A communication system is provided wherein a user equipment (UE) receives control information from a wireless network. The UE monitors control channel candidates using common reference signals (CRS) and monitors enhanced control channel candidates using demodulation reference signals (DMRS) when the UE is configured in a first transmission mode, such as transmission mode 9, for receiving a downlink shared traffic channel based on DMRS. The UE monitors control channel candidates only using CRS when the UE is configured in a second transmission mode, such as any of transmission modes 1-6, for receiving a downlink shared traffic channel based on CRS. The UE then receives downlink control information (DCI) in a subframe in one of the monitored control channel candidates or enhanced control channel candidates in the subframe.

In current 3GPP LTE (Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution) communication systems, that is, Releases 8, 9, and 10, downlink (DL) control signaling from an eNodeB is received by user equipment (UE) in the first, first two, or first three, or first four symbols of a subframe subsequently referred to as control symbols. The remaining symbols in the subframe, following the control symbols, are typically used for receiving user data. For example, FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary subframe structure of the prior art with three control symbols. Control signaling is spread across an entire carrier bandwidth (for example, 10 Megahertz (MHz)) of the first three symbols of the subframe and is received by the UE on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). User data is received by the UE on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and in select Resource Blocks (RBs) of the PDSCH occupying either in the entire carrier bandwidth or a portion of it.
In order to decode the information sent on PDCCH, the UE needs to perform channel estimation for coherent demodulation of the PDCCH. To perform channel estimation, the UE receives Reference Signals (RSs), for example, pilot symbols, that are Cell-specific reference signals (CRS) and included in the subframe and that are associated with one or more antenna ports. For example, in 3GPP LTE Releases 8, 9, and 10, the UE uses the CRSs associated with one or more of antenna ports 0, 1, 2, and 3 for receiving the PDCCH. The CRS structure for antenna ports 0, 1, 2, and 3 is shown in FIG. 1, wherein RSs labeled R0 are resource elements carrying RSs associated with antenna port 0, RSs labeled R1 are resource elements carrying RSs associated with antenna port 1, RSs labeled R2 are resource elements carrying RSs associated with antenna port 2, and RSs labeled R3 are resource elements carrying RSs associated with antenna port 3. An antenna port is defined such that a channel over which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed. Other signals and channels such as synchronization signals such as Primary/Secondary Synchronization channels (P/S-SCH), broadcast control channels, including primary broadcast control channel (PBCH), etc may also be present in a subframe. Typically, a master information block (MIB) is sent on the Physical Broadcast CHannel (PBCH), the MIB comprises of a portion of a system frame number (SFN), downlink system bandwidth and Physical Hybrid ARQ Channel (PHICH) configuration (such as duration and PHICH resource indicator). In LTE Release-8, the PBCH is sent on subframe 0 (each subframe comprising of two slots, each slot corresponding to a 0.5 milli-second) of a radio frame. The Synchronization signals are transmitted within the inner six PRBs or inner 72 subcarriers (approximately 1.1 MHz) of the carrier bandwidth on subframes 0 and 5 of radio frame. The exact location of the Synchronization signals changes based on the duplex type and Cyclic Prefix length.
For 3GPP LTE Release 10, in order to demodulate user data (sent on PDSCH), the UE can either use the RSs associated with antenna ports 0, 1, 2, and 3 or it can use RSs associated with other antenna ports, such as antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, that is, the UE can use RSs associated with all or a subset of these antenna ports, based on the transmission scheme used for PDSCH reception (in turn, the transmission scheme depends on configuration signaling from a serving eNodeB). The RSs associated with antenna ports antenna ports 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are typically referred to as "UE specific reference signals (UERSs)" or "Demodulation reference signals (DMRSs)" or "Dedicated reference signals (DRS)." The RSs associated with antenna ports 0, 1, 2, and 3 are typically referred to as "Common Reference Symbols (CRSs)." In transmission schemes based on CRS, the UE may use one or more of antenna ports 0, 1, 2, 3 and for transmission schemes based on DMRS, the UE may use antenna ports one or more of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. The actual number of spatial transmission layers and the associated antenna ports when using DMRS to decode PDSCH may be determined by the UE based on the downlink control channel (DCI) information associated with PDSCH. Typically, both CRS and DMRS are not simultaneously used to demodulate data in PDSCH. While the CRSs are sent across the entire carrier bandwidth by the eNodB, DMRSs can only be present in those RBs for which the UE has a PDSCH assignment. Therefore, when receiving PDSCH using DMRS, the UE can only use the DMRS present on those RBs for which it has a PDSCH assignment.
For 3GPP LTE Release 11 (the next generation LTE system), it is envisioned that new DL control signaling will be sent by the eNodeB to the UE in symbols that span a first time slot of the subframe or in symbols that span both the first and second time slots of the subframe. The new DL control signaling is generally referred to as Enhanced-PDCCH (EPDCCH). Unlike the PDCCH, which is transmitted across the entire channel bandwidth, a UE is expected to receive the EPDCCH in a set of RBs that may span only a portion of the carrier bandwidth in frequency domain. Also, unlike the PDCCH, which is received by the UE using CRS, it is envisioned that the EPDCCH can be received by the UE using DMRS
The new DL control signaling, that is, the EPDCCH, is expected to be used to complement the downlink control channels, that is, the PDCCH, of the existing 3GPP LTE Releases 8/9/10 for supporting features of Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) Release 11+, such as CoMP (Coordinated Multi-point Transmissions) and enhanced Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) techniques, including Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO). EPDCCH can allow advanced control channel transmission schemes such as beamformed frequency-selective control transmission, dedicated control transmission to a user via use of DMRS, spatially multiplexed control channel transmission to a single user MIMO (SU-MIMO) and MU-MIMO control transmission.
To receive EPDCCH, the UE has to perform blind decoding for several EPDCCH candidates, that is, EPDCCH signals that are possibly intended for the UE. In 3GPP LTE Release 10, in order to receive the PDCCH, the UE performs a maximum of 44 (60 if configured for uplink (UL) MIMO) blind decodes for the primary cell in each non-DRX (discontinuous reception) subframe. If the UE is configured for carrier aggregation (CA), the UE performs 32 additional blind decodes for each configured and activated secondary cell. In order to also receive the EPDCCH, the number of blind decodes that the UE has to perform increases significantly, imposing a significant time and processing load burden in the UE
Therefore, a need exists for mechanisms that ensure that the blind decoding complexity at the UE to receive both a PDCCH and an EPDCCH is kept at a reasonable level.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. Those skilled in the art will further recognize that references to specific implementation embodiments such as "circuitry" may equally be accomplished via replacement with software instruction executions either on general purpose computing apparatus (e.g., CPU) or specialized processing apparatus (e.g., DSP). It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Method and apparatus for control channel transmission and reception


A process of producing a diffraction grating comprises the steps of forming a coating layer on a first diffraction grating layer of a resin formed on a substrate without damaging the diffraction grating layer, removing a portion of the coating layer positioned on the first diffraction grating layer by etching to form a second diffraction grating layer of the coating layer having the reverse phase to that of the first diffraction grating layer, removing the first diffraction grating layer, and etching the substrate with a mask of the second diffraction grating layer, so that the diffraction grating having the reverse phase can be easily produced. When the first diffraction grating layer is left and both the first and second diffraction grating layers are used as a mask, the diffraction grating having a period half times as large as that of the first grating layer can be easily produced.

The present invention relates to a process of producing diffraction gratings for use in distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers and more particularly to a process of producing a diffraction grating having an intermediate portion such as a quarter-wavelength shift portion where a phase is reversed.
FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) show a conventional process of producing a diffraction grating, disclosed in, e.g., Technical Research Report OQE85-11 of Japan Electronic Communication Society or in a publication "Optical Integrated Circuits", p216, by Nishihara et al, Ohm Ltd. 1960. In FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), there is shown a substrate 1 made of semiconductor material, together with a photosensitive resist 2 in the form of a diffraction grating. More specifically, FIG. 1(a) shows the photosensitive resist patterned into the form of a diffraction grating by the two-luminous-flux interference exposure method, whereas FIG. 1(b) shows the substrate 1 etched into the form of a diffraction grating while using the resist 2 as a mask.
Referring to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the conventional process of manufacture will subsequently be described. The photosensitive resist is first applied onto the substrate 1 and the two-luminous-flux interference exposure method is employed to subject the resist to the exposure of interference fringes. Then, the resist is developed. As a result, the resist 2 patterned into the form of a diffraction grating is formed on the substrate 1 as shown in FIG. 1(a). Subsequently, the substrate 1 is etched with a mask of the resist 2 to form the diffraction grating as shown in FIG. 1(b).
In the conventional process of producing a diffraction grating, the interference exposure method simultaneously using positive and negative resists, the asymmetrical interference exposure method using a phase shift membrane, etc. must be utilized to produce the diffraction grating having a phase shift such as quarter-wavelength shift, which causes disadvantages that the process becomes complicated, interference exposure conditions becomes severe and so forth.

Process of producing diffraction grating


The present invention provides a self-enhancement plastic profile and a production method thereof. The self-enhancement plastic profile is made by co-extrusion a substrate resin and a PBT resin containing fiber glass. The production method of the self-enhancement plastic profile is that: melting and co-extrusion of the substrate resin and the PBT resin containing fiber glass. Infrastructures comprise a main engine and an auxiliary engine vertically arranged to the main engine. The main engine processes the PVC substrate (1), the auxiliary engine processes an enhancement bar (2) of the PBT resin containing fiberglass, the raw materials are extruded by the main engine and the auxiliary engine at the same and the extrudate is pre-profiled, and subjected to cold cutting and sized. The enhancement bar (2) is made by blending the fiberglass with the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) plastic. The self-enhancement plastic profile has advantages of simple, convenient and quick installation and convenient to produce.

Doors and windows on a building sustain the influences from the environment which are mainly wind pressure and invasion of rain and snow, and also sustain the opening and closing force while in use as well as self gravity. The wind force is the main reason that enables the rod pieces (cross bar, vertical stile and window lattice serving as lattice profiles), frames and sashes to bend and deform. Safety of the doors and windows are mainly decided by the ability of the doors and windows for sustaining the wind force, and is usually measured according to the gas pressure value sustained in unit area.
The mechanical properties of rigid PVC plastic which is namely a PVC profile is far poorer than that of steel, aluminum and wood. Particularly, the bending strength of the PCV profile is only ¼ of that of the wood product, 1/28 of that of the aluminum product and 1/84 of that of the steel product; under the same section shape and size, the bending property of the PVC profiled bar is much poorer than that of the aluminum profiled bar and the steel profiled bar. In order to makeup this defect, one important measure is to additionally arrange steel enhancement profiled bar which is namely a steel lining in the empty cavity of the PVC profile.
Additionally arranging the steel lining can solve the problem of insufficient intensity of the PVC profile, but also brings some negative defects.
Usually, the steel linings and the PVC profiles are separately stored. When installing the doors and windows, the installation personnel needs to fix the steel linings and the PVC profiles in the job site, thus increasing the assembling procedure of installing the doors and windows. Moreover, the site installation personnel need to have corresponding technologies and proficiency. Consumption of a number of steel products causes severe wastes inevitably. Moreover, there are certain requirements for storage and transportation of the steel products, for example, attention needs to be paid to water prevention, keeping cleanness of the steel products, and keeping far away from articles having corrosion effect, and the like. More importantly, because the steel lining is metal which is a good conductor of heat, the heat transfer coefficient of the PVC doors and windows is increased, and the thermal insulation performance of the PVC doors and windows is reduced, which is not beneficial for thermal insulation and energy conservation.

Self-enhancement plastic profile and production method thereof

DALIAN SHIDE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


This invention relates to the generation of synthetic speech and specifically to the production of a digital waveform from a text in phonemes. The invention uses a linked database which comprises an extended text in phonemes and its equivalent in the form of a digital waveform. The two portions of the database are linked by a parameter which establishes equivalent points in both the phoneme text and the digital waveform. The input text (in phonemes) is analyzed to locate matching portion in the phoneme portion of the database. This matching utilises exact equivalence of phonemes where this is possible; otherwise relation between phonemes is utilised. The selection process identifies input phonemes in context whereby improved conversions are obtained. Having analyzed the input text into matching strings in the input form of the database beginning and ending parameters for the sections are established. The output text is produced by abutting sections of the digital waveform and defined by the beginning and ending parameters.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to synthetic speech and more particularly to a method of synthesising a digital waveform from signals representing phonemes.
II. Related Art and Other Considerations
There are many circumstances, e.g. in telephone systems, where it is convenient to use synthesised speech. In some applications the starting point is an electronic representation of conventional typography, eg. a disk produced by a word processor. Many stages of processing are needed to produce synthesised speech from such a starting point but, as a preliminary part of the processing, it is usual to convert the conventional text into a phonetic text. In this specification the signals representing such a phonetic text will be called xe2x80x9cphonemesxe2x80x9d. Thus this invention addresses the problem of converting the signals representing phonemes into a digital waveform. It will be appreciated that digital waveforms are common place in audio technology and digital-to-analogue converters and loud speakers are well known devices which enable digital waveforms to be converted into acoustic waveforms.
Many processes for converting phonemes into digital waveforms have been proposed and it is conventional to do this by means of a linked database comprising a large number of entries, each having an access portion defined in phonemes and an output portion containing the digital waveform corresponding to the access phonemes. Clearly all the phonemes should be represented in the access portions but it is also known to incorporate strings of phonemes in addition. However, existing systems only take into account the phoneme strings contained in the access portions and do not further take into account the context of the strings.
This invention, which is defined in the claims, uses a linked database to convert strings of phonemes into digital waveform but it also takes into account the context of the selected phoneme strings. The invention also comprises a novel form of database which facilitates the taking into account of the context and the invention also includes the method whereby the preferred database strings are selected from alternatives stored therein.

Synthesising speech by converting phonemes to digital waveforms

British Telecommunications public limited company


Methods and arrangements for controlling modes of audio devices according to user selectable features are disclosed. The system can receive a user selection for an alternate mode for audio device. A monitor can monitor audio levels in a physical area and the system can automatically switch an audio device from a current mode to the alternate mode when the monitored audio level exceeds a predetermined threshold. The alternate mode can provide a higher audio level or volume than the current mode. The alternate mode can also be a closed caption mode, a record mode, and a transcript mode to name a few. Thus, when the ambient sound level reaches a predetermined level many audio devices can change modes based on user configured instructions.

The ability to hear a single important piece of information when multiple communications are in process is critical to many. For example, if one is listening to the radio or watching television and the phone rings, many would prefer to hear their phone ring so that they do not miss an important phone call. In another instance, someone may be watching a stock market report on television, trying to decide if they should buy or sell some stock when someone else in the home starts to blend a drink, vacuum a carpet or start some other household appliance that creates a significant amount of ambient noise. When this occurs, the listener/watcher often misses the desired content because the ambient or background noise obscures the desired content. Oddly enough, the ambient noise level in a home often becomes very high just as the information that the watcher has been waiting for is presented.
Another common phenomenon is when a sports fan is watching sports highlights or an important game and the furnace or air conditioning starts up, or someone comes into the room and blurts out a question, raising the ambient noise level such that the sports fan misses an important piece of information. Generally, as the noise level in a listening area increases the comprehensibility of the audio emitted from any given device decreases. To properly accommodate a listener, a constant manual adjustment of the audio level of devices is required by the user to make sure that audio devices are not too loud such as to annoy or too soft such that user misses or cannot hear desired information. Often a listener will not have a remote control for the audio device in hand to instantaneously adjust the volume based on any increase in the ambient noise level of audio. Even with a remote in a listener's hand, a user will often not be quick enough to increase the volume before the important information is missed because such phenomenon can happen very quickly.
Automatic volume control mechanisms have been utilized in telephone devices and in other audio devices such as car radios. More specifically, some convertible top cars have audio systems that increase the volume of the radio as the speed of the car increases. Such systems compensate for road and wind noise; however, these systems typically do not sense the ambient noise, but just relate the speed of the vehicle to the audio level provided.
This method of automatic volume control has many drawbacks. First, the ambient noise level is assumed based on testing and such a system does not utilize the actual ambient level to control the volume. If such a system utilized the ambient level, every time the driver talked to his passenger the radio volume would rise to the point where the driver could not carry on a conversation with the passenger. Also if a cell phone would ring the radio would increase its volume and the driver may not be able to carry on a conversation. Thus, an auto volume adjust system without some additional form of control would be impractical.

Systems and arrangements for controlling modes of audio devices based on user selectable parameters

International Business Machines Corporation


A manufacturing method of an organic electronic device of the present invention, includes: a removing step of removing a volatile component from a flexible base material; a fixing step of fixing the flexible base material onto a support substrate via an adhesive layer; and a forming step of forming a device main body sequentially including a first electrode layer, at least one organic functional layer, and a second electrode layer on the flexible base material that is fixed onto the support substrate, on a side opposite to the support substrate, in this order, in which a vapor pressure of the volatile component is greater than or equal to 101325 Pa within a temperature range from 20° C. to a melting point of a parent resin of the flexible base material.

An organic electronic device such as an organic electroluminescence device (hereinafter, may be referred to as an "organic electro luminescence (EL) device"), an organic photoelectric conversion element, and an organic thin film transistor includes an organic thin film having a predetermined function, and the organic thin film is supported on a flexible base material.
As a method of manufacturing the organic electronic device, a solution of a functional material is applied onto the flexible base material, and then, is heated, and thus, a functional layer such as a light emitting layer is sequentially formed, and the organic electronic device is manufactured (Patent Literature 1).

Method for manufacturing organic electronic device


A molding die includes an upper die, upper-die pins arranged in the upper die to be movable up and down, springs arranged in the upper die to urge the upper-die pins downwardly, a lower die, lower-die pins arranged in the lower die to be movable up and down and springs arranged in the die to urge the pins upwardly. In molding, a hollow primary molded piece is accommodated in a cavity defined by the upper die and the lower die. Then, the piece is mounted on the pins with retained apart from a concave bottom surface of the lower die. Before closing the molding die, it is started to inject molten resin into the cavity. As a result, the molten resin enters a space between the primary molded piece and the concave bottom surface of the lower die. Even after completing to close the molding die, the injection of the molten resin is continued.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insert molding die for molding a hollow component and an insert molding method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when producing such a hollow component by insert molding using molten resin, it is first performed to open a molding die having an upper die and a lower die and successively, a primary molded piece is accommodated in the lower die. Here noted, this primary molded piece is an element to form a hollow part in the hollow component. After positioning the primary molded piece in the lower die, the upper and lower dies are closed to complete the molding die. In this state, it is started to inject molten resin into a cavity defined in the molding die. In this way, the cavity is filled up with molten resin (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-6348).
In the above-mentioned molding method, however, if the primary molded piece is also a hollow element, there is a possibility that to fill the cavity with molten resin while closing the molding die completely allows the primary molded piece to be subjected to excessive injection pressure thereby causing the primary molded piece to be deflected or collapsed. Additionally, the arrangement of the primary molded piece on the concave bottom surface of the lower die may cause a problem of short shot since the underside of the primary molded piece is not supplied with molten resin.

Insert molding die and method for molding hollow component


A power saving type information processing apparatus is provided which is not expensive and can provide a high interruption performance without using an expensive and dedicated memory and a complicated software process. After an SDRAM setting register of an SDRAM controller outputs a SELF allowance signal for allowing SDRAM to transfer to a power saving mode from a normal operation mode, a WAITI command fetch detecting circuit outputs a WAITI command detecting signal. In this case, SDRAM is made to transfer to the power saving mode. If a CPU detects an external interruption while SDRAM is in the power saving mode, SDRAM is returned to the normal operation mode irrespective of settings of the SDRAM setting register.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a power saving controlling method and a storage medium, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus with a central processing unit and a main memory having a power saving mode, a power saving controlling method and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power saving type CPU's have been widely used in information processing apparatus having a power saving mode and a normal operation mode wherein the power saving mode is activated when a power saving mode transfer command (WAITI command) is executed and the operation mode is returned to the normal operation mode when a hardware interruption is input. In order to reduce a power consumption of the whole apparatus, a power saving mode is used for each of the constituent element of the system, and the power saving mode is activated for each constituent element not used during the operation of the apparatus.
A main memory for storing programs and data to be used by a CPU is a constituent element which consumes a large power. Various power saving modes for the main memory have been proposed. For example, the operation mode of a main memory using a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) can be switched to a power saving mode by issuing a self refresh entry command (SELF command) to SDRAM.
Switching to such power saving mode is generally performed by the settings of CPU. In order to make the whole apparatus transfers to the power saving mode, first the main memory is required to transfer to the power saving mode by setting with CPU and then CPU itself is required to transfer to the power saving mode. However, in order for CPU itself to transfer to the power saving mode, it is necessary to execute a WAITI command. This WAITI command is generally stored in the main memory so that the main memory is required to be in the normal operation mode when the WAITI command is fetched.
When the operation mode is to be returned to the normal operation mode from the power saving mode by a hardware interruption, it is necessary for CPU first to make settings so that the main memory can recover the normal operation mode. However, immediately after CPU returns to the normal operation mode, CPU fetches a command for an interruption handler from the main memory. It is necessary that the main memory is in the normal operation mode at this time.
In order to satisfy the above-described requirements, in conventional arts, the main memory is divided into a static memory having a small capacity and a low consumption power such as a ROM and an SRAM, and an SDRAM having a large capacity. A routine for executing the WAITI command and an interruption handler are made always resident in the small capacity memory or they are transferred to the small capacity memory immediately before the transfer to the power saving mode.
In the information processing apparatus, it is generally necessary for CPU to fetch a command at a reset vector address immediately after the power is turned on. From this reason, the apparatus is provided with an inexpensive ROM (boot ROM) as a portion of the main memory. In a partial field of the boot ROM, the execution routine for the WAITI command and the interruption handler are fixedly written beforehand to configure the apparatus without providing a dedicated memory to the transfer to the power saving mode. Alternatively, if a CPU has a command cache, the operation mode is transferred to the power saving mode after the execution routine for the WAITI command and the interruption handler are locked down in the command cache. Namely, instead of using a dedicated SRAM, the command cache is used for the same purpose.
The above-conventional arts are, however, associated with the following problems. An inexpensive ROM has a longer access time than a RAM. Therefore, a command sequence in ROM is processed slower than a command sequence in RAM. If the interruption handler is fixedly written in ROM, not only a process regarding the transfer from the power saving mode but also a process regarding a usual interruption process becomes slow. This problem is critical for information processing apparatus, particularly those performing a real time process.
An approach to providing a dedicated SRAM results in a rise of the apparatus cost because of expensive SRAM.
An approach to utilizing a command cache results in a large process overhead and a low process speed, because each time the operation mode transfers to the power saving mode, a necessary routine or handler is locked down in the cache by using a specific cache operation command. Further, software for handling the cache is likely to become complicated and debugging is difficult. Locking down in the cache means a substantial reduction of the field for storing other commands, which results in a lower hit rate of the cache and a lower performance.

Information processing apparatus with central processing unit and main memory having power saving mode, and power saving controlling method


A biometrics authentication system that performs individual authentication in use of biometrics information facilitates authentication operation and reduces authentication errors. A storage unit stores therein the shape of the body part of the user, of which is captured at the time of registration of biometrics data, and a display unit displays the body part shape from the time of registration when authenticating the user for directly identifying the state of image capture of the body part at the time of registration and for guiding into a state of image capture of the body part similar to the state at the time of registration. The body part can be guided effectively such that the circumstances of body part image capture at the time of authentication and at the time of registration are in agreement, for improved verification efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a biometrics system and biometrics method utilizing characteristics of a portion of the human body to perform individual authentication, and in particular relates to a biometrics system and biometrics method which guide a body part into a state of registration when detecting biometrics information for use in verification against registered biometrics information.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exist numerous portions of the human body, such as fingerprints and toeprints, the retinas of the eyes, facial features, and blood vessels, which can be used to discriminate individuals. Advances in biometrics technology in recent years have been accompanied by the appearance of various devices to recognize the characteristics of such portions of human bodies and perform individual authentication.
Methods of individual authentication through biometrics have been provided which utilize facial features, the iris of the eye, blood vessels in the palm and fingers, finger prints and palm-prints, and similar. These methods have been used in various fields as individual authentication methods affording a high level of security.
For example, comparatively large amounts of individual characteristic information are obtained from blood vessels in the palm and back of the hand, and blood vessel (vein) patterns remain unchanged throughout life from infancy and are regarded as being completely unique, and so are well-suited to individual authentication. Such individual authentication methods are here explained. At the time of registration or of authentication the user brings his palm into proximity with an image capture device. The image capture device emits near-infrared rays, which are incident on the palm of the hand. The image capture device uses a sensor to capture near-infrared rays rebounding from the palm of the hand.
Hemoglobin in the red corpuscles flowing in the veins has lost oxygen. This hemoglobin (reduced hemoglobin) absorbs near-infrared rays. Consequently when near-infrared rays are made incident on the palm of a hand, reflection is reduced only in the areas in which there are veins, and the intensity of the reflected near-infrared rays can be used to identify the positions of veins.
At the time of biometrics registration, a user first utilizes an image capture device to register vein image data for the palm of his own hand on a server and on a card. Then, in order to perform individual authentication, the user utilizes an image capture device to cause reading of vein image data for his own palm. The registered vein image retrieved using the user's ID is verified against the vein pattern of the vein verification image thus read to perform individual authentication (see for example Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-062826).
In such biometrics information detection, the body part can be moved freely with respect to the image capture device, and in particular, the hand, face, and fingers can be moved freely. On the other hand, it is necessary for precise verification that the body part for detection be positioned within the range of image capture of the image capture device. As such a method, a method for detecting, at the time of authentication, the position and orientation of the hand upon each image capture, and using a display or voice output to notify the user that the hand position or orientation is inappropriate (see for example WO 04/021884), and a method of displaying a hand shape or other standard shape-pattern, and for guiding the user in the mode of image capture, have been proposed (see for example WO 04/021884 (FIG. 3) and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-273948).
Methods which include the shape of the hand in verification based on blood vessel images have also been proposed. That is, methods have been proposed in which, at the time of registration the shape of the hand is also registered in advance, and at the time of verification a judgment is made as to whether the shape of the hand for which an image is captured is similar to the shape of the hand at the time of registration, and if the degree of similarity is low, blood vessel image verification is not performed, but if the degree of similarity is high, blood vessel image verification is performed (see for example WO04/021884).
In the former technology of the prior art, a standard shape is displayed, and the user is guided to an appropriate image capture mode; or, an image of detection of the body part is used in analysis to determine whether the detected body part is in the appropriate image capture range, and guidance is provided. However, when such guidance is performed, if the circumstances of body part detection at the time of registration differ from the circumstances of body part image capture at the time of authentication despite this guidance into the image capture range, satisfactory verification results cannot be obtained.
Examples in which the circumstances of image capture of a body part are different during registration and during authentication include, for example, in the case of authentication using the palm of the hand, a degree of difference in the spreading of the fingers at the time of registration and at the time of authentication; and in the case of authentication using facial features, different orientations of the face, or the presence and absence of glasses, at the time of registration and at the time of authentication. Thus even when the position and orientation of the hand or face are similar, often the verification results fail to match.
In the latter technology of the prior art, the shape of a hand is used together with an authentication algorithm, so that when there is authentication failure, the user does not directly understand the cause, and often it is not possible to determine how the body part should be guided with respect to the image capture device. In particular, persons with little experience with the device, and elderly and other persons, will tend to experience inconvenience.
In general, the user does not remember the state of image capture of the body part at the time of registration, and moreover the user will have a strong aversion to being forced into a strictly defined state (position or similar) of the body part for image capture at the time of registration. Consequently from the standpoint of the device manufacturer, because there are cases in which unanticipated events occur and verification errors may arise, it is expected that in such cases, if the user, if the individual in question, will lose confidence in such biometrics authentication. Particularly when used in automated equipment (automated cash transaction machines, automated vending machines, in entrance doors to dwellings, and similar), because dedicated personnel are not on site, trouble is incurred in determining the cause of the problem, giving rise to a further loss of confidence in biometrics authentication.


Integrated circuits having replacement metal gates with improved threshold voltage performance and methods for fabricating such integrated circuits are provided. A method includes providing a dielectric layer overlying a semiconductor substrate. The dielectric layer has a first and a second trench. A gate dielectric layer is formed in the first and second trench. A first barrier layer is formed overlying the gate dielectric layer. A work function material layer is formed within the trenches. The work function material layer and the first barrier layer are recessed in the first and second trench. The work function material layer and the first barrier layer form a beveled surface. The gate dielectric layer is recessed in the first and second trench. A conductive gate electrode material is deposited such that it fills the first and second trench. The conductive gate electrode material is recessed in the first and second trench.

Transistors such as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) or simply field effect transistors (FETs) or MOS transistors are important building blocks of the vast majority of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs). An FET includes source and drain regions between which a current can flow through a channel under the influence of a bias applied to a gate electrode that overlies the channel. Some semiconductor ICs, such as high performance microprocessors, can include millions of FETs. For such ICs, decreasing transistor size and thus increasing transistor density has traditionally been a high priority in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Transistor performance, however, must be maintained even as the transistor size decreases.
A FINFET is a type of transistor that lends itself to the goals of reducing transistor size while maintaining transistor performance. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the FINFET 200 is a non-planar, three dimensional transistor formed in part in a thin fin 212 that extends upwardly from a semiconductor substrate 214. FIG. 1 shows only one gate 216 and two fins 212 for simplicity although typically an integrated circuit can have thousands of fins and gates. The semiconductor substrate may be a bulk silicon wafer from which the fin structures are formed or may be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer disposed on a support substrate. The SOI wafer includes a silicon oxide layer and a silicon-containing material layer overlying the silicon oxide layer. The fin structures are formed from the silicon-containing material layer. The fin structures are typically formed using conventional photolithographic or anisotropic etching processes (e.g., reactive ion etching (RIE) or the like). The vertical gate 216 is disposed over the fins such that the two vertical sidewalls 218 of the fin form the channel of the transistor.
Replacement metal gate (RMG) processing is often used during FinFET formation. FIGS. 2-5 illustrate a conventional method for forming a portion of an integrated circuit 10 with a p-channel FET (PFET) 12 and an n-channel FET (NFET) 14 using an RMG process. Referring to FIG. 2, a dielectric material layer 16 overlies a semiconductor material 18. The semiconductor material is a fin structure of a non-planar transistor, such as, for example, a FinFET. The dielectric material layer is, for example, a silicon oxide. A first trench 20 corresponding to the PFET 12 and a second trench 22 corresponding to the NFET 14 are formed in the dielectric material layer 16. A gate dielectric layer 24 is deposited within the trenches. A first barrier material layer or combination of layers 26 is deposited overlying the gate dielectric layer 24 and a second barrier material layer or combination of layers 28 is deposited overlying the first barrier material layer or combination of layers 28. The first barrier material layer or combination of layers 26, for example, may be tantalum nitride overlying titanium nitride and the second barrier material layer or combination of layers 28, for example, may be titanium nitride. A mask material 30 is deposited overlying second barrier material layer or combination of layers 28 and a photoresist 32 is formed overlying mask material 30.
Referring to FIG. 3, the photoresist is patterned and the mask material 30 is correspondingly etched to cover a portion of the second barrier material layer 28 in trench 20. The second barrier material layer 28 then is etched from trench 22 and a portion of trench 20. Referring to FIG. 4, the photoresist 32 and the mask material 30 are removed and a work function material 34 is then conformally deposited within the trenches 20 and 22. The work function material, for example, is titanium aluminum (TiAl). An additional TiN layer (not shown) is deposited overlying the work function material, followed by the deposition of a gate electrode material 36, such as tungsten. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a recess etch is performed to recess the gate electrode material 36 within the trenches 20 and 22.
The convention process of RMG results in high aspect ratio trenches that are difficult to fill. As illustrated in FIG. 5, deposition of tungsten often results in voids within the tungsten gate electrodes. If a void is present in a gate electrode, etch back of the gate electrode to remove the void results in removal of more of the gate electrode than is desired. In turn, such etch back of the tungsten to remove the voids results in gate electrode height variability. In addition, the conventional process leaves gate dielectric "stringers" 40. The stringers cannot be removed at this stage because, if the gate dielectric is hafnium oxide or a similar high-k dielectric constant material as is often the case, wet etching is ineffective to remove the stringers and a dry plasma etch of the gate dielectric stringers will damage the titanium nitride and tantalum nitride layers of the NFET 14. These defects are considered detrimental to threshold voltage performance.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods for fabricating integrated circuits having replacement metal gates with improved threshold voltage performance. In addition, it is desirable to provide integrated circuits having replacement metal gates with improved threshold voltage performance. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Integrated circuits having replacement metal gates with improved threshold voltage performance and methods for fabricating the same


An electronic device and a control method enable easily inputted characters or numbers to be converted and used in an application. When characters are inputted via input keys and the inputted characters are determined to match at least part of prescribed characters stored in a memory, a control unit keeps the inputted characters displayed on a display unit while also displaying, on the display unit, prescribed numbers associated with the prescribed characters. Then, with the inputted characters and prescribed numbers displayed on the display unit, if an instruction is given to start up an application related to the inputted characters and prescribed numbers, the control unit starts up the application, inputting either the inputted characters or the prescribed numbers.

Conventionally, an electronic device such as a portable telephone device includes operation keys with which characters and numerical characters can be input, and realizes input of characters and numerical characters by switching between a character input mode for inputting characters and a numerical character input mode for inputting numerical characters.
As an example of such an electronic device, an electronic device has been proposed that, in a case in which a country name is input in a character input mode and then a telephone number is input in a numerical character input mode, places an international call by converting the country name thus input to a corresponding country code (see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. H11-341139

Electronic device and control method therefor


A system and method of providing seamless interoperability for a mobile station roaming between cellular telecommunication systems operating in multiple hyperbands such as the 1900-MHz PCS hyperband and the 800-MHz cellular telephone hyperband, utilizing United States cellular standards. An enhanced inter-exchange communications protocol based on IS-41 is utilized to communicate information required for seamless interoperability between mobile switching centers (MSCs). The enhanced inter-exchange communications protocol comprises a plurality of signaling messages and a plurality of modified message parameters within the signaling messages. The modified message parameters are modified to include information elements required for seamless interoperability between the multi-hyperband capable exchanges and are added as optional (overriding) parameters to the signaling messages.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cellular telecommunications networks and, more particularly, to a cellular telecommunications network utilizing United States cellular standards and providing seamless interoperability between exchanges operating in both 800-MHz and 1900-MHz hyperbands.
2. Description of Related Art
North American cellular telecommunications networks have traditionally operated in two frequency bands (A and B) in the 800-MHz hyperband. The most recent evolution in cellular telecommunications involves the adoption of six additional frequency bands (A-F) in the 1900-MHz hyperband for use in handling mobile and personal communications. The 1900-MHz hyperband is also known as the Personal Communication Services (PCS) hyperband. Frequency bands within the 800-MHz hyperband and the 1900-MHz hyperband are defined in EIA/TIA Standard IS-136 and the PN3388-1 and PN3388-2 Specifications, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Other standards which define cellular telephone operations in North America include EIA-627, EIA-553, and the intersystem signaling standard IS-41 which are also incorporated by reference herein.
Each of the frequency bands specified for the cellular and PCS hyperbands is allocated a plurality of voice or speech channels and at least one access or control channel. The control channel is used to control or supervise the operation of mobile stations by means of information transmitted to and received from the mobile stations. Such information may include, but is not limited to, incoming call signals, outgoing call signals, page signals, page response signals, location registration signals, voice channel assignments, maintenance instructions, short message service (SMS) messages, and cell selection or reselection instructions as mobile stations travel out of the radio coverage of one cell and into the radio coverage of another cell. The voice channel is used to carry subscriber telephonic communications as well as messages requesting mobile station assistance in making hand-off evaluations. The control and voice channels may operate in either an analog mode or a digital mode.
Existing cellular telephone networks may simultaneously support radio telecommunications on multiple frequency bands. For example, a mobile switching center (MSC) may control transmission and reception equipment at a base station to operate one cell in the 800-MHz hyperband and another cell in the 1900-MHz hyperband. In addition, adjacent exchanges, controlled by different MSCs, may have cells that operate in the 800-MHz hyperband or cells that operate in both the 800-MHz and 1900-MHz hyperbands. Thus, as a mobile station roams throughout the coverage area of a single MSC, or from one MSC to another, the mobile station may pass to and from any combination of cells operating in the 800-MHz hyperband and dual-hyperband capable cells operating at both 800 MHz and 1900 MHz. As more frequency hyperbands come into use, roaming mobile stations will roam through an increasingly complex map of available hyperbands.
As a mobile station roams out of the coverage area of a cell, measurements of signal strengths of neighboring cells must be taken to assess whether the mobile station should reselect a particular neighboring cell for service (when in the idle mode) or be handed off to the neighboring cell (when in the busy mode). Existing cellular telecommunications networks, however, are not capable of performing the functions necessary to provide seamless interoperability between cells operating in different hyperbands and in different MSCs.
Telephone calls involving asynchronous data and facsimile (fax) services impose additional requirements on the telecommunication network. In order to establish and maintain a robust connection acceptable for the transmission of data and fax services between exchanges, an enhanced intersystem signaling protocol is required to communicate a set of commands between MSCs. This enhanced intersystem signaling protocol is distinctly different from the protocol necessary for voice transmission, and must provide a terminating MSC with information necessary in call delivery and/or handoff of voice, data or fax calls. In addition, intersystem signaling messages must provide information and verification on whether a particular subscriber has authorization to use the data and fax services.
Although there are no known prior art teachings of a solution to the aforementioned deficiency and shortcoming such as that disclosed herein, a prior art reference exists that discusses subject matter that bears some relation to matters discussed herein. One such prior art reference is U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,553 to Grube. This reference is discussed briefly below.
Grube relates to a wireless fax reception method with roaming. Specifically, the patent provides for a communication device, which roams within a communication system, the ability of maintaining contact with other communication units, even while the unit is away from its home sub-system. The communication system comprises a wide area paging system which includes a wide area paging controller (WAPC) which controls at least one local area paging controller. When the communication unit is away from its home system, the home system sends out a page via the wide area paging system in order to locate the communication unit and directs the unit to a local sub-system which the unit can use to communicate with the calling unit. However, Grube does not teach or suggest a wireless phone system since there are no call delivery principles underlying the invention. Additionally, the roaming described in this patent is not at the level necessary for use by a mobile phone system.
It would be a distinct advantage to have a cellular telecommunications network capable of controlling overlapping or adjacent cells operating in multiple hyperbands and in different MSCs in such a way that mobile stations capable of operating in multiple hyperbands may operate seamlessly between such cells for voice, data and fax services. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a cellular telecommunications network.

Cellular telecommunications network having seamless interoperability between exchanges while providing voice, asynchronous data and facsimile services in multiple frequency hyperbands


A method of migrating traffic in a network includes receiving, via an API, a request to migrate traffic. The request identifies a target around which the traffic is to be migrated and a peer to which the traffic is to be migrated. The method also includes discovering at least one anchor point based on at least a topology of the network, the target, and the peer. The method includes, based on an identity of the at least one anchor point and the target, identifying a migration mechanism. The method also includes requesting, in accordance with the migration mechanism, that the at least one anchor point facilitate migration of the traffic. The method includes responding, through the API, to the request indicating whether the migration was successful.

Traffic migration is a common procedure performed by operators during network outages, caused by planned maintenance and unexpected incidents, to prevent service disruptions. However, current practices of traffic migration often couple operators' intentions (e.g. device upgrades) with network setups (e.g. load-balancers), resulting in poor reusability and substantial operational complexities.
A need exists for generalizing traffic migration with a unified abstraction.

Common abstraction for network traffic migration


A vibration damping support stand for a loud speaker enclosure system wherein the enclosure defines bottom and top and opposite side walls. A framework includes a pair of oppositely-facing upstanding parallel standards movable toward and away from each other. A horizontally-extending inwardly-facing support arm projects inwardly from each standard toward the other arm for jointly supporting a base upon which the bottom wall of the enclosure may be seated. A side pad is mounted on the inboard face of each standard for embracing a respective enclosure side wall. An upper pad is adapted for bearing upon the enclosure top wall. Resilient tensioners are strategically located between each standard and the upper pad and between each standard and the base. The arrangement accomplishes reducing and draining off of any enclosure vibrations and allows speaker performance which is relatively free of confusing spurious resonances.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to stands or supports for cabinet type loud speakers as used in high quality home music or sound systems, or high fidelity systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most loud speakers of the home variety are of the cabinet type and are of medium quality which offer generally reasonable sound except for tending towards boominess, or exaggerated bass tones.
One of the factors involved in proper reproduction of sound, especially the lower or bass tones, is the reaction or interaction of the speaker cabinet itself. The more the cabinet vibrates, the poorer the sound. There are speaker stands on the market which claim to help this by forming a solid base on which the cabinet sits, and helping to drain vibrations into the floor on which the stand sits. But this is not the cure-all.
Simply raising speakers off the floor helps to reduce "boominess" or distortion of the lower musical tones. This is generally known; and there are stands available, as "extras" by some manufacturers for their own speakers, and from accessory companies for more or less universal application.
All of the stands of which I am aware have been simple pedestals of varying construction consisting of pillars or frameworks of wood or metal construction upon which the cabinet sits. Sometimes screws or bolts hold the cabinet bottom firmly to the stand top, with the intent of transferring some cabinet vibration through the stand into the floor of the room. None of these designs attempt to deal with more than the vibration of the bottom of the cabinet.
The prior art stands have been largely ineffective in controlling speaker cabinet vibrations or improving the speaker bass tone quality.


Audio systems and methods are provided that receive a sound management input signal as a reference signal to remove related content from a microphone signal in, e.g., an automotive hands-free system. The sound management signal may provide an acoustic augmentation to reduce, enhance, or create an acoustic effect, e.g., of an engine, motor, or other operating components. A signal processor receives the sound management signal and the microphone signal, and reduces or removes the sound management signal components from the microphone signal.

Audio systems, especially automobile audio systems, are used to produce acoustic signals for various purposes such as entertainment (e.g., music, talk radio, sports), navigation (e.g., route guidance), and communication (e.g., telephone calls). Some such audio systems also produce sounds for noise cancellation (e.g., engine harmonic cancellation and/or road noise cancellation) and/or produce sounds intended to enhance the occupants' experience of the vehicle (e.g., engine harmonic enhancement, augmented sounds for continuously variable transmissions (CVT) and/or electric vehicles (EV)).
Various audio systems may incorporate one or more microphones intended to pick up a user's voice for certain applications, such as the near end of a telephone call or for commands to a virtual personal assistant and/or automation features. The various signals produced by the audio system may contribute to the microphone signal(s), and thus it is desirable to remove these signal components from the microphone signal(s) to process the user's voice signal.

Cancellation of vehicle active sound management signals for handsfree systems


An apparatus comprises a base plate having features enabling mounting on a person""s belt or pocket. A cradling device is adapted for receiving a hand tool and for clamping the hand tool A biasing device is adapted for moving the tool clamping device between a tool receiving position and a tool clamping position so as to make the tool available for use and to place the tool within reach when it is needed respectively. When the tool is removed from the clamping device the it is automatically unclamped. When the tool is placed into the clamping device it is automatically clamped in place.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to tool holders, and more particularly to an automatically-locking tool holder with a release.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Gallant, et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,667 describes a device for suspending T-shaped tools from a belt, toolbox, wall, or other mount, comprising a flat attachment material and a rotating holder body which secures the tool while allowing the tool to be inserted and removed from different angles. In order to ensure that the holder body stays in a useful position, its swing is limited by two stops which act as brakes and are affixed so as to protrude perpendicularly from the attachment material. The invention is designed so that after the tool is inserted into the holder, the head of the tool remains secured by the cantilevering action of a spring-loaded clip against a dead-lock arm extending downwards from the holder body. The opposite end of the tool rests on an L-shaped extending at right angles from the attachment material. The tool is removed by the natural motion of grasping the handle and swinging upwards. This results in the tool being held in an immediately usable manner as it is withdrawn from the holder.
Gillotti, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,029 describes a stand for holding a book in an open, upright position on a horizontal surface, consisting of a face place, held at a rearwardly inclined position by a rear mounted triangular support plate, and a book resting shelf located on the lower front side of the face plate. The book is held in an open position by two page gripping assemblies at the book resting shelf level, including two page gripping brackets, connected to spring loaded rods, which grip the open book pages from below, holding the open pages against the face plate. The gripping assembly tension is adjusted by wing nuts at the ends of both rods.
Musarella, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,242 describes a tool holder for mounting on a user belt comprising a support member having two front supports and two rear supports, each rear support having a rear top portion, a rear bottom portion, and a rear transition portion positioned therebetween. Each front support is spaced from and biased substantially parallel to the rear top portion and being nonparallel to the rear bottom portion. Each rear transition portion extends toward the front support to provide a narrow gap which is smaller than the spacing between the front support and rear top portion, with the rear supports being connected by a support cross member, and the rear bottom portions extending away from the front supports. Also, the rear bottom portions are of substantially the same length as the rear top portions. A bracket member is operatively associated with the front supports for holding a tool. Thus, when the tool holder is mounted on a user belt, the front supports and rear transitions portions resistance to removal of the support member from the belt.
Harvey et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,468 describes a snap-lock device for securing and pivotally supporting a hammer or other similar tool from the user""s waist belt. The device is comprised of a pad support which is suspended from the waist belt, an open ended tool support which is pivotally mounted on the pad for carrying the tool, and a pair of spring biased tool retention gates which are mounted on the open ends of the tool support loop for rapid lateral entry of the tool into the tool support loop and securing of the tool.
Hopkins et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,830 describes a holder for implements such as a mortal board, which are to be horizontally positioned, knives, such as broad, spackle, and shear knives, which are to be positioned at an angle, and a roll of drywall tape, vertically positioned. Holder comprises a back plate to secure implements, and a second plate in which the implement holder is temporarily attached to the user, more specifically, the waist area of the user. The mortar board is inserted into the Y-shaped slots which are horizontally aligned to the back plate and are disposed in spaced relationship. The knives are inserted into the compression loaded slots having adjacent relationship and positioned at an angle from the back plate. The tape is inserted into the J-shaped hook which is spaced away from the back plate to allow for the tapes positioning and removal to and from the implement holder. The parts which comprise the implement holder are made from a rigid material, preferably aluminum. When the implements are engaged in their appropriate locations within the implement holder, both hands of the worker are free to conduct other operations.
Ramer et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,317 describes a tool holder for headed tools to be carried on the belt of a person. The holder consists of a plastic member having a portion for suspending from the belt, and including a bifurcated, semi-circular portion extending from the belt holding portion. A two part locking member has one portion in the form of a square-shaped tab, which is secured at one end to the plastic member at the juncture of the belt portion and the bifurcated portion. The other end of the tab member has secured thereto to a second semicircular member, forming the other part of the locking member, the second semi-circular member being movable with the tab portion. The second semi-circular member receives the head of a tool and rotates along the plastic member, with the tab, allowing the handle of the tool to extend between the bifurcated portion with the second semi-circular member wrapping over the head of the tool, securely locking the tool in the holder.
Bebb et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,167 describes a method for using a holder having first and second clips arranged with their mouths facing substantially the same direction. The first clip is provided with an inner surface which is shaped to hold a cylindrical article and a mouth which is normally open so as to allow the legs of this first clip to be urged apart from each other when such a cylindrical article is pressed against it. The holder is mounted at a designated location on the user""s body by attaching the second clip to a piece of material worn by the user, with the mouth of the first clip facing generally downwardly. A substantially cylindrical article is inserted into the first clip by placing the article against the mouth of this clip and lifting the article upwardly into contact with its inner surface, with the axis of the first clip""s inner surface in a generally horizontal orientation. Preferably, the insertion of the article is performed by balancing it in one of the user""s hands, placing the thumb of that hand on an upwardly facing surface of the holder and lifting the article into the first clip by pulling the article and thumb toward each other.
Tuttle, et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 984,402 describes a carrying device comprising a frame having portions formed to provide garment-engaging spurs, a follower supported by the frame, and a stop supported by the frame and having portions engaged with the said garment-engaging spurs.
Hong, et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,333 describes a twin gripping apparatus for loading components comprised of two grippers, each composed of two pairs of fingers, disposed at an angle of predetermined value so that the components are held and carried to and from a work station. The two pairs of fingers perform simultaneously a carrying motion to and from a work station by gripping the components positioned at each work station by means of hydraulic pressure from air cylinders, and rotating to and from an angle of predetermined value.
Hopkins, et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,830 describes a holder for implements such as a mortal board, which is to be horizontally positioned, knives, such as broad, spackle, and shear knives, which are to be positioned at an angle, and a roll of drywall tape, vertically positioned. Holder comprises a back plate to secure implements, and a second plate in which the implement holder is temporarily attached to the user, more specifically, the waist area of the user. The mortar board is inserted into the Y-shaped slots which are horizontally aligned to the back plate and are disposed in spaced relationship. The knives are inserted into the compression loaded slots having adjacent relationship and positioned at an angle from the back plate. The tape is inserted into the J-shaped hook which is spaced away from the back plate to allow for the tapes positioning and removal to and from the implement holder. The parts which comprise the implement holder are made from a rigid material, preferably aluminum. When the implements are engaged in their appropriate locations within the implement holder, both hands of the worker are free to conduct other operations.
Roesler et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,326 describes a gripping arrangement, particularly for manipulators, tool exchange devices and the like, has a housing, a guide provided in the housing, and two gripping fingers having gripping ends and moveable along the guide of the housing in a translatory reciprocating movement between a gripping position in which the gripping ends receive and hold an object therebetween and the gripping ends extend outwardly beyond the housing, and a releasing position in which the gripping ends release the object and gripping fingers are withdrawn substantially completely into and without projecting beyond the housing, the guide includes arcuate guiding tracks and guiding elements guided in and along the latter so that the movement of the gripping fingers includes a rectilinear component extending in a direction toward the object to be gripped and a transverse component extending transverse to the first component and in a direction toward the object to be gripped, whereby each of the gripping fingers during its movement from the releasing position toward the gripping position performs a rectilinear movement in a direction toward the object on which the transverse component directed toward the object is superposed, the gripping fingers have an axis therebetween and the arcuate guiding tracks are arranged symmetrically relative to the axis, and the gripping ends of the gripping fingers have inner sides and are provided at the inner sides with gripping surfaces which face toward the object in the gripping position and each has a portion embracing the object before its diametrical plane and a portion embracing the object after its diametrical plane.
The prior art teaches various holding and gripping mechanisms, some of which have a locking component. Several of the locking mechanisms, however, apply to headed or T-shaped tools only such as hammers (Ramer, Gallant, Harvey). Other gripping mechanisms require that manipulators and tool exchange devices and the like be inserted or positioned horizontally (Roesler, Hopkins, Bebb), so that they are unpractical for carrying a hand drill, which needs to be inserted and suspended vertically. Other holding mechanisms are not intended to hold tools (Gillotti (books); Tuttle (mail)). The prior art does not teach an apparatus that will allow a tool without a head (such as cylindrical hand drill) to be inserted laterally with a movement that will also lock it into place, and including both a guard plate and a means by which the cradled tool pivots freely with respect to the base plate so that the tool always stays in the desired vertical orientation. No added motions are required to lock or unlock the tool in place other than the usual motions of placing the tool into a cradle and later removing it.
The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides an apparatus comprising a base plate having a base for mounting; a cradling device adapted for receiving a hand tool; a tool clamping device; and a biasing device adapted for moving the tool clamping device from a tool receiving position to a tool clamping position, and for moving the tool clamping device from the tool clamping position to the tool receiving position, the tool clamping device providing an actuating finger positioned for moving the clamping device from the tool clamping position to the tool receiving position when the tool is lifted from the cradle.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a tool holding and locking apparatus having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a means of inserting a tool easily into a holder with a downward, vertical motion.
A further objective is to provide a means of automatically locking the tool into the holder with the same motion used to insert it.
A further objective is to provide a means of automatically unlocking the tool with the same motion used to remove it.
Another objective is to provide a means of carrying the locking tool holder easily on a belt or item of clothing.
A further objective is to provide a means of releasing the tool with one upward movement.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.


A rotating and swinging exerciser includes a base, a housing rotatably attached onto an axle of the base, a frame disposed on the base and having an inclined peripheral surface, and a lever pivotally secured to the housing with a pivot pin and having two foot pedals pivotally attached to two end portions. The lever is slidably engaged onto and movable along the inclined peripheral surface of the frame, and to cause the housing to rotate relative to the base. One of the foot pedals may be forced to move upwardly along the inclined peripheral surface of the frame when the other foot pedal is stepped downwardly by a user and when the lever is moved along the inclined peripheral surface of the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating and swinging exerciser, and more particularly to a rotating and swinging exerciser having a simplified configuration for being easily stored and carried with users.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical rotating and swinging exercisers have been developed and comprise a pair of foot pedals that may be stepped by the users for conducting stepping exercises, and may further comprise a rotatable mechanism for allowing the foot pedals to be rotated relative to a supporting base, particularly when the foot pedals are stepped by the users.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,065 to Lien et al. discloses one of the typical rotating and swinging exercisers comprising a pair of foot pedals to be stepped by the users for conducting stepping exercises, and a rotatable supporting base to rotatably support the foot pedals, and to be actuated or rotated when the foot pedals are stepped by the users. However, a complicated coupling device is required to be coupled between the foot pedals and the supporting base, and a stationary supporting frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,176 to Kuo, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,561 to Lin disclose two further typical rotating and swinging exercisers comprising a pair of foot pedals to be stepped by the users for conducting stepping exercises, and a handle rotatably supported on a supporting base and rotatably coupled to the foot pedals, and to allow the handle to be actuated or rotated by the foot pedals when the foot pedals are stepped by the users. However, similarly, a complicated coupling device is required to be coupled between the foot pedals and the supporting base and the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,833 to Chen discloses another typical rotating and swinging exerciser also comprising a pair of foot pedals to be stepped by the users for conducting stepping exercises, the foot pedals each includes a guide pillar extended therefrom and engageable with engageable with arcuate protrusions of a supporting base, to actuate and to rotate the foot pedals to rotate relative to the base. However, similarly, a complicated coupling device is required to be coupled between the foot pedals and the supporting base.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,344 to Tang discloses a still further typical rotating and swinging exerciser comprising a pair of foot pedals to be stepped by the users for conducting stepping exercises, and a rotatable supporting base to rotatably support the foot pedals, and to be actuated or rotated when the foot pedals are stepped by the users. However, similarly, a complicated coupling device is required to be coupled between the foot pedals and the supporting base.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional rotating and swinging exercisers.


A valve assembly including a plurality of control systems. A member is included that is actuatable by each of the control systems for controlling operation of the valve assembly. A plurality of tangs is included with at least one tang corresponding to each control system. A plurality of windows each having a shoulder is included, each tang disposed in one of the windows and selectively engagable with the shoulder of the one of the windows. The tangs and the windows are operative together to enable actuation forces to be selectively transferred from any group of selected ones of the control systems to the member via the tangs and the shoulders of corresponding ones of the windows for actuating the member while simultaneously permitting relative movement between the windows and the tangs corresponding to unselected ones of the control systems. A method of operating a valve assembly is also included.

Valves are ubiquitous in the downhole drilling and completions industry for enabling the control of fluids downhole. Due to the complexity and cost in completing a well, the reliability of valves and of control systems for controlling valves, is paramount. Barrier valves, for example, must be reliably and timely actuated or controlled at various times throughout the life of a well, e.g., in order to isolate a lower completion prior to production, during work-over operations, etc., while also enabling production when an upper completion is installed. Further, to ensure operation of the valve is possible even in the event that some portion of the control system for the valve fails, it is often desired to have a redundancy in the control system or a contingent mode of actuation thereof. While various systems are known and used for these purposes, the industry is always desirous of new and alternate systems to increase the reliability of valve assemblies.


A safety device in a motor vehicle having side windows fabricated from toughened laminated safety glass with an intermediate plastic film layer. The safety device includes a sensor device for detecting a side collision, and a window striker device for breaking a side window, which striker is activated by an appropriate signal generated by the side collision detecting means. In its broken condition, the window provides a yielding, flexible surface for cushioning the impact of a passenger's head. In various embodiments of the invention, the striker device may be actuated mechanically, or electrically by use of a pyro-technic charge. The side collision detection means is an elongated, fluid filled sensor chamber disposed in a side region of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the fluid filled chamber is contained hidden within an external door guide or bumper. In a second embodiment, the fluid filled chamber is disposed internal of the door body to prevent incidental triggering. During a side collision of the appropriate severity and extent, the fluid filled chamber becomes sufficiently deformed, creating a rise in fluid pressure, which is detected as a signal to make an electric switching contact or to actuate the striker device directly.

It is well known in the area of motor vehicle safety to provide a motor vehicle with an inflatable air bag deployment system which is activated by acceleration sensors in order to protect against the frontal impact of a driver or passenger against the steering and/or dashboard area of the vehicle in the event of an accident of the appropriate severity, particularly head-on collisions. Inflatable air bags are particularly beneficial in reducing head and chest injury since the air cushion offered by the inflated air bag stops a fast moving passenger in a soft, resilient and relatively recoil free manner.
These known types of inflatable air bag deployment systems are typically limited to implementation in the steering wheel or dashboard area of a motor vehicle. Accordingly, their safety benefits are only realized in the event of a front end collision.
For side collisions, the typical driver's side and/or passenger's side airbag does not provide adequate protection for passenger head impact against a side window. Thus, substantial head injuries may be incurred since the safety glass of the side window normally does not break by a blunt head impact and instead remains as a rigid, non-yielding wall. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a means for protecting the passenger's head from harmful impact against a side window during a side collision.
It is known in the art to open an emergency exit for vehicle passengers by breaking a safety glass pane of a vehicle. For example, railroad cars and buses are often equipped with specially adapted safety hammers which are placed in tear-off holders adjacent to a window pane region for window egress in the event of an emergency. However, in view of the need for manual intervention by the user, it is clearly evident that these safety hammers do not permit the quick, near instantaneous breaking of a window prior to head impact during a side collision.
It is also known in the art to mount an explosive charge adjacent a front windscreen frame member of a motor vehicle and whereby the explosive charge is detonated to release outward or pop open the windshield from its frame member during an impact of the appropriate severity. In this way the passenger's head is prevented from impacting the front windshield. The explosive charge is controlled by electric switch operation and is connected in series with the vehicle battery.
While blasting away the front windshield may be an effective way to prevent a passenger's head from front windshield impact, the problems of head recoil and neck whiplash are still present. Moreover, it is not desirable in all instances to totally remove the windshield as it provides a shield against otherwise unobstructed entryway for flying objects, fire, smoke, gas or harmful vapors which may result during a vehicle collision.
Accordingly, there is an urgent need in the art for a motor vehicle safety device for protecting a passenger's head against harmful side window impact during a side collision, or sufficiently violent oblique collisions which result in the passenger(s) being tossed around inside the car and in that random movement striking the side window(s). There is a need for a safety device which breaks a vehicle side window during a side collision in a controlled manner to provide a soft, resilient cushion for a passenger's head so that the risk of head injury is substantially reduced. Finally, there is a need for such a safety device which is of low cost to manufacture and is easily implemented in existing vehicle designs.

Side window safety device for a motor vehicle


A silicon photonic package structure including a substrate, a conductive bump, an obstacle structure, a laser diode, a mode converter, and a ball lens is provided. The conductive bump is disposed on the substrate. The obstacle structure is formed on the substrate. The laser diode is disposed above the substrate and electrically bonded to the conductive bump. A surface of the laser diode facing the substrate has a ridge. An end of the ridge has a light-emitting surface. The obstacle structure is located between the conductive bump and the ridge. A thickness of the obstacle structure in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate is greater than a thickness of the ridge in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. The mode converter is formed on the substrate. The ball lens is formed on the substrate and located between the light-emitting surface and a light input end of the mode converter.

Optical communication has prospered in recent years because the optical signal transmitted in the optical fiber may transmit farther distance with lower distortion than the electrical signal transmitted in the cable. Further, the introduction of silicon photonics technology in the field of optical communication has the advantages of cheap materials, mature process technology (a line width may be less than 20 nm) and wafer level optical-electronics device integration capability. Furthermore, if the manufacturing process is fully developed, the wafer may have low cost and high yield rate.
However, when the silicon photonics technology is adopted, the light source requires a heterogeneous integration, and the cost of packaging and testing is much greater than the cost of wafer fabrication. In the conventional silicon photonics technology, laser is adopted on silicon chip by direct alignment. Accordingly, as the alignment tolerance needs to be strictly controlled, extremely high precision is required for the bonding equipment. In addition, in the conventional art, no proper process is performed on the incident surface of the light beam. Therefore, the phenomenon of beam reflection may easily occur such that additional light may enter the laser cavity through reflection. Moreover, in the conventional art, the microlens is processed in an assembled manner. Consequently, the alignment precision needs to be accuracy defined, a volume of the microlens is too large, and additional components cause an increase in product cost.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method for the diagnosis of SMEI in a patient comprising:                (1) detecting an alteration in the SCN1A gene, including in a regulatory region of the gene, in a patient sample;        (2) ascertaining whether the alteration is known to be SMEI associated or non-SMEI associated; and        (3) (a) establishing a diagnosis of a high probability of SMEI where the alteration is known to be SMEI associated; or                    (b) establishing a diagnosis of a low probability of SMEI where the alteration is non-SMEI associated; or            (e) or, if not known to be either,                            (i) considering genetic data for parents and/or relatives;                (ii) establishing whether the alteration has arisen de novo or is inherited; and                (iii) establishing a diagnosis of a low probability of SMEI where the alteration is inherited but a diagnosis of a high probability of SMEI if the alteration is de novo.

Epilepsies constitute a diverse collection of brain disorders that affect about 3% of the population at some time in their lives (Annegers, 1996). An epileptic seizure can be defined as an episodic change in behaviour caused by the disordered firing of populations of neurons in the central nervous system. This results in varying degrees of involuntary muscle contraction and often a loss of consciousness. Epilepsy syndromes have been classified into more than 40 distinct types based upon characteristic symptoms, types of seizure, cause, age of onset and EEG patterns (Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy, 1989). However the single feature that is common to all syndromes is the persistent increase in neuronal excitability that is both occasionally and unpredictably expressed as a seizure.
A genetic contribution to the aetiology of epilepsy has been estimated to be present in approximately 40% of affected individuals (Gardiner, 2000). As epileptic seizures may be the end-point of a number of molecular aberrations that ultimately disturb neuronal synchrony, the genetic basis for epilepsy is likely to be heterogeneous. There are over 200 Mendelian diseases which include epilepsy as part of the phenotype. In these diseases, seizures are symptomatic of underlying neurological involvement such as disturbances in brain structure or function. In contrast, there are also a number of "pure" epilepsy syndromes in which epilepsy is the sole manifestation in the affected individuals. These are termed idiopathic and account for over 60% of all epilepsy cases.
Idiopathic epilepsies have been further divided into partial and generalized sub-types. Partial (focal or local) epileptic fits arise from localized cortical discharges, so that only certain groups of muscles are involved and consciousness may be retained (Sutton, 1990). However, in generalized epilepsy, EEG discharge shows no focus such that all subcortical regions of the brain are involved. Although the observation that generalized epilepsies are frequently inherited is understandable, the mechanism by which genetic defects, presumably expressed constitutively in the brain, give rise to partial seizures is less clear.
The idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGE) are the most common group of inherited human epilepsy and do not have simple inheritance. Two broad groups of IGE are now known—the classical idiopathic generalized epilepsies (Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy, 1989) and the newly recognized genetic syndrome of generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) (Scheffer and Berkovic, 1997; Singh et al., 1999).
The classical IGEs are divided into a number of clinically recognizable but overlapping sub-syndromes including childhood absence epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy etc (Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy, 1989; Roger et al., 1992). The sub-syndromes are identified by age of onset and the pattern of seizure types (absence, myoclonus and tonic-clonic). Some patients, particularly those with tonic-clonic seizures alone do not fit a specifically recognized sub-syndrome. Arguments for regarding these as separate syndromes, yet recognizing that they are part of a neurobiological continuum, have been presented previously (Berkovic et al., 1987; 1994; Reutens and Berkovic, 1995).
GEFS+ was originally recognized through large multi-generation families and comprises a variety of sub-syndromes. Febrile seizures plus (FS+) is a sub-syndrome where children have febrile seizures occurring outside the age range of 3 months to 6 years, or have associated febrile tonic-clonic seizures. Many family members have a phenotype indistinguishable from the classical febrile convulsion syndrome and some have FS+ with additional absence, myoclonic, atonic, or complex partial seizures. The severe end of the GEFS+ spectrum includes myoclonic-astatic epilepsy.
In GEFS+ families, linkage analysis on rare multi-generation large families with clinical evidence of a major autosomal dominant gene have demonstrated loci on chromosomes 19q and 2q. Both the 19q and 2q GEFS+ loci have been confirmed in independently ascertained large families, and genetic defects have been identified. Families linked to 19q are known and a mutation in the gene for the β1 subunit of the neuronal sodium channel (SCN1B) has been identified (Wallace et al., 1998). This mutation results in the loss of a critical disulphide bridge of this regulatory subunit and causes a loss of function in vitro. Families linked to 2q are also known and mutations in the pore-forming α subunit of the neuronal sodium channel (SCN1A) have been identified (PCT/AU01/01648; Escayg et al., 2000).
Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) is classed as an epileptic syndrome that manifests as both generalised and focal (partial) seizures (Commission on Classification and Terminology of the International League Against Epilepsy, 1989). SMEI begins with prolonged febrile and afebrile hemiclonic and generalised seizures in the first year of life. Between one and four years, other seizure types evolve including myoclonic, absence and atonic seizures. Neurological development is normal in infancy with progressive slowing after two years. A family history of epilepsy and/or febrile seizures is often found in SMEI patients and recent work has shown that family members have epilepsy phenotypes consistent with the GEFS+ spectrum (Singh et al., 2001; Veggiotti, 2001). From a clinical perspective, as GEFS+ and SMEI involve fever-related seizures, it was thought that sodium channel genes may be the target for mutations in SMEI affected individuals. This fact was later confirmed when mutations in the SCN1A gene in SMEI patients were identified (Claes et al., 2001; Ohmori et al., 2002). Of interest is that each of these mutations were de novo, a fact difficult to reconcile based on the clinical experience that a significant number of SMEI cases have a family history of GEFS+.
The development of a molecular diagnostic test to aid in the early diagnosis of SMEI is important. Such a test would direct the correct treatment strategy for patients likely to be affected with SMEI and would predict a risk for seizure aggravation as a result of factors such as fever induced by vaccination or other causes. Clinical studies to determine the molecular basis of SMEI have been variable in their results and have been inconclusive as to a single molecular basis for SMEI, particularly as alterations in the SCN1A gene are involved in other epilepsy subtypes. The inventors have recognised the need for such a predictive diagnostic test for SMEI and have therefore established a method that overcomes the limitations identified in previous clinical studies and determines the likelihood that an epilepsy patient has SMEI based on a molecular analysis of the SCN1A gene.

Methods for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy


An air conditioner for a vehicle includes a main heater for heating air in a vehicle compartment using coolant of an engine of the vehicle as a heat source, and an auxiliary heater for heating air in the vehicle compartment using a heat source other than exhaust heat of the engine. In the air conditioner, a requirement signal for requiring startup of the engine is output when a temperature of the coolant of the engine is determined to be lower than a threshold, and the threshold is adjusted based on an operating state of the auxiliary heater such that as an amount of heat generated by the auxiliary heater increases, the threshold decreases. Accordingly, as the heating capacity of the auxiliary heater is increased, the startup of the engine becomes more difficult.

Conventionally, an air conditioner for a hybrid vehicle determines whether or not it is necessary to heat the interior of the vehicle based on sensor signals or the like from an inside air temperature sensor and an outside air temperature sensor, even when the temperature of coolant of an engine detected by a water temperature sensor is low. When the heating of the vehicle interior is determined to be necessary, the engine is operated even in an operation state of the hybrid vehicle at startup or during a low-speed vehicle running. Therefore, the coolant can be sufficiently warmed in a water jacket of the engine, and the warmed water is supplied to a heater core so as to heat the vehicle interior (see, for example, JP-A-10-278569).
In the above air conditioner, when the heating of the vehicle interior is determined to be necessary, the engine is operated to ensure a heating capacity in the air conditioner. However, in this case, fuel efficiency in the engine is deteriorated.