The invention relates to an inhaler for products such as medicaments, and particularly to an inhaler for transferring to a patient, at a controlled air flow, a metered dose of a medicament contained in a pressurised dispensing container. The inhaler includes a housing adapted to receive a pressurised dispensing container, a mouthpiece, a duct connecting the container outlet with the mouthpiece, and an air inlet arrangement having at least one air inlet for allowing air into the inhaler when a user applies suction to the mouthpiece. The air inlet arrangement also has an air flow controller in which a piston member with a tapering external surface is movable due to a pressure change when suction is applied to the mouthpiece. The resulting piston movement effects a change in the flow of air through the air inlet. The air flow controller also includes a spring for urging the piston member to a rest position to allow maximum air flow to the air inlet. The piston member is movable axially against the action of the spring within the air inlet due to the pressure change, whereby a gap between the external surface of the piston member and the air inlet is increasingly reduced as the piston member moves further into the air inlet.

The invention relates to an inhaler for products such as medicaments and particularly to an inhaler for transferring to a patient at a controlled air flow a metered dose of a medicament contained in a pressurised dispensing container.
In known metered dose inhalers, the aerosol stream from a pressurised dispensing container is fired towards a patient or user of the inhaler into a air flow travelling in the same direction. In known devices, a user inhales through a mouth piece of the inhaler and creates an air flow through the container from air inlet holes which are generally at a part of the inhaler well spaced from the mouth piece. The medicament is then released into this air flow at a point between the air inlet holes and the mouth piece so that it is travelling in the same direction as the air flow. Typically in such devices, there is no restriction in the air flow between the air inlet holes and the mouth piece. Because of this, a substantial air flow may be created by a user of the device and, because the medicament is fired into the air flow in the same direction as the air flow, the effect is that particles of medicament can attain quite substantial velocities. As inhalers of this type are normally designed to be as small as practical for the convenience of users, the distance between the point at which the medicament is fired into the air flow and the patients mouth is usually quite small so that there is little distance to reduce the inertia of the particles of medicament with the result that the particles may impact in the oro-pharynx of a user with quite high velocity. This can be a problem with some medicaments.
In an effort to overcome this problem, devices have been produced in which the medicament is fired into a holding volume which allows the velocity of the medicament to be reduced and also allows some evaporation to occur.
However, these devices with a holding volume tend to be of significantly larger size than the standard metered dose inhalers and therefore less convenient and attractive to users.
GB-A-2279879 describes an inhaler which has air inlets for allowing air into the inhaler when a user applies suction to the mouth piece. The air inlets are provided at a location axially between the air outlet of the duct means from the product container to the mouth piece, and the mouth piece, and passages are provided connecting the air inlet to a location adjacent the outlet of the duct means. In use, when a user inhales through the mouth piece, an air flow is created from the air inlet to the mouth piece, the air flow having a component directed away from the mouth piece towards the outlet of the duct means.
Such an inhaler thus allows delivery of medicament to a user at reduced velocity without significantly increasing the size of the inhaler.
Another solution to the problem would be to control the rate of air flow and the particles entrained therein.


A method of producing a reflection transfer for transferring a motif onto a substrate includes providing an adhesive-repellent base medium, applying a transfer adhesive to the base medium, creating a colored print image by offset printing or digital printing, and applying at least one reflection layer which contains a multiplicity of reflection particles.

DE 1 446 828 A1 discloses a reflecting transfer film and a process for the production of reflex-reflecting articles, for example for marking articles of clothing. The transfer film has a transfer layer comprising an adhesive layer, a rubber-like bonding agent layer disposed thereon, with incorporated, partly protruding microballs, and a strippable protective layer on the adhesive side of the transfer layer. On its front side the transfer layer has a dimensionally stable carrier substrate which can be stripped off dry after being glued on. For transfer onto an article of clothing a hot iron is firmly pressed onto the carrier substrate of the structure and then the carrier substrate is stripped off the reflex-reflecting transfer film. To apply markings of different kinds of shapes the respective motifs are firstly cut out and then applied to the subjacent article of clothing or fabric.
Furthermore, it is also generally known in the art that offset printing principally provides the option of extremely high production rates (which may e.g. amount up to 20.000 sheets per hour), if compared e.g. to a screen print process. However, in attempts to apply the technology of offset printing to the production of transfer films a problem that arises in practice is that the realistic total throughput in production is strongly limited by the time that is needed for the necessary application of a (typically white) intermediate layer—usually in a screen print process—onto the colored print image created in a mirror image relationship in the offset printing machine within a strictly predetermined time window of typically 24-48 hours. Otherwise, if the (typically white) intermediate layer is printed too early (in less than 24 h), the offset colorants in the colored print image are not sufficiently dried and therefore not wipe-resistant and not washing-resistant. If the intermediate layer is applied too late (after more than 48 h), problems may occur during the later transfer applying process since the offset colorants have oxidized completely, which may lead to their sticking to the transfer paper. The afore-described limitation to the total manufacturing process leads to small production rates (which may typically be in the order of magnitude of e.g. 500-800 sheets per hour), which are further reduced if additional layers are printed.
As further prior art, reference is exemplarily made to EP 1 137 546 B1.

Method of producing a reflection transfer for transferring a motif onto a substrate


A fuel injection valve for fuel injection systems of internal combustion engines, in particular for injecting fuel directly into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, said fuel injection valve comprising a fuel inlet which is designed to allow fuel to flow into the fuel injection valve, and an actuating device which can be electrically activated and cooperates with a valve arrangement in order to discharge fuel into the combustion chamber in a directly or indirectly controlled manner via a fuel outlet the actuating device having a solenoid arrangement which is to be energized, a substantially magnetically soft magnet yoke arrangement which cooperates therewith, and a substantially magnetically soft magnet armature arrangement which cooperates therewith. The magnet yoke arrangement is constituted by at least two yoke discs. At least one of the faces of each yoke disc has at least one pole web which together with the solenoid arrangement acts upon the magnet armature arrangement. Each yoke disc is composed of at least two partial yokes which contain soft iron and at least partly surround an actuating rod which supports the magnet armature arrangement.

The invention relates to a fuel injection valve for fuel injection systems of internal combustion engines, in particular for injecting fuel directly into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. Basically, it is possible for the invention to be used both in the case of directly injecting engines and in the case of conventional engines that inject into the induction pipe.
The fuel injection valve according to the invention has a fuel inlet which is designed to allow fuel to flow into the fuel injection valve, and an actuating device which can be electrically activated and cooperates with a valve arrangement in order to discharge fuel into the combustion chamber in a directly or indirectly controlled manner via a fuel outlet. The electromagnetic actuating device in this case has a solenoid arrangement which is to be energized, a substantially magnetically soft magnet yoke arrangement which cooperates therewith, and a substantially magnetically soft magnet armature arrangement which cooperates therewith.
Owing to the continually growing demands of the legislation on exhaust emissions, with limiting values being reduced further, the motor-vehicle internal combustion engine industry is facing the challenge of optimizing the operation of injecting fuel into the combustion chamber in order to optimize the formation of pollutants at their place of origin. Particularly critical are emissions of NOx and particulates. Although it is possible to maintain current limiting values through the development of injection systems with ever higher injection pressures and highly dynamic injectors, and by means of cooled exhaust-gas recirculation and oxidizing converters, it nevertheless appears that the existing measures for reducing emissions have attained their potential. Consequently, variable injection pattern formations are coming to the fore. In this case, the fuel injection rate is varied, either by multiple injection or by selective modulation of the stroke of the Jet needle.


A reactor installation tool and method for installing reactor components in a reactor housing. A reactor installation tool can include a push unit having a central aperture traversing its entire length and a push rod, a housing gripper having a center open section traversing its entire length and an expandable bladder positioned adjacent the center open section for securing the housing gripper inside a reactor housing. Reactor components can be installed by first lowering reactor components into a reactor housing, then lowering the reactor installation tool into the reactor housing above the reactor components, and then inflating the expandable bladder such that the expandable bladder contacts an inside surface of the reactor housing to secure the housing gripper inside the reactor housing.

Reactors, such as those used in the field of surface catalytic reactions and heat exchange, can fit within a reactor tube, which can transfer heat from the reactor tube to the interior of the tube or the reactor unit contained therein, or from the interior of the tube or reactor unit to the reactor tube. One example of a reactor unit is a stackable structural reactor, or SSR.
The reactor installation tools described herein can be used with any style of reactor, such as cylindrical, cone, or rectangle-shaped reactors. Most commonly, the reactors are cylindrical-shaped tube reactors. Reactor components can occupy substantially all of the space within a reactor tube and/or press firmly against the interior wall of the reactor tube. Installation of reactor components can cause damage, such as denting portions of the reactor tube or other components, for example, the fins of a reactor. Other damage can be caused, for example, scratching or bending the reactors, which can negatively affect performance, such as the heat transfer or reaction rate. Installation of reactor components must be done in a consistent and repeatable manner to insure ideal reactor performance, even when reactor tubes are inconsistent. This requires that installation tools must perform consistently. The dimensions of a reactor, and clearance available at the reactor opening(s), can also limit the type of installation tools that are available. Use of bulky and expensive tools for installing components in small or compact reactors not only increases installation time and costs but also heightens the risk of damage to the reactor. Thus, there is a need for installation tools that are inexpensive, have a low profile, and are capable of installing the reactor components consistently in a reactor tube while avoiding damage to the reactor components or reactor housing. The present invention focuses on such installation tools and the use of these tools.

Installation tools for structured catalysts


An optical system (20) projects light into a planar optical display (10). The display includes laminated optical waveguides (12) defining an inlet face (14) at one end and an outlet screen (16) at an opposite end. A first mirror (26) collimates light from a light source (18) along a first axis, and distributes the light along a second axis. A second mirror (28) collimates the light from the first mirror along the second axis to illuminate the inlet face and produce an image on the screen.

The present invention relates generally to planar optical displays, and, more specifically, to a light projection system therefor.
A thin optical display panel having a plurality of laminated optical waveguides is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,502 over which the present invention is an improvement. Each of the waveguides in the panel includes a transparent core laminated between opposite cladding layers having a lower index of refraction. The waveguides collectively define an inlet face at one end and an outlet face or screen at an opposite end disposed obliquely to the inlet face. The screen forms an extremely small acute face angle with the longitudinal axes of the waveguides, on the order of about 1 or 2 degrees, which allows the height of the screen to be substantially larger than the depth or thickness of the panel for keeping the panel thin.
The thin panel may be used for various applications such as a television video display screen with an exemplary width to height ratio of 4:3 with 525 vertical lines of resolution. This resolution may be simply effected by correspondingly using 525 stacked waveguides which are continuous along the width of the panel. The panel inlet face, therefore, extends the full width of the panel but is extremely narrow corresponding with the thinness of the panel. For example, the thickness of the panel at the inlet face may be about 2.54 cm, with the height of the screen being 100 cm, and a corresponding width of 133 cm. The corresponding thickness of each of the waveguides is about 48 microns.
In the original development of the thin panel, a laser beam was employed to directly produce collimated light which is sequentially scanned laterally and transversely along the inlet face for producing a corresponding image on the screen in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. Various types of lenses may be used with the laser beam for ensuring a high resolution image on the screen, but lenses require precise alignment and inherently effect chromatic aberrations which adversely affect the produced image.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved light projector for use with the thin waveguide panel for reducing complexity and cost, and eliminating chromatic aberration.


In an electrophoretic display apparatus, a surface of the charged particle, the dispersion medium, and a surface of an inner wall on which charged particles are to be deposited satisfy any one of the following (A) to (D): (A) the charged particle surface is hydrophilic, the dispersion medium is hydrophobic or is hydrophobic and lipophobic, and the inner wall surface is hydrophilic; (B) the charged particle surface is hydrophobic, the dispersion medium is hydrophilic or is hydrophobic and lipophobic and the inner wall surface is hydrophobic; (C) the charged particle surface is hydrophobic and lipophobic, the dispersion medium is hydrophobic or hydrophilic, and the inner wall surface is hydrophobic, with the proviso that when the dispersion medium is hydrophobic, a difference in hydrophobicity between the dispersion medium and the charged particle surface is larger than a difference in hydrophobicity between the inner wall surface and the charged particle surface; and (D) the charged particle surface is hydrophobic and lipophobic, the dispersion medium is hydrophobic or hydrophilic, and the inner wall surface is hydrophobic and lipophobic.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are sectional views showing an embodiment of a structure of a conventional electrophoretic display apparatus. The electrophoretic display apparatus shown in these figures includes a pair of substrates 101 and 102 disposed with a predetermined spacing therebetween, an insulating liquid 103 filled in the spacing between these substrates 101 and 102, a large number of colored charged particles 104 dispersed in the insulating liquid 3, and display electrodes 105 and 106 disposed on the substrates 101 and 102, respectively, pixel by pixel. The colored charged particles 104 are electrically charged positively or negatively. The insulating liquid and the colored charged particles are colored different colors. Between adjacent pixels, a partition wall 107 is disposed so as to prevent movement of the colored charged particles 104 to another pixel, thus retaining uniform display.
By applying a voltage between the display electrodes 105 and 106, when the colored charged particles 104 are collected on the lower electrode 106, the color of the insulating liquid 103 is visually recognized as a pixel color, as shown in FIG. 4(a). When the colored charged particles 104 are collected on the upper electrode 105, the color of the charged particles 104 is visually recognized as a pixel color, as shown in FIG. 4(b). By performing such control pixel by pixel, it is possible to effect varies displays in the electrophoretic display apparatus as a whole.
In the electrophoretic display apparatus which effects display in such a principle, it is considered that it becomes possible to continuously display of image written by electric addressing without requiring display retaining electric power (memory characteristic). When the image once written by electric addressing can be retained for a long time without requiring the display retaining electric power, it is possible to minimize a power consumption necessary for image display. Further, when the displayed image is carried, it is not necessary to carry a driving apparatus and a power source, so that it becomes possible to remove only a display device portion, thus resulting in excellent portability.
As a method of providing the memory characteristic to the electrophoretic display apparatus, some methods have been proposed. For example, a thixotropic property is imparted to a migration medium by incorporating an exposure lawellar clay mineral in the migration medium. The thixotropic property in such a property that a jelly-like state is retained during rest and on the other hand, a force is exerted on a system to increase fluidity, so that the system shows a liquid-like behavior. For this reason, it is possible to hold display particles for a long time to effect stable display (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application (JP-A) No. 2001-265261).
Further, there has been reported that electric charges are generated by acid-base dissociation between a particle surface and a resin adsorbed by the particle and a solvating effect, and a synergistic effect of dispersion stability is achieved by a steric effect of the adsorbed resin, so that it is possible to provide an image display medium which compatibly realizes long-term stability and high response speed (JP-A No. 2002-62545).
In the electrophoretic display apparatus, such a condition between a substrate surface and charged particles capable of effecting repetitive adsorption and description with respect to the substrate surface is required. More specifically, it is necessary to hold the adsorption state stably and desorb the charged particles from the substrate surface at a relatively low voltage.
Further, in order to provide a display image with the memory characteristic, it is necessary to keep stably not only the adsorption state of the charge particle to the substrate surface but also such a state that other charged particles are deposited on the charge particle absorbed to the substrate surface.
Particularly, in the case of a horizontal movement type electrophoretic display apparatus in which charged particles are moved in a substrate surface direction as described later in embodiments of the present invention, not in the case of a vertical movement type electrophoretic display apparatus as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), a display state is formed by switching a state wherein the charged particles are extended on one of electrodes and visually recognized from a display surface side and a state wherein the charged particles are collected to the other electrode and an exposed substrate surface is visually recognized.
In this case, one of the display states is such a state that the charged particles are collected on an electrode having a smaller area when viewed from the display surface side, so that the charged particles are present on the electrode in an overlying state. Accordingly, it is necessary to keep this overlying state stably.


A backspin reducing device for reducing an amount or a rate of backspin of a rod string when lifting the rotor apart from the stator of an oil or gas downhole progressive cavity pump. The backspin reducing device includes a substantially cylindrical housing having one or more threaded pin receptacles holding respective threaded pins in threaded engagement around a polished rod portion of the rod string of the progressive cavity pump. Turning threaded pins in their respective threaded pin receptacles causes the interior ends of the threaded pins to move towards or away from the polished rod in the center of the housing. Attached to the interior end of each threaded pin is a friction roller.

Progressive cavity pumps pump a fluid by a staged movement of small sealed cavities that progress from one end of the pump to the other. Progressive cavity pumps are commonly used for oil and gas well recovery or extraction projects where there may not be enough formation back pressure to drive fluids to the surface and a form of artificial lift is required. A progressive cavity pump includes the pump components downhole, an actuator above grade and a rod string to connect the actuator to the downhole pump components. Depending upon how deep the well is the rod string can be quite long and subjected to significant forces. Rod strings are typically made from steel or other durable materials.
On occasion, the rotor of a progressive cavity pump needs to be pulled or lifted from its mating stator for maintenance, repairs, or to free a rotor that gets stuck or jammed within the stator. However, when the upper end of the rod string is disengaged from the drivehead to pull the rotor, there is a tendency for the rotor and rod string to "backspin". Backspin is a condition which occurs when a well head is being shut down for work over for example or restarted after such a work over. The tendency to backspin results from the combination of two factors. First, the rod string functions like a powerful torsion spring when it is decoupled from the drivehead. The build-up of torsional energy in the very long (relative to its diameter) rod string resulting from the twisting referred to above tends to rotate the rod string backwards. Second, when the rotor is pulled from the stator, the column of fluid (i.e., fluid head) above the progressive cavity pump is no longer supported by the pump and will tend to flow back down under the force of gravity past the pulled rotor and through the stator. As the fluid flows past the rotor it tends to cause the helical-shaped rotor to function like a progressive cavity motor and rotate backwards, thus applying torque to the rod string.
The acceleration and rotational velocity of a back-spinning rod string presents a variety of potential safety hazards at the wellhead on the surface. For instance, the upper end of the rod string, which may for example be in the form of a "polished rod", can tend to bend over while back-spinning, potentially impacting nearby persons or objects. In addition, a bent polished rod may send debris flying across the worksite. Further, extreme vibrations generated by the violent back-spinning may cause weaken or damage the support structure surrounding the rod string at the wellhead. Moreover, in some cases, contact between metal parts with high relative rotational velocities may result in sparks that could ignite combustible gases and hydrocarbon liquids at the surface.
Backspin retarders have been developed to control backspin until the fluid head and sucker rod wind-up have been reduced to safe levels. Existing backspin retarders have met with varying degrees of success. Typical prior art of retarders use built-in pumps to discharge fluid through an orifice and cause increased braking as speed increases. Some retarders have been placed on drive motor shafts and rely on drive belts. However, drive belts have been known to break, in which case backspin protection is lost completely.
Prior art patents of general interest in the field of backspin retarders include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,110 (Dysarz), U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,406 (Wilson), U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,826 (Land), U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,332 (Lam), U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,813 (Lam), U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,841 (Wright), U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,489 (Hutt), U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,231 (Grenke), U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,643 (Hall), U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,278 (Lam), U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,674 (Lam), U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,888 (Wright), U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,665 (Mello), and U.S. Pat. No. 8,132,618 (Blaquiere).
However, there is a continuing need for improvement in devices for reducing backspin in rod strings used in progressive cavity pumps.

Device for reducing rod string backspin in progressive cavity pump


A safety mechanism for alerting power line workers of the failure to properly connect a grounding wire to a neutral wire. The grounding buzzer automatically provides an audible and/or visual output when disconnected from a storage location and continues to provide the alarm until it is properly installed. An alarm is optionally installed on both the connecting hook and the vehicle to alert as many individuals as possible to the failure to properly connect the grounding wire.

The present invention relates to safety equipment and more particularly to safety equipment used by power line workers that includes a buzzer assembly integrally formed with a grounding wire assembly; the buzzer assembly is automatically activated when the grounding wire attachment hook is disconnected from the truck and which sounds an audible alarm until an electrical contact is made between the hook and the neutral line of a power distribution network; a second buzzer can be physically attached to the truck to that the worker near the hook as well as adjacent to the truck would be alerted to the status of the grounding wire attachment hook.
Each year workers are electrocuted or otherwise injured because of a failure to properly connect the grounding wire to the neutral wire. It would be a benefit, therefore, to have a grounding wire which would automatically provide an audible and/or visual output when disconnected from its storage location and which would continue to provide the audible alarm until it was properly installed on the neutral wire of a distribution line.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a ground buzzer that includes a buzzer assembly integrally formed with a grounding wire assembly; the buzzer assembly is automatically activated when the grounding wire attachment hook is disconnected from the truck and which sounds an audible alarm until an electrical contact is made between the hook and the neutral line of a power distribution network; a second buzzer can be physically attached to the truck to that the worker near the hook as well as adjacent to the truck would be alerted to the status of the grounding wire attachment hook.
Accordingly, a ground buzzer is provided. The ground buzzer includes a buzzer assembly integrally formed with a grounding wire assembly; the buzzer assembly is automatically activated when the grounding wire attachment hook is disconnected from the truck and which sounds an audible alarm until an electrical contact is made between the hook and the neutral line of a power distribution network; a second buzzer can be physically attached to the truck to that the worker near the hook as well as adjacent to the truck would be alerted to the status of the grounding wire attachment hook.


A discrete state event-driven (DSED) simulation method for simulation of a power electronic system is disclosed. With respect to continuous states and discrete events in the power electronic system, the method includes: numerical integration of the continuous states with a flexible adaptive (FA) algorithm having both variable step-size and variable order; and location of the discrete events with an event-driven (ED) mechanism, in which active events are picked out and pre-scheduled before their occurrence while passive events are located by iterative search. The proposed to DSED simulation method can achieve significant improvement in simulation efficiency, with remarkably reduced computational costs at the same level of numerical accuracy. The proposed DSED simulation method is particularly applicable for complex power electronic systems with modular combined topology and high switching frequency.

Power electronic systems are intrinsically hybrid dynamic systems composed of continuous states and discrete events. Considering the hybrid nature of power electronic systems, an accurate and efficient simulation framework for power electronic systems requires flexible integration of continuous states and efficient location of discrete events.
There are a variety of commercial simulation software for power electronic systems, such as Simulink and PLECS. Although widely used, they demonstrate inefficiency in the following aspects. Firstly, with respect to integration of continuous states, these commercial simulators only provide variable-step but fixed-order numerical integration algorithms, such as the classical Dormand-Prince algorithm (i.e., ode45 algorithm in Simulink and DOPRI algorithm in PLECS). Since these algorithms are not capable of adjusting their order adaptively, they exhibit limited flexibility and thus limited efficiency. Secondly, with respect to location of discrete events, all the discrete events are treated as passive events, neglecting the possibility of pre-scheduling the active events to avoid iterative calculations. Moreover, since the explicit expressions of system states as functions of time cannot be obtained, the entire numerical integration process has to be involved in the iterative calculations to locate passive events, which is quite computationally burdensome.

Discrete state event-driven simulation method for simulation of power electronic system


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), may receive a message that includes downlink control information (DCI) pertaining to system information that is scheduled to be received from a base station. The UE may determine, based at least in part on the message, whether the system information that is scheduled is remaining minimum system information (RMSI) or is other system information (OSI), and searching a downlink bandwidth part for the scheduled RMSI or OSI determined from the message. The described techniques may serve to resolve ambiguity between RMSI and OSI, for instance, when scheduled in the same control region and having overlapping search spaces.

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to resource mapping for broadcasted system information.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
In some wireless communications systems, a base station may configure a control resource set (CORESET) associated with search spaces for transmission of control information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)) to a UE on a downlink control channel. In some cases, the DCI obtained within a CORESET and a search space may be used to indicate the resources on which certain types of system information may be received over a downlink shared channel. For example, the DCI may indicate downlink shared channel resources on which Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI), or Other System Information (OSI) may be received. Further, RMSI and OSI may be scheduled in the same or different regions of a downlink bandwidth part. In some cases, ambiguities may arise due to the CORESET, search spaces, and the scheduled regions for RMSI and OSI overlapping in time. In such circumstances, a UE may experience difficulty differentiating between different types of broadcasted system information (e.g., RMSI and OSI), and thus, may be unable to successfully monitor and receive important changes in system information, impacting UE performance.

Resource mapping for broadcasted system information


A memory efficient method and apparatus for displaying large overlaid camera images. According to one aspect of the invention, overlay image data are stored in a memory, fetched, up-scaled, and then combined with main image data to form composite image data for rendering on a graphics display device. According to another aspect of the invention, the overlay image data are stored in a memory, fetched, and then combined with main image data streamed from a source of the main image data.

It is common in electronic computing systems or devices having graphics displays, such as cell phones, to overlay one image on top of another. Typically, the main, or underlying image is covered by the overlay image so that, where the main and overlay images overlap, the main image is not visible. One particular example of overlaying occurs where it is desired to provide a picture frame or border around an image. Similarly, other geometric shapes or text may be superimposed over an image.
In such applications, the overlay image defines pixels that are transparent and pixels that are not transparent, or opaque. Where the overlay image is transparent, the underlying main image is visible, and where the overlay image is opaque, only the overlay image is visible. Pixels in the overlay image can be defined as being transparent or opaque by the use of appropriate coding. For example, particular colors can be defined as being transparent while other colors can be defined as being opaque.
In many cell phones, the main image is produced by a camera. A graphics controller includes a camera interface for interfacing to the camera. The graphics controller resizes the camera data and converts the camera data from YUV to RGB color format for storage in an on-board display buffer. The graphics controller also receives an overlay image from a host CPU and stores the overlay image data in the display buffer as well. The overlay image and the main image may or may not be the same size.
The graphics controller fetches a main image pixel and a corresponding overlay image pixel from the display buffer and combines the two pixels. This sequence is performed for every pixel in the main image, to form composite image data The composite image data are provided to an interface for interfacing to a display device.
One problem with the methodology described above is that it requires a significant amount of memory, because both images are stored in the display buffer. This problem is exacerbated if the overlay image is the same size as the main image, so that twice the amount of memory required for the main image is required for the composite. Another problem with the methodology is that a main image which is too large to fit within the display buffer cannot be displayed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a memory efficient method and apparatus for displaying large overlaid camera images that solves these problems.

Memory efficient method and apparatus for displaying large overlaid camera images


A synchronization system for an input signal having a plurality of OFDM symbols, each symbol having at least one guard interval, includes a correlation device for providing a product of the input signal with a complex conjugate of the input signal delayed for a predetermined period, an arithmetic device for obtaining an argument value of the product, and a detection device for detecting a transition in phase values of an output of the arithmetic device, wherein the transition occurring when the phase value in one portion of the symbol duration is substantially smaller than another portion of the symbol duration. The system additionally includes a power estimator for detecting an OFDM symbol frame of the input signal with reference to a predetermined threshold, and a device for estimating fractional carrier frequency offset.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to a synchronization method and apparatus for digital receivers and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for obtaining symbol, frame, and carrier synchronization for guard interval-based OFDM signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital audio broadcasting ("DAB") and digital video broadcasting ("DVB") systems provide high quality signals with minimal impact due to multipath fading, noise, or signal drop-offs relative to those of analog broadcasting. The reduction of impact from multipath fading is largely due to the fact that many DAB and DVB systems have adopted orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ("OFDM") modulation. Multipath fading, together with intersymbol interference, may be additionally reduced in OFDM signals by the insertion of guard intervals. For the most part, an OFDM signal is preceded by a cyclic extension of the last portion of a symbol, and this extension is placed as the guard interval.
FIG. 1 shows an OFDM signal having a guard interval, wherein the duration of the guard interval is represented by T.sub.g and the duration of the useful OFDM symbols is represented by T.sub.u. Also, the duration of the guard interval is equal to, for example, approximately one-fourth of the duration of the useful OFDM symbols. The definition of a "useful symbol" is described below. Additionally, the OFDM signal shown in FIG. 1 is the same as that of the European-based Eureka 147 DAB system because the guard interval of that system is also equal to approximately one-fourth of the duration of the OFDM symbols.
FIG. 2 illustrates a transmission frame of the Eureka 147 system. As shown in FIG. 2, the Eureka 147 transmission frame is divided into a synchronization channel, a fast information channel, and a main service channel. The channels that constitute the transmission frame consist of a sequence of consecutive OFDM symbols and each symbol consists of a set of equally-spaced carriers. In addition, as already described, each of the channels is preceded by a periodic extension of the symbol itself that constitutes the guard interval. The duration of the guard interval is approximately 1/4 of the useful symbols' duration, and the symbols in the guard interval are reproduced from the final 1/4 of the useful symbols of the channel.
The synchronization channel always occupies the first two symbols of the transmission frame. The first symbol of the synchronization channel is a null symbol, which is also the first symbol of the transmission frame. The null symbol carries no information, and the DAB signal is primarily noise for the duration of the null symbol. The second symbol of the synchronization channel, which is also the second symbol of the transmission frame, is a phase reference ("PR") symbol that acts as a pilot symbol for the next symbol. The synchronization channel therefore serves as the reference for the time information carried in the fast information channel, and is repeated at the transmission frame rate.
The PR symbol acts not only as a reference for differential quadrature phase shift key modulation and demodulation for the next OFDM symbol, but also as a pilot symbol for synchronization. As with many communication systems, however, synchronization for a DAB or DVB system at various communication layers, especially frame, carrier, and clock synchronization at the physical layer, is important. Because of various changes in propagation channels for DAB and DVB systems, symbol and carrier synchronization are difficult. Although algorithms and systems for conventional OFDM systems have been devised, they usually require different frame structures or do not provide for frame, carrier, and clock synchronization.

Synchronization method and apparatus for guard interval-based OFDM signals

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method for testing a semiconductor device. The method comprises moving a probe in a vertical direction towards an electrical structure on a semiconductor device to position the probe alongside the electrical structure. A tip of the probe is positioned lower than an elevation of an outermost periphery of the electrical structure. The method also includes moving the probe in a lateral direction towards the electrical structure to contact the electrical structure. The probe tip mechanically and electrically engages the electrical structure.

Current probe designs, including vertical and cantilever probes, suffer from limitations in both design and manufacturing. Considerations include an increasing number of input/output channels, grounds, and power/electrical contact points and a decreasing array pitch size. Such limitations or concerns arise primarily because current probe designs require semiconductor solder bumps or balls to be mechanically engaged by a probe that continues travelling along a path substantially orthogonal to the surface of the semiconductor device even after initial contact. This continuing travel is often called vertical overdrive and is used to ensure each probe contacts a corresponding contact point regardless of local non-planarities, etc. Once an initial contact is established, some probe designs (e.g., cantilever probes) may provide a predictable amount of lateral motion of the probe to scratch a contacted electrical pad to improve the contact. Other probe designs (e.g., vertical probes) do not rely on scratching to ensure adequate probe contact, rather they rely on forming an indentation at the surface of the targeted electrical structure.
Testing solder bumps and solder balls on a semiconductor device may be challenging for both probe configurations, especially when the surface available for testing is substantially semi-spherical. Should a tip of a cantilever probe engage with a solder bump or a solder ball at a trailing edge of the spherical surface (e.g., a location substantially mid-way between the apex and the equator) a local slope may prevent the probe tip from effectively scratching the spherical surface, resulting in the probe tip sliding and straying off the bump. The sliding or straying may also be referred to as scooting. Such scooting or straying in an X and/or Y axis may also be more prevalent when shorter probe shaft lengths are used. In another scenario, a probe tip engaging with a solder bump at a leading edge of its spherical surface, digs into the bump surface rather than merely scratching it. As a result, reactive forces experienced by such probes may vary widely from an intended use, both in direction and magnitude and could lead to premature fatigue and failure of the probes.
Other significant challenges pertain to local non-planarity (height differences) of the individual solder bumps and a leveling of the semiconductor chip, etc. To account for such variations in planarity, vertical or cantilever probes may be designed to accommodate a wide range of vertical overdrive values to ensure a reliable electrical contact across the semiconductor chip (those probes that make physical contact with their respective solder bump need to absorb an amount of overdrive as the probe card continues traveling towards the semiconductor chip to allow other probes to eventually make contact with their respective solder bumps). However, in-plane movements along the shank of the probe itself invariably accompany any vertical tip motion. As the pitch between solder bumps grows smaller, so does the real-estate and a volume of space available for each individual probe. Consequently, an amount of lateral movement of a probe before any location along the probe shank engages mechanically with its direct neighbor solder bump shrinks accordingly. Moreover, as the space allocated for each probe shrinks, it becomes increasingly difficult to construct a mechanical design that allows for large overdrives while maintaining stress levels at any point along the probe below the material maximum yield stress.
As discussed herein, vertical and cantilever probes face a variety of handicaps. Probes are required to provide a vertical overdrive sufficient to ensure desired electrical and mechanical contact with semiconductor devices of increasingly smaller pitches. While also restricting a total volume of material allocated to the probe itself to absorb stresses during operation. Lastly, higher amounts of vertical overdrive sometimes required to guarantee good electrical and mechanical contact at every point on a semiconductor array (e.g., to deal with local non-planarities) may also lead to premature wear or fatigue.

Laterally driven probes for semiconductor testing


An optical switch fabric includes horizontal optical waveguides including a first set and a second set, the first set is configured to receive a first plurality of wavelengths from the one or more external switches and the second set is configured to send a second plurality of wavelengths to the one or more external switches; wavelength-selective drop optical switches associated with the first set, wherein the wavelength-selective drop optical switches are each configured to drop a selected wavelength from a horizontal optical waveguide of the first set to an associated vertical optical waveguide of vertical optical waveguides; and controllable optical switches associated with the vertical optical waveguides, wherein the controllable optical switches are each configured to direct a selected wavelength from a vertical optical waveguide to a horizontal optical waveguide of the second set.

A small data center may include a modest number of server racks, but a large data center may include 100,000 servers or more. There are typically 20-100 servers in a server rack, meaning that 1,000-5,000 server racks are present in such a large data center. These server racks each typically include an electrical switch interconnecting the servers in the server rack, and interconnecting the servers with other servers in the data center. These server rack-level switches are referred to as "top of rack" (TOR) switches. Depending on the number of servers in the data center, the TORs are interconnected through a single layer of electrical core switches, or may require a multi-layer electrical switching architecture. A typical configuration for large data centers is to group the server racks in rows and introduce one or two electrical "end of row" (EOR) switches to provide interconnection of the TOR switches in each row, and to interconnect the rows in the data center. A locally-interconnected group of server racks in a data center is also referred to as a "cluster," a "pod," or the like. Beyond the rows or clusters, there may also be a layer of electrical core switching, or even a multi-layer electrical core switching hierarchy. As server bandwidth grows from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps and beyond, it becomes increasingly difficult to provide adequate electrical switching capability to support all possible server-to-server communication patterns at full bandwidth across a large data center. Therefore, what is still needed in the art are improved systems and methods for the large scale interconnection of electrical switches such as the TORs and the like. Note, other architectures besides TORs/EORs are also used such as middle of rows (MORs)/EORs without TORs, hierarchies without EORs, etc. Each of these architectures also needs improved systems and methods for the large scale interconnection of electrical switches.
A similar interconnect scaling problem exists in multi-chassis routers and electrical switches. That is, data center applications are an exemplary embodiment and generally this interconnect scaling problem can exist with any generalized multi-chassis routers and electrical switches. As network capacity increases, there is a need for increased scaling of non-blocking electrical switches. Switching chassis scale is set by the density of optical interfaces. However, projected network junction bandwidth is anticipated to require multi-chassis switching solutions to reach the required scale, and, in such systems, the multi-chassis interconnects present significant challenges in terms of size, cost, and power dissipation.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical problem observed in a large data center is illustrated in the following example of a "fat tree" architecture. Servers 5 are interconnected to an electrical TOR switch 10 via D server links 11. These server rack-level links 11 are typically electrical. There is a minimum of one link 11 per server 5, but there could be more than one. These links 11 are typically 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) today, but, in the near future, they will be 10 GE and 40 GE. The TOR switches 10 are connected to the core switches 12 (currently electrical) or routers, which provide overall data center interconnect. These links 13 are typically optical (usually at 10 Gbps, but increasing over time) and the number of TOR uplinks, U, is the same as the number of core switches 12 in a minimally-connected two-level tree. It should be noted that there may be multiple uplinks from each TOR switch 10 to the core switches 12 in order to better match the total interface bandwidth on the servers 5. For purposes here, the total number of these uplinks is U. The core port count, C, determines the maximum number of TOR switches 10 that may be interconnected. Additional ports on the core switch 12 must be reserved to bring data into and out of the server cluster, but for purposes here these are ignored.
Thus, the total number of server ports that may be interconnected across a two-level tree is C*D (if D is constant across all TOR-core connections, which is a reasonable simplification). Common practice can achieve full bandwidth interconnection only among a group of the order of 1000 servers in a two level fat tree, while the largest data centers have more than 100,000 servers. Additional layers (typically aggregation switches) may be added if increased capacity is required, but at a substantial increase in overall complexity, cost, and power consumption.
Thus, the scale of modern data centers is such that managing TOR-to-core uplinks becomes very difficult. The sheer number of required interconnect cables leads to management and cost problems. The optical cables become a jumbled mess. Clearly, a more scalable approach is desirable to address both the cabling and core switch count and capacity constraints.

Optical switch fabric for data center interconnections


The method includes inserting a first stopper into the tie reinforcement hole, inserting a polymeric sealing material into the hole; inserting a second stopper into the hole, and pushing the second stopper into the hole until it compresses the polymeric sealing material between the first and second stoppers. A plunger-type device includes a container; a sealed compartment in the container containing a hardenable polymeric component; and a sealed compartment in the container containing a hardener. Another device includes an elongated body having an outside surface and two stopping elements protruding from the outside surface of the elongated body. Another device includes a tube formed of porous material enclosing a) two frangible cells, one containing a hardenable polymeric component and the other containing a hardener and b) a breaking element for breaking open the frangible cells. Another device includes a plug; two sealed compartments inside the plug, one containing a hardenable polymeric component and the other containing a hardener; and an elongated member extending from the plug which is adapted so that, when it is pulled from the plug, the sealed compartments are opened so that their contents may contact each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods for and devices used in sealing tie reinforcement holes found in concrete walls of foundations of buildings and homes, and, more particularly, to methods for and devices used in sealing tie reinforcement holes, which methods and devices use polymeric sealing materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the construction industry, the formation of homes or buildings with basements begins with excavation of the soil to make room for the basement. Especially in the U.S. and Canada, to form the walls of the basement, a wooden framework, called "shuttering", is then constructed. The shuttering is secured in place with steel rods, called "tie reinforcement rods". The shuttering serves as a frame into which concrete is poured and allowed to set to form the walls of the basement.
Once the concrete hardens, the shuttering and tie reinforcement rods are dismantled and removed, leaving holes extending from the inside (the basement side) of the concrete walls to the outside (the soil side) of the concrete walls. It is necessary to seal the tie reinforcement holes to avoid water leakage from the soil side into the basement. After sealing the tie reinforcement holes, soil is back-filled into the excavation cavity surrounding the basement.
Various methods have been presented in the past for sealing the tie reinforcement holes; however there remains a need for easy methods and easy-to-use devices for sealing tie reinforcement holes which are more effective than prior methods and devices.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for sealing tie reinforcement holes in concrete walls.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an easy method and an easy-to-use device for sealing tie reinforcement holes in concrete walls.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a more effective method and a more effective device for sealing tie reinforcement holes than prior methods and devices.

Device used in sealing tie reinforcement holes


Improved sealants and adhesives derived from polyisocyanates having aromatically linked -NCO groups are cured at ambient temperatures when combined with a curing agent comprising an imino- and enamino-functional compound. These two component resin systems may be employed in fabricating multi-substrate laminates, especially those comprising lignocellulosic and cellulosic materials, such as wood and paper.

Various resins have been used in the manufacture of laminated wood and paper structures such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), including plywood, chipboard, particleboard, and paper tubing. An important consideration in the choice of an adhesive for manufacturing said articles is the curing rate and the temperature required for promoting curing. In many cases the billets to be bonded are over three centimeters in thickness. In such cases, the penetration of heat is very slow and requires the consumption of substantial time and energy.
In practice, the most widely used adhesives are resorcinol/phenol formaldehyde type resins which provide excellent adhesion but nevertheless require heat activation and considerable amounts of time to cure. Another drawback encountered in their use is their black color which contributes to an aesthetically less attractive end product. A further drawback to the use of phenolic resin adhesives is that they cannot be used effectively with substrates having high moisture contents. Since many wood substrates have moisture contents of 10% by weight or above, it is necessary to dry the substrates so that they have about a 5% by weight moisture content. When wood substrates are treated to reduce their moisture content, it results in a loss of wood volume and increases the cost and time of producing wood products which employ the phenolic resins.
Isocyanate crosslinked latexes have also been employed as adhesives but their cure rate is relatively slow even with the application of heat. Polyisocyanates have been employed as adhesives for the manufacture of cellulosic materials in the formation of waferboard, fiberboard and paper laminates. Such applications employing polyiso-cyanates normally require temperatures up to 200.degree. C. or more for curing in order to develop acceptable physical bonding strengths.
The use of polyisocyanates and imino- and enamino-functional compounds in reaction injection molding systems is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,129 discloses a reaction system for making a polymer by a reaction injection molding process wherein the system is comprised of an organic aromatic polyisocyanate and an isocyanate reactive composition comprising at least one imino-functional compound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,460 discloses a reaction injection molding system in which the A-component is an organic polyisocyanate and the B-component is an isocyanate reactive component comprising the reaction product of an isocyanate-terminated polyurethane prepolymer and an imino-functional or enamine-containing compound. Neither patent, however, discloses that its reaction systems can be employed as adhesives or sealants.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,791 discloses the preparation of a prepolymer from a mixture comprising, in part, a monoenamine and a polyisocyanate. This prepolymer may then be combined with further polyisocyanate and moisture-cured. U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,454 discloses a single component moisture-curable polyurethane system comprising a polyurethane prepolymer and a polyaldimine. The compositions of these patents may be used as coatings, castings, patchings, and cements. However, neither of these patents disclose the use of the compositions with lignocellulosic or cellulosic materials in the preparation of composite products, such as particleboard.
There is a need for a cold curable resin system which fully cures in a short period of time at room temperature yet has an adequate pot life suitable for commercial production. Ideally, such an adhesive system could be cured within 30 minutes at room temperature, have a working pot life of greater than 5 minutes and provide a bonding strength equal to or greater than the prior art resin systems.
There is also a need for an adhesive which can be employed with high moisture containing substrates, particularly lignocellulosic or cellulosic substrates.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an adhesive/sealant reaction system which can be cold cured.
It is another object to provide an adhesive/sealant reaction system which can be cured at or near room temperature within a relatively short period of time.
It is a further object to provide an adhesive/sealant reaction system which has a working pot life of greater than 5 minutes.
It is also an object to provide an adhesive system which provides a bonding strength equal to or greater than the bonding strength of prior art resin systems.
It is yet another object to provide an adhesive system which may be employed with relatively high moisture containing substrates, such as lignocellulosic or cellulosic substrates.
These and other objects are achieved by the reaction systems of the present invention.

Polyisocyanate adhesive and sealant systems


A reamer shaft extension includes a shaft positioned between a first end having a first coupling and a second end having a second coupling. The first coupling of each reamer shaft extension is selectively couplable with the second coupling of another reamer shaft extension such that a select amount of reamer shaft extensions are assembled together to form a reamer shaft extension assembly for use in a reaming procedure. Each reamer shaft extension further has a sufficiently short enough length such that each reamer shaft extension is insertable within a sterilization tray for use in a sterilization procedure.

In some instances, an anatomic region of the human anatomy may need to be repaired and/or replaced due to injury, stress, degenerative health issues, or various other problems. To perform such a repair and/or replacement on the affected anatomical region, it may be necessary to cut or remove portions of bone and associated tissue matter with a reaming device, or reamer, as shown in FIG. 1. A reamer (50) typically includes a continuous reamer shaft (52) with a reamer tip (54) at the end of the reamer shaft (52) used to cut or bore into the inner canal of a long bone (2) (e.g., femur, tibia, etc.) to clean and create space for an implant to be received and/or to help mend a fractured bone. Before the reaming process, a wire (40) is typically inserted into the space to serve as a guide for receiving the reamer shaft (52).
A reamer shaft generally requires frequent sterilization. During the sterilization process, a sterilization tray may be used to hold the medical equipment being sterilized. Typical dimensions of a sterilization tray are about ten by twenty-one inches in length/width with a depth of about three inches. Because the reamer shaft is of a sufficient length to bore through a long bone, the reamer shaft may be too long to fit into a standard sterilization tray. For instance, FIG. 1 shows that the reamer shaft (52) is longer than the sterilization tray (10). This may add complexity and/or costs during the sterilization of a reamer shaft. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide an extendable reamer shaft that may fit into a standard sterilization tray while having a sufficient length to drill through a long bone.
While a variety of reamer shafts have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used an invention as described herein.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.


An example safety device includes a storage member, a membrane disposed within the chamber, a material disposed within the membrane, and an actuator moveably attached to the membrane. The storage member has a main body that defines a first opening, a chamber, and a windowed portion. Each of the first opening and the windowed portion provides access between the chamber and an environment exterior to the chamber. The membrane has a first configuration and a second configuration. The material is contained within the membrane when the membrane is in the first configuration and is in fluid communication with the environment exterior to the membrane when the membrane is in the second configuration. The actuator is moveable between a first position and a second position such that movement of the actuator results in movement of the membrane from the first configuration to the second configuration.

Self-defense devices have become a necessity for many individuals. Some examples of self-defense devices include bulky pressurized canisters that are handheld contain an irritant, which is sprayed from the canister. Unfortunately, handheld pressurized devices suffer various drawbacks. For example, they can be bulky and their design requires that they be grasped in the hand of the individual and directly oriented toward an assailant during use. As a result, the devices are often stored in an individual's pocket or purse, which requires that the device be located and removed from where it has been stored when the individual is presented with a threat. This process consumes time and can be difficult, especially when an individual is involved in a confrontation. Moreover, once extracted, the individual presented with the threat is further required to orient the device such that any substance emitted is directed toward the assailant. This action is also time consuming and difficult when one has only moments to react.
Therefore, a need exists for improved safety devices and methods of using a safety device.

Safety devices and methods of using a safety device


An improved non-volatile erase block memory device apparatus and method is described that incorporates an improved addressing scheme to provide for extended addressing allowing redundant erase blocks that are not utilized to repair general use erase blocks of the main memory array to be accessed and utilized as additional storage space by an end user. The additional storage space formed by the unused redundant erase blocks and the specified storage space of the main memory array is presented to the end user as a single contiguous address space. Additionally, the redundant erase blocks can be utilized to repair any damaged erase block in the memory array of the non-volatile erase block memory or Flash memory device regardless of bank placement.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal storage areas in the computer. The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the form of integrated circuit chips. There are several different types of memory used in modern electronics, one common type is RAM (random-access memory). RAM is characteristically found in use as main memory in a computer environment. RAM refers to read and write memory; that is, you can both write data into RAM and read data from RAM. This is in contrast to ROM, which permits you only to read data. Most RAM is volatile, which means that it requires a steady flow of electricity to maintain its contents. As soon as the power is turned off, whatever data was in RAM is lost.
Computers almost always contain a small amount of read-only memory (ROM) that holds instructions for starting up the computer. Unlike RAM, ROM cannot be written to. An EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a special type non-volatile ROM that can be erased by exposing it to an electrical charge. EEPROM comprise a large number of memory cells having electrically isolated gates (floating gates). Data is stored in the memory cells in the form of charge on the floating gates. Charge is transported to or removed from the floating gates by specialized programming and erase operations, respectively.
Yet another type of non-volatile memory is a Flash memory. A Flash memory is a type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at a time. A typical Flash memory comprises a memory array, which includes a large number of memory cells. Each of the memory cells includes a floating gate field-effect transistor capable of holding a charge. The data in a cell is determined by the presence or absence of the charge in the floating gate. The cells are usually grouped into sections called "erase blocks". Each of the cells within an erase block can be electrically programmed in a random basis by charging the floating gate. The charge can be removed from the floating gate by a block erase operation, wherein all floating gate memory cells in the erase block are erased in a single operation. For ease of access and management the erase blocks of a non-volatile memory device are typically arranged in "banks" or segments.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of a Flash memory 100 of the prior art. The Flash memory 100 has an address interface 104, a control interface 106, and a data interface 108. Internally to the Flash memory device a control state machine 110 directs internal operation of the Flash memory device; managing the Flash memory array 112 and updating RAM control registers and non-volatile erase block management registers 114. The RAM control registers and tables 114 are utilized by the control state machine 110 during operation of the Flash memory 100. The Flash memory array 112 contains a sequence of memory banks or segments 116. Each bank 116 contains a series of erase blocks 118.
During use of a non-volatile erase block memory device, errors or faults commonly will appear in erase blocks. For this situation, additional erase blocks are typically associated with the memory array beyond the number that is necessary for the memory device to contain its specified data size. The additional extra erase blocks are then utilized by the non-volatile memory device for the replacement of erase blocks that become damaged or corrupted, thus ensuring the availability of the specified data storage during the expected lifetime of the non-volatile erase block memory device. These additional erase blocks are also known as redundant erase blocks or replacement erase blocks.
FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a redundant block control circuitry 200 and redundant erase blocks 202 of a Flash memory of the prior art. In FIG. 2, the redundant block control circuitry 200 is coupled to a number of redundant erase blocks 202 that are associated with each memory bank 204 (in the Flash memory of FIGS. 2, 6 redundant erase blocks for each memory bank of 64 erase blocks). The redundant block control circuitry 200 contains a series of block fuse sets and SRAM latches (not shown) that each correspond to and activate a single redundant erase block 202 in a specific memory bank 204. When a general use erase block 206 of one of the main array banks 204 becomes damaged and must be replaced, an external controller or processor (not shown) operates the Flash memory control circuitry (not shown) to program a redundant block fuse set to replace the damaged main array erase block 206 with a redundant erase block 202. Afterwards, if an address is received at the Flash memory address interface (not shown) that addresses a damaged general use erase block 206, the programmed fuse set (not shown) disables the access to the general use erase block 206 in the main memory array bank 204 and activates its corresponding redundant erase block 202 in the memory array bank 204 for access via the redundant erase block select lines 208. The redundant erase blocks 202 are generally specific to a memory array bank 204 and can only be used to replace damaged erase blocks in that memory array bank. Therefore, a memory array bank 204 that accumulates more damaged general use erase blocks 206 than redundant replacement erase blocks 202 can no longer be repaired even though unused redundant erase blocks 202 exist in other memory array banks 204.
Because of this replacement erase block repair mechanism and the specificity of the redundant erase blocks to the memory banks, manufacturers must construct a much larger memory device and internal memory array banks than are necessary in order to guarantee a minimum available device size. Additionally, because they are not part of the main memory array addressing scheme, until the redundant erase blocks of a non-volatile erase block memory device are utilized in a repair they are unavailable for general use by the end user of the memory device even though they are present in the memory array.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an improved non-volatile memory erase block addressing scheme.


An image processing method for obtaining processed color image signals from image signals on a silver halide photosensitive material, having the following steps: transforming color image signals into a luminance signal and color information signals; applying a high-frequency component suppression processing to the color information signals; decomposing the luminance signal into a luminance low-frequency component signal, a luminance medium-frequency component signal, and a luminance high-frequency component signal; applying a processing, in accordance with requirement, to the luminance low-frequency component signal; applying a suppression processing to the luminance medium-frequency component signal; applying an emphasis processing to the luminance high-frequency component signal; composing a processed luminance signal through combining the processed luminance low-frequency component, the processed luminance medium-frequency component signal, and the processed luminance high-frequency component signal; and transforming the processed luminance signal and the processed color information signals into a set of processed color image signals.

This invention relates to an image processing method to be applied to an image formed by scanning a color photograph to make it a set of color image signals based on a silver halide photosensitive material and an image processing apparatus which is suitable to the use in the practice of said processing method, and in particular, to an image processing method and apparatus requiring a small amount of calculation work and being capable of suppressing a granular noise signal contained in the color image signals and emphasizing the sharpness of the image, while preserving the shade in the periphery of the bridge of the nose and the shade around the eyes, without producing a noise looking like a color deviation (deviation of colors due to a registration error in a color print, hereinafter referred to as a color deviation simply) and a smooth blank makeup face, or without generating a noise looking as if fine powders are scattered.
It is put in practice that an image formed on a color photographic film is photoelectrically read by a CCD image sensor or the like, and transformed into a set of color image signals. Such color image signals, after being subjected to various kinds of image processing typically represented by negative-to-positive reversing, luminance adjustment, color balance adjustment, granular noise removal, and sharpness emphasis, are transmitted through a recording medium such as a CD-R, a floppy disk, or a memory card, or an Internet line, and are outputted as a hard-copy image by a silver halide photographic paper, an ink jet printer, a thermal printer, or the like, or displayed on a recording medium such as a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or a plasma display, to be appreciated.
Generally speaking, a color photographic image is formed by a congregation of dye-clouds of various sizes. Therefore, if the image is observed by enlarging it, it is found that mottled granular unevenness based on the dye-clouds are present in areas which should have a uniform tone originally. Caused by this, in a color image signal which is obtained by photoelectrically reading an image formed on a photographic film by a CCD image sensor or the like, a noise signal corresponding to the unevenness is contained. It has posed the problem that this noise signal became remarkably large accompanied especially by image processing for emphasizing sharpness, which degraded the quality of the image.
As regards a method of removing a noise contained in an image signal, a smoothing method and a method using a median filter are widely known (for example, 'S. Inoue et al, "Learning practical image processing using C language (written in Japanese)", p. 54, published by Ohm Co., Ltd.').
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,903, it is proposed a technology for emphasizing sharpness while suppressing granularity through it that a set of color image signals are transformed into a luminance signal and color information signals, the luminance signal is further decomposed into a low-frequency component and a high-frequency component, non-linear processing is applied to said low-frequency component of the luminance signal, an emphasis processing is applied to said high-frequency component of the luminance signal, and an adjustment processing is separately applied to said color information signals; after that, the low-frequency component of the luminance signal, the high-frequency component of the luminance signal, and the color information signal, which have been processed, are combined to give a set of processed color image signal.
Further, in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application S63-26783, it is proposed a technology for obtaining a natural emphasis processing with a small change of color tone through it that a set of inputted color image signals are transformed into a luminance signal and color information signals, spatial general information is abstracted by applying an averaging filter processing to said luminance signal, spatial detailed information is calculated from the difference between said luminance signal and said spatial general information, and a specified transformation processing is applied to each of said spatial detailed information and said spatial general information; after that, the spatial detailed information, the spatial general information, and said color information signals, which have been already processed, are combined to give a set of processed color image signals.
In the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application H9-22460, it is proposed a technology for emphasizing sharpness while suppressing granularity through it that an inputted image signal is decomposed into a low-frequency component, a medium-frequency component, and a high-frequency component, an emphasis processing is applied to said high-frequency component, while suppression processing being applied to said medium-frequency component, and the processed high-frequency component, the processed medium-frequency component, and the low-frequency component are combined to give a processed image signal. Further, also it is proposed in the same publication a technology for suppressing the roughening of color through abstracting a luminance component from the aforesaid high-frequency component and medium-frequency component in process of the above-mentioned processing, and practicing the above-mentioned emphasis suppression processing on the basis of said luminance component only and composition.
In the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application 2000-215307, it is proposed a technology for suppressing the roughening resulting from granularity and enhancing sharpness through it that a set of inputted color image signals of R, G, and B are decomposed into a low-frequency component, a medium-frequency component, and a high-frequency component, it is obtained a correlation value with respect to corresponding pixels between at least one color set composed of two colors out of the above-mentioned three colors R, G, and B of said medium-frequency component and/or said high-frequency component, a granularity detecting processing using a specified morphology operation is applied to the above-mentioned R, G, and B signals, and an emphasis processing is applied to said high-frequency component, while a suppression processing is applied to said medium-frequency component on the basis of evaluation values composed of the above-mentioned correlation value and the result of the granularity detecting processing using the above-mentioned morphology operation; then, the above-mentioned high-frequency component after the emphasis processing, the above-mentioned medium-frequency component after the suppression processing, and the above-mentioned low-frequency component are combined to compose a signal. Further, also it is proposed in said publication a technology such that, prior to the above-mentioned emphasis processing to the high-frequency component, from the aforesaid medium-frequency component and the aforesaid high-frequency component, a luminance signal concerning said medium-frequency component and a luminance signal concerning said high-frequency component are abstracted respectively, and the aforesaid emphasis processing to the high-frequency component is an emphasis processing to the luminance signal concerning the aforesaid high-frequency component, while the aforesaid suppression processing to the medium-frequency component is a suppression processing to the luminance signal concerning the aforesaid medium-frequency component.
However, because the noise removal by means of a simple filter processing which is widely known is accompanied by the lowering of image sharpness, a satisfactory image cannot be obtained. In a technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,903 or in a technology disclosed in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application S63-26783, although some effect can be recognized in the suppression of granular noise being made worse in a sharpness emphasizing process can be recognized, it is not sufficient, and it cannot be expected to suppress a granular noise for a signal before the processing.
The method disclosed in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application H9-22460 has an effect to eliminate granular unevenness looking mottled in an image by selectively suppressing a medium-frequency component in which a granular noise is mainly present, but because the information on the image structure which is present in the medium-frequency component is suppressed at the same time, for example, the shade in the periphery of the bridge of the nose and that around the eyes tend to be suppressed to give an impression of blurred image of the face. If the high-frequency component is remarkably emphasized for compensating this feeling of blur, the image becomes unsightly due to the generation of fine noises looking like color deviations in the flat areas such as the cheek.
According to the method proposed also in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application H9-22460 in which emphasis suppression processing and combining are practiced on the basis of the luminance component of medium and high frequencies only, the noise looking like a deviation is not generated, but a subtle variation in a reddish color of the skin etc. are also suppressed, which gives an impression of smooth blank makeup face.
Further, in any one of the examples of the embodiment described in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application H9-22460, if it is attempted to enhance the sharpness in fine areas like hairs, the high-frequency component is excessively emphasized, and it is generated a noise looking as if fine powders are scattered over the whole image area.
Further, there is another problem that, in order to separate a low-frequency component from an image signal as intended in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application H9-22460, it is necessary to apply a processing with a very large-sized low-pass filter to every channel of the color signal representing the original image (for example, each of the signal channels of B, G, and R), which makes the load of calculation for the image processing very heavy; this is also a very big problem.
The method proposed in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application 2000-215307 eases somewhat the above-mentioned defect by dynamically controlling the degree of the suppression of the medium-frequency component and the degree of the emphasis of the high-frequency component in accordance with the situation, but it cannot be said that it is sufficient, and it follows the method which has the point of problem in the image quality as it is. From the viewpoint of the amount of calculation, it is needless to say that this method has a heavier load than that proposed in the publication of the unexamined Japanese patent application H9-22460.
On the basis of the above-mentioned situation, it is an object of this invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus requiring a small amount of calculation work and being capable of suppressing a granularity noise signal contained in an color image signal and emphasizing the sharpness of the image at the same time, while preserving the shade in the periphery of the bridge of the nose and the shade around the eyes, without producing a noise looking like a color deviation and a smooth blank makeup face, or without producing a noise looking as if fine powders are scattered.


According to an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing muconic acid ester from aldaric acid ester, and for separating and purifying the produced muconic acid ester by high vacuum distillation in a total heating environment.

Muconic acid (IV) and muconic acid esters (V, VI) may be produced via the hydrodeoxygenation of aldaric acids (I). Aldaric acids, such as galactric acid or glucaric acid, can be produced from pectin, starch and other carbohydrates both edible and non-edible. By converting aldaric acids to muconic acid, a doorway is opened which allows for a wide variety of compounds to be prepared from bio-based resources, which would otherwise be prepared from crude oil stock. WO 2015/189481 describes the production of sugar acid platform chemicals, more precisely muconic acid, from aldaric acid(s) via selective catalytic hydrodeoxygenation. This method can be efficient but it requires a high dilution and catalyst concentration. The resultant product is typically afforded in low to good yield (17-70%), but the methyltrioxorhenium catalyst (MTO) is highly expensive and catalyst reuse is a challenge.

Biotechnically muconic acid can be produced via microorganisms, but the yield is limited to approximately 35% due to the efficiencies inherit in using microorganisms that also require carbohydrate feedstock.
Continuous production of muconic acid from saccharic acid using ammonium perrhenate is also possible (WO 2017/207875), however, this is carried out by using an alternative aldaric acid (glucaric acid) and a continuous flow reactor (CFR) rather than a batch reactor. The CFR has, unlike the batch reactor, a low dilution, low contact time between reagents and catalysts and is also run at a lower temperature. The batch reactor process uses a higher concentration for a predetermined amount of time and at a set temperature where there is greater contact time between reagents and catalyst.
The synthesis of bio-based monomers from sugars and sugar acids is well documented in the scientific and patent literature. However, typically the finer details of downstream processing are absent, chiefly the purification step. Crystallization techniques to afford pure material are often expensive and require a lot of solvent, for example, column chromatography or recrystallization making them unsuitable for large scale-up. Large molecules, especially highly polar compounds such as carboxylic acids, which melt above 100° C. are often prone to destruction upon distillation due to the high temperature needed to vaporize the components, in additions to mechanic problems encountered when distillation products crystallize on cold surfaces normally intended for liquefaction to occur. Muconic acid esters are typically purified by either re-crystallization, which uses a lot of solvent and possess a fire hazard, or by column chromatography, which in turn is slow, uses a lot of solvent and is limited in terms of volume; neither of these methods are suited to industrial scale-up due to safety concerns and environmental concerns.
To suite for polymerization in high-end applications, the monomer itself needs to be of high purity, often greater than 99.5%. Impurities can cause, for example, failure of the polymerization and problems with the final product application. Thus, there is a need for a cost efficient and scalable method for both producing muconic acid from aldaric acids, and for separating and purifying the produced muconic acid (ester) from the crude reaction mixture.

Synthesis and purification of muconic acid ester from aldaric acid esters


A waste gas purification system according to an embodiment includes an adsorption-catalysis-oxidation unit, an enhanced absorption unit, an air inducing unit, and a flue gas discharge and heat exchange unit that are sequentially connected. The waste gas enters a heat exchange device of the flue gas discharge and heat exchange unit through a first waste gas delivery pipeline to perform heat exchange, then is converged with waste gas in a second waste gas delivery pipeline and enters a third waste gas delivery pipeline. Waste gas in the third waste gas delivery pipeline is purified after sequentially passing through the adsorption-catalysis-oxidation unit and the enhanced absorption unit. Purified flue gas is introduced into the flue gas discharge and heat exchange unit by the air inducing unit, and the purified flue gas is discharged after performing heat exchange with the heat exchange device.

In recent years, China's solid waste incineration, biomass combustion, and other industries have developed rapidly, and increasing combustion facilities are put into operation. In addition, with the implementation of industrial policies in which industrial kilns such as cement kilns are used for cooperation with solid waste disposal, a large number of industrial kilns such as cement kilns have been applied to cooperation with solid waste disposal. The implementation of the above policies and technologies plays a huge role in control and treatment of solid waste pollution and environment improvement, but popularization and application of the above policies and technologies also bring some air pollution problems. At present, there are already mature technologies for flue gas treatment in China. For example, dust removal (bag type and electrostatic dust removal), desulfurization (wet desulfurization), denitration (SNCR, SCR) technologies are used to implement standard emission of flue gas pollutants. For treatment of industrial organic waste gases, currently, there are mainly the following types of technologies that may achieve standard emission: absorption, adsorption, catalytic combustion, and the like. However, components of complex waste gases generated by solid waste incineration and the like are more complex than those of conventional flue gas and industrial organic waste gases, include organic components (VOCs) and inorganic components (NOx, SO2, heavy metal, fluoride, chloride, and the like). An existing single flue gas treatment technology may not effectively remove organic components in waste gases, and a pure organic waste gas pollution control technology is not suitable for removal of inorganic components in waste gases, if a conventional flue gas treatment technology and an organic waste gas treatment technology are combined, large space is occupied, a process is complex, investment operating costs are high, and an engineering application is unrealistic.
The Chinese patent 201310017719.1 has disclosed an industrial flue gas treatment system based on advanced oxidation. ultraviolet ray-O3 advanced oxidation+water absorption+alkali absorption+technology to implement removal of pollutants such as SO2, NOx, and Hg, but the process system is complex, many equipment is required, large space is occupied, and removal of pollutants such as NOx and Hg relies only on O3 oxidation, O3 consumption is high, investment operating costs are high, and an effect of removal of organic matters such as VOCs in the process is not described in the patent. The Chinese patent 201711347207.6 has disclosed a honeycomb catalyst for simultaneous denitrification and VOC removal of flue gas and its preparation method. In the patent, based on an existing SCR denitrification technology, a new catalyst is developed for denitrification while removing some VOCs, but this process may not perform desulfurization, dust removal, and fluoride/chloride/heavy metal removal. The Chinese patent 201410033812.6 has disclosed an absorbent for simultaneous desulfurization, denitrification, and VOC removal of flue gas. Through absorption and complexation, the efficiency for removal of SO2 is greater than or equal to 90%, the efficiency for removal of NOx is greater than or equal to 65%, and a VOC removal rate is 80%. However, a heavy metal removal effect in this process is limited, and there is also a problem of secondary volatilization of NOx and VOCs, and the like.
Therefore, for treatment of complex waste gases containing organic and inorganic components, there is a need for economic and efficient treatment technologies. With the increasingly severe situation of environmental protection in China, increasing attention has been paid to the emission of complex waste gases containing organic and inorganic components, and the emission standard will be increasingly strict. Therefore, a widely applicable economical and efficient deep treatment technology for complex waste gases containing organic and inorganic components is developed and popularized for application, and will effectively improve the current situation of industrial waste gas treatment in China and promote the development of the industrial waste gas treatment industry.

Waste gas purification system and method

South China Institute of Environmental Science, MEE