive test probe that can be used with a large number of terminals and a small terminal pitch. Moreover, another requirement for such a test probe is that there should be no contact failure between the test probe and the signal input terminals when controlling the liquid crystal panel in a white display or a black display so that it is possible to test the liquid crystal panel as to the presence/absence of minute defects such as a scratch on the polarization plate or foreign matter or bubbles stuck between the polarization plate and the substrate, in a polarization plate test, for example. However, in view of the number of terminals and the terminal arrangement pitch as shown above, it is believed that the limit for the contact reliability in an actual manufacturing process will be about 5% in terms of the contact failure occurrence rate even when using a probe alignment device with a high-precision alignment mechanism in order to ensure a positional precision of the test probe. In worst cases, a contact failure occurs and the display will not be lit normally, thereby leaving defects undiscovered and passing the defective product to the following step, thus resulting in a loss of work time or a loss of material in that step. Therefore, in order to minimize the occurrence of the contact failure, it is necessary to perform a test probe alignment operation and a test probe cleaning operation.

Display device and method for testing the same


A load indicator for use with a railway car hand brake that is connected to a railway car brake rigging comprising a housing, a plurality of levers pivotally mounted in the housing, each of the plurality of levers having a first end and an opposite second end, a plate coupled to each of the plurality of lever second ends, wherein the plate is moveable with respect to the housing, and a plurality of springs each operatively coupled between a respective one of the plurality of lever first ends and the housing. At least one of the plurality of lever first ends is moveable between a first position in which tension exerted on the plate from the railway car hand brake is within a predetermined range, and a second position in which tension exerted on the load indicator from the railway car brake rigging is outside the predetermined range.

This invention relates to hand operable brake mechanisms and particularly, to a handbrake load indicator for railway cars.
Railway car handbrake mechanisms are well known and may include a rotatable wheel or lever that provides upward tension on a chain that is secured at its distal end to a brake rigging of the railway car. Sufficient force must be applied on the brake shoes of the railway car to releasably secure the wheels in a locked position to prevent the railway car from moving. An under applied brake can result in unwanted movement of the car, for example a runaway car. On the opposite end of the spectrum, an over applied brake may result in damage or failure to the brake rigging.
Previously, it has been industry standard to apply 125 pounds of force to the end of the brake lever or 125 pounds of torque force on a wheel to properly apply the handbrake. Currently, certain segments of the railway industry have lowered the 125 pound requirement to 74 pounds. This lowered threshold can result in many more instances when the handbrake is over applied. When is to be fully applied with 125 pounds, there exists the possibility of the handbrake being under applied. Thus, a mechanism is needed that alerts the operator when the brake is properly applied to within a predetermined range.


Tone-sensitive acoustic models are generated by first generating acoustic vectors which represent the input data. The input data is separated into multiple frames and an acoustic vector is generated for each frame which represents the input data over its corresponding frame. A tone-sensitive parameter is then generated for each of the frames which indicates the tone of the input data at its corresponding frame. Tone-sensitive parameters are generated in accordance with two embodiments. First, a pitch detector may be used to calculate a pitch for each of the frames. If a pitch cannot be detected for a particular frame, then a pitch is created for that frame based on the pitch values of surrounding frames. Second, the cross covariance between the autocorrelation coefficients for each frame and its successive frame may be generated and used as the tone-sensitive parameter. Feature vectors are then created for each frame by appending the tone-sensitive parameter for a frame to the acoustic vector for the same frame. Then, using these feature vectors, acoustic models are created which represent the input data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to pattern recognition. More particularly, this invention relates to tone-sensitive acoustic modeling for speech recognition.
2. Background
In acoustic modeling, Markov models (MMs) are often used. When a MM system is built, each unit (e.g., word, syllable, phrase, etc.) in the recognizable vocabulary is defined as a sequence of sounds, or a fragment of speech, that resembles the pronunciation of the unit. A MM for each fragment of speech is created. The MM, for each of the sounds are then concatenated together to form a sequence of MMs that depict an acoustical definition of the unit in the vocabulary. For example, in FIG. 1A a phonetic word 100 for the word "CAT" is shown as a sequence of three phonetic Markov models, 101-103. One of the phonetic Markov models represents the phoneme "K" (101), having two transition arcs 101A and 101B. A second of the phonetic Markov models represents the phoneme "AH" (102), having transition arcs 102A and 102B. The third of the phonemes 103 represents the phoneme "T" having transition arcs 103A and 103B.
Each of the three Markov models shown in FIG. 1A have a beginning state and an ending state. The "K" model 101 begins in state 104 and ends in state 105. The "AH" model 102 begins in the state 105 and ends in state 106. The "T" model 103 begins in state 106 and ends in state 107. During recognition, an utterance is compared with the sequence of phonetic Markov models, starting from the leftmost state, such as state 104, and progressing according to the arrows through the intermediate states to the rightmost state, such as state 107, where the model 100 terminates in a manner well-known in the art. The transition time from the leftmost state 104 to the rightmost state 107 reflects the duration of the word. Therefore, to transition from the leftmost state 104 to the rightmost state 107, time must be spent in the "K" state, the "AH" state, and the "T" state to result in a conclusion that the utterance is the word "CAT". Thus, a MM for a word is comprised of a sequence of models corresponding to the different sounds made during the pronunciation of the word.
Construction of MMs for other units, such as syllables or phrases, is analogous to the above discussion. That is, a MM analogous to the model 100 could be generated for any desired unit, such as syllables or phrases.
Each of the three Markov models shown in FIG. 1A represents a phoneme ("K", "AH", and "T"). These phonemes are often made up of multiple states. For example, the phoneme "K" (101) may actually be comprised of three different states, as shown by phonetic model 109 in FIG. 1B. These three states, 114, 115 and 116 represent the phoneme states K.sub.1 (110), K.sub.2 (111) and K.sub.3 (112), respectively. Combined together, the phoneme states K.sub.1 (110), K.sub.2 (111) and K.sub.3 (112) represent the phoneme "K". Multiple arcs are shown connecting the three states 114-116, analogous to the arcs connecting phonemes 101-103 in FIG. 1A.
In order to build a Markov model such as those described in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a pronunciation dictionary is often used to indicate the component sounds. A wide variety of dictionaries exist and may be used. The source of information in these dictionaries is usually a phonetician. The component sounds attributed to a particular unit as depicted in the dictionary are based on the expertise and senses of the phonetician. Since phoneticians are human, pronunciations may differ from one phonetician to the next, or errors may exist in the dictionary. Furthermore, phonetic models such as model 109 of FIG. 1B are based on the of the phonetician; phonetic models may not actually represent the unit sought to be depicted. For example, a phonetician may believe the phoneme "K" should transition through the states shown in FIG. 1B, however, when an input utterance is aligned to the Markov models, it may be discovered that the actual utterance desires to transition through the states 124, 125 and 126 representing the fenones of K.sub.1, K.sub.2, and dH.sub.3, as shown in FIG. 1C. Such an alignment, however, is not possible using the phonetic model 109 of FIG. 1B because from state 115, the model transitions to either state 115 or state 116. The option to transition to a state for dH.sub.3 does not exist.
Fenonic models can be used to resolve this problem. Fenonic models are generally created by having a speaker read training data into the system. The training data is aligned to generate fenonic models based on the actual acoustic data obtained from the speaker, rather than on the expertise of a phonetician. This approach is often referred to as a data-driven approach. The use of fenonic models in a data-driven approach allows the system to build Markov models which actually represent the data being depicted, such as the fenonic model 120 shown in FIG. 1C.
Fenonic models can be used to generate larger phonetic models (or syllable models, or word models, etc.). This is done by combining the fenonic models. For example, the "K" phoneme (101) of FIG. 1A may be replaced by the fenonic model 120 shown in FIG. 1C.
One concern raised in acoustic modeling systems is the existence of certain languages which are tone-dependent, or tone-sensitive. Many languages are tone-insensitive, such as English. That is, words in English generally have the same meaning regardless of the tone they are spoken with.
However, other languages, such as Mandarin, are tone-sensitive. For example, the symbol "ma" in Mandarin has two distinct meanings dependent on whether it is spoken in a monotone or with a rising pitch.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a system which accurately modeled tone-sensitive languages. The present invention provides such a system.
One prior art method of modeling tone-sensitive languages utilizes a two-step process. In the first process the method attempts to determine what syllable or word (or similar unit) was spoken. In the second process, the method attempts to determine the pitch of the syllable or word (or similar unit) that was spoken. The results of these two processes are then combined in an attempt to recognize what was spoken. Thus, two distinct recognition processes are utilized: the first attempts to recognize the syllable or words while the second process attempts to recognize the tone of that syllable or word.
This type of two-process method has several disadvantages. First, additional system time and resources are required due to the additional time involved in running two separate processes. In addition, multiple-process systems suffer in performance as they find a local optimum solution for each process and then combine them, as opposed to finding a unified global optimum result.
Another prior art method of modeling tone-sensitive languages utilizes the same system for tone-dependent languages as used for tone-independent languages. Proponents of this type of method often claim that a specialized tone-dependent system is not necessary, arguing that tone-independent systems recognize tone-sensitive languages efficiently without modification. However, such systems generally produce an unacceptably high error rate.
The present invention provides a solution to the problems of the prior art.

Method and apparatus for tone-sensitive acoustic modeling


A sensor for at least detecting steering torque of a steel steering column includes a magnetic field generating element which is configured to generate a magnetic field. The magnetic field penetrates the steering column so as to magnetize a steel material thereof. The sensor also includes a magnetic field detection element which is configured to detect a magnetic field change caused by a magnetoelastic effect of the magnetized steel material of the steering column when the steering column is subjected to torque stress. An output signal of the magnetic field detection element characterizes steering torque. The sensor also includes a base plate bearing the magnetic field generating element and the magnetic field detection element. The base plate is spaced from and separate from the steel steering column. The magnetic field generating element and the magnetic field detection element are directly mounted on the base plate.

The present application relates to a torque sensor and integrated torque and angle sensor (TAS) for monitoring a vehicle steering state, and an active steering state monitoring system comprising the sensor.
Current and future vehicle steering systems, such as EHPS (an electronically controlled power steering system), EPS (an electric power steering system) and adaptive EPS, as well as certain driver assistance functions, such as ESP (electronic body stability program), ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) and HAD (advanced autonomous driving), all require the use of reliable steering torque and/or angle information. The various types of sensors used for steering detection must be suitable for multiple forms of application (different steering columns, independent sensor brackets, integration in combination switches, etc.), and it is also desired that the sensors have a very low price but also are reliable. No sensor solution in the prior art has yet been able to meet all of these requirements simultaneously.

Integrated torque and angle sensor for steering column monitoring with improved performance


A sewing apparatus is disclosed in which a thread cassette holding a needle thread wound is used. The sewing apparatus includes a cassette mount to which the thread cassette is detachably attached, a carrier carrying the thread cassette between an attachment start position and an attachment finish position in the cassette mount and a control device for electrically controlling rotation of a motor that moves the carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sewing apparatus including a sewing mechanism in which a thread cassette holding a needle thread is used and a control program therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,039 to Russell A. Fritts discloses a sewing apparatus with a cassette mount to which a thread cassette holding a needle thread wound on a thread spool is attached. In the disclosed sewing apparatus, a user pushes the thread cassette downward while holding the thread cassette in hand, in order that the thread cassette may be attached to the cassette mount of the sewing apparatus. Furthermore, when the thread cassette is to be ejected from the cassette mount, the user raises the thread cassette while holding the cassette in hand.
The above-described manual handling of the thread cassette imposes load on the user, and furthermore, force applied to the thread cassette differs in the magnitude from one user to another. Accordingly, each mechanism of the sewing apparatus is required to have a sufficient performance to cope with every condition. For example, the thread cassette is not always attached to the cassette mount under a constant condition. Accordingly, when threading is carried out upon attachment of the thread cassette, an operating condition of the threading mechanism needs to be determined so as to be reliably carried out in a wide range. As a result, the construction of the sewing apparatus is complicated.

Sewing apparatus, thread cassette therefor and control program therefor


An air extractor for a vehicle, the air extractor comprising a frame having a top portion, a bottom portion, a left side portion and a right side portion surrounding a central air passage, the frame having an inlet side for receiving air from a passenger compartment of the vehicle and having an outlet side for exhausting the air from the passenger compartment of the vehicle, a gasket to seal the frame to the vehicle, a plurality of spoilers supported by the frame and disposed within the central air passage and a plurality of flaps pivotally mounted on the outlet side to pivot between a closed position that inhibits airflow and an open position that permits airflow, wherein each of the flaps comprises a plurality of bumpers to attenuate slap noise of the flaps and wherein each of the flaps further comprises a skirt to minimize air leakage.

An interior passenger compartment of an automobile is designed to provide a quiet environment and to protect the driver and passengers from outside elements, such as rain, snow, cold, heat, dust, exhaust fumes, pollution, etc. As such, automobiles typically provide an interior passenger compartment that is substantially sealed from the surrounding exterior environment. However, the air pressure inside the interior passenger compartment may undesirably exceed atmospheric pressure in some instances, for example, when a vehicle door is closed. If the interior is not vented to the atmosphere, the effort required to close the door may greatly increase, inconveniencing the driver or passenger of the vehicle. Deployment of air bags may also cause a sudden increase in internal pressure. Higher internal pressures can also be created by a fan of a climate control system or by the inrush of outside air when a window or sunroof is opened when traveling at high speeds.
Air extractors, also known as pressure relief valves, for equalizing the pressure between the interior compartment of an automobile and the atmosphere are known. The air extractor or pressure relief valve is placed between the interior space and the outside of the vehicle in order to control an exhaust flow of air from the interior. The air extractor is typically connected by a duct to the passenger compartment. The air extractor permits air to be expelled or discharged from the vehicle passenger compartment, while preventing air, gas, fumes, and/or other undesirable substances from entering into the passenger compartment. By minimizing overpressure in the passenger compartment, the air extractor improves the performance of the climate control system, makes it easier to close doors, and reduces the unpleasant buffeting noise from open windows. Further performance improvements, particularly relating to flap noise, would be highly desirable. Accordingly, a quieter air extractor with reduced flap noise would be highly desirable.


An extension for installation in an existing incandescent electric light socket has an appearance resembling that of a candlestick, and is particularly adaptable to use with incandescent bulbs having a flame-like appearance. The extension includes a base portion formed to cooperate with a light bulb socket, and an electrical socket in the upper end formed to cooperate with a light bulb having a base of the same size and configuration as that of the base of the extension. Thus, a light bulb may be removed from a socket and installed in the socket of the extension, and the extension installed directly into the socket from which the bulb was removed. The wider outside dimension of the upper socket relative to the lower base is camouflaged by a wider upper portion of the body of the extension, having an appearance resembling that of melted wax from a partially burned candle. The extension is adaptable to various sizes and configurations of light bulbs and sockets, including threaded sockets and bases and "plug-in" type sockets and bases as used with miniature "cool light" type bulbs, and the body portion may be formed of various materials, including new or recycled plastics in various colors.

The use of electrical power for illumination is nearly universal wherever electrical power is available. When electrical illumination was first established, little or no thought was given to providing an appearance simulating existing light sources (e.g., candles). In fact, it was considered desirable to provide an appearance unlike that of earlier non-electrical types of illumination for various reasons.
In more recent times, incandescent light bulb manufacturers have begun to provide more decorative bulbs, in some cases simulating the appearance of a candle or other small flame. However, the installation of such bulbs in a standard light fixture results in a juxtaposition of appearances, as the flame-like appearance of such a special bulb is out of place in a light fixture not specially adapted for such bulbs.
Additionally, in many cases where decorative lighting is employed (e.g., Christmas trees and other decorations), the bulbs are much too close to other articles which may be damaged by heat or may even be ignited by the heated bulb. While smaller and cooler operating incandescent bulbs have been developed, in many cases such light fixtures are constructed for larger and hotter light bulbs to provide more light and smaller bulbs cannot be practically adapted. While extensions installable within a light socket are known which remove the bulb from the vicinity of the original base or socket, the extensions are generally relatively unornamented cylindrical devices which are constructed to adapt a smaller, decorative light bulb to a larger socket.
The need arises for an extension for use with a light bulb having a decorative, flame-like appearance, which extension is adaptable to both the base of the bulb and a cooperating socket of a light fixture. The extension should provide for the concealment of the upper socket and provide an overall appearance simulating that of a candle and candle flame when used in combination with such a flame-like incandescent bulb. Moreover, the device must be adaptable for use with various types and sizes of incandescent bulbs and their bases and cooperating light fixture sockets.


A method in a first radio network controller, RNC, (105, 405) for handling a reuse of a scrambling code in a cellular network (100) is provided. The first RNC (105, 405) defines a set of scrambling codes. Each scrambling code in the defined set is locally reused by at least two cells in the cellular network (100). The first RNC (105, 405) receives a measurement report from a user equipment (180). The measurement report is related to a scrambling code that is comprised in the defined set of scrambling codes. The first RNC (105, 405) determines that the reported scrambling code is comprised in the defined set of scrambling codes. The first RNC (105, 405) initiates, based on the determination, a process for identifying, among the at least two cells in which the reported scrambling code is locally reused, an originating cell from which the reported scrambling code originates.

In a typical cellular network, also referred to as a wireless communication system, User Equipments (UEs), communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more core networks (CNs).
A user equipment is a mobile terminal by which a subscriber can access services offered by an operator's core network. The user equipments may be for example communication devices such as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops or tablet computers, sometimes referred to as surf plates, with wireless capability. The user equipments may be portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the radio access network, with another entity, such as another mobile station or a server.
User equipments are enabled to communicate wirelessly in the cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g. between two user equipments, between a user equipment and a regular telephone and/or between the user equipment and a server via the radio access network and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the cellular network.
The cellular network covers a geographical area which is divided into cell areas. Each cell area is served by a base station, e.g. a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g. "eNB", "eNodeB", "NodeB", "B node", or Base Transceiver Station (BTS), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g. macro NodeB, home NodeB or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also on cell size.
A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station at a base station site. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the user equipments within range of the base stations.
In some radio access networks, several base stations may be connected, e.g. by landlines or microwave, to a radio network controller, e.g. a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and/or to each other. The radio network controller, also sometimes termed a Base Station Controller (BSC) e.g. in GSM, may supervise and coordinate various activities of the plural base stations connected thereto. GSM is an abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communications (originally: Groupe Spécial Mobile).
In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or eNBs, may be directly connected to one or more core networks.
UMTS is a third generation, 3G, mobile communication system, which evolved from the second generation, 2G, mobile communication system GSM, and is intended to provide improved mobile communication services based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) access technology. UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) is essentially a radio access network using wideband code division multiple access for user equipments. The 3GPP has undertaken to evolve further the UTRAN and GSM based radio access network technologies.
Cellular networks evolve towards higher data rates, together with improved capacity and coverage. In 3GPP, standardization body technologies like GSM, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and LTE have been and are currently developed.
In the context of this disclosure, a base station as described above will be referred to as a base station or a RBS. A user equipment as described above, will in this disclosure be referred to as a user equipment or a UE. A radio network controller as described above will be referred to as a radio network controller or a RNC.
The expression DownLink (DL) will be used for the transmission path from the base station to the user equipment. The expression UpLink (UL) will be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e. from the user equipment to the base station.
To support mobility of user equipments between cells in a cellular network, so called handovers are be performed. A handover may be a change of serving cell, so that a user equipment being served by one cell, becomes served by another, so called candidate cell, instead. A handover may also mean addition of a radio link to a candidate cell without removing established radio links to other cells; or replacement of one of the existing radio links by a radio link to a candidate cell. Communication that involves a multitude of cells may be referred to as macro diversity, soft handover, softer handover or coordinated multipoint, etc. The set of cells with which the user equipment have radio links is referred to as the active set. Hence, a handover includes the setup of a radio link connection between the user equipment and the candidate cell, so that the candidate cell may become the serving cell for the user equipment.
Some cellular networks feature soft handover where a user equipment may be allocated a multitude of radio links. These radio links may be with the same base station or different base stations. Furthermore, the base stations may be controlled by different nodes, such as for example different RNCs.
Neighbor cell relations may be used to facilitate handover of the user equipment between base stations. In UTRAN, the user equipment is provided with a so called neighbor cell list comprising cell identifiers, or indexes associated with cell identifiers, of plausible candidate cells to search for and perform measurements on. The user equipment is provided with the neighbor cell list by its so called serving RNC, which is also the RNC to which it reports when a candidate cell is detected.
Each cell in the cellular network broadcasts a well-defined signature sequence. In UTRAN, this sequence is a scrambling code. Sequences are enumerated and associated with the cell identifier for the cell. The scrambling codes are reused in the cellular network, and are therefore not globally unique. They may however be perceived as locally unique by careful selection, and thereby they may be used by the serving RNC to unambiguously identify candidate cells for handover when the user equipment reports them. The user equipment regularly perform measurements to detect scrambling codes which are broadcast in its vicinity.
In addition to the reused scrambling codes, the base stations broadcasts globally unique cell identifiers, so called Cell Global Identifiers (CGI)s. However, in order to keep the candidate cell measurement procedures simple, these may not be decoded and reported to the serving RNC for candidate cell discovery purposes.
Because of scrambling codes being reused they may however in some situations not be locally unique, due to for example a large amount of cells being present in an area.
This is a problem since the serving RNC cannot then unambiguously determine which cell is actually reported by the user equipment when such a locally reused scrambling code is reported.

First RNC, a second RNC, a base station, an OAM node and methods therein for handling a reuse of a scrambling code in a cellular network


Tissue restraining systems and devices as well as methods of using these devices are disclosed herein. According to aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a tissue restraining device that may include an annuloplasty member having one or more contact points along a portion of the annuloplasty member in a spaced relation to one another. The tissue restraining device may also include a second anchor for placement in a substantially opposing, spaced relation to the annuloplasty member. A restraining matrix may extend from the contact points of the annuloplasty member to the second anchor.

Various disease processes can impair the proper functioning of one or more of valves of human heart. These include degenerative processes (e.g., Barlow's Disease, fibroelastic deficiency), inflammatory processes (e.g., Rheumatic Heart Disease) and infectious processes (e.g., endocarditis). In addition, damage to the ventricle from prior heart attacks (i.e., myocardial infarction secondary to coronary artery disease) or other heart diseases (e.g., cardiomyopathy) can distort the valve's geometry causing it to dysfunction.
The benefits of valve repair over replacement are well established in the cardiac surgical literature in all types of valve dysfunction and in nearly all disease states. Patients undergoing valve repair have been shown to live longer, with better preservation of cardiac function. The vast majority of patients with mitral or tricuspid regurgitation can have their valves successfully repaired instead of replaced. The likelihood of a successful repair, however, is highly dependent on the skill, knowledge and experience of the individual surgeon. Although most surgeons are comfortable performing simple valve repairs (annuloplasty members, limited leaflet resections, etc.), many rarely perform valve repairs and only a small minority of surgeons are comfortable at more complex valve repairs. Most surgeons have inadequate knowledge and training in these techniques and, even if they had the technical ability, they do not encounter enough patients to feel comfortable with complex cases. This variability in surgical skill is reflected in the wide range of valve repair rates among different centers. High-volume, experienced centers routinely report valve repair rates over 90% while the national average is only 20-30%.
Since they involve work inside the heart chambers, conventional procedures for replacing or repairing cardiac valves require the use of the heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass) and stopping the heart by clamping the ascending aorta and perfusing it with high-potassium solution (cardioplegic arrest). Although most patients tolerate limited periods of cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac arrest well, these maneuvers are known to adversely affect all organ systems. The most common complications of cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac arrest are stroke, myocardial "stunning" or damage, respiratory failure, kidney failure, bleeding and generalized inflammation. If severe, these complications can lead to permanent disability or death. The risk of these complications is directly related to the amount of time the patient is on the heart-lung machine ("pump time") and the amount of time the heart is stopped ("crossclamp time"). Although the safe windows for pump time and cross clamp time depend on individual patient characteristics (age, cardiac reserve, comorbid conditions, etc.), pump times over 4 hours and clamp times over 3 hours can be concerning even in young, relatively healthy patients. Complex valve repairs can push these time limits even in the most experienced hands. Even if he or she is fairly well versed in the principles of mitral valve repair, a less experienced surgeon is often reluctant to spend 3 hours trying to repair a valve since, if the repair is unsuccessful, he or she will have to spend up to an additional hour replacing the valve. Thus, time is a major factor in deterring surgeons from offering the benefits of valve repair over replacement to more patients. Devices and techniques which simplify and expedite valve repair would go a long way to eliminating this deterrent.
Within recent years, there has been a movement to perform many cardiac surgical procedures "minimally invasively" using smaller incisions and innovative cardiopulmonary bypass protocols. The purported benefits of these approaches include less pain, less trauma and more rapid recovery. However the use of these minimally invasive procedures has been limited to a handful of surgeons at specialized centers. Even in their hands, the most complex valve repairs cannot be performed since dexterity is limited and the whole procedure moves more slowly. Devices and techniques which simplify valve repair have the potential to greatly increase the use of minimally invasive techniques which would significantly benefit patients.

Tissue restraining devices and methods of use


A stowable and deployable toilet arrangement provides a moveably configured toilet that may be deployed by a user, used, and subsequently stowed into an alcove until next required for use. The toilet includes a discharge port for discharging wastes from the toilet. The discharge port is coupled by an extendible discharge tube that is coupled to a suitable waste receiving repository such as a cesspool or a sewer system. A friction reducing arrangement is included to enable the toilet to be easily rolled from a stowed position to a deployed position, and visa versa. The toilet arrangement may also include a linear actuator to automatically deploy or stow the toilet when a user activates a switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates toilet fixtures, and more particularly, the invention relates to a slidably mounted, stowable, and possibly aesthetically concealable toilet arrangement.
2. Background and Objects of the Invention
The standard restroom, say in a residential setting, includes at least one sink or basin, a shower or a tub, and usually a toilet. When constructed in a small sized room, a bathroom can quickly become cluttered with the essential fixtures, leaving little room for an occupant (or occupants) to maneuver. Accordingly, the utility of recessed or retractable fixtures, which can be `tucked-away` or `stowed`, will alleviate some of the (room) congestion, and possibly aesthetically improve the appearance of a room.
When considering prior art `space saving` devices, a typical device is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,047 to Gagliano. A plurality of `foldable` wall/niche mounted fixtures are disclosed by this reference. These devices provide one with alternative solutions to using standard, common restroom fixtures, especially in a very small room. However, the desire to employ standard, or near standard fixtures, which can be used in conventional rest and bath rooms, is not satisfied by the Gagliano fixtures. Further, it may be desirable to be able to convert or alter a currently owned toilet for use with the present invention--which is not possible with devices such as those suggested by Gagliano.
When considering the prior art in general, there is currently lacking a simple and cost effective solution to implementing a stowable or retractable toilet. Objects of the present invention are, therefore, to provide new and improved stowable and deployable toilet arrangements having one or more of the following capabilities, features, characteristics, and/or advantages:
simple embodiments of a toilet assembly that may utilize a standard toilet therein; PA1 employs extendible discharge and inlet tubes coupling the toilet to a waste receiving (repository) means and a supply of pressurized water, respectively; PA1 easily constructable using many available parts; PA1 includes a friction reducing means, such as rollers that are suitably positioned around a base of the toilet, that enable a toilet or toilet assembly to be easily deployed, used, and returned to a stowed position; PA1 may include a linear actuator assembly and user accessible switch to automatically deploy and stow the toilet; and
having a simple low cost construction.
The above listed objects, advantages, and associated novel features of the present invention, as well as others, will become more clear with a careful review of the description and figures provided herein. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings and the associated description are illustrative only, and variations are certainly possible.


A flexible plastic bottle or container includes a body portion having a peripheral side wall having a cross section with a regular polygon shape, a bottom wall and a top wall; a fill opening in the top wall; a closure removably securable over the fill opening; an integral straw portion formed in the body portion and extending above the top wall, the straw having a dispensing opening at an upper end thereof; and a straw cap attached to the closure for engaging and closing the dispensing opening of the integral straw portion.

This invention relates generally to plastic containers and, specifically, to a unique flexible plastic bottle construction, particularly adapted for use as a so-called "sports bottle" which incorporates an integral straw to facilitate sipping and/or squeezing of the liquid contents (typically water or juice) from the bottle or container.
Plastic containers with attached straw members are generally known in the art. Representative examples found in the patent literature include U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,286 which discloses a cube-shaped soft drink container made of thin, soft synthetic resin with a longitudinal cut-out portion in one corner of the body, and a straw member coextensively disposed in the cut-out portion. One end of the straw member is attached to a lower end of the container body and the straw member includes a bellows formed in an intermediate portion which enables the straw to be pulled upwardly to a level above a top wall of the container. A retractable fluid infusion or filling nozzle is provided in the bottom wall of the container.
In applicant's own prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,631, a one-piece plastic container is disclosed which includes an integral straw extending upwardly from the top portion of the container. Various embodiments are disclosed which enable the straw to be bent or folded to an out of the way position when not in use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,854, a beverage container is disclosed which is made of synthetic resin and which has a beverage pouring inlet in the container bottom wall. The container is also provided with a sipping tube whose bottom end is connected to the bottom section of the container, and which extends upwardly along a longitudinal groove in the container body. The sipping tube is provided with a bellows in a middle portion thereof, permitting the sipping tube to be bent within the longitudinal groove which extends from one side of the container body across the center of the top and partially down the other side of the container body.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,829, a beverage container is disclosed which incorporates its own separate straw member.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,755, a children's drinking vessel is disclosed in which a tube 22 is secured to the inside wall of the container. The uppermost end of the tube extends above the lip of the container and is adapted for receiving a flexible drinking straw.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,061, there is disclosed a thin walled self-supporting container formed of plastic film or sheet. The body of the container is of generally tubular form and is generally polygonal in cross section. The intersections of the generally polygonal side walls are provided with external tubes to provide rigidity for the upright body portion. One of the external tubes is adapted to function as an integral straw.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,987, there is disclosed a cylindrical container where opposite sides of the container body are extended upwardly to define two integral tubes which are sealed at their upper ends so as to serve as a carrying handle. The handle may be broken to provide suction tubes or straws on either side of the container, each communicating with a separately sealed chamber within the container.
While it is thus apparent that many attempts have been made to provide containers with integral straws, these efforts, to the best of applicant's knowledge, have not met with any degree of commercial success. This is particularly true with respect to containers which are intended to be reused, i.e., not thrown away after a single use. In a reusable container, it is desirable that the container itself have some convenient means for refilling, and that the integral straw be resealable. In addition, it is important for shipping efficiency that the integral straw not interfere with the usual multi-container nesting arrangements.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome problems extant in the prior art containers by providing a plastic container with an integral, resealable straw. In accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the invention, a blow-molded plastic container is formed with a triangular cross section so that the container body has three peripheral side walls along with top and bottom walls. The top wall is provided with a relatively large fill or refill opening which may be closed by a snap-on type closure.
In one of the three corners of the container body, an integral straw is formed by pinching opposed peripheral side wall portions together to form a passageway (i.e., an internal straw portion) extending from the top wall to a location just above the bottom wall of the container. A second relatively small opening is provided in the top wall opening into the internal straw passageway and this second opening merges with an integral upper or external straw portion which can be designed if desired to be pushed into the internal straw portion when not in use.
It is another feature of this invention that the snap-on type bottle closure also have a hinged straw cap formed therewith, the straw cap being joined to the larger snap-on closure by a "living", i.e., integral hinge. The arrangement in such that the straw cap may be pivoted downwardly over the upper open end of the external straw portion, in sealing engagement therewith.
The upper or external straw portion may also be provided with a bellows arrangement intermediate its ends to enhance the extension/retraction movements of the straw portion, and to allow essentially universal bending to facilitate sipping.
It is another feature of the invention that the integral straw not interfere to any great extent with the overall external cross section of the container, i.e., the integral straw is formed entirely within the boundaries of the container cross-sectional shape (when viewed in plan) so as not to interfere with stacking.
Thus, in its broader aspects, the present invention provides a plastic container comprising a body portion having a peripheral side wall having a cross section with a regular polygon shape, a bottom wall and a top wall; a fill opening in the top wall; a closure removably securable over the fill opening; an integral straw formed in the body portion and including an internal poriotn and an external upper portion extending above the top wall, the external portion having a dispensing opening at an upper end thereof; and a straw cap attached to the closure for engaging and closing the dispensing opening of external upper portion of the straw.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a plastic, drink dispensing container comprising a body portion having a peripheral side wall having a cross section of regular polygonal shape, and including at least three side wall portions, a bottom wall and a top wall; a fill opening in the top wall; a closure removably securable over said fill opening; and an internal integral straw extending substantially between the top and bottom walls, the straw configured and arranged not to disturb the regular polygonal cross sectional shape of the peripheral side wall.
In still another aspect, the invention relates to a process for forming a container containing an integral straw comprising steps of:
a) providing a substantially cylindrical parison having a closed lower end and an open upper end;
b) blow molding the parison within a closed mold cavity to form a container body having at least three peripheral side wall portions, a bottom wall, and a top wall with a pair of openings therein;
wherein during step b), opposed portions of adjacent side wall portions are pinched together to form an internal straw passageway extending substantially the entire length of the container body while leaving a relatively small portion unpinched to permit communication between the internal straw passageway and a main container body portion.
Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.


In a multiple-barrel firearm with removable lock housing, the two axially moveable strikers are arranged in superposed relationship, preferably being angular and provided with grooves or edges; this arrangement permits, even in case of only one solid sidewall, a favorable guidance of the strikers and contributes considerably toward making the lock housing very narrow. Since, in this firearm, the movement of a cocking bar just as the movement of firing pins takes place approximately in parallel to the movement of the strikers, the advantage is obtained in addition to a relatively simple structure that the energy for cocking coil springs guided by means of guide pins can be at a minimum as well. The guide pins connected with the strikers also take over safety functions.

This invention relates to a sport or hunting firearm with at least one barrel, each barrel being associated with a firing pin driven by a striker, with a lock housing comprising a triggering arrangement, and with at least one striker wherein the at least one striker is guided in an axially movable fashion and--if several strikers are provided, the strikers are arranged in superposed relationship, with a cocking device comprising a cocking bar, and with a safety device.
In conventional multiple-barrel firearms, the strikers are usually arranged so that they hit radially and are in side-by-side relationship. On account of this relatively broad construction of the lock housing, the stock of the firearm is weakened in the lock region.
A firearm lock for a multiple-barrel break-open firearm has been known from DOS 1,903,798 wherein strikers, cocking elements, and firing pins are arranged in parallel to one another and can be moved in the same direction, and these elements, designed substantially as rotational parts, are guided in bores.


A pen comprising a cartridge, a retaining sleeve for at least partially accommodating the cartridge, a locking device which can be actuated by rotation for locking the cartridge and the retaining sleeve together and a cap for protecting the cartridge, wherein the cap is displaceable axially in relation to the locking deice from a first operating position in which it is rotatable with respect to the locking device into a second operating position in which it is rotationally coupled to the locking device. The cartridge is axially displaceable with respect to the locking device, more specially by at least a distance which is equal to the spacing between the first and second operating positions of the cap.

The invention relates to a pen comprising    a cartridge,    a retaining sleeve for at least partially accommodating the cartridge,    a locking device which can be actuated by rotation for locking the cartridge and the retaining sleeve together, and    a cap for protecting the cartridge, wherein    the cap is axially displaceable with respect to the locking device from a first operating position in which it is rotatable with respect to the locking device into a second operating position in which it is rotationally coupled to the locking device.
Pens of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification are known, for example from DE 36 44 978 C2. In that arrangement the cap has a sealing insert which sealingly encloses a writing tip of the cartridge. The cartridge is held stationarily with respect to the locking device. When the cap is moved into the second operating position the sealing insert is displaced along the writing tip.
The above-outlined structure has been found to be unsatisfactory, in particular in regard to lack of sealing integrity.
DE 36 40 518 C1 discloses a comparable pen. In that case however the cap is not displaced approximately axially but is compressed radially for moving it from its first operating position into its second operating position. That way of handling it is found to be impractical. In addition there is the disadvantage with this structure that the cap must be of a comparatively large diameter so that it can be radially compressed.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the above disadvantages and in particular to provide a pen in which the cap reliably seals off the writing tip of the cartridge but which is nonetheless simple to handle and which takes up as little space as possible.

Schwan-STABILO Schwanhausser GmbH & Co. KG