A tamper-resistant device for terminating a connection to a coaxial cable is provided. The device includes an outer coaxial shell, a threaded connector body housed in the coaxial shell with a snap fit, and a resistor case held within the connector body, and a resistor. A sealing member is included between the resistor case and the connector body to provide a secure seal between these components. The resistor includes a central conductor that is sufficiently durable to avoid being damaged during shipping or installation. The connector body contains slots formed in one end, which permit the device to be installed and removed only with a special tool that is available to cable installers but not to the general public.

This invention relates to devices used to terminate unused cable ports, terminals or the like. The invention is particularly useful for, although not limited to, terminating an unused coaxial cable outlet terminal of the type employed in the cable television industry.
Cable antenna television (CATV) systems are conventionally organized so that a communication signal generated at a central antenna can be received by several individual subscribers who are connected to a single coaxial cable that carries the signal. The system functions by connecting devices, such as directional taps, along the cable, and servicing subscribers with a drop line that is connected to one of the devices. Such devices typically have a plurality of output ports so that service can efficiently be provided to many subscribers in the same geographical area. Each of the output ports is usually a female coaxial plug to which the drop line for an individual subscriber is connected.
In many instances, the number of output ports on one of the devices exceeds the actual number of subscribers that are serviced by that device. In such instances, it is desirable to terminate the unused output ports. Termination of the unused output ports serves two principal functions. First, by terminating such output ports with terminators that have impedances selected to match the impedance of the coaxial cable, there is no impedance mismatch between the signal-carrying cable and the active subscriber cables that are connected. Second, the presence of terminators on the unused output ports acts to prevent theft of the cable signal by nonsubscribers who could otherwise simply attach a coaxial cable themselves to any vacant output port. Alternatively, a terminator may be positioned between a previously used output port and the corresponding drop line when the service to that particular subscriber is suspended; in this instance, service can be restored simply by removal of the interposed terminator without requiring that the full wiring to that subscriber be removed.
It is readily apparent that the second of these functions can only be achieved if the terminator is designed so that it is resistant to attempts by unauthorized individuals to remove it after it has been installed. As a result, in the prior art there have been developed terminators that require the use of a special tool that is not available to the general public in order to remove the terminator. An example of such a terminator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,060 (Down), U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,877 (Down), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,444 (Down). In these patents, the terminator is of the type that includes a connector body that is rotatably encapsulated within a shield. This shield contains two ports: one port receives a cable terminal and the other port is used to provide access to a socket in the connector body. This socket is especially adapted to receive a specialized tool that can be used to rotate the connector body within the shield and thereby fasten the terminator to an output port. In such prior-art devices, however, the design for the interaction between the terminator device and the specialized tool often makes the tool difficult to use.
The effectiveness of such a terminator can be judged by a number of different criteria. Such a device should be designed so that the connection of the impedance-matching resistance to the coaxial cable is reliable; in particular, the coaxial post should be sufficiently durable to avoid being damaged either during shipping or installation, and the device should produce a good ground plane when connected. Moreover, the device should preferably have a sealing member that is configured and dimensioned to provide a secure seal of any components within the connector body. Additionally, it should be possible for the device to be installed and removed easily by an authorized individual and resistant to attempts at removal by an unauthorized person.
The present invention is directed to a tamper-resistant device for terminating a connection. The device comprises a coaxial shell having a first end and a second end; a connector body having a first end and a second end, the connector body being dimensioned and configured to be snap fitted within the coaxial shell and including interior threads disposed at the first end of the connector body adjacent the first end of the coaxial shell; at least one slot in the second end of the connector body for engagement with a cooperating tool to rotate the connector body with respect to the coaxial shell; a resistor case having a first end and a second end, the resistor case mounted within the connector body; and a sealing member between the connector body and the resistor case, the sealing member disposed proximate a portion of the interior threads opposite the first end of the connector body and gripping at least a portion of the first end of the resistor case.
In a preferred embodiment, at least a portion of an outer surface of the second end of the coaxial shell is threaded. Also, the coaxial shell and the connector body are cylindrically symmetric about a longitudinal axis, the inner diameter of the second end of the coaxial shell being substantially equal to the inner diameter of the second end of the connector body. The second end of the connector body preferably includes two slots. Further, the second end of the resistor case includes a cylindrical hole and a frustoconical bevel. The device further comprises a resistor mounted within the resistor case for electrical connection to the coaxial output port. The resistor preferably comprises a central conductor and a body. The impedance of the resistor is preferably about 75 xcexa9.
In the embodiment where the device comprises a resistor with a central conductor and a body, and is mounted with the resistor case for electrical connection to the coaxial output port, there are several preferred features of the device. The central conductor preferably extends through the hole in the resistor case, and is mounted within the resistor case by solder filled in a frustum-shaped cavity defined by the frustoconical bevel. The diameter of the central conductor is preferably between about 0.029 and about 0.035 inches. Most preferably, the diameter of the central conductor is substantially equal to about 0.032 inches. The resistor case is also preferably press fitted to the connector body. Further, the resistor case preferably comprises an annularly shaped ground plane. The outside diameter of the annularly shaped ground plane is preferably greater than 0.280 inches. In one embodiment of the invention, the outside diameter of the annularly shaped ground plane is substantially equal to about 0.281 inches and the inside diameter of the annularly shaped ground plane is substantially equal to about 0.210 inches.
The resistor case may be composed of metal. In a preferred embodiment, the resistor case is composed of brass and is plated with a material selected from the group consisting of nickel and tin. In one embodiment, the connector body is also composed of metal. Where the connector body is composed of metal, it is preferably composed of brass. In another embodiment, the connector body is composed of plastic. Where the connector body is composed of plastic, the connector body is preferably composed of a material selected from the group consisting of Ultem(trademark) and glass-filled polycarbonate. The coaxial shell may also be composed of metal. Where the coaxial shell is composed of metal, it is preferably composed of brass. In a different embodiment, the coaxial shell is composed of plastic. Where the coaxial shell is composed of plastic, it is preferably composed of a material selected from the group consisting of Ultem(trademark) and glass-filled polycarbonate. The sealing member is preferably composed of silicone rubber.
The invention is also directed to a tamper-resistant device for terminating a connection comprising a coaxial shell having a first end and a second end; a connector body having a first end and a second end, the connector body being dimensioned and configured to be snap fitted within the coaxial shell and including interior threads disposed at the first end of the connector body adjacent the first end of the coaxial shell, the connector body further including two slots in its second end for engagement with a cooperating tool to rotate the connector body with respect to the coaxial shell; a resistor case having a first end and a second end, the resistor case being dimensioned and configured to be mounted within the connector body; a resistor mounted within the resistor case for electrical connection to the coaxial output port; and a sealing member between the connector body and the resistor case, the sealing member disposed proximate a portion of the interior threads opposite the first end of the connector body and gripping at least a portion of the first end of the resistor case. In a preferred embodiment, the resistor comprises a central conductor with a diameter between about 0.029 and about 0.035 inches. The central conductor most preferably has a diameter substantially equal to 0.032 inches. The resistor case also comprises an annularly shaped ground plane with an outside diameter greater than 0.280 inches. Preferably, the inside diameter of the annularly shaped ground plane is substantially equal to about 0.210 inches. In one embodiment, the coaxial shell is composed of brass, the connector body is composed of brass, and the resistor case is composed of brass plated with nickel.
The invention is further directed to a tamper-resistant device for terminating a connection comprising a coaxial shell; a connector body having a first end and a second end, the connector body being housed within the coaxial shell and including interior threads, the interior threads disposed at the first end of the connector body; and a resistor mounted within the connector body, the resistor comprising a central conductor and a body, the central conductor having a diameter between about 0.029 and about 0.035 inches. Preferably, the central conductor has a diameter substantially equal to about 0.032 inches.
The invention is additionally directed to a tamper-resistant device for terminating a connection comprising a coaxial shell having a first end and a second end; a connector body having a first end and a second end, the connector body being dimensioned and configured to be snap fitted within the coaxial shell and including interior threads disposed at the first end of the connector body adjacent the first end of the coaxial shell, the connector body further including two slots in its second end for engagement with a cooperating tool to rotate the connector body with respect to the coaxial shell; a resistor case having a first end and a second end, the resistor case being dimensioned and configured to be mounted within the connector body, the resistor case comprising an annularly shaped ground plane with an outside diameter greater than 0.280 inches; a resistor mounted within the resistor case for electrical connection to the coaxial output port, the resistor comprising a central connector and a body, the central conductor having a diameter between about 0.029 and about 0.035 inches; and a sealing member between the connector body and the resistor case, the sealing member disposed proximate a portion of the interior threads opposite the first end of the connector body and gripping at least a portion of the first end of the resist or case. Preferably, the central conductor has a diameter substantially equal to about 0.032 inches. Also, the inside diameter of the annularly shaped ground plane is preferably substantially equal to about 0.210 inches. In one embodiment, the coaxial shell is composed of brass, the connector body is composed of brass, and the resistor case is composed of brass plated with nickel.

Locking F terminator for coaxial cable systems


In an example, a thermal imaging test article comprises a block configured to be attached to a blackbody on a back side of the block, the block having a variable thickness to represent facial features of a human face, the block including a cutout to allow a thermal imaging device to see the blackbody behind the block through the cutout, and one or more heaters thermally coupled to the block to produce heat to heat the block. The variable thickness of the block and the heat produced by the one or more heaters are selected to simulate thermally the human face on a front side of the block.

Touchless facial temperature measurement devices, kiosks, and the like have become ubiquitous since the COVID-19 outbreak. Examples include thermal imaging cameras and devices available from Flir Systems, Infrared Cameras, Inc. (ICI), etc. The devices are placed in various locations and operate in a variety of different environments. Many of these devices perform temperature measurements only after detecting the presence of a human face.

The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Homeland Security


A transparent substrate having a lens array pattern located in a pre-selected area such that the lens array pattern forms an engraved scannable marking code operable for being read by a code reading apparatus, wherein the lens array pattern has a shape selected from the group consisting of lenticular, lineal fresnel, dot or prismatic. A method of producing an engraved scannable marking code is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a manufacturing method for marking code or barcode products, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a manufacturing method for producing engraved sheets having lens arrays located thereon in pre-selected areas, wherein the lens arrays and the remaining portions create a readable marking code or barcode pattern for use in conjunction with present code indicia scanning apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical reader-scanner systems are used world wide to track almost all aspects of commerce. The systems operate as data input systems by reading marking codes or barcodes imprinted on packaged items or surfaces. Such systems are, for example, being used in businesses for inventory control, retail sales, shipping information, product tracking, etc. There are currently several encodation systems used in modern barcode symbology design i.e., "Binary" encoding and ("n,k") encoding. Each have their advantages and disadvantages. Generally speaking, (n,k) encoding is more space efficient, whereas Binary encoding is more tolerant of printing imperfections. Further, there are many types of barcode schemes known and used for encoding machine-readable information in accordance with existing standards. For example, existing schemes include, but are not limited to, Code 128, EAN 128, Codabar, the EAN 8 and 13 series, the ISBN series, the ISSN series, ITF, the JAN 8 and 13 series, Pharmacode, the UPC-A and -E series, Plessy and code 39.
Generally, all the above systems function in a similar manner. For purposes of example only and referring now to FIG. 1, the most commonly used barcode symbology in the United States, the UPC-A barcode scheme, is shown. The UPC-A symbol 100 encodes eleven digits 110 of numeric (0 through 9) message data along with a trailing check digit 112, for a total of twelve digits of barcode data. In addition, there are human readable digits 114 printed within the barcode 100. Generally, the UPC-A barcode 100 is divided into seven areas: left guard pattern 116, the number system 118, the manufacturer code 120, the center guard pattern 122, the product code 124, the check digit 112, and the right guard pattern 126. Typically, the number system digit 118 is printed on the left of the barcode 100, the check digit 112 is printed on the right, and the manufacturer code 120 and product code 124 are printed intermediate the number system digit 118 and the check digit 112. Although the UPC-A symbol 100 is continuous, the left and right halves, divided by the center guard 122, can be independently decoded.
Digits used in the barcode 100 are coded as a sequence of two bars and two spaces within a space seven modules wide. Bar and space widths may be 12, 3, or 4 modules wide. This results in twenty possible bar-space combinations. Ten of these patterns are used for left odd party digits and ten are used for right even parity digits. The left digits always start with a space, while the right digits always start with a bar. Table 1 illustrates the bar space combination for the associated numbers.
TABLE 1Left DigitsRight DigitsOdd ParityEven ParityS B S BB S B S03 2 1 13 2 1 112 2 2 12 2 2 122 1 2 22 1 2 231 4 1 11 4 1 141 1 3 21 1 3 251 2 3 11 2 3 161 1 1 41 1 1 471 3 1 21 3 1 281 2 1 31 2 1 393 1 1 23 1 1 2
The left guard pattern 116, the center guard pattern 122 and the right guard pattern 126 consist of two vertical lines, a bit taller or larger than the other bars. They do not, however, contribute to the actual code 100. Rather, they serve as an indicator of division for the code indicia.
The number system digit 118 is a single digit that identifies the type of product that the symbol 100 represents. Table 2 indicates the various number systems and their uses:
TABLE 2Number SystemDescription0Regular UPC codes1Reserved2Weight items marked at a store3National Drug/health related code4No format restrictions, in store on non-food items5Coupons6Reserved7Regular UPC codes8Reserved9Reserved
The manufacturer code 120 consists of five numbers (and corresponding bars) that identifies the product's manufacturer. The product code 124, like the manufacturer code 120, consists of five numbers (and corresponding bars) to identify the product. Finally, the check digit 112 is a single digit used to verify the barcode 100 when it is scanned by a code reading apparatus (not shown). The check digit 112 is value based on a weighting of the other digits in the code 100. To determine the value of the check digit 112, the following procedure is used:3*(Σ digits in even positions)+(Σ digits in odd positions)=multiple of 10By way of example, in a UPC-A barcode number "03600029145X" where X is the check digit, X is calculated by adding the odd-numbered digits (0+6+0+2+1+5=14), multiplying by three (14*3=42), adding the even numbered digits (42+3+0+0+9+4=58) and subtracting from the next-higher multiple of 10 (60−58=2). The check digit 112 is thus two.
In order to scan the barcodes, various physical devices may be employed. In some case a fixed scanner is used, wherein the product is passed over the scanner. In others, a handheld scanner is passed over the code thereby reading the same. In either case, a low powered scanning laser, such as a helium-neon laser, provides a coherent beam of monochromatic light. The use of this type of light source provides the high level signal-to-noise ration necessary for processing that is unavailable from other sources. The light beam is directed to a scanner mechanism which generates an optical scan pattern at a window in, for example, a check-out counter. One example of such an optical reader-scanner system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,710 entitled System For Decoding Barcode to Shepardson et al.
The actual identification of the barcode symbol is made by electronically analyzing the signals generated by the light beam that is reflected back from the package surface to an optical detector. The output of the detector then goes to electronic circuitry and is continuously analyzed for the symbol coded content.
When the high speed movement of the light beam crosses the light and dark bars of a symbol code, a specific pulse train waveform is generated. The characteristics of this waveform are established by the width of the individual light and dark bars and by the speed of the sweep. If the electronic circuitry determines that the symbol is valid and positive identification of the symbol is made, the signal is passed onto a controller of the system. This output signal provides the address for the memory bank location where the instructions for billing and receipt recording of that symbol are stored.
If the symbol is not valid, i.e., has been tampered with, altered, damaged, or is simply not readable due to print quality, etc., the positive identification cannot be made and a no-reading visual or audio alarm is typically sounded. This notifies the user that a visual identification and a manual entry must be made.
Prior art teaches that existing UPC symbol codes are manufactured to be scanned by the above described physical devices by printing dark bars on a white, reflective background, such as paper or other suitable substrate, with marking means such as inks of a black color or some other dull color. Historically, this necessitated the use of white labels having black indicia printed thereon, with said labels being attached to the wrapping or container of the associated commercial product. As the use of such a label can be unsightly and detract from the overall appeal of a packaged product, other methods of using barcodes are desired. Further, while it is desirable for every barcode to be printed to exacting specifications in order to allow for a maximum tolerance of noise and other distortions during the scanning process, in practice the printing process can introduce a variety of imperfections, many of these resulting from imperfections in the paper (or other substrate) that the barcode is printed upon. These substrate imperfections, such as bleeding, ink spread and the like, may introduce random errors in the positions of the edges that separate dark bars from light spaces within the barcode, thereby resulting in erroneous marking codes.
If the wrapping or container of a product provided has a suitable reflective background, however, the black code indicia could be printed directly on the wrapping or container. The printing has the same resulting imperfections as noted above. Further, this method requires multiple printing stations if the trade-dress and/or printed designs were not in black. More specifically, a printing system is required which includes one or more stations for imprinting the colored trade dress designs and at least one additional station for imprinting the coded material in black. Moreover, the black code still detracts from the overall aesthetic quality of the finished product.
Accordingly, industry has strived to blend code indicia such as UPC indicia into the trade dress and/or packaging of an item to thereby enhance the aesthetic quality of the packaged product or item, but to as well avoid the need for additional printing stations. For example, one method is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,094 entitled Substrate Having Colored Indicia Thereon For Read-out By Infrared Scanning Apparatus to Murphy et al. which discloses the addition of certain metallic compounds to colored inks in order to effect the desired improvements in the infrared absorption characteristics of the ink. Thus, when code indicia are printed with colored inks on a reflective background, a sufficient contrast in reflectance is obtained so that the code can be successfully read. A problem arises, however, when the package does not provide a suitable reflective background of sufficient size on which to print the symbol. In such instances, the return to using labels imprinted with the symbol has been necessary, with its aesthetic disadvantages.
Additionally, a printing of the desired barcode in a negative mode has been attempted where the trade dress is of a white reflective color and the background provided by the item offers little reflectance. By "negative mode" is meant that the actual printed indicia act as the reflective background of the code symbol and the spaces or voids between the printed indicia, which show the absorptive background, are the non-reflective or absorptive portion of the code symbol. Disadvantageously, ones trade dress color is not always reflective in the appropriate wavelength region. In particular, the afore-discussed technique cannot be used when the trade dress color is red, a color which is not capable of being read by conventional scanning apparatus. Finally, as more packages are being wrapped in plastic film for improved aesthetics, such as barrier properties and safety in packaging, it is increasingly difficult to read the bar code through the plastic film.
It is therefore apparent, that there exists a need in the art for a manufacturing method which produces engraved marking codes without the necessity of labels comprising printed ink. Further, there is a need in the art for a manufacturing method for producing engraved sheets having lens arrays located thereon in pre-selected areas, wherein the lens arrays and the remaining portions thereof create a readable marking code pattern for use in conjunction with present code indicia scanning apparatus.


A storage rack system having a plurality of storage bays adapted to store pallet loads that are seven pallets deep is disclosed. One storage rack system disclosed includes six carts each adapted to support a single pallet load and being supported on track means for movement from a forward position to a back position. Another storage rack system disclosed includes a first cart for supporting a single pallet load, and two double carts each adapted to support two pallet loads, the carts being supported on track means for movement from a forward position to a back position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to storage rack systems for articles loaded on pallets of the type adapted to be handled by lift trucks and, more particularly, to storage rack systems of the push-back type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Push-back storage systems are known in the art with a two deep system being in use since the late 1950's, this system being manufactured by Frazier Industrial Company. More recently, three-deep and four-deep systems are known in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,489, there is disclosed a storage rack system of the push-back type, and reference is made to the prior art cited in said patent. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,852. there is disclosed three-deep and four-deep systems having a double cart assembly wherein a large cart rides on the tracks and a small cart is carried by and movably mounted on the large cart. In my pending application, Ser. No. 709,664, filed Jun. 7, 1991, there is disclosed storage rack systems adapted to store pallet loads that are three, four, and five pallets deep.
Typical of the prior art are the storage rack systems shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,341,313 and 4,773,546 wherein there is disclosed a storage rack system to provide for the storage of three pallets deep.


With a view to providing an X-ray imaging apparatus having a projector-collimator capable of adjusting an irradiation position of a light beam easily and accurately, a first luminous flux is made a luminous flux present within an orthogonal plate orthogonal to a y-axis direction which is an orthogonal direction and a second luminous flux present within the orthogonal plane is reflected and moved within the orthogonal plane to produce a light beam. Consequently, an irradiation position of the light beam over a subject can be adjusted in an independent manner by movement Δy in the orthogonal direction with use of a first screw and movement Δx within the orthogonal plane with use of a second crew. As a result, adjustment of an X-ray irradiation field position by an operator can be effected not only easily but also with a high accuracy.

The present invention relates to an X-ray imaging apparatus having a projector-collimator installed within a movable diaphragm to project a light beam to an irradiation field position of X-ray on a subject.
In recent radiographing using an X-ray imaging apparatus, a light beam is radiated onto a subject to be radiographed. An operator checks the position of the light beam visually and thereby confirms and determines an X-ray irradiation position. In this way the operator is sure to radiate X-ray to a desired region on the subject while preventing the radiation of X-ray to an unnecessary region.
The projector-collimator for emitting the light beam is disposed in the interior of a movable diaphragm which restricts the irradiation field of X-ray. The projector-collimator changes the irradiation range of the light beam in interlock with the movable diaphragm changing an aperture to change the X-ray irradiation field (see, for example, Non-Patent Literature 1).
It is necessary that the X-ray irradiation field and the position of the light beam be coincident with each other accurately. The operator makes adjustment so that the irradiation position of the light beam becomes coincident with the X-ray irradiation field. On the other hand, the projector-collimator conducts a luminous flux emitted from a light source to the X-ray irradiation field through plural mirrors. At this time, the positions or inclinations of these mirrors are adjusted to adjust the position of the light beam on the subject.
[Non-Patent Literature 1] Tetsuo OKABE, et al., "Radiodiagnosis Device Engineering," Ishiyaku Publishers, Inc., Oct. 1, 1997, pp. 336-338
According to the above background art, however, the adjustment of the light beam position on the subject is difficult to perform and is inferior in point of accuracy. More particularly, the position of the light beam on the subject which beam is guided through plural mirrors is changed in interlock with movement of those mirrors. However, the change in position of the light beam is correlated with all of the mirrors and therefore it is necessary to adjust the plural mirrors simultaneously.
Particularly, in the case where the light beam radiated from the projector-collimator is a frame line which clearly shows a frame of the irradiation field of X-ray, it is necessary that strain or the like of the light beam be also taken into account. This is a cause of making the adjustment of light beam more difficult.

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


Disclosed is a method and apparatus for completely recovering received data with high reliability using LDPC codes without short-sized cycles in a digital communication system using an error-correcting code. The method includes performing exponent conversion of a predetermined number of exponent matrixes stored in advance in a memory so as to generate new exponent matrixes based on the exponent conversion, and generating new LDPC codes using the new exponent matrixes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital communication system using error-correcting codes, and more particularly a method of transmitting and receiving data using quasi-cyclic low density parity check codes and an apparatus therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, a digital communication system provides effective and reliable transmission of data through a channel. The next generation multimedia mobile communication system being recently and vigorously developed demands the capabilities of treating and transmitting varieties of information such as video data and text data together with voice communication at high speeds. Accordingly, to meet such demand, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the system by applying a suitable channel coding technique thereto.
Meanwhile, the wireless channel environment for the digital communication system inherently causes multi-path interference, shadowing, wave damping, noises, fading, etc., which is different from the wireless environment, resulting in information loss that distorts the transmitted signals. In order to cope with such information loss various error-control techniques adapted for the channel characteristics in the communication system have been proposed. Among them one of the most basic techniques is to use the error-correcting code.
The next generation communication system has been developed to provide communication services for transmitting a large amount of data at high speed with various QoS (Quality of Service). Hence, the error-correcting capability of the error-correcting code critically determines the QoS of the entire data service to prevent information loss. Typical examples of an error-correcting code include turbo code, low density parity check (LDPC) code, etc.
The LDPC code has been known to have good performance gain in data transmission at high speed compared to the conventional convolution code which is chiefly used for correction of errors. It is advantageous in effectively correcting the errors caused by noises occurring in the wireless channel to enhance the reliability of data transmission. The LDPC code also has an advantage in that it may perform decoding by using an iterative decoding algorithm based on the sum-product algorithm using a factor graph. The decoder of the LDPC code has lower complexity than that of the turbo code, and better feasibility in designing a parallel processing decoder.
The turbo code has good performance approaching the channel capacity limit of Shannon's Channel Coding Theorem while the LDPC code shows performance with a deviation of about 0.04 dB from the channel capacity limit of Shannon's Channel Coding Theorem at a BER (Bit Error Rate) of 10−5 using a block size of 107. Shannon's Channel Coding Theorem represents the possibility of reliable communication with a data rate not exceeding the channel capacity. However, Shannon did not show how to perform coding and decoding practically in order to not exceed the channel capacity limit. Though a random code with a considerably large block size shows performance approximating the channel capacity limit of Shannon's Channel Coding Theorem, the MAP (Maximum A posteriori) or ML (Maximum Likelihood) decoding thereof is practically impossible due to the huge load resulting from the very large amount of required calculation.
Meanwhile, there exist cycles in the factor graph describing the LDPC code, where iterative decoding has been known to be suboptimal. Nevertheless, it has been experimentally discovered that the LDPC code shows good performance through iterative decoding. But if the number of the cycles having a shorter length is increased, degradation of performance may be expected, and a lot of effort has been made to design an LDPC code having no shorter cycle. For example, the LDPC code proposed by Gallagher is defined by a parity check matrix, of which a large number of elements have the value of 0 (null) and the remaining very small number the value of 1. Namely, the parity check matrix of the LDPC code has a very small weight, so that even a relatively long block code may be decoded through iterative decoding. Further, by continuously increasing the length of the block code, the LDPC code shows performance closely approaching the channel capacity limit of Shannon. Hence, the LDPC code tends to be positively used as the error-correction code in the next generation communication system.
Meanwhile, the LDPC code (N, j, k) is a linear block code with a block size N, having a parity check matrix of a sparse structure that consists of a number j of is per each column, a number k of is per each row, and the remaining elements of 0. Such a parity check matrix with a constant column weight j and a constant row weight k is called a regular LDPC code. On the contrary, the parity check matrix with non-constant column and row weights is called an irregular LDPC code. In this case, the term "weight" means the number of the elements with a non-zero value. Generally the irregular LDPC code has been known to have better performance as compared to the regular LDPC code. However, in order to obtain an irregular LDPC code with good performance, it should be suitably selected the number of 1s per row and per column.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a parity check matrix (N=8, j=2, k=4) of the LDPC code is described. FIG. 1 shows the parity check matrix H, and FIG. 2 shows the factor graph of the parity check matrix. The parity check matrix H (8, 2, 4) of the LDPC code consists of 8 columns respectively having the same weight of two is and 4 rows respectively having the same weight of four 1s, as shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 shows the factor graph of the parity check matrix (8, 2, 4) of the LDPC code, consisting of eight variable nodes 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214 and 216, and four check nodes 218, 220, 222 and 224. The variable nodes 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214 and 216 are represented by x1, x2, . . . , xs, and if there exists 1 at the point crossed by the ith column and jth row, a branch is formed between the variable node xi and the jth check node. Thus the parity check matrix of the LDPC code has a very small number of weight 1s, so that the LDPC code may be decoded through iterative decoding even with a large block size, and with the block size being continuously increased the LDPC code begins to have performance closely approaching the channel capacity limit of Shannon as the turbo code. Mackay and Neal already verified that the LDPC code begins to have performance closely approaching that of the turbo code through iterative decoding.
Additionally, the requirements for achieving an LDPC code having good performance are as follows:
The first requirement is to make the cycle larger. The term "cycle" means a closed path that does not pass over any node twice or more in the factor graph model of the LDPC code. Namely, the greater the number of the cycles of small size, the more the LDPC code suffers performance degradation, such as an error floor. Accordingly, the longer the cycle of the LDPC code produced in the factor graph, the better the LDPC code becomes with respect to performance.
The second requirement is to consider the distribution of degrees of the LDPC code in the factor graph. Generally the reason that the irregular LDPC code has better performance than the regular LDPC code is that the nodes of the irregular LDPC code have various degrees. The term "degree" represents the number of the edges connected with the variable nodes and check nodes in the factor graph of the LDPC code. In addition, the term "distribution of degrees" represents what percentage the nodes with a particular degree occupy of the entire nodes. According to Richardson, it is well-known that the LDPC code must have a particular distribution of degree for good performance.
As described above, the LDPC code is generally expressed using the parity check matrix. Hence, the memory size may be reduced by effectively storing the information of the parity check matrix. The conventional storing of the LDPC code requires a comparatively large memory. In order to cope with this, various methods for effectively storing the LDPC code have been proposed. For example, since Fan proposed the array code with a structural parity check matrix, various quasi-cyclic LDPC (hereinafter referred to as "QC-LDPC") codes have been developed based on the circulant permutation matrix in order to improve the memory efficiency. The QC-LDPC code is composed of a number of small blocks obtained by dividing the parity check matrix each matched with a circulant permutation matrix or a zero matrix. The QC-LDPC code is described below in connection with FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the parity check matrix of the QC-LDPC code. The QC-LDPC code is a new LDPC code for improving the storage and performance of the effective parity check matrix. The parity check matrix of the QC-LDPC code is formed by dividing the entire parity check matrix into a plurality of partial blocks each matched with a permutation matrix. In FIG. 3, the reference symbol P represents a permutation matrix with a size of Ns×Ns as expressed by the following Formula 1, and its superscript amn is in the range O≦amn≦Ns−1 or limitless (amn−∞), wherein "m" and "n" represent the permutation matrix of a partial block positioned at the cross point of the m'th row and the n'th column of the entire partial blocks. Namely, "m" and "n" respectively represent the row and column locating the partial block containing an information part in the parity check matrix. Formula 1 represents an example of the permutation matrix as shown in FIG. 3.
                    P        =                  [                                                    0                                            1                                            0                                                                                0                                                                    0                                            0                                            1                                            ⋯                                            0                                                                    ⋮                                            ⋮                                            ⋮                                                                                ⋮                                                                    0                                            0                                            0                                            ⋯                                            1                                                                    1                                            0                                            0                                                                                0                                              ]                                    Formula                                                  1
As expressed by Formula 1, the permutation matrix P is a square matrix with a size of Ns×Ns, wherein each of the Ns rows has a weight of 1, and each of the Ns columns a weight of 1. Hereinafter the size Ns×Ns is shortened as Ns for convenience's sake because the permutation matrix P is square. In addition, if the superscript amn−O, the permutation matrix P0 means the unit matrix INs×Ns and if amn−∞, Pamn is the zero matrix O.
In the mean time, a small cycle in the LDPC code causes performance degradation. Namely, a small cycle causes the information from a node to return to itself even after a small number of repetitions, so that the same information continuously returning to it prevents an information revision resulting in degradation of the error-correction capability. Hence, the LDPC code having good performance may be obtained by increasing the size of the cycle and decreasing the number of small cycles.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the structural characteristics of the cycle of the QC-LDPC code. As described above, the QC-LDPC code is an LDPC code extended by generalizing the structure of the regular LDPC code in order to achieve effective coding and improve the storage and the performance of the effective parity check matrix.
Referring to FIG. 4, the structural characteristics of the cycle of the QC-LDPC code are analyzed with the parity check matrix consisting of four blocks. In the drawing the diagonal lines indicate the position of 1, and the remaining parts all indicate the position of 0. The symbol P represents the permutation matrix as shown in FIG. 3. Hereinafter the permutation matrixes corresponding to the partial blocks are referred to as "partial matrixes."
For analyzing the structure of the cycle of the QC-LDPC code, 1 positioned in the ith row of the partial matrix Pa is determined as the reference point defined as "0-Point." In this case, the 0-Point is positioned in the i+ath column of the partial matrix Pa. And 1 of the partial matrix Pb positioned in the same row as the 0-Point is defined as "1-Point." In this case, the 1-Point is positioned in the i+bth column of the partial matrix Pb.
Then, 1 of the partial matrix Pc positioned in the same column as the 1-Point is defined as "2-Point." Since the partial matrix Pc is obtained by displacing each column of the unit matrix I toward the right by the amount of "c" with reference to modulo Ns, the 2-Point is positioned in the i+b−cth row of the partial matrix Pc. And 1 of the partial matrix Pd positioned in the same row as the 2-Point is defined as "3-Point." Then likewise, the 3-Point is positioned in the i+b−c+dth column of the partial matrix Pd.
Finally, 1 of the partial matrix, Pa positioned in the same column as the 3-Point is defined as "4-Point." The 4-Point is positioned in the i+b−c+d−a th row of the partial matrix Pa. In this case, if there exists the cycle with a size of 4 in the parity check matrix of QC-LDPC code shown in FIG. 4, the 0-Point and the 4-Point occupy the same position. Namely, the relationship between the 0-Point and the 4-Point is expressed by the following Formula 3.i≡i+b−c+d−a(mod Ns) ori+a≡i+b−c+d(mod Ns)  Formula 3
Formula 3 can be rewritten as in the following Formula 4.a+c≡b+d(mod Ns)  Formula 4
Thus, if the relationship is expressed by Formula 4, there is produced a cycle with a size of 4.
Generally if the 0-Point and the 4m-Point become to equal each other for the first time, their relationship is expressed by the following Formula 5, which may be rewritten as in Formula 6.i≡i+m(b−c+d−a)(mod Ns)  Formula 5m(a−b+c−d)≡0(mod Ns)  Formula 6
Namely, if the least positive integer satisfying Formula 6 for the values of a, b, c and d given is "m", the cycle with 4m size becomes the cycle with the minimum size in the parity check matrix of the QC-LDPC code as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, if gcd(Ns, a−b+c−d)−1 for (a−b+c−d)≠0, m−Ns, and therefore the cycle with a size of 4Ns is the cycle with the minimum size.
Generally, the irregular LDPC code requires the position information for each weight of the parity check matrix to be stored. On the contrary, the QC-LDPC code requires only the position of the first weight of the small block to be stored because the position of the first weight determines automatically the positions of the remaining Ns−1 weights in the block. Accordingly, if Ns is known, the exponent of the size m×n is only stored in order to store the information of the parity check matrix H defined as in FIG. 3. Hence, the QC-LDPC code requires the memory capacity approximately proportional to 1/Ns compared with the conventional irregular LDPC code. Meanwhile, different QC-LDPC codes require different memories for storing the parity check matrixes, so that the memory capacity must be increased for storing the parity check matrixes of several QC-LDPC codes.
Conventionally, the QC-LDPC codes of short size are stored in a memory different from one for those of long size, or the QC-LDPC codes of long size are subjected to the modulo operation so as to produce those of short size. However, if the exponent matrix is subjected to an arbitrary modulo operation, the cycle characteristics in the Tanner graph of the QC-LDPC code are significantly changed, resulting in performance degradation. In this case, if the modulo operation is performed so as to not degrade the cycle characteristics in order to avoid performance degradation, the number of the codes to be produced is greatly limited. Therefore, there has been requested a solution for generating a plurality of the QC-LDPC codes with good cycle characteristics.

Method of generating quasi-cyclic low density parity check codes and an apparatus thereof


A system and method are disclosed for searching and processing contacts. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a mobile communication device has a transceiver, and a controller for controlling operations thereof. The controller is programmed to receive from an end user of the mobile communication device a request for a contact, and search for the contact in a phonebook of the mobile communication device. The controller is programmed to replace the caller identification of the mobile communication device with a corresponding caller identification that emulates the enterprise identification as if the mobile originated call originated from within the enterprise when the mobile communication device is not located within a vicinity of the enterprise. Additional embodiments are also disclosed.

It is not unusual for business executives to spend considerable amounts of time traveling with a need to be in contact with their companies. These executives generally access phonebook information from disparate sources such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and/or corporate directories. Any effort that eases the experience in favor of greater integration between these disparate technologies is desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for searching and processing contacts


A method and apparatus to control the use of applications on handheld device is based on network service, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a network identifier; correlating the network identifier with application and/or feature limitations stored on the mobile device; and limiting application usage based on the results of such correlating step.

Mobile devices capable of transmitting voice and data are becoming common in the market place and are sometimes referred to as Smartphones or personal digital assistants (PDAs). Examples include the Research in Motion Blackberry™, Palm Treo™, among others. The capability of transmitting voice over a data connection is called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and allows such devices to carry voice traffic over an internet connection, bypassing the traditional circuit switched voice services offered over wide-area wireless networks.
VoIP capability is of great value to enterprises for keeping costs of telephony services low. An example includes a large employer whose factory spans hundreds of acres. The employer can blanket that area with a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as 802.11 (Wireless Fidelity "WiFi") technology and equip its employees with WiFi enabled handsets for VoIP calls over WiFi, thus bypassing the carrier operated wide-area wireless service.
Publicly available applications exist that can be loaded onto a handheld mobile device that offer telephony and multimedia services. Examples include Skype™, MSN™, Yahoo™, and GoogleTalk™. These applications can bypass any corporate control of how the handheld mobile device is used for voice and may potentially be a security risk for the enterprise. Skype™, for example, is peer-to-peer protocol that can pass through corporate firewalls and potentially circumvent corporate IT security measures by using the file transfer feature of Skype™ to transfer corporate proprietary material outside the enterprise.
Peer-to-peer resources sharing protocols such as Skype™ have other characteristics that raise security concerns or may impact corporate policy on use of corporate computing resources for non-corporate purposes. These problems are common to most general purpose telephony applications. While these applications can pose a risk to the corporation, the benefit of low cost telephony service is very attractive and the corporation may accept such risks and depend on the trust it places on its employees to justify the risk. Similar issues exist for multimedia applications.
A further benefit is that when a corporation supplies a handheld device to its employees and allows the employees to use it out of hours and for personal purposes, as long as the use is within reasonable limits, the handheld becomes a significant fringe benefit or a perk for the employee. Thus limiting the use of the handheld only to within the confines of the corporation head office or campus and only for business purposes or only during working hours is seen today as somewhat draconian. A preferable solution would be to ensure that while the employee is connected to the corporation (either by direct connection from within the physical office site or through a virtual private network "VPN" connection) he or she is unable to use any application that may impact the security of the organization. Outside of the corporation and outside of business hours, the handheld may be used for personal and/or work purposes trusting the employee does not misuse the privilege.

Method and apparatus to control the use of applications based on network service


Apparatuses and methods for applying triaxial stresses to a core sample during perforation and flow testing. A core sample of rock is positioned within a fixture shell of an overburden stress apparatus, which is placed within a pressure vessel. The pressure vessel applies a vessel pressure to the overburden stress apparatus. The overburden stress apparatus contains a plurality of stress members which apply overburden stresses to the core sample along its three principal axes. The applied overburden stresses are resisted by a combination of the structural integrity of the overburden stress apparatus and the circumferential support applied to the overburden stress apparatus by the vessel pressure. With the overburden stresses applied, the core sample can undergo perforation testing, production testing, and injection testing.

Many oil and gas wells today are commonly completed via a process of casing and perforation, in which portions of a borehole are lined with a pipe or casing. Often, the outer surface of the casing is cemented into place, thereby affixing the casing to the borehole. While casing can provide reinforcement and stability, it must additionally be perforated in order to flow production fluid from a formation. As such, the final stage of such a completion will involve running one or more perforating guns down to the desired borehole depth and firing the perforating guns to perforate the casing. While perforating guns employ shaped charges that can be tailored to fit predicted downhole conditions and parameters, perforation operations nevertheless remain an inexact process.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), in its Recommended Practice for Evaluation of Well Perforators (API RP 19B, Sections 2 and 4) has provided a basis for the evaluation of perforators and perforating guns through the use of tests using rock cores at simplified insitu conditions. The primary useful data output from these tests is the penetration depth produced as a function of the target composition and state. In a standard API RP 19B Section 2 or Section 4 test, a cylinder of rock (also referred to as a "core") is jacketed in a rubber sleeve and stressed to simulate various subsurface stresses present in an oil or gas reservoir. This stress is applied by placing the jacketed core in a pressure vessel, which is then pressurized against the jacketed core. With these stresses present, one or more perforation operations are performed and measured.
However, the core isostatically or hydrostatically stressed, meaning that the applied stress is uniform in all directions around the core. However, in reality, the subsurface stress state is not uniform. For example, in the traditional 3-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, three principal stresses act along the X, Y, and Z axes, with each principal stress having its own magnitude. As such, it would be desirable to provide a triaxial stress test, or a test that is capable of applying three distinct stresses to a rock sample, for use in perforation and flow evaluation operations.

Applying triaxial stresses to a core sample during perforation and flow testing


Provided are R-praziquantel preparation methods, which utilize the characteristics of biological enzyme of strong stereoselectivity, site-selectivity, and regioselectivity, of high resolution efficiency, of mild reaction conditions, and of simple operations to catalyze the hydrolysis of a certain enantiomer in a chemically synthesized racemate or a derivative, thus acquiring a mixture of reacted and unreacted optical isomers. R-praziquantel prepared by the method can have a purity of 98% or more.

Praziquantel, also referred to as Biltricide, is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic medicament. It has a broad helminthic spectrum, and works on killing Schistosoma japonica, Schistosoma haematobia, Schistosoma mansoni and the like. Moreover, it also works on killing Paragonimus (Paragonimus westermani), Clonorchis endemicus, hydatid, cysticercus, Sparganum mansoni, Fasciolopsis buski, cestode, etc. Praziquantel is provided with characteristics of high efficacy, short treatment period, low dosage, fast metabolism, low toxicity and convenience for oral administration. The discovery of praziquantel brought a significant breakthrough in the parasistic chemotherapy, which has now become the drug of choice for treating various helminthiasis.
Praziquantel was first synthesized by Seubert, et al. in 1975, and two German pharmaceutical companies, E-Merck and Bayer successfully developed this medicament. It was first brought to market by E-Merck, Inc., with a trade name of Cesol in 1980, and has now been widely used in the world. Besides human use, it is also used for anti-parasitic treatment in animals, fowls, etc. However, toxic and harmful compounds (substances or reagents), such as potassium cyanide, cyclohexanoyl sulphoxide chloride and so forth, are required during the conventional preparation of praziquantel which also requires a long process route and harsh experimental conditions.

Recently, optical isomers of R-praziquantel and S-praziquantel were obtained through resolution of racemic praziquantel by Chinese researchers and discoveries were made from preclinical and early clinical trials that R-praziquantel is the active component of praziquantel against worms, and S-praziquantel is an inactive and even deleterious component; R-praziquantel provides better clinical efficacy than praziquantel at the same dose. Although the World Health Organization has been expecting to develop R-praziquantel to replace praziquantel, the technical problem of low yield in the chemical synthesis of R-praziquantel has been a pending issue for years, see the synthesis scheme above.


In one example, information is presented to a user through an electronic device in a non-visual manner. In this example, an informational event is received. Next, a determination is made if the informational event has been previously associated with a binaural sound sequence, the binaural sound sequence includes a user's nominal ear spacing for sound localization in a 3D space. The binaural sound sequence is presented to a multimedia port, in response to a binaural sound sequence being previously associated with the event. The localization in the 3D space using a binaural sound can be associated with importance, future times, source of information associated with the event, a person associated with the event, or a combination thereof.

Information is generally presented to a user on an electronic device, such as a wireless communication device, in a visual manner. Stated differently, information is displayed to a user via the display of the device. However, there are many instances where a user is not able to look at the display long enough to fully comprehend the information being displayed. In other instances, users do not want to pull out a device from his/her pocket or holster. At other times, a user may simply be unable to view the display (e.g., while driving). This operation is time-consuming and disruptive. Some electronic devices allow information on the display to be read back to the user using text-to-speech software. However, this text-to-speech option is usually slow and sometimes incomprehensible. Moreover, oftentimes users listen to audio by wearing earphones while on-the-go or while working. Users want to be presented with the information in a more discreet and unobtrusive manner.

Event notification on a mobile device using binaural sounds


A receiver is provided that includes a time-to-digital converter for converting a phase difference between a clock signal and a received data signal into a phase-difference digital code. The receiver also includes a logic circuit that controls a programmable delay line to delay the clock signal into a delayed clock signal by a delay that is responsive to a difference between the phase-difference code and a unit interval for the clock signal. The delayed clock signal clocks a flip-flop to register the received data signal.

In source-synchronous systems, it is conventional for the receiver to align a clock signal with the data using a phase interpolator. In such systems, the receiver includes a phase detector that detects the phase between the clock signal and the data. A loop filter filters the phase detector output to produce a filtered phase difference so that the clock signal may be interpolated according to the filtered phase difference. The clock signal interpolation keeps the interpolated or aligned clock signal centered in the data eye so that the data may be sampled accordingly.
But the operation of the phase interpolator consumes substantial power. It is thus conventional for low-power serial links to be implemented without the phase-interpolated clock alignment discussed above. In such a simplified source-synchronous system, a master device includes a clock source such as a phase-locked loop (PLL). The clock source in the master device transmits a PLL clock signal across a channel having a propagation delay τ to a slave device having a clock receiver for receiving the transmitted PLL clock signal. A transmitter in the master device transmits data synchronously with the PLL clock signal across the channel to a receiver in the slave device that samples the received data using the received clock signal. In turn, a transmitter in the slave device transmits data across the channel back to the master device responsive to the received clock signal. The transmitted data from the slave device is also subjected to the propagation delay of τ from the propagation across the channel. A master device receiver samples the data from the slave device transmitter responsive to the PLL clock signal.
The resulting serial transmission is low power because no phase interpolation is needed in the slave device nor in the master device. But this low power operation is limited by the roundtrip propagation delay of 2τ from the master device to the slave device and then back from the slave device to the master device. In particular, suppose that the clock period (and thus the data period) is also 2τ. The master device receiver will then be sampling the data from the slave device transmitter at the boundary between a current bit and a subsequent bit, which leads to timing violations and errors. Conventional low-power serial link data speeds are thus limited to a frequency of no greater than ½τ.
Accordingly there is a need in the art for improved low-power source-synchronous systems that do not require phase interpolators.

Low-power, low-latency time-to-digital-converter-based serial link


Disclosed are a display device and an input device. The display device includes: gate and data lines arranged to cross each other and to define a pixel region; a pixel electrode disposed on the pixel region; a sensing element disposed on the pixel region; and a switching element configured to selectively connect the data line with any one of the pixel electrode and sensing element. Such a display device according to an embodiment allows both of a scan signal for the display of an image and an externally input signal to be transferred through the data line. Therefore, the display device according to an embodiment can display an image and input an external signal such as a touch or others, using a simplified configuration.

The development of information processing techniques makes flat display devices, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, active matrix organic light emission diode (AMOLED) devices, plasma display panels (PDPs) and so on, to be widely distributed.
Moreover, touch screens suitable to directly input signals into the screens of the flat display devices are being widely used.
The touch screens can be disposed on the flat display devices. Alternatively, elements suitable for inputting signals generated by touching a screen can be included into the display devices.


A catheter hub including a housing having a connection end defining a first fluid passageway and a catheter end defining a second fluid passageway. The housing includes a plurality of hub walls arranged in a geometric configuration. The hub walls define a valve chamber. The catheter hub further includes a valve positioned in the valve chamber for controlling fluid flow through the chamber between the first and second fluid passageways. The catheter hub further includes an actuator for actuating the valve. The catheter hub regulates fluid flow between the first and second fluid passageways.

The present invention relates to a catheter hub. More specifically, the invention is directed to a catheter hub having a valve to regulate fluid flow through the catheter hub.
A previous type catheter hub with valve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,645 to Purdy et al. The device of this patent includes an elongate resilient valve having a large internal cavity. Being elongate, its length is greater than its width. Such an elongate valve is unstable and tends to deflect or travel in a non-linear manner during use, thus creating an unreliable seal, possibly resulting in leakage. Valve leakage can create significant discomfort for the patient and increased risk of infection, along with increased risk of exposure to blood borne pathogens for healthcare workers.
The internal cavity of the prior art device has a tendency to collapse during use as a result of the blood pressure of the patient. This could unseat the valve and produce leakage. Also, the internal cavity results in significant "dead" space in the flow path, in which blood or liquid can get trapped. Such trapped fluids can pose a risk off infection and/or thrombosis to the patient. In addition to the above, an elongate valve results in a longer catheter, which is harder for healthcare workers to use while being more expensive to fabricate.


A system for controlling the delivery of medical gases includes a digital signal processor that receives at least one ventilation parameter value change, calculates a fresh oxygen flow rate, total fresh gas flow rate into the breathing circuit, and a reference oxygen flow rate representative of a predetermined oxygen concentration delivered to a patient. A graphical display presents the calculated fresh oxygen flow rate, total fresh gas flow rate, and reference oxygen flow rate. A method of controlling the delivery of medical gases to a patient includes calculating a total fresh gas flow rate into the breathing circuit, calculating a fresh oxygen flow rate into the breathing circuit, calculating a reference oxygen flow rate representative of a predetermined oxygen concentration delivered to the patient and presenting the total fresh gas flow rate, the fresh oxygen flow rate, and reference oxygen flow rate on a graphical display.

The present disclosure is related to the field of mechanical ventilation. More specifically, the current disclosure is related to the prevention of the delivery of hypoxic gases to a patient.
Known guards against the delivery of hypoxic gases are based upon minimum concentration settings to ensure the addition of adequate fresh gas oxygen to a breathing circuit. Such a minimum concentration setting is maintained with a mechanical or equivalent link between the gas flow settings of the constituent gases of the delivered fresh gas. Such linkages ensure that the resulting mixture of fresh gas maintains a required minimum oxygen concentration.
During some mechanical ventilator operational settings, particularly low flow mechanical ventilator operation, hypoxic gases can still be delivered to a patient, even when known hypoxic guards register that the minimum oxygen concentration for fresh gas flows has been met.

System and method of controlling the delivery of medical gases to a patient


A water-monitoring apparatus includes an anchor for holding on to a bottom of the water, a buoy for floating on the water surface, a reel mounted on the buoy and a tension and signal cable including a lower end tied to the anchor and an upper end tied to the reel. The tension and signal cable is wound on the reel. A control device is connected with the reel. When the water level changes, the control device rotates the reel, thus adjusting a length of the tension and signal cable extending from the reel so that the buoy always float on the water surface. A shallow-water sensor is carried via the buoy for detecting a first environmental characteristic and for producing a first signal representative of the first environmental characteristic. A deep-water sensor is connected with the lower end of the tension and signal cable for detecting a second environmental characteristic and for producing a second signal representative of the second environmental characteristic. A signal relay is electrically connected with the upper end of the tension and signal cable. A transmitter transmits the first and second signals to a remote monitoring station.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to monitoring of water quality and, more particularly, to a water-monitoring apparatus with an anchor.
2. Related Prior Art
While developing, the world is encountering a more and more serious problem of pollution. Water pollution could be the worst among all sorts of pollution. A lot of pollutants are dumped to reservoirs and open channels from fixed sources, e.g., factories and farms, or from mobile sources, e.g., vehicles. Such pollutants may be released into water, or may be dumped on the land and then washed into the water by rain. Once introduced into the water, such pollutants inevitably increase costs in treating the water and very often harm human bodies, life stock and aquatic lives.
Therefore, it is important to solve these problems of pollution. However, before any proper measure can be taken to solve the problem of water pollution, pollutants and extent of pollution must be determined. Hence, various quality parameters of the water must be monitored.
In early days, prior to analyses, water was manually sampled. Manual sampling has always been expensive and cumbersome. Therefore, manual sampling was conducted on an irregular basis and rarely.
To achieve regular and frequent sampling, it must be done automatically. There have been installed some conventional monitoring stations into which water is automatically pumped through pipes. It is, however, found difficult to have the pipes catch up with the water level changing vigorously from season to season. When the water level becomes too low for the pipes to reach, it is impossible to pump water through the pipes.
To make sure that the water can be monitored continuously, there have been devised some water-monitoring apparatuses in which sensors are carried by means of a buoy tied to a bank or a well by means of a cable. To have the buoy float on the water when the water level is low, a sufficiently long cable is used. However, the cable allows the buoy to drift for a long distance in any direction when the water level is high. As the buoy drifts, the cable often tangles with miscellaneous objects, e.g., twigs. This could seriously affect the operation of the sensors.
To prevent the cable from. tangling with miscellaneous objects, there has been devised a length control device in which the cable is wound on a reel operatively connected with a motor. The motor can be activated to rotate the reel to adjust a length of the cable extending from the reel so that the sensors can always be immerged in water. However, the motor consumes a lot of energy.
In addition, to transmit signals from the sensors to a monitoring station, the cable is connected to the monitoring station through a signal relay including a mandrel electrically connected with the cable. The mandrel rotates together with the reel. The signal relay further includes a brush electrically connected with the monitoring station. The brush does not rotate. The mandrel is in rotational engagement with the brush, thus allowing the mandrel to rotate with respect to the brush while allowing the signals to be transmitted from the mandrel to the brush. However, friction between the mandrel and the brush interferes with the rotation of the reel and wears out the brush after serving for a period of time.
However, none of the above-mentioned water-monitoring apparatuses is suitable for use far from the bank. Hence, a water-monitoring apparatus has been devised to include a sensor carried by means of a buoy connected via a cable with an anchor or weight for holding on to a reservoir bottom or an ocean bed. Obviously, such a water-monitoring apparatus with an anchor can be employed far from the bank since it does not have to be tied to the bank. To have the buoy float on the water when the water level is high, a sufficiently long cable is used. However, when the water level is low, the cable allows the buoy to drift for a long distance in any direction. Sometimes, the buoy may drift to and get grounded on a slope by the water. This could seriously affect the operation of the sensor.
Therefore, the present invention is intended to alleviate or even obviate the afore-mentioned drawbacks that are encountered in the prior art.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a water-monitoring apparatus for use far from the land.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a water-monitoring apparatus capable of automatically tracing water level.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a water-monitoring apparatus with a sensor-carrying cable of an automatically adjustable length.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a water-monitoring apparatus with a sensor-carrying cable wound on a reel capable of automatic rotation for adjusting a length of the sensor-carrying cable extending from the reel.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a water-monitoring apparatus includes at least one sensor carried by a buoy. The sensor is used to detect a water quality parameter. A reel is mounted on the buoy. A coil spring is used to exert a substantially constant torque on the reel. A cable is wound on the reel. The cable includes an upper end tied to the reel and a lower end tied to an anchor or weight for holding on to a water bottom.


A description is given of a semiconductor component comprising a drift zone of a first conduction type and at least one Schottky metal zone arranged in the drift zone, and of a method for producing a semiconductor component.

One aim when realizing semiconductor components, in particular when realizing so-called power semiconductor components, is to achieve a lowest possible on resistance for a given dielectric strength of the component. In the case of compensation components, this is achieved by arranging compensation zones in a doped drift zone of the component, the compensation zones being doped complementarily to the drift zone. When the component is driven in the off state, that is to say when a space charge zone propagates in the drift zone, part of the dopant charge present in the drift zone is compensated for by the dopant charge present in the compensation zones, that is to say that dopant atoms in the drift zone which are ionized when the component is in the off state find a corresponding countercharge in the compensation zones. For the same dielectric strength as in the case of a component without compensation zones, in the case of a compensation component it is possible to provide a higher doping of the drift zone, which results in a lower on resistance in comparison with a non-compensation component.
When the component is driven in the off state, the compensation zones of a compensation component are charged. If an n-conducting component is considered, for example, wherein the drift zone is n-doped and wherein the compensation zone is p-doped, then holes flow away from the compensation zones when the component is driven in the off state. If the component is driven in the on state again at a later point in time, then the holes have to be fed to the compensation zones again, that is to say that the compensation zones have to be discharged, in order to achieve the desired low on resistance.
In order to reliably ensure such a discharge, the compensation zones can be connected to a further component zone, in the case of a MOSFET for example to the source zone thereof. However, such fixed connection of the compensation zones to one of the further component zones restricts freedom in the design of the component.
Furthermore, the dimensions of the doped compensation zones cannot be shrunk arbitrarily, which is at odds with a shrink of the component dimensions that is striven for.

Semiconductor component with Schottky zones in a drift zone


Methods for detecting exposure to ionizing radiation are provided. In particular, methods for detecting and measuring the exposure of keratin-rich materials to ionizing radiation using optically stimulated luminescence are provided.

Exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation can be harmful. Measuring the level of an individual's exposure can be useful in allocating resources and determining appropriate methods of treatment. In some circumstances, it can be useful to determine the exposure of an entire population to a source of ionizing radiation, for example, in mass-casualty radiation accidents, or in incidents of radiological terrorism (Alexander G. A. et al., Biodos-EPR-2006 Meeting: Acute dosimetry consensus committee recommendations on biodosimetry applications in events involving uses of radiation by terrorists and radiation accidents. Radiation Measurements 42 (2007) 972-996).
First responders and receivers (i.e. physicians and nurses) need guidance to perform triage based on dose assessment, so that those who are at risk of significant acute radiation effects are identified and entered into the health care system. For example, individuals with sub clinical exposures (for example, less than about 1.5 Gy) can be followed as outpatients. Individuals with significant absorbed doses (for example, in the range of about 1.5-10 Gy) can be referred to hospitals for treatment, while those with higher absorbed doses (for example, greater than about 10 Gy) may be triaged for compassionate care or to heroic measures, if resources are available. Dose assessments can contribute to medical treatment decisions.
Several techniques exist that are useful to estimate the level an individual may have been exposed to ionizing radiation. These include cytogenetic assays, electron spin resonance (ESR) or electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and luminescence techniques.
Cytogenetic assays measure the effects of ionizing radiation on the cells of an exposed individual. These assays include culturing cells from an individual, then visualizing chromosomal aberrations in such cells. Cytogenetic assays are therefore invasive, expensive, and time-consuming.
ESR detects free electrons produced in the tissues of an individual on exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation. Generally, ESR cannot be carried out in the presence of large amounts of water and had therefore been limited to relatively dry samples, such as extracted teeth. Recently, ESR has been applied to tissues such as fingernail and toenail parings (Romanyukha A. et al., EPR dosimetry in chemically treated fingernails. Radiation Measurements (2007) 42:1110-1113; Trompier F. et al., Protocol for emergency EPR dosimetry in fingernails. Radiation Measurements (2007) 42:1085-1088; and Trompier F. et al., Electron paramagnetic resonance radiation dosimetry in fingernails. Radiation Measurements (2009) 44:6-10).

Dosimetry system based on optically stimulated luminesence


A control unit for controlling luminance in a space, the control unit being configured to estimate a trajectory of a target relative to the space, and control the luminance in the space based on the estimated trajectory and on a function rate corresponding to an adaptability of the target eye to changes in luminance.

Artificial lighting is used for many applications, such as e.g. the lighting of a room or rooms in a home, or for the illumination of other spaces such as e.g. offices, restaurants, museums, and shops. The control of artificial lighting may be manual, wherein a lighting system may be provided with a manual switch. The lights may be turned on by a person present in a space by means of the manual switch, thereby illuminating the space. Instead of a manual operation, there may be provided an automatic presence detection arrangement which is connected to the lighting system. Upon detection by the sensor of the presence of a person in a space, the lights may be turned on. Analogously, when the person leaves the space, he may manually turn off the lights. Alternatively, an automatic presence detection arrangement may detect that no person is present in the space, and turn off the lights automatically.
Both for manually and automatically controlled lighting systems, lights are often completely turned on or off. In other words, a light source is often switched on to (or off from) a specific power of the light source. However, for certain applications, a fast change in lighting intensity with a sharp change from "on" to "off" or vice versa may be discomforting for the eyes. Moreover, passing from a space with bright light to a space which is dark (or vice versa), may limit the ability of a person, at least for a time, to see properly, as the pupils of the eyes need time to adapt to the new setting of the light. For this purpose, it is of interest to provide a convenient adaptation of the lighting.
Prior art apparatuses and methods, however, do not provide a satisfactory adaptation of the lighting. Thus, there is a need for providing new devices and methods providing a more convenient and/or effective lighting control.

Apparatus and method for luminance control


An apparatus for forcing a member or device, such as a sample tube or seismic or geological instrument, through a material such as soil along a selected line of action. The apparatus includes a derrick with first and second plates mounted thereto, the second plate having a locking dog extending through a hole therein for engaging the material, and the first plate being provided with a hydraulic cylinder or other device for forcing the member through the material. The first plate is also provided with an extruder head for releasably mounting the sample-containing sample tube thereto, and the hydraulic cylinder is provided with a plunger releasably mounted to the ram thereof for extruding the sample from the sample tube. The locking dog positively engages the material to provide an apparatus for transmitting the reactive forces resulting from forcing the member through the material to the material. The outer surface of the locking dog is shaped to approximate the shape of the hole and the locking dog is provided with a radially extensible member for engaging a discontinuity or groove in the wall of the hole to transmit the reactive force exerted by the force exerting apparatus to the material. Also provided is an apparatus for removing material from a wall of the hole through the material and a method of sampling the material under a strata.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forcing a member through a material, especially where such materials exist in conjunction with a load bearing strata, either naturally occurring or made-made, and which transmits the reactive forces developed during use of the invention either to the material or to the load bearing strata. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for obtaining material samples, such as soil samples, from underneath, behind or overlying the structure or concrete slab.
A common work activity of geotechnical scientists and engineers is the analysis and evaluation of material deposits. For example, when a building structure has experienced distress to its foundation or to other elements of construction, information concerning the soils and other materials underlying the structure, as well as physical samples of those materials, is required for the analysis and evaluation of the distress.
It is well known in the geotechnical field that such samples should be "undisturbed" because sample-disturbance increases the likelihood and degree of error in the assessment of in situ physical properties and characteristics of the material sampled. "Undisturbed" samples are commonly obtained by advancing a thin-walled tube, ranging in length from several inches to several feet and commonly called a "Chicago Tube" or a "Shelby Tube", into the soil or other material to be sampled. Once the tube is sufficiently advanced to contain a "plug" of the material to be sampled, it is withdrawn. That operation is repeated a sufficient number of times, using a number of such tubes, to create a continuous series of sample "plugs" which comprise the physical "undisturbed" samples of the materials through which the sample tube is forced. Upon completion of the sampling and retrieval operations, the plugs of soil are removed from the tubes and various tests performed to assess the properties of the material samples.
Although it is sometimes fairly easy to obtain such samples with truck-mounted conventional drilling and sampling equipment, such equipment is relatively expensive to purchase and operate, and in many cases, space and other limitations prevent the entry of a relatively large, truck-mounted drilling rig into the location at which sampling must be conducted. Limitations of that nature are particularly acute when the sampling site happens to be within a building or other structure, for instance, when information might be required about the materials under a foundation slab after the slab has shifted or cracked. In such cases, the size of the truck-mounted drilling rig and the fumes produced by the truck's motor obviate its use and require the use of cumbersome hand-sampling methods (described below).
Presently-utilized hand-sampling methods generally involve manually impact-driving the sample tubes into the sub-foundation materials with sledgehammers or dropweights. The sample tubes are generally attached to the end of a piece of pipe or other suitable rod for driving and, after being so driven, are extracted by manually impacting them out of the "hole" or, in some cases, using automobile jacks to jack against chains which are wrapped around the sample tube drive rod. After the samples are retrieved, they are extruded from the sample tube at a standby drill rig having extrusion capability or they are taken back to a laboratory for extrusion.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, the disadvantages of such hand-sampling techniques and equipment are many. They include, for instance, the extremely labor and equipment intensive nature of the techniques and difficulty, or even impossibility, of obtaining samples as the hardness of the sub-foundation materials increases. From an economic standpoint, only shallow samples can be obtained, and the tendency of the axis of advancement (or retraction) to wander (especially in harder materials) introduces additional variables into assessment of the samples and increases the amount of effort required. Further, even though the samples are supposed to be "undisturbed" samples, they are often severely disturbed due to the impacts required to advance and retract the sample tube. Sample quality is, therefore, unpredictable and erratic, worker fatigue is common and can be extreme. An additional limitation of such techniques is that they cannot be used to place various members or devices, such as penetrometers, stepped blade soil pressure transducers, piezometer tubes, soil gas samplers and bore hole dilatometers for example, into the material for in situ assessment of the properties of the material because of the cumbersome nature of such techniques and the sensitivity of such members or devices to the impacts needed to advance then into the materials.
Although the above discussion refers in large part to methods for obtaining samples from beneath structures, the problems and limitations discussed are generally similar to those encountered whenever it is desired to advance or retract a device or member through a mass of material. Such operations are common in the geophysical, geological, and construction arts and include, but are not limited to, driving and the placement of members such as benchmarks, geophysical logging equipment, well points, well casings, and soil anchors for guy wires and retaining walls, as well as the penetrometers, pressure transducers, piezometer tubes, and soil gas samplers discussed above. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is adaptable for a number of purposes relating to advancing and retracting such a member or device(s) within a mass of material such as soil.
Further, although the above discussion refers primarily to performing an operation such as obtaining a soil sample from beneath a building foundation, it will be understood that the structure need not be a building foundation. Indeed, it is another object of the present invention to provide a small, portable device for forcing a member or device through a mass of material and which transmits the reactive forces resulting from the resistance of the material to the forcing of the member therethrough to the material or to a load bearing strata such as a concrete drain culvert, retaining wall, a naturally occurring rock foundation or other strata, or the strata itself comprising the material through which the member is to be forced, as well as a floor, slab, foundation, or other elements of a building.
Further, so far as is known, no practical device or method is available for performing such operations on steeply sloped or overhead surfaces, or in enclosed or confined spaces. It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which can be used to obtain tube-type soil or materials samples and to extrude those samples from the sample tube on-site, thus obviating the need for extrusion of the sample from the sample tube with a standby drill rig or at the lab, thereby enhancing the scientist's ability to direct an effective sampling program in the field.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which can penetrate hard formations that hand-sampling methods cannot breach, can be adapted for setting benchmarks and their casings without the requirement of first drilling a pilot shaft, and can be utilized to place, or advance or retract various devices and instruments, including, but not limited to, piezometer tubes, dutch cone penetrometers, other types of probes or bits, soil anchors, and soil pressure meters in the soil, as well as soil or other material sampling.
The advantages of such a device will be apparent to those skilled in the art from even the above-summarized brief description of the various uses and capabilities of the present invention. In short, the apparatus and method of the present invention saves times and money, eliminates manual hammer and drop weight methods, allows work in confined locations or locations that are otherwise inaccessible to conventional power equipment, and reduces the size of the crew required for performing the on-site operations necessary for the scientist or engineer to attain his or her objectives. The member can also be advanced further into the mass of materials than is currently possible with hand methods. Because the member, notably a sample tube, is smoothly forced straight into the materials worked upon, the undesirable effects of impacting, sample disturbance, and wandering of the axis of advancement are reduced. Operator fatigue is reduced and sample extrusion can be handled on-site.


A capacitor includes a metal case and a terminal plate. The metal case accommodates a capacitor element together with a driving electrolyte and is joined to one of the electrodes of the capacitor element at its inner bottom surface. The terminal plate is joined to the other electrode at its inner surface so as to seal the opening of the metal case. The terminal plate is provided with a pressure regulating valve also functioning as a driving-electrolyte filling hole. The pressure regulating valve includes a ring-shaped elastic member which is pressed into the wall formed on the terminal plate.

FIG. 66 is a sectional view of a conventional capacitor. FIG. 67 is a sectional view of a pressure regulating valve used in the conventional capacitor. In FIGS. 66 and 67, the capacitor includes capacitor element 20 having hollow portion 20a. Capacitor element 20 is formed by winding a pair of positive and negative electrodes which are displaced from each other in opposite directions with a separator interposed therebetween (all unillustrated). The positive and negative electrodes are each composed of a current collector made of aluminum foil and a polarizable electrode layer formed thereon. Capacitor element 20 is structured so that the anode and the cathode can be removed from the end faces (the top and the bottom of FIG. 66).
The capacitor further includes metal case 21, which is a bottomed aluminum cylindrical case to accommodate capacitor element 20 together with an unillustrated driving electrolyte. Metal case 21 has cathode terminal 21a, which is an external-connection terminal integral with the outer bottom surface thereof. Metal case 21 further has protrusion 21b, which is integral with its inner bottom surface and inserted into hollow portion 20a of capacitor element 20. Protrusion 21b is thus inserted into hollow portion 20a of capacitor element 20, so that the cathode-side surface of capacitor element 20 in metal case 21 is mechanically and electrically joined by, for example, laser welding to the inner bottom surface of metal case 21.
The capacitor further includes sealing plate 22 made of aluminum. Sealing plate 22 has anode terminal 22a integral with its front surface and protrusion 22b, which is inserted into hollow portion 20a of capacitor element 20. The anode-side surface of capacitor element 20 is joined by, for example, laser welding to the inner surface of sealing plate 22 so as to be mechanically and electrically connected thereto. The anode-side surface of capacitor element 20 is then sealed by applying a curling process (generally called "curling") to the opening of metal case 21 on the periphery of sealing plate 22.
The capacitor further includes pressure regulating valve 23 having gas-permeable member 24 and blocking member 25 which are disposed on electrolyte filling hole 22c of sealing plate 22. Pressure regulating valve 23 further has metal cap 26, which covers and fixes gas-permeable member 24 and blocking member 25 so as to bias blocking member 25 constantly in the closing direction. Metal cap 26 has hole 26a for communication with outside. Metal cap 26 is fixed by, for example, caulking annular projection 22d against metal cap 26. Annular projection 22d is previously disposed on sealing plate 22 in such a manner as to enclose electrolyte filling hole 22c.
Pressure regulating valve 23 is of self-recovery type and releases the pressure to the outside when the internal pressure of the capacitor exceeds a predetermined value. Pressure regulating valve 23 allows the gas generated in the capacitor to be released to the outside so as to prevent a pressure increase in the capacitor. After the operation, pressure regulating valve 23 returns to the original state so as to keep the airtightness of the inside of the capacitor. As a result, when the gas generation causes a pressure increase in the capacitor, the capacitor can maintain its properties without exhibiting any apparent abnormalities.
Pressure regulating valve 23 functions to prevent the permeation of the driving electrolyte. Gas-permeable member 24 in close contact with sealing plate 22 is made of a material that allows the gas generated in the capacitor to pass through to the outside. This prevents the driving electrolyte from adhering to blocking member 25 and hence damaging the function of pressure regulating valve 23. Pressure regulating valve 23 further functions to prevent the driving electrolyte from leaking to the outside of the capacitor.
In the conventional capacitors having the above-described structure, pressure regulating valve 23 is fixedly attached to electrolyte filling hole 22c so as to reduce the number of locations from which the driving electrolyte might leak out. One of the prior arts related to the present application is Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2004-134632.
In the conventional capacitor, pressure regulating valve 23 is fixedly attached to electrolyte filling hole 22c so as to reduce the leakage of the driving electrolyte. However, gas-permeable member 24 and sealing plate 22 are not joined to each other and therefore the driving electrolyte is likely to leak through their boundaries. The leakage can be prevented by joining gas-permeable member 24 and sealing plate 22 by bonding or welding; however, the joining is very difficult due to the differences in their material properties.