A package for a food product is provided and includes a fin seal, where the package is configured for controlled opening using an opening feature. The opening feature may include an integral flap separable from the remainder of the package to form an access opening to an interior of the package. The flap may be defined by one or more score or scribed lines that extend only partially through the package. The flap may have a portion extending into the fin seal area. Opening of the flap may expose adhesive of the fin seal area which can be utilized for attaching the flap to reclose the package.

A package, such as a package made of flexible material, is commonly used to store a food product during transportation, storage, and during consumption by a user when multiple servings or multiple food products are disposed in the package. A common type of prior package is mass-produced from a web of film material. The web is formed into a continuous tube by sealing the longitudinal edges of the web together to form a fin seal. This continuous tube can then be singulated into smaller packages by forming transverse seals and cutting transversely across the tube in the region of the transverse seals. The food product may be inserted into the tube after the formation of one of the transverse seals and prior to the formation of the opposite transverse seals for a given individual package. Alternatively, the web may be wrapped around the food product prior to the formation of the fin seal.
Such prior packages can initially store the food product within a sealed interior cavity prior to purchase by a consumer. The consumer can then break one of the transverse seals or remove a corner of the package to access the interior cavity and the food product. Neither of these solutions provides a convenient way for consumers to open the package. Further, uncontrolled opening of the package can result in the package being partially or completely unsuitable for reuse, a disadvantage when the package contains multiple servings or multiple food product intended to be consumed over time.
One issue that arises after the initial breaking is how to effectively reclose the package when the package contains multiple servings or multiple food product intended to be consumed over time. As mentioned above, uncontrolled opening of the package can render it unsuitable for reuse and thus also reclose. If a package is provided without a reclose feature, a common practice is to fold the edges of the package over to reduce the headspace above the food product and close the broken seal. A clip can then be applied over the folded material to hold the package in this closed state. This practice, however, often does not sufficiently close the package and if the consumer does not have a clip, the package can unfold and fully expose the food product.
One type of reclose feature provided in the past was to place a zipper strip along one edge of the package. While generally suitable for providing controlled opening and reclose of the package, the increased cost of the package due to the zipper strip can be undesirable for certain packaging applications.
One attempt at providing for controlled opening, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,015, utilizes a U-shaped perforation defining a grip on a free edge of the fin seal. The grip is described as being used to initiate opening of the package. Disadvantageously, no provision is made in the package for controlled opening other than the grip. Thus, the package opens in an uncontrolled manner and suffers from the problems described above. Moreover, no provision is made in the package for reclose.
Another attempt at providing for controlled opening, described in EP1382543, utilizes a perforated line formed in the package that can be broken to form an opening. An adhesive label is applied over the perforated line on the exterior of the package in order to permit the opening to be reclosed by reattaching the label to the exterior portion of the package adjacent the opening. However, the use of the label disadvantageously can increase the cost of the package, as well as add additional material that must be added during manufacturing.
Another type of package includes a hang hole formed or punched in a top seal portion of the package for displaying the package on a peg. The hang hole can be formed using a heated tool, which can lead to the edges of the hole being fused or melted together. While this can increase hanging strength by reinforcing the edges of the hang hole, it can also disadvantageously increase the risk of uncontrolled tear propagation during opening. For example, when sides of the package are gripped and pulled generally apart, pressure can build along the edges of the hang hole. The large amount of force required to break the hang hole can result in an uncontrolled tear across the package. Similarly, the hang hole can be manipulated to start a tear across the package, but this tear can also become uncontrolled for the same reasons. Uncontrolled tears across the package can be unsatisfactory because they can spill the contents of the package and/or leave the package unable to be sufficiently reclosed.


Window assemblies and methods for making window assemblies are disclosed herein. In one aspect, the window assembly can include a base frame assembly, an accessory support frame assembly, and an exterior accessory frame assembly. The base frame assembly is connected to and supported by the accessory support frame. The accessory support frame can be attached to a building structure via a first plurality of fasteners. The exterior accessory frame assembly, which provides much of the exterior aesthetic appearance of the window assembly, can be connected to the accessory support frame via a second plurality of fasteners which are concealed from view by the exterior accessory frame. In one example, the accessory members conceal the first plurality of fasteners once the exterior accessory assembly is connected to the base frame assembly. Many different styles of exterior accessory frames can be supported by the accessory support frame.

Window assemblies have historically been fabricated with a structural base frame, a sash frame that holds one or more glass panes, an exterior accessory frame, and various trim pieces. The base frame is the portion of the window assembly which is attached to the structure of the building. The sash frame is the portion of the window assembly which holds the window pane and fits within the base frame. The exterior accessory frame is the exterior portion of the window assembly that defines the exterior aesthetic appearance of the window assembly and provides for weather protection. Some window assemblies require that the base frame be uniquely designed to match a particular exterior accessory frame. Some window assemblies require that the exterior accessory frame be connected to the building structure and to the base frame. Improvements are desired.

Window system with interchangeable exterior accessory covers


A catalytic cracking process and apparatus wherein hot regenerated catalyst particles from the dense phase of the regenerator are passed through a heat exchanger in indirect heat exchange with stripped catalyst particles whereby the former are cooled and the latter are heated. The regenerated catalyst which contacts the feed is thus cooler than it would otherwise be, and there is a reduction in thermal cracking. The stripped catalyst entering the regenerator is hotter than it would otherwise be thereby improving the efficacy of the regeneration step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalytic cracking process and apparatus therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional catalytic cracking, particles of cracking catalyst are contacted in a reaction zone with a hydrocarbon feed at catalyst temperatures which are sufficiently high to cause a reasonable percentage conversion of the feed with an acceptable amount of by-product such as coke and normally gaseous products. The coke is deposited on the catalyst particles and is removed therefrom by contacting the coked catalyst particles with an oxygen-containing gas in a regenerator whereby coke is removed by exothermic oxidation which heats the catalyst particles as they are thus regenerated. The heated regenerated particles are contacted with further amounts of hydrocarbon feed.
A factor determining the temperature of the heated regenerated particles is the amount of coke-removal in the regenerator. If the feed is of the type which causes relatively large coke deposits, the oxidation of the coke can result in heated regenerated catalyst particles whose temperature is so high that upon contact with the feed, coke (and light hydrocarbon gases) are formed as by-products in amounts which are significantly detrimental to the economics of the catalytic cracking operation. It is accepted that coke must be removed from used catalyst particles in order to regenerate the catalytic properties of the particles. It will be appreciated from the foregoing that in catalyst cracking operations wherein the heat produced by coke oxidation results in excessively high regenerated catalyst temperatures, there can be detriment to the economics of the catalytic cracking operation.
It is known to cool catalyst particles circulating in a fluidized catalytic cracking unit ("FCCU"). For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,820,404 and 4,917,790 disclose cooling spent or used catalyst from the catalyst stripper by indirect heat exchange with a cooling fluid to moderate the temperature in part of the regenerator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,681 discloses the use of flue gas from the cyclone section of the regenerator to indirectly heat the spent catalyst in the stripping zone of the reactor. The regenerator flue gas contains a dilute concentration of catalyst particles in it. The flue gas contains carbon monoxide which when mixed with oxygen burns to carbon dioxide inside the heat exchanger positioned in the catalyst stripper section of the reactor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,945 discloses the use of hot regenerator flue gas to heat the catalyst stripper section. This patent does not recognize the use of regenerated catalyst from the dense catalyst phase of the regenerator to heat the spent catalyst for stripping.

Catalytic cracking process and apparatus therefor


A method of calculating a nitrogen oxide (NOx) mass reduced from a lean NOx trap (LNT) during regeneration includes calculating a C3H6 mass flow used to reduce the NOx among a C3H6 mass flow flowing into the LNT of an exhaust purification device, calculating a NH3 mass flow used to reduce the NOx among a NH3 mass flow flowing into the LNT, calculating a reduced NOx mass flow based on the C3H6 mass flow used to reduce the NOx and the NH3 mass flow used to reduce the NOx, and calculating the reduced NOx mass by integrating the reduced NOx mass flow over a regeneration period.

Generally, in order to stabilize combustion generated at a combustion chamber of an engine, a method for controlling a main injection timing using a combustion pressure sensor is used. Further, in order to reduce the vibration and noise of the engine, pilot injection is introduced. In the pilot injection, before an injector performs main injection for combustion, a predetermined amount of fuel is previously injected at a predetermined point in time so that a temperature of a combustion chamber is raised and a mixture of fuel and air is improved. The pilot injection is performed at least once and may be performed multiple times in accordance with a driving condition.
Through the pilot injection, ignition delay is reduced and a rate of rise of combustion pressure is reduced. As the rate of rise of the combustion pressure is reduced, combustion noise is reduced.
However, as an operation period of an injector that injects fuel is increased, a main injection amount or a pilot injection amount may become reduced or increased by various causes. Due to the above problems, combustion pressure in the combustion chamber can become varied, and thus vibration and noise of the combustion chamber can become increased.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Apparatus for controlling engine and method for controlling engine


A precipitation method is proposed for the preparation of a rare earth phosphate powder by the reaction of a water-soluble salt of the rare earth element in an aqueous solution with an ammonium phosphate, which gives a rare earth phosphate powder consisting of non-agglomerate discrete particles having a spherical particle configuration suitable as a base material of rare earth-based phosphors. The method is characterized by the addition of the ammonium phosphate in the form of a powder to an acidic aqueous solution of the rare earth salt under specified conditions in contrast to the conventional method in which the ammonium phosphate is admixed in the form of an aqueous solution.

The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of spherical particles of a rare earth phosphate or, more particularly, to a method for the preparation of a rare earth phosphate powder having a spherical particle configuration capable of giving an advantage of removing the difficulty encountered in the recovery of the precipitates of the phosphate from the precipitation medium by filtration and suitable as a base material of a rare earth phosphate-based phosphor useful mainly as a green-emitting phosphor in fluorescent lamps.
As is well known, cerium orthophosphate activated with terbium is a green-emitting phosphor and proposals have been made in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 60-10065 and No. 59-179578 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-41673 for a green-emitting rare earth phosphate-based phosphor containing one or more of the rare earth elements selected from yttrium, lanthanum and gadolinium in addition to cerium and terbium. It is generally accepted that the light-emitting efficiency of a rare earth-based phosphor is high when the particle configuration of the phosphor particles are as close to spherical as possible so that various proposals have been made heretofore in order to obtain spherical particles of a phosphor powder. For example, Japanese Patent Kokai No. 4-130014 pro- poses a method in which a powder of a rare earth phosphate as a base material of a rare earth-based phosphor is slurried in a suitable dispersion medium and the slurry is spray-dried by using a spray drier. This spray-drying method, however, is defective because the spherical particle obtained by this method is an agglomerate of a large number of fine primary particles so that the mechanical strength of such an agglomerate particle cannot be high enough to be readily disintegrated into the original fine particles resulting in poor workability in processing into a phosphor and decrease in the yield of the phosphor therefrom.
Apart from the problem of the light-emitting efficiency of the rare earth phosphate-based phosphor, one of the serious problems in the preparation of a rare earth phosphate powder by the method of precipitation is that the recovery of the phosphate precipitates from the precipitation medium by filtration is a very time-consuming process. Accordingly, it is eagerly desired to improve the filtrability of precipitates of a rare earth phosphate in order to increase the productivity of the process.

Method for the preparation of spherical particles of a rare earth phosphate


An image forming apparatus includes a toner container storing toner, and an attachment portion configured to support the toner container in an attachable/detachable manner. The toner container includes a plurality of fixed terminals that are fixed to a facing surface that is a side surface located on one side in an attachment/detachment direction of the toner container with respect to the attachment portion, the facing surface facing the attachment portion when the toner container is attached to the attachment portion. The attachment portion includes a terminal support portion and a plurality of elastic terminals that are provided on the terminal support portion, elastically contact and electrically connect with the fixed terminals respectively, and include a first ground terminal. The elastic terminals project from the terminal support portion toward the facing surface. The first ground terminal is longer than the other elastic terminals in projection length.

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus including a toner container, and a toner container configured to store toner in its inside.
Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus that can form an image on a paper sheet by using developer that includes toner. In this type of image forming apparatus, a toner container for supplying toner to a developing device in the image forming apparatus is provided. The toner container is attached to an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus in a detachable manner. When the toner in the toner container is consumed and the toner container becomes empty, the toner container is removed from the image forming apparatus to be replaced with a new toner container filled with unused toner.
In addition, the conventional image forming apparatus is configured to, when a toner container mounted with an IC chip including memory is attached thereto, connect with the IC chip and read data from the memory of the IC chip.

Image forming apparatus including toner container, and toner container


A rechargeable battery including: an electrode assembly including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a separator between the first and second electrodes; a case accommodating the electrode assembly; a cap plate covering an opening of the case; a first electrode terminal arranged on the cap plate, electrically connected to the cap plate, and connected to the first electrode; and a second electrode terminal arranged on the cap plate, insulated from the cap plate, and connected to the second electrode, the first electrode terminal including a terminal plate connected to the first electrode and exposed to an outside of the cap plate, and a top plate electrically connecting the terminal plate and the cap plate, and having an electrical resistance greater than an electrical resistance of the terminal plate.

1. Field
Aspects of embodiments of the present invention relate to a rechargeable battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery can be repeatedly charged and discharged, unlike a primary battery that cannot be recharged. A low-capacity rechargeable battery is used for small portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and camcorders. A large-capacity rechargeable battery is used as a power source for driving motors, such as for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.
The rechargeable battery may include an electrode assembly having a positive electrode and a negative electrode provided on both sides of a separator, a case accommodating the electrode assembly, a cap plate sealing an opening of the case, and an electrode terminal penetrating the cap plate and electrically connected to the electrode assembly.
When a conductive material penetrates the case of the rechargeable battery to pierce the electrode assembly, the high-voltage current flowing through the electrode terminal flows again toward the electrode assembly through the cap plate, the case, and the conductive material. If the amount of high-voltage current is large, the electrode assembly may be ignited or exploded.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Rechargeable battery including a resistance member


A method for preparing a rabies vaccine wherein rabies viruses are multiplied in poultry embryos, the heads of the embryos are harvested and the cell extract containing the rabies antigens is separated therefrom for differential centrifugation and density gradient centrifugation, the separated antigen is further processed using conventional methods. This process results in a highly selective concentration of antigens and the production of viruses having a very high activity and freedom from contaminating proteins.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new process for the preparation of a substantially improved rabies vaccine having a high content of active substance in proportion to contaminating proteins and fats, i.e., a particularly high specific activity, and to the vaccine thus obtained.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rabies vaccines have hitherto been obtained from the brains of rabbits, rats or mice, in which the viruses have been multiplied in the living animal by direct intracerebral inoculation of rabies viruses of standardized seed strains. Various disadvantages are associated with these processes:
1. The veruses are grown in the living animal, which is exposed to great suffering during the procedure and finally must be sacrificed. PA0 2. The inoculation of the living animal, the keeping of the animals and the harvesting of the viruses from their brains cannot take place under such completely hygienically perfect and sterile conditions as, for example, in the case of multiplication of the viruses in vitro or in the egg. PA0 3. The removal of the brain of rabbits, rats or mice a few days old requires a very difficult and troublesome operation technique. In addition, with the smallness and viscous consistency of these brains, the losses of brain matter are considerable. PA0 4. The viruses grown in living animals are contaminated with proteins which have a relatively high content of myelin, a protein-containing substance, which, when the vaccine is used, gives rise to side-reactions which can increase to encephalitis. The myelin content can be reduced, but not avoided, by using very young animals which are only a few days old for multiplication of the virus.
An improvement has been achieved by multiplying the rabies viruses in duck embryos. On the one hand, the use of living animals is thereby avoided, and on the other hand, the content of myelin in embryonal tissue is relatively low, if this compound is present at al.
Nevertheless, the rabies vaccine obtained from duck embryos still has considerable disadvantages compared with the ideal vaccine. The virus suspension obtained from the embryos contains a high proportion of proteins which, because of the nature of the suspension of cells and viruses, cannot be separated or can only be incompletely separated in an economic manner by known methods. The higher the protein content of vaccines, the higher the occurrence of undesirable side reactions when the vaccine is used. On repeated vaccination, which is essential for certain professional people, such as, hunters, foresters, and veterinary surgeons, these side reactions can increase to violent allergic defense reactions against the foreign protein.
A better vaccine can be achieved by multiplication of rabies viruses in virto in human diploid cell cultures. In this context, see H. Koprowski, Laboratory Techniques in Rabies by M. M. Kaplan and H. Koprowski, WHO Monograph Series No. 23, Chapter 28, pages 256-60 (1973): Vaccine for man prepared in human diploid cells; T. J. Wiktor, Develop. biol. Standard, Volume 37, pages 265-66, S. Karger, Basle 1978: Production and control of rabies vaccines made on diploid cells; and T. J. Wiktor et al, Develop. biol. Standard, Volume 40, pages 3-9 (1978): Development and clinical trial of rabies vaccine of tissue culture.
The vaccine thus obtained contains, as an impurity, human proteins which produce less side reactions than foreign proteins.
A considerable disadvantage of this method is the relatively low rate of multiplication of the rabies viruses on diploid fibroblast cells, which makes 10- to 25-fold concentrations necessary for the preparation of the vaccine. This method is thus not efficient enough to meet the world-wide demand for rabies vaccine within the scope of the economic possibilities.

Process for the preparation of a rabies vaccine and vaccine obtained by this process

Schweizerisches Serum-und Impfinstitut and Institut zur Erforschung der Infektionskrankheiten


In an electrically controlled typewriter, a printer or the like it is provided that for the read-out of a magnetic coding on a rotationally driven part a sensor emits output signals in reference to a changing magnetic field. Preferably the sensor is in the form of a pulse wire. A ribbon cassette for such a typewriter is distinguished by the disposition of at least one magnet on a rotationally driven part Advantageously this is a Wiegand wire. A type wheel can be coded in a corresponding manner.

Such a ribbon cassette or such a typewriter or the like are known from German Patent DE-PS 35 44 923, the type of cassette being indicated by means of a coding applied to the same, here in particular in the form of an optical bar code. Optical reading of a code has the disadvantage that to a certain extent there is the possibility of interference by stray light and in particular by dirt.
From German Published Non-Examined Patent Application DE-OS 28 50 378 a type-wheel cassette is known, supplied with a which provides data regarding the content of the cassette. Read-out of the magnetized strip is performed by means of a laterally disposed movable reading head.
In type-wheel cassettes, but also in particular in ribbon cassettes, it is important that a plurality of different types of cassettes can be recognized by means of an automatically readable coding of the cassettes. For example, a so-called single-use ribbon can only be used one time and therefore is advanced by a set distance after each printing step which approximately corresponds to the width of a character. With multiple-print ribbons the advance corresponds to only one half or one third of the width of the character to be printed, therefore the electronically controlled advance depends on the type of ribbon used. Additionally, there is a requirement, for example in banking, of only using indelible ribbons, so that it should also be possible to sense whether the ribbon used is one of that type. If it is not the case, the use of such an unsuitable ribbon cassette must be prevented by the control of the typewriter.

Electronically controlled typewriter, printer, or the like and ribbon cassette or type-wheel cassette therefor


Interface device for interfacing between a PLMN network and a non-PLMN network, the PLMN network being configured to recognize cellular base stations as nodes thereof through which to mediate connections to cellular mobile devices, the non-PLMN networks each comprising a plurality of access points for mediating connections to network compatible mobile devices, and for which the network compatible mobile devices are not required to be cellular devices. The interface device is configured as a node of the PLMN network to appear to the PLMN network as a standard cellular base station, and comprises functionality to make non-cellular devices connecting to the non-PLMN network and attempting to access the PLMN network through the non-PLMN network appear as cellular devices to the PLMN network.

The demand for high-speed data access is growing rapidly. In the late 90's 28 Kbps was considered fast for wired service. Now even 56 Kpbs is considered slow for wired service with 384 Kpbs considered the norm. With these higher speeds, downloading complex web pages and "rich media" such as streaming video are now practical.
Wireless operators are struggling to offer their customer a wireline type experience on wireless. Today, cellular operators offer their subscribes only limited data and no "rich media" services because they have a limited amount of licensed radio bandwidth. Typical data rates on wireless today are 9.6 Kbps. GPRS will soon raise that to 50 to 80 Kbps (115 Kbps theoretical), but even this is slow compared to wireline's 384 Kbps.
To address this issue, carriers are aggressively trying to obtain additional licensed spectrum and are aggressively pushing the engineering community to find more efficient ways of using the current and anticipated radio allocations. But the results of these actions are several years off and will cost substantial amounts of money.
Unlicensed radio is becoming very popular and very affordable of obtaining high speed wireless access. Unlicensed radio operates in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) Bands and is limited to very low power, which means the frequencies can be reused many times over.
IEEE 802.11b is one example of unlicensed technology that is very affordable and very capable, offering speeds of up to 10,000 Kbps. An 802.11b Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) covering a small home or office and supporting 3 computers can be purchased for about $500.00 and the equipment is becoming a standard feature of many computer product lines including Dell and Apple. 802.11b is but one of several Wireless LAN technologies. Others include HomeRF, 802.11x, Bluetooth, etc.
While these technologies were originally developed for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) for office and homes, a new class of service operators are emerging using this technology.
For a fee, these operators are offering public access via 802.11b networks. These networks are being installed at airports, coffee shops, etc and other places where people will use computers for an extended period of time. The present embodiments relate to the question of interfacing between the wireless LANs and the cellular or PLMN networks.
High speed unlicensed and licensed wireless access technologies are now available that will support speeds of 700 Kbps to 10 Mbps and even higher. Examples of these wireless access technologies include Bluetooth and Wireless LANs such as 802.11(x). These networks have sufficiently high speed to support rich media services such as videophones, streaming videos, etc.
PLMN subscribes can use these non-PLMN Access Networks (AN) for high-speed access to rich media services.
In some venues the non-PLMN Access network may be carrying a substantial amount of rich media that is local to the venue. An example would be a sports arena where the predominate rich media source would be near real time playback of game highlights. While this rich media could be delivered via communication through the PLMN, keeping this rich media traffic out of the core network will reduce the burden on that network.
In order to take advantage of such data but additionally be part of the larger, PLMN network, it is necessary to support, in an integrated manner, Peer-to-Peer, Peer to Local Sever and Peer to Off Network connection types in such a way that a single connecting client can take advantage of all of the connection types. This is because subscribes do not want to have multiple terminals, so supporting voice communication is also a key technical requirement.
One of the issues involved in providing such interfacing is in that PLMN type networks are designed to ensure that the only users of the network are devices that can prove that they are authorized holders of unique telephone numbers. The purpose of such design is to ensure that billing can be carried out reliably and correctly, that impersonation of other uses is not possible and that unauthorized access to the network is not in general possible. To this end the cellular telephony devices are either provided with a subscriber identity module (SIM) which is a security chip having secure keys and algorithms to identify the device to the PLMN and which in addition carries out data encryption and decryption, depending on the configuration of the specific network; or they have stored identity data that the system uses in order to authenticate them to the network.
SIMs are physical devices that are secure from duplication and internal inspection, meaning that the data can not be externally read and can not be recovered by dissecting the part.
The SIM is typically in the physical possession of the subscriber and is installed by the subscriber in the device, typically the cellular telephone, that is used for access to the network. This means the access device has a SIM card carrier and reader. The SIM concept is widely used and furthermore allows the subscriber to exchange the device being used to access the network whilst keeping the same identity and telephone number, by simply removing his SIM from the existing device and placing it in the new device
SIM based authentication is appropriate for cellular devices connecting directly to the PLMN. However it is also contemplated that users connect to a local non-PLMN network such as a Bluetooth network and from there connect via the cellular network. Furthermore the local non-PLMN network is generally compatible with a wide range of devices, such as portable computers, PDA type devices and the like which are not conventional cellular devices and which are not typically equipped with a cellular identity, SIM or even a SIM card carrier and reader. These devices are collectively designated "non-SIM devices". It is desirable to provide an infrastructure for allowing such non-SIM devices to connect via the local network to the cellular network, or at least to approve their access to other networks e.g. Internet based on their cellular identity.
Furthermore local non-PLMN networks are by their nature very localized. A user may wish to move whilst using one and may easily find himself out of range of any convenient access point. More particularly, mobile users within a small or confined area may get service from a local Access Point (AP) using any technology suitable for short ranges in the order of 10 to 100 meters. Each such AP supports a network of local mobile users. The communication conditions between each user and the AP may vary within a large range as a result of variable propagation path loss, available transmission power, interference level and network loading.
If more than one AP is operational within the area, whether multiple APs are collocated within a single point or they are installed in proximity in separate locations, it may be that the user would be serviced with better communication conditions from a different AP than the one currently being used or considered.
The problem then is to determine whether such an alternative AP is available and get the user to connect to that alternate AP. Such a problem is solved by a range of available procedures known collectively as "handoff".
A different problem occurs when a user is equipped with a dual technology terminal, e.g. cellular and Wireless LAN, cellular and wireline Internet access, etc, and the connection needs to be exchanged from an access point using one technology to an access point using another technology. In this case, the logic usually associated with handoff does not apply; rather, a different approach is required in order to make optimal use of the available communication resources.
Multiple technologies have been proposed to provide network connectivity within a small, confined area. Best known within this group are the 802.11 Frequency Hopping and Direct Sequence Wireless LAN (WLAN) standards and Bluetooth. The standards for these technologies treat the network as stand alone. When a member or potential member of such a network cannot obtain satisfactory data rate from the network Access Point, be it because of deteriorating communication conditions or network loading, one of several negative outcomes may occur from the user standpoint: he may be put on hold, deactivated/dropped from the network or supplied with an unacceptably low data rate. Existing solutions do not support searching for or transferring the user to another network operating in the area, i.e. there is no equivalent to the cellular handoff in which the mobile user is transferred to another Access Point that can satisfy its communication needs.
Furthermore, no standards have been proposed to control the transfer between technologies providing services to these confined areas and technologies associated with wide areas, primarily cellular; or between technologies covering wide areas through wireless and wired connectivity.
It is also necessary to consider authentication for remote connections, for example for authenticating remote transactions or for ensuring that the correct user is billed for remotely provided services, and interfacing is not complete between networks unless one network can be used to provide authentication to users connecting over channels, typically of other networks, which are not secure or over which a user cannot be positively identified.
Currently there are numerous circumstances in which transactions are carried out without the physical proximity of the transacting parties. Such circumstances include ATM transactions, credit card and other transactions made by telephone, and transactions made over the Internet. Generally, the identity of the purchasing party is not established to a high degree in such transactions. The transactions are carried out over unsecured and/or non-authenticatable connections and using communication techniques that are insecure and/or non-authenticatable, allowing users to be impersonated and credit card numbers to be stolen.
Currently, arrangements for electronic payment rely very heavily on credit cards, which make it difficult to levy small charges, such as time charges for use of a network, or small charges for downloading of data items.
Currently there are numerous circumstances in which transactions are carried out without the physical proximity of the transacting parties. Such circumstances include ATM transactions, credit card and other transactions made by telephone, and transactions made over the Internet. Generally, the identity of the purchasing party is not established to a high degree in such transactions. The transactions are carried out over unsecured and/or non-authenticatable connections and using communication techniques that are insecure and/or non-authenticatable, allowing users to be impersonated and credit card numbers to be stolen.
Currently, arrangements for electronic payment rely very heavily on credit cards, which make it difficult to levy small charges, such as time charges for use of a network, or small charges for downloading of data items:

Access to PLMN networks for non-PLMN devices, and to issues arising in interfaces in general between PLMN and non-PLMN networks


A liner hanger assembly structurally interconnects a casing within a bore hole and a tubular liner suspended from the casing. The hanger body includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced piston bores. A plurality of slips are provided circumferentially about, the hanger body for gripping engagement with an internal surface of the casing. A plurality of pistons are each housed within a respective piston bore and are movably responsive to internal pressure within the hanger body. A sleeve is axially movable with respect to the hanger body in response to axial movement of the plurality of pistons. The sleeve is interconnected with each of the plurality of slips to cause radially outward movement of the slips in response to movement of the pistons. The liner hanger assembly has a high fluid pressure rating for ensuring reliable gripping engagement with the casing, yet creates a comparatively low fluid restriction in the annulus between the casing and the liner.

Liner hangers have long been used in petroleum recovery operations to structurally interconnect a lower end of a large diameter tubular, such as a casing string, to a comparatively smaller diameter tubular, such as a liner. In a typical application, the casing string is cemented in place in the well bore, and the well operator seeks to suspend a smaller diameter liner concentrically within the well bore from the lower end of the casing string.
A liner may be run into the well bore from a work string, and the liner then structurally interconnected with the lower end of the casing string by a liner hanger. In a typical application, cement or another fluid may be subsequently pumped downhole through the structurally interconnected liner. Fluid may thereafter be forced upward in the annulus between the liner and the well bore. Accordingly, the liner hanger, which is structurally spaced in the annulus between the lower end of the casing and upper end of the liner, creates a restriction to this upward flow of cement or other fluid.
While various mechanisms have been used to set a liner hanger for structurally interconnection with a casing, hydraulically set liners have a significant advantage over other types of hanger setting mechanisms. Conventional liner hangers thus include a sleeve-shaped piston that moves axially with respect to the liner hanger body. In a typical application, the fluid pressure within the well bore and thus within the liner hanger body may be selectively increased until the hydraulic force supplied to the sleeve-shaped piston shears a pin, which then allows the piston to move axially to the enable camming surfaces to force the slips on the liner hanger into biting engagement with the casing.
Those skilled in the art of designing liner hangers recognize that, in many applications, the annulus between the casing and the liner may be relatively thin. The radial thickness of the liner hanger body that houses the sleeve-shaped piston accordingly is limited. An increase in the thickness of the liner hanger body is desirable in order to obtain a high pressure rating for the liner hanger, thereby allowing a higher biting force to be applied between the slips and the casing without risking rupture of the liner hanger. On the other hand, a decrease in the radial thickness of the liner hanger body is desired to minimize the flow restriction in the annulus between the casing and the liner. Accordingly, the design of prior art liner hangers has involved a balancing of an acceptable flow restriction created by the liner hanger with a desired maximum pressure rating for the liner hanger.
Another problem with many types of liner hangers is that the slips are not structurally prevented from prematurely moving radially outward. In most applications, this is not a problem since a force is not generated that would cause outward movement of the slips before the fluid pressure was intentionally increased to set the liner hanger, as explained above. In some applications, however, it is desirable to rotate the work string and thus the liner hanger while lowering the liner within a deviated well. This rotation of the liner and the hanger creates a centrifugal force that tends to force the slips radially outward before intentionally setting the liner hanger. This premature radially outward movement of the slips dulls the slip teeth due to the rotating engagement of the slip teeth with the casing. A few prior art liner hangers do, however, effectively prevent this premature radial outward movement of the hanger slips.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and improved techniques are hereinafter disclosed for forming a hydraulically set liner hanger, and for structurally interconnecting a liner hanger with a casing. According to this invention the liner hanger may obtain a high pressure rating while still minimizing the flow restriction created by the liner hanger.


We have developed a novel method of brain surface dialysis that reduces intracranial pressure and modifies movement of extracellular fluid in a rat model of brain injury. A chamber with a semipermeable membrane at the site of brain contact is perfused with a hyperosmolar solution (e.g. 15% dextran, inulin, hydroxyethyl starch). It is also capable of providing local brain cooling. In principle, osmotic forces draw water and small molecules from the injured brain into the dialysis chamber thereby reducing brain swelling. The dialysate does not move into the brain.

Brain edema is an accumulation of water within the brain tissue. It is a frequent complication after brain damage (stroke or injury)31. Edema tends to be maximal at approximately 2 days after injury, and can persist as long as one week. Edema causes the brain to swell, and when the brain swells, pressure inside the head rises and causes further permanent damage or potentially leads to death. Intravenous administration of drugs (e.g. mannitol or other osmotic agents) can dehydrate the uninjured parts of brain to temporarily relieve pressure. Unfortunately, this approach is limited because the osmotic agents enter damaged brain through leaking blood vessels and the swelling in these regions becomes worse ("rebound" phenomenon)25. In desperation, surgeons can remove the skull that overlies the damaged brain to allow the brain to swell outward21. Experimentally, cooling the brain from the normal 37° C. to ˜32° C. can be protective, but clinically local cooling of damaged brain is difficult and cooling of the entire body can have serious side effects (e.g. infection, bleeding). Therefore, there is no effective clinical treatment for severe cases of brain edema.
Interstitial fluid (ISF), also referred to as extracellular fluid, moves through brain by diffusion among cells and by bulk flow especially alongside blood vessels1. The predominant flow is toward the ventricular cavities in the center of the brain, where it contributes to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) formation. The pia mater/glia limitans on the outer surface of the brain may act as a physical barrier and regulatory interface between the extracellular compartment of the brain and the CSF in the subarachnoid space, which surrounds the brain11. The arachnoid is a thin tissue layer that contains the CSF around the brain and serves as a barrier against the bulk movement of fluids and large molecular weight substances2. The arachnoid is in intimate contact with, but not attached to, the dura mater, which is a tough fibrous layer that is adherent to the inner surface of the skull. Electrophysiological and tracer studies show that exchange of small molecules can occur across the pia, arachnoid, and even the thin dura of small animals3,29,30,35,43,54.
As discussed above, brain edema is an accumulation of water within the brain parenchyma. It is a universal physiological reaction to brain damage. The localization of edema fluid depends on the etiology of brain damage, and is defined by accumulation in extracellular ("vasogenic"; i.e. due to leaking blood vessels) or intracellular (also called "cytotoxic"; i.e. due to cell swelling when function of the cell membrane fails from exposure to disturbed environment or when energy supplies such as oxygen and glucose are lacking) compartments, potentially in combination. Water and fluid retention can be aggravated by the presence of small molecules that leak through damaged blood vessels and from damaged cells into the extracellular space. Here they can act as osmotic agents that prevent the free flow of water. Edema contributes to brain swelling and elevated intracranial pressure (ICP)27,51. As discussed above, there remains no effective clinical treatment for severe cases37, despite availability of hyperosmolar agents5,53, barbiturates42, physiologic support38, external ventricular drainage, and hemicraniectomy32,44.
Physical processes such as osmosis and diffusion facilitate the transport of water and dissolved small molecules from solutions through membranes. Dialysis is defined as the process of separating crystalloids (ions and other small molecules dissolved in a liquid) and colloids (large molecules, e.g. proteins, dissolved or suspended in a liquid) in solution by the difference in their rates of diffusion across a semipermeable membrane. This principle is in use for therapeutic hemodialysis (i.e. cleansing of the blood in the case of kidney failure)15 and extracellular fluid sampling by intraparenchymal brain microdialysis (wherein a small semipermeable catheter filled with a hyperosmotic solution is introduced into the tissue; water and small molecules are drawn into the catheter)20. In experimental studies on injured rat brain, edema was reduced when negative hydrostatic pressure was applied for 24 hours to ultra-thin small diameter cuprophan tubes implanted into injury site48,49.

Device to reduce brain edema by surface dialysis and cooling


Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, user equipment receives unicast services from a first carrier of a primary serving cell and determines if Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast services (MBMS) services are available on a second carrier based at least in part on information in a broadcast carrier channel that indicates the second carrier or an identification (ID) of the second carrier. If MBMS services are available on the second carrier, the user equipment at least temporarily switches to the second carrier to receive the MBMS services. The user equipment may provide feedback to the network or the primary serving cell when it starts and stops receiving MBMS services, and then may switch back to the primary serving cell when MBMS services have ended or the user equipment no longer desires to receive MBMS services.

The next generation mobile networks, in particular Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the evolution thereof, are expected to be deployed with multiple carriers in the same area and across multiple spectrum bands. The mobile devices or user equipment (UE) are also expected to be deployed with some devices having a single radio-frequency (RF) transceiver and other devices having multiple RF transceivers. Based on their capabilities, the devices may receive unicast traffic on a single carrier, or traffic that is aggregated across multiple carriers. Furthermore, such third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) systems may also provide for the delivery of Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast services (MBMS) concurrently with unicast services. Since MBMS services typically consume a significant amount of radio resources, MBMS services may be delivered from only one or a small subset of deployed carriers. In such scenarios, the MBMS bearing cells may not be the primary serving cell for some of the devices since the primary serving cell is typically determined by link quality and loading considerations. As a result, if MBMS services are desired for a device not being served by the MBMS bearing cell, handoff of the device from the primary serving cell to the MBMS cell should be accommodated.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Delivery of multicast and broadcast services concurrently with unicast data


A solid-state image pickup apparatus includes: an image pickup portion in which are arranged a plurality of pixels with a photo-electric conversion element, the pixels which generate and output a signal in accordance with the intensity of an incident electromagnetic wave; a frequency conversion portion that includes a link circuit in which a plurality of inversion circuits with a first terminal and a second terminal are linked in a ring, each of the inversion circuits having a varying delay time from an input signal to an output signal based on the voltage difference between the voltage supplied to the first terminal and the voltage supplied to the second terminal, and the frequency conversion portion which generate clock pulses at a frequency based on the voltage difference; a count portion which counts the clock pulses generated by the frequency conversion portion; and a transistor including: a third terminal to which is input a predetermined voltage; a fourth terminal connected to the first terminals; and a fifth terminal to which are input signals from the pixels, the transistor controlling a current that is passed between the third terminal and the fourth terminal based on a signal that is input to the fifth terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image pickup apparatus such as a digital camera.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-164203 filed on Jun. 24, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Solid-state image pickup apparatuses using a variety of image pickup devices such as a MOS-type image pickup device and a CCD-type image pickup device have been proposed and put to practical use. Furthermore, solid-state image pickup apparatuses provided with a MOS-type image pickup device include an amplification-type solid-state image pickup apparatus. The amplification-type solid-state image pickup apparatus includes: an electric charge generation device; and a pixel signal generation device which generates a pixel signal in accordance with a signal charge generated by the electric charge generation device, in which the pixel signal generation device has pixels configured as an amplification-type solid-state image pickup device (APS, Active Pixel Sensor), each pixel having a drive transistor for amplification. Many of the (C)MOS-type solid-state image pickup apparatuses have such a configuration.
In addition, column-ADC-system solid-state image pickup apparatuses in which an A/D conversion (analog/digital) function is embedded in a column portion have also been developed and commercialized. Known A/D conversion systems include a successive approximation register (SAR) A/D conversion system, a single-slope A/D conversion system, and a cyclic A/D conversion system. Furthermore, a column-ADC (A/D Converter)-system solid-state image pickup apparatus as follows has also been proposed (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, First Publication No. 2006-270293). In this ADC system, a column portion has a time-to-digital converter (TDC) with a function of converting voltage to frequency in accordance with a signal from a pixel. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, First Publication No. 2006-270293 says that it is possible to A/D-convert a signal from a pixel with comparative ease and a high S/N by use of a TDC.


A solid-state battery having a solid electrolyte represented by [A].sub.u.({[=N(Z).sub.2 ].(MX).sub.v }.sub.w), a positive electrode, and a negative electrode. A is a single ionic polymer of at least one of an oligoethylene oxypolyphosphazene compound having a sulfone group and an oligoalkylene oxpolyphosphazene compound having a fluorolakylsulfone group. The respective oxypolyphosphazenes have the structure of one of formulas (I) to (IV): ##STR1## R is at least one of methyl, ethyl and propyl. R' is hydrogen or methyl. h, k, h' and k' are each the average number of repeating ethyleneoxy unite or alkyleneoxy units and are each a real number from 0 to 20. l, n, l' and n' are each an integer of 0 or greater in the range of 3.ltoreq.l+n+l'+n'.ltoreq.200,000. Z is a group represented by Y--(OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2).sub.y --O--. Y is at least one of methyl, ethyl and propyl. y is a real number from 1 to 30. M is an element from the main group and subgroup of Groups I and II, transition metals from Groups III to VIII, and lanthanide. x is at least one of CF.sub.3 SO.sub.3.sup.--, ClO.sub.4.sup.--, BF.sub.4.sup.--, AsF.sub.6.sup.--. u is the ratio of [A]to {[N=P(Z).sub.2 ].(MX).sub.v }.sub.w and is a real number from 0 to 5. v is the ratio of (MX) to [N=P(Z).sub.2 ] and is a real number from 0.001 to 5. w is an integer from 3 to 200,000.

The present invention relates to all solid-state batteries.
Many proposals have heretofore been made for lithium batteries of high energy density wherein the electrolyte is a nonaqueous solvent of high ion conductivity, the negative electrode active substance is lithium, and the positive electrode active substance is a substance having high electron conductivity and voids capable of accepting many lithium ions. Especially, a strong demand has been made in recent years for the type or form of batteries in respect of compactness, lightweightness, reduced thickness, etc., with demand also made for amenability to high-temperature ambient conditions or superhigh vacuum ambient conditions. To meet these demands, improvements have been made in liquid electrolytes which have been the greatest problem, with efforts devoted to the development of solid electrolytes with no boiling point or no vapor pressure. Active research is presently under way on high polymer materials which can be adhered completely to the negative electrode material and to the positive electrode material at the interface of adhesion, and which are capable of giving flexibility to the interface of adhesion. For example, heretofore proposed as such high polymer solid electrolytes are polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polypropylene oxide (PPO) compounds in JP-B-3422/1988, "CHARGEABLE ELECTROCHEMICAL POWER GENERATOR," polyphenylene oxide, polysulfone and polyvinylidene chloride compounds in JP-B-30807/1975, "SOLID ELECTROLYTE FILM," N-alkoxymethyl nylon compounds in JP-B-45797/1976, "SEMI-SOLID ELECTROLYTE," and pyridine-pyrrole compounds in JP-A-49490/1977, "PROCESS FOR PREPARING LITHIUM ION CONDUCTIVE SOLID ELECTROLYTE." Further polyphosphazene compounds are proposed in J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 106, 6854.about.6855 (1984).
However, these proposed high polymer solid electrolytes have problems. First, they are too low in ion conductivity for use as electrolytes in lithium batteries which are actually usable. Even the highest of the ion conductivities of the proposed high polymer solid electrolytes is 10.sup.-5 .about.10.sup.-6 S/cm. The conductivity is as low as 10.sup.-6 .about.10.sup.-7 S/cm especially at room temperature. Second, they are very low in the transportation value of the mobile cation Li.sup.+. The proposed high polymer solid electrolyte is of the biionic type wherein both dissociated cation and anion of an inorganic lithium salt dissolving in the electrolyte move toward the positive electrode and the negative electrode at the same time, so that the transportation value of Li.sup.+ becomes small. Accordingly, when the proposed high polymer solid electrolytes are used for fabricating lithium batteries, the batteries obtained are only those of poor charge-discharge characteristics which give only a low current of small current density.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing problems and provide an all solid-state battery which is small-sized and lightweight and which has a large charge-discharge capacity and outstanding characteristics.


The invention is an optical disk drive which controls mechanical feedback to a focus servo actuator by shifting the phase of the feedback along its path back to the servo an additional 180 degrees to eliminate the degradation of the phase margin and prevent servo instability. The phase shift may be induced at any practical location along the feedback path. The phase shift is preferably induced by creating a slit or opening in the base of the optical disk drive. The opening must be positioned properly, shaped appropriately, and large enough to create a new base resonant frequency which prevents the opposite sides thereof from vibrating in phase. Alternatively, the phase shift may be induced by altering other components in the feedback path. For example, the phase shift can be induced by modifying the spindle motor assembly to create a new spindle resonant frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the control of feedback in a servo control system. More particularly, the invention relates to the control of mechanical feedback from vibration in an optical disk drive to prevent destabilization of a servo control system in the optical disk drive.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Modern computers include high performance main memory used to store user data and the instructions for processing the user data. Main memory is generally in the form of solid state microchips which operate at rapid, purely electronic speeds. Because main memory is also very expensive, it is usually supplemented with peripheral storage devices. Such devices include, for example, magnetic tape drives, magnetic disk drives, and optical disk drives. As used herein, the term "peripheral storage device" also includes similar devices used outside of the data processing environment, such as those used for audio and/or video recording.
Peripheral storage devices typically include one or more servo control systems (hereinafter "servos"). A servo is an automatic control system in which an output is constantly or intermittently compared with an input so that the error or difference therebetween can be used to bring about the desired operation. In peripheral storage devices, the output is typically an operating characteristic and is used to adjust the operation of the device directly relating thereto. For example, in magnetic disk drives, a tracking servo may be used to control the amount of physical misalignment, if any, between a data track on the magnetic disk and the read/write elements of the magnetic disk head. The misalignment may be caused by radial runout of the tracks on the disk, which is one or more radial imperfections resulting from manufacturing tolerances or the operating characteristics relating thereto. As the misalignment is monitored, the relative position of the disk to the head is continually adjusted/corrected to allow for the proper reading/writing of data to a desired track. In optical disk drives, a focus servo is also used to accommodate the axial runout (similar to radial imperfections, but axial in nature, such as variations in disk thickness) of a disk. This servo monitors the distance between an optical disk and the objective lens of the optical disk drive. The objective lens has a fixed focal length; the focus servo is used to adjust the relative position of the objective lens to the disk to maintain the light beam of the optical disk drive in proper focus upon the active recording layer of the disk. Techniques for monitoring track misalignment and the distance between an optical disk and an objective lens are well known.
Many servos are used to control mechanical actions, as in the previously-described servo examples. Using the focus servo of an optical disk drive as a further example, the mechanical action is the activation of a voice coil motor or other actuator to move the objective lens closer to or farther from the surface of the optical disk. When no feedback is present, there is no particular phase or amplitude relationship between the vibration of the optical disk and the electrical input to the actuator. However, depending upon the specific physical configuration of a device, the mechanical action can result in certain additional, generally undesirable movement which is fed back into the servo. Again using the focus servo as an example, the action of the motor to adjust the position of the objective lens may result in vibration being passed through the actuator mounting, through the base or housing of the optical disk drive, through the spindle motor, and to the optical disk. As the optical disk vibrates, the distance between it and the objective lens varies further. Such additional vibration of the disk due to mechanical feedback, and not from axial runout, effects the operation of the servo according to certain characteristics of the feedback. The magnitude of the mechanical feedback becomes very large at the resonant frequency of the optical disk and, if the resonant frequency of the disk is close to the crossover frequency of the servo (the crossover frequency is that at which the open loop servo response crosses through zero dB magnitude), the phase margin at such crossover frequency will be degraded. If so, the amplitude of the disk motion resulting therefrom increases dramatically and destabilizes the servo loop.
Destabilizing mechanical feedback is typically controlled by separation of the feedback source or by reduction of the feedback amplitude. Feedback control by separation does not refer to physical separation (which is assumed not possible here), but to separating the resonant frequency and the crossover frequency. Again, using the focus servo example, the resonant frequency of the disk relative to the crossover frequency of the servo could be adjusted by altering the mechanical or operating characteristics of either. At one time, such changes could be made with relative ease, but heretofore unrecognized problems now exist. Because of the now common standardization of peripheral recording media, there is little room to change the resonant frequencies thereof if a device is to be commercially viable. In addition, it is not desirable to adjust the crossover frequency of an actuator lower, as such reduces the performance of the servo. Finally, in modern finely tuned actuators, it is difficult to increase the crossover frequency of an actuator without significantly increasing costs.
Feedback control by amplitude reduction is accomplished by simple stiffening of the device components in either of two ways. First, the materials used to manufacture the components may be selected for their natural mechanical properties. For example, steel may be used instead of aluminum or flexible plastics. Second, regardless of the materials used, the components can be thickened or otherwise made more massive to increase their stiffness and decrease the likelihood of their vibrating. Unfortunately, simple stiffening of the device components is also associated with several heretofore unrecognized problems. First, peripheral storage devices are already manufactured from relatively stiff materials to provide adequate sturdiness. Further materials improvements require more exotic, and expensive, materials. The use of thicker components also adds to the expense of the device by requiring more of each material used. In addition, thicker components add to the weight of the device, reducing transportability. Finally, thicker components are not possible in certain space limited environments, such as peripheral storage devices mounted internally in personal computers and workstations, or those mounted in standard size racks for use in larger data processing systems.

Phase shifting feedback control in an optical disk drive

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention discloses a signal modulation method, including: demultiplexing an input signal into 2N sub-signals; grouping every two of the 2N sub-signals into a pair; performing filtering on two sub-signals in each pair; performing carrierless amplitude phase (CAP) modulation on the two sub-signals in each pair; modulating the two sub-signals in each pair to a same frequency band, to generate N pairs of CAP signals, where frequency bands of different pairs of sub-signals are different, and a spacing between center frequencies of two neighboring frequency bands is greater than or equal to an average value of baud rates of sub-signals corresponding to the two neighboring frequency bands; and combining the N pairs of CAP signals, and performing electro-optic modulation on a signal obtained after the combining. A signal demodulation method corresponding to the signal modulation method is further disclosed.

From the perspective of current and future technology trends, 400 GE/1 TE technologies may be based on a baud rate of 25 G (25.78125 G). However, using an existing NRZ modulation format as a basis can increase only a quantity of parallel channels (400 GE/16 channels, and 1 TE/40 channels), and an excessively large quantity of channels may cause a reliability problem. Therefore, 400 GE/1 TE may be implemented under a condition that the quantity of channels is moderately increased and that a bit rate of each channel is improved, between which a compromise needs to be reached. For improvement in a single-channel rate, high-order modulation may be used, and to reach a compromise between complexity and costs, relatively feasible spectral efficiency is 2 bit/Hz to 4 bit/Hz. Therefore, the high-order modulation becomes one of key technologies in short-range interconnection.
As shown in FIG. 1, a block diagram of a high-order modulation method is presented, where two NRZ signals are first combined into a 4-level PAM-4 signals by using a PAM-4 encoder, and then two PAM-4 signals pass through two filters to obtain two orthogonal IQ signals, which are superimposed and then transmitted to a directly modulated laser. A baseband signal is migrated to a higher frequency band when passing through the filters.
At a receive end, after optical-to-electrical conversion and front-end amplification, the two orthogonal signals pass through filters that match the foregoing filters, and are restored to two 4-level PAM-4 signals, then the 4-level PAM-4 signals pass through a PAM demodulator, and are finally demodulated into 4 NRZ signals.
From a spectrum chart on the upper left, it can be seen that an electrical signal at a transmit end of a modulated signal has undergone electrical modulation once, and a spectral pattern thereof depends on a spectral pattern of the filters. Mapping of a received signal onto a constellation diagram is presented on the upper right.
However, the foregoing solution can ensure performance in need of at least 4 times of oversampling, so that baseband bandwidth is wasted, bandwidth requirements are high, and resistance to dispersion is relatively low. In addition, to achieve a modulation effect, a baseband signal is modulated to a center frequency in a conventional modulation method, and if the center frequency is greater than a spectral width of the signal, it can be seen from a spectrum that there is usually a waste in bandwidth in a low frequency part. From the spectrum chart in FIG. 1, it can be seen that the low frequency is not covered by the spectrum of the signal after passing through an adder.
An orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing, OFDM) technology is also a modulation technology that relates to multiple sub-channels, with a main idea that a channel is divided into several orthogonal sub-channels, high-speed data signals are converted into parallel low-speed sub-data streams, the parallel low-speed sub-data streams are modulated onto the sub-channels in frequency domains, and then the parallel low-speed sub-data streams are transformed by using inverse Fourier transform into time-domain signals for transmission. Orthogonal signals may be separated at a receive end by using a relevant technology. However, there is a problem of carrier synchronization, and Fourier transform is needed to perform relevant digital signal processing, which has a problem of algorithm complexity and a relatively high requirement for a peak-to-average ratio of signals.

Signal modulation method, signal demodulation method, signal modulation apparatus, signal demodulation apparatus and signal transmission system


A first electronic device, such as a computer, is connected to a second electronic device, such as a printer, over a communication bus. The second electronic device has device specific integrated circuitry for performing the functions of the device, and also has pad driver circuitry. The pad driver circuitry is connected between the communication bus and the device specific integrated circuitry. The first electronic device is powered by a first voltage source, such as AC power through an on/off switch. The second electronic device is powered by a second voltage source, such as AC power through a different on/off switch. In addition to being powered by the second voltage source, the pad driver circuitry is also powered by a third voltage source, isolated from the second voltage source. When the pad driver circuitry in the second device detects that the first device is powered-on and the second device is powered-off, it assures that the device specific circuitry in the second device will not become inadvertently powered-on by the first device through the communications bus. Pad driver circuitry also assures that power from the first device through a data line on the communications bus is not inadvertently fed back to the first device through a different data line on the communications bus. Pad driver circuitry also assures that current from the first device is not sunk (i.e. finds a path to ground) through the pad driver circuitry.

Traditional electronic devices of the past, from toasters to television sets, performed a variety of functions, but normally had one thing in common--they didn't connect to any other electronic device.
Today's electronic devices are decidedly more complex. An increasing number of electronic devices today are interconnected to one or more other electronic devices. For example, personal computers are often connected to printers, tape drives, modems, etc., and communicate with these devices over a communications cable. This interconnectability of electronic devices has vastly expanded the function and power of electronic devices in general, but is not without its problems. One such problem caused by the interconnectability of electronic devices occurs when one device is powered-on while the other device is powered-off. This situation is commonly encountered when a powered-on computer is connected to a powered-off printer. When this situation occurs, the printer can be inadvertently powered-on through the communications cable. This can result in a variety of unpredictable and undesirable events occurring. One such undesirable event is the illumination of status lights and the false indication to a user that the printer is on and operational when it in fact is off. Other such undesirable events are more catastrophic--the burnout and failure of one or more components in the printer, or even in the computer itself--if power is fed back to the computer through another data line on the communications bus.
Previous attempts to solve the above problem have been wholly unsuccessful. Often the problem is simply ignored, with the blind hope that the powered-on device and the powered-off device can handle the situation without failing or giving an incorrect status indication to a user.

Pad driver circuit with powered down device protection


An elastomeric bearing, such as a hydraulically damping bearing for motor vehicles can have at least two fastening parts which are connected to one another by means of an elastomer spring. Such a bearing can also have a vertically acting hydraulic damping apparatus and at least one hydraulic damping apparatus acting in the horizontal direction, which damping apparatus essentially are chambers filled with damping fluid and connected to one another by damping passages. The chambers of the horizontally acting damping apparatus can be molded into the elastomer spring and disposed opposite to one another in the direction of damping, with at least one passage connecting the chambers. The chambers of the horizontally acting damping apparatus can be bordered by a separating part, and underneath the separating part there can be a second damping apparatus oriented in the direction of the Cz vertical coordinate axis. The chambers of the second damping apparatus can be located one above the other in the direction of the Cz coordinate axis and can be connected to one another by an additional connecting passage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an elastomeric bearing, and more particularly to an elastomeric bearing for use in motor vehicles. Such bearings typically have at least two fastening parts which can be connected to one another by means of an elastomer spring. In addition, there can also be a vertically acting hydraulic damping apparatus and at least one hydraulic damping apparatus acting in at least one horizontal direction. The damping apparatus, in general, will comprise chambers filled with damping fluid, while the chambers can be connected to one another by means of damping passages.
2. Background Information
Known elastomeric bearings typically have, as discussed above, two fastening parts which are connected to one another by means of an elastomer spring, and also include a hydraulic damping apparatus. In the elastomeric bearing as disclosed by German Patent No. 30 24 090, the elastomer spring is divided by the fluid chambers into an outer, one-piece, or multi-piece thrust spring, and an inner, ring-shaped elastomeric spring. The inner spring will generally be in contact with the fastening part by means of a base body. As a result of this configuration, only a small proportion of the bearing load is absorbed by the inner ring-shaped elastomeric spring, and a damping of the low-frequency vibrations in the vertical direction is achieved. One disadvantage of a bearing of this type is that no damping can take place in the soft thrust direction. Thus, on account of the soft small spring constants of the elastomer spring, large, undamped movements are possible, and unstable resonance vibrations can occur.
Another known bearing in which the fastening parts are connected to one another by means of an elastomer spring is disclosed by European Patent No. 0 042 761. This elastomeric bearing is equipped with one damping apparatus which acts in the horizontal direction and one which acts in the vertical direction. A disadvantage of this configuration is that the simple embodiment is only somewhat effective.


A system is provided for integrating a feature rich application platform operating on a mobile device with a vehicle infotainment system. The system includes a head unit configured to control user interface devices including a display, a command entry device, and an audio output device. The head unit also includes computing resources and a communications interface. A content consumer application operates using the computing resources of the head unit, and is configured to communicate user generated commands over a communications interface to a content provider application executing on a mobile device. The content provider application is configured to direct the user generated commands to one of a plurality of sub-applications on the mobile device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to vehicle infotainment systems, and more particularly, to systems and methods using applications on mobile devices in infotainment systems.
2. Related Art
Computing resources have been used in vehicles for functions such as, for example, vehicle control, information retrieval and display to the driver, entertainment (for example, audio systems), and navigation assistance. Vehicle control functions are typically handled by a dedicated real-time processing system. Information retrieval functions include interfaces to sensors such as velocity sensors, temperature sensors, location sensors, and any other type of physical state sensor. Information retrieval functions may also include functions that retrieve traffic reports or other type of data, and functions that communicate the data and information from the sensors to the driver or to other sub-systems (for example, the navigation assistance sub-system). The messages may be displayed or audibly annunciated. Navigation assistance functions may include route generating functions and map generating functions with reporting functions that may provide audible real-time guidance, or images of route maps on a video screen. Audio/video sub-systems include a radio receiver, a CD player, a DVD player, or an interface to external devices such as MP3 players. Systems that provide information, entertainment and navigation assistance are often embodied as "infotainment systems" having integrated or shared computing and hardware resources.
In an infotainment system, the information, entertainment, and navigation functions are performed by sub-systems having hardware and/or software configured for the corresponding functions. The sub-systems connect to a head unit, which includes computing resources, input/output interfaces, and hardware and software functions for managing the computing and input/output resources. The head unit allows the sub-systems to share resources that may be needed by more than one sub-system. For example, an infotainment system may include an audio/video sub-system, a navigation assistance sub-system, and an information retrieval sub-system, and all of the sub-systems may have functions that require the use of audio speakers, or a video display. Rather than having each sub-system use dedicated audio speakers or video displays, the head unit is used to manage access to a common set of audio speakers or video display by all three sub-systems.
Infotainment systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated as the number of applications and features that may be implemented continues to grow. As features and applications (or even new types of sub-systems) are added to infotainment systems, higher performance computing resources may be needed to enable satisfactory operation. Faster processors may be needed. More or different types of memory may be needed. Enhancements to the features provided by infotainment systems evolve naturally, but their implementation may result in increased costs to manufacture. In addition, the enhancements or upgrades are typically designed into the system. That is, the opportunity to add new features or applications after manufacture is either limited or non-existent. Even if software versions may be upgraded using an external port connected to flash memory, the head unit resources may not permit much feature expansion.
The increased costs that result from evolving enhancements to infotainment systems may be alleviated somewhat by providing systems with different levels of feature content that may correspond with different classes of vehicles. Infotainment systems may also be provided as user configurable extras where systems having different levels of feature content are priced accordingly. For example, an entry level system having a base level of performance capability may be provided as standard equipment, and systems with more features or higher performance capabilities may be offered at added costs as buyer selectable options.
Limitations remain with the solution involving infotainment systems at different classes with different levels of performance. The entry level infotainment system for example may not have sufficient resources to allow for upgrading. Maintenance of multiple versions of software also becomes more complicated, which adds costs. There is a need for a way of enhancing features in infotainment systems that does not result in increasing costs.

Mobile device application integration with infotainment head units

HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED


A bottom-gate-type semiconductor device comprising crystalline semiconductor layers, in which the source/drain regions each have a laminate structure comprising a first conductive layer (n.sup.+ layer), a second conductive layer(n.sup.- layer) of which the resistance is higher than that of the first conductive layer, and an intrinsic or substantially intrinsic semiconductor layer (i-layer) is manufactured. In this, the n.sup.- layer functions as an LDD region, and the i-layer functions as an in-plane offset region. The semiconductor device has high reliability and high reproducibility, and is produced in a simple process favorable to mass-production.

TFT have heretofore been being used as switching elements in active matrix-type liquid crystal devices (hereinafter referred to as AMLCD). At present, devices with TFT circuits that comprise active layers of amorphous silicon films have a high market share. In particular, inverse stagger structures capable of being produced in simple processes are much employed for constructing TFT.
With recent developments in high-quality AMLCD, however, TFT are being required to have much better operating characteristics (especially for high operating speed). In such situations, amorphous silicon TFT are often unsatisfactory as their operating speed is not high, and high-quality devices comprising amorphous silicon films are difficult to produce.
Accordingly, polysilicon TFT have become much highlighted in place of amorphous silicon TFT, and TFT comprising polysilicon films as the active layers are being actively studied and developed in the art. At present, some polysilicon TFT devices are on the market.
Many reports have already been disclosed, relating to inverse stagger-type TFT structures comprising active layers of polysilicon films. For example, referred to is a report of "Fabrication of Low-Temperature Bottom-Gate Poly-Si TFTs on Large-Area Substrate by Linear-Beam Excimer Laser Crystallization and Ion Doping Method: H. Hayashi, et al., IEDM 95, pp. 829-832, 1995".
In that report, they illustrated one typical example (FIG. 4) of inverse stagger structures comprising polysilicon films. However, inverse stagger structures of that type (that is, so-called channel-stop-type ones) have various problems.
First, in those structures, the active layers having an overall thickness of 50 nm or so are extremely thin. Therefore, in those, impact ionization at the junction of the channel-forming region and the drain region is occurred, whereby the structures are significantly deteriorated due to hot carrier implantation. For these reasons, a large LDD region (light doped drain region) must be formed in those structures.
In this connection, the most critical problem is how to control the LDD region. The LDD region requires extremely delicate control of the impurity concentration therein and the length of itself. In particular, the length control of the region is problematic. At present, the length of the LDD region is defined by mask patterning. In fine TFT, however, any minor patterning error in masking the LDD region will produce significant differences in TFT characteristics.
Another serious problem is that the sheet resistivity in the LDD region significantly varies depending on the variation in the thickness of the active layers. Moreover, the variation in the taper angle of the gate electrodes often causes the variation in the function of the LDD region.
In addition, the LDD region requires patterning, which directly complicates the production process while lowering the throughput. It is presumed that the production of the inverse stagger structure described in the report noted above requires at least 6 masks (up to the step of forming the source/drain electrodes).
As mentioned above, the channel-stop-type inverse stagger structure indispensably requires the transverse in-plane LDD region to be formed at the both sides of the channel-forming region, in which, however, a reproducible LDD region is extremely difficult to form.

Thin film transistor having laminated source and drain regions

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A relay apparatus of a video and audio transmitting/receiving system delays a time before transmitting an authentication start instruction after an authentication start video signal being transmitted to a receiving apparatus. Accordingly, a problem that the receiving apparatus receives the authentication start instruction from the relay apparatus before locking the authentication start video signal and cannot perform authentication processing normally, leading to a failure in authentication. A correction time is decided based on a resolution of the authentication start video signal transmitted from the receiving apparatus and a combination of receiving apparatuses and transmitting apparatuses connected to the relay apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to authentication processing of a relay apparatus, a transmitting apparatus, and a receiving apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a form in which a transmitting apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a source device) such as a DVD player and a Blu-ray (registered trademark, hereinafter, referred to as Blu-ray) and a receiving apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a sink device) such as a TV set are connected via a relay device (hereinafter, referred to as a repeater) such as an AV amplifier by using an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable is in widespread use. By using the HDMI cable, video and audio data from a source device can be transmitted and received in digital format in high image quality and sound quality. Also, device authentication and content protection specified by the HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) standard are used as functions to protect copyrights of content transmitted from a source device.
By using the HDCP standard, content data between a source device and a repeater and between the repeater and a sink device can be encrypted. According to the HDCP standard, the source device and the repeater, and the repeater and the sink device each perform HDCP authentication by using an authentication protocol. In the HDCP authentication, first authentication, second authentication, and third authentication are performed. If, as a result of the HDCP authentication, the repeater and the sink device are not determined to be invalid devices, the repeater and the sink device can decrypt content encrypted by the source device. Device authentication in the HDCP standard is performed by using a DDC (Display Data Channel) communication line.
Incidentally, a source device and a repeater may not be able to complete HDCP authentication normally even if the timing of transmitting/receiving a signal specified in an authentication sequence of the HDCP standard is met. If, for example, the repeater transmits a TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) signal to a sink device and then, immediately thereafter transmits an HDCP authentication start signal to the sink device, the sink device receives the HDCP authentication start signal before locking the TMDS signal and so may not be able to start HDCP authentication processing normally. Locking a TMDS signal means detecting the TMDS signal and analyzing the resolution and the like of the TMDS signal. When starting HDCP authentication, some source devices switch and transmit TMDS signals in different resolutions to the repeater in a short time. Accordingly, the repeater transmits TMDS signals received from the source device to the sink device and thus, TMDS signals in different resolutions are transmitted from the repeater to the sink device a plurality of times in a short time. As a result, the sink device cannot lock TMDS signals normally and cannot perform HDCP authentication normally. Further, the repeater transmits an instruction of HDCP first authentication to the sink device and then requests a key to determine whether the HDCP first authentication is completed normally, but if the interval between the start instruction of the HDCP first authentication and the instruction of key request is not appropriate, the verification of the key may fail. Further, if the time between verification processing of the key and the start of encryption of the TMDS signal is not appropriate, the repeater may fail to encrypt the TMDS signal.

Relay apparatus, program of relay apparatus and transmitting apparatus


A fiber optic cable connector secures a fiber optic cable to an equipment housing (e.g., a CATV equipment housing) and allow individual fibers of the cable to pass into the housing in a strain relieved condition for connection to electro-optical componentry. A strength component of the fiber optic cable is clamped within the connector body, exterior of the equipment housing, to strain-relieve the optical fibers from forces imparted to the cable, without taking up housing space. Also, the connector clamps a strength component of a protective "fan-out" tube covering the individual fibers of the cable passing from the connector into the housing, to strain-relieve the fibers from forces imparted to the fan-out tube. The clamping action is effected by progressive threaded engagement of two connector bodies.

This invention relates to fiber optic cable connectors for coupling a fiber optic cable to related equipment and strain relieving the optical fibers of the cable. More specifically, the invention relates to connectors particularly suited for securing a fiber optic cable to a conventional CATV equipment housing and passing in a strained relieved condition the optical fibers of the cable into the housing for connection to electro-optical componentry.
The use of optical fibers for transmission of CATV signals has numerous advantages over conventional radio frequency (RF) signal transmission through coaxial cable. For example, optical fibers intrinsically have more information carrying capacity than do coaxial cables. In addition, there is less signal attenuation in optical fibers than in coaxial cables adapted for carrying RF signals. Consequently, optical fibers can span much longer distances between signal amplifiers than is possible with coaxial cables. Further, the dielectric nature of optical fiber eliminates any problem with electrical shorting. Finally, optical fiber is immune to ambient electromagnetic interference (EMI) and generates no EMI of its own. Accordingly, fiber optic technology is, more and more, replacing RF technology in the CATV industry.
Conversion to fiber optic technology in the CATV industry is hampered by the significant expense involved with replacing existing RF signal transmission equipment, e.g., coaxial cables, amplifiers and splitters, with fiber optic cables and equipment. As the industry converts to optical fiber technology, it is desirable to utilize existing RF signal equipment to the greatest extent possible to reduce costs. Accordingly, the industry trend is to utilize optical fiber cable for transmitting CATV signals from a centrally located station (headend) over large distances to a number of sub-stations (remote hubs) which may, e.g., be located in various cities. At the remote hubs, the optical signals are reconverted back into RF signals, amplified and split off to relatively short coaxial feeder lines, typically using an optoelectronic bridger amplifier (OEBA). This way, the advantages of optical fiber signal transmission are realized without the expense of replacing the vast networks of coaxial cable and related equipment which bring the CATV signal to individual receiving locations, e.g., residences.
In interest of efficiency, it is desirable to adapt existing CATV equipment housings, e.g., junction boxes, trunk housings and the like, for housing and protecting fiber optic componentry (e.g., OEBA's, amplifiers, splitters, etc.) to which the optic fibers are fed. In such arrangements, it is necessary to secure the end of the fiber optic cable to the equipment housing in such a manner that one or more optical fibers of the cable can pass into the housing and be connected to components therein in a strain-relieved condition. Conventionally, this has been achieved by clamping a strength member of the cable, e.g., Kevlar strands or metal wires, to a floor of the housing such that forces imparted to the cable, e.g., due to the weight of the cable and thermal expansions and contractions thereof, are conveyed to the housing rather than the fragile optical fibers. A problem with this approach for providing strain-relief is that space within the housing must be utilized for securing the cable. Hence, the amount of space available for electro-optical componentry is reduced.
Hopper U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,636 describes a fiber optic cable entry connector which, by securing the cable within the connector exterior of a trunk housing, addresses the above-described problem. This connector is threadably securable in an aperture of the trunk housing and provides strain-relief by grasping a strength member of the fiber optic cable with a screw-actuated clamp positioned within the connector body. The following patents describe other fiber optic cable connectors which capture a strength member of the fiber optic cable in order to provide strain-relief: Corke et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,222; Betzler et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,810; Honma et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,808; Kashimura et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,890; Ejiri et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,427; Ohta et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,437; Borsuk U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,120; and Lumpp et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,163.
Due possibly to such factors as incompatibility with existing CATV equipment, expense, difficulty of installation, size and insufficient strain-relieving strength, the connector designs disclosed in the above patents have not achieved widespread acceptance and usage in the CATV industry. Rather, the industry has continued to rely primarily upon the above-described method of providing strain-relief by securing the fiber optic cable to the floor of the equipment housing, with its attendant disadvantage of taking up space within the housing. There thus exists a need for a fiber optic cable connector which can reliably secure a fiber optic cable to a conventional CATV equipment housing and thereby strain-relieve the optical fibers without taking up housing space, which is inexpensive to manufacture, compact, and can be easily installed.
Conventionally, the individual optical fibers of the cable extending from the connector into the equipment housing for connection to an OEBA or other components are enclosed by a protective "fan-out" tube. Such a tube typically comprises an outer polymeric skin, Kevlar strands acting as a strength member and an inner plastic core for housing and cushioning the individual fibers. None of the above patents addresses the need to strain-relieve the optical fibers from tensile forces imparted to such protective tubing. Conventional practice has been to secure the fan-out tubing to the housing by clamping it to an inner wall portion thereof. This approach also undesirably takes up space within the housing. There is therefore a need for a connector which provides complete strain-relief to the optical fibers by securing therein both a fiber optic cable extending into the connector and a protective tubing covering the individual optical fibers passing out of the connector.

Fiber optic cable connectors providing strain relief