A ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus including a driving apparatus which is equipped with an arm mounted respective side faces of a main frame of the ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus so as to allow the arms to move into an open and closed position. A resilient member provides a force which acts on the respective arms in such a direction so as to urge the arms into the open position. A ratchet prevents the arms from being opened by the resilient member as teeth engage with a pawl in a stepwise manner. Rollers are rotatably mounted to a tip of the respective arms and are in rolling contact with the guide rail on which the driving apparatus travels. The arms are moved to the open for mounting the driving apparatus to the guide rail and thereafter the arms are moved to the closed position. Thus, the main frame of the driving apparatus can be position movably fixed onto the guide rail.

This invention relates to a ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus for a pressure container, pipings, etc. of an atomic power plant. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mounting-dismounting mechanism of a remote-controlled, automatic ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus.
Regulations require the periodic inspection of a pressure container and a piping arrangement of an atomic power plant and also a nozzle portion as the joint portion of these members. For example, in the United States of America, the contents of this inspection is stipulated in detail in ASME (THE AMERICAL SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS) CODE.
The inspection is generally carried out by fitting a guide rail around an object for inspection such as the pressure container or the piping and mounting a ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus having a ultrasonic wave probe onto the guide rail and causing it to travel thereon. Since the inspection procedure consists principally of the manual work, there are problems such as exposure of an inspector to the radioactive rays and difference in the collected data depending upon inspectors. Hence, there is a pressing need for a reliable remote-control ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus. However, there are strict conditions imposed on a ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus to be installed on the site of the inspection with regard to the functional requirements such as, scanning accuracy, weight, size, mounting-dismounting time as well as the performance aspects such as flaw detection accuracy. To this date, no apparatus has been developed which perfectly satisfies all these requirements.
As to the problem of the weight of the driving apparatus, for example, the ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus must be light enough for the inspector to carry it around to and from necessary positions of the object for inspection because he has sometimes to climb up and down a ladder or to pass through a narrow and limited foothold between pipings while taking the driving apparatus with him. Moreover, the fitting height and length of the driving apparatus are limited depending upon the structure of the pipings around it when the former is mounted to the latter. Though this limitation is not determined primarily, it is preferred to reduce the size of the driving apparatus to widen the range of its application. In order to minimize the exposure of the inspector to the radioactive rays, it is also necessary to reduce the time required for fitting the driving apparatus to the guide rail as short as possible. For these reasons, it is desired to obtain such a mounting-dismounting mechanism of one-touch system that is capable of shortening the time required for mounting and dismounting the ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus.
Further, since the site of the inspection work is of a multi-storied construction, any dropping of tools, would lead to a great danger. Hence, no tool is preferably used for mounting and dismounting the driving apparatus. In addition, the driving apparatus must be able to scan the probe up to a desired position of the object for inspection with a high level of accuracy and must have such versatility so as to be adapted to pipings of a varying diameter by simply replacing the guide rail.

Ultrasonic flaw detector driving apparatus


A carcass ply is built on a forming drum by application of a plurality of strip-like elements by the steps of: setting a width of these strip-like elements, setting a width of the overlapped part between two adjacent strip-like elements, setting a fitting diameter of the forming drum by calculating a corresponding extension of a radially external laying surface, and calculating a whole number of strip-like elements to be applied. The whole number of drip-like elements is applied by rotating the forming drum around a geometric rotation axis thereof, and applying pairs of strip-like elements by means of a first laying unit and a second laying unit located close to opposite portions of the forming drum relative to the geometric rotation axis. When the calculated whole number of strip-like elements is an odd number, before at least one application step, the first laying unit is shifted along an adjustment path orthogonal to the geometric rotation axis and substantially tangent to the radially external laying surface of the forming drum.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels.
The present invention further relates to a method of building at least one carcass ply during manufacture of a tyre for vehicle wheels.
In more detail, the invention is particularly directed to the process and equipment that, during building of a green tyre, are used for the purpose of manufacturing carcass plies.
Description of the Related Art
A tyre for vehicle wheels generally comprises a carcass structure including at least one carcass ply having respectively opposite end flaps in engagement with respective annular anchoring structures integrated into the regions usually identified with the name of "beads", and having an inner diameter substantially corresponding to a so-called "fitting diameter" of the tyre on a respective mounting rim.
Associated with the carcass structure is a belt structure comprising one or more belt layers, disposed in radially superposed relationship with respect to each other and to the carcass ply and having textile or metallic reinforcing cords with a crossed orientation and/or substantially parallel to the circumferential extension direction of the tyre. A tread band is applied at a radially external position to the belt structure, the tread band too being made of elastomeric material like other semifinished products constituting the tyre.
Respective sidewalls of elastomeric material are also applied at an axially external position to the side surfaces of the carcass structure, each extending from one of the side edges of the tread band until close to the respective annular anchoring structure to the beads. In tyres of the tubeless type an airtight coating layer, usually identified as "liner," covers the inner surfaces of the tyre.
Subsequently to building of the green tyre obtained through assembly of respective components, a vulcanisation and moulding treatment is generally carried out, said treatment aiming at causing structural, stabilisation of the tyre by cross-linking of the elastomeric compounds, as well as at impressing it with a desired tread pattern and with possible distinctive graphic signs at the tyre sidewalls.
The carcass structure and belt structure are generally made separately from each other in respective work stations to be mutually assembled at a second time.
In more detail, manufacture of the carcass structure first involves application of the carcass ply or plies onto a building drum. Subsequently the annular anchoring structures to the beads are fitted or formed on the opposite end flaps of the carcass ply or plies and are afterwards turned up around the annular structures themselves so as to encompass them in a sort of loop to form a so-called substantially cylindrical "carcass sleeve". In the most widespread production processes, the carcass plies are made starting from an article of manufacture in the form of a continuous strip, formed of cords of textile, or in some cases metallic, material, disposed parallel to each other in a matrix of elastomeric material. Then a segment of a length corresponding to the circumferential extension of the carcass ply to be obtained is cut from said continuous strip. The segment is wound up on the outer surface of a building drum and the opposite ends thereof are joined together to form a carcass ply.
At the same time, a so-called "outer sleeve" is made on a second drum or auxiliary drum, which sleeve comprises the belt layers applied in radially superposed relationship with respect to each other, and possibly the tread band applied at a radially external position to the belt layers. The outer sleeve is then picked up from the auxiliary drum to be coupled with the carcass sleeve. To this aim, the outer sleeve is coaxially disposed around the carcass sleeve and then the carcass ply or plies are shaped into a toroidal configuration by axially approaching the beads to each other and simultaneously admitting fluid under pressure into the carcass sleeve, so as to give rise to radial expansion of the carcass plies until causing adhesion of same against the inner surface of the outer sleeve.
Assembly of the carcass sleeve to the outer sleeve can be carried out on the same drum as used for manufacturing the carcass sleeve, in which case the process is referred to as a "unistage building process".
Also known are building processes of the so-called "two-stage type" in which a so-called "first-stage drum" is used to make the carcass sleeve, while assembly between carcass structure and outer sleeve is carried out on a so-called "second-stage drum" or "shaping drum" onto which the carcass sleeve picked up from the first-stage drum and subsequently the outer sleeve picked up from the auxiliary drum are transferred.
To the aims of the present specification and the following claims, by "strip-like element" it is intended an elongated article of manufacture having a cross-section profile with a flattened conformation and comprising one or more cords of textile and/or metallic material, extending parallel to the longitudinal extension of the strip-like element itself and embedded into, or at least partly coated with, at least one layer of elastomeric material.
Document E0928680 in the name of the same Applicant, shows that the carcass plies are made of strip-like elements formed with rubberised cords, laid down in circumferential mutually approached relationship on the outer surface of a toroidal forming support substantially conforming in shape to the inner conformation of the tyre being manufactured. One or more belt layers are subsequently formed by means of respective strip-like elements laid down in circumferential mutually approached relationship on the carcass ply or plies carried by the toroidal forming support.
Document WO01/38077 in the name of the same Applicant, shows that a belt structure is made of thread segments each comprising parallel cords embedded into an elastomeric layer and sequentially laid in circumferential mutually approached relationship on a toroidal support. During laying of each segment, an angular rotation of the toroidal support is determined around a correction axis radial to the rotation axis of the toroidal support itself, located at a substantially barycentric position relative to the segment that is about to be laid.

Process and apparatus for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels


A transformer based isolated bi-directional DC-DC power converter may have signals for controlling power transfer in first and second directions are derived from the same side of the transformer. The converter may include a transformer, a first switching circuit, a second switching circuit, and a controller. In a first mode, the controller controls the first and second switching circuits, and power is transferred from a first side to a second side. In a second mode, the controller controls the first and second switching circuits, and power is transferred from the second side to the first side.

Bi-directional DC-DC power converters have become important components in, for example, electric and hybrid automobiles, elevators, battery charging and smart grid power systems. Bi-directional isolated DC to DC converters can transfer power in a first direction, which may be known as a forward direction, (for example from a battery to a motor) and in a second direction, which may be known as a reverse direction (for example when returning power to the battery). Known bi-directional isolated power converters require two feedback signals to manage the bi-directional power flow, namely a first signal from the primary side of the isolation barrier, and a second from the secondary side of the isolation barrier. At least one of the feedback signals has to be transferred across the isolation barrier to a controller positioned on one side of the isolation barrier, requiring additional signal transmission circuitry. Such circuitry may include an isolated amplifier, a reference voltage generator, a comparator and an optocoupler. These components may introduce delay, limit bandwidth and increase errors due to temperature drift, not to mention the additional cost incurred and space taken up on-chip by such devices.

Transformer-based isolated bi-directional DC-DC power converter, and method and controller for using same


A video camera apparatus comprises a camera unit, a lens unit detachable from the camera unit and a communication circuit for communicating control information between a computer of the camera unit and a computer of the lens unit, wherein at least one of the camera unit and the lens unit comprises a memory for storing information indicating a version of the control information by which both of the camera unit and the lens unit can communicate with each other for control, and the information representing the version can be transmitted by the memory to the other unit to vary or select the control command or contents of the control command.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video camera system with a detachable lens unit.
2. Related Background Art
Recent innovations of video equipment, e.g., video cameras, allow improved operability, and multi-functions. Recently, a remarkable one of such innovations concerns an exchangeable lens of a video camera.
In a video camera system of this type, both a camera unit and a lens unit detachable from the camera unit incorporate microcomputers, and bidirectional communications of control information are made between these units. Thus, the camera unit controls focus, iris, zoom functions, and the like in the lens unit.
More specifically, a control information communication system according to predetermined agreements is employed, in which the camera unit fetches various pieces of information from the lens unit, and transmits a control command to the lens unit, thereby controlling the lens unit.
However, in this prior art, if the control method of the focus, iris, zoom functions, and the like in the lens unit is improved in the future, and a new function is added, or if the format of control information is changed, and the control information communication system based on the above-mentioned agreements undergoes version-up, i.e., updating of capabilities, compatibility between the old and new versions is not assured. When the camera unit and the lens unit have different versions, a control command from the camera unit may not be decoded by the lens unit, or wrong control may be made. When products of both the old and new versions are present on the market, compatibility between camera units and lens units cannot be realized. Such situation not only confuses users, but also considerably impairs the degree of accomplishment of the system itself.


Provided are certain derivatives of amphotericin B (AmB) characterized by reduced toxicity and retained anti-fungal activity. Certain of the derivatives are C16 urea derivatives of AmB. Certain of the derivatives are C3, C5, C8, C9, C11, C13, or C15 deoxy derivatives of AmB. Certain of the derivatives include C3′ or C4′ modifications of the mycosamine appendage of AmB. Also provided are methods of making AmB derivatives of the invention, pharmaceutical compositions comprising AmB derivatives of the invention, and methods of use of AmB derivatives of the invention.

For more than half a century amphotericin B (AmB) has served as the gold standard for treating systemic fungal infections. AmB has a broad spectrum of activity, is fungicidal, and is effective even against fungal strains that are resistant to multiple other agents.[1] Surprisingly, clinically significant microbial resistance has remained exceptionally rare[2] while resistance to next generation antifungals has appeared within just a few years of their clinical introduction.[2e, 3] Unfortunately, AmB is also highly toxic.[4] Thus, the effective treatment of systemic fungal infections is all too often precluded, not by a lack of efficacy, but by dose-limiting side effects.[5] Some progress has been made using liposome delivery systems,[6] but these treatments are prohibitively expensive[7] and significant toxicities remain.[8] Thus, a less toxic, but equally effective AmB derivative stands to have a major impact on human health.

Amphotericin B derivatives with improved therapeutic index

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


A downhole fluid properties optical analysis probe (1) to analyze at least one property of a multiphase flow mixture (100) flowing in a hydrocarbon well (51) has an elongated cylindrical body shape and comprises an optical tip (5) at one end of the elongated cylindrical body arranged to be in contact with the multiphase flow mixture (100), and an optoelectronics module (11) at another end of the elongated cylindrical body arranged to be separated from the multiphase flow mixture (100) and coupled to the optical tip (5) by an optical fiber bundle. The optoelectronics module (11) comprises at least one light source (13) arranged to emit electromagnetic radiations in a wavelength range such that reflectance occurs when gas (G) is present at the optical tip (5) and fluorescence occurs when oil (O) is present at the optical tip (5), at least one reflectance light detector (14) arranged to be responsive to a reflectance light and to provide a reflectance signal (U1(t)) and at least one fluorescence light detector (15) arranged to be responsive to a fluorescence light and to provide a fluorescence signal (U2(t)). The optical fiber bundle comprises at least one first optical fiber (6) coupling the light source (13) to the optical tip (5), at least one second optical fiber (7) coupling the optical tip (5) to the reflectance light detector (14), and at least one third optical fiber (8) coupling the optical tip (5) to the fluorescence light detector (15), the at least one first, second and third optical fibers being mounted together into a protective tube (9) resistant to downhole conditions.

During the production of a hydrocarbon well, it is necessary to monitor the relative volumetric flow rates of the different phases (e.g. oil, gas and water) of the multiphase fluid mixture flowing into the pipe of the well from the hydrocarbon bearing zones. Further, current hydrocarbon well often comprises vertical well section, inclined well sections and horizontal well sections. The interpretation of the flow in such complex wells is challenging because small changes in the well inclination and the flow regime influence the flow profile. Thus, an accurate monitoring requires sensors or probes capable of imaging a surface section or a volume section of the pipe and providing an estimation of the surface section or the volume section occupied by each phase.
Several sensors or probes are known in the art, for example gradiomanometer, capacitance sensors, imaging instruments comprising arrays of sensors (based on radio-frequency, X-Rays, ultrasonics, etc. . . . ), and local probes.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,340 describes single point optical probes for measuring three-phase characteristics of fluid flow in a hydrocarbon well and methods of processing signals generated by the probe. A probe having a single fiber optic is coupled to a light source and apparatus for detecting reflectance and fluorescence. Light is delivered to the tip of the probe where it either is internally reflected in the probe or exits the probe and illuminates the fluid ambient the probe tip. If the fluid at the probe tip is oil, the light exits the probe, illuminates the oil, and causes the oil to fluoresce. If the fluid is water, no fluorescence occurs. If the fluid is gas, at least some light is internally reflected in the probe. A detection system including at least one beam splitter and fluorescence and reflectance detectors is provided in conjunction with the probe. Preferably, the fluorescence detector is coupled to the fiber optic by a wavelength division multiplexer. A preferred signal processing system for detecting oil, gas, and water provides two quasi-binary indicators: gas/liquid and oil/not oil. Three of the four possible indications (gas-not oil, liquid-not oil, and liquid-oil) give results indicating whether the fluid at the probe tip is gas, water, or oil.
This optical probe comprising a single fiber results in a complex optical system that includes at least one directional coupler and a wavelength division multiplexer, or two directional couplers. As consequence, this complex optical system is difficult to integrate into a downhole measuring tool, e.g. a logging tool.
The optical analysis probe and the downhole measuring tool operate in harsh environment, namely extreme conditions including high pressure from several hundred bars up to 2000 bars, high temperature up to 200° C., presence of corrosive fluids such as sulfuric acid, presence and contamination by solid particles such as scales, asphalthenes, sand particles, as well as multiphasic flow conditions (oil, gas, water). Further, there are also the space and power constraints associated to downhole tools deployment. Furthermore, there is the high shocks environment associated to wireline or drilling or production logging operations.

Downhole fluid properties analysis probe, tool and method


A damping mechanism of a camera tripod head includes a fixing seat, a spindle connected to the fixing seat, damping devices fitted on the spindle, and a rotary seat. Each damping device includes a damping disc, a stop block fitted on the spindle, and a drive device for pushing the stop block to slide along the spindle. The damping disc includes an inner ring and an outer ring. The stop block is movable to disengage from the inner ring of the damping disc by the drive device. The drive device includes a push lever, a seesaw plate hinged to the fixing seat, and a cam mounted on the fixing seat. One end of the push lever leans against the stop block. One end of the seesaw plate leans against another end of the push lever. Another end of the seesaw plate leans against the cam.

A tripod head is a support apparatus for supporting a camera. In general, the tripod head is mounted on a tripod. Through the tripod head, it is possible to adjust the shooting angle and height. When in use, the tripod head is secured on a tripod, and the camera or the like is secured on the tripod head. Through the tripod head, the horizontal and pitching angle of the camera can be adjusted to achieve the best working condition, and then the adjustment mechanism of the tripod head is locked.
A conventional tripod head includes a main seat mounted on a tripod. The main seat is provided with a side cover. The side cover is rotatable about the main seat. A damping mechanism is provided between the main seat and the side cover. A conventional damping mechanism comprises a plurality of damping discs, a damping shaft, and a drive device for driving the damping shaft to slide. Each damping disc is formed with a damping hole. The damping shaft is inserted in the damping holes of the damping discs in sequence under the action of the drive device. This damping mechanism needs to pass through the damping holes in sequence. As a result, it is not easy to control the engagement, and it may have a jammed phenomenon to damage the parts. Sometimes, the outer ring cannot be turned to affect the operation of the tripod head. Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention has devoted himself based on his many years of practical experiences to solve these problems.

NINGBO EIMAGE STUDIO EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.


A data transmission apparatus including a receiving unit for receiving transmitted packets; a priority decision unit; a retransmission packet storage unit; a retransmission instruction receiving unit for receiving a retransmission request from a terminal at the receiving end; a retransmission decision unit; a transmission queue management unit; and a transmission unit.

The present invention relates to data transmission methods, data transmission apparatuses, data receiving apparatuses, and a packet data structure and, more particularly, to a process of performing data transmission in packet units between a distribution server and a terminal while successively reproducing the data of received packets at the terminal.
For transmission of video (audio and video) data on the Internet, a download type transmission method and a stream type transmission method are currently employed.
In the download type transmission method, a video file transmitted from a distribution server is once copied at the terminal and, thereafter, data of the video file (video data) is reproduced. So, the terminal cannot perform data reproduction until the file transmission is completed. Therefore, the download type transmission method is not suitable for long-hours reproduction of video data or the like.
On the other hand, in the stream type transmission method, while video data or the like is transmitted from a distribution server to a terminal, received data is reproduced at the terminal.
Recently, a stream type transmission method using a protocol called RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) which is defined in IETE RFC 1889, has mainly been used.
FIG. 28(a) is a diagram for explaining a video data transmission method according to the RTP.
With reference to FIG. 28(a), a distribution server (transmitting end) and a terminal (receiving end) such as a personal computer are connected by a cable in the Internet, such as modem, ISDN, or LAN, and transmission of video data is carried out between the server and the terminal by using the RTP.
In the data transmission according to the RTP, processes for the respective packets are synchronized between the transmitting end and the receiving end by using time stamps as time information, and asynchronous (late arrival) packets and packets affected by transmission errors are discarded at the receiving end. Further, discarded or lost packets are detected at the receiving end, according to the absence of sequence numbers given to these packets.
On the other hand, Internet applications utilizing mobile phones, for example, mail access and text information service, are advancing now, and infrastructure for high-speed radio data communication (high-speed packet communication of xe2x88x92384 kbps) is under preparation for practical use of the third generation mobile communication (W-CDMA: Wide band-Code Division Multiple Access).
FIG. 28(b) is a diagram illustrating a communication network for the above-described W-CDMA visual terminal.
Such communication network includes a radio transmission section. For example, when performing data transmission between a video distribution server and a visual terminal through a relay server, the section between the distribution server and the relay server is a cable transmission section by the Internet, but the section between the relay server and the visual terminal is a radio transmission section by a mobile phone network such as the W-CDMA.
However, the bit error rate in the radio transmission section is 10xe2x88x923 while the bit error rate in the cable transmission section is 10xe2x88x925 xcx9c10xe2x88x927, and the radio transmission quality becomes a problem in the RTP type data transmission method in which the reproduction quality depends on the end-to-end (server-to-terminal) transmission quality.
The present invention is made to solve the above-described problems and has for its object to provide a data transmission method, a data transmission apparatus, and a data receiving apparatus, which can improve the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows. The detailed description and specific embodiments described are provided only for illustration since various additions and modifications within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art from the detailed description.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method for performing continuous data transmission from the transmitting end to the receiving end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, while successively reproducing data of packets received at the receiving end. This method comprising the steps of: at the transmitting end, giving priority information to each packet to be transmitted; and storing, as retransmission data, only data of packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, in a retransmission buffer; at the receiving end, when a transmission error is detected, detecting the priority information of an error packet; and when the detected priority is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, outputting a retransmission request for the error packet to the transmitting end by indicating the sequence number of this error packet; at the transmitting end, only when the data of the packet having the sequence number which is indicated by the retransmission request from the receiving end is stored in the retransmission buffer, retransmitting the data of this packet to the receiving end; and discarding the data stored in the retransmission buffer in order starting from a packet which cannot be in time for data reproduction at the receiving end. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the first aspect, when the retransmission buffer is filled up to its capacity, an updating process is performed, in which the retransmission data are retained while the data stored in the retransmission buffer are discarded in order, starting from a packet of the earliest reproduction time, on the basis of the reproduction time of each packet stored in the retransmission buffer. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the first aspect, when the data transmitted from the transmitting end to the receiving end is video data based on MPEG, a packet which contains data corresponding to frames coded by utilizing intra-frame correlation is regarded as a packet having a high priority. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the first aspect, at the transmitting end, the additional information relating to the sequence number and the priority of a predetermined packet is also embedded in a subsequent packet to be transmitted after the predetermined packet; and at the receiving end, in the case where a transmission error has occurred in the predetermined packet and the additional information of the predetermined packet has an error, a retransmission request for the predetermined packet as an error packet is made on the basis of the additional information of the predetermined packet which is embedded in the subsequent packet, when the subsequent packet transmitted after the predetermined packet is received. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the fourth aspect, at the transmitting end, the process of embedding the sequence number of a predetermined high priority packet in a subsequent packet which follows the predetermined high priority packet is continuously performed until a high priority packet next to the predetermined high priority packet is transmitted; and at the receiving end, the sequence number of another packet which is embedded in the received packet is extracted, and when a transmission error has occurred in the packet of the extracted sequence number, a retransmission request for this error packet is made by indicating the sequence number of this packet. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced .
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission apparatus for relaying data which are successively transmitted from the transmitting end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, data reproduction time at the receiving end. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; a priority decision unit for deciding the priority of each of the received packets; a retransmission packet storage unit for storing packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, as retransmission packets, on the basis of the priority of each packet decided by the priority decision unit; a retransmission instruction receiving unit for receiving a retransmission request from a terminal at the receiving end; a retransmission decision unit for deciding whether retransmission of the packet for which the retransmission request has been made should be performed or not, on the basis of the retransmission request and the storage status of the retransmission packets in the retransmission packet storage unit; a transmission queue management unit for setting the transmission order of the received packets and the packets which have been decided as packets to be retransmitted, on the basis of the additional information; and a transmission unit for transmitting the data of these packets in the transmission order set by the management unit. Therefore, only the error packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value can be retransmitted, whereby the transmission quality of a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving apparatus for receiving data which are transmitted from the transmitting end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, and successively reproducing the data for each packet. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; an error packet detection unit for detecting error packets in which errors have occurred during transmission, and outputting normal packets which have been transmitted without transmission errors, on the basis of the data of the received packets; a packet priority decision unit for receiving the output from the error packet detection unit, and deciding error packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value; and a retransmission instruction output unit for outputting a retransmission request for each of the error packets the priorities of which are decided as being equal to or higher than the predetermined value, to the transmitting end, by indicating the sequence number of this error packet. Therefore, at the receiving end, a retransmission request to the transmitting end is made only for the error packet the priority of which is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, whereby the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method in which data transmission from the transmitting end to the receiving end is continuously performed in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, while successively reproducing data of packets which have arrived at the receiving end and, at this time, only packets which can be in time for data reproduction at the receiving end are retransmitted. This method comprises: at the transmitting end, giving a data reproduction time at the receiving end to each packet to be transmitted; and storing, as retransmission data, only data of packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, in a retransmission buffer; at the receiving end, when a transmission error is detected, detecting the reproduction time for an error packet and the arrival time of the error packet, and deciding an arrival time limit in accordance with the reproduction time; and when the error packet has arrived before the arrival time limit, outputting a retransmission request for the error packet to the transmitting end by indicating the sequence number of this error packet; at the transmitting end, when the data of the packet having the sequence number indicated by the retransmission request from the receiving end is stored in the retransmission buffer, retransmitting data of the packet the transmission time of which does not pass the reproduction time, to the receiving end, while discarding data of the packet the transmission time of which has passed the reproduction time; and discarding the data stored in the retransmission buffer in order starting from a packet which cannot be in time for data reproduction at the receiving end. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the eighth aspect, when the retransmission buffer is filled up to its capacity, an updating processes is performed, in which the retransmission data are retained while the data stored in the retransmission buffer are discarded in order, starting from a packet of the earliest reproduction time, on the basis of the reproduction time of each packet stored in the retransmission buffer. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the eighth aspect, the arrival time limit is decided based on at least one of the allowable packet delay time decided at the receiving end, and the packet transmission delay time between the transmitting end and the receiving end. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in Ache data transmission method of the eighth aspect, at the Transmitting end, additional information relating to the sequence number and the reproduction time corresponding to a target packet to be transmitted is embedded in a subsequent packet to be transmitted after the target packet; and at the receiving end, when a transmission error of the target packet has occurred and the additional information of the target packet has an error, a retransmission request for the target packet as an error packet is made on the basis of the additional information of the target packet which is embedded in the subsequent packet, when the subsequent packet transmitted after the target packet is received. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission apparatus for relaying data which are successively transmitted from the transmitting end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, data reproduction time at the receiving end. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; a priority decision unit for deciding the priority of each of the received packets; a reproduction time decision unit for deciding packets which cannot be in time for reproduction at the receiving end, amongst the packets to be transmitted to the receiving end; a retransmission packet storage unit for storing packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, as retransmission packets, on the basis of the priority of each packet decided by the priority decision unit; a retransmission instruction receiving unit for receiving a retransmission request from a terminal at the receiving end; a retransmission decision unit for deciding whether retransmission of the packet for which the retransmission request has been made should be performed or not, on the basis of the retransmission request and the storage status of the retransmission packets in the retransmission packet storage unit; a transmission queue management unit for setting the transmission order of the received packets and the packets which have been decided as packets to be retransmitted, on the basis of the additional information; and a transmission unit for transmitting, in the transmission order set by the management unit, the data of packets other than the packets which are decided as packets that cannot be in time for reproduction at the receiving end, by the reproduction time decision unit. Therefore, the transmission. quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving apparatus for receiving data which are transmitted from the transmitting end in units of pickets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, and successively reproducing the data for each packet. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; an error packet detection unit for detecting error packets in which errors have occurred during transmission, and outputting normal packets which have been transmitted without transmission errors, on the basis of the data of the received packets; a reproduction time decision unit for detecting the reproduction time given to each error packet detected by the error packet detection unit and the arrival time of the error packet at the receiving end, and setting the arrival time limit based on the reproduction time, and deciding whether or not the error packet has arrived at the receiving end before the arrival time limit; and a retransmission instruction output unit for outputting a retransmission request only for the error packet which has arrived at the receiving end before the, arrival time limit, to the transmitting end, by indicating the sequence number of the error packet, on the basis of the result of the decision in the reproduction time decision unit. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method for performing continuous data transmission from the transmitting end to the receiving end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, while successively reproducing data of packets arrived at the receiving end. This method comprises: at the transmitting end, giving a data reproduction time and priority information to each packet to be transmitted; and storing, as retransmission data, only data of packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, in a retransmission buffer; at the receiving end, when a transmission error is detected, detecting the priority information of an error packet, the reproduction time of the error packet, and the arrival time of the error packet; setting the arrival time limit of the error packet on the basis of the reproduction time; and when the detected priority is equal to or higher than the predetermined value and the error packet has arrived before the arrival time limit, outputting a retransmission request for this error packet to the transmitting end by indicating the sequence number of this error packet; at the transmitting end, when data of the packet having the sequence number indicated by the retransmission request from the receiving end is stored in the retransmission buffer, retransmitting only data of the packet the transmission time of which does not pass the reproduction time, to the receiving end, while discarding data of the packet the transmission time of which has passed the reproduction time; and discarding the data stored in the retransmission buffer in order starting from a packet which cannot be in time for reproduction at the receiving end. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the fourteenth aspect, at the transmitting end, additional information relating to the sequence number, the priority, and the reproduction time of a predetermined packet is embedded in a subsequent packet to be transmitted after the predetermined packet; and at the receiving end, when a transmission error of the predetermined packet has occurred and the additional information of the predetermined packet has an error, a retransmission request for the predetermined packet as an error packet is made on the basis of the additional information of the predetermined packet which is embedded in the subsequent packet, when the subsequent packet transmitted after the predetermined packet is received. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the fifteenth aspect, at the transmitting end, the process of embedding the sequence number of a predetermined high priority packet in a subsequent packet which follows the predetermined high priority packet is continuously performed until a high priority packet next to the predetermined high priority packet is transmitted; and at the receiving end, the sequence number of another packet which is embedded in the received packet is extracted, and when a transmission error has occurred in the packet of the extracted sequence number, a retransmission request for this packet is made by indicating the sequence number of this packet. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the fifteenth aspect, at the transmitting end, when additional information relating to the sequence number and the reproduction time corresponding to each packet is embedded in a subsequent packet to be transmitted after the packet, a difference between additional information relating to the sequence number and the reproduction time corresponding to the subsequent packet and the additional information relating to the sequence number and the reproduction time corresponding to the previous packet is embedded as the additional information. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, further, the number of retransmission times is reduced.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method for performing data transmission between a distribution server and a terminal through a relay server in units of packets, and successively reproducing data of packets received at the terminal. This method comprising: when a transmission error has occurred between the relay server and the terminal, performing retransmission of an error packet by the relay server in response to a retransmission request from the terminal; and when a transmission error has occurred between the distribution server and the relay server, performing retransmission of an error packet by the distribution server in response to a retransmission request which has been transmitted from the terminal through the relay server. Therefore, the number of retransmission times is reduced between the distribution server and the relay server.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the eighteenth aspect, when a transmission error has occurred between the distribution server and the relay server, a retransmission request is transmitted from the relay server to the distribution server, and retransmission of an error packet to the relay server is performed by the distribution server. Therefore, wasteful transmission of error packets from the relay server to the terminal is avoided.
According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission apparatus for relaying data which are successively transmitted from a distribution server, in units of packets each having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, data reproduction time at the receiving end. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; a priority decision unit for deciding the priority of each of the received packets; a retransmission packet storage unit for storing packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, as retransmission packets, on the basis of the priority of each packet decided by the priority decision unit; a retransmission instruction receiving unit for receiving a retransmission request from a terminal at the receiving end; a retransmission decision unit for deciding whether retransmission of the packet for which the retransmission request has been made is to be performed or not, on the basis of the retransmission request and the storage status of the retransmission packets in the retransmission packet storage unit; a retransmission instruction output unit for outputting the retransmission request for the error packet requested by the terminal, to the distribution server, on the basis of the result of the decision in the retransmission decision unit; a transmission queue management unit for setting the transmission order of the received packets and the packets which have been decided as packets to be retransmitted, on the basis of the additional information; and a transmission unit for transmitting the data of these packets in the transmission order set by the management unit. Therefore, the number of retransmission times between the distribution server and the relay server can be reduced.
According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method for performing continuous data transmission from the transmitting end to the receiving end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, while successively reproducing data of packets received at the receiving end. This method comprises: at the transmitting end, when a packet the priority of which is equal to or higher than a predetermined value is transmitted as a high priority packet, storing data of this high priority packet, as retransmission data, in a retransmission buffer; managing the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which corresponds to the number of transmitted high priority packets, and the value of the sequence number of the high priority packet so that these values are correlated with each other; and transmitting a subsequent packet which follows the high priority packet after embedding the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number in this subsequent packet; at the receiving end, extracting the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which is embedded in the received packet; managing the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number which corresponds to the number of received high priority packets; when the value of the extracted transmitting end high priority sequence number is not equal to the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number, outputting a retransmission request to the transmitting end, by indicating the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which is obtained on the basis of the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number; and updating the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number; at the transmitting end, only when data of the packet having the sequence number corresponding to the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which is indicated by the retransmission request from the receiving end is stored in the retransmission buffer, retransmitting the data of this packet to the receiving end. Therefore, retransmission of the high priority packet the priority of which is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, can be performed by simpler procedures.
According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the twenty-first aspect, at the receiving end, when the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number embedded in the received packet is not equal to the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number, a retransmission request is output to the transmitting end, by listing the values ranging from the value obtained by adding 1 to the receiving end high priority sequence number, to the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number, as the values of the transmitting end high priority sequence numbers, or by designating the range as the range of the values of the transmitting end high priority sequence numbers; and at the transmitting end, the sequence numbers corresponding to the values of the plural transmitting end high priority sequence numbers which are indicated by the retransmission request from the receiving end are retrieved, and only when data of the packets having the sequence numbers obtained by the retrieval are stored in the retransmission buffer, the data of the packets are retransmitted to the receiving end. Therefore, retransmission of the high priority packet the priority of which is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, can be performed by simpler procedures.
According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission method of the twenty-first aspect, at the receiving end, the retransmission request is performed continuously several times, indicating the value of a transmitting end high priority sequence number; and at the transmitting end, the sequence number corresponding to the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which is indicated by the retransmission request from the receiving end is retrieved, and data of the packet having the sequence number obtained by the retrieval is retransmitted to the receiving end and, simultaneously, the correspondence between the value of the sequence number obtained by the retrieval and the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number indicated by the receiving end is deleted. Therefore, when at least one of several transmission requests from the receiving end is normally received at the transmitting end, only the error packet the priority of which is equal to or higher than a predetermined value can be retransmitted, whereby the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission can be effectively improved.
According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmission apparatus for relaying data which are successively transmitted from the transmitting end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, data reproduction time at the receiving end. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; a transmission queue management unit for setting the transmission order of the received packets and packets which are decided as packets to be retransmitted; a transmission unit for transmitting data of these packets in the transmission order set by the transmission queue management unit; a priority decision unit for deciding the priority of each of the received packets; a retransmission packet storage unit for storing packets the priorities of which are equal to or higher than a predetermined value, as retransmission packets, on the basis of the priority of each packet decided by the priority decision unit; a sequence number management unit for managing the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which corresponds to the number of transmitted high priority packets, and the value of the sequence number of the high priority packet so that these values are correlated with each other; a high priority sequence number insertion unit for embedding the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number in a subsequent packet which follows the high priority packet; a retransmission instruction receiving unit for receiving a retransmission request indicating the high priority sequence number, from a terminal at the transmitting end; and a retransmission decision unit for deciding whether retransmission of the packet for which the retransmission request has been made is to be performed or not, on the basis of the retransmission request and the storage status of the retransmission packets in the retransmission packet storage unit. Therefore, only the error packet the priority of which is equal to or higher than a predetermined value can be retransmitted, whereby retransmission of the high priority packet can be performed by simpler procedures.
According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving apparatus for receiving data which are transmitted from the transmitting end in units of packets, each packet having additional information relating to its sequence number, priority, and data reproduction time at the receiving end, and successively reproducing the data for each packet. This apparatus comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the packets transmitted from the transmitting end; an error packet detection unit for detecting an error packet in which an error has occurred during transmission, and outputting a normal packet which has been transmitted without transmission errors, and the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number which corresponds to the number of transmitted high priority packets and is embedded in the normal packet; a high priority sequence number management unit for managing the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number which corresponds to the number of normal high priority packets which have been received without transmission errors, on the basis of the output from the error packet detection unit; a retransmission sequence number decision unit for comparing the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number from the error packet detection unit with the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number, and when these values are not equal, deciding the value of the transmitting end high priority sequence number for which a retransmission request is to be made, on the basis of the value of the receiving end high priority sequence number; and a retransmission instruction output unit for outputting a retransmission request to the transmitting end, by indicating the value of the decided transmitting end high priority sequence number. Therefore, retransmission of the high priority packet can be performed with simpler procedures.
According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data structure of a packet for performing data transmission from the transmitting end and the receiving end, wherein the packet comprises a header section containing relevant information indicating the attribute of the packet, and a data section containing data to be transmitted; and the header section comprises at least first and second header information, amongst first header information indicating the sequence number corresponding to the packet, second header information indicating the priority of the packet, and third header information indicating the reproduction time at the receiving end, of the data to be transmitted. Therefore, retransmission of a low priority packet and retransmission of a packet which cannot be in time for reproduction can be avoided, whereby the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved while reducing the number of retransmission times.
According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the packet data structure of the twenty-sixth aspect, the header section of the packet includes attribute information of a packet which has already been transmitted before the packet. Therefore, retransmission of an error packet can be performed with reliability.
According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the packet data structure of the twenty-seventh aspect, the header section of the packet includes the first and second information or the first and third information, as attribute information of a packet which has already been transmitted before the packet. Therefore, retransmission control based on the priority or the reproduction time can be performed with reliability.
According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the packet data structure of the twenty-sixth aspect, the header section of the packet includes the value of the high priority sequence number corresponding to the number of high priority packets which have been transmitted before the packet and having the priorities equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Therefore, the transmission quality in a radio section in real-time transmission is improved and, moreover, retransmission of an error packet is realized by simpler procedures.

Data transmission method, data transmission apparatus, data receiving apparatus, and packet data structure

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A control system and method provides automatic adjustments in a heavy duty vehicle that effectively redistributes the weight among the various wheel axles. A plurality of sensors are associated with the plurality of wheel axles on the vehicle. An electronic controller gathers information from the sensors and determines the weight at each wheel axle. The electronic controller then automatically determines adjustments that can be made to effectively redistribute the weight among the wheel axles in the event that the weight at any one axle is outside of a preselected range. The adjustments preferably are made by automatically moving the position of an adjustable "fifth wheel" relative to the cab portion. Additionally, this invention provides the capability of automatically adjusting the position of at least one trailer wheel axle. The adjustments can be made dynamically even while the vehicle is in motion.

This invention generally relates to a system for automatically distributing weight within a heavy duty vehicle among the various axles of the vehicle.
There are a variety of heavy duty vehicles available that are typically used to transport large loads. Although heavy duty vehicles vary in form, a common element in most of them is a "fifth wheel" that facilitates connecting a trailer portion to a cab portion of the truck. The position of the fifth wheel relative to the cab portion typically controls the spacing between the cab portion and the trailer portion of the truck.
Experienced vehicle operators understand that the position of the trailer portion relative to the cab portion is important for achieving satisfactory weight distribution of the load carried in the trailer portion. The problem is that only experienced drivers are capable of adequately adjusting the position of the trailer portion relative to the cab portion. Moreover, any such adjustments currently must be accomplished manually. Typically, a vehicle operator will have the trailer in a position and back the cab portion up into the trailer to jar the fifth wheel into a position where the desired spacing between the trailer portion and the cab portion is achieved. Moreover, this rather crude procedure virtually never provides an exact positioning of the trailer portion relative to the cab portion, but rather only provides approximate accuracy.
An additional difficulty is encountered while a vehicle is in route. Because of driving conditions, for example, the load within a trailer portion may shift while in transit. With currently available vehicles, there is no ability for a vehicle operator to readjust the position of the trailer portion relative to the cab portion while the vehicle is in motion. As noted above, a rudimentary, manual procedure is required to make any such adjustments. The conventional procedure requires that the trailer be fixed in a single position and, that obviously cannot be achieved while the vehicle is in motion.
There are a variety of reasons for maintaining a desired weight distribution among the axles of the vehicle including complying with state weight regulations and maintaining safe control over the vehicle while driving. For example, a total load within a vehicle may be within legal limits, however, the way that load is distributed among the axles may result in an infraction. Most states have weight limits at each axle and a poorly distributed weight may result in a ticket for a vehicle operator even though the total load within the vehicle is not excessive.
This invention provides an automated system for making adjustments in the position of the trailer portion relative to the cab portion for effectively redistributing the weight of a load among the various axles of the vehicle. This invention provides a unique and highly advantageous solution to the issues and difficulties described above.

System for automatically controlling weight distribution among truck axles


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device is provided using a nickel salicide process. The method includes forming a gate pattern and a source/drain region on a silicon substrate, forming a Ni-based metal layer for silicide on the silicon substrate where the gate pattern and the source/drain region are formed, and forming an N-rich titanium nitride layer on the Ni-based metal layer for silicide. Next, a thermal treatment is applied to the silicon substrate where the Ni-based metal layer for silicide and the N-rich titanium nitride layer are formed, thereby forming a nickel silicide on each of the gate pattern and the source/drain region. Then, the Ni-based metal layer for silicide and the N-rich titanium nitride layer are selectively removed to expose a top portion of a nickel silicide layer formed on the gate pattern and the source/drain region. Thus, as the N-rich titanium nitride layer is formed on the Ni-based metal layer for silicide, a silicide residue is prevented from forming a spacer and a field region formed of a field oxide layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to methods for fabricating semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device using a nickel salicide process.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As integration density and operational speed of semiconductor devices increase, materials having low resistivity are more widely used in semiconductor devices to reduce signal delay. There has been an increased interest in a silicide material having very low resistivity for lowering sheet resistance and contact resistance of a gate pattern and a source/drain region of a transistor. A salicide process has been applied to form a silicide layer on a gate pattern and a source/drain region of a transistor.
The salicide process typically uses cobalt for a silicide material. However, as the gate width of a semiconductor device is reduced to 100 nm or less, the cobalt salicide process has several problems. As denoted by reference numeral A of FIG. 1A, cobalt silicide formed on a gate pattern is either shorted or cut. Also, as denoted by reference numeral B of FIG. 1B, a pit is formed in a boundary area between an active region and a field region. In addition, as the gate width of a semiconductor device is reduced to 100 nm or less, the cobalt salicide process leads to the lumping of cobalt silicide.
The foregoing problems result from a high-temperature thermal treatment for changing cobalt silicide from CoSi-type to CoSi2-type. Accordingly, there have been proposals to use a nickel salicide process in highly integrated semiconductor devices. This process requires no high-temperature thermal treatment. However, the nickel salicide process causes a silicide residue to form on a spacer and a field region and a field oxide layer formed on a silicon substrate.
Therefore, a need exists for fabricating a semiconductor device using a nickel salicide process that prevents a silicide residue from forming on a spacer and a field region.

Method for fabricating semiconductor device using a nickel salicide process


A stator arrangement and a rotor arrangement for a transverse flux machine. The stator arrangement comprises an annular stator back yoke having a number of stator poles designed in the manner of claw poles. The rotor arrangement includes number of rotor poles designed in the manner of claw poles and connected to each other to form an annular rotor body enclosing a unipolar ring magnet magnetized in an axial direction. In the stator arrangement, the stator back yoke includes a first laminated stack of metal sheets whose laminations are stacked in an axial direction, and the stator poles include a second laminated stack of metal sheets whose laminations are stacked in a tangential direction. In the rotor arrangement, the rotor poles include laminated stacks of metal sheets whose laminations are stacked in a tangential direction.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,758 describes an electronically commutated transverse flux motor having a multiple phase stator. The stator is formed from two complementary facing pieces each carrying half the stator poles that are designed in the manner of claw poles. The stator windings are sandwiched between these two pieces and are encompassed by the opposing claw poles. In this document, the advantages of transverse flux machines are touched on briefly. A transverse flux machine is capable of producing power densities that are several times greater than conventional radial flux machines. This arises from the geometry of transverse flux machines which makes it possible to have a larger number of poles while maintaining the same magnet-to-magnet force per pole than would be possible in a conventional machine. Due to their three dimensional geometric form, however, it is difficult to construct transverse flux machines using standard core lamination techniques, since a laminated stator body would impede the necessary three-dimensional magnetic flux. This difficulty is overcome in U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,758 by the use of sintered powdered iron cores.
For transverse flux machines having a claw pole stator, it is basically known in the prior art to make both the stator back yoke as well as the claw poles out of iron or out of soft magnetic composite materials, particularly powders.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,131 describes a different type of transverse flux machine having U-shaped and I-shaped back yokes and a rotor that is made up, as in conventional radial flux machines, of a rotor-back yoke ring and permanent magnets attached thereon. The U-shaped back yokes and the I-shaped back yokes can be manufactured using well-known core lamination techniques, although in practice it is difficult to secure the individual U-shaped and I-shaped back yokes. For this purpose, usually non-magnetic holding pieces are needed to fasten the I-shaped back yokes.

Stator arrangement and rotor arrangement for a transverse flux machine


A computerized method provides unshared local storage space to a process distributed by a trusted source through the use of an identity associated with the process that specifies local capabilities for the identity on a computer. The method obtains the identity and allocates the local storage space based on the information on the local capabilities, securing the space with the identity so that only a process with the same identity can access the space. The method also enforces the local capabilities on the process by monitoring the use of the local storage space. The identity is uniquely defined by a digital certificate or similar security facility. The identity is associated with a data structure, such as a digital signature, that includes the size of the local storage space and, optionally, whether the process is subject to global storage limits set by the computer. A computerized system which executes the method is also disclosed.

This invention relates generally to distributed processing, and more particularly to enabling a process distributed by a trusted source access to persistent local storage.
Distributed processing in a client-server environment permits a process running on a local, or client, computer to access data and/or execute a process on a remote, or server, computer, and permits the remote process access to local data. One challenge in distributed processing is making the interaction between the local process and the remote process transparent so that a user working on the local computer is unaware of the location of the processes and the data. The challenge becomes particularly acute when the local and remote machines are on a wide-area network, such as the World Wide Web, because the slowness of the underlying communication medium introduces delays in exchanging data on a real-time basis. Therefore, time-critical portions of the remote process and some of the remote data are typically temporarily downloaded for execution on the local computer. This approach is common in small, executable applications, called applets, which are downloaded from a Web server.
While downloading executable content provides web page designers more options for producing better content, it exposes the client machine and any resources accessible through the client machine to the outside world. For this reason, applets are normally run with a number of restrictions that limit the resources they may access. The restrictions placed on downloaded executable content are collectively referred to as a xe2x80x9csandbox.xe2x80x9d For example, two relevant restrictions on Java applets are that they may only establish network connections to the web server from which they were loaded, and they may not access the local file system.
However, downloaded applets may require a large amount of persistent storage on the local computer to store data to be accessed by another instance of the applet or another process. For example, a word processor may need to store a document created by the user on the local computer, or a real-time news feed may need to maintain configuration information about the video and audio capabilities of the local computer. Installed libraries may also need storage space separate from that provided to the applet using the library function.
One form of persistent local storage for a Web applet is the xe2x80x9ccookiexe2x80x9d which is stored in a cookie file on the local hard drive. The use of cookies for persistent storage is limited because access to a cookie is keyed to the remote host and is restricted to only a single cookie per host. In addition, there is no flexibility in the type of storage provided so the storage space is not configurable to the needs of the program using it.
Regardless of its desirability, permitting downloaded applets access to a local storage system introduces a myriad of security issues. The sandbox approach mentioned above provides security but lacks the persistence characteristic needed in many cases. Only applets from a known and trusted source should be allowed access to persistent local storage. One approach that depends on the trusted source concept is provided by xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d technology.
When the client initiates the download process from the client side, the client is often said to be xe2x80x9cpullingxe2x80x9d the information from the server. In contrast, push technology enables a server to automatically send information, usually on a regular schedule, to a client computer that xe2x80x9csubscribesxe2x80x9d to a particular service offered by the server. The user essentially establishes the server as a trusted source when he/she subscribes. One common application for push technology is to deliver news headlines to a user every hour. Push technology can also be used to automatically deliver application code to the client computer when it becomes available, Castanet software from Marimba Inc., for example, permits a user to subscribe to a xe2x80x9cchannelxe2x80x9d that automatically downloads certain types of applications or software updates. Unlike news headlines which are transient and suitable for storage in a temporary manner, code pushed down from the server requires persistent storage space on the client. Therefore, Castanet defines a directory on the hard drive of the client for each subscribed channel. However, the push technology approach relies on the user subscribing to a channel as establishing the server as a trusted source; no additional checking on the identity of the source is performed. Furthermore, no size limitation is placed on the amount of data downloaded for each subscribed channel.
Because existing file system interfaces have neither the ability to grant access to persistent local storage areas based on the identity of the source of the applet, nor to control the amount of data written to the file system when such access is granted, there is a need for a mechanism to provide persistent local storage that is controlled in size to certain, identified applets. Furthermore, such a mechanism should be flexible in the type of persistent local storage provided.
Unshared local storage paces is provided by a client computer to a process executing on behalf of an identity. An identity for the process is determined and the client computer allocates the local storage space based on information specifying local capabilities for the identity. The space is secured with the identity so that only processes executing on behalf of a common identity can access the local storage space for the identity. The local capabilities are enforced by monitoring the use of the local storage space by all processes executing on behalf of the identity. The identity is uniquely defined by a digital certificate or similar security facility. The identity is associated with a data structure, such as a digital signature, that includes the size of the local storage space and, optionally, whether the process is subject to global storage limits set by the computer. The type of local storage controlled by the identity can be on any persistent media such as a hard disk, removable media, or non-volatile memory, without limitation.
Thus, the identity and its associated data structures permit an application acquired from a trusted source access to local storage which is secured, limited and flexible. Keying the local storage to the identity is superior to the standard applet sandboxing approach in that it provides persistent storage without sacrificing security. Furthermore, unlike push technology, the decision to trust a source can be made prior to the time the application is acquired from the source.


The invention relates to a method for shutting down an electrolysis cell with a membrane and an oxygen-reducing cathode, which comprises, after the electrical power and oxygen supplies have been disconnected, in emptying the oxygen compartment and filling it with demineralized water having a pH.ltoreq.7 and in keeping this water in the oxygen compartment throughout the shutdown period.

The electrolysis cells with a membrane and an oxygen-reducing cathode have resulted, on the one hand, from the remarkable improvements obtained recently in terms of fluorinated ion-exchange membranes, which have made it possible to develop methods for electrolysing sodium chloride solutions by means of ion-exchange membranes. This technique makes it possible to produce hydrogen and sodium hydroxide in the cathode compartment, and chlorine in the anode compartment, of a brine electrolysis cell.
Furthermore, in order to reduce energy consumption, it has been proposed to use an oxygen-reducing electrode as the cathode, and to introduce a gas containing oxygen into the cathode compartment in order to prevent hydrogen evolution and to significantly reduce the electrolysis cell voltage.
In theory, it is possible to reduce the electrolysis voltage by 1.23 V by using the cathode reaction with supply of oxygen represented by (1) instead of the cathode reaction without supply of oxygen represented by (2): EQU 2H.sub.2 O+O.sub.2+ 4e.sup.-.fwdarw.4OH.sup.- (1)
E=+0.40 V (relative to a standard hydrogen electrode). EQU 4H.sub.2 O+4e.sup.-.fwdarw.2H.sub.2 +4OH.sup.- (2)
E=0.83 V (relative to a standard hydrogen electrode).
A conventional membrane electrolysis cell using the gas technology comprises a gas diffusion electrode (cathode) which is placed in the cathode compartment of the electrolysis cell and divides the said compartment into a solution compartment, on the ion-exchange membrane side, and a gas compartment on the opposite side.
An electrochemical cell of this type therefore generally consists of 3 separate compartments:
an anode compartment, PA1 a sodium hydroxide compartment, placed between a cation-exchange membrane (Nafion N966, Flemion F892) and the cathode, PA1 and a gas compartment.
The cathode is generally made of a silvered nickel grid covered on either side with platinized carbon.
One of the faces is coated with a fluorocarbon micropore layer in order to make it more hydrophobic.
Platinum represents 5% to 20% by weight of the carbon/platinum combination, and its average mass per unit surface area may range from 0.2 to 4 mg/cm.sup.2.
Conventional electrolysis cells with a membrane and a cathode evolving hydrogen, that is to say those employing reaction (2) mentioned above, are sometimes turned off to perform a variety of maintenance operations, or else following an incident. In such cases as these, the electrodes are de-energized, that is to say they are no longer supplied with electrical power.
Industrially, these outage phases can be managed in the following way: turning off the power and continuing the flow and addition of fluids (water and brine). The following procedure may also be adopted: turning off the power, emptying the sodium hydroxide and brine compartments, then filling with 20% strength sodium hydroxide solution (i.e. about 4 M) in the case of the cathode compartment, and with 220 g/l of brine in the case of the anode compartment (eliminating the active chlorine).
This operation is intended to preserve the performance of the membrane.
When conditions of this type are applied during outage phases to electrolysis cells with a membrane and an oxygen-reducing cathode, a significant increase in the cathode potential is observed when the electrolysis is resumed. This cathode alteration affects the voltage of the cell and leads to a significant increase in the energy consumption, which may be up to 100 kWh/tonne of sodium hydroxide produced.
Without tying applicant to an explanation, it is reasonable to assume that, in view of the simultaneous presence of oxygen and sodium hydroxide, the carbon of the de-energized cathode reacts with the oxygen and sodium hydroxide to form sodium carbonate, which deposits on the cathode. It reduces its porosity and electrical conductivity.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, Patent Application EP 0064874 has proposed a procedure which consists in completely replacing the gas (containing oxygen) in the gas compartment with nitrogen, and in keeping the nitrogen in the said gas compartment throughout the outage period.
Under these conditions, it is observed that after very short outages (a few hours), the cathode potential is little altered on restarting.

Method for shutting down an electrolysis cell with a membrane and an oxygen-reducing cathode


A desired rhythm instrument tone color can be assigned to a pad type performance operator. A desired type of repeated-tone mode, e.g., roll, flam or echo, can be selected by a switch operation or other suitable means. Upon operation of the performance operator, repeated tones having a rhythm instrument tone color assigned to the performance operator are generated with a stroke pattern having a characteristic peculiar to the tone color.

This invention relates to an electronic musical instrument capable of producing a rhythm tone of a percussion instrument by operation of a performance operator such as a pad.
As basic music performances for producing a vibratory sound by playing a drum, there are a roll performance in which a continuous drum sound is produced by beating a drum repeatedly with a rapid stroke and a flam performance in which an ornament is inserted immediately before a main sound by slightly differing timings of beating a drum with two hands. There are conventionally known electronic musical instruments which produce a drum sound by simulating such roll performance and flam performance.
Among such prior art electronic musical instruments are one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,486 in which a roll performance or flam performance is made by striking a pad while depressing an operator which instructs either the roll performance or the flam performance and one disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei3-2898 in which a roll performance or flare performance is made when a pad is struck with a strength exceeding a certain threshold value.
The prior art electronic musical instruments having the above described function have the advantage that they can readily produce an effect of roll performance or flam performance. In these electronic musical instruments, however, a stroke pattern of a percussion instrument of tones sounded in the roll performance or flam performance is constant and, therefore, it is difficult, in the case of some tone colors to make a performance effect of roll or flam correspondent to such tone colors.

Electronic musical instrument having an automatic stroke performance function


A filler rod for occupying space in a stranded optical fiber communications cable having at least one buffer tube containing at least one optical fiber is disclosed. The filler rod comprises an elongated rod extruded from a polypropylene homopolymer, a polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer (i-PP) resin material, or preferably, from a polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer having a nucleating agent disbursed therein. The resin material is foamed during extrusion so as to have a plurality of void spaces therein and a relative density which is less than 1 relative to the unfoamed resin material. As compared to rods made from high density polyethylene, the i-PP filler rods show a greater foaming efficiency, more efficient use of material, an improved combination of mechanical properties and density, reduced post-extrusion shrinkage and a substantial reduction in the sticking of the filler rods to the outer jacket that is experienced with high density polyethylene filler rods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications cables. More particularly, the present invention relates to filler rods for stranded optical fiber cables made from polypropylene based materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Optical fiber cables have been in use in the communications industry for a number of years to transmit information at very high rates over long distances. Optical fiber cables come in a variety of configurations. The configurations include: cables with a centrally located single buffer tube containing one or more optical fibers; cables with a plurality of buffer tubes stranded in a helical or alternating helical arrangement about a central strength member; and cables with slotted cores in which a plurality of optical fibers reside.
In stranded optical fiber cables, each of the buffer tubes typically contains up to 12 optical fibers or more, or in some cases ribbons. The buffer tubes are usually stranded in an alternating helical or S-Z configuration. For example, a 72 count stranded optical fiber cable has a core containing six buffer tubes arranged about a central strength member and each of the six buffer tubes contains 12 optical fibers. A protective jacket is usually extruded over the core. Other strength members such as aramid yarns, ripcords and water blocking members can be included in the cable.
In some cases, it is desirable to have a lower fiber count in a standard configuration cable having the same symmetrical concentricity. For example, it may be desirable to have a 36 count stranded optical fiber cable which is substantially the same in terms of concentric structure to a 72 count cable except for the reduced number of fibers. When a reduced count cable is made, normally one or more of the buffer tubes are replaced by filler rods. The filler rods fill the space that would normally be occupied by a buffer tube containing optical fibers so as to keep the structure of the cable intact. For example, cables having 12, 18, 24, or 36 fiber counts can use the same basic cable structure and therefore have the same overall diameter despite different fiber counts. The filler rods also permit the manufacturing lines for making such optical fiber cables to remain substantially unchanged, whether making a low or high count optical fiber cable.
Prior to the present invention described below, filler rods were typically made with solid or with foamed high density polyethylene (HDPE). When foamed HDPE was used, it was foamed to approximately 90% of the unfoamed HDPE density. Foamed HDPE was an attractive filler rod material mainly due to low cost. However, some problems experienced with filler rods made from such material in some environments in which cables containing such rods includes excessive post extrusion shrinkage and reduced crush resistance, especially in low count cables with many filler rods. Also, processing cables with reduced thermal barriers between the jacket and core have created a demand for filler rods made with a material which has better dimensional stability at higher temperatures. In some cases, outer jackets of cables are made with materials having a higher melting point than the HDPE material. When such materials are extruded over the HDPE filler rods, some of the HDPE melts causing it to become intermingled with the molten outer jacket material. When this happens, the filler rods can stick to the outer jacket, a phenomenon which is undesirable because it decreases the ease of cable and fiber accessibility.
It is generally understood by those skilled in the art that reliability of cable components, such as filler rods, over a long time period and under extreme environmental conditions is very important. For example, it is desirable that filler rods for optical fiber cables undergo a minimum amount of shrinkage during the cable's lifetime. It is also desirable to provide filler rods designed to have physical properties which are compatible with the physical properties of the material currently used for the buffer tubes in such cables, such as that found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,816, so that both the buffer tubes and filler rods respond in a similar manner to changing environmental conditions.

Polypropylene filler rods for optical fiber communications cables


A television cable system includes a headend and a decoder coupled by an in-band communication link and an out of band communication link. The headend controller includes conventional transmission systems for providing a plurality of program channels to the decoder via the in-band communication link. In addition, the headend system includes a plurality of controller inputs which provide data to a download executive circuit which in turn organizes data and transfer it to a transmitter coupled to the out of band data link. Within the decoder, a pair of processors are operative via a communication link therebetween. One processor is of predefine capability and is used to operate a user keyboard as well as conventional tuning and signal processing and descrambling systems to provide television display. The remaining processor includes a memory manager coupled to an out of band transmission receiver which receives downloaded interpretive execution data. The decoder further includes a program memory and interpreter circuit operatively coupled to the memory manager. Downloaded data is presented to the interpreter by the dialogue processor which receives instructions in response from the interpreter to execute a particular instruction set or sequence group within the stored program. All instruction sets or sequence groups within the stored program are free of loops or branch backward instructions to avoid lockout problems.

The cable distribution system for television communication has become a substantial part of television broadcast operation. In a typical cable system, a so-called headend facility is maintained by the cable system operator which provides a plurality of television programs modulated upon a corresponding plurality of television channel frequencies. A plurality of decoders are operative within the subscriber homes and other facilities which are coupled to the headend of the cable system by a distribution network. The function of the receiver decoders is to provide channel selection and recovery of the program material for use by the subscriber's television receiver. In most systems, the headend includes the capability for scrambling some or all of the program channels to render them unviewable without a corresponding descrambling process within the receiver decoders. This descrambling capability is controlled in a process known as authorization.
The cable headend system also provides operational information together with the programming material such as program or channel authorization, channel mapping and other features which require communication between the headend and the system decoders. In many cable systems, this communication takes place in a protocol known as in-band communication by inserting the additional information into portions of the program signal. These systems are referred to as in-band because of the communication taking place within the channel bandwidth of the television program channel.
In other systems, the in-band communication is supplemented by an out of band communication capability so named because of the use of communication channels outside the television program channel. Typically, an available broadcast frequency such as a FM radio frequency is used to provide this out of band communication. In such systems, data from the head end controller is modulated upon an FM radio frequency carrier and received by FM receivers within the system decoders. The modulated data is recovered by the decoder receivers and used to operate the decoders in response to the headend data.
The desire to effectively use the out of band communication capability to maximize system flexibility and potential while avoiding undue operational complexity and system difficulties creates a continuing need in the art for evermore improved cable communication systems.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved cable communication system. It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an improved out of band cable communication system.

Television distribution system having virtual memory downloading