Systems and methods for distinguishing a node failure from a link failure are provided. By strengthening the assumption of independent failures, bandwidth sharing among backup tunnels protecting links and nodes of a network is facilitated as well as distributed computation of backup tunnel placement. Thus a backup tunnel overlay network can provide guaranteed bandwidth in the event of a failure.

The present application relates to data networking and more particularly to systems and methods for rerouting around failed links and/or nodes.
The Internet and IP networks in general have become key enablers to a broad range of business, government, and personal activities. More and more, the Internet being relied upon as a general information appliance, business communication tool, entertainment source, and as a substitute for traditional telephone networks and broadcast media. As the Internet expands its role, users become more and more dependent on uninterrupted access.
To assure rapid recovery in the event of failure of a network link or node, so-called "Fast Reroute" techniques have been developed. In a network employing Fast Reroute, traffic flowing through a failed link or node is rerouted through one or more preconfigured backup tunnels. Redirection of the impacted traffic occurs very quickly to minimize impact on the user experience, typically in tens of milliseconds.
These Fast Reroute techniques have been developed in the context of MPLS Traffic Engineering where traffic flows through label switched paths (LSPs). Typically, the overall network is configured such that traffic flows through guaranteed bandwidth end-to-end "primary" LSPs. It is also possible to establish short primary LSPs in a non-Traffic Engineering network, only for the purpose of taking advantage of Fast Reroute techniques (see above-referenced patent application entitled "MPLS Reroute Without Full Mesh Traffic Engineering.")
In either case, when a link or node failure occurs, traffic affected by the failure is rerouted to the preconfigured backup tunnels. These backup tunnels are used only for a very short time since simultaneously with the rerouting through the backup tunnels, the head ends of all affected primary LSPs are notified of the failure. This causes the head ends to reroute the primary LSPs around the failures so that the backup tunnels are no longer needed. It is generally assumed that the probability of multiple failures in such a short time is small, so each failure may be considered independently.
Under the independent failure assumption, link bandwidth available for backup tunnels may be shared between backup tunnels protecting different links or nodes. The techniques disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/038,259 make use of this assumption to allow available backup bandwidth to be shared among links or nodes to be protected while assuring that guaranteed bandwidth requirements continue to be met during Fast Reroute conditions. On the other hand, without taking advantage of the independent failure assumption, it is very difficult to assure guaranteed bandwidth during failure recovery while using bandwidth resources efficiently.
Mechanisms currently available for failure detection do not always allow the failure of a link to be distinguished from failure of a node. For example, a network node may lose communication via a particular link without knowing whether only the link itself has failed or the node to which the link has connected has failed. This ambiguity can cause the network to attempt to reroute around simultaneous failures when in fact only a single failure has occurred. The combined backup bandwidth requirements of simultaneous failures may exceed available backup bandwidth on some links leading to a violation of bandwidth guarantees and possible user perception of deteriorated service.
In theory it would be possible to correct this ambiguity by centrally determining backup tunnels such that no such clash is possible. However, placing this constraint on backup tunnel placement leads to less efficient use of available bandwidth. Furthermore, computing the correct placement of backup tunnels would also become far more complex and computation-intensive.
Furthermore, it is more desirable to compute backup tunnels in a distributed fashion rather than centrally. If backup tunnel computation is to be done in a distributed fashion across the network, the task is made practically impossible due to the need to signal a large amount of backup tunnel information among nodes. If link failures could be distinguished from node failures, the validity of the independent failure assumption would be strengthened, allowing backup tunnels to be computed in a distributed fashion and readily signaled with zero bandwidth in accordance with the techniques disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/038,259 without compromise to bandwidth guarantees.
What is needed are systems and methods for determining whether a link or a neighboring node to which the link connects has failed.

Distinguishing between link and node failure to facilitate fast reroute


Network devices are steered to preferred access points using a probability function. A probe request for connection is received from a network device. The probe request can be from a network device attempting to use a wireless network (e.g., a IEEE 802.11-type network or other suitable type of network). A probability function that defines a likelihood of granting the network device a connection is used to determine whether to accept or deny the response. The probe response is then sent to the network device.

Wireless computing technologies provide untethered access to the Internet and other networks. One of the most critical technologies for wireless networking (or Wi-Fi) is the IEEE 802.11 family of protocols promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Currently, the protocols are widely adopted in wireless devices such as laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones, and network appliances.
Wireless devices complying with standards such as IEEE 802.11 have control over how a connection to a wireless network is made. Namely, a wireless device selects an access point among a number of access points within range that have sent out beacons advertising a presence. The beacon includes a BSSID (Basic Service Set IDentifier) as an identifier of the access point. In turn, the wireless device sends data packets which include the BSSID of the intended access point. Access points receiving a transmission intended for a different access point, as determined by the BSSID, merely ignore the data packets.
Problematically, wireless devices act in self-interest and without consideration for burdens or capabilities of an access point or other components in a wireless network, or other conditions affecting the wireless network. In fact, wireless devices, being unaware of network conditions, can also make a connection against their own best interest when a more capable access point is within range and available. Ultimately, the lack of information given to a decision-making device is an inherent weakness of IEEE 802.11 and other network protocols.
A client running on a wireless device is not always a desirable solution. For instance, guests connecting to a public hot spot for only one time would be burdened with the process of downloading and installing a client. Furthermore, many computer users are weary about malicious applications downloaded from the Internet. Finally, the client is another background process consuming processing and memory availability of wireless devices.
What is needed is a technique to steer network devices to connect with preferred access points. Further, the technique should be adaptable to make independently-behaving access points make connection decisions that benefit the network as a whole.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Steering connection requests for an access point to a best-serving access point


Disclosed is an optical disk substrate which comprises a polycarbonate resin containing not more than 1 ppm of each metal belonging to the IA group and the VIII group of the Periodic Table, and not more than 0.3 mol percent, per polymerization repeating unit, of a terminal hydroxyl group. Also disclosed is an optical information-storage medium comprising an optical recording layer formed on the optical disk substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk substrate which maintains a high reliability for a long term, and an optical information-storage medium comprising the disk substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A polycarbonate resin has been widely used as a substrate for an optical information-storage medium such as an audio-disk, a laser disk, an optical disk memory and a magneto-optical disk, from which information may be read out, written to and/or rewritten, by utilizing laser beams, because the polycarbonate resin has an excellent moldability, strength, light-transmissibility, moisture resistance, and so on. Nevertheless, although the polycarbonate resin exhibits such excellent properties, it has disadvantages that it is easily hydrolyzed under an elevated temperature and a high humidity. This results in lowering of a molecular weight and strength, and also whitening of the product or generation of white points in the product.
The optical disk substrate and the optical information-storage medium prepared therefrom, must be able to maintain a high reliability for a long term (e.g., 10 years or more), but it is difficult to meet this requirement, because of a rapid deterioration of the polycarbonate resin by hydrolysis under an elevated temperature and high humidity.
Various attempts have been proposed to increase a corrosion resistance of an information-storage medium made of the polycarbonate resin. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-97627 discloses a reduction of a remaining chlorine content to 1 ppm or less. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-257933 discloses a reduction of a remaining free chlorine content to 1 ppm or less and a phosphorus content to 5-10 ppm.
The techniques disclosed in the above Publications can prevent a corrosion deterioration of the information-recording layer to some extent, but these techniques are not relevant to the deterioration of the polycarbonate resin per se.

Optical disk substrate and optical information-storage medium


The invention relates to a method of controlling errors in the transmission of packets transmitted over at least one transmission link between a transmitter and a receiver, the said transmitter receiving from an input multiplex packets belonging to a plurality of end to end associations or groups of end to end associations and transmitting them in the form of sequences of packets over a transmission line, the receiver, on reception of a packet, verifying whether it is correctly received and if so, delivering it to an output multiplex, and if not, sending to the transmitter a negative acknowledgement so that the transmitter can re-transmit it.

The present invention concerns a method of controlling errors in packets transmitted on at least one transmission link between a transmitter and a receiver. The present invention applies essentially in cases where the said link can support a plurality of virtual circuits.
The present invention applies to a transmission system of the type depicted in FIG. 1. In this FIG. 1, a transmitter 10 can be seen which receives, from an input multiplex 11, packets which may belong to several different virtual circuits. This transmitter 10 transmits, to a receiver 30 via a transmission line 20, the packets which it receives from the multiplex 11, in the form of a sequence of packets. On receiving the packets from the transmission line 20, the receiver 30 implements a method of controlling errors which took place during the transmission. More particularly, the packets received in the order of the sequence are delivered to an output multiplex 31. On the other hand, if the packet received does not have the required sequence number in the sequence notably because of a loss of one or more packets, it is not delivered to the output multiplex 31 as long as the lost packet or packets have not been received or as long as the maximum waiting time has not expired.
This error control method is generally known as Selective-Repeat ARQ. The implementation of this method is illustrated in FIG. 2. The left-hand part of this FIG. 2 is a diagram showing, at the transmitter, the transmission of packets as a function of time (the time elapses downwards) and the right-hand part is a diagram showing, at the receiver, the reception of transmitted packets also as a function of time. As for the central part, this depicts the transmission of the packets over the transmission line.
Two virtual circuits VC-xcex1 and VC-xcex2 are multiplexed on the transmission line between the transmitter and receiver. Each packet transmitted over the transmission line bears a sequence number which identifies it, in the sequence of transmitted packets, with respect to the preceding ones and the following ones.
As can be seen in this diagram, the packet I0 (the first packet in a sequence of packets) which belongs to the second virtual circuit VC-xcex2 has been received correctly. This packet I0 is then delivered to the output multiplex 31.
The packet I1 on the other hand has been lost and is therefore not received by the receiver 30. On reception of the packet I2, the receiver 30 notes that the sequence number in the sequence is not the one required. It is in fact 2 whereas it is the packet I1, and therefore with the sequence number 1, which is expected. The receiver 30 therefore sends to the transmitter 10 a negative acknowledgement NAK1 thus requesting the transmitter 10 to re-transmit the packet I1.
As for the packets I2 to I4, they have been correctly received by the receiver. However, because the packet I1 has not been correctly received, they too are not delivered and are then stored whilst awaiting their delivery. It will also be said that they are kept.
After the transmission of the packet I4, the transmitter 10 receives the negative acknowledgement NAK1 concerning the packet I1 and consequently re-transmits this packet I1, which is received later at the receiver. As can be noted, the receiver delivers to the output multiplex not only the packet I1 but also the packets I2 to I4 which had been kept up till now.
Thus, according to this method, the packets which have been received after the loss of a packet are not delivered and are kept, until the packet is correctly received.
It is possible that the packet I1 may not always be correctly received by the receiver 30. Conventionally, the packets I2, I3 and I4 are then delivered after the expiry of a predetermined time, referred to as the maximum waiting time.
It will be noted that such a process requires only the sequence number of sending of the packets in the current sequence in order to function correctly.
However, when several virtual circuits are multiplexed on one and the same transmission link between a transmitter and receiver, it may happen that packets belonging to one virtual circuit are kept because a packet belonging to another virtual circuit has been lost. This eventuality is also illustrated in FIG. 2, where it can be seen that the packets I1 and I4 belong to the same virtual circuit VC-xcex1 and that the packets I0, I2 and I3 belong to the other virtual circuit VC-xcex2. The packets I2 and I3 of the virtual circuit VC-xcex2 are kept whereas, with regard to this circuit VC-xcex2, no packet has been lost. Thus the lost packet I1 belonging to the virtual circuit VC-xcex1 blocks the delivery of the packets of the virtual circuit VC-xcex2.
In order to solve this problem, a method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,027 document for a Go-Back-N protocol. According to this method, at the transmitter side, each packet is allocated with two indices : one is an identifier of the logical link to which the packet belongs and the other is the order of transmission of the packet regarding this logical link. When a packet is not correctly received, a negative acknowledgement is sent to the transmitter in order to retransmit it. Only the successively received packets which belong to the same program application are discarded, the others being delivered.
FIG. 3 shows an example of an application of this method modified to be applied as a Selective Repeat protocol.
In this FIG. 3, the packet Ixcex20 belonging to a virtual circuit VC-xcex2 is correctly received and is delivered. The packet Ixcex10 belonging to an another virtual circuit VC-xcex1 is not received.
Contrary to the preceding scheme, although the preceding packet Ixcex10 has not been received, the packet Ixcex21 belonging to the virtual circuit VC-xcex2 is delivered since it is correctly received.
Note that the receiver doesn""t still notice that packet Ixcex10 is not correctly received. It does when the packet Ixcex11 belonging to the same virtual circuit as the lost packet Ixcex10 is received. Then, the packet Ixcex11 is kept and a negative acknowledgement NAKxcex10 is sent to the transmitter for retransmission. When packet LaO is correctly received, the packets xcex10 and xcex11 are delivered.
Although the U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,027 overcome the problem raised above, the drawback of the method is the delay for the receiver to notice that a packet from a virtual circuit is not correctly received.
Furthermore, this method would need to transmit a packet with an identifier of the virtual circuit and its order of transmission for that virtual circuit, which generally requests a too large number of bits.
Furthermore, this method would need to modify the Selective Repeat ARQ protocol at both transmitter and receiver sides in order to be aware of the logical link to which a retransmitted packet belongs.
The aim of the present invention is therefore to resolve the above-mentioned problems in the case of multiplexing of several virtual circuits on the transmission link.
In order to achieve these aims, the method of the present invention consists, at the transmitter side, in allocating, to each packet to be transmitted over the or a transmission line, two indices, one giving the sequence number of the said packet and the other enabling said packet to point to the last packet which was previously transmitted belonging to the same virtual circuit as the said packet, and, at the receiver side, in determining, on a correct reception of a packet, the packet pointed to by the said received packet, and, if this packet pointed to has been delivered to the output multiplex, then delivering the said received packet, otherwise not delivering it.
According an another characteristic of the present invention, the method consists, at the receiver side, in keeping the packets which are not delivered and, in delivering, when correctly received, a re-transmitted packet and then in seeking amongst the keeping packets the one, if it exists, which points to said retransmitted packet and then delivering it, and once again in seeking, if it exists, the packet which points to the latter packet and delivering it and so on until there is no packet which points to the one delivered previously.

Method of controlling errors in a packets transmission link

Abstract: This method inclusive, at the transmitter side, of allocating, to each packet to be transmitted over the transmission line, two indices, one giving the sequence number of the packet and the other enabling the packet to point to the last packet which was previously transmitted belonging to the same end to end association or the same group of associations as the packet, and, at the receiver side, in determining, on a correct reception of a packet, the packet pointed to by the received packet, and, if this packet pointed to has been delivered to the output multiplex, then delivering the received packet, otherwise not delivering it.


A pop-up ashtray includes a generally rectilinear receiver member, a generally rectilinear ash-pot member defining an open-topped container and adapted for removable mounting recessed within the receiver member, a lid member adapted for overlying the open-topped container defined by the ash-pot member, a cooperative interfitting hinge formed on the receiver member and on the lid member for hingedly mounting the lid member to the receiver member, a spring for urging the ash-pot member in a direction for removal thereof from the receiver member, and a releasable clasp for overcoming the urging force of the spring and releasably holding the ash-pot member recessed within the receiver member.

This application is directed generally to accessories for motor vehicles, such a recreational vehicles and the like, and more particularly to a novel and improved pop-up ashtray for use in a motor vehicle or the like.
Ashtrays for motor vehicles must generally be removable in order to permit periodic emptying and cleaning thereof. Generally speaking, most ashtrays in motor vehicles are configured for insertion into a through opening in a generally horizontal panel of the vehicle, such as in an armrest, a console or other relatively flat, generally horizontal surface.
Most commonly, a simple cutout or opening is provided in the horizontal surface and ashtray is configured for a sliding frictional fit in the through opening. Often, the ashtray will have an enlarged peripheral flange at an upper portion thereof to define a fully inserted or seated position of the ashtray with respect to its through opening. Usually, removal is accomplished by grasping of the flange or some other manually accessible portion of the ashtray and pulling upwardly to slidably remove the ashtray from its receiving aperture. Often times, such ashtrays are provided with a hingedly attached lid which provides a closure over an otherwise open top portion of the ashtray. In this regard, the ashtray usually defines an open-topped receptacle or container of selected depth, generally defined by a peripheral side wall and a bottom wall. The side walls and bottom wall may be integrally formed as by a cold forming operation on a sheet of material. Frequently, the peripheral upper flange portion which generally surrounds the open top of the container is also formed in the same process.
However, grasping of the peripheral flange for removal of the ashtray is often difficult, because the peripheral flange is usually pressed flush against the panel about the aperture into which the ashtray is mounted. Thus, working of a fingernail or other object between the flange and the panel is necessary to remove the ashtray from the panel in this fashion. This can result in broken fingernails, or where a tool or other object is used, in scratching, marring and/or other damage to the flange of the ashtray as well as to portions of the panels surrounding the aperture into which the ashtray fits.
Often, removal is accomplished by grasping the lid or some other projecting portion of the ashtray. While sometimes a graspable projecting portion is provided for this purpose, sometimes this is not the case. Thus, it is frequently necessary to grasp the hingedly attached lid portion, or some other projecting portion, such as the cigarette or cigar stub-out portion which often projects interiorly of the container defined within the walls of the ashtray. However, these portions of the ashtray may often be soiled from use, causing soiling of the fingers of the user during the process of removal of the same for emptying and cleaning. Also, these surfaces may not be always conveniently accessible. As an additional matter, when grasping the lid portion to effect removal, it is possible to bend, break or misalign the hingedly attached lid portion during removal. That is, the hinged attachment is usually not designed for withstanding any substantial amount of pulling or twisting force, but rather only for hingedly securing the lid for providing an openable closure for the ashtray.


This invention relates to a golf ball, in which a dimple distribution pattern is designed to secure the greatest possible number of axes of symmetry on the surface of a regular spherical polyhedron based on the surfaces of a regular dodecahedron, a regular icosahedron, or a dodecaicosahedron constituting a golf ball. The golf ball includes two hemispherical portions joined by a mold-parting line formed along a great circle of the golf ball. The dimples that intersect said mold-parting line are removed and replaced with equivalent dimples having aerodynamic characteristics equal to those of the dimples that are removed. The equivalent dimples are arranged in a symmetrical manner across said mold-parting line so that the golf ball may have the maximum non-directional symmetry and aerodynamic characteristics.

The parting line here in the present invention in the mold-parting line, and at the same time, the very longest circumferential line which can be used as a mold-parting line dividing the orb into two equals; which line no dimple is allowed to intersect; the largest circumference line is one of the great circles dividing the orb in two equal hemispheres, and, unlike a symmetrical line that brings about an exact symmetry in each half, it does not necessarily bring about exact symmetries, but is such an axis as comes forth in a symmetrical position when one half of the orb is moved to a certain degree on a pole formed by one such axis; while the equivalent dimples are any such dimples as having shapes different from those of the ordinary dimples, being arranged in a single or double pairs in a symmetry beyond the mold-parting line, possessing the aerodynamic characteristics equal with or similar to the ordinary dimples, in replacement of those dimples that the mold-parting line intersects.
In production of a golf ball it is desirable to so design one as will ensure that the dimples are arranged in a symmetry with the parting line in the center so that the golfer can find either the parting line or the axis of symmetry with ease when placing the ball in a direction he desires for a tee-shot or putting, and it is also desirable to so arrange the dimples as to have the ball display the same aerodynamic characteristics regardless of which point the golfer strikes, because he is forbidden from readjusting the position of the ball, the only exception being the time of a tee-shot of putting.
With the view of optimizing a golf ball's non-directional aerodynamic characteristics attempts have been made by many to work out a dimple pattern to increase the number of axes of symmetry and largest circumference lines, and of all polyhedrons, a regular dodecahedron, icosahedron, or dodeca-icosahedron has been adopted in most cases to minimize the directional characteristics but maximize the number of axes of symmetry or largest circumference line.
But since a mold-parting line is indispensable in the process of production of a golf ball and since dimples can never be allowed on the mold-parting line, a dimple pattern has been extremely difficult to design by which dimples are evenly arranged, with plenty of axes of symmetry and a minimum of dimple-free areas provided on the surface of a golf ball.
In prior art, too, designs were made to arrange dimples on the basis of the axes of symmetry and the parting line in order to secure as many axes of symmetry as possible, but then, although aerodynamic characteristics improved, the dimple-free areas, too, increased because no dimple could be placed where axes of symmetry or the parting line intersected, and if dimples were rearranged on the parting line also in order to decrease dimple-free areas, the number of axes of symmetry decreased, resulting in a deterioration of the aerodynamic characteristics.
In the U.S. pat. No. 4,560,168, for example, it is apparent from the illustrations that although the 15 axes of symmetry and six great circles are all effectively exploited by way of arranging dimples making use of the six great circles quartering the spherical triangles of the icosahedron as a parting line, the dimple-free areas increase because it is necessary to arrange dimples in the equilateral triangles with the parting lines as their sides in a manner not to allow these dimples to intersect the parting lines.
Then in case these dimple-free areas are decreased, as in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,189, the number of axes of symmetry decreases to six or fewer, five of which having no directional traits at all, because it is necessary to adjust the locations and sizes of dimples alongside the parting lines in a manner where no dimple should intersect the mold-parting line; and so it becomes impossible to design a dimple pattern with non-directional aerodynamic characteristics.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,472, as another example, although it has as many as 15 axes of symmetry, which can be used as parting lines, on the basis of a regular icosahedron, it requires, as is apparent from the drawings, a distribution of exceedingly small dimples in those positions in which three of five axes of symmetry intersect, and despite all this there are left a number of dimple-free areas of fairly large size at the same points of intersection.
Now an objective of the present invention is to provide a golf ball which, with a dimple pattern to ensure an even and uniform arrangement of dimples on its surface designed by the use of a polyhedron of a certain form, is to have the largest number of axes of symmetry and largest circumference line according to the characteristics of the sides which constitute the polyhedron, disregarding whether or not dimples become intersected, but using as the mold-parting line one of the lines which, however, allow the least number of dimples to be intersected, and by eliminating only these least number of dimples that may become intersected, thereby minimizing dimple-free areas.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a golf ball with the maximum non-directional symmetry by means of arranging a new equivalent dimples which have aerodynamic characteristics about equal to those of the ordinary dimples in the areas alongside the parting line whence the intersecting dimples are eliminated; that is, the dimple-free areas.


In a secondary tuning circuit, a capacitor is provided between a connection point between a direct-current blocking capacitor and a tuning coil and a connection point between a varactor diode and another direct-current blocking capacitor. The capacitor, another tuning coil and the varactor diode form a trap circuit. As a result, it is possible to prevent a frequency selection characteristic of the multiple-tuning circuit from deteriorating due to an undesired new tuning circuit formed by a static capacitance generated in a non-conductive state of the switch diode.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to a multiple-tuning circuit employed in a tuner capable of switching a tuning frequency among a plurality of frequency bands by turning a switch diode on and off. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multiple-tuning circuit employed in a tuner capable of preventing a frequency selection characteristic thereof from deteriorating due to an undesired new tuning circuit formed by a static capacitance generated in a non-conductive state of a switch diode.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multiple-tuning circuit employed in the conventional tuner is explained by referring to FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the tuning circuit comprises a primary tuning circuit 51 and a secondary tuning circuit 52. The first tuning circuit 51 includes a series circuit of a direct-current-blocking capacitor 53 and a varactor diode 54. The first tuning circuit 51 also includes another series circuit of a tuning coil 55 for high-band reception, a tuning coil 56 for low-band reception, a resistor 57, a coupling coil 58 and a direct-current-blocking capacitor 59, which are connected to each other in an order shown in that figure. The series circuit and the other series circuit form a parallel circuit. The anode and the cathode of the varactor diode 54 are connected to the ground and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 53 respectively. The other terminal of the direct-current-blocking capacitor 59 is also connected to the ground. The connection point between the direct-current-blocking capacitor 53 and the tuning coil 55 for high-band reception serves as an input terminal of the multiple-tuning circuit. This input terminal is connected to a high-frequency amplifier 60 at the preceding stage.
A series circuit comprising a direct-current blocking capacitor 61, a switch diode 62 and a direct-current blocking capacitor 63 is connected between the connection point between the tuning coil 55 for high-band reception and the tuning coil 56 for low-band reception and the ground. In this series circuit, the anode and the cathode of the switch diode 62 are connected to the direct-current-blocking capacitor 61 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 63 respectively.
The connection point between the direct-current-blocking capacitor 61 and the switch diode 62 is connected to a switch terminal HB 65 for high-band reception through a power-feeding resistor 64.
The connection point between the switch diode 62 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 63 is connected to a switch terminal LB 67 for low-band reception through a power-feeding resistor 66.
In addition, the connection point between the switch diode 62 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 63 is connected to ground through a bias resistor 68.
The connection point between the varactor diode 54 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 53 is connected to a tuning-voltage terminal TU 70 through a power-feeding resistor 69.
The second tuning circuit 52 includes a parallel circuit comprising a varactor diode 71 and a series circuit. The series circuit comprises a tuning coil 72 for high-band reception, a tuning coil 73 for low-band reception, a resistor 74, a direct-current-blocking capacitor 75, the coupling coil 58 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 59, which are connected to each other in an order shown in the figure. The anode and the cathode of the varactor diode 71 are connected to the ground and the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception respectively. The connection point between the varactor diode 71 and the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception is connected to a series circuit of a varactor diode 76 and a direct-current-blocking capacitor 77. The anode and the cathode of the varactor diode 76 are connected to the direct-current-blocking capacitor 77 and the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception respectively. The other end of the direct-current-blocking capacitor 77 is connected to an output terminal of the multiple-tuning circuit. The output terminal is connected to a mixer 78 at the succeeding stage. In the mixer 78, an oscillation signal generated by an oscillator not shown in the figure is mixed with a signal output by the multiple-tuning circuit to produce an intermediate-frequency signal.
A series circuit of a direct-current blocking capacitor 79 and a switch diode 80 is provided between the connection point of the tuning coils 72 and 73 and the connection between the switch diode 62 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 63. The anode and the cathode of the switch diode 80 are connected to the direct-current-blocking capacitor 79 and the direct-current-blocking capacitor 63.
The connection point between the direct-current-blocking capacitor 79 and the switch diode 80 is connected to the switch terminal 65 for high-band reception through a power-feeding resistor 81.
On the other hand, the connection point between the direct-current-blocking capacitor 63 and the switch diode 80 is connected to a switch terminal 67 for low-band reception through a power-feeding resistor 66.
The connection point between the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception and the varactor diode 71 is connected to the tuning-voltage terminal TU 70 through a power-feeding resistor 82.
In the configuration described above, when a voltage is applied to the terminal HB 65 for high-band reception, the switch diodes 62 and 80 are each put in a conductive state. In addition, a power supply voltage is supplied from power supply terminal MB. When a voltage is applied to the terminal LB 67 for low-band reception, on the other hand, the switch diodes 62 and 80 are each put in a non-conductive state. In this way, the multiple-tuning circuit can be switched from a high-band reception state to a low-band reception state or vice versa.
By the way, in order to switch the multiple-tuning circuit of a tuner shown in FIG. 5 to a state of reception of high-band television signals each having a frequency in the range 170 MHz to 222 MHz for example, a voltage of typically 5 V is applied to the terminal 65 for high-band reception and no voltage is applied to the terminal 67 for low-band reception. With a voltage of 5 V applied to the terminal 65 for high-band reception, a voltage is applied to the switch diodes 62 and 80 in the forward direction, putting both the switch diodes 62 and 80 in a conductive state. In this conductive state, the connection point between the tuning coil 55 for high-band reception and the tuning coil 56 for low-band reception as well as the connection point between the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception and the tuning coil 73 for low-band reception are connected to the ground. As a result, the varactor diode 54 and the tuning coil 55 for high-band reception in the first tuning circuit 51 form a parallel circuit. Similarly, the varactor diode 71 and the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception in the second tuning circuit 52 also form a parallel circuit as well. A high-frequency equivalent circuit resulting in this state is a multiple-tuning circuit shown in FIG. 6 wherein the direct-current-blocking capacitors and the resistors are ignored. A multiple-tuning circuit is formed by the varactor diode 54, the high-band tuning coil 55, the varactor diode 71, and the high-band tuning coil 72. By adjusting the voltages applied to the varactor diodes 54 and 71, a desired tuning frequency can be obtained.
In order to switch the multiple-tuning circuit of a tuner shown in FIG. 5 to a state of reception of low-band television signals each having a frequency in the range 90 MHz to 108 MHz for example, a voltage of typically 5 V is applied to the terminal 67 for low-band reception and no voltage is applied to the terminal 65 for high-band reception. With a voltage of 5 V applied to the terminal 67 for low-band reception, a voltage is applied to the switch diodes 62 and 80 in the backward direction, putting both the switch diodes 62 and 80 in a non-conductive state. As a result, the varactor diode 54, the tuning coil 55 for high-band reception, the tuning coil 56 for low-band reception and the coupling coil 58 in the first tuning circuit 51 form a parallel tuning circuit, which is referred to hereafter as a main tuning circuit. Similarly, the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception, the tuning coil 73 for low-band reception, the coil 58 and the varactor diode 71 in the second tuning circuit 52 also form a parallel tuning circuit as well. By adjusting the voltages applied to the varactor diodes 54 and 71, a desired tuning frequency can be obtained.
By the way, with the multiple-tuning circuit switched to a state of reception of low-band television signals, a voltage is applied to the switch diodes 62 and 80 in the backward direction. In general, when a voltage is applied to a diode in a backward direction, a capacitance of about 0.2 pF is typically generated between the terminals. If the capacitance generated between the terminals of the switch diode 62 by the voltage applied in the backward direction and the capacitance generated between the terminals of the switch diode 80 by the voltage applied in the backward direction are equivalent to the capacitance of a capacitor 83, a high-frequency equivalent circuit of the multiple-tuning circuit put in this state is a multiple-tuning circuit shown in FIG. 7 wherein the direct-current-blocking capacitors and the resistors are ignored.
In the primary tuning circuit 51, a parallel tuning circuit is formed by the varactor diodes 54, the tuning coils 55 and 56, and the coupling coil 58. In the secondary tuning circuit 52, a parallel tuning circuit is formed by the varactor diode 71, the tuning coils 72 and 73, and the coupling coil 58. These tuning circuits form a main tuning circuit.
As shown in FIG. 7, due to the existence of the capacitor 83, the varactor diode 54, the tuning coil 55 for high-band reception and the capacitor 83 in the first tuning circuit 51 as well as the varactor diode 71, the tuning coil 72 for high-band reception and the capacitor 83 in the second tuning circuit 52 form a new tuning circuit 84 referred to hereafter as a parasitic tuning circuit separately from the main tuning circuit. The tuning frequency of the parasitic tuning circuit 84 is a frequency all but common to the first tuning circuit 51 and the second tuning circuit 52. Assume for example that the desired tuning frequency of the main tuning circuit is 127 MHz. In this case, the tuning frequency of the parasitic tuning circuit 84 appears in an UHF band in the range 600 to 700 MHz.
The reception frequency selection characteristic in the VHF low-band top channel is shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the multiple-tuning circuit in the,state of low-band reception exhibits a frequency selection characteristic like one shown by a solid line in FIG. 4. As shown in that figure, the characteristic also has a peak representing a tuning frequency produced by the parasitic tuning circuit 84 as shown in a portion B in the figure beside s a peak representing a tuning frequency produced by the main tuning circuit as shown in a portion A in the figure. A signal having a frequency fine the tuning-frequency range of the parasitic tuning circuit 84 is supplied to a mixer 78, which is connected to the output terminal of this multiple-tuning circuit. The mixer 78 mixes the input signal generated by the parasitic tuning circuit 84 with an oscillation signal to generate a signal with an intermediate frequency in the range 54 MHz to 60 MHz. The mixing process also produces a by-product signal with a frequency equal to a difference between the frequency of the signal in the tuning frequency by the parasitic tuning circuit 84 and N times the frequency of the oscillation signal or equal to a sum of the frequency of the signal in the tuning frequency by the parasitic tuning circuit 84 and N times the frequency of the oscillation signal. This by-product signal serves as a disturbance to the intermediate-frequency signal.
When the desired tuning frequency of the main tuning circuit is 127 MHz for example, the tuning frequency of the oscillation signal is 184 MHz, which is higher than the desired tuning frequency of the main tuning circuit by 57 MHz. The mixer 78 outputs a signal with an intermediate frequency of 57 MHz, which is equal to a difference between the 609-MHz tuning frequency of the input signal generated by the parasitic tuning circuit 84 and a frequency of 552 MHz, which is equal to N times the 184-MHz frequency of the oscillation signal where N=3.
It is thus an object of the present invention addressing the problems described above to provide a multiple-tuning circuit of a tuner exhibiting a good frequency selection characteristic obtained as a result of eliminating an effect of a new parasitic tuning circuit formed by a static capacitance created by a non-conductive state of a switch diode in a state of low-band reception of the multiple-tuning circuit.
In order to solve the problems described above, the present invention provides a multiple-tuning circuit of a tuner, the circuit comprising a primary tuning circuit and a secondary tuning circuit wherein: the secondary tuning circuit includes: a first varactor diode; a series circuit of a first coil for high-band reception and a second coil for low-band reception, with the series circuit connected in parallel to the first varactor diode; a switch diode connected between the ground and a connection point between the first coil and the second coil; a second varactor diode with an end thereof connected to a connection point between the first coil and the first varactor diode; and a capacitor connected between the other end of the second varactor diode and a connection point between the first coil and the second coil in parallel to a circuit of the second varactor diode and the first coil, the other end of the second varactor diode is used as an output terminal of the multiple-tuning circuit; and the first coil, the second varactor diode and the capacitor form a trap circuit.
In a multiple-tuning circuit of a tuner, the capacitance of the capacitor is set at a value about equal to a capacitance between terminals of the switch diode in a non-conductive state.

Multiple-tuning circuit of tuner preventing selection characteristic deterioration


A network node in a distributed network employs a surface immunoglobulin system configured to monitor other nodes in the distributed network and generate an alert upon detecting a suspicious activity; and a free-antibody system configured to push a free-antibody program to a requesting node petitioning to access the distributed network. The free-antibody program is configured to communicatively couple to the surface immunoglobulin system while monitoring behavior of the requesting node. The free-antibody program reports detected malware and/or suspicious activity to the surface immunoglobulin system, which can enact countermeasures against the requesting node.

1. Field of the Invention
Subject matter disclosed herein relate generally to network intrusion detection, and more particularly, to distributed network intrusion.
2. Introduction
The hidden-node problem occurs when two or more wireless nodes that are unable to sense each other transmit to an access point, causing interference at the access point. If the nodes employ directional antennas, the hidden-node problem is worse. Solutions to the hidden-node problem are typically implemented at the medium access control (MAC) level. For example, a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance or an ALOHA protocol may be adapted to include handshaking. However, handshaking solutions apply to nodes that belong to the same network.
Alternatively, in cognitive radio, a first network may use the same frequency band as a second network without communicating with the second network. The basic idea behind cognitive radio is opportunistic spectrum sharing by identifying under-utilized licensed bands and utilizing those bands until they are used by their licensed users. Specifically, MAC-layer messages are not shared between the networks, so the goal is to minimize interference with the second network by improving detection of potentially hidden nodes.
The hidden-node problem is typically addressed in the context of one node unintentionally interfering with communications between other nodes. There is a notable deficiency of effective solutions for situations in which the hidden node has malicious or selfish intent. For example, a common solution for a denial of service attack in which a hidden node sends a false request is MAC-based and simply provides additional validation embedded in the data transmissions.
A conventional Intrusion Detection System (IDS) monitors a network for malicious activities and/or policy violations. Intrusion detection typically employs a statistical anomaly analysis or a signature analysis. Statistical anomaly analysis creates a baseline performance metric for network traffic and then monitors the traffic for any activity outside the baseline parameters.
However, this approach is only effective for identifying activities that significantly impact overall network traffic. Also, bad packets generated in the course of normal network activity can generate false alarms.
Signature analysis identifies network traffic for predetermined (i.e., known) attack patterns, known as signatures. Many attacks have distinct signatures. However, in order for signature analysis to be effective, it is necessary to maintain an up-to-date database of attack patterns.
There are two main types of IDSs. The first type is an independent system that connects to the network via a hub, switch, or network tap and monitors packets for malicious content. The second type resides on the host and monitors system calls, logs, and file systems for suspicious activities.
In a cooperative network, a new type of IDS is required. In 2001, distributed multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) was first introduced (S. J. Shattil, Pat. Appl. Ser. No. 60/286,850, filed Apr. 26, 2001), which coordinates a large number of access points (e.g., cellular base stations) distributed over a certain coverage region via a wired, optical, and/or wireless backhaul network connected to a central processor in order to form a distributed antenna system. Thus, the multiple access points can function together as a single distributed access point, referred to as a "super array." In subsequent patent filings, Distributed MU-MIMO included user terminals and relays in many different network topologies (S. J. Shattil, patent application Ser. No. 10/131,163 filed Apr. 24, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,430,257; and S. J. Shattil, patent application Ser. No. 10/145,854, filed May 14, 2002). Solutions to synchronization and calibration in Distributed-MIMO are presented in the '257 patent, the '854 application, S. J. Shattil, Pat. Appl. Ser. No. 60/598,187, filed Aug. 2, 2004, and S. J. Shattil, patent application Ser. No. 11/187,107 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,670,390). All the references presented herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Since clients in cooperative, ad-hoc, peer-to-peer, and mesh networks already perform many of the network control functions, it can be useful to provide an IDS employed as a distributed system residing on the clients.
These and other needs in the field are addressed by aspects of the present invention.


An individual section of a multiple section glassware forming machine has three operating stations in spaced apart relation along the longitudinal center line of the section. A parison formed in the first station is transferred to the second station and released there by a first transfer means. A second transfer means which is operated independently of the first transfer means engages the parison at the second station and moves the parison to a third station in which an article of glassware is formed. By adjusting the time of operation of either transfer means relative to the other, the period of time during which the parison reheats may be changed without altering the relative timing of any of the machine functions which together make up the parison-forming cycle or the relative timing of any of the machine functions which together comprise the glassware forming cycle.

This invention relates to individual sections of multiple section glassware forming machines and to processes of forming glassware using such machine sections. A multiple section glassware forming machine comprises a plurality of sections arranged in side-by-side relationship, each such section in and of itself comprising a forming machine for converting a gob of molten glass at first into a parison and then into a finally shaped article of glassware. Each section may be designed for either "single gob" or "multiple gob" use--in the latter case each operation in the formation of multiple articles being performed at the same time. Accordingly, each such section includes at least one parison (or blank) mould in which parisons are formed either by pressing or blowing, and at least one final shaping blow mould wherein the parisons are blown into the final shape of the desired article of glassware as the result of the application of a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the parison which is introduced into the blow mould.
In the conventional individual section glassware forming machine (the I.S. machine) such as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 1,911,119, the parison mould is in an inverted position at a first station and a transfer mechanism including a neck ring structure holds the inverted parison at the first station and swings the parison through an arc into an upright position in the blow mould at a second station for final shaping. The neck ring structure then reverts to the first station for subsequent parison formation. The final article of glassware is removed from the blow mould at the second station by a separate and independent takeout means.
The glassware forming process which is performed in the I.S. machine consists essentially of three stages, namely, a parison formation at the first station, a reheating time, and a final shaping of the article of glassware at the second station. The reheating time is the period within which the outer layer of glass which contacted the parison mould is reheated by the heat retained in the other parts of the parison and extends from the time at which the parison mould is opened at the first station until the time at which the final shaping of the article of glassware is commenced at the second station. In practice, for a given cycle time of the I.S. machine, the reheating time in the glassware forming process can be increased only at the expense of the time taken to blow the final article of glassware in the blow mould.
In U.K. Pat. No. 1,491,859 there is described an individual section of a multiple section glassware forming machine which comprises three stations being, respectively, a first station in which a parison is formed by pressing in an upright parison mould, a second station in which the parison is further formed, and a third station in which the final shaping of the article of glassware is effected in a blow mould. The glassware forming machine of U.K. Pat. No. 1,491,859 further comprises a transfer mechanism for parisons and finished articles of glassware which includes a horizontally movable carriage having thereon a neck ring structure and two tong structures. The carriage is reciprocated linearly from one position to another position and back to the said one position between successive parison formations at the first station, with the result that there is simultaneous movement of a parison from the first station to the second station, a further formed parison from the second station to the third station, and an article of glassware from the third station to a take-out position beyond the third station, for example a deadplate. In the process of forming glassware using this machine, adequate reheating time is provided in consequence of the sojourn of the parison at the second station, but there is again little scope for variation of the reheating time which is frequently rather longer than is required at the expense of time which is desired for suspending the finished article after removal from the blow mould at the third station and before being deposited, for example, on a deadplate. This desirable article hanging time (also referred to herein as "deadplate hanging time") can only be provided in the machine of U.K. Pat. No. 1,491,859 at the expense of the time taken to press the parison at the first station.


A crop harvesting machine configured to move cut crop positively across a cutterbar and toward a conditioner element using an undershot rotating element or undershot auger. The crop harvesting machine includes a cutterbar having a plurality of rotary cutters having rotational axis aligned along a line transverse to a moving direction of the crop harvesting machine. The undershot rotating element is subtended by portions of the rotary cutters and is located between rotational axis lines of the rotating cutters and an exit of the crop harvesting machine. The undershot rotating element moves cut crop between the undershot rotating element and the plurality of rotary cutters and to a conditioner element which conditions the cut crop for placement of the conditioned cut crop in swaths on a field.

Agricultural equipment, such as a tractor or a self-propelled windrower, includes a prime mover which generates power to perform work. In the case of a tractor, for instance, the prime mover is often a diesel engine that generates power from a supply of diesel fuel. The diesel engine drives a transmission which moves wheels or treads to propel the tractor across a field. In addition to providing power to wheels through a transmission, tractors often include a power takeoff (PTO) which includes a shaft coupled to the transmission and driven by the engine.
In different embodiments, the mower conditioner is a separable machine which is configured to be attached to and detached from a tractor, which either pushes the mower conditioner or pulls the mower conditioner. In the separable mower conditioner, the mower conditioner is removably coupled to the tractor and is readily moved from one tractor to another if desired. In these embodiments, the mower conditioner is powered by the PTO of the tractor or a hydraulic motor system thereof.
In another embodiment, the mower conditioner is configured as part of the vehicle and is generally known as a windrower. In the windrower configuration, the mower conditioner is configured as a machine substantially integral with a tractor, such that the mower conditioner is not readily moved from one tractor to another, but instead both the tractor and mower conditioner are integrally designed. In a windrower, the mower conditioner is powered by the prime mover, the PTO, or a hydraulic system including a hydraulic motor.
Mower-conditioners typically operate at a ground speed of from five to ten miles per hour (mph). When the vehicle is operated at this speed, crop moves across a cutterbar, flows past one or more augers, where the crop is transferred to a conditioner, and then expelled out the rear of the mower-conditioner to form a windrow. The uniformity of the formed windrow density (defined as quantity of crop per unit volume) depends not only on the features and function of the mower conditioner, but also on the type and condition of the crop being cut. For instance, cut crop can be light, heavy, sparse, thick, and of variable moisture content.
In some mower conditioner operations, the cut crop hesitates above the cutterbar, resulting in poor cut quality, recut crop, and non-uniform feeding into a conditioner element. When the crop is cut at the front edge of the cutterbar, the crop has some momentum from the cutting action moving it laterally and to the rear with the movement of a rotary cutter disk and rotary knife attached thereto. Rearward momentum of the cut crop is further aided by contact with the uncut crop, prior to being cut, and the relative forward movement of the machine.
In some machines, once the crop is cut, movement of the crop toward the back of the mower conditioner is aided by movement of the rotary disk of the rotary cutter and rotary cutting knives coupled to the rotary disk. The cut crop proceeds with the aid of the rotary cutter, in a direction for delivery to a converging element, a conditioner element or both. Oftentimes, however, in light crop conditions, cut crop can be captured momentarily by the trailing side of the rotary cutter and thrown forward, instead of rearward toward the conditioner element as desired. This thrown crop can push down uncut crop causing cut quality issues. Also, the cut crop can remain for a short period of time, or hesitate, on top of the rotary cutter, before moving toward and into the conditioner. Cut crop which hesitates on the top of the rotary cutter, can be damaged from recutting during the hesitation, as well as from non-uniform feeding to the conditioner. Consequently, what is needed is a mower conditioner which reduces the amount of recutting and non-uniform feeding.

Method and apparatus for harvesting crop material


An infant apparatus having a base, a vertically movable hood and a plurality of walls that form an infant compartment. The apparatus has lateral side walls and a front end door that can be individually opened. There is an interlocking engagement between the upper periphery of the lateral walls and hood by a plurality of pins on the hood that engage brackets located at the top of the front and rear end walls. A latching arrangement allows all three doors to be opened. The side lateral doors are latched by a movable latch member that enters an opening in brackets affixed to the front and rear end walls. The front end wall can be moved vertically upwardly to disengage its latching arrangement to enable it to pivot downwardly. An alignment mechanism is also provided to insure that the movable latch members correctly align with the openings in the brackets.

The present invention relates to an infant care apparatus and, more particularly, to an improved means of aligning and providing stability for various components that make up the infant care apparatus, including the access doors and vertically movable hood.
In the use of infant incubators, the infant care apparatus normally includes an infant compartment within which the infant is positioned and which provides to that infant, a controlled environment to aid in the wellbeing of the infant. It is common for the walls of such compartment to have doors so that the caregiver can have access to the interior of the incubator to carry out an intervention on the infant or simply to place the infant into the incubator or remove the infant therefrom. Normally, the wall itself is the door as the entire wall or side of the infant compartment can be opened by the user, thus, one or more walls may be, in effect, a door or doors to access the internal area of the infant incubator.
It is also common that the doors swing open in an outwardly and downwardly direction so that the doors can swing free to provide full access to the infant. Typical of such doors can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,824 of Koch et al. Accordingly the normal doors are hinged at their bottom and have latches at their top or upper side areas that can secure the door in a closed position and which latches also can be readily opened by the user. While the construction of the latching mechanisms of such doors is a relatively straight forward engineering task where there are only side doors and where the ends of the incubator are fixed, it becomes more of a problem when the apparatus has three doors that can be opened, that is, along the two elongated lateral sides as well as at one of the ends.
As will be used hereinafter by convention, the sides of the infant apparatus will be referred to as the sides paralleling the body of the infant while the ends will be referred to as the rear end, where the infant""s head is generally positioned and which is also adjacent the monitoring and control functions of the infant care apparatus and the front end where the feet of the infant normally are positioned and which area extends away; in cantilever fashion, from the main frame and structure of the infant care apparatus. An example of such an apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 0,00,000 of Donnelley et al.
In such an apparatus with three doors, that is, at the two lateral sides and at the front end of the apparatus, it is obviously important for each of the side doors and the end front door to be openable individually, or, to be able to open all of the doors at the same time without detracting from the overall integrity of the apparatus so as to maintain strength and rigidity to the overall structure. Thus, a door latching mechanism and structural system is needed that would allow all three of such doors to open individually or all at the same time where the apparatus has doors on three sides of the infant compartment to gain access to the infant. In such case, the door and structure for the overall infant apparatus must be sufficiently solid and not sacrifice the integrity of the apparatus, yet there must be a latching arrangement to allow each door to be opened.
The problem is thus compounded further where the infant apparatus has a hood that is vertically movable. Such hood has a lower portion where the overall apparatus is functioning as a normal infant incubator and the hood seals against the upper peripheral edges of the sides and ends of the apparatus to form an infant compartment and an upper position where the hood is displaced upwardly with respect to the sides and ends and thus opens the infant compartment. When in the upper position, the hood may also serve to function as a radiant warmer for the infant apparatus, however, in any event, whatever the function of the vertically movable hood, it is clear that when the hood is displaced upwardly to its upper position, there is a more serious structural and integrity problem facing the designer since the sides and ends lack the support that is normally afforded by having a fixed upper hood component and, additionally, there is the problem of providing some system to interengage the upper peripheral edges of the sides and ends with the hood when the hood is moved to its lower position.
Thus, with the use of an overhead vertically movable hood, it is also important to provide a means of aligning that hood with the other components of the infant apparatus, and, in particular, with the side doors and end door to lend structural integrity to the overall apparatus. Due to the tolerances present in the manufacturing of relatively large plastic molded components, such as doors and a hood for use in construction an infant apparatus of the present inventive type, some means is necessary for the hood to interfit with the doors to provide accurate alignment as well as add stability to the overall apparatus to provide that needed integrity.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a means of stabilizing and providing an infant apparatus where there are three doors that can be opened, all of which are hinged at their bottom and which swing downwardly and outwardly. The doors are the side doors and the front end door to enable full access to and infant positioned within the apparatus. With the present system, any one of the three doors may be opened by the user and the remaining doors will still be structurally strong and sufficiently rigid. The system allows all three doors to be opened at the same time or any lesser number of doors as desired by the user. The system further provides, and maintains, integrity to the overall infant apparatus with the doors in any variety of positions and also provides an additional structural support for the side doors when the hood is in its lowered position. In the preferred embodiment, the side doors are double walled construction.
Thus, in the present invention, a door latching system is shown that allows the use of three doors to be operable on an infant apparatus and each door can be opened and closed individually or collectively and yet, the overall structure of the walls surrounding the infant compartment are structurally sound. In addition, there is an integrity system that affixes a vertically movable hood to the upper peripheral edges of the three doors when the hood is lowered to its closed position wherein the infant compartment is operating as an incubator.

Door latching mechanism for infant care apparatus


A method for communication, includes allocating, in a network interface controller (NIC) a single dynamically-connected (DC) initiator context for serving requests from an initiator process running on the initiator host to transmit data to multiple target processes running on one or more target nodes. The NIC transmits a first connect packet directed to a first target process and referencing the DC initiator context so as to open a first dynamic connection with the first target process. The NIC receives over the packet network, in response to the first connect packet, a first acknowledgment packet containing a first session identifier (ID). Following receipt of the first acknowledgment packet, the NIC transmits one or more first data packets containing the first session ID over the first dynamic connection from the NIC to the first target process. Dynamic connections with other target processes may subsequently be handled in similar fashion.

InfiniBand™ (IB) is a switched-fabric communications architecture primarily used in high-performance computing. It has been standardized by the InfiniBand Trade Association. Computing devices (host processors and peripherals) connect to the IB fabric via a network interface controller (NIC), which is referred to in IB parlance as a channel adapter. Host processors (or hosts) use a host channel adapter (HCA), while peripheral devices use a target channel adapter (TCA). IB defines both a layered hardware protocol (physical, link, network, and transport layers) and a software layer, which manages initialization and communication between devices. The transport layer is responsible for in-order packet delivery, partitioning, channel multiplexing and transport services, as well as data segmentation when sending and reassembly when receiving.
InfiniBand specifies the following transport services:                Reliable Connection (RC). RC provides reliable transfer of data between two entities, referred to as a requester and a responder. As a connection-oriented transport, RC requires a dedicated queue pair (QP) for each pair of requester and responder processes.        Unreliable Connection (UC). UC permits transfer of data between two entities. Unlike RC, UC but does not guarantee message delivery or ordering. Each pair of connected processes requires a dedicated UC QP.        Reliable Datagram (RD). Using RD enables a QP to send and receive messages from one or more QPs using a reliable datagram channel (RDC) between each pair of reliable datagram domains (RDDs). RD provides most of the features of RC, but does not require a dedicated QP for each process.        Unreliable Datagram (UD). With UD, a QP can send and receive messages to and from one or more remote QPs, but the messages may get lost, and there is no guarantee of ordering or reliability. UD is connectionless, allowing a single QP to communicate with any other peer QP.        Raw Datagram. A raw datagram is a data link layer service, which provides a QP with the ability to send and receive raw datagram messages that are not interpreted.
A recent enhancement to InfiniBand is the Extended Reliable Connected (XRC) transport service (as described, for instance, in "Supplement to InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification Volume 1.2.1, Annex A14: Extended Reliable Connected (XRC) Transport Service", 2009, Revision 1.0). XRC enables a shared receive queue (SRQ) to be shared among multiple processes running on a given host. As a result, each process can maintain a single send QP to each host rather than to each remote process. A receive QP is established per remote send QP and can be shared among all the processes on the host.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/0116512, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a dynamically-connected (DC) transport service, in which a single DC initiator context is allocated for serving multiple requests from an initiator process running on an initiator host to transmit respective data to multiple target processes running on one or more target nodes. A first connect packet referencing the DC initiator context is directed to a first target process so as to open a first dynamic connection with the first target process, followed by transmission of first data. The first dynamic connection is closed after the transmission of the first data, and a second connect packet is transmitted so as to open a second dynamic connection with a second target process, followed by transmission of second data.

Responding to dynamically-connected transport requests


A multi-mode position location method detects the location of movable detection devices which are attached to movable carriers in a simulated battlefield. The multi-mode position location method employs three modes of position location of the detection devices. The first mode is a Global Positioning System (GPS) differentially corrected position of the detection device. The second mode is a multilateration determined position of the detection device. The third mode is an autonomously determined GPS position of the detection device. The autonomously determined position is determined without any differential GPS corrections. The most accurately determined position of the detection device may be used for area weapons effects simulation and carrier tracking by transmitting the carrier's position to a master control station.

The present invention pertains to the location of detection device carriers within a bounded area and more particularly to a multi-mode position location method for providing accurate positions of detection devices within a simulated battlefield.
Currently, to locate troops and vehicles within a simulated battlefield, multilateration systems exist to provide such information. Multilateration systems provide a certain level of accuracy in their position determination. However, since such systems are highly dependent upon the moving vehicles or soldiers to receive signals from stationary relays or transmitters, uneven terrain and foliage may interfere with the ability for position location determination by the moving of troops and vehicles.
Global Positioning System (GPS) is able to provide highly accurate position location determination. However, modes of high resolution GPS position determination are or may be unavailable for general usage. The Department of Defense intentionally "dithers" the signals transmitted by GPS satellites since extremely accurate position location may be used for illegal purposes.
Further, the GPS system may be unavailable sometimes for use due to satellite failure. In addition, the transmission relays of multilateration systems may fail also.
Therefore, in order to avoid the high cost of amassed troops and vehicles which are unable to perform in "war game" exercises, a highly reliable and accurate position location system would be advantageous.


In response to determining that the total uplink (UL) interference in a cell has exceeded a predetermined threshold or value, a base station (BS) instructs a plurality of the mobile stations (MS) currently operating in the cell to reduce their current UL power by a predetermined amount (e.g., value of dB or percentage). Such instruction may override conventional closed loop PC instructions to the mobiles in certain embodiments. In such a manner, the UL power reduction is shared in a fairly equal manner by all mobile stations in the cell and overload can be reduced and/or avoided. Subsequently, mobiles stations moving away from the BS toward the cell border may be permitted to increase their UL power so as to maintain a connection. In certain embodiments, the invention is utilized in the context of a code division multiple access (CDMA) system.

The present invention relates to a system and corresponding method for controlling mobile station (MS) uplink power as a function of uplink interference in a particular cell defined by a base station(s).
In cellular communications systems, service areas are formed by small zones known as xe2x80x9ccells.xe2x80x9d Each cell is defined by a particular base station (BS), so that it is possible to achieve effects of a transmission power reduction with an increase in subscriber capacity. One type of radio access scheme which has become increasingly popular over the last several years is known as code division multiple access (CDMA). In a CDMA system, since the same frequency band is shared by multiple users, signals of other users become interference signals which may degrade the communication quality of a particular user. When a base station (BS) communicates with near and remote mobile stations (MS) at the same time, it receives the transmitted signal from the near mobile station at a high level, whereas from the remote mobile station at a much lower level. Thus, communications between the base station and the remote MS present a problem in that the channel quality is sharply degraded by interference from the near MS. This is typically referred to as the near-far problem.
One technique which has been used for solving the near-far problem is controlling transmission power such that the received power of a receiving station, or the SIR (signal to interference plus noise power ratio) thereof, is kept fixed regardless of the location of a MS. This provides more consistent channel quality across a given service area. In other words, in CDMA systems the output power of mobile stations is often controlled, with the goal of transmitting at a power such that the received signal quality at the BS is just sufficient for the desired quality of reception. Such control depends upon the conditions of the signal at issue and upon interference (i.e., interfering signals).
In this regard, a closed loop transmission power control system for CDMA is known which employs transmission power control bits. In this system, when a MS within a cell communicates with the base station (BS) in that cell, it measures the received SIR of the desired wave from the BS, and determines the transmission power control bits for controlling the transmission power of the BS in accordance with the measured results. Subsequently, the MS inserts the transmission power control bits into its transmitted signal and transmits them to the BS. Receiving the signal transmitted from the MS, the BS extracts the transmission power control bits therefrom and determines the BS transmission power in accordance with the command of the transmission power control bits.
Still further, the BS measures the received SIR of the wave received from the MS and determines the transmission power control bits for controlling the transmission power (i.e., uplink power) of the MS on the basis of these measurement results. Then, the BS inserts the transmission power control (PC) bits into the transmitted signal, which is transmitted to the MS. Receiving the signal from the BS, the MS extracts the transmission power control (PC) bits and determines the transmission power (i.e., uplink power) in accordance with the instructions of the transmission power control (PC) bits. The closed loop thus formed between the MS and the BS enables each of the MS and BS to control its transmission power.
Unfortunately, the amount of interference in a particular cell increases along with an increase in the number of mobile stations being used in that cell. When a signal is added in the cell, all mobiles stations will typically want to increase their uplink or transmit power until the quality of the signal received at the BS is again sufficient. Such a system can operate in a satisfactory manner so long as the sum of all signals in the cell is below a critical or predetermined value. When it goes above or over this value, all users or mobile stations will constantly increase their power; this is sometimes called the xe2x80x9cparty effect.xe2x80x9d When this occurs, one or more signals are typically removed (i.e., certain MS connections are terminated) until most of the users reduce their power to levels such that the sum in the cell is below the critical value. During this time of overload, control is speculative at best.
It is undesirable to react to overload by immediately cutting of certain MS connections. Alternatively, if one attempts to solve the aforesaid overload or party effect problem by increasing the uplink power from each MS, the result is increased interference in the cell at issue as well as in other cells. This is also undesirable. Moreover, when measures are taken to solve the overload problem, it often takes quite a bit of time for the system to again reach normal operation.
It would also be undesirable to set a concrete limit on the UL power which may be utilized by mobile stations once the critical value of UL interference has been reached, for at least the following reasons. Assume that mobile stations A, B, and C are operating in a particular cell. The base station detects UL interference having exceeded the threshold or critical value. Assume that the base station in turn instructs these three mobile stations that they cannot increase their UL power. Problems occur when one of these mobile stations (e.g., MS A) travels further from the base station and towards the cell border. Because it is further from the BS and closer to the border, it requires additional UL power. However, if a limit has been placed on it, it is not allowed to increase power (even if such an increase would not undesirably increase the UL interference in the cell due to the MSxe2x80x2 distance from the BS). Thus, while placing concrete UL power limits on mobile stations may be able to reduce total UL interference in a particular cell, certain mobile stations in the cell may be undesirably handicapped or accidentally cut off as a result of the same (e.g., when certain mobile stations travel away from the BS and toward the cell border).
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there exists a need for addressing UL interference problems in cells of cellular communication networks. Moreover, there exists a need for addressing such problems without having to cut off or undesirably handicap certain MS units which happen to be moving toward the cell border.
In response to calculating or detecting that the uplink (UL) interference has exceeded a predetermined threshold or value in a cell which utilizes closed loop uplink (UL) power control (PC), a base station (BS) instructs a plurality of the mobile stations (MS) currently operating in the cell to reduce their current UL power by a predetermined amount (e.g., value of dB or percentage). Such instruction may override conventional closed loop PC instruction to the mobiles in certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, the base station instructs all mobile stations currently operating in the cell to do so. In such a manner, the UL power reduction is shared in a fairly equal manner by all mobile stations in the cell and adverse effects of overload can be reduced and/or avoided.
As certain mobile stations in the cell move away from the BS and toward the cell border, they may request additional UL power. The base station permits them to increase their UL power, preferably so long as the total UL interference does not increase as a result of the same at the BS. Thus, MS units which happen to be moving toward the cell border are not unduly handicapped relative to other MS units in the cell when a UL interference threshold has been exceeded.
In short, the power of individual mobile stations is not limited (i.e., a concrete limit or ceiling is not put on the UL power of each cell). It is not the output power by the mobiles which is of interest, but instead the received UL interference at the BS which is determinative of total UL interference. The xe2x80x9cpainxe2x80x9d or burden is thus shared in a fairly uniform manner by all mobile stations in the cell. It is not necessary to immediately terminate connections of certain mobile stations in the cell (although this may be done in certain embodiments along with the above UL power reduction instructions). By limiting the UL interference in the cell, all mobile stations suffer a little, but most if not all still have sufficient quality to continue communicating with the BS.

Cellular communications system/method with uplink interference ceiling


A method includes forming a metal hard mask over a low-k dielectric layer. The step of forming the metal hard mask includes depositing a sub-layer of the metal hard mask, and performing a plasma treatment on the sub-layer of the metal hard mask. The metal hard mask is patterned to form an opening. The low-k dielectric layer is etched to form a trench, wherein the step of etching is performed using the metal hard mask as an etching mask.

Integrated circuit devices such as transistors are formed over semiconductor wafers. The devices are interconnected through metal lines and vias to form functional circuits, wherein the metal lines and vias are formed in back-end-of-line processes. To reduce the parasitic capacitance of the metal lines and vias, the metal lines and vias are formed in low-k dielectric layers, which typically have k values lower than 3.8, lower than 3.0, or lower than 2.5.
In the formation of the metal lines and vias, the low-k dielectric material in a low-k dielectric layer is etched to form trenches and via openings. The etching of the low-k dielectric material may involve forming a hard mask and a dielectric hard mask layer over the low-k dielectric material, and using the patterned hard mask as an etching mask to form trenches. Via openings are also formed and self aligned to the trench. The trenches and the via openings are then filled with a metallic material, which may comprise copper. A chemical mechanical polish (CMP) is then performed to remove excess portions of the metallic material over the low-k dielectric material.

Forming interconnect structure using plasma treated metal hard mask

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Electrical power, instrument and communication cables constructed with combustible coverings can provide a pathway by which fire might spread. Cable fires within a room or compartment can be arrested by the construction of a properly designed "fire break" placed periodically along a cable run; and cable fire spread between rooms can be arrested by a properly placed "fire stop". Cable runs generally include a cable tray or raceway to contain the cables. An effective fire barrier, e.g., "fire break" or "fire stop" may be constructed in such a cable tray or raceway by filling a portion of the tray or raceway with a gypsum composition comprising gypsum plaster, an inert filler mixture of diatomaceous earth and lightweight expanded aggregate, and very small amounts of glycerin, boric acid and a corrosion inhibitor such as a boron nitride, boron nitrile or mixture of such boron compounds. The fire barrier is formed by placing in a portion of the cable tray/raceway an aqueous slurry of the plaster composition as described above, slurried with water in amounts of about 10 pounds of the plaster composition and 14-16 pounds of water to form a " pseudo-plastic" mass, and filling all of the voids around and beneath cables therein by applying force to the cable tray/raceway, e.g., as by hammering with a rubber mallet.

This invention relates to creating a gypsum fire barrier in cable trays or raceways. It does not relate to forming a sheathing or encasement around individual cables over their entire length as in the manufacture of power, instrument and communication cables and the like; but rather to where a plurality of such manufactured cables in usage placement are in a run, tray or raceway and discrete gypsum composition blocks are separately, individually, placed at interrupted intervals around a section of the cables to form a barrier against fire spread from one side to the other side of the block.
The possibility of fires in areas with high concentrations of instrument and communication wires and power transmission cables has become of great concern to power companies, automated industrial plants and government regulatory bodies. Power, instrument and communication cables constructed with combustible coverings or sheathings can provide a pathway by which fire might spread. Physical discrete barriers (e.g. floors, walls, and ceilings) can serve to contain a cable fire to a given room. However, even at such points of barrier the necessary holes for the cables to pass through walls, floors and ceilings can still provide a means for transmission of the fire to adjoining rooms. Cable fires within a room, further, need to be arrested by the construction of a properly designed "fire break" placed periodically along the cable run.
Cable manufacturers are aware of this problem and have directed efforts towards developing cable insulation characterized by lower flame spread and reduced fuel load. There are also prior attempts to provide insulative coatings or sheathings in the cable manufacturing process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,077,282 discloses constructing a cable with an inner insulated sheath between the cable core and an outer sheath. The insulated sheath, to be selected from a material or mixture of boric acid, calcined gypsum or plaster of Paris, borax, magnesium carbonate, basic magnesium carbonate, ammonium carbonate, aluminum ammonium sulfate, or the carbonates or bicarbonates of the alkali or alkaline earth metals is said to be selected as avoiding explosive gases when an arc in the cable occurs by decomposition of the material by the heat of the arc. That patent further indicates that such materials may be substituted for in part with an inert material such as asbestos. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 2,207,579 discloses a fire resistant cable in which a layer of spun glass threads bound by a layer of molten glass insulation is applied as the insulating layer between the inner conductor and the outer sheathing, in this case an outer metal casing. U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,232 discloses a transmission cable having an inner sheathing of solid boron nitride within an outer lead sheathing. Only slightly related U.S. Pat. 3,531,678 discloses a heater wire in which the heating filament is surrounded by a boron nitride coating, stating that such coating without an outer sheathing is electrically insulating but thermally conductive. Thus such materials generally depend upon an outer sheathing of electrically conductive, non-insulative material, to provide for an electrical ground. However, such are also known for their attendant costs; and the brittleness of the inner sheathing between the core and the outer metallic sheathing considerably limits flexability of such cables.
Of course, other materials have been attempted without utilizing the outer metallic sheathing and have generally centered around rendering organic sheathing materials more resistant to fire by the inclusion of fire retardant additives. It does not, however, appear feasible to produce an organic cable insulation which is totally noncombustible or to replace all of the existing highly combustible cable that is already in use.
Divergent from that area of usage it is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,116 to form a plaster composition for use in thin coat plaster coatings over all surfaces that utilize radiant heating systems. In such systems an electrically resistant element is secured over a gypsum board plaster base and embedded beneath a thin veneer coat plaster surface, with the veneer plaster coating containing small amounts of glycerol and boric acid intended to form a surface adapted to be subjected to temperatures as high as 150.degree. F. without deleterious cracking and strength deterioration of the 1/16-1/8 inch thick veneer layer. In other nonrelated attempts at fire resistant compositions that include gypsum, U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,980 discloses containers, such as burial vaults and safes having an inner liner of a material such as glass fiber mat and a gypsum composition containing as essential included ingredients a magnesium sulfate heptahydrate. That patent notes that borax upon trial proved to be deleterious in its effects upon the setting of plaster of Paris and in disastrously fluxing at high temperatures.
Returning again now to the proposal of a suitable "fire break"/"fire stop" material for usage in cable trays; it is recognized that power, communication and instrumentation cables sheathed with combustible insulation and packed into cable trays or along raceways provide a fuel source for fires. It is not always feasible to either produce a cable insulation which is totally noncombustible nor to replace all of the existing highly combustible cable that is in place in such trays. Thus it would be ideal to place barriers at intervals along such trays or raceways. A candidate for such a fire barrier material, in addition to preventing the spread of flame, must meet several additional functional requirements. Recent electrical code changes have decreased the amount of cable spacing clearance both within trays and between tiers of trays, the trend being to now allow just sufficient space about the trays to permit adequate access for installation and maintainance of the cables. Further, revised electrical codes now permit installation of conductor cables rated 600 volts or less in the same tray; but another section prohibits the mixing of cables rated over 600 volts with cables rated 600 volts or less in the same tray unless the cables are (1) separated by solid, noncombustible, fixed barriers or are (2) type MC (metal-clad) cable.
Prior attempts to formulate fire barriers in cable electrical trays and raceways have heretofore concentrated upon either organic silicone formulations, which are quite expensive; or urethane foam formulations to which a fire retardant chemical has been added, which are not entirely satisfactory in their performance characteristics. Of course, one might think of turning to an inorganic cementitious material for such use but previous attempts have been highly unsatisfactory since most inorganic cementitious materials either shrink excessively upon drying or are not sufficiently expansive after set to remain crack-free or void-free in usage. In addition such formulations may be sufficiently fluid to surround the cables and fill the voids and interstices below and between cables within a packed tray, but are then so fluid that they flow along the tray and away from the area to be filled. Inorganic cementitious materials such as Portland cement suffer an important prohibitive defect in that the fire barrier composition must be sufficiently frangible and of limited strength that a portion of the fire break/fire stop may be readily torn out for the replacement, repair, or addition of cables to the tray or raceway. Quite frequently at some time after an initial raceway has been set up it is mandatory to either remove an existing cable or add additional cables. Ordinary Portland cement develops dry cast compressive strengths in excess of 6,000 pounds per square inch. Ordinary gypsum casting plasters develop about 2,000 p.s.i. Inorganic cementitious materials such as Portland cement have caused the complete destruction of the whole raceway section in attempts to remove a portion of the fire stop for replacement of one or more cables in that raceway. Also the weight of fire barriers with such materials has caused the buckling and collapse of the cable trays.
Thus a summary of functional requirements for a "fire barrier" material is that the material should be totally noncombustible; should provide a substantial heat sink; should in application completely surround the cables and fill all the voids and interstices; be sufficiently viscous to minimize lateral flow along the tray or raceway; be easily removed to permit adding or removing calbes in the tray; be relatively homogeneous and crack free; be low density to not require additional support for cable assemblies; not shrink on drying and setting; and lastly not have any deleterious effect on any of the cables, ancillary insulation, sheathing or jacket of the cables or on the cable tray itself.


A controller, a source driver integrated circuit (IC), a display device, and a signal transmission method thereof. When data is received from the source driver integrated circuit and the received data is recognized, data recognition errors that would otherwise be caused by an asynchronous state between an internal clock and data can be prevented.

Related Field
The present disclosure relates to a controller, a source driver integrated circuit (IC), a display device, and a signal transmission method thereof.
Description of Related Art
Following the growth of the information society, there is increasing demand for various types of display device able to display images. Recently, various display devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, are used.
Such a display device includes: a display panel on which data lines and gate lines are disposed and subpixels are disposed in the shape of a matrix at points where the data lines intersect the gate lines; a data driver supplying data signals to the data lines; a gate driver supplying scanning signals to the gate lines; and a timing controller controlling the data driver and the gate driver.
The timing controller performs the operation of receiving corresponding data from one or a plurality of source driver ICs of the data driver and recognizing the received data in order to perform a specific process (e.g. a compensation process).
When the timing controller recognizes the data received from the source driver IC(s) using the internal clock thereof, the timing controller may not accurately recognize the data if the data is asynchronous to the internal clock.

Controller, source driver IC, display device, and signal transmission method thereof