An improved method for generating various wave functions for use in musical tone generation in FM synthesis so as to substantially reduce computational and storage requirements. The waveform desired to be used is mathematically modeled using piecewise linear approximation. A reduced number of coefficients of the piecewise linear approximation, representing the angles and offsets of the linear segments, are stored in memory.

Musical synthesizers have become very popular among both professional and amateur musicians. Typically, a synthesizer can provide the sound of a variety of musical instruments. Some synthesizers can also generate the sound of a variety of instruments at a same time, such that one player may emulate an entire orchestra. Some of these synthesizers operate based on the principles of frequency modulation, FM, synthesis.
It is well known that the frequency spectrum of an FM modulated signal contains a sizeable number of harmonics. By manipulating the pertinent parameters in an FM modulation scheme, it is possible to provide signals that emulate the sound of musical instruments. Such manipulation of parameters in an FM modulation scheme is referred to as FM synthesis. FM synthesis exploits the fact that modulating one waveform with another waveform produce a waveform with many more harmonics than were present in either of the waveforms. For example, in a typical FM based synthesizer, the phase of a carrier sine signal is in turn another modulating sine signal. The frequency ratio of modulator to carrier will determine which harmonics will result. The amplitude of modulating signal determines how many of the potential harmonics will result.
There are various implementations of FM synthesis to emulate musical tones such as the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,018,121, 4,249,447, 4,643,066, and 4,813,326, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. All of the systems disclosed in these patents utilize a waveform in performing FM synthesis. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,121, for example, the waveform is generated from a sine table. (See Col. 19, lines 32-41) Similarly, a sine memory is used to generate the waveform in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,447. (See Col. 8, lines 40-45; Col, 9, lines 56-68) A sine wave waveform memory is used to obtain a sine wave in U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,066. (See Col. 11, lines 22-33) A waveshape table is used to generate the waveshape in U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,326. (See Col. 1, lines 60-66)
As these patents demonstrate, the wave functions needed to perform FM synthesis are usually generated using lookup table methods. Typically, when a lookup table is used a function is evaluated by reading its values directly from a memory containing a large number of samples of the function. Alternatively, Taylor series methods may be used to evaluate the desired function. Taylor series methods are less suitable, however, due to the large amount of computation required.
Thus, there is a need for a more efficient generation of wave functions, particularly those wave functions used in FM synthesis.

Generation of wave functions by storage of parameters for piecewise linear approximations


A flame-resistant polymer excelling in moldability capable of providing a flame-resistant molded item of novel configuration; a relevant flame-resistant polymer solution; a process for easily producing them; a carbon molding from the flame-resistant polymer; and a process for easily producing the same. There is provided a flame-resistant polymer modified with an amine compound. Further, there is provided a flame-resistant polymer solution in which the polymer is dissolved in a polar organic solvent. Still further, there is provided a flame-resistant molding whose part or entirety is constituted of the flame-resistant polymer modified with an amine compound. Moreover, there is provided a carbon molding whose part or entirety is constituted of a carbon component resulting from carbonization of the flame-resistant polymer modified with an amine compound. Still further, there is provided a process for producing them. From the solution containing the flame-resistant polymer, moldings of various configurations can be obtained through further work.

Flame-resistant fiber is so excellent in heat resistance and flame retardance as to be widely utilized, for example, for spatter sheets for protecting the human body from high-heat iron powder and weld spark, which scatter in welding operation, and fire-resistant heat insulators for aircrafts, leading to an increasing demand in the fields.
Flame-resistant fiber is important also as intermediate raw materials for obtaining carbon fiber. The carbon fiber has such mechanical, chemical properties and lightweight properties as to be widely used for various uses, for example, materials for aviation and space such as aircrafts and rockets, and sporting goods such as tennis rackets, golf shafts and fishing rods, and to be going to be used also in fields for transport machines such as vessels and automobiles. In recent years, the carbon fiber has so high electrical conductivity and heat radiation as to be strongly required for application to electronic equipment parts such as portable telephones and personal computer cabinets, and electrodes of fuel cells.
The carbon fiber is generally obtained by a method of carbonizing flame-resistant fiber by heating at high temperature in an inert gas such as nitrogen. With regard to flame-resistant fiber, for example, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based flame-resistant fiber is obtained by making PAN-based precursor fiber flame-resistant (cyclization reaction and oxidation reaction of PAN) at a high temperature of 200 to 300° C. in the air.
However, this reaction for making flame-resistant is an exothermic reaction and a reaction in a fibrous form, namely, a solid-phase state. Therefore, long-time treatment is required for temperature control, and the degree of fineness of PAN-based precursor fiber needs to be limited to fine size below specific value for finishing making flame-resistant within desired time. Thus, the presently known process of making flame-resistant is regarded with difficulty as a sufficiently efficient process.
With regard to flame-resistant products, it is substantially difficult to obtain flame-resistant formed products in the form except fiber, such as plane shapes of sheet and film and various cubic shapes, due to the difficulty of heat removal for the reason that the reaction for making flame-resistant is an exothermic reaction as described above. Accordingly, flame-resistant formed products are limited to fibreform products, and in the present circumstances, plane sheets are manufactured by making such fibreform products into fabrics.
When flame-resistant fiber with optional degree of fineness and flame-resistant products except fibreform products (flame-resistant formed products), such as sheet-like products and cubic molded products, are obtained, the use of flame-resistant formed products is markedly extended. In addition, the appropriateness of manufacturing conditions and carbonizing conditions thereof allows carbon fiber with optional degree of fineness and carbon products except fibreform products (carbon product), such as a carbon product group of sheet-like carbon and cubic carbon molded products, and extends uses thereof. The improvement of yield while maintaining high physical properties of carbon products brings advantages in costs.
Dissolution by solvent has been studied as a method for solving the above technical problem.
For example, a technique is disclosed such that acrylonitrile polymer powder is heated in inert atmosphere until the density becomes 1.20 g/cm3 or more, and thereafter dissolved in solvent and fiberized into a fibriform product, which is heat-treated (for example, refer to Patent Document No. 1).
However, the problem is that viscosity change with time of solution is so great as to frequently cause thread breakage by reason of using acrylonitrile polymer powder with flame resistance less performed. A device made of special materials having corrosion resistance needs to be used by reason of using as solvent strongly acidic solvents such as sulfuric acid and nitric acid for easily decomposing general organic polymers, leading to impractical costs.
A method is proposed such that heat-treated acrylonitrile polymer powder and not heat-treated acrylonitrile polymer powder are mixed and similarly dissolved in acidic solvent (for example, refer to Patent Document No. 2); however, the problem is still not solved on allowing corrosion resistance to a device as described above and instability of solution.
In addition, the conversion of polyacrylonitrile to a polymer having cyclization chemical structure by heat-treating dimethylformamide solution of polyacrylonitrile is disclosed (for example, refer to Non-Patent Document No.1); however, the polymer solution is dilute concentration of 0.5% and so low in viscosity as to be substantially difficult in forming into fiber, and a rise in concentration thereof causes the polymer to be deposited and incapable of being used as solution.
On the other hand, a solution in which polyacrylonitrile is denatured with a primary amine is disclosed (for example, refer to Non-Patent Document No.2); however, the solution is such as to impart hydrophilic property to polyacrylonitrile itself with flame resistance less performed, and totally differs in technical ideas from a flame-resistant polymer-containing solution.
A technique is disclosed such that the yield can be improved together with high physical properties in a conversion example from flame-resistant fiber to carbon fiber on the special carbonizing conditions (for example, refer to Patent Document No.3); however, compatibility therebetween in an easier method has been demanded.    [Patent Document No. 1] Japanese Patent Publication No.63-14093B    [Patent Document No. 2] Japanese Patent Publication No.62-57723B    [Patent Document No. 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 26365093B    [Non-Patent Document No.1] "Polymer Science (USSR)", 1968, Vol. 10, page 1537    [Non-Patent Document No.2] "Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry", 1990, Vol. 28, page 1623

Solution containing flame-resistant polymer and carbon molding


A method for identifying a particular component of an electronic system that accesses a resource of the electronic system using electronic security value units is described. First, electronic security value units are selectively distributing to a plurality of components, such as to a client, of the electronic system. Next, a unique first association is created with each individual component to which the security electronic security value units are distributed. Further, upon a particular access to a resource, a unique second association is created between particular ones of security electronic security value units and the particular access to the resource. In addition, the unique second association is analyzed to determine which particular security electronic security value units were used to access the particular resource. Then, the first association of the particular security electronic security value units is analyzed to determine the identity of the component which accessed the resource.

If trends continue, e-commerce will continue to grow at an exponential rate every year. Protecting networked information systems and services, such as securing e-commerce transactions over wide-area networks, remains an elusive challenge of ever-growing importance and complexity. These systems and services are increasingly exposed to attacks, resulting in significant disruption of services and damages. Attackers can utilize a growing range of vulnerabilities to compromise a system or a service. Once a vulnerability is identified, an attacker can execute programs to detect further vulnerabilities and exploit them to compromise and potentially damage a large number of systems. For example, an attacker can use vulnerabilities of e-mail services or of www services to gain unauthorized access to confidential information or to transaction capabilities, potentially resulting in significant damage to the owners of these resources. As e-commerce deals with obtaining products and services in a direct exchange for a customer's money (typically by the customer's credit card), attacks on such systems are highly problematic. That is, because a customer uses his own money (e.g., in U.S. dollars) to buy a product or service (e.g., a resource) from a vendor's remote server, the vendor has little, if any, control on who accesses their resources. This will be explained in detail hereinbelow.
Examples of the types of attacks on a system include Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, identity stealing attacks, identity masquerading attacks, trojan horse attacks, runtime stack overflow attacks, and worm attacks. In a DoS attack, the attacker creates a large amount of activity that saturates a resource and prevents legitimate access to the resource. The attacker can render a service practically inaccessible to legitimate users for hours or days. In the identity stealing attacks, an attacker steals a password of another entity, such as a legitimate client, and thus obtains the equivalent accesses rights of the legitimate client. In the identity masquerading attack, the attacker successfully pretends to be a legitimate client and thus gains access to the same resources of the legitimate client. In the trojan horse attack, a resource is exploited and the attacker gains access to all services that the conquered resource can access. In the runtime stack overflow attack, an attacker opens restricted accesses by compromising a resource with a runtime stack overflow. In the worm attack, the attacker exploits a bug in a resource to plant a virus that will spread to other resources in the network.
Unfortunately, attacks are very difficult to detect because detection requires instrumentation to monitor systems and service activities, as well as to correlate this data to identify attack patterns. Current intrusion detection techniques typically provide ad-hoc instrumentation that typically requires off-line manual correlation analysis by expert security administrators. Attack detection typically occurs after an attack has been made. Often attackers manage to change logs of intrusion monitoring instrumentation to prevent such detection.
In addition, current security protection techniques are insufficient to distinguish attacks from normal activities. Moreover, even when an attack has been detected and handled, the attacker can protect its identity and evade accountability for abuses and crimes it commits. Since an attacker can remove all identifying information from attack traffic, the attacker can use a system that has been compromised to execute implanted programs to launch attacks and eliminate traces that identify the source of the attack.
As can be appreciated, several factors increase the vulnerability of networked information systems and services to attacks. First, vulnerability increases with growth in scale (i.e., the number of components involved increases the range of possible vulnerabilities and dependencies), the growth in the variety of components involved (i.e., the range of vulnerabilities), and the growth in the complexity of operations management (i.e., security issues due to specific operating configurations).
Second, rapid changes in technologies increase the vulnerability of systems and services to attackers. A change in an updated component, or in an updated configuration in an existing component, can form new insecurities that can be used by attackers. In other words, an otherwise secure system can be rendered insecure by the addition of a single component. The combinatorics of interactions between new components and existing ones increase exponentially, and with it, the possibilities of vulnerable nodes.
Third, in the absence of a unifying security architecture, it is virtually impossible for component vendors to accomplish a coordinated protection paradigm. Therefore, as stated, protection is often left to ad-hoc designs and configurations, leaving insecure networks for attackers to exploit.
Networked information systems are typically managed by domain administrators. In the absence of a unified security architecture, domain administrators face increasing exposure to security risks and, further, they are unable to control, bound, or even quantify this exposure. Domain administrators require expensive expert manual labor to monitor and correlate access anomalies in order to detect an attack. Further, as stated above, such monitoring is typically accomplished through off-line non-realtime processes completed hours or days after the attack has been completed, giving sufficient time for an attacker to have possibly eliminated its traces.
A significant body of research and implementation work has been devoted to protecting individual resources or whole network domains. Two of the most commonly used protection techniques are (1) firewalls/security gateways (see, e.g., Cheswick, and Bellovin, "Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker," Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass. 1994), and (2) a combination of authentication and access control lists (see, e.g., Kaufman, Perlman, and Speciner, "Network Security—Private Communication in a Public World," Prentice Hall series in computer networking and distributed systems, 1995; Kohl and Neuman, "The Kerberos® Network Authentication Service (V5), "RFC 1510, September 1993; Needham, Fla., and VL Schroeder, "Using Encryption for Authentication in Large Networks of Computers," Communications of ACM, Vol. 21, December 1978, pp. 993–999; and Needham and Schroeder, "Authentication Revisited," Operating Systems Review, Vol. 21 # 1, January 1987).
Firewalls are typically computers that are positioned between an internal network and the external environment, which filter the data packets being received or transmitted, according to various criteria. Firewalls also provide proxying of internal services, such as e-mail and domain name systems (DNS), to outside accesses in order to reduce the exposure of these services to attacks. However, firewalls (or other security gateways) have the disadvantage of offering only limited security. In addition, they slow down the system operation and require complex configuration management to support access to new applications.
Authentication mechanisms, such as the well-known Kerberos® authentication mechanism, can verify the identity of network entities involved in a transaction. This verification is typically achieved through a certificate generated by a trusted certification authority. Certificates are valid for a period of time during which they authenticate the identities of the entities involved in a transaction. In the Kerberos® authentication mechanism, "tickets," which are issued as part of the authentication between an entity and a resource it wishes to access, provide the entity with unlimited access to the resource during the validity of the ticket.
Access control lists (ACLs) determine the authorization of the entity to access the specific resource. An ACL is associated with each resource whose access needs to be restricted. However, ACLs become prohibitively expensive as they increase in size, since they become expensive to store, difficult to maintain, and provide relatively little assistance in isolating attack sources, once the source or sources of an attack have been identified.
Another commonly used protection system is known as an intrusion detection system, which can be classified in two main categories:
(a) misuse detection systems, which attempt to identify intrusions by monitoring systems to identify patterns of well-known attacks (see, e.g., Ilgun, Kemmerer, and Porras, "State Transition Analysis: A Rule-based Intrusion Detection Approach," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 21(3), pp. 181–199, March 1995); and
(b) anomaly detection systems, which attempt to distinguish between normal and abnormal access patterns (see, e.g., Lunt, Tamaru, et al., "A Real-time Intrusion Detection Expert System (IDES)-final technical report," Technical Report, Computer Science Laboratory, SRI International, February 1992).
Many intrusion detection systems currently involve manual ad-hoc solutions; that is, they rely on the experience of the protection system creators to invent thresholds for differentiating normal from abnormal behavior, and employ hand-coded intrusion patterns in the attempt to identify intrusions. These practices limit the effectiveness and applicability of such intrusion detection systems to future unpredictable attacks. Furthermore, most intrusion detection systems are resource specific, which imposes restrictions on the correlation of events for detecting abnormal access patterns.
Over the past decade, significant research has been performed in the area of e-commerce, resulting in the development of several electronic payment protocols with respective financial institutions, for securing transactions over wide-area networks (see, e.g., Bellare, Garray, et al.,"iKP-A family of secure electronic payment Protocols," First USENIX Workshop on Electronic Commerce, pp. 89–106, July 1995; Chaum, Fiat, and Naor, "Untraceable Electronic Cash," Advances in cryptology-EUROCRYPT '92 Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, 1990, pp. 319–327; Jarecki, Odlyzko, "An Efficient Micropayment System Based on Probabilistic Polling," in Proc. of Financial Cryptography '97, R. Hirschfeld, ed., Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer, 1997; Manasse, "The Millicent protocols for electronic commerce," Proceedings of the first USENIX Workshop on Electronic Commerce, July 1995; Okamoto, Ohta "Universal Electronic Cash," Advances in Cryptography, CRYPTO'91 Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, 1992, pp. 324–337; Pedersen, "Electronic Payment of Small Amounts" Cambridge Workshop of 1996; Schneier, B. "Applied Cryptography," second edition, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 139–147; "Secure Electronic Transactions: Credit Card Payment on the Web in Theory and Practice, "IBM International Technical Support Organization, June 1997).
However, current financial institutions associated with e-commerce do not address certain key issues. For example, the issues of scalability and transparency are not addressed. Rather, most of their work research focuses on centralized infrastructure particular to the associated payment protocol. A second issue not addressed is the protection of the online financial infrastructure itself from intruders (i.e., from attackers). Furthermore, the volume of transactions created by trading both physical resources and higher level services is orders of magnitude larger than that assumed by typical e-cash protocols. Therefore, it becomes imperative to develop protocols with very low overheads in terms of : bandwidth; information that needs to be stored; and the cost of payment functionality.
Economic-based mechanisms for network resource management have focused on the efficient allocation of resources through the application of economics-based principles, and have provided insights on the role of prices and the operation of markets in a distributed network economy. See, for example, Kurose, J., M. Schwartz, and Y. Yemini "A Microeconomic Approach to Optimization of Channel Access Policies in Multiaccess Networks, "Proc. of the 5th International Conference on Distributed Computer Systems, Denver, Colo., 1995; Sairamesh, J., D. Ferguson, and Y. Yemini "An Approach to Pricing, Optimal Allocation and Quality of Service Provisioning in High-speed Packet Networks, "in Proc. of the Conference on Computer Communications, Boston, Mass., April 1995; and Y. Yemini "Selfish Optimization in Computer Networks, "Proc. of the 20th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, pp. 281–285, San Diego, Calif., December 1981., each of which is fully incorporated by reference. Such network resource management paradigms can be applied to the creation of a market system for trading access rights to resources, and for controlling prices as a means of achieving access control and protection of resources. However, the above-described electronic payment protocols and economic based mechanisms for network resource management have not been applied to enhancing network security and protecting network resources from unwanted intrusions or attacks.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art. In particular, the present invention provides a unique approach to enhancing the security of an electronic system, such as a network, and protecting against unauthorized access to resources of the electronic system. The present invention, inter alia, provides a novel method and system which uses electronic security value units (i.e., a form of electronic security value "currency") to prevent unauthorized access to resources and services (collectively, "resources") in the electronic system by components of the system.

Identification of an attacker in an electronic system

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


An agricultural spraying machine which is supported on the ground and is movable in a forward direction over a field, the agricultural spraying machine comprising: a chassis; a sprayer linkage, the sprayer linkage configured with a middle segment movably supported on the chassis; a pair of booms arranged on respectively one side of the middle segment and which are pivotable by respectively at least one actuator in relation to the middle segment about an axis extending in the forward direction; a control device configured to receive a signal from at least one sensor associated with the pair of booms and generate a control signal, the control device receiving the signal from the at least one sensor as an input variable and wherein the control device receives the signals provided by the at least one sensor in respect of the relative position of the pair of booms in relation to a field contour; and wherein an adjustment of the at least one actuator occurs using control signals from the control device, the control signals being respectively dependent on the input variables and configured to drive the actuator on with a view to maintaining the positions of the booms in a desired position above the field contour wherein due to the mechanical coupling of the pair of booms by the middle segment, also results in a movement of other respective booms.

Spraying or spreading machines, usually referred to as field sprayers, serve to apply agricultural products on a field. The field sprayers can be designed as self-propelled or towed vehicles or can be releasably attached to a carrier vehicle (tractor). They comprise a relatively wide sprayer linkage, which can be folded in for transport purposes and on which nozzles for applying the product are distributed over the width of the sprayer linkage. The products are usually constituted by liquids, which serve for the fertilization of plants cultivated on the field or for the diseases or pests or weeds. Generally, the product is intended to be applied in predetermined volumes per unit of area, which volumes are constant over a field or can vary on a site-specific basis, for which reasons the nozzles are opened and closed on a pre-planned application volume map and/or under the control of sensors. In order to be able to apply the desired volume, it is important that a sprayer linkage supporting the nozzles serving for the application of the product is moved at a defined height above the ground. If it is too high, the product is spread over too large a region, and if the sprayer linkage is too low, the product is delivered only in too small a region.
The positioning of the sprayer linkage at the desired height above the field contour is made more difficult by possible variations in the field contour (i.e. different heights of the plants above the ground and/or uneven ground contours), and by vehicle movements which impact as disturbing movements on the sprayer linkage. In order to react to a changing field contour, the sprayer linkage has degrees of freedom and actuators which enable the geometry of the sprayer linkage to be adapted to the field contour. Usually, a middle segment of the sprayer linkage can be rotated by an actuator, about an axis extending in the forward direction, in relation to a suspension which is adjustable in height in relation to the vehicle and is rotatable about the forward axis, and a left and right boom are respectively pivoted by an actuator, about an axis extending in the forward direction, in relation to the middle segment. In order to minimize vibration movements, suspension systems having springs and dampers between the vehicle and the suspension of the middle segment, which allow a damped rotary movement between the vehicle and the middle segment about the forward axis, are used.

Agricultural spraying machine having a spraying linkage


Methods and systems for high fidelity electrical tomographic processes are provided for herein. Specifically, the use of a purpose-selected fluid configuration is described, used to fill the void space between mechanically fixed sensing electrodes and the target object to sense and reconstruct. In some embodiments, this fluid configuration enhances or masks changes in electrical measurements in response to certain materials known or suspected to exist within the sensed volume. In other embodiments, a plurality of fluid configurations may be employed to improve the quality of reconstruction, or resolve additional spatial dimensions. Exemplary applications in medicine and manufacturing are also provided.

Electrical Capacitance, Resistance, and Impedance Tomography (ECT, ERT, and EIT, respectively) have long been prized for providing safe, high speed tomographic data for medicine and industry. These techniques rely on differentiating materials by their response to electric fields, ultimately generating an image illustrating the geometry and composition of the subject. In this disclosure, we describe how these measurements are most often taken between a series of plate-like electrodes. Depending on the sensing modality, there exists either a void space between the electrodes and target, or the electrodes are attached directly thereto. The boundary conditions presented by either of these cases make performing accurate image reconstruction difficult; however, the enclosed inventions mitigate these challenges by introducing a fluid specifically chosen for its electrical properties between the electrodes and target. ECT, ERT, and EIT may all be augmented through careful selection of this fluid, including by increased sensitivity, clutter rejection, or enabling non-contact resistance measurements.
These techniques differentiate regions of differing materials based upon their electrical properties, and then use this information to digitally reconstruct the material distribution in 2D or 3D. The two primary properties of interest are a material's resistance to the flow of electrical current (resistivity), and the polarizability of the material, as quantified by its dielectric constant. One skilled in the art will recognize the similarities between reconstruction based upon these properties, thus an electrical measurement of these properties is taken to include measurement of at least one electrical property of the reconstructed volume. Below, we derive a mathematical framework to describe how these electrical measurements may be performed and used to tomographically reconstruct a material distribution.
Derivation of the relevant fields proceeds from Poisson's Equation for electrostatics, as given in Eqn. 1a. Here, ∇·D (r) is a vector equation representing the divergence of the electric displacement field and ρ(r) is the free charge density. Because bulk matter carries no net charge, one can set ρ equal to 0, and the equation thereby reduces to Laplace's Equation. D(r) is given in two common forms by Eqn. 1b, where χe is the electric susceptibility, ∈0 is the permittivity of free space (vacuum), ∈r(r) is the relative permittivity distribution, and E(r) is the electric field vector. Last, one inserts Eqn. 1 for E, where V is the scalar electric potential and A is the magnetic vector potential. As these sensing modalities do not incorporate a time-varying magnetic field, A is set equal to 0. The result is given in Eqn. 1d, which essentially states that the divergence of the product of the permittivity distribution and potential gradient must be zero. It is this equation that supports our following discussion on sensing capacitance and resistance.
                              ∇                      ·                          D                                            (                r                )                                                    =                              ρ                                      (              r              )                                =          0                                              Eqn          .                                                    1                        a                                          D                                (            r            )                          =                                            ϵ              0                                                  E                                            (                r                )                                                                (                              1                +                                  χ                  e                                            )                                =                                    ϵ              0                                                                  ϵ                r                                                          (                r                )                                                                E                                            (                r                )                                                                                Eqn          .                                                    1                        b                                          E                                (            r            )                          =                              -                          ∇              V                                -                                    ∂              A                                      ∂              t                                                                    Eqn          .                                                    1                        c                                          ∇                      ·                          [                                                ϵ                  0                                                                                ϵ                    r                                                                          (                    r                    )                                                                                ∇                                      V                                                              (                      r                      )                                                                                ]                                      =        0                                      Eqn          .                                                    1                        d
The forward problem of calculating capacitance between two conductors is formulated using the field equation derived above (Eqn. 1d). This process begins by calculating the net charge Qj sensed at the jth conductor due to an electric potential applied to the ith conductor, making use of Gauss' Law (Eqn. 2a) in which the charge inside a volume is determined from integrating D over the volume's surface, Γ. The resulting expression in expanded form is shown in Eqn. 2b. Finally, capacitance is defined to be the ratio of charge to voltage. Thus dividing Eqn. 2b by the voltage applied to the ith conductor yields Eqn. 2c: the capacitance Cij between conductors i and j.
                    Q        =                              ∮            Γ                                          D            ·            da                                                        Eqn          .                                                    2                        a                                          Q          j                =                              -                          ϵ              0                                                                    ∮                              Γ                j                                                                                ϵ                  r                                                                  (                  r                  )                                                                                ∇                                      V                                                              (                      r                      )                                                                      ·                da                                                                                Eqn          .                                                    2                        b                                          C          ij                =                              -                                          ϵ                0                                            V                i                                                                                ∮                              Γ                j                                                                                ϵ                  r                                                                  (                  r                  )                                                                                ∇                                      V                                                              (                      r                      )                                                                      ·                da                                                                                Eqn          .                                                    2                        c
Non-conductive materials, or insulators, are commonly referred to as dielectrics, and, like all bulk matter, they carry zero net electric charge. However, these materials are very much able to interact with electric fields through dipole interactions. Consider the electric field about a water molecule; the molecule is electrically net neutral, but the electrons cluster about the oxygen atom, leaving the hydrogen atoms more exposed. This causes a nonzero electric field around the molecule, known as a dipole moment. In an electric field, no net displacement occurs, as the electron's attraction to regions of positive potential are perfectly offset by the attraction of the positive nucleus to regions of more negative potential. There is, however, a net torque about the molecule, rotating it to oppose the electric field, such that the hydrogen nuclei point towards negative potential and the more negative oxygen atom points oppositely.
Like water, acetone has a fairly strong dipole moment owing to the increased negative potential around the oxygen atom. Conversely, the fairly uniform, symmetric nature of butane gives it little inherent dipole nature, however, molecules, and even single atoms, can have dipoles induced by external fields. This effect occurs as the electron cloud about an atom or molecule is slightly attracted to regions of positive potential, and the positive nucleus is pulled in the opposite direction. Polarization due to this effect is typically weaker as compared to molecules with innate dipole moments; for example, butane has a dielectric constant of approximately 1.4.
This process is called polarization, and the symbol P represents the net dipole moment per unit volume. P is proportional to E for most dielectrics in moderate E fields, as shown in Eqn. 3a. Electrical susceptibility is an experimentally measured quantity that describes how strongly a material exhibits polarization in response to an electric field. In practice, the shorthand in Eqn. 3b is often employed, in which the quantity ∈r is known as the relative permittivity or dielectric constant, as first employed here in Eqn. 1b. This simplifies calculations like those above by adding the electric field that caused the polarization to the field resulting from the polarization.
Beyond these considerations, the dielectric constant of a material is a function of a great number of variables, however, temperature and frequency are among the most influential. FIG. 1 illustrates the effects of these parameters on the permittivity and conductivity of water. Dielectric constant falls at high temperature as this increase in molecule kinetic energy interferes with the polarization process. While the physical nature of these curves at high frequency are beyond the scope of this document, they clearly hold implications for sensing impedance at microwave frequencies.
Metals feature markedly different behavior in an electric field than that of dielectric materials. In general, the more mobile electrons in a metal will shift such that the external electric field is perfectly canceled inside the material. ECT is then able to resolve the exterior surfaces of a metallic object, however, it is practically impossible to see inside them with capacitive techniques.P=∈0χeE  Eqn. 3a∈r=1+χe  Eqn. 3b
The field equation for resistance calculations, given in Eqn. 4a is practically identical to that developed above for the capacitance case, albeit with the dielectric distribution replaced with the conductivity distribution σ(r). The first step in calculating the resistance between two conductors is to integrate the gradient of the electric potential over a path P(r) that begins on the ith electrode and terminates on the jth, as shown in Eqn. 4b. Once this change in voltage is known, the resistance between the two conductors is simply calculated by dividing by the current Iij that flows between them, as per Ohm's law (Eqn. 4c).
                              ∇                      ·                          [                                                σ                                                        (                    r                    )                                                                                ∇                                      V                                                              (                      r                      )                                                                                ]                                      =        0                                      Eqn          .                                                    4                        a                                          Δ                                                                          V            ij                          =                              ∫                          P                                            (                i                )                                                    P                                            (                j                )                                                                                ∇                                                V                  i                                                                  (                  r                  )                                                      ·            dl                                                        Eqn          .                                                    4                        b                                          R          ij                =                              Δ                                                                                V              ij                                            I            ij                                                        Eqn          .                                                    4                        c
The resistance, or conversely conductivity, of a material depends on a great deal of factors, and can arise in several ways. Ionic solutions, for example, conduct electricity as ion movement can transport electric charge. This mechanism is distinct from the conduction process in metallic materials, in which marginally bound electrons are free to float from one atom to the next. Even materials that are conventionally thought of as excellent insulators, such as plastics or glass, exhibit finite resistance, permitting differentiation by this property. Again, as shown in FIG. 1, these properties are strong functions of temperature and frequency. This figure illustrates that water, an insulator at low and high frequencies, becomes moderately conductive at microwave frequencies.
Due to the great number of applications of electrical tomography, one skilled in the art will appreciate that there are a great multitude of sensor designs for performing this process. All that is required to perform these techniques are meaningful measurements across the electrodes, and a mathematical representation by which to perform the reconstruction. Indeed, sensors often used in ERT for geological prospecting often consist of little more than a series of conductive spikes driven into the earth with a known geometric spacing. Here, we outline relevant designs as well as more recent works aimed at generating more complex reconstructions. FIG. 2 displays the topology of a typical electrical tomography instrument. At the core of each device is a plurality of conductive electrodes 220, commonly copper, that are arranged about the target object 210. Each of these plates is connected to an electrical readout 250 (sensing electronics), with cables for electrode excitation 230 and measurement 240, and that readout is capable of using electrodes to simultaneously supply a signal to an electrode and record the response at the others. This readout interfaces with a computer 280 for image reconstruction, which sends control signals to the readout 270 and receives data therefrom 260. The number and location of electrodes varies between applications, but the principle of reciprocity limits the N independent electrode-pairs for measurement to in a system of M electrodes as determined by Eqn. 5.
                    N        =                              M                                      (                              M                -                1                            )                                2                                    Eqn        .                                          5
Some of the most common applications of ECT, along with the other electrical methods, are imaging two-phase fluid flow in pipelines, cyclones, and reaction vessels. Imaging these processes lend themselves to the system depicted in FIG. 2, in which the electrodes 220 are regularly spaced on a circle about a pipe or vessel. If the container wall is non-conductive, electrodes may be placed around its exterior. However, it may be more optimal to place the electrodes inside the vessel wall, and this must be done if the vessel is made of a conductive material.
Medical implementations of electrical tomography typically employ EIT using directly attached electrodes. For example, electrodes may be adhesively attached to a patient, enabling impedance measurement across the chest to assess lung function. Other approaches use a belt-like system to maintain contact between electrodes and the patient. These approaches are not without their drawbacks, namely that electrode position and contact resistance are uncertain, which greatly degrade recovered image quality. As a final note, this figure illustrates that a sub-region of a target object may be imaged without resolving the entire object.
More sensitive capacitance metering tools have given rise to more complex imaging systems. The conventional systems described above provide a 2D representation of the material distribution within the sensor. The axial resolution is typically extremely poor (on the order of centimeters), making useful 3D reconstruction of an object practically impossible. However, 3D ECT has recently become an area of intense research, in which small sensing electrodes are placed about a volume, enabling three-dimensional determination of permittivity distribution. A typical example is illustrated in FIGS. 3a-3b, that displays a cubic scanner with 9 electrodes 310 per side. Such a device is capable of 1431 unique measurements, providing a fairly detailed reconstruction of objects in the sensing volume 320. Still other approaches are similar to the typical axial layout, albeit with several rings of electrodes along the axial direction of a pipe-like vessel. 3D reconstructions are also commonly applied in ERT and EIT applications, including subterranean imaging and performing mammograms.
Image reconstruction is the process by which the individual impedance measurements between sensing electrodes are interpreted in view of the sensor geometry, and are thus turned into a meaningful description of a target's composition. This process is rather difficult, as the number of measurements is typically much lower than the number of pixels in the reconstructed image. This class of problems are mathematically described as under-determined, ill-defined, or ill-posed, as there is no way to exactly determine the permittivity of a single pixel, and in-fact, an infinite multitude of material distributions are capable of producing identical capacitance readings. As a result, the image is always something of a best-guess, although careful implementation can make it a very good one. Below, Linear Back Projection (LBP) is described in the context of ECT. This class of reconstruction methods are most commonly employed, and provides the clearest context for explanation of the enclosed inventions. One skilled in the art will recognize more advanced algorithms are a topic of ongoing research and development, and will appreciate how the present disclosure may function with them.
LBP begins by determining the sensitivity maps between pairs of electrodes. In the forward problem, these matrices describe how the measured capacitance between two electrodes changes as a function of the dielectric distribution within the sensor on a voxel-by-voxel basis. These matrices have, in general, three dimensions, as the electric field between the electrodes has components in all spatial directions. However, for many ECT systems, especially those used in pipeline imaging, the sensors are long enough as compared to their diameter to safely neglect variation in the axial direction. For ease of illustration this simplified 2D reconstruction is discussed, however, the basic process is identical upon addition of a third spatial dimension.
Although sensitivity maps can be determined experimentally, they are often computed via finite element simulation of the sensor geometry. The electric field is determined both by exciting the ith electrode with voltage V and grounding the jth electrode, yielding the electric field Ei(x, y) as a function of the x-y location within the sensor, and reversing the measurement yields the field Ej. The sensitivity S(x, y) is then the integral of the dot product of these fields over the pixel's area, as shown in Eqn. 6. A typical result of this simulation process is shown in FIG. 4, where the sensitivity map 420 best detects changes in dielectric distribution in the highlighted band between the two electrodes 410.
                              S                                (                          x              ,              y                        )                          =                                            ∫              A                                                                                E                  i                                ·                                  E                  j                                                          da                                            V            2                                              Eqn        .                                          6
The linearized forward problem of ECT—determining the capacitance between electrodes based upon a defined permittivity distribution—is described by the matrix Eqn. 7a, where C are the intra-electrode capacitances, S are the sensitivity maps rearranged into stacked, 1D row vectors, and P is the permittivity distribution within the sensor. Of course, the objective here is to solve the inverse problem, Eqn. 7b, for P using the measured capacitances C. In effect, one is solving Eqn. 2c in reverse, making use of known C and ∇V to solve for ∈r(r). As alluded to above, this problem is difficult because there is not enough information in, for example, the 28 measurements from an 8 electrode sensor to solve for the exact permittivity value of each pixel in a 100×100 pixel grid. Mathematically, this means that the inverse matrix of S cannot be calculated to solve the equation shown in Eqn. 7b, because the inverse of a non-square matrix (28×10000 in this example) simply does not exist.C=SP  Eqn. 7aS−1C=P  Eqn. 7b
To overcome this difficulty, LBP uses a construct known as the pseudo-inverse (or Moore-Penrose Pseudo-Inverse) to calculate the best least-squares estimate of S−1, often denoted as S†. Many methods for calculating this matrix exist; however, a technique called SVD (Singular Value Decomposition) is often employed. The form of this decomposition is shown in Eqn. 8a. Beginning from the left, VT contains eigensensitivity maps of the sensor, Σ contains the singular values of each of these eigenvectors (relative importance of an eigenvector to S as a whole), and U contains eigenvectors matching each weighted eigensensitivity back to the original sensitivities. The pseudo-inverse is then calculated according to Eqn. 8b, in which E is inverted using a well-defined procedure for square, diagonal matrices. Equation 8c then gives the least-squares estimate of P. P is then the linear, weighted sum of sensitivity matrices that best satisfies the measurements in C. The result of the reconstruction, because it is an estimate and not a perfect representation of P, is denoted as {circumflex over (P)}.S=UΣVT  Eqn. 8aS†=VΣ−1UT  Eqn. 8bS†C={circumflex over (P)}  Eqn. 8c
Singular value decomposition is an optimal method for calculating S†, as it permits regularization of the solution. In this example, regularization is a means for recovering much of the high spatial frequency information that is otherwise washed out by LBP, without amplifying sensor noise. A process initially conceived for regularization of geophysical ERT data by Tikhonov in 1943 (Tikhonov Regularization), has become a standard method for computing the regularized pseudo-inverse as described in Eqn. 9. Functionally, this process is identical to the procedure stated above; however, the matrix of singular values (Σ) has been reweighted according to Eqn. 9b, where α is an empirically determined regularization factor. This equation reduces the relative importance of eigensensitivites with large weights—that provide less spatial detail—in comparison to those with smaller weights that contain higher spatial frequency data.
                              S          †                =                  VDU          T                                              Eqn          .                                                    9                        a                                          D          ii                =                              ∑            ii                                              ∑              ii              2                                                  +                              α                2                                                                                Eqn          .                                                    9                        b
A more complex regularization may make use of other assumptions or prior knowledge about the reconstruction. Incorporation of a prior becomes an issue of encoding it as a matrix B, then minimizing the quantity in Eqn. 10 as a function of {circumflex over (P)}, where λ is an empirically determined constant to adjust the strength of regularization.∥S{circumflex over (P)}−C∥+λ∥B{circumflex over (P)}∥  Eqn. 10
More advanced methods of image reconstruction are often seen in high performance ECT reconstruction. For example, a priori knowledge can be used to improve the reconstruction, especially when sensing known materials. These algorithms often operate iteratively, in which one material or another is assigned to a given pixel based upon the initial sensor readings. The forward problem Eqn. 7a is then solved on this estimated distribution, yielding a set of capacitance values for that distribution. The difference between forward projected C and actual C give an error signal, which can be used to refine the material assignments, and then perform another iteration.


A comparator receives, on its second input terminal, a third anomaly threshold voltage from a threshold voltage generator, and outputs a low-level breaking indication signal to a control logic portion when a terminal voltage falls below the third anomaly threshold voltage. Three threshold setting resistors are serially connected between the source of a power MOSFET and a ground terminal. A divided voltage at the connecting point between the threshold setting resistors and is outputted as the third anomaly threshold voltage.

A power supply controller is conventionally provided, in which a high-power semiconductor switching element such as a power MOSFET is disposed on a current supply line connected between a power source and a load, and which is configured to control the power supply to the load by switching the semiconductor switching element between ON and OFF. In such a power supply controller, it is known that a self-protective function is provided for protecting its own semiconductor switching element. The self-protective function turns off the semiconductor switching element by controlling the potential of the control terminal (e.g., the gate in the case of a MOSFET) of the semiconductor switching element, when an overcurrent (i.e., an abnormal current) has occurred on the current supply line due to short-circuiting in the load, for example. Specifically, as shown in JP-A-2001-217696, a current detecting resistor (shunt resistor) is serially connected to the load terminal (e.g., the source or drain in the case of a MOSFET) of the semiconductor switching element, and a load current passing through the semiconductor switching element is detected based on the interterminal voltage of the resistor. If the load current value is larger than a predetermined threshold, an occurrence of an overcurrent anomaly is determined, so as to turn off the semiconductor switching element resulting in a shutoff state.
In regard to this configuration breaking of wire could occur, for example, on a current supply line connected between the load terminal of the semiconductor switching element and the load. The wire-breaking anomaly should be detected in some cases. For example, in the case that the above power supply controller is used for controlling power supply for a vehicle lamp in order to provide Daytime lighting (or Daytime running light), it is difficult for a vehicle driver to find in the daytime that the vehicle lamp fails, due to breaking of wire, to normally turn on. In this case, the wire-breaking anomaly is particularly required to be detected. For example, when breaking of wire has occurred on the whole or a part of the above current supply line, the load resistance will increase. Therefore, if the load resistance exceeds a predetermined value, a wire-breaking anomaly can be determined based thereon. A construction for this determination can be, for example, a construction in which a wire-breaking anomaly is determined if a load current falls below a fixed threshold. However, according to this construction, a load resistance value, based on which a wire-breaking anomaly is determined, varies with variation of the power supply voltage. This presents a problem that detection of a wire-breaking anomaly may fail to provide an accurate detection result. In view of this, the power supply voltage and the load current are conventionally measured, and a wire-breaking anomaly is determined by processing the measurements using a microcomputer.
The present invention was made in view of the foregoing circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a power supply controller capable of detecting a wire-breaking anomaly without using a microcomputer.


Disclosed are methods, systems and devices, such as a device including a data location, a quantizing circuit coupled to the data location, and a test module coupled to the quantizing circuit. The quantizing circuit may include an analog-to-digital converter, a switch coupled to the memory element and a feedback signal path coupled to the output of the analog-to-digital converter and to the switch.

1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to electronic devices and, more specifically, in certain embodiments, to memory with built-in self test.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, memory devices include an array of memory elements and associated sense amplifiers. The memory elements store data, and the sense amplifiers read the data from the memory elements. To read data, for example, a current is passed through the memory element, and the current or a resulting voltage is measured by the sense amplifier. Conventionally, the sense amplifier measures the current or voltage by comparing it to a reference current or voltage. Depending on whether the current or voltage is greater than the reference, the sense amplifier outputs a value of one or zero. That is, the sense amplifier quantizes (e.g., digitizes) the analog signal from the memory element into one of two logic states.
Many types of memory elements are capable of assuming more than just two states. For example, some memory elements are capable of multi-bit (e.g., more than two state) storage. For instance, rather than outputting either a high or low voltage, the memory element may output four or eight different voltage levels, each level corresponding to a different data value. However, conventional sense amplifiers often fail to distinguish accurately between the additional levels because the difference between the levels (e.g., a voltage difference) in a multi-bit memory element is often smaller than the difference between the levels in a single-bit (i.e., two state) memory element. Thus, conventional sense amplifiers often cannot read multi-bit memory elements. This problem may be increased as high performance multi-bit memory elements become increasingly dense, thereby reducing the size of the memory elements and the difference between the levels (e.g., voltage) to be sensed by the sense amplifiers.
A variety of factors may tend to prevent the sense amplifier from discerning small differences in the levels of a multi-bit memory element. For instance, noise in the power supply, ground, and reference voltage may cause an inaccurate reading of the memory element. The noise may have a variety of sources, such as temperature variations, parasitic signals, data dependent effects, and manufacturing process variations. This susceptibility to noise often leads a designer to reduce the number of readable states of the memory element, which tends to reduce memory density and increase the cost of memory.
In addition to problems with discerning differences in the levels of multi-bit memory elements, these memory elements are often difficult to test. The additional bits stored by a multi-bit memory element may cause the multi-bit memory element to take more time to test than some single-bit memory elements. This extra test time may delay the manufacture or use of multi-bit memory elements and add to their cost.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and devices including memory with built-in self test and methods of making and using the same


A tree stand extension device has a rectangular, hollow base frame. The base frame has a center beam connected centrally, along a long axis, to the base frame. A plurality of engagement arms are attached to the base frame and the center beam to hold a tree stand. The plurality of engagement arms are parallel to each other along a short axis of the base frame and are a predetermined distance apart. The device further includes a pair of top attachment arms and a pair of corresponding bottom attachment arms. The pair of top attachment arms are coupled to the pair of corresponding bottom attachment arms, wherein a tree stand positioned on the remaining end of the plurality of engagement arms is encased therein by the pair of front attachment arms and the pair of corresponding rear attachment arms. In one embodiment, the coupling is accomplished by having a plurality of apertures in each of the pair of front attachment arms and the corresponding rear attachment arms. Bolts and nuts are then used to couple the device. The base frame and center beam have a non-skid material applied to aid footing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to tree stand devices and more particularly to tree stand extension devices which enlarge the area to be used by the user and is easily installed on any conventional tree stand without disfiguring the conventional tree stand device.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following patents represent different variations of tree stands which exemplify the art.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 335,189 to Paul A. Serva shows an ornamental design for a folding tree stand.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 354,143 to Claude A. Floyd, Jr., shows an ornamental design for a hunter's tree stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,933 to George E. Huntley describes an improved tree stand which has an unique seat design enabling the hunter to move the seat a confined distance while seated thereon and to swing the seat out of the way to the side of the stand if desired. The seat is attached to the main platform with means for horizontal sliding motion of the seat and for positioning the seat in a vertical alignment on the outside of the platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,935 to Joseph A. Amacker describes a tree stand with a telescoping seat. The device allows an user to engage a vertical member (i.e. a tree) such that the user can be supported above the ground. The device includes a frame for supporting the weight of the user, means for gripping the vertical member and a platform for receiving the feet of the user. A seat assembly carried by the support frame, includes a collapsible frame and the seat carried by the collapsible frame. The collapsible frame includes means for adjusting the vertical relationship between the seat and the platform, so as to accommodate users of different heights.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,941 to Roger Richard is an improved tree stand which is adapted such that it may be used on support members which may not be truly vertical. This allows the device to provide a level platform and/or seat arrangement irrespective of the orientation of the tree or support member. Leveling is accomplished by a telescopic arrangement attached to the standing platform thereby eliminating the need for ridged braces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,083 to Kevin G. Thompson describes a tree stand utilized by hunters and outdoorsmen to provide an elevated view. The tree stand includes a support bracket adapted to be secured to a tree or pole, a strap for securing the support bracket to the tree or pole, and a platform including a generally flat planar member for supporting at least one person. It further includes a means for releasably interlocking the platform and the support bracket by pivoting the platform with respect to the support bracket to interlock the platform and the support bracket and prevent the platform from inadvertently separating from the support bracket. If desired, the platform may be removed from the support bracket and moved to other trees having extra support brackets as required.
Notwithstanding the prior art in this field, it is believed that the present invention, as described herein, is neither taught nor rendered obvious.


A high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet requires no releasable sheet, exhibiting excellent handleability and workability to an adherend even when a size of the high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet is large, and an adhesion method of the high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet. The high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet includes a sheet-shaped base material and a high-frequency dielectric adhesive layer containing a thermoplastic resin as a component A and a dielectric filler as a component B.

In recent years, an adhesive sheet without a releasable sheet has been proposed in various forms of adhesive sheet products.
For instance, a liner-less thermal recording label having a strong adhesive force to an adherend (e.g., vinyl chloride wrap film) and having an excellent blocking-resistance in a rolled state has been proposed (see Patent Literature 1).
More specifically, the thermal recording label includes: a support; and a heat sensitive layer layered on the support, the heat sensitive layer including: a first heat sensitive adhesive layer containing at least one of a thermoplastic resin, a tackifier or a solid plasticizer; and a second heat sensitive adhesive layer, the first and second heat sensitive adhesive layers being sequentially layered on the support, in which a content ratio of the solid plasticizer in the second heat sensitive adhesive layer is higher than a content ratio of the solid plasticizer in the first heat sensitive adhesive layer.
Moreover, a liner-less label having an excellent automatic labeler adequacy has been proposed (see Patent Literature 2).
More specifically, the liner-less label includes: a support; a releasable layer that serves as an outermost layer of a first side of the support; and an adhesive layer that serves as an outermost layer of a second side of the support, in which the adhesive layer is provided by an ultraviolet crosslinking acrylic hot-melt adhesive and a glass transition temperature of the adhesive layer is −40 degrees C. or less.

High-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet, and adhesion method in which same is used


A method and device for collecting poultry and transporting the poultry to a slaughterhouse, in which the birds are at least partially made unconscious prior to their arrival at the slaughterhouse. Prior to or during their collection, the birds can be conveyed through a tunnel containing a stunning gas. A goods vehicle for carrying crates or containers with poultry to a slaughterhouse can be provided with means for introducing a stunning gas into the crates or containers.

This invention relates to a method for collecting poultry and transporting the poultry to a slaughterhouse. The invention also relates to a device for collecting poultry prior to transportation of the poultry to a slaughterhouse. In addition, the invention relates to a goods vehicle for transporting the poultry to a slaughterhouse.

Method and device for collecting poultry and transporting the poultry to a slaughterhouse


A cooling arrangement for a computer system includes a base plate, a system board which coupled to the base plate, a processor arranged on the system board, and a cooling apparatus arranged on the processor. A holding plate is provided between the base plate and the system board in the region of the processor, and the cooling apparatus is connected, via connectors, to the holding plate such that the cooling apparatus can move relative to the holding plate.

Cooling arrangements comprising a base plate, a system board, a processor and a cooling apparatus are widely known. Relatively low-power processors can still be cooled using a passive heat sink which is mounted on the processor itself. However, modern very powerful processors generate much more heat. Active cooling apparatus, e.g., heat sinks, which have fans permanently mounted on them, are therefore generally used for cooling such powerful processors. Other types of cooling are also known, for example the use of water coolers or heat pipes in conjunction with separate heat sinks.
As a result of the increasing power and importance of the cooling apparatus used, the fastening of such cooling apparatus is also becoming increasingly important. Cooling apparatus are generally fastened directly to a system board, typically via fastening lugs on the side of a processor base. As a result of such rigid fastening, applied forces create a shearing strain between the cooling apparatus and the system board. This has the disadvantage that forces which act on heavy cooling apparatus during transport, e.g., may be translated to the system board causing serious damage. In addition, it is possible for particularly heavy cooling apparatus to become detached from the processor base. This may result, for example, in short circuits within the computer or else may damage the processor. Even if the computer is still ready to use after the cooling apparatus has become detached, the processor may be destroyed, e.g., as a result of thermal overloading.
In order to limit the weight of cooling apparatus which are used, it is known to provide relatively small heat sinks with particularly powerful fans so that the air flow and thus the cooling power are increased while the heat sink surface area remains the same. However, this has the disadvantage that fans which rotate at high speed generally give rise to a high level of noise which is disruptive to a user of the computer.

Cooling arrangement for a computer system


The present invention relates to a process for the production by extrusion of piping made of a cementitious material having a circular section and fine thickness, suitable for the channeling of liquids and gases at atmospheric operating pressure or slightly higher.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the production of piping made of a cementitious material having a circular section.
The present invention derives from the field of extrusion processes of tubular-shaped end-products made of a cementitious material.
In particular, the present invention relates to a process for the production by extrusion of piping made of fibre-cement with a circular section and fine thickness, suitable for the channeling of liquids and gases at atmospheric operating pressure or slightly higher. The present invention also allows the production of end-products with a circular section, for applications in the building and industrial sector such as for example permanent formworks and pillars.
2. Description of Related Art
In the transportation of drinking water, irrigations and wastewater, various types of pipes or ducts are normally used, made of different kinds of materials such as: cementitious materials, plastic materials, concrete, ceramic stoneware and cast iron.
Typical pipes made of cementitious material are pipes made of concrete, reinforced concrete, asbestos cement and fibre-cement without asbestos. The most widely-used plastic materials, on the other hand, are PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene and glass-resin.
As far as the shape of the pipes is concerned, those with a circular section are the most commonly used. There are also however pipes have different shapes from circular, such as for example, circular footrest pipes (flat bottom), elliptic or ovoidal pipes, rectangular pipes, or pipes with other sections specifically designed for favouring the maximum fluid flow in their interior.
The diameters available for the pipes can vary and are divided according to the various types of use.
Another important construction characteristic of these pipes consists of their thickness; those having a so-called "fine thickness", typically have a vacuum percentage of the section higher than 60%.
With respect to processes for the production of piping made of cementitious material, these have been known from the beginning of the last century.
In 1910, W. R. Hume described, in Australian patent 4843/2622, a process for the production of reinforced concrete pipes by means of centrifugation exploiting the centrifugal force. A cylindrical mould with a horizontal axis charged with concrete was rotated at a high velocity, with the removal of the excess water until a compact material was obtained. The so-called "Hume pipes" are still produced, still exploiting the technique based on centrifugation, optionally using reinforced concrete with steel fibres, or other compositions.
Another production technique used in the past is that called "Rotopress" or "Giropress" whereby pipes were produced in vertical, by a rotating mandrel which packed the concrete having a consistency of the humid earth type in an axial direction.
This system has now been substituted by other production technologies such as, for example, the vibrocompression technology, in which dry concrete is again used. In this case, the pipe produced in vertical is immediately removed from the mould and sent to the curing phase.
With the type of production technologies so-far cited, pipes having relatively high thicknesses are obtained, which comply with the European regulation EN 1916 (reinforced concrete, non-reinforced concrete, concrete reinforced with steel fibres).
In addition to concrete pipes, pipes made of fibre-cement having a fine thickness are also known, mainly produced by means of the so-called Mazza process (deriving from the Hatschek technology). In this case, the material used par excellence, was asbestos-cement, recently substituted for environmental reasons by so-called fibre-cement. In the Mazza/Hatschek process, cementitious compositions are used, containing cement, process fibres and reinforcing fibres (both synthetic and natural) and other secondary additives. The products obtained have high mechanical characteristics, they are extremely compact and have low thicknesses.
More recently, the use of the extrusion technology has been proposed, widely used for plastic materials, metals, ceramics, ceramic stoneware and bricks, and also for cementitious materials. The extrusion can be effected with batch or intermittent plug/cylinder systems ("plug extrusion", or "capillary extrusion"), or with continuous screw/cylinder systems. With the exception of ceramic stoneware, in all the other cases the extrusion is carried out horizontally. In the case of ceramic stoneware, in fact, thanks to the high thicknesses of the pipes in relation to their length (normally two meters), there is a rigidity in the fresh state of the pipes which does not cause deformation or distortion.
As far as the extrusion of cementitious materials is concerned, the known art refers to extruders having two consecutive screws, intervalled by a vacuum chamber to facilitate the pressurized extrusion of pastes. These are extruder models normally used in the brick industry.
Extrudable cementitious compositions for the production of pipes made of cementitious materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,715 issued in 1974 in the name of C. W. Humphrey, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,086 issued in 1991 in the name of K. Hayakawa et al.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,624 of 1997 in the name of Anderson et al. describes compositions and methods for producing a variety of articles based on extrudable hydraulic cement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,374 of 1999 of Shah et al., which describes the extrusion of reinforced-fibre products, is also known.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,570 of Fellabaum et al. describes a vacuum system for improving the extrusion of cementitious products, without referring however to tubular products.
The extrusion of a reinforced-fibre with a pseudoductile behaviour for the production of low-thickness pipes, is also known from international patent application WO 2005/050079. This international patent application makes reference to a particular extrusion technique previously described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,998 B1 which does not exploit the screw system for the extrusion phase, but a water suction method from a liquid reinforced-fibre cementitious formulation, introduced under pressure into a kind of coaxial cylinder. After the water extraction, the material is formed at a high pressure, obtaining pipes having a particularly fine thickness with extremely valid mechanical properties, in terms of ductility.
The US patent application 2004/0075185 A1 di Dugat et al. which relates to a plug moulding system of a high performance cementitious material for producing sewage pipes with a medium-high thickness, is also known. The technology described is also known by the name of Tetris or Evolit.
The technologies for the production of pipes made of cementitious material however are not without processing drawbacks.
One of the main problems which arise in production techniques by extrusion of cement-based pipes, is represented by maintaining the circular form at the outlet of the die.
Pipes produced by extrusion have the problem at the outlet of the die of maintaining their form as, due to their weight and low thickness, they bend over themselves losing their circular shape.
The lower the thickness of the extruded profile and with high vacuum percentages of the end-product the more significant this technical problem becomes.
The "vacuum percentage" refers to the percentage ratio between the empty surface and the full surface of the tubular product. The greater this percentage, especially in the presence of large dimensional end-products, the more critical the problem of maintaining the form becomes.
This problem is not limited to the field of cement-based pipes but also relates to pipes made of plastic materials such as for example PVC and PE pipes. In the field of plastic materials, the problem has at least been partially overcome by passing the pipe into a cooled calibrator which, by causing the rapid hardening of the plastic, also ensures its circular form.
This technical solution however can only be applied to plastic materials because, as these are extruded at high temperatures, their cooling causes hardening consolidating their shape.
On the contrary, the technical problem of maintaining the circular shape remains unsolved in the field of end-products and cement-based pipes as, contrary to what occurs for plastic materials, the extrusion is carried out under thermo-controlled conditions.
The problem of preserving the form for fibre-cement pipes having a low thickness is further increased by the high market demand for this type of fine piping. A greater vacuum percentage of the pipe section does in fact correspond, with the same nominal diameter, to a greater lightness of the pipe and consequently a lower cost per linear meter of the end-product.
Under normal extrusion process conditions, however, the fine thickness of the pipe can cause a loss in its circularity which, on the other hand, must be guaranteed in the hardened product to allow its final acceptability.
In the field of the invention, this characteristic is also defined as the "green strength" of the extruded product, or also "form stability".
"Green strength" or "form stability", in the present invention relate to the capacity of the neo-extruded end-product of maintaining its own shape (or geometry) immediately after leaving the extruder die.
This concept is widely described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,624, mentioned above with reference to the extrusion of pipes.
The possibility of obtaining an adequate green strength of the extruded product is typically related to various composition or process parameters, such as: compactness of the solid components; the low water/solid ratio of the paste also correlated with the mechanical resistance of the material; the extrusion pressure; the possibility of using a heated die; the possibility of using chemical compounds capable of being thermally activated to harden the outgoing material.
It should also be noted that the problem relating to the difficulty of preserving the form does not even allow tubular end-products having an adequate length to be obtained.
A further development of the above patent is represented by the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,297 in which a complicated mechanical system for continuous filament winding is introduced downstream of the die, for obtaining pipes with a high resistance and low thicknesses. The winding system also allows more rigid pipes to be obtained which preserve their circular form. The system described however is somewhat complex and expensive and does not adequately solve the problem.
Another document which refers to maintaining the circular form of extruded pipes consists of international patent application WO 2005/050079 A1 in the name of Rocla Pty Ltd. This describes the production of fibre-cement pipes having a low thickness, by means of a particular dewatering extrusion process which comprises eliminating the water from the material during extrusion. The level of the final water/binder ratio is in the order of 0.20, congruent with what is indicated in literature, for obtaining adequate mechanical resistance and therefore, in this case, high performance pipes with a low thickness.
Not even in this case however is the problem of maintaining the circularity after extrusion satisfactorily solved, as in the description it is stated that a substantially constant section of pipe length, not necessarily circular, is accepted.
In the current state of the art, the technical problem of the bending of fibre-cement pipes at the outlet of the extrusion die, which occurs as a result of their weight and fine thickness, has consequently remained unsolved.

Process for the production of piping made of a cementitious material having a circular section


A driving device for opening and closing an opening/closing body of a vehicle. The driving device comprises a nut member that moves linearly by way of rotation of a rod member and is threadably engaged with the rod member, and an engaging member that can be engaged with an engagement-receiving member provided on the rod member that is moved by way of a link arm linked to actuation of a solenoid such that rotation of the rod member can be stopped. The link arm has a mechanical structure that limits vibrations that change the vibration status of the engaging member. By using this driving device, impact noise during actuation of the driving device can be mitigated, or the pitch of the noise can be altered, so as not to discomfort passengers.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving device for opening and closing an opening/closing body arranged at an opening of a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a driving device for opening and closing a back door or a trunk door (trunk lid) of a vehicle such as a car, etc.
Background Information
Many of vehicles such as cars, etc. include opening/closing bodies such as back doors or trunk doors (trunk lids) that open in a flip-up direction from back openings. In order to increase accessibilities, improve security, and/or etc., a number of vehicles including opening/closing apparatuses to open and close the open/close bodies with an electric power has been increasing.
The opening/closing body, which opens in the flip-up direction, requires a space for opening and closing operations, and sometimes needs to be stopped at an arbitrary position in order to prevent the door in opening/closing operations from touching an obstacle and/or a person or reduce the amount of the opening of the opening/closing body due to strong wind and/or rain.
There is for example a driving devices for opening and closing the opening/closing in which a ball screw mechanism, which converts a rotation of an electric motor to a linear movement, is used. The driving devices for opening and closing in which such ball screw mechanism is used can stop the opening/closing body at arbitrary positions with a lock pin that engages with a rotation-side member of the ball screw mechanism in accordance with a movement of a plunger of a solenoid (See JP 2010-270886 A, for example).


A light pipe having substantially uniform brightness along a length thereof is disclosed. The light pipe includes a first end for receiving a plurality of light rays, a reflective portion for directing the received light rays in a pre-determined internal light pattern, wherein the reflective portion includes a plurality of reflective elements, and an emitting portion for emitting the light rays in a pre-determined light distribution pattern.

Currently, short light pipes are used for fulfilling certain automotive exterior lighting functions by incorporating optics with light sources mounted at either one or both ends of the light pipe. Non-functional decorative light pipes are not commonly used in automotive applications. Alternatively, functional light pipes are optimized to produce a specific beam pattern to meet photometric requirements of functions such as parking lamp or tail Lamp, for example. The functional optimization typically overrides any consideration of uniform lit appearance of the light pipe.
However, the new trend in automotive lighting is to add non-functional light pipes for vehicle aesthetics. While ring-shaped light pipes inherently offer a uniform lit appearance, long straight or curved light pipe designs are very challenging to create the uniform lit appearance throughout an entire length of the light pipe, especially when a light source is mounted at only one end of the light pipe. In this case, the lit appearance of the light pipe is typically very bright in the region nearest the light source, and dimmer towards the other end. Such noticeably varying brightness along the length of the pipe at any viewing angle is preferably avoided to provide an acceptable appearance for the light pipe, since the sole aim of the light pipe is illumination styling and not an optical function.
It would be desirable to produce a light system including a light pipe wherein the light system provides a substantially uniform lit appearance along a length of the light pipe, while minimizing "hot spots" and noticeably varying brightness at light-coupling ends and curved portions of the light pipe.

Light pipe with uniformly lit appearance


An intra-oral camera for producing an axially aligned picture of an intra-oral item of interest permits a rapid taking of pictures, whereby burdensome usage requirements are avoided without, however, suffering any diminishment in the quality of the picture that is taken. A computer-controlled picture taking positioning of the intra-oral camera properly positions the camera for taking pictures of objects of interest. The proper picture taking position of the camera ensures that the picture of an intra-oral object or an area of interest such as, for example, a tooth of a patient, is taken in the desired size, at the desired angle, and at the desired location.

The use of intra-oral video and/or picture taking-systems (hereinafter designated as an "intra-oral camera system" and as a camera device), has strongly increased over the recent years in the area of use of dental medicine. Such systems are deployed in a variety of settings as well as in situations in which a dentist desires to point out and display certain features of a patient's mouth. These intra-oral camera systems are more and more frequently the passport to complex diagnostic and treatment planning. With respect to such systems, it has been shown that approximately 30% of the practicing dentists between ages 35 and 54 own intra-oral camera systems and use such. It is expected that this percentage will increase as confidence is gained in the use of such systems, according to Dental Procedures Report, pages 22 to 24, February 1995.
Intra-oral camera systems are often deployed in connection with dental restoration efforts. Many people opt nowadays for clinical intervention to improve, via restorative processes, their smiles and appearance. In most such processes, modification of the form or shape of the tooth, the position of the tooth, and/or the color of the tooth are involved.
A necessary step in connection with the modification of the color of a tooth of a patient is the determination of the color shade of the respective tooth. In this connection, for example, the color of the teeth of those patients who are interested in a whiter, beaming smile are evaluated so that a comparison between the appearance of the teeth prior to the restorative treatment and the appearance of the teeth after the restorative treatment can be undertaken. The determination of the color shade is even more important for those persons who require replacement teeth; it is the goal of such restoration processes to achieve a natural appearance of the replacement teeth. For this reason, it is important to properly identify the color shade of the respective tooth so that the new restoration piece can be approximated to the original tooth or teeth.
Typically, a picture of a tooth is taken and a color shade analysis system is used in order to receive suitable information concerning the color shade and the tooth form. The users of such systems often find it difficult to properly orient the intra-oral camera. A correct axial orientation and proper picture taking alignment is, however, of significant importance for enabling the use of analysis software which then processes the picture of the tooth to determine the color shade of the respective tooth.
The size of the region of interest, the size of the camera, the intra-oral location of the area of interest, and, as well, other factors, render difficult the relevant analysis, as such factors influence the two-dimensional picture that is taken. In this connection, it may occur that less than desirable pictures are taken, such as pictures in which a to-be highlighted area of the respective tooth has been cut out or pictures of teeth that are not of interest.
A further disadvantage of such systems, which involve picture taking via a hand-held camera, is that even relatively small hand movements (such as, for example, the movement of a finger to press the shutter actuator) can cause a considerable deviation of the camera from its proper picture taking orientation.
Frequently, the taking of a satisfactory picture of an intra-oral item of interest requires, in connection with such known conventional systems, repeated attempts and/or the burdensome deployment of various devices.

Intra-oral camera and a method for using same