A mast assembly for forklift trucks improves the vehicle operator's front visibility by way of widening the window provided at the center thereof. The mast assembly includes a first hose sheave rotatably attached to the top of an intermediate mast and a second hose sheave rotatably secured to the intermediate mast at a location immediately below the first hose sheave and having a diameter smaller than that of the first hose sheave. First and second fluid hoses wound respectively around the first and second hose sheaves, each of the fluid hoses having a rear end anchored to the outer mast and a front end affixed to the carriage assembly which can slide along an inner mast. The carriage assembly is capable of holding first and second attachment actuators in fluid communication with the first and second fluid hoses.

Extensive use has been made of forklift trucks to lift up such objects as loads, cargos, freights and the like for the purpose of their shipment and transportation from one place to another. Conventional forklift trucks customarily carry a vertically oriented mast assembly to which a carriage assembly is mounted for elevational movement therealong to raise the load up to a desired elevation. The carriage assembly is provided with a pair of spaced apart, generally parallel forks that overhang from the carriage assembly so as to take up the weight of the objects. The up/down movement of the carriage assembly may be redered effective by the combination of a lift jack and a lift chain associated therewith. Side shift cylinders may also be employed to have the carriage assembly move laterally, if appropriate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,773 dated Jul. 12, 1983 to Johannson teaches a carriage assembly with shiftable forks so designed that all vertical forces are taken up by a lower bar to render the upper portion of the carriage assembly relatively light and small, thus allowing clear forward and downward vision for the vehicle operator. A primary feature of the '773 patent is that substantially only the horizontal forces are transferred to an upper bar of a side shifter, with the vertical forces to a lower bar of the side shifter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,748 dated Jan. 30, 1990 to Mikkelsen et al. discloses a full free lift mast assembly that can significantly reduce bending of carriage lift jacks, fluid leakage, missequencing and like problems. The full free lift mast assembly has a first pair of spaced apart uprights, a second pair of spaced apart uprights mounted on the first pair of uprights and elevationally movable therealong and a carriage mounted on the second pair of uprights. A first mast lift jack is connected between the first and second pairs of spaced apart uprights. A connecting arrangement serves to couple cylinders of first and second carriage lift jacks and maintains them parallel in a preselected overlapping relationaship with each other.
In addition to the mast assemblies as referred to above, use is made nowadays of a three stage mast assembly which has the ability to lift objects up to a further elevated position and which carries a number of attachment actuators to operate attachments optionally built to the mast assembly for special tasks. The typical three stage mast assembly includes an outer mast attached to the front end of a vehicle body, an intermediate mast elevationally movably mounted to the outer mast and an inner mast mounted to the intermediate mast for elevational movement therealong. Each of the outer, intermediate and inner masts is provided with a pair of spaced-appart parallel uprights and a so-called "window" is provided between the uprights of the inner mast so that the operator may have a forward look therethrough. Elevationally slidably mounted to the inner mast is a carriage assembly which has a pair of forks for supporting objects to be lifted or moved.
First and second chain sheaves are attached to the top inboard surface of the uprights of the intermediate mast to support first and second chains therearound, while first and second hose sheaves are disposed at the inboard side of the first and the second chain sheaves to support first and second fluid hoses therearound. The first and second chains suspend from the chain sheaves and are anchored at their rear ends to the outer mast and at their front ends to the bottom of the inner mast. Similarly, the first and second fluid hoses suspend from the hose sheaves and anchored at their rear ends to the outer mast and at their front ends to the carriage assembly.
Since the hose sheaves and the fluid hoses lie within the window defined by the uprights of the inner mast, the size of the window would be reduced significantly, narrowing the front vision of the operator to a great extent. The operator's vision will be further narrowed in such an operative condition wherein the carriage assembly alone is moved upwards into the upper region of the window with the intermediate and inner mast kept retracted. It would goes without saying that the operator shall have difficulty in operating the forklift truck in the reduced window size and the narrowed front vision.


Improved techniques are provided for asynchronous checkpointing in parallel computing environments. A burst buffer appliance is configured to communicate with a plurality of compute nodes of a parallel computing system over a network and also to store message logs for a plurality of processes executing on the compute nodes, wherein the plurality of processes employ asynchronous checkpointing. The processes executing on the compute nodes can exchange messages and/or perform other compute operations during an asynchronous checkpointing operation. The burst buffer appliance can optionally store checkpoint data that results from the asynchronous checkpointing operations. The burst buffer appliance can optionally store the messages using a partitioned data store, such as Multidimensional Data Hashing Indexing Middleware.

Parallel storage systems are widely used in many computing environments. Parallel storage systems provide high degrees of concurrency in which many distributed processes within a parallel application simultaneously access a shared file namespace. Parallel computing techniques are used in many industries and applications for implementing computationally intensive models or simulations.
In many parallel computing applications, a group of distributed processes typically protect themselves against failure using synchronous checkpoints. Synchronous checkpointing is an extremely difficult workload for the storage system since each application simultaneously writes data to the storage system. Synchronous checkpoints also result in wasted resources since the storage system must be extremely powerful while remaining substantially idle between checkpoint phases.
Capturing a synchronous image of a distributed state with a large number of frequent messages exchanged is difficult. Therefore, the simplest way to checkpoint is to halt the messages by each application calling barrier operation, such as an MPI_Barrier( ) operation in a Message Passing Interface (MPI) implementation. Every process then simultaneously stores their own distributed state.
While asynchronous checkpointing provides a better solution from the perspective of storage system efficiency and also provides faster throughput for the system, asynchronous checkpointing requires the logging of all messages since the checkpoints do not correspond to a synchronous moment in the state of the distributed data structure. In other words, the complete state can be reconstructed only from both the asynchronous checkpoints and all of the logged messages. The difficulty, however, is that for typical parallel computing applications, the number of exchanged messages that must be stored can be quite large. To save the message log using disk storage would be extremely slow, and to save the message log to a faster memory storage system would be too expensive as it would require much more memory.
A need therefore exists for improved techniques for checkpointing in parallel computing environments.

Asynchronous checkpointing with message passing to burst buffers


A level of automated adjustment of system organization parameters in a wireless communication system is provided by determining the parameter settings using a characterization of signal propagation of the system""s coverage area. This characterization is based on measurements of path loss-related characteristics by the system""s base stations and wireless terminals operating throughout the coverage area. An exemplary path loss-related characteristic is path loss as determined by measuring received signal strength (RSS) at wireless terminals based on signals transmitted at known powers by a plurality of the system""s base stations. It is possible for the wireless terminals to take measurements while operating in the coverage area, whether idle or during communication with the system, and for such terminals to be associated with the system""s subscribers. A resulting characterization of signal propagation in the coverage area based on the measured path loss-related characteristic can then be used to determine a variety of parameter settings including base station transmission power settings, wireless terminal access parameters, neighbor lists, sets of base stations that can reuse channels and base station transmission power settings when base stations are added to or removed from the system.

The invention relates to wireless communication systems in general and more particularly to the organization of such systems.
Conventional radio telephone systems such as cellular systems use cell-sites having co-located transmitters and receivers to cover geographical regions referred to as cells. Several cell-sites disposed within a particular geographic area are coupled to a master controller called a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO). The MTSO controls the cell-sites and provides an interface connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Each conventional cell-site uses pre-assigned channel sets to communicate with mobile units in a service area covered by the cell-site. Each channel set typically includes a pair of carrier frequencies with each carrier frequency being used for respective up-link or down-link communications with a mobile unit. Neighboring cell-sites use different channel sets to avoid interference on the same channel and adjacent channels between adjacent service areas.
Conventional cellular systems provide mobility to a subscriber through a procedure referred to as hand-off. According to this procedure, geographically adjacent cell-sites are considered to be neighbor cell-sites. A neighbor cell-site is the cell-site to which a call can be transferred as a mobile unit traverses a current cell-site boundary. A data table called a neighbor list specifies the cell-sites that can receive a hand-off from a particular cell-site. In addition, to increase the simultaneous communication capacity of a system, channel reuse is employed where two sufficiently distant base stations simultaneously use the same channel.
The channel sets and neighbor lists assigned to particular cell-sites as well as cell-site transmission powers are examples of system organization parameters that define the operating characteristics of the system. Such parameters are typically determined using propagation models prior to installation of a system. After installation, the system coverage area produced by the determined parameter settings is verified by field testing. During a typical field test, a mobile test unit is moved throughout the service area while the base stations and test unit transmit respective test frequencies. As the test unit is moved from one sampling location to the next, the respective signal strength of the test frequencies and the corresponding geographic location is detected at the respective base stations and test unit to verify that the system can provide service to the intended coverage area.
Typical wireless communication systems do not have the capability to automatically identify and adapt parameter settings to such changes. Environmental changes that often require parameters setting adjustments include the construction of structures in the coverage area, such as a building in an outdoor cellular system or a added walls in an indoor system, or the installation of another wireless communication system in close proximity to the current system. Such changes could degrade system performance and often require an installer to perform computer modeling of the coverage area again to determine the proper parameters settings.
A method that possesses the limited ability of determining frequency channels used by respective cell-sites is described in M. Almgren et al., xe2x80x9cAdaptive Channel Allocation in TACSxe2x80x9d, IEEE Global Telecommunication Conference Record, pp. 1517-1521 (1995), which is incorporated by reference herein. According to this method, each cell-site monitors received signal strength (RSS) on respective sets of channels over time and uses the channels for establishing communications that have the lowest interference.
Also, some time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, such as those adhering to the Telecommunication Industry Association Interim Standard 136 (TIA IS-136 standard), have the limited ability to dynamically allocate channels during operation of the systems to achieve greater spectral efficiency and communication capacity. In such systems, a cell-site can request an idle mobile unit to measure the RSS or bit error rate of different communication channels and transmit the measurement information back to the cell-site. Such RSS or bit error rate information indicates the interference on the respective channels. Communication can then be established with the mobile unit using the channel with the lowest interference. However, such a dynamic allocation technique is limited to channel allocation for the respective mobile unit that provides the RSS information.
Thus, a need exists for a radio telephone system having enhanced spectral efficiency that employs a substantially automated determination of system organization parameters and that is capable of adjusting for environmental changes.
The invention provides a level of automation in determining system organization parameters in a wireless communication system by advantageously determining a signal propagation characterization of the system""s coverage area. This signal propagation characterization is based on measurements of a path loss-related characteristic between the system""s base stations and a plurality of wireless terminals operating throughout the coverage area. Path loss-related characteristic refers to a measurable characteristic that is partially or fully based on path loss and includes, for example, path loss, bit error rate, word error rate and frame error rate. Path loss refers to the reduction in power of a signal transmitted between two locations. Coverage area refers to the geographic area in which a wireless terminal can communicate with the base stations without substantial interruption.
In accordance with the invention, it is possible for the wireless terminals associated with subscribers located within the coverage area to provide the measurements for the path loss-related characteristic. Such a characteristic can be path loss determined by the wireless terminals measuring received signal strength (RSS) of signals transmitted at known power levels by the system""s base stations. Since the base stations are transmitting at known power levels, the path losses between the base stations and the respective locations of the measuring wireless terminals can be determined based on the differences between the known transmission powers and the RSS measurements. The determined path losses are used to form the signal propagation characterization which can be used to predict the signal strength received at locations of the measuring wireless terminals based on a corresponding increase or decrease in base station transmission power. Moreover, the individual and cumulative interference characteristics of signals transmitted on the same or adjacent communication channels between the respective base stations and the locations of the measuring wireless terminals can also be obtained from such a characterization. The measured path loss-related characteristics enable the prediction of received signal strength of transmitted signals between the base station and the wireless terminals. As a consequence, the individual and cumulative effects of signals transmitted by the respective wireless terminals at the base stations can be obtained from the measured characteristics without regard to the wireless terminals"" locations. Accordingly, the path loss-related characteristics can be measured without correlation to information regarding absolute geographic locations of the wireless terminals. Absolute geographic locations of the regions refers to the location of the wireless terminals relative to the coverage area, the systems""s base stations, or to locations outside of the coverage area.
Although some conventional systems possess the limited capability of identifying a single particular parameter setting with respect to specific mobile unit, the novel and unobvious use of the signal propagation characterization of the coverage area in this invention advantageously enables the determination of a variety of important system-based settings which can affect multiple wireless terminals. Such a signal propagation characterization can be determined from measurements taken over an extended period of time. Exemplary parameter settings that can be determined from this characterization include neighbor lists, the sets of base stations which can reuse channels and base station transmission power settings including such settings upon the addition or removal of base stations. For example, base station transmission power settings can be determined directly using the path loss characteristics. The determination of neighbor lists, and those base stations that can efficiently reuse the same or adjacent channels can be performed using isolation values derived from the predicted cumulative interference effects. Isolation values characterize the relative signal isolation of signals originating from a particular base station or its service area from interfering signals originating from another base station and service area.
Since the path loss-related characteristic measurements can be obtained during normal operation of a wireless communication system, the parameter settings can advantageously be updated automatically. Thus, the system does not require costly re-modeling and field testing as changes occur in the coverage area or system that effect the signal propagation. The invention also avoids the complex and labor intensive recording of geographic location information that is typically required during the field testing of conventional installation techniques.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Method for determining organization parameters in a wireless communication system


A sealable enclosure including a base and a cover attachable to the base, the base and cover have respective mating surfaces, wherein the base and cover form a chamber there between when the cover is attached to the base. A compliant gel sealant is disposed on the mating surface of one of the base and cover for environmentally sealing the chamber, with a visual indicator provided for determining that the chamber is sealed. In one preferred embodiment, the visual indicator comprises a non-opaque window formed in the cover, and a non-opaque tongue extending from the mating surface of the cover, the tongue aligned with the window such that a line of sight is provided through the respective window and tongue. The gel sealant is disposed in a mating groove located about a perimeter of the mating surface of the base and substantially aligned with the tongue when the cover is attached to the base, such that a wetted contact between the gel and a distal end of the tongue, indicating that an environmental seal is formed there between, is visible through the line of sight.

This invention relates generally to the use of gel sealants for environmentally sealable enclosures and, more particularly, to an environmentally sealable enclosure or assembly having a visual indicator for determining that the gel has formed a seal.
Protection of panels, boxes, cases, or other enclosures is often required when they are employed in wet environments, for example in humid conditions or underwater, where moisture or water can enter the enclosure or in contaminated environments where gases or airborne particles can enter the enclosure. Items such as electrical connections, electrical boxes, electrical panels, or in non-electrical applications such as jewel cases, or other applications where sensitive items or equipment are in use, all benefit from environmental sealing.
Normally, such protection is provided by the use of seals including O rings or gaskets to protect against moisture, dirt, or particle ingress. Such seals often do not function effectively due to enclosures fabricated with loose tolerances, poor surface finishes, or warped parts all of which hinder the formation of a proper seal. A proper seal is also hindered by the lack of proper mechanical loading of the assembly. Too little mechanical loading will not compress the O rings or gaskets enough to form a seal while too much mechanical loading can create bulges in the O rings or gasket allowing leakage in the seal. Further, such sealing devices do not provide a visual indication of the proper seal formation or the lack of a seal to the operator.
Because of their extremely soft and compliant nature, gels are particularly suited for sealing enclosures and their use is known in the art. The benefit of using gels to seal enclosures is even more apparent for sealing enclosures fabricated with loose tolerances and poor surface finishes, or warped parts, all of which can be found in parts made from injected molded plastic. Unlike an O ring or a gasket, a gel can form a seal under the application of a very low compressive force. Unfortunately, the use of a low compressive force with an O ring or gasket provides little or no feedback to the operator of whether a seal is properly formed or not. A gel can also form a seal under high compressive forces.
The current use of gels does not allow any visual feedback to the operator or anyone else of whether or not a seal is properly formed. An indication of whether or not a seal is formed is especially important for the use of gels because their tacky nature makes them prone to picking up surface contaminates such as dirt, sand, or other particles. Such surface contaminates can prohibit the formation of a proper seal between the gel and the mating part.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a sealable enclosure is provided, the enclosure including a base and a cover attachable to the base. The base and cover have respective mating surfaces, wherein the base and cover form a chamber there between when the cover is attached to the base. A compliant gel sealant is disposed on the mating surface of one of the base and cover for environmentally sealing the chamber, with a visual indicator provided for determining that the chamber is sealed.
By way of non-limiting example, the visual indicator may comprise a non-opaque window formed in the cover, and a non-opaque tongue extending from the mating surface of the cover, the tongue aligned with the window such that a line of sight is provided through the respective window and tongue. The gel sealant is preferably disposed in a mating groove located about a perimeter of the mating surface of the base and substantially aligned with the tongue when the cover is attached to the base. In this manner, a wetted contact between the gel and a distal end of the tongue, indicating that an environmental seal is formed there between, is visible through the line of sight.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a sealable assembly is provided, the assembly including a fixed surface defining an opening, a compliant gel sealant disposed about the opening. The assembly further includes a cover attachable to the fixed surface so as to form a substantially moisture-tight seal between the interior cover surface and the gel, the cover providing a visual indication of whether or not a seal is formed by the gel.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, other and further aspects of the present invention will appear hereinafter.

Gel sealant enclosure with visual seal indication


In one example, a platen system for a printer includes a group of interchangeable platens each configured to support a different type of print substrate in the printer.

Many wide format inkjet printers utilize an elongated platen to support the print substrate through the print zone. It is often desirable to use platen configurations specially configured to support a variety of different types of print substrates. For example, a platen that includes an ink absorber may be desirable for printing on textiles and other porous substrates while a smooth hard vacuum platen may be desirable for printing on vinyl substrates.
The same part numbers designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A implantable sealed microphone (50) includes a diaphragm (52) having a thin central region (54) surrounded by a thicker rim (56). One side of sheet electret material (72) is bonded to the diaphragm (52) while the other side contacts a roughened plate (82). The rim (56) is bonded to a housing (112) thereby hermetically enclosing the electret (72) and the plate (82). The microphone (50) also includes an electrical connector (94) that couples both the plate (82) and the electret (72) to an input of an amplifier (30) included in an implantable hearing aid system (10). Preferably, the microphone (50) is incorporated into a sealed electronics module (100) together with the amplifier (30) and an energy storage device such as a battery that energizes operation of the implantable hearing aid system (10). In such a configuration, the microphone's diaphragm (52) forms a surface of the electronics module's housing (112). An electrical connector (134) couples an output signal from the amplifier (30) to a microactuator (32) of the implantable hearing aid system (10).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fully implantable hearing aid system, and more particularly to an electret microphone adapted for use in such fully implantable hearing aid systems, and how such an electret microphone or other type of microphone may be incorporated into the fully implantable hearing aid system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT") patent application no. PCT/US96/15087 filed Sep. 19, 1996, entitled "Implantable Hearing Aid" ("the PCT Patent Application") describes a fully implantable hearing aid system which uses a very small implantable microactuator. The PCT Patent Application also discloses a Kynar.RTM. microphone which may be physically separated far enough from the implanted microactuator so that no feedback occurs. The fully implantable hearing aid system disclosed in the PCT Patent Application can operate for a period of five years on a set of batteries, and produce sound levels of 110 dB. The fully implantable hearing aid system described in the PCT Patent Applications is extremely compact, sturdy, rugged, and provides significant progress towards addressing problems with presently available hearing aids.
While the Kynar microphone disclosed in the PCT Patent Application enables an operable fully implantable hearing aid system, that system's performance may be improved through the use of a more sensitive electret microphone. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,947,478 ("the '478 patent") and 5,015,225, a division of the '478 patent, disclose incorporating a conventional electret microphone into an outer ear canal unit 34 of a partially implantable hearing aid system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,534 entitled "Electret Microphone Assembly, and Method of Manufacture" discloses an improved structure and method for coupling a charge plate of the electret microphone used in a hearing aid to an input terminal of an impedance matching circuit or internal amplifier. One difficulty with using an electret microphone for a fully implantable hearing aid system not addressed by the patents identified above is that the microphone must be hermetically sealed to prevent electret de-polarization while simultaneously permitting sound waves to impinge upon the microphone.
Because the hearing aid system disclosed in the PCT Patent Application is fully implanted, it is presently estimated that after a five year interval of use the system's battery may likely need replacement which necessarily involves surgery. Another aspect of a fully implantable hearing aid system is ensuring reliable electrical interconnection of the system's microphone and microactuator to the system's signal-processing amplifier throughout a five year interval prior to battery replacement, and subsequently after the battery has been replaced.

Microphones for an implantable hearing aid


A method for segmentation of an image interactively with a user utilizes level set segmentation and includes selecting by user input respective areas of object and of background; initializing an embedding function implementing a segmentation boundary according to the selecting; computing intensity distributions and for the respective areas of object and of background; and performing repeatedly the steps below until convergence is reached: (a) evolving the embedding function, (b) recomputing the intensity distributions, and (c) checking for new user input and, if so: (d) updating labeling of the areas of object and background.

Level set methods have become increasingly popular as a framework for image segmentation.
The level set method was introduced by Osher and Sethian as a means to implicitly propagate hypersurfaces C(t) in a domain Ω⊂Rn by evolving an appropriate embedding function or level set function φ: Ω×[0,T]→R, where:C(t)={xεΩ|φ(x,t)=0}.  (1)
See S. J. Osher and J. A. Sethian: Fronts propagation with curvature dependent speed: Algorithms based on Hamilton-Jacobi formulations: J. of Comp. Phys., 79: 12-49, 1988.
The ordinary differential equation propagating explicit boundary points is replaced by a partial differential equation modeling the evolution of a higher-dimensional embedding function.1 Advantages of this approach are well-known: firstly, the implicit boundary representation does not depend on a specific parameterization, and no control point regriding mechanisms need to be introduced during the propagation. Secondly, evolving the embedding function allows topological changes to be modeled elegantly, such as splitting and merging of the embedded boundary. Thirdly, the implicit representation (1) naturally generalizes to hypersurfaces in three or more dimensions. To impose a unique correspondence between a contour and its embedding function one can constrain φ to be a signed distance function, i.e. |∇φ|=1 almost everywhere.
A precursor of the level set method was proposed by Dervieux and Thomasset. See A. Dervieux and F. Thomasset: A finite element method for the simulation of Raleigh-Taylor instability: Springer Lect. Notes in Math., 771:145-158, 1979.
Early applications of the level set method to image segmentation were disclosed by Malladi et al., by Caselles et al., by Kichenassamy et al., and by Paragios and Deriche. See R. Malladi, J. A. Sethian, and B. C. Vemuri: A topology independent shape modeling scheme: In SPIE Conf. on GeometricMethods in Comp. Vision II, volume 2031, pages 246-258, 1994; V. Caselles, R. Kimmel, and G. Sapiro: Geodesic active contours: In Proc. IEEE Intl. Conf. on Comp. Vis., pages 694-699, Boston, USA, 1995; S. Kichenassamy, A. Kumar, P. J. Olver, A. Tannenbaum and A. J. Yezzi: Gradient flows and geometric active contour models: In IEEE Intl. Conf. on Comp. Vis., pages 810-815, 1995; and N. Paragios and R. Deriche: Geodesic active regions and level set methods for supervised texture segmentation: Int. J. of Computer Vision, 46(3):223-247, 2002 Level set implementations of the Mumford-Shah functional were independently proposed by Chan and Vese; and by Tsai et al. See D. Mumford and J. Shah: Optimal approximations by piecewise smooth functions and associated variational problems: Comm. Pure Appl. Math., 42:577-685, 1989; T. Chan and L. Vese: Active contours without edges: IEEE Trans. Image Processing, 10(2):266-277, 2001; and A. Tsai, A. Yezzi, W. Wells, C. Tempany, D. Tucker, A. Fan, E. Grimson, and A. Willsky: Model-based curve evolution technique for image segmentation: In Comp. Vision Patt. Recog., pages 463-468, Kauai, Hi., 2001.
In contrast to other competitive segmentation methods such as graph cut approaches (see Boykov et al. and Shi et al. below), or the RandomWalker (see Grady et al. below), the level set method is based on a precise notion of a shape given by the representation in (1). See Y. Boykov, O. Veksler, and R. Zabih: Fast approximate energy minimization via graph cuts: IEEE T. on Patt. Anal. and Mach. Intell., 23(11):1222-1239, 2001; J. Shi and J. Malik: Normalized cuts and image segmentation: In Proc. IEEE Conf. on Comp. Vision Patt. Recog. (CVPR'97), San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1997; and L. Grady and G. Funka-Lea: Multi-label image segmentation for medical applications based on graph-theoretic electrical potentials: In M. Sonka, I. A. Kakadiaris, and J. Kybic, editors, Computer Vision and Mathematical Methods in Medical and Biomedical Image Analysis, number 3117 in LNCS, pages 230-245, Springer, 2004.
As a consequence, it is amenable to the introduction of statistical shape information which has been shown to drastically improve the segmentation of familiar objects in a given image. See M. Leventon, W. Grimson, and O. Faugeras: Statistical shape influence in geodesic active contours: In CVPR, volume 1, pages 316-323, Hilton Head Island, S.C., 2000; A. Tsai, A. J. Yezzi, and A. S. Willsky: Curve evolution implementation of the Mumford-Shah functional for image segmentation, denoising, interpolation, and magnification: IEEE Trans. on Image Processing, 10(8): 1169-1186, 2001; Y. Chen, H. Tagare, S. Thiruvenkadam, F. Huang, D. Wilson, K. S. Gopinath, R. W. Briggs, and E. Geiser: Using shape priors in geometric active contours in a variational framework: Int. J. of Computer Vision, 50(3):315-328, 2002; D. Cremers, S. J. Osher, and S. Soatto: Kernel density estimation and intrinsic alignment for knowledge-driven segmentation: Teaching level sets to walk: In C. E. Rasmussen, editor, Pattern Recognition, volume 3175 of LNCS, pages36-44. Springer, 2004; T. Riklin-Raviv, N. Kiryati, and N. Sochen: Unlevel sets: Geometry and prior-based segmentation: In T. Pajdla and V. Hlavac, editors, European Conf. on Comp. Vision, volume 3024 of LNCS, pages 50-61, Prague, 2004. Springer; D. Cremers, N. Sochen, and C. Schnorr: A multiphase dynamic labeling model for variational recognition-driven image segmentation: Int. J. of Computer Vision, 2005, To appear; and M. Rousson and D. Cremers: Efficient kernel density estimation of shape and intensity priors for level set segmentation: In MICCAI, volume 2, pages 757-764, 2005.
Various aspects relating to the background and field of the present invention are treated in a number of text-books, in addition to the publications mentioned herein in the course of the description of the present invention. For example, reference is made to the following text-books for useful background material: DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING, by Gonzalez and Woods, published by Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, 2002; LEVEL SET METHODS AND FAST MARCHING METHODS, by J. A. Sethian, published by Cambridge University Press, 1996; 1999; IMAGE PROCESSING, ANALYSIS, AND MACHINE VISION, by Sonka, Hlavac, and Boyle, published by Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Pacific Grove, Calif., 1999; and FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRONIC IMAGE PROCESSING, by A. R. Weeks, Jr., IEEE Press, New York, 1996; and various other text-books.

Method and system for interactive image segmentation


An air cooled type generator includes a housing, an engine, a cooling fan mounted in the engine, a generator body having a first side juxtaposed to the engine, and a cooling fan rotatably mounted on an opened second side of the generator body and including a plurality of blades each having an inner side formed with a first wing and an outer side formed with a second wing. Thus, the first wing and the second wing of each of the blades co-operate to carry the hot air away from the generator body rapidly, thereby enhancing the heat dissipation effect of the cooling fan. In addition, the generator only needs to provide two cooling fans to achieve the heat dissipation effect, so that the generator has a simplified construction and a smaller volume and is assembled easily and conveniently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a generator and, more particularly, to an air cooled type generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional air cooled type generator in accordance with the prior art shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 comprises a housing 11, an engine 12 mounted in the housing 11, a first smaller fan 14 mounted in the engine 12, a first larger fan 18 mounted outside of the engine 12, a generator body 13 mounted in the housing 11 and juxtaposed to the engine 12, a second smaller fan 15 mounted in the generator body 13, a second larger fan 19 mounted outside of the generator body 13, a fuel tank 16 mounted in the housing 11, and an insulating layer mounted around the fuel tank 16.

Air cooled type generator that is mounted in easier and quicker manner


The invention relates to covering a gap between windows at the ridge of a double pitch skylight including at least one pair of windows. Each window comprises a frame with a frame top member and the windows of a pair are interconnected by one or more mounting brackets at the ridge. A cover element is arranged so that it interconnects the two windows of the pair on the interior side and extends in parallel with the ridge length direction. One edge of the cover element is inserted in a groove in the top frame member of one window of the pair and another opposite edge is inserted in a corresponding groove in the other window. The cover element is preferably made from an airtight material, is preferably convex on the interior side in the mounted state, and is preferably provided with elastic connecting parts at the two opposite edges.

A double pitch skylight and method for forming the same is known from EP2472028B1, where the cover element includes a cover profile made of e.g. aluminium to which a strip of an insulating material is adhered and where the cover element is kept in place by being connected to clamping discs on the exterior side by means of bolts. The resilience of the insulating material allows the use of this cover element for a relatively broad range of interior ridge angles, but the connection is not always sufficiently vapour tight to meet the strictest construction standards.

Method for covering a gap between windows at the ridge of a double pitch skylight, a double pitch skylight, and a cover element for use therein


A rotary lift table. The rotary lift table as claimed in the invention is equipped with a rotary lift table board for bearing flat objects, said rotary lift table board having a bearing surface which is pulvinated towards the top with a transverse ridge region whose longitudinal extension runs at least approximately at a right angle to a discharge direction. The flat objects lying on top of one another in a stack arrangement are adapted to the arched bearing surface and give the stack improved stability thanks to its profiling.

The present invention relates to a rotary lift table and a device for forming stacks of flat objects, in particular of print products.
Rotary lift tables for processing flat objects, in particular print products such as printed leaflets, newspapers, magazines, etc., are generally known. They are equipped with a rotatable and/or liftable and lowerable rotary lift table board on or above which the flat objects come to lie. Rotary lift tables generally have assigned discharge means, by means of which the flat objects lying on the rotary lift table board can be pushed out in a selected discharge direction.
The rotatability of the rotary lift table board is particularly advantageous in the formation of stacks of folded print products. To improve the stability of such stacks, partial stacks respectively rotated in relation to one another by 180° relative to a rotational axis oriented at a right angle to the rotary lift table board are layered alternately on top of one another. In this manner, thicker regions on the fold side and thinner regions of the free lateral edges of print products of consecutive partial stacks respectively come to lie on top of one another in an alternating manner so that height differences between the individual partial stacks are equalized due to their regionally different thicknesses.
The rotary lift table board is furthermore preferably of liftable and lowerable design in order, for example, to selectively reduce heights of fall for print products or partial stacks formed therefrom or, for the purpose of compressing stacks, in order to be able to press these against press elements arranged above the rotary lift table board.
The configuration both of the rotatability as well as the liftability and lowerability of the rotary lift table board is not absolutely essential in every case. Rather, the rotary lift table described and claimed below can also be employed in a completely analogous manner with a restricted functionality, i.e. in the case of use as a rotary table, lift table or also only as a stacking table.
A rotary table for stacking print products is, for example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,567. Therein, a rotary table board is arranged on a hydro-pneumatic rotatable foot, said rotary table board being equipped on two opposing sides with discharge devices which have discharge means for discharging the print products arranged in stacks. Therein, a movement of the discharge means beyond the rotary table board and displacing the print products defines a discharge direction. The rotary table board is groove-like or arched in a V-shape towards the bottom. Planar bearing surface elements, on which a lower print product comes to lie, are formed on both sides of a lower edge line running parallel to the discharge direction. The print products lying on the rotary table board are adapted to the concave arch of the rotary table board due to their surface-like configuration and their dead weight.
The problem arises particularly in the case of large-format and very thin print products that the dimensional stability of stacks of such print products is so low during discharge that undesirable dimensional changes to the stack and damage to the print products can occur.
An object of the present invention therefore lies in further improving the dimensional stability of stacks of flat objects during their formation or their removal from a rotary lift table.


A chronotherapeutic pharmaceutical formulation comprising a core containing an active agent (e.g., a drug) and a surfactant and a delayed release compression coating comprising a natural or synthetic gum applied onto the surface of the core.

Coordinating biological rhythms (chronobiology) with medical treatment is called chronotherapy. Chronotherapy takes into consideration a person's biological rhythms in determining the timing—and sometimes the amount—of medication to optimize desired effects of a drug(s) and minimize the undesired effects. The synchronization of medication levels to the biological rhythms of disease activity is playing an increasing role in the management of common cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol, angina, stroke and ischemic heart disease, according to experts in this new and ever-expanding field. For example, in humans, at 1 am post-surgical death is most likely; at 2 am peptic ulcers flare up; at 3 am blood pressure bottoms out; at 4 am asthma is at its worst. When one wakes up, hay fever is at its most tormenting, and in the morning hours, as ones blood pressure rises to meet the day, one is most likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. Rheumatoid arthritis improves through the day, but osteoarthritis grows worse. Alcohol is least toxic to the body at around 5 pm: cocktail hour.
The first application of chronotherapy, in the 1960s, was a synthetic corticosterdid tablet (Medrol, Upjohn). Clinicians found that when used in the morning, the drug was more effective and caused fewer adverse reactions. Another example of a commercial product employing chronotherapy is the bronchodilator, Uniphyl®, a long-acting theophylline preparation manufactured by Purdue Frederick (approved by the FDA in 1989). Taken once a day at dinner to control night-time asthma symptoms. Uniphyl causes theophylline blood levels to reach their peak and improve lung function during the difficult morning hours.
Oral controlled release delivery systems may also be capable of passing over the entire tract of the small intestine, including the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, so that the active ingredients can be released directly in the colon, if such site specific delivery is desired. One means of accomplishing this is by providing a coating surrounding the active pharmaceutical formulation core so as to preserve the integrity of the formulation while it is passing through the gastric tract. The high acidity of the gastric tract and presence of proteolytic and other enzymes therein generates a highly digestive environment that readily disintegrates pharmaceutical formulations that do not possess some type of gastro-resistance protection. This disintegration would typically have a detrimental effect upon the sustained release of the active agent. Such coated pharmaceutical formulations, in addition to slowing the release rate of the active agent contained within the core of the tablet, can also effectuate a delay in the release of the active ingredient for a desired period of time such that the dissolution of the active drug core can be delayed. Examples of coated pharmaceutical delivery systems for delayed release can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,742 (Panoz et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,474 (Busetti et al.), as well as in European Patent Applications Nos. 366 621, 572 942 and 629 398. In the delayed release tablets described in each of these references, the therapeutically active drug core is coated with at least one and potentially several layers of coating, wherein the layers of coating have a direct effect upon the timed release of the active drug within the tablet core into the system of the patient.
PCT publications WO 02/072033 and WO 02/072034, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference, disclose chronotherapeutic pharmaceutical formulations comprising a core containing an active agent (e.g., a drug) and a delayed release compression coating comprising a natural or synthetic gum applied onto the surface of the core.
It is considered desirable by those skilled in the art to provide an oral controlled release delivery system that is adaptable to deliver a drug(s) such that release rates and drug plasma profiles can be matched to physiological and chronotherapeutic requirements.


Diagnostic monitoring of electrical signals from a quadrature sensor used for vehicle steering angle detection includes comparing the signals with a fault threshold (i.e., out-of-range voltages). A controller distinguishes between events of short enough duration that they do not cause loss of position accuracy and those where signal transitions were potentially missed.

The present invention relates in general to a relative steering angle sensor for detecting rotation of a steering wheel in a vehicle wherein a relative position offset is determined according to a dynamically determined steering wheel center position, and, more specifically, to sensor diagnostics for detecting short circuits or open circuits and for modifying the process for maintaining the relative position offset during fault conditions.
Steering angle sensors are employed on vehicles for a variety of purposes, such as yaw stability control (YSC) systems which sense vehicle operation and automatically apply braking forces to improve vehicle stability and control (e.g., reduce understeer or oversteer). To address certain drawbacks of steering angle sensors that incorporated an absolute position angle reference (e.g., inaccuracy due to steering mechanism wear, influence of uneven road surface, etc.), techniques were developed for using steering angle sensors that sense rotation without having a fixed reference. A xe2x80x9csoftxe2x80x9d position reference is determined by dynamically adjusting a relative position offset for each driving cycle beginning at xe2x80x9ckey onxe2x80x9d of the vehicle in response to predetermined vehicle parameters from other sensors or actuators in the vehicle. These parameters include vehicle speed and yaw rate, for example.
Angle sensors employed for monitoring steering angle changes are typically comprised of quadrature pulse generators wherein the relative phase between two pulse trains identifies the direction of steering wheel rotation. The pulses are typically square waves produced by optical sensors wherein light beams are interrupted by a slotted disc that rotates with the steering wheel. Wiring from the sensor to a control module includes a connector which may typically be integral with a sensor housing.
The pulse signals from the sensor transition between a high signal state and a low signal state. Because of voltage drops across devices in the sensor circuitry, the high signal state has a voltage slightly less than the supply voltage Vss and the low signal state has a voltage slightly higher than ground. The wiring to a sensor typically includes separate wires for Vss, ground, and each of the quadrature signals (e.g., phase A and phase B).
Electronic control modules typically include diagnostic routines for detecting faulted sensors. Potential failures associated with an angle sensor include intermittent connections caused by a loose connector, shorts to ground, and shorts to battery. These faults can be detected by monitoring voltage on the quadrature signal lines. Each voltage is compared to acceptable voltage ranges for the high signal state and the low signal state (i.e., voltages other than Vss and ground), and a fault is detected whenever the voltages fall outside these ranges.
In order to provide noise immunity, a fault is not detected until an unacceptable voltage has persisted for a predetermined length of time (e.g., 100 milliseconds). However, intermittent faults can appear and then disappear on a shorter time scale. It has been discovered that such intermittent faults can go undetected and that they can cause the loss of rotation pulses from the sensor resulting in accumulated error in the determined steering angle. Incorrect steering angle can lead to false activation of the YSC system.
The present invention has the advantage of detecting intermittent sensor signal faults very quickly without complete shutdown of the sensor unless a fault persists for a sufficient amount of time.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of determining a relative position offset for a steering angle sensor in a vehicle. The relative position offset is iteratively adjusted in response to predetermined vehicle parameters. A voltage from the angle sensor is compared to a fault threshold. A duration of time is measured during which the comparing step indicates a fault. If a fault is indicated for a duration of time greater that a first predetermined duration, then the adjusting step is suspended. If the fault ceases to be indicated prior to reaching a second predetermined duration, then the adjusting step is resumed. If the fault continues to be indicated until reaching the second predetermined duration, then a faulted sensor signal is generated.

Relative steering angle sensor diagnostic for momentary signal dropout


A rotatable tire building drum 10 has a pair of axially and radially moveable bead locks 20 and a radially expandable center building deck assembly 40 with two sets of deck plates when expanded forms a 360 degree solid deck surface. The deck plates have been sized to abut when fully expanded to form a solid 360 degree building surface to support a tire carcass 2. The two sets of deck plates are divided into a first set of even deck plates and a second set of odd deck plates, arranged in a sequence of at least 6 or more circumferentially adjacent abutting deck plates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in an expanded state. In a retracted state, the first set of even deck plates 42 moves radially inward of the second set of odd deck plates 44, the first set 42 underlying the second set 44.

Tire building drums for applying a tread and belt package onto a tire carcass are well known in the art. The tire building process generally has a stage one assembly of a tire carcass made of air impervious inner layer, a pair of beads, an apex and a reinforcing ply extending between and wrapping around the beads to form ply turnups. This unvulcanized structure also has sidewall rubber and outer rubber components such as gum strips, chafers or chipper added to the cylindrically shaped green carcass.
In a second stage, the green or uncured cylindrical carcass is taken to a separate tire building drum wherein the beads are locked onto the drum moved axially to a proper bead width spacing and the carcass is toroidaly shaped by expanding the carcass using an inflatable bladder which allows the carcass to assume a shape more closely approximating a finished tire. At this point, belt or breaker reinforcements such as steel cord reinforcement belts are applied onto the carcass. Typically the adjacent belt layers have the cords oppositely oriented. Once the belt structure is applied, a layer of tread rubber is added to complete the assembly.
These building drums are as described in US 2006/0137806 capable of moving the center section radially outward while moving the beads axially inwardly. In "Method Of Making A Tire Using A High Crown Uni-Stage Building Drum", the inventors proposed building a tire using a single drum assembly which allowed the ply turnup to be made as the tire ply was held vertically in the bead regions. This machine while exhibiting a good degree of novelty, added much complexity to the tire building as it required special means to clamp the tire shoulders to secure the carcass on assembly. Furthermore, it added significant cost to the apparatus.
The present invention described hereafter attempts to solve the problems of high complexity by providing a unique second stage tire building drum which allows a relatively small tire carcass having a large diameter to be made. More particularly, a machine specifically adapted to construct motorcycle tires of a diameter of 16 inches, 16.5 inches and 17 inches of different axial bead widths. This type of tire is very small in cross-sectional profile and this means there is very little room for the mechanical parts of the building machine to be located. Nevertheless, such tires require precise building capability and superior solid building surfaces would allow the tire to be made of the highest quality. The present invention solid deck building drum provides this ability as described below.


Provided is a polishing composition, which comprises abrasive grains, a water-soluble polymer, an aggregation inhibitor and water. The ratio R1/R2 is 1.3 or less, where R1 represents the average particle diameter of the particles present in the polishing composition and R2 represents the average particle diameter of the abrasive grains when the abrasive grains are dispersed in water at the same concentration as that of the abrasive grains in the polishing composition. The polishing composition can be used mainly for polishing the surface of a silicon substrate.

In semiconductor devices for use in computers, miniaturization of wiring widths, referred to as design rules, has advanced year by year in order to realize further higher integration and higher speed. Therefore, there are an increased number of cases where nanometer-scaled substrate surface defects, which had not been conventionally problematic, have adverse effects on performances of semiconductor devices. Accordingly, it is highly important to deal with nanometer-scaled substrate surface defects.
For polishing a silicon substrate among semiconductor substrates, a polishing composition containing silica particles and a water-soluble polymer is suitably used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The polishing composition disclosed in Patent Document 1 forms a protective film derived from the water-soluble polymer on the surface of a polished silicon substrate. This protective film imparts hydrophilicity to the surface of the polished substrate, thereby making easier handling of the polished substrate. However, the water-soluble polymer used for the polishing composition has a molecular weight of several hundred thousands or more, and thus forms aggregates together with the silica particles. The aggregates made of the silica particles and the water-soluble polymer may cause substrate surface defects, which are referred to as light point defects (LPDs).
In order to reduce LPDs due to aggregates made of silica particles and water-soluble polymer, it is important to eliminate aggregates from the polishing composition. As one example therefor, it is effective that when polishing composition containing silica particles and water-soluble polymer is produced and used, the polishing composition be subjected to filtration by a filter to remove aggregates. However, the polishing composition immediately causes clogging of the filter, and thus there is a problem that the filter must be frequently exchanged.
In order to improve the dispersibility of abrasive grains in a polishing composition, compounding of a dispersant or the like in the polishing composition has been proposed. Patent Document 2 discloses that a surfactant is added to a polishing composition to thereby improve the dispersibility of abrasive grains. However, the polishing composition disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes no water-soluble polymer that has a molecular weight of several hundred thousands or more and is predicted to form aggregates together with abrasive grains. Patent Document 2 only discloses that the polishing composition to which the surfactant is added is used to thereby improve the polishing rate of a wafer.
Patent Document 3 discloses a water-based dispersion for polishing, containing a water-soluble polymer, and a surfactant as dispersants. However, the water-based dispersion for polishing includes no water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of several hundred thousands or more, the polymer being predicted to form aggregates together with abrasive grains. Patent Document 3 only discloses that the water-based dispersion for polishing, to which the dispersants are added, is used to thereby reduce scratches on a copper film.
Furthermore, Patent Document 4 discloses a polishing composition containing at least one water-soluble polymer selected from polyvinylpyrrolidone and poly(N-vinylformamide), and an alkali. It also discloses that the polishing composition is effective for reducing LPDs. However, Patent Document 4 discloses no polishing composition including a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of several hundred thousands or more, the polymer being predicted to form aggregates together with abrasive grains, and it does not disclose the dispersibility of abrasive grains.
Accordingly, there is a need for a polishing composition that imparts high hydrophilicity to the surface of a polished substrate, reduces LPDs, and achieves a high dispersibility of abrasive grains.

Composition for polishing purposes, polishing method using same, and method for producing substrate


A wire holder used to safely receive optical fiber cables. The wire holder includes a main body and a plurality of collection arms. The main body defines a rotation axis and includes a first cylindrical outer surface. The plurality of collection arms extends from the first cylindrical outer surface encircling the cylindrical outer surface. Each collection arm includes a first fixing poles extending substantially parallel to the rotation axis. Each first fixing pole defines two openings passing through the first fixing poles. The openings of the first fixing poles form a first circular space to receive the optical fiber cables.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to a wire holder.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical fiber cables are widely used in telecommunication systems to carry optical signals. Unlike electrical wires and cable, optical fiber cables cannot be kinked without risking damage to the optical fiber and loss of optical signal.
What is needed, therefore, is a means which can overcome the described limitations.


A brake light warning system for safety helmets includes a transmitter module adapted for mounting to a vehicle, such as a motorcycle, and a receiver module adapted for mounting to a safety helmet. The transmitter module is configured to continuously transmit a transmission signal when a brake of the vehicle is disengaged and discontinue transmission of the transmission signal when a brake of the vehicle is engaged. The receiver module is configured to detect a presence or absence of the transmission signal from the transmitter module. The receiver module has at least one light generating element that illuminates or increases in brightness upon detection of the absence of the transmission signal to indicate that the vehicle brake is engaged.

This invention relates to safety or warning lights, and more particularly to a rear mounted helmet safety light that is actuable to emit a warning signal when an associated vehicle event occurs, such as operation of the vehicle or actuation of a vehicle brake.
It has long been recognized that the provision of an auxiliary center high mounted stop light (CHMSL) in motor vehicles has decreased the number of rear-end collisions and related injuries. Typically, the CHMSL is positioned at or near the rear window at approximately eye level, and can thus more readily be observed by the operator of a trailing vehicle. Although motorcycles or other two-wheeled vehicles could benefit from a CHMSL, in many instances it would be difficult, impractical and unsightly to mount the auxiliary stop light at eye level.
In an effort to overcome this problem, several helmet-mounted stop lights have been proposed. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,373 issued to Reilly wherein a rearward-facing warning light is mounted on the back of a motorcycle helmet. A transmitter is attached to the motorcycle and a receiver for activating the light is mounted inside the helmet. When the brake pedal is depressed, the transmitter transmits a coded signal to the receiver, which in turn decodes the signal and illuminates the light until the brake pedal is released, at which time the transmitter ceases to transmit. However, since the light of such systems is typically illuminated only when the signal is transmitted to the receiver, no illumination will occur in the event of a transmitter or receiver malfunction. Consequently, an operator of a trailing vehicle may not be readily aware of the motorcycle braking action.
In addition, since the safety light is mounted at the rear of the helmet, it is not possible for the motorcycle operator or rider to determine if the light is operating properly. Accordingly, it would be desirous to provide means for alerting the operator or rider of the illuminated or non-illuminated state of the helmet light.

Brake light warning system for safety helmets and method of operation


A printing system is disclosed. The printing system includes at least one physical memory device to store uniformity compensation logic and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory device to execute the uniformity compensation logic to receive print image measurement data corresponding with each of a plurality of pel forming elements, generate a first set of intermediate images based on the print image measurement data, determine whether historical sets of intermediate images are available, generate first transfer functions corresponding to each of the pel forming elements based on the first set of intermediate images and the historical sets of intermediate images upon a determination that the historical sets of intermediate images are available and transmit the first transfer functions for each of the pel forming elements.

When correcting cross-web spatial non-uniformity of printed images by a print engine with multiple fixed print heads, relatively large non-uniformities may occur due to nozzle response differences between the print heads and within a printhead. However, dynamic changes in jetting output (jet-out conditions) caused by defective nozzles provides challenges to generating quality uniformity corrections generated over multiple passes of uniformity correction data.
Accordingly, a mechanism to perform improved nozzle uniformity compensation is desired.

Uniformity compensation refinement mechanism


This disclosure relates generally to system and method for time series prediction using a sparse recurrent mixture density network (RMDN), such as sparse LSTM-MDN and a sparse ED-MDN, for accurate forecasting of a high variability time series. The disclosed sparse RMDN has the ability to handle high-dimensional input features, capture trend shifts and high variability present in the data, and provide a confidence estimate of the forecast. A high-dimensional time series data is passed through a feedforward layer, which performs dimensionality reduction in an unsupervised manner by inducing sparsity on weights of the feedforward layer. The resultant low-dimensional time series is fed through recurrent layers to capture temporal patterns. These recurrent layers also aid in learning latent representation of the input data. Thereafter, a mixture density network (MDN) is used to model the variability and trend shifts present in the input and it also estimates the confidence of the predictions.

Accurate forecasting of a high variability time series has relevance in many applications such as supply-chain management, price prediction in stock markets and demand forecasting in energy segment. Most often forecasts of such time series depend on many factors ranging from weather to socio-economic attributes such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or average income. Dependence on such features can cause the underlying time series to be highly variable in nature and possess non-stationary shifts. Most traditional forecasting methods fail to capture such trend change and high variability present in the data. Further, for certain applications, it may be necessary to estimate confidence of the forecasts.

Time series prediction with confidence estimates using sparse recurrent mixture density networks


Two methods may be used to start the engine of a hybrid electric vehicle while the vehicle is moving under electric power. When smoothness is most important, a disconnect clutch is partially engaged to initiate engine rotation and then released as the engine accelerates under its own power toward a motor speed. When rapid starting is most important, the disconnect clutch torque capacity is controlled to decrease the time required for the engine to accelerates to the motor speed. A torque converter bypass clutch is disengaged during the engine restart under either method. Also, the motor torque is adjusted under either method to compensate for the torque provided to the engine.

The majority of automobiles are propelled by internal combustion engines burning fossil fuels. In such vehicles, the internal combustion engine must be running any time that power is required. The engine is typically started while the vehicle is in park using an electric motor provided specifically for that purpose. Until recently, it was common to start the engine at the beginning of a trip and not shut down the engine until reaching the destination. In recent years, hybrid electric vehicles have been introduced to the market. Hybrid electric vehicles are capable of propelling the vehicle using either the internal combustion engine or using a traction motor powered by electrical energy stored in a battery. One way that hybrid vehicles reduce fuel consumption is by shutting the engine off during periods when the motor propels the vehicle or when the vehicle is stopped. When it is necessary or desirable to resume using the internal combustion engine, the engine must be restarted. Often, the engine must be restarted while the vehicle is moving under electric power. Because restart events happen frequently and not necessarily in response to a driver action, the restarts must be smoother than traditional engine starts. Furthermore, some conditions call for a very rapid restart. Although traditional starter motors have adequate durability when used only once per trip, they may not have sufficient reliability if used every time a hybrid electric vehicle needs to start the engine.

Hybrid electric vehicle and method of starting engine


In an improved method for bumped wafer thinning, a wafer is provided having a front side and a back side wherein contact pads are formed on the top surface. A dry film is formed on the front side of the wafer and openings are provided in the dry film to the contact pads. Interconnections, such as solder bumps, are formed within the openings on the contact pads. A back grind tape or carrier is attached to the dry film and overlying the interconnections. Thereafter, the wafer is thinned from the back side of the wafer.

1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of bumped wafer thinning, and more particularly, to a method of wafer thinning by a mechanical back grinding method.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional bumped wafer thinning starts with a bumped wafer that is laminated to a back grind (BG) tape to the front side of the wafer followed by backside wafer thinning. FIG. 1 illustrates the bumped wafer thinning process. The silicon wafer 100 has solder bumps 150 formed on a top side of the wafer and laminated to BG tape 120. The top of the wafer 100 is held to a vacuum chuck 130. Grinding wheel 140 is shown. The grinding wheel will thin the wafer from the backside. Challenges in conventional bumped wafer thinning include the following. 1.) Successful ultra thinning of a bumped wafer largely depends on the availability of back grind (BG) tape respective to the bump geometry. BG tapes are available in the market for bump heights in the range of 100–200 μm. For bump heights greater than 200 μm it is difficult to manufacture BG tapes with thicker cushioning layer thickness and hence thinning becomes very difficult. 2.) Total Thickness Variation (TTV) control largely depends on the tape selection, tape lamination process without any air traps, and optimized BG and polishing processes. 3.) FIG. 2 summarizes the issues with conventional bumped wafer thinning.
1) Stressed solder balls 210 and UBM 212. During the mechanical back grinding process the solder balls and UBM are stressed if proper tape selection is not done.
2) Mechanical Force difference. The mechanical grinding process exerts a certain amount of force onto the silicon wafer in order to physically machine the silicon surface. With the bumped wafers, there is always a difference in force exerted above the bump area 214 and the region without bumps 216.
4) Surface Irregularities 218. The difference in the force exerted on the region with and without bumps leads to formation of dimples (surface irregularities) on the back side of the wafer. With ultra thinning of bumped wafers the surface irregularities become the potential area of failures.
5) Contamination due to adhesives 220. In the BG tape lamination process, the tape adhesive with cushioning layers are squeezed between the bumps. During de-taping, remains of adhesives may be left on the bump surface. These tape contaminants adversely affect the Flip Chip interconnection process.
The paper "Key Challenges in Fine Pitch Bumped Wafer Mechanical Back Grinding and Polishing", by Ganesh V P, V Kripesh, Kumaran Pakiri, and George Itoh, 2003 International Conference on Electronics Packaging, pp 260–265, Tokyo, Japan, discusses these issues.
A number of patents address thinning bumped wafers. Most of the reported methods use resin/wax coated to the active side of the wafer with the bumps and taped before thinning the wafer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,980 to Satoh describes a method of thinning bumped wafers for WLP and chip scale package (CSP) applications. The advantages of this method include thinning without edge damage and normal handling. However, there are too many process steps, including ashing and resin curing, which require process optimization for different bump heights. The dicing operation must be performed twice. Furthermore, proprietary resins are used. U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,764 to Pritchett shows a method for thinning bumped wafers. This process results in good TTV control, but requires additional process steps for forming dummy bumps. Since the wafer has dummy bumps, tape lamination cannot seal the edges resulting in grinded silicon particle and slurry contamination issues. U.S. Pat. No. 6,638,837 to Tsao et al discloses a method for applying an organic passivation layer or an aqueous material for protection of the active surface, front side, of semiconductor wafers during the operations of backside grinding, transporting, and packaging. Disadvantages of this process include additional process steps and higher materials cost. The process method for depositing the liquid material will have a lot of waste which will have impact on the cost.

Method for ultra thinning bumped wafers for flip chip

Agency for Science Technology and Research


An inkjet recording apparatus includes an inkjet recording head including a first nozzle having a discharge port, a pressure chamber having therein an element, and a flow path, a second nozzle having a flow resistance lower than that of the first nozzle, and a supply port configured to, after discharge of an ink droplet from at least one of the first nozzle and the second nozzle, supply ink to the nozzle, a storage unit storing a rank value depending on a size of a portion relating to the flow resistance, a reading unit configured to read the rank value, a determination unit configured to determine a number of discharges per unit time of each nozzle based on the rank value read by the reading unit, and a control unit configured to control each nozzle to discharge the ink droplet based on the number of discharges determined by the determination unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus having an inkjet recording head for discharging ink droplets, and an inkjet recording method using the inkjet recording head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet recording apparatuses having an inkjet recording head have been known as recording apparatuses capable of outputting high-quality characters and images at low cost. The inkjet recording head discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3343875 is provided with nozzles for discharging ink droplets. As a method for manufacturing the nozzle, a method of laminating a resin layer on a silicon substrate has been known.
FIG. 14 is a plan view illustrating nozzles provided in a known inkjet recording head. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line C-C illustrated in FIG. 14.
In a known inkjet recording head 101, a silicon substrate 100 and a resin layer 200 laminated on the silicon substrate 100 form a nozzle 300 (see FIG. 15). In the nozzle 300, ink filled in a pressure chamber 320 is heated by heat generated by an electrothermal converter 330. This causes film boiling and generates bubbles, and ink droplets of a predetermined amount are discharged from a discharge port 340. Then, the ink is refilled in the pressure chamber 320 from a supply port 110 passing through the silicon substrate 100 via a flow path 310.
In the inkjet recording head 101, a refill time (the time necessary for ink refilling) depends on the structure of the flow path 310. A flow path with a small sectional area requires longer refill time since the flow resistance in the flow path 310 is large. In such a case, a refill frequency (the number of times of the refill repeated in one nozzle per unit time) decreases. Consequently, a discharge frequency (the number of times of the discharge of ink droplets in one discharge port per unit time) also decreases. Therefore, high-speed recording is disturbed. On the other hand, if the refill time is too short (the flow resistance of the flow path 310 is very small), meniscus of the ink may overshoot and the ink may overflow from the discharge port 340. Consequently, to achieve stable high-speed recording, it is desirable to define an upper limit value and a lower limit value of the refill frequency and control the refill frequency to be within the range.
In manufacturing the inkjet recording head 101 using the method discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3343875, the size (for example, a height H of the flow path 310) of a part relating to the flow resistance may vary between production lots. Since the flow resistance affects the refill frequency, the refill frequency may vary too. If the range of variance in the refill frequency is within an allowable range in which a stable high-speed recording can be performed, there are no problems in particular.
Meanwhile, in recent years, demands for further increase in recording speed in the inkjet recording apparatuses have been growing. To respond to the demands, if the above-described discharge frequency is set to be high, the lower limit value of the refill frequency necessarily becomes high. In such a case, the allowable range of the refill frequency in which a stable high-speed recording can be performed becomes narrow. Consequently, the range of variance in the refill frequency exceeds the allowable range, and the possibility of occurrence of discharge failure may increase.

Inkjet recording apparatus and inkjet recording method


The inventions disclosed herein generally relate to isolating heat sensitive components from the heat source of a barbecue grill. In the preferred embodiment, ceramic bushings are used to isolate a glass-reinforced nylon grill stand from the cooking chamber of a barbecue grill. The bushing incorporates a beveled upper edge for engaging with lobes which downwardly depend from the cooking chamber. The bushing also incorporates a circular lower portion for engagement with an aperture in the grill stand. The bushing is locked into engagement with the cooking chamber using a threaded bolt and is locked into loose engagement with the grill stand using a spring clip. The combination of the beveled upper edge and the loose engagement with the grill stand allows the bushing to float with respect to both the grill stand and cooking chamber. As a result, manufacturing tolerance requirements can be relaxed.

The inventions described and claimed herein relate generally to isolating heat on a barbecue grill assembly. In particular, the inventions relate to the use of heat resistant bushings to isolate heat sensitive parts of a grill assembly. The present inventions are described herein in the context of their use with a small portable gas grill, although the claims are not limited as such. The present inventions are equally useful with larger barbecue grills, either gas or charcoal fired.
In recent years, portable barbecue grills have become very popular. Smaller type portable grills, such as the Weber® Baby Q™, have become especially popular due to their small size and light weight. Consumers find it very convenient to use such grills at home and on the road, such as at picnics. Despite the benefits of these small, lightweight grills, manufacturers are generally limited in the type of materials that can be used for the grill. Plastics and the like are generally avoided, at least in locations remote to the cooking chamber, due to the potential for the material to degrade or melt. Consequently, small portable grills are generally constructed of heavy and expensive materials having a high melting temperature. The materials often used include metals such as iron, steel, and aluminum. Not only are such materials expensive, it is also expensive to form and/or machine such materials. The cost of forming the parts of portable grills can be significant given that consumer demand is greatest for grill designs that are complex, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
It has been found that complex, functional, and aesthetically pleasing components are less expensive when formed from materials such as plastic. For reasons of consumer safety and structural integrity, the inventions described and claimed herein permit the use of such materials by isolating the heat sensitive components from the cooking chamber with a heat resistant bushing. Consumer safety is improved by isolating components adjacent to the cooking chamber from heat by reducing the risk of a consumer inadvertently burning themselves. In addition, structural integrity is improved by reducing the operating temperature of the heat sensitive components preventing melting and/or accelerated degradation of the material.
In the preferred embodiment, ceramic bushings are used to isolate a glass-reinforced nylon grill stand from the cooking chamber of a barbecue grill. The bushing incorporates a beveled upper edge for engaging with lobes which downwardly depend from the cooking chamber. The bushing also incorporates a circular lower portion for engagement with an aperture in the grill stand. The bushing is locked into engagement with the cooking chamber using a threaded bolt and is locked into loose engagement with the grill stand using a spring clip. The combination of the beveled upper edge and the loose engagement with the grill stand allows the bushing to float with respect to both the grill stand and cooking chamber. As a result, manufacturing tolerance requirements can be relaxed.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the inventions described and claimed herein or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the inventions described herein are not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.
Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts from Figure to Figure in the following description of the drawings.


A motorized casket/coffin crank raises and lowers a casket/coffin bed effortlessly and with minimal sound emission. The casket/coffin crank can be used similar to a drill to be inserted into the bed device's hole and, with its long shaft, turning the key, which is typically hidden underneath the fabric lining in both the head and foot ends of the casket/coffin, allow the raising and lowering of the casket bed at an accelerated rate without requiring the effort typically required with manual cranks.

The present invention relates to casket/coffin accessories and, more particularly, to a motorized casket/coffin key/crank that can reduce the time and effort in raising and lowering a casket/coffin bed.
The raising and lowering of a typical casket/coffin bed takes manual effort, including from about 45 to about 48 rotations of the standard casket key/crank, and time, typically from about 40 to 45 seconds from bed base to its peak level.
Current conventional cranks/keys work as expected—requiring effort and time. In a business where funeral directors are typically pressed for time, saving those precious seconds is crucial
As can be seen, there is a need for a device for quickly and easily raising and lowering a casket/coffin bed.


A compensator 11 comprises a housing 14 and a sliding ram 13, which is displaceable along a sliding seat 17. The sliding ram 13 includes a flow channel portion 21, which transitions into an elbow bend 30, which, in the operating state, i.e., when hot polymer melt flows through the compensator, is congruent with a further flow channel portion 20. The two flow channel portions 20, 21 have flanges 28 and 29 at their end faces for the installation of the compensator 11 at a bend in a melt line through which a polymer felt flows, to compensate for linear expansions of the melt line due to the increased temperature.

The present invention relates to a compensator to compensate for the changes in length caused by temperature effects of fixed installations, such as lines, flow channels and the like through which a product flows.
In the case of many polymer processing machines which melt granules or pellets and feed them into a common slot die in order to coextrude a multilayer film, the difficulty arises that, owing to the flow of melt at temperatures of up to 300.degree. C., there occur thermal expansions of the melt lines which connect coextruders and extruders to an adapter and/or a multilayer die or slot die. In this case, when the melt zone is heated to operating temperatures in the range of up to 300.degree. C., the thermal expansion can cause the length of melt lines to change by about up to 2.8 mm/linear meter. These changes in length or thermal expansions of the melt lines take place according to the formula EQU 1.sub.w =1.sub.k +(1.sub.k .multidot..DELTA.t.multidot.c)=1.sub.k +(1.sub.k .multidot.250.degree. C..multidot.11.multidot.10.sup.-6 /.degree. C.)
This change in length, starting from a fixed point, displaces the coextruders rearward with respect to the slot die. Known installations with extruders and coextruders are therefore constructed in such a way that the coextruders can be moved in the axial direction, on condition that the melt lines likewise run in or parallel to the axial direction.
In the case of coextruders which are arranged at right angles to the film take-off from the slot die and are set up in this way to save space, these changes in length of the melt lines cause leakages to occur at the 90.degree. bends of the melt lines, and tensioning chains may be destroyed, with the correspondingly associated risk of accidents. In order to avoid such problems, the coextruders can be moved in the direction of their transverse axis to correct them according to the thermal expansion of the melt lines. However, this necessitates complex displacing devices, combined with corresponding distance measuring systems. Considerable extra costs per extruder installation are thereby engendered, since it is necessary to compensate for linear expansions in the range of 15 to 25 mm per coextruder.
For use in a completely different context, namely for deflecting a melt flow, so-called start-up valves are known. These are used in a start-up position for deflecting the melt flow out of the extruder into the open during the starting phase, in order to discharge unwanted material. After this purging operation, the valve is switched back into its operating position. The known start-up valve has a hydraulic system which makes it possible to switch the valve over into the respectively required operating position while the extruder is running.

Compensator for temperature-caused length changes


An image forming part performs an image forming operation. A higher-order component sends an image forming request to perform the image forming operation of said image forming part. A control part controls the image forming part based on the image forming request received from the higher-order component. The control part controls the image forming part to perform a deactivation standby operation to stand by for a predetermined time while the image forming part is continuously set in an operating state after the image forming part completes the image forming operation, without querying the higher-order component about an image forming operation to be performed subsequently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses and, more particularly, to an image forming apparatus that is capable of controlling a process time gap between an image forming operation and an image processing operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with progress in computerization of information, image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a facsimile, etc., which are used to output electronic information, have become indispensable devices. High-speed processing is required for image forming apparatuses such as a business-use image forming apparatus in a case where the image forming apparatus performs a large amount of image formation to be output or in a case where the image forming apparatus is shared by a large number of persons. In order to satisfy such a demand for high-speed operation, a method is suggested to attempt improvement in a throughput of an image forming process (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). In this method, an execution timing of a starting process and a stopping process of an image forming mechanism (a print engine) that actually performs the image forming process is optimized so as to improve throughput of the image forming process.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-177676
In an image forming apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when performing an image forming process by a monochrome print engine, a query is sent to a controller, which performs image processing, to determine whether an object of the print job subsequently supplied is a monochrome image or a color image. If the object of the print job is a monochrome image, the image processing is continued. On the other hand, if the object of the print job subsequently supplied is a color image, a print engine for color images is activated beforehand. Thereby, a time lag caused by a starting process of the print engine is eliminated when performing the subsequently supplied color image print job. Additionally, when performing the image forming process by the color image print engine, a query is sent to the controller for performing the image processing as to whether the object of the print job subsequently supplied is a monochrome image or a color image. If the object of the print job is a monochrome image, the operation of the color image print engine is stopped immediately after the print job is ended to save energy.
However, as an operation cycle of an image forming apparatus, it is typical to perform an image forming process by a print engine after performing image processing by a controller. In order to provide a function to send a query about contents of a print job from the print engine to a controller, a design change is required to a program for controlling the apparatus or a structure of the apparatus. However, providing such a function is not easy. Additionally, if the print engine sends a query about the job contents to the controller and the controller sends a reply about the job contents to the print engine, a communication load is naturally increased. However, it is not desirable to increase the communication load between the controller and the print engine since image data is being sent from the controller to the print engine.
In the meantime, many multi-function image forming apparatuses, such as a copy machine, a printer, or a multi-function peripheral (MFP) having a plurality of image forming functions, are provided with a function to operate parts and units necessary for a job being performed so as to eliminate waste energy. On the other hand, such an image forming apparatus is capable of concurrently processing a plurality of jobs that use different functions (parts and units) when used by a plurality of host apparatuses connected to a network or when having complex functions. Thus, a frequency of activating a common operation part shared by jobs has become high. Under such circumstances, if operations of the common functions and common parts or units are stopped each time one job is ended and the common parts or units are activated again from the stopped state, a waiting time is increased, which elongates a total process time of each job.
In order to solve such a problem, Patent Document 2 teaches a control technique to cause image formation of a plurality of sheets to be performed continuously while an image forming part is maintained in an activated state so as to achieve a high-speed image forming process and prevent waste operation of an operation part to save energy.
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-35705
An image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is capable of performing monochrome mode and color mode image forming operations on recording media that are sequentially conveyed. In this image forming apparatus, a query is made as to whether the mode setting for a subsequent recording medium is a color mode, a monochrome mode or an unfixed mode so as to control operation (activation and waiting or rest) of a color image forming part and a monochrome image forming part in accordance with the mode setting. According to such a control, both a high throughput and a low operating cost can be achieved. The technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is to optimize the control of operations (activation and waiting or rest) of the color image forming part and the monochrome image forming part that is performed between recording media in consecutive image forming operations. However, the technique does not include an inactivating operation of the color and monochrome image forming parts.

Image forming apparatus having an image forming part that can be set in a standby state in response to image forming operation to be performed subsequently


A method of determining priority rules for periodic CSI reporting in carrier aggregation is proposed. A UE obtains channel state information (CSI) feedback for multiple downlink component carriers (CCs) in a multi-carrier wireless communication network. Each downlink CC is associated with a feedback mode, and each feedback mode comprises a set of feedback types to be reported to a base station at time slots configured by an upper layer. The UE then determines a prioritized downlink CC for CSI reporting based on priority levels of the feedback types to be transmitted for each downlink CC at a given time slot. The UE then transmits the corresponding CSI feedback for the prioritized downlink CC at the given time slot via a feedback channel over a primary uplink CC. In one embodiment, different feedback types are prioritized by groups, and each group has several feedback types sharing the same priority.

The use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver of a wireless communication system along with related baseband signal processing is referred to as Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. In a MU-MIMO system, precoding is applied at the transmitter in order to suppress mutual interference experienced by each receiving station caused by transmissions to other receiving stations. To those skilled in the art, MU-MIMO precoding, refers to spatial encoding of the transmitted signal based on propagation channel. In order to apply MU-MIMO precoding, the transmitting station is required to know the Channel State Information (CSI) of the radio channels connecting it to each of the receiving stations for transmission. In 3GPP LTE systems, it is common for the receiving stations (e.g., user equipments) to measure CSI and report CSI to the transmitting station (e.g., eNodeB) via an uplink feedback channel. The content of CSI feedback contains RI (rank indicator), CQI (channel quality indicator), and PMI (precoding matrix indicator) for each downlink component carrier (CC).
In 3GPP LTE systems, CSI reporting is categorized into two types. A first type is called Aperiodic CSI reporting, which applies a triggering mechanism. When triggered, CSI is either reported for all activated downlink CCs, or reported for the downlink CC that is linked to the uplink CC for which the grant containing the trigger is sent. Aperiodic CSI is carried on PUSCH only. A second type is called Periodic CSI reporting, which applies an upper layer (e.g., RRC layer) configuration mechanism. When configured, CSI is reported periodically for one activated downlink CC only. Periodic CSI is carried on PUCCH or PUSCH.
In Rel-8/9 LTE systems, periodic CSI reporting for RI and CQI/PMI is configured separately for a single component carrier. RI reporting is configured by the periodicity MRI and relative offset MOFFSET, RI. CQI /PMI reporting is configured by the periodicity NP and relative offset NOFFSET, CQI. When the relative offset values for RI and CQI/PMI reporting are not set perfectly, collision of RI and CQI/PMI may occur for single-carrier cases. In general, the priority rule is that RI is prioritized over CQI/PMI in case of collision. Therefore, when both RI reporting and CQI/PMI reporting are configured at the same time slot, RI reporting is sent and CQI/PMI reporting is dropped by the UE.
In Rel-10 LTE-A systems, carrier aggregation (CA) can support up to five DL CCs so CSI reporting for multiple DL CCs is possible. Periodic CSI reporting, however, is configured for one activated DL CC only, which is reported via the primary uplink CC. There are 10 feedback types and 4 feedback modes defined in Rel-10 LTE-A. It is thus desirable to have a detailed priority rule to decide for which DL CC the configured periodic CSI reporting will be transmitted when there is periodic CSI reporting collision across the multiple DL CCs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Priority rules of periodic CSI reporting in carrier aggregation