A device for repairing and reinforcing a pivot pin support of a door panel. The device has bracket and a tubular post extending upwardly from a surface of the bracket. The bracket has a through-hole and the tubular post has a bore concentric with the through-hole.

Bi-fold doors are a set of doors hinged together that fold into each other, are mounted and hung from a track, and include pivots at the top and bottom for effecting opening and closing operations. Bi-fold doors are most commonly found in areas like closets, laundry rooms and the kitchen pantry. These doors are relatively easy to install, economical and take less space than a traditional swinging door. Typical bi-fold doors are not commonly made of solid wood, especially the cost-effective ones. These doors have a hollow core and are usually made of a material comprised of sawdust and glue packed together. This packed material holds all of the hardware and components for the bi-fold doors and, as such, can be damaged over time.
For example, when bi-fold doors are slammed open with force a sufficient number of times, as commonly happens during use, the hole for the pivot pin in the door will become oversized, causing the pin to tilt and pop out, rendering the bi-fold door inoperative. In many instances, the force is sufficient such that the wood around the pivot hole becomes oversized or is broken out. If the damage is significant, the only way to repair the problem is to replace the bi-fold door, which is a labor intensive, expensive, time consuming undertaking. Furthermore, many available repair options that do not require replacement of the bi-fold door are expensive, cumbersome and typically require repair off-site.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a device for repairing and reinforcing pivot pin supports for doors, such as bi-fold doors, and related methods thereof, which overcome the foregoing drawbacks of the conventional art.

Device for repairing and reinforcing pivot pin support for doors and related methods


A seal assembly for sealing between first and second tubular members includes an annular seal body disposeable within an annular gland between the tubular members and formed of a generally compressible polymeric material. The seal body has a first axial sealing surface disposed against a first tubular member end surface, a second axial sealing member disposeable against a second tubular member end surface and a recess(es) defined partially by an angled activation surface. An annular backing ring formed of a substantially rigid material is disposed the body recess to couple the backing ring with the seal body. The backing ring has an outer axial end disposeable against the first member end surface to prevent radially outward displacement of the portions of the seal at the first member end surface and is biased axially toward the first member end surface when compression of the seal body displaces the activation surface axially.

The present invention relates to seal assemblies, and more particularly to axial face seals used in abrasive environments.
Axial face seals are known and typically include an annular seal body formed of an elastomeric material. The seal body has at least one radial-extending surface on an axial end which sealingly engages an annular surface or "face" of a component, such as a drill pipe. Particularly when used in a highly abrasive environment, such in as a fracking pipe-line swivel joint, the combination of relative rotation of one pipe and the abrasive materials in the fracking fluid often cause degradation of the seal body material and possible failure of the seal.

Axial face seal assembly with outwardly-biased backing rings


Disclosed is a method for producing a Trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride, which is characterized by that a reaction is conducted while kneading a Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid and diphosphorus pentoxide at a temperature that is 40° C. or higher and is lower than 100° C. by using a kneader-type reactor having a maximum power of 1.0 kW or greater per an actual capacity of 100 L and equipped with at least two-shaft blades, that the Trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride to be generated is discharged, and that, while the residue in the reactor after the discharge is kneaded at a temperature that is 100° C. or higher and is lower than 140° C., the unreacted Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is discharged, recovered and reused as the raw material. It is possible by this method to obtain a Trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride with a high yield.

Hitherto, as a method for producing fluoroalkanesulfonic anhydrides, when citing as an example a method for producing trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride ((CF3SO2)2O), there has been known a method for producing the same by a dehydration condensation reaction by using trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (CF3SO3H) as a starting raw material and by adding diphosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) to trifluoromethanesulfonic acid as shown in the following reaction formula 1. In the case of using this method, the trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride formed is recovered by evaporation by heating.2CF3SO3H+P2O5→(CF3SO2)2O+P2O5.H2O  Reaction Formula 1:
In the present method, however, metaphosphoric acid (P2O5.H2O) produced as a by-product by the dehydration condensation reaction of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is glassy to have a very high viscosity. Thus, stirring becomes impossible in the middle of the reaction by using one-shaft blades, stirring-type reactor that is generally used for mixing and stirring high viscosity materials. Therefore, the reaction does not proceed, and it also becomes impossible to recover the trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride formed. Thus, yield of trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride becomes 60% or lower at the maximum, based on trifluoromethanesulfonic acid.
Thus, there is known a method (Patent Publication 1) for recovering the unreacted trifluoromethanesulfonic acid by conducting again a distillation under reduced pressure after having a condition that stirring of the reactor has been made possible by dissolving metaphosphoric acid by adding water or phosphoric acid to this glassy reaction residue.
In this method, however, it is necessary to stop the reaction once and gradually add water or phosphoric acid to avoid a rapid temperature increase by the reaction heat. Furthermore, it is not possible to conduct stirring either until it dissolves. Therefore, it is necessary to wait for long hours until metaphosphoric is completely dissolved in the added water or phosphoric acid. Viewing it from the industrial viewpoint, it is difficult to consider that the method is necessarily a process superior in productivity.
On the other hand, in order to correct the low yield by solidification of metaphosphoric acid, it is known that solidification by metaphosphoric acid during the reaction can be suppressed, by a method (Patent Publications 2 and 3) in which trifluoromethanesulfonic acid and diphosphorus pentoxide are reacted in a fluorine-series solvent, a method (Patent Publication 4) in which trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is used in an excessive amount relative to diphosphorus pentoxide, and the like. However, in order to obtain a viscosity at the level of being able to maintain at least stirring during the reaction, it is necessary to use a large amount of solvent or a large amount of the raw material that is not consumed by the reaction. Therefore, viewing from the industrial viewpoint, it is difficult to consider that the method is necessarily a process superior in productivity.
In contrast with the above-mentioned method, as a method for producing a fluoroalkylsulfonic anhydride with a high yield, there is known a method (Patent Publication 5) in which kneading is compulsorily conducted even under a condition of solidification by metaphosphoric acid to continue the reaction, by reacting the fluoroalkylsulfonic acid with diphosphorus pentoxide by using a kneader-type reactor equipped with two-shaft blades.
Furthermore, it is known that kneader-type reactors are used in the method for producing polysaccharides (Patent Publication 6) and the method for producing geleous polymerizates (Patent Publication 7).

Method for producing trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride


The formation of a ball throwing machine is facilitated and the accuracy of the direction in which balls are thrown by the ball throwing machine is improved. The ball throwing machine (1) comprises a support body (4) mountable on the ground (3), a pair of rotary shafts (6, 6) supported by the support body (4) so that they are rotatable around their own parallel axes (5), and a pair of rotary wheels (7, 7) fixed on the rotary shafts (6) concentrically with the latter. A ball (2) fed between the outer peripheral surfaces (10, 10) of the two rotary wheels (7, 7) rotating in opposite directions (C, D) is nipped between the outer peripheral surfaces (10, 10) and accelerated and thrown outward. The support body comprises a support body main body (15) mountable on the ground (3), and a support pipe (16) supported by the support body main body (15) to linearly extend so as to support the rotary shafts (6) in a state in which the rotary shafts (6) extend through the support pipe (16) in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the support pipe (16).

Such pitching machine is described in Patent Document 1 denoted below. According to this document, the ball throwing machine comprises a support body mountable on the ground, a pair of rotary shafts supported by said support body so that they are rotatable around their own parallel axes, a pair of rotary wheels fixed on said rotary shafts concentrically with the latter and juxtaposed radially of said rotary shafts, an electric motor supported by said support body to enable said two rotary wheels to be driven for rotation, and an operatively connecting means for operatively connecting said two rotary wheels to said electric motor. Further, said support body comprises a support body main body which is a carriage mountable on the ground, and a support box body supported on the upper surface of said support body main body and made of metal plate in box form to support said rotary shafts and to receive said operatively connecting means.
When it is desired to make said ball throwing machine perform ball throwing action, said electric motor is driven. Thereupon, said two rotary wheels are rotated in opposite directions in operative association with the driving of the electric motor and through said operatively connecting means and said rotary shafts. And, a ball is fed between the outer peripheral surfaces of said two rotary wheels. Thereupon, said ball is nipped between the outer peripheral surfaces and accelerated and thrown outward.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Paten Laid-Open No. 2001-218883.


A preamplifier system (10) is provided which amplifies and conditions an input electromagnetic signal for insertion into a high power amplifier. The preamplifier system (10) includes a plurality of cascaded amplifying stages (100a-100d) for incrementally amplifying the input electromagnetic signal, as well as bias control circuitry coupled to the amplifying stages (100a-100d) to electrically bias at least one of those stages into a Class A operational mode and an adjustable phase shift unit (300) coupled to at least one of the amplifying stages (100a-100d) for reversibly shifting the phase of the input electromagnetic signal in accordance with the given high power amplifier's configuration. Each amplifying stage (100a-100d) includes at least one transistor assembly device (110a-110d) having integrally formed therein a plurality of silicon carbide cells coupled one to the other. The amplifying stages (100a-100d) collectively operate in stable, substantially linear manner to effect a predetermined level of gain in high power applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject preamplifier system is generally directed to a system for amplifying and conditioning an input electromagnetic signal for insertion into a high power amplifier. More specifically, the subject preamplifier system is directed to a system employing multi-cell silicon carbide transistor assembly devices to preamplify an RF signal with a relatively high gain while substantially preserving operational linearity.
Factors such as high power density--that is, the ability to yield high power levels for a given device size and weight--along with factors such as the degree of voltage and temperature tolerance are quite critical in many electrical applications, particularly in high power applications. The capacity to tolerate higher operating voltages, for instance, enables an active electrical device to operate with lower currents, hence with greater efficiency. Similarly, the capacity to tolerate higher operational temperatures generally enables an active electrical device to yield greater power while diminishing the likelihood of irreparable damage to the device when subjected to a given set of operating conditions. Indeed, temperature tolerance is not only a significant limiting factor to the safe operating point of a given electrical device, it is a significant limiting factor to the space density with which a plurality of such devices may be physically disposed within a space allocated therefor without necessitating overly elaborate cooling measures.
Another factor of considerable concern in many applications is the system's operational frequency bandwidth. Currently, in RF broadcast applications such as transmission within the UHF TV frequency range, known systems invariably offer operational bandwidths not substantially wider than one transmission channel, which is approximately 6 MHz wide. A broadcast system typically employs a plurality of transmitter modules; hence, each module must then be individually tuned for the particular transmit channel to be utilized. The need for such tedious tuning would be obviated were there available for use system modules offering operational frequency bandwidths wide enough to encompass a plurality of transmission channels without significant compromise of their operation in other respects. Any tuning of the system modules beyond the course pre-tuning performed during their manufacture would be unnecessary so long as system modules pre-tuned to a bandwidth encompassing the desired transmission channel are employed.
Another parameter of notable concern in RF broadcast applications is the linearity with which at least certain portions of the given system operate. It is highly desirable in such systems as a preamplifier system that the response characteristic of the amplification section therein remain stable for the full range of possible input signals. It is further desirable that this linearity of operation be preserved while maintaining optimal levels of power density and bandwidth.
2. Prior Art
Preamplifier systems employing cascaded amplifying stages are known in the art. Silicon carbide transistor devices are also known in the art. The best prior art known to Applicants includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,631,492; 4,670,789; 4,710,815; 4,800,426; 5,134,485; 5,686,737; 5,270,554; and, 5,726,605. The systems known in the prior art, however, do not include a preamplifier system which yields the combined degree of power density, voltage and temperature tolerance, wide bandwidth, and operational linearity yielded by the subject preamplifier system.
Silicon-based active electrical devices which are prevalent in the art do not offer the power density and voltage/temperature tolerance offered by silicon carbide transistor devices. Consequently, silicon carbide transistor devices have been utilized in the art in numerous applications requiring high peak power, pulsed operation of the active device. Such devices were, therefore, invariably operated in either Class B or Class C operational modes. There is no system heretofore known incorporating silicon carbide transistor devices wherein substantially linear operation thereof is realized, much less a system wherein such linear operation accompanied by an operational frequency bandwidth great enough to encompass a plurality of 6 MHz-video transmission channels is realized.


A piezo-resistor-based sensor, and a method to fabricate such sensor, comprise a sensor having at least a sensing element provided on a flexible structure, such as a membrane or cantilever or the like. The sensing element includes at least one piezo-resistor comprising at least a first region of the flexible structure doped with dopant atoms of a first type. The flexible structure furthermore comprises a second doped region within it, at least partially overlapping the first doped region, forming a shield for shielding the sensing element from external electrical field interference, wherein dopant atoms of the second doped region are of a second type opposite to the dopant atoms of the first doped region, for generating a charge depletion layer within the flexible structure at the overlapping region between the first doped region and the second doped region.

Sensitivity of sensors indicates the level of response with respect to a stimulus. Ideally, sensitivity should be constant throughout the useful life of a sensor. However, sensitivity of some types of pressure sensors may suffer from changes with time. For example, pressure sensors for gas, comprising a membrane and an element which changes its electrical characteristics with deformation of the membrane, usually suffer from drift due to external electric fields or surface charges which may affect the element. In particular, silicon piezoresistive pressure sensors suffer from start-up drift due to external electric fields, surface charges or static charge accumulation on the sensing element and therefore the change in the piezo-resistors' dopant distribution. This is especially problematic in automotive applications. The charges may have come from environment such as from oil full of ions, which is in contact with pressure sensor, or may have been created in passivation layer due to external electrical field or thermal energies. The charges migrate to the piezo-elements, causing effective resistance changes and therefore sensor output drifting.
Usually, an extra layer of shielding material can be deposited on top of the membrane, to reduce EM interference and/or charges falling on the sensitive parts of the element such as the membrane and/or the piezo-elements. However, deposition of material (e.g. polysilicon) is usually performed at very high temperatures, which may induce mechanical stress during cooling. This may affect membrane initial stress, thus introducing an initial offset, which affects the sensitivity. For example, due to mechanical stress, 100-150 nm of metal can reduce sensitivity up to 5% for a 7 μm Si membrane. Additionally, due to the thickness of the shield, the thickness of the membrane increases as much, which usually increases the stiffness of the membrane and further reduces its sensitivity. Non-linear behavior and hysteresis problems may also arise.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,042 discloses a metallic shield on top of a membrane. The shield includes a predetermined thickness of deposited doped polysilicon. Not only is the thickness of the membrane increased (with the corresponding reduction of sensitivity), but also is the shield usually required to be electrically isolated from the sensing element. This electrical isolation increases the thickness even further, thus reducing the sensitivity even more. Furthermore, a complex processing with a lengthy manufacturing route is required including many steps, patterning, masking, etching, etc., in order to reduce as much as possible the harmful effects of the shielding on the sensor.

N-implant electrical shield for piezo-resistor sensor


An axial motor (100) driven by opposed pistons/cylinder (101a–105b, 111a–115b) pairs arranged in a circular array about a central axis of the motor (100). The opposed pistons (101a, 101b; 102a, 102b; 103a, 103b; 104a, 104b; 105a, 105b) in each pair are linked by a corresponding connecting rod (106–110), which transfers the thrust from the pistons (101a–105a) to an output shaft via a power transmission apparatus (300) and z crank (114) arrangement. Reciprocating couplings disposed in the transmission apparatus (300) connect the connecting rods (106–110) to the apparatus (300). During operation, the reciprocating couplings oscillate to retain the connecting rods (106–110) substantially aligned with the corresponding piston pair to reduce side thrust on the pistons.

Axial motors include an engine block in which the cylinders and pistons are arranged evenly in a circular configuration about a central axis of the engine block, rather than in the inline, "V" or horizontally opposed configurations of traditional engines. The reciprocal motion of the pistons in such a motor can be transferred to rotational motion of an output shaft by way of a wobble plate and z crank configuration such as that disclosed in NZ 221366, or by some other suitable transfer means. In later axial motors, such as those described in WO 96/29506 and GB 2,338,746, opposed pistons are used to increase the thrust on the transmission means.
In such motors, connecting rods, or some other suitable means, couple the pistons to the wobble plate to transfer thrust from the pistons to the z crank, or other means, to drive the output shaft. The connecting rods do not remain in a vertical orientation throughout the entire cycle due to the motion of the wobble plate, and this can create side thrust on various components of the engine, including the pistons.

Shuttleworth Axial Motor Company Limited


A system in an asynchronous mobile communications system and located in a mobile station for determining use of space-time block-coding-based transmit diversity encoding in a base station including transmission antennas, comprises: a cell search unit for detecting frame timing information and scrambling codes of the base station from signals output from the base station; a descrambling unit for descrambling the signals output from the base station using the frame timing information and the scrambling codes; an accumulation processor for despreading the descrambled signals; a depatternization unit for depatternizing the despread signals using pilot symbol patterns corresponding to the two transmission antennas; and an accumulator bank unit for performing accumulation and addition processes of the depatternized signals to output signals corresponding to the transmission antennas.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a next generation mobile communications system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for determining the use of forward channel transmit diversity, that is, STTD (Space-Time block-coding-based Transmit Diversity), encoding in a base station of an asynchronous broadband CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Next generation mobile communications systems provide various high speed (2 Mbps) and high quality services such as multimedia capabilities.
With the goal of providing such services, the UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) standard was made at the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), which was a meeting that took place to create a third generation standard.
In wireless communications systems, there is a reduction in performance caused by a multi-path fading channel. A variety of methods are used to minimize this loss of performance.
Among the various methods, an effective way to prevent this problem is through the use of an antenna diversity technology, in which many antennas are used in a receiver of a base station. The basic reason for such a configuration is economic: a single base station may be used for many mobile stations, while use of a plurality of antennas in mobile stations is costly.
Many methods have been proposed to receive such benefits of diversity. The technology adopted in the 3GPP standard is an open-loop diversity STTD technology. The STTD technology was first proposed in 1998 by S. M. Alamouti (see Standardization Specifications 3GPP 3G TS 25.211).
STTD encoding adopted in the 3GPP standard is optional for a base station. Accordingly, even with an increase in added complexities, mobile stations and terminals must provide the ability to execute STTD demodulation in receivers.
When the power of a mobile station is first turned on, a three-stage cell search unit of a receiving end acquires timing information of a base station cell with the largest signal and a scrambling code number. Next, before system information sent through a primary common control physical channel (PCCPCH), which is a forward channel, is demodulated in the UTRAN, the receiver must compensate frequency offset between the base station and mobile stations. However, it must be known whether STTD encoding of the base station is being used to perform such frequency offset compensation.
It may be determined if STTD encoding of the base station is being used through symbols contained in a synchronization channel (SCH) as shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a structure of a PCCPCH according to a 3GPP radio access network (RAN) standard. There is no transmission at an initial point of each slot during a 256-chip interval, and instead a primary SCH and a secondary SCH are transmitted in this interval.
Symbol (a) included in the primary SCH and the secondary SCH indicates whether STTD encoding of the base station is being used. That is, if a value of (a) is +1, STTD encoding is being used, while if the value of (a) is −1, this indicates that STTD encoding is not being used.
However, in this method of determining whether STTD decoding is being used through the symbol included in the SCHs of the PCCPCH, in the case where one base station is using STTD encoding and another is not using STTD encoding, and slot timings of the two base stations overlap, it is not possible to determine whether STTD encoding is being used for the base station cell with the largest reception signal.
Further, since there is no spreading gain if the SCHs do not perform spreading, errors as a result of multi-path fading and frequency offset are significant compared to other channels, thereby increasing the likelihood of making incorrect determinations of whether STTD encoding is being used.

System and method for determining use of STTD encoding of base system

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Methods and systems are provided for performing dynamic mapping between a virtual environment and a real-world space. During dynamic mapping, a current virtual scene of the virtual environment that is within view of a user is prioritized over areas of the virtual environment that are out of view. The dynamic mapping between the virtual environment and the real-world space can be utilized to render a virtual scene for user in real-time. As a user interacts and/or moves within the virtual environment, dynamic mapping can be performed in real-time to capture any dynamic changes to the real-world space and/or the virtual environment.

Compelling virtual-based experiences often depend on consistency between virtual and real-world perceptions (e.g., visual, tactile, haptic, audio, etc.). Such virtual-based experiences often utilize virtual environments generated using virtual reality (VR), augmented realty (AR), or mixed reality (MR). Aligning real-world perceptions with the virtual environment can add an immersive quality to the virtual-based experience while inconsistencies can lead to jarring distractions.
One approach for increasing realism utilizes redirected walking. Redirected walking allows users to move their physical bodies in a real-world space while perceiving a virtual environment. In addition to increasing realism, redirected walking can additionally or alternatively be used to reduce simulator sickness, a side effect that may occur when a virtual view differs from real-word vestibular perceptions. For example, a user may incur simulator sickness when a user experiences visual cues of moving in the virtual world, but the user's real-world body remains static.
Generally, when utilizing redirected walking to manipulate a user's movement within a real-world environment, the user can be guided away from physical obstacles, such as walls and furniture, so that the user does not collide with the real-world objects as the user walks around. In one conventional approach, a real-world floor plan can be mapped to a virtual floor plan to perform redirected walking. Such an approach, however, is based on a static two-dimensional floor map that does not account for moving real-world objects in the environment and, thus, is not adaptive to changes in the environment. In this regard, movement of a real-world object (e.g., a physical desk) in a real-world environment might result in a user colliding into the moved real-world object.
Further, such a conventional approach does not allow for interaction with real-world, three-dimensional objects. Instead, redirected walking treats real-world objects as obstacles to be avoided, guiding users away from real-world objects, such as walls and furniture. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to interact with a real-world object. For example, when a user interacts with a virtual object, realism of a virtual experience is increased when the user's body also physically perceives an interaction with a real-world object. Although some conventional approaches are directed to enabling tactile interaction, such approaches are limited to confined user interaction with a small object in a single virtual scene.

Dynamic mapping of virtual and physical interactions


A hydrogen operated gun for shooting projectiles such as a paint pellet. Hydrogen gas is supplied to a combustion chamber and is combusted by a trigger controlled piezo igniter. The hydrogen may be supplied by a hydrogen generator or by a hydrogen storage container located in the gun housing. Suitable valve mechanisms are provided to control the flow of hydrogen to the combustion chamber and the expelling of exhaust gases from the combustion chamber.

The present invention relates to a recreational launcher such as a gun to propel various kinds of projectiles. There are literally hundreds of devices on the market for shooting bullets, pellets, and paint balls but some have the disadvantage of polluting the air with powder smoke, C02 or other propellant. There has long been a need for a gun operated by hydrogen that has the desired explosive effect and does not present environmental concerns.


If the same parameter is repeatedly used in an unvoiced frame inherently devoid of pitch, there is produced a pitch of the frame length period, thus producing an extraneous feeling. This can be prevented from occurring by evading repeated use of excitation vectors having the same waveform shape. To this end, when decoding an encoded speech signal obtained on waveform encoding an encoding-unit-based time-axis speech signal obtained on splitting an input speech signal in terms of a pre-set encoding unit on the time axis, input data is checked by CRC by a CRC and bad frame masking circuit 281, which processes a frame corrupted with an error with bad frame masking of repeatedly using parameters of a directly previous frame. If the error-corrupted frame is unvoiced, an unvoiced speech synthesis unit 220 adds the noise to an excitation vector from a noise codebook or randomly selects the excitation vector of the noise codebook.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a speech decoding method and device for decoding an encoded signal produced by splitting the input speech signal in terms of a pre-set encoding unit, such as a block or a frame, and decoding the resulting encoded signal from one encoding unit to another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Up to now, a variety of encoding methods are known for encoding an audio signal (inclusive of speech and acoustic signals) for signal compression by exploiting statistic properties of the signals in the time domain and in the frequency domain and psychoacoustic characteristics of the human ear. As these encoding methods, a vector sum excited linear prediction (VSELP) encoding system, as a so-called code excited linear prediction (CELP) encoding system, or a pitch synchronous innovation-CELP (PSI-CELP) is recently attracting attention as low bit rate encoding system.
In the waveform encoding system, such as this CELP encoding system, an input speech signal is formed into a block or a frame, with a pre-set number of samples thereof as an encoding unit, and a closed-loop search for an optimum vector is executed on the block- or frame-based time-axis speech waveform by an analysis-by-synthesis method for vector quantizing the waveform for outputting an index of the optimum vector.
Meanwhile, in such waveform encoding system, such as the CELP encoding system, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code is appended to a crucial parameter. If an error is produced on CRC error check on the decoder side, parameters of the directly preceding block or frame are repeatedly used to prevent abrupt interruption of the reproduced speech. If the error is sustained, the gain is gradually lowered to establish a muted (silent) state.
However, if the parameters of the block or frame directly preceding error occurrence are used repeatedly, the pitch of the block- or frame-length period becomes audible, thus producing a strange perceptual feeling.
On the other hand, if the playback speed is retarded excessively by speed control, it is a frequent occurrence that the same frame be repeated or occur a number of times with a small shift. In such case, the pitch of the block- or frame-length period similarly becomes audible, thus again producing a strange perceptual feeling.

Speech decoding method and apparatus for selecting random noise codevectors as excitation signals for an unvoiced speech frame


An assembly, such as a sensor assembly, includes an optional housing having an inner surface and an outer surface where the housing includes housing connecting features. The assembly further includes a module assembly with at least one resilient member, and an elongate member coupled with the at least one resilient member. The module assembly and the elongate member are disposed within the housing where the elongate member is coupled with the housing with the housing connecting features.

Light curtains have a number of applications, such as to perform a variety of measurement and inspection functions. Light curtains are used to size parts, verify part features such as edges, holes and other distinguishing characteristics, and for verification of part ejection. Light curtains may also be used on many types of industrial machinery, such as punches, presses, drills, saws, etc., in order to sense the presence of foreign objects or as part of security or safety systems.
Light curtain devices typically employ a number of light beams that are disposed to fan out across a designated location in a production line. Typically, such devices employ a plurality of active elements on both sides of the area to be monitored. For example, a plurality of light generators, each of which generates a light beam or column, may be disposed on one side of the monitored area, and a corresponding plurality of light detectors may be disposed on the other side of the monitored area. The interruption of one or more of the light columns thus indicates, for example, the presence of a part at the monitored area, and tracking of which light columns are interrupted can be used, for example, to determine the type or orientation of the part at the monitored location.
Therefore, the alignment of the light curtain is important. However, use of the light curtain over an extended period of time or in a warm factory setting can place thermal stress on one or more of the components of the light curtain potentially affecting the disposition of the components of or within the light curtain relative to one another. This may further affect the alignment of the light curtains resulting in additional alignment procedures, or a decrease in range of the light curtain.
Accordingly, what is needed is a light curtain with improved alignment that is consistent over time and throughout changes in the environment in which it operates.

Apparatus and method for coupling a module assembly in a housing


A door panel includes a support having a formed area with opposing spaced apart structures and an elongated reinforcement spanning between the opposing spaced apart structures and spaced from the formed area. A flexible cover is positioned on the support including a main panel section covering the support and covering the formed area, and a second panel section wrapped around the reinforcement for covering the reinforcement to form a handle on the door panel. As molded, the flexible cover includes inner, middle, and outer panel sections that are spaced apart to facilitate molding. The outer panel section is convexly shaped and can be inverted so that it abuts the middle panel section. The door panel is constructed by positioning the flexible cover on the support, and flexing the outer panel section inwardly so that a handle-covering portion of the flexible cover completely surrounds the reinforcement. Thereafter, the flexible cover is RF welded so that the reinforcement is covered and so that a portion of the flexible cover can be removed to form an opening under the handle. Then, flexible foam is injected between the support and the flexible cover. Modifications are disclosed wherein the support is constructed from a smaller support section attached to a larger support section, wherein a rigid foam forms the entire support, and wherein the reinforcement is a loop of stiff material attached to a support.

The present invention relates to a vehicle inner door panel having an integral handle adapted for closing the door.
Modern vehicles include passenger doors with vehicle inner door panels trimmed to match the passenger compartment decor. The door panels each include an inner door handle for closing the associated door. Recently, some manufacturers have reduced the number of parts required to construct a door panel by providing an integral handle, thus reducing cost and assembly time, and also providing a cleaner appearance with less visible joint lines. However, further improvement is desired over known door panel systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,687 discloses a door panel having a relatively flat reinforcement insert, a reinforcement strip attached to an interior surface of the reinforcement insert, and a skin with a first section for aesthetically covering the interior surface and a tubular section for covering the reinforcement strip to form a handle. However, the tubular section disclosed in Patent '687 is difficult and inefficient to manufacture and still further is inefficient to assemble. For example, the reinforcement strip must be snaked through the tubular section and then attached to the flat reinforcement insert member during assembly, which is cumbersome and labor intensive. Further, the screws used to connect the ends of the reinforcement strip to the generally flat reinforcement insert member are separate "extra" pieces requiring installation. Also, the screws are subject to improper installation, such as overtorquing which results in stripping, or undertorquing which results in incomplete installation and looseness. Also, screws can work loose with time and use, resulting in a loose door handle. The '687 patent also discloses a method for manufacturing a skin including the tube section for the handle. But the mold for forming the skin with the handle tube section includes a plug that is manipulated in the mold to form the skin handle tube. Use of the plug results in a process that is labor intensive and has a poor cycle efficiency. Still further, the plug and mold must be carefully maintained to prevent unacceptable weld lines from being formed on the skin, which occurs if the plug is mislocated during the molding process or if the plug becomes worn. Thus, a door panel solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Vehicle door panel with integral handle and method of manufacture


A slipcover which is variably adjustable to the dimensions of the piece of furniture to be covered and a method of covering a piece of furniture. Elongated, tubular, telescopically compressible channels of material are associated with the seams of the slipcover. Each channel contains a slideable cord having opposite ends departing from opposite ends of the channel. A reversibly fixable locking mechanism segregates the channel on a selected portion of the cord to match the corresponding dimension of the covered furniture. The method of covering the furniture comprises arranging the covering on the piece of furniture and adjusting the length of the channels to correspond to the corresponding dimension of the furniture.

The present invention pertains generally to furniture coverings and methods for covering furniture. Specifically, the invention relates to slipcovers to cover furniture for protection or to improve the appearance of furniture and related methods of covering furniture.
Household and business furniture is available in a nearly infinite number of designs, styles, shapes, sizes and materials. Fabric covered furniture is very desireable in home and business settings because it provides a comfortable, usually cushioned place to sit for extended periods of time. The material used on the furniture adds an aesthetic feature to the decor of the surroundings and may be chosen because of its particular color, design and texture.
While fully or partially upholstered furniture is very desireable, it has commonly experienced problems. First, the upholstery is a fabric vulnerable to damage during use; it is easily stained by the spilling of drinks or the activities of children. Moreover, pets, such as cats or dogs, can damage the material with their claws or teeth.
A second limitation of upholstered furniture is that the upholstery cannot be easily removed. If the upholstery on the chair or sofa is stained, damaged or just not the right style, color, design or texture for the surrounding decoration, or just out of style, replacement of the upholstery material requires removal and replacement. This can be a complicated, time consuming and expensive activity which may require the services of a professional upholsterer.
In the past, furniture has been shielded so that expensive permanent custom removal and replacement of that material would not be necessary. These efforts took two general directions; custom coverings and throws. Both of these alternatives suffers from significant disadvantages.
Custom coverings, most often made of cloth, but also made of plastic, provide both stain and tear resistance. This type of covering provides a protective layer over the furnishing permanently fitted to its particular dimensions. It suffers from the disadvantage of being expensive and time consuming to make, usually requiring the services of a professional upholsterer. Moreover, the finished custom covering fits only a single piece of furniture.
Plastic custom coverings have the advantage of allowing for the underlying upholstery to be seen. However, the pleasing tactile experience of sitting or laying on fabric is lost because no contact is directly made by the user with the fabric. Because plastic often is hot and sticky in the summer and cold in the winter, it is a poor substitute for direct contact with the upholstery material. Moreover, plastic coverings, like fabric custom coverings, are custom fitted over the original fabric, requiring approximately the same time and expense as the reupholstering process.
The second alternative to reupholstering is the use of a throw. Throws are non-fitted, mass-produced pieces of material placed over the furniture to be covered. This provides the advantage of covering the original, old upholstery with new material without complex and expensive custom installation. Moreover, a throw provides protection both from liquid and tears or rips, similar to custom coverings and hides the stains, tears, and possibly ugly appearance of the underlying upholstery.
Throws suffer from a disadvantage. Because they were not permanently cut and installed on the particular piece of furniture, they do not tightly fit the furniture. Even if made of an eye catching material, throws often either appear wrinkled and in disarray or, if tucked-in to a piece of furniture to reduce the wrinkles, are subject to becoming disheveled upon the most minor of uses. Hence, while throws overcome some of the disadvantages of custom coverings, they suffer from the major disadvantages of not being fitted to the particular piece of furniture.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a slipcover which has adjustable dimensions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a covering for furniture which can have some of its dimensions varied to closely match the dimensions of the furniture.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a slipcover which can be manually adjusted to fit different furniture pieces having varying shapes and sizes.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a furniture covering that can easily and quickly be fitted to a piece of furniture without professional installation.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a furniture covering which is temporarily adjustable to the particular dimensions of a piece of furniture.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a method of adjustably and reversibly fitting a slipcover to a piece of furniture.
Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and illustration of the preferred embodiment of the invention.


A method comprises, at a network adapter of a first device, detecting a write request for storing data in a storage device of the first device, and the write request comprises a first indication for a first storage address of the data in the storage device. The method also comprises, in response to detecting the write request, storing the data at a second storage address in a memory of the network adapter. The method further comprises, storing the first indication in association with a second indication for the second storage address in the memory to enable the storage device to obtain the data. With the above method, by processing and storing data via the controller and the memory of the network adapter, not only a waste of the processor and the memory of the first device is reduced, but also latency of processing commands is decreased.

With the development of network technologies, data exchanges between different network devices occur more frequently. Moreover, since more and more data are stored in a data center, users typically obtain data by accessing service equipment of the data center using computing devices.
Due to the rapid development of hardware of computing devices, the computing devices are used more frequently to exchange data with other devices. Through various protocols in a network, a computing device can communicate, in a certain format, with other computing devices. However, there are still various types of technical problems to be tackled for data transmission with the computing devices.

Method, network adapters and computer program product using network adapter memory to service data requests


The heat resistant stainless steel wire/strip comprises a stainless steel thin wire/strip containing, in addition to chrome, at least one of nickel, aluminum and yttrium. The stainless steel thin wire/strip is covered with a covering layer formed of nickel group alloy particles containing aluminum covered with ceramic particles or chrome alloy particles containing aluminum covered with ceramic particles. The stainless steel thin wire/strip with the covering layer is applied with heat treatment in vacuum at a temperature of 1100 to 1300.degree. C., the alloy particles are deposited on the stainless steel thin wire/strip, and the alloy particles and the ceramic particles of the covering layer are bonded to each other. The ceramic particles of the covering layer is 1 micron or less of an average particle diameter and contain at least one of aluminum, silicone, magnesium, zirconium, barium and titanium.

The present invention relates to heat resistant stainless steel wire and/or heat resistant stainless steel strip for an electric heater as used in a preheating plug for a Diesel engine, and particularly to heat resistant stainless steel wire and/or heat resistant stainless steel strip in which the bonding forces of a covering layer relative to substrate steel wire are strong.
Methods for applying a ceramic-metal composite covering to the surface of a based material or a substrate metal so far known include a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method, a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method, a Solgel method, a flame coating and the like.
However, in the CVD method, materials for substrate metal and a covering matter are restricted, and in the PVD method, the bonding force of adhesion force between substrate metal and a covering matter is weak. Further, also in the Solgel method, the bonding force or adhesion force between the substrate metal and the covering matter is weak, and it is difficult to form a thick covering layer whose thickness exceeds 1 micron. Particularly, it is necessary to form fine rugged portions on the surface of substrate metal by the shot blast or the like before bonding the covering matter. It is therefore very difficult to form a covering layer on metal parts such as a thin wire, a thin sheet, small articles, etc.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 287407/1993 discloses an example in which alloy powder such as nickel alloy, cobalt alloy, etc. is placed in firm contact with the surface of ceramic powder such as relatively coarse silicon nitride, alumina, etc. as ceramic based powder for metallurgy for covering the surface of substrate metal such as a machining tool. However, such substrate metals are insufficient in mechanical strength, and uses thereof are limited.
On the other hand, a stainless steel covered with aluminum by melt plating to enhance heat resistant ability has been heretofore put to practical use. However, in a stainless steel thin wire and a stainless steel sheet covered with aluminum by melt plating, an aluminum alloy layer obtained by melt plating is brittle, and stainless steel as a substrate metal becomes brittle at a high temperature. Likewise, an aluminum alloy layer obtained by diffusion treatment is also brittle, and the alloy layer is peeled off from the stainless steel wire as a based material or a substrate metal at a high temperature, and the substrate metal also becomes brittle.

Isuzu Ceramics Research Institute Co., Ltd.


A slide rail assembly for mounting a lateral side of a chassis to a rack includes first and second rails and a ball assembly. A sidewall of the second rail has a mounting portion to be mounted to a mounting member on the lateral side of the chassis. The ball assembly, movably mounted between the rails to facilitate relative sliding thereof, includes a ball retainer whose lateral portion corresponds in position to the space between a sidewall of the first rail and the sidewall of the second rail. The sidewall of the second rail includes a projecting block for pushing the lateral portion of the ball retainer, keeping the lateral portion close to the sidewall of the first rail.

With the development of the Internet and the prevalence of personal mobile devices, the storage of electronic information or data is becoming more and more important. In particular, servers can be used to store a vast amount of such electronic information or data to meet the need of data storage. Generally speaking, a server (e.g., a rack server) is installed in a chassis, and the chassis is mounted on a rack via a pair of slide rail assemblies each composed of two or three slide rails. Thus, the installation of the server on the rack is completed.
Some slide rail assemblies in the prior art are equipped with ball retainers, each containing a plurality of balls, so that slidably connected slide rails can displace relative to one another via the balls. Such slide rail assemblies are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,988,626 and 6,379,045, which are referenced when the present invention was made.
As the chassis of a server is mounted and positioned on the slide rails (e.g., the inner rails) of a pair of the foregoing slide rail assemblies (i.e., those with ball retainers and balls) typically through the mounting members provided on the lateral sides of the chassis (e.g., the screws 62 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 9 of the aforesaid '626 patent), the size or specifications of the mounting members must be within predetermined allowable installation errors of the slide rail assemblies; otherwise, the mounting members on the lateral sides of the chassis of the server may bump into the ends of the ball retainers, which are located between slidably connected slide rails, when the slide rails are displaced relative to one another. Should the ball retainers be deformed as a result, the slide rails of the slide rail assemblies will have problem being displaced smoothly.
More specifically, referring to FIG. 8, a chassis (not shown) is mounted on a slide rail assembly 102 via at least one mounting member 101. The slide rail assembly 102 at least includes two slide rails (e.g., a first rail 103 and a second rail 104) and a ball retainer 105 which is disposed between the first rail 103 and the second rail 104. The ball retainer 105 is equipped with a plurality of balls 106 by means of which the first rail 103 and the second rail 104 can slide relative to each other. The chassis is mounted on the second rail 104 via the mounting member 101. When the second rail 104 is slid in a longitudinal direction relative to the first rail 103, the chassis is slid along with the second rail 104 in the longitudinal direction relative to the first rail 103 due to the mounting member 101.
Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 in conjunction with FIG. 8, when the slide rail assembly 102 mounted with the chassis (FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 showing only the mounting member 101 of the chassis) is installed on a rack, the ball retainer 105 of the slide rail assembly 102 may be deformed if the total weight of the chassis and the electronic components therein is too great. Once such deformation takes place, the lateral portion 107 of the ball retainer 105 may be tilted in a lateral direction F1 (i.e., toward the mounting member 101), as shown in FIG. 9, and when the second rail 104 is pulled in a longitudinal direction F2 relative to the first rail 103 from an initial position (see FIG. 8) to the position shown in FIG. 10, the mounting member 101 on the second rail 104 may collide with the end 108 of the lateral portion 107 of the ball retainer 105, thereby deforming the ball retainer 105 and hindering the second rail 104 from sliding relative to the first rail 103. Even worse, the slide rail assembly 102 may be damaged.


The disclosure relates to a motor vehicle door lock characterized in that it includes a first module which includes a retention compartment containing the restraining parts of the lock, notably a striker-retaining latch-bolt and a pawl that holds said latch-bolt in at least one position restraining the striker, and in which part of the kinematic opening/locking chain of the lock is mounted on a mounting face of said first module, on the opposite side from said retention compartment; and that it also includes a second module on which is mounted the other part of the kinematic opening/locking chain of the lock, said second module fitting on said first module on the same side as said mounting face; and that it also includes a casing that covers said second module and the mounting face of said first module, said first and second modules and said casing being assembled by connecting means.

The invention concerns a motor vehicle door lock with mechanical or electric control of opening and/or locking/unlocking.
In some known motor vehicle door locks, when the lock is in its locked state and an outside door handle is lifted before the unlocking information has been passed to the lock, the outside opening lever connected to the handle can block the unlocking mechanism, preventing opening of the lock. For example, in the case of such a lock with electric locking/unlocking, in a situation in which a passenger of the vehicle xe2x80x9cpanicsxe2x80x9d and tries to open a door by lifting the outside handle before the driver has been able to send a unlocking signal by means of his remote control, the electric lock motors unlock the locks in the other doors whose handles have not been touched, whereas the door whose handle is held in lifted position remains locked.
The prime purpose of the invention is to propose a motor vehicle door lock that provides an unlocking function of the lock even when a part of the lock blocks the lock""s kinematic opening chain.
For this purpose, a first object of the invention is a motor vehicle door lock including an outside opening lever able to open the lock under the action of outside opening means such as a handle or outside door finger-plate, a locking lever able to move a disengageable interconnecting link between an engaged position in which the outside opening lever can cooperate, during its opening travel, with said interconnecting link to open the lock, and a disengaged position in which the opening travel of the outside opening lever does not interfere with said interconnecting link, which prevents opening of the lock, characterized in that it includes at least one blocking part able to block the movement of said interconnecting link when this link is in its disengaged position, and anti-panic means positioned between said locking lever and said interconnecting link to enable, on the one hand, movement of said interconnecting link by said locking lever, when said blocking part is at rest, and on the other hand, movement of said locking lever to its unlocked position when said blocking part is in its position blocking said interconnecting link, the unlocking energy resulting from the movement of the unlocking lever being stored by said anti-panic means to automatically trigger the movement of said interconnecting link to its engaged position as soon as said blocking part returns to its rest position.
In a particular embodiment, said anti-panic means include two distinct locking actuators whose respective movements are connected by elastic interconnection means, the first locking actuator cooperating with the locking lever and the second locking actuator cooperating with said interconnecting link, so that, on the one hand, the movement of the locking lever, when said part is at rest, causes movement of the interconnecting link via the two locking actuators, and on the other hand, the movement of the locking lever to its unlocked position, when said blocking part blocks the interconnecting link and the second locking actuator, causes both movement of the first locking actuator and elastic deformation of said elastic interconnection means which store the unlocking energy, the return of said blocking part to its rest position releasing the interconnecting link which then moves to its engaged position under the action of the second locking actuator moving under the elastic action of the elastic interconnection means.
The two locking actuators are preferably mounted pivoting on the same axis and are rotationally linked together by a torsion spring constituting said elastic interconnection means.
Advantageously, the outside opening lever constitutes a blocking part that can block the interconnecting link, said outside opening lever being able at the end of its opening travel to block said interconnecting link in its disengaged position.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the lock includes a superlocking lever cooperating with said anti-panic means, so as to block, in the superlocked position, the movement of the interconnecting link in its disengaged position, and to allow the movement of the locking lever to its unlocked position, said anti-panic means storing the unlocking energy resulting from the movement of the locking lever to automatically trigger the movement of said interconnecting link to its engaged position, when the superlocking lever returns to its rest position, said superlocking lever constituting a part that can block the interconnecting link.
In this case, one can arrange that the superlocking lever, in its superlocked position, is able to block the movement of said second locking actuator, so that the movement of the locking lever to its unlocked position causes both movement of said first locking actuator and elastic deformation of the elastic interconnection means, the return of the superlocking lever to its rest position releasing the second locking actuator which, under the elastic action of the elastic interconnection means, can move the interconnecting link to its engaged position.
Advantageously, the superlocking lever is able to block, in its superlocked position, the rotation of the second locking actuator to its unlocked position, whereas said second locking actuator is able to block, in its unlocked position, the movement of the superlocking lever to its superlocked position.
In a particular embodiment, the lock includes an electric superlocking control motor cooperating, via a gear train, with a toothed sector on the superlocking lever.
Advantageously, the locking lever cooperates with an inside locking lever, connected for example to a fascia pullrod, and with an electric locking/unlocking control motor via a gear train. For a front door lock, the locking lever also cooperates with an outside locking lever, connected for example to a lock barrel, the outside locking lever cooperating with the superlocking lever to move it to its rest position when the outside locking lever is moved to its unlocked position.
According to another characteristic, the interconnecting link cooperates with an inside opening lever such that, in the engaged position of said interconnecting link, the inside opening lever is able to cause the opening of the lock via the interconnecting link, and in the disengaged position of the interconnecting link, the opening travel of the inside opening lever does not interfere with said interconnecting link.
For the fabrication of motor vehicle door locks, it is common to make several separate modules or compartments that are then assembled to form the complete lock. These compartments or modules generally hold restraining parts, kinematic parts, and if need be electrical lock controls.
The second purpose of the invention is to propose a motor vehicle door lock which includes a new arrangement of the compartments or modules of the lock, to facilitate its final assembly and reduce the fabrication costs.
For this purpose, the second object of the invention is a motor vehicle door lock characterized in that it includes a first module which includes a retention compartment containing the restraining parts of the lock, notably a striker-retaining latch-bolt and a pawl that holds said latch-bolt in at least one position restraining the striker, and in which part of the kinematic opening/locking chain of the lock is mounted on a mounting face of said first module, on the opposite side from said retention compartment; and that it also includes a second module on which is mounted the other part of the kinematic opening/locking chain of the lock, said second module fitting on said first module on the same side as said mounting face; and that it also includes a casing that covers said second module and the mounting face of said first module, said first and second modules and said casing being assembled by connecting means.
The connecting means are advantageously constituted by at least two pins or shouldered screws that traverse successively a metal backplate of the first module, the body of the second module and the casing. In this case, one of the pins or shouldered screws can serve as an axis of articulation for an inside locking lever fitted on the second module and connected for example to a fascia pullrod.
One of the pins or shouldered screws could also serve as an axis of articulation for an inside opening lever on the second module.
In a particular embodiment, the first module includes a plastic case and a metal backplate which together define the retention compartment, the mounting face of the first module being defined by the bottom face of said case, on the opposite side from the retention compartment.
The second module preferably carries an inside opening lever that is connected to inside opening control means, for example a handle or an inside door finger-plate, a central locking lever, an inside locking lever that cooperates with said central locking lever and that is connected for example to a fascia pullrod, and an electric locking motor cooperating via a gear train with the central locking lever.
The second module also includes, for a front door lock, an outside locking lever that cooperates with said central locking lever and that is connected to a lock barrel.
In this case, the second module can also carry a superlocking lever and an electric superlocking motor cooperating via another gear train with the superlocking lever.
The second module can also include child-locking means cooperating with the inside opening lever, and an electric child-locking motor cooperating via another gear train with said child-locking means.
In a particular embodiment, the gear train of the electric locking control motor includes a worm on which is screwed a nut carrying two drive ears and a guide finger, said nut being able to translate to move the central locking lever through contact with one of the drive ears, in the locking or unlocking direction depending on the direction of travel of the nut, said guide finger forming a cam follower that engages in a cam groove in the mounting face of the first module, to tip over said nut from one drive ear to other at the end of the locking or unlocking travel.
The mounting face of the first module advantageously carries an outside opening lever that is connected to outside control means, for example a handle or an outside door finger-plate, an opening lever able to cooperate with the pawl, a transfer lever able to cooperate with an inside opening lever fitted on the second module, a disenageable interconnecting link which, in its engaged position, is able to connect rotationally the outside opening lever, the transfer lever and the opening lever, whereas when the interconnecting link is in its disengaged position, the opening travels of the outside opening lever and the transfer lever do not interfere with said interconnecting link.
The mounting face of the first module can also carry anti-panic means including two distinct locking actuators whose respective movements are connected by elastic interconnection means, the first locking actuator being intended to cooperate with a central locking lever of the second module, and the second locking actuator being connected to the interconnecting link, so that on the one hand, the movement of the central locking lever, when the outside opening lever is at rest, causes the movement of the interconnecting link, via the two locking actuators, and on the other hand, the movement of the central locking lever towards the unlocked position, when the outside opening lever is at the end of its opening travel, causes both movement of the first locking actuator and elastic deformation of the elastic interconnection means, the movement of the second locking actuator being blocked by the outside opening lever via the interconnecting link, the return of the outside opening lever to its rest position releasing the interconnecting link which then moves to its disengaged position under the action of the second locking actuator, which moves under the elastic action of the elastic interconnection means.
The first module advantageously includes, in its retention compartment, a feeler able to cooperate with a profile of the latch-bolt to indicate at least its opened position and its closed position, said feeler being rotationally attached to a contact part mounted on said mounting face. In this case, the second module can contain at least one contactor that cooperates with said contact part which traverses an arc-shaped guide slot penetrating the body of the second module. The contact part preferably includes at least one prong presenting an inclined ramp able to depress a push-button of the contactor during rotation of the feeler under the action of the pivoting of the latch-bolt between a position restraining the striker and a position releasing the striker.
The third purpose of the invention is to propose a motor vehicle door lock with improved provision for child-locking.
For this purpose, the third object of the invention is a motor vehicle door lock with child-locking means able to prevent opening of the lock by an inside opening lever, when inside control means are activated, for example a handle or an inside door finger-plate, said child-locking means including a control knob accessible outside the lock, notably when the vehicle door is open, and a child-locking actuator that can be moved by said control knob between a child-unlocked position and a child-locked position, wherein said door lock includes disenageable connecting means cooperating with said child-locking actuator and said inside opening lever, so that, in the child-unlocked position, said connecting means engage the connection between said inside opening lever and an intermediate opening lever cooperating with a restraining pawl of a lock striker, and in the child-locked position, the opening travel of said inside opening lever does not interfere with said child-locking actuator and said intermediate opening lever.
In a particular embodiment, said disenageable connecting means include a connecting pin positioned between said inside opening lever and said intermediate opening lever, so that, on the one hand, said connecting pin rotationally links said inside opening lever and said intermediate opening lever, when the connecting pin is moved by the child-locking actuator into the child-unlocked position and, on the other hand, said connecting pin can move freely relative to said intermediate opening lever and to said child-locking actuator, under the action of said inside opening lever when said connecting pin is moved by said child-locking actuator into the child-locked position.
In this case, the inside opening lever can include an elongated opening in which the connecting pin can slide between its child-locked and child-unlocked positions, said opening extending substantially radially relative to the axis of rotation of the inside opening lever to rotationally connect this lever with the connecting pin. The intermediate opening lever can include a substantially L-shaped opening, a first branch of the L coinciding with the elongated opening of the inside opening lever to allow sliding of the connecting pin between its child-locked and child-unlocked positions, while the second branch of the L allows movement of the connecting pin from its child-locked position, during the opening travel of the inside opening lever, the first branch extending substantially radially and the second branch extending substantially in a circular arc relative to the axis of rotation of the intermediate opening lever.
Advantageously, child-locking actuator cooperates via a gear train with an electric child-lock control motor which drives said child-locking actuator between the child-locked and child-unlocked positions. The child-locking actuator can be free to translate and include a nipple which moves in translation with a rack engaged by a cog driven by said electric locking control motor child.
According to another characteristic, child-locking actuator includes an elongated groove that coincides substantially with the second branch of the L-shaped opening in the intermediate opening lever and that engages said connecting pin, said groove being arranged so as to move the connecting pin between the child-locked and child-unlocked positions, but allowing free sliding of said connecting pin during the opening travel the inside opening lever.
The rack preferably cooperates with a contactor to indicate the child-locked or child-unlocked position.
According to another characteristic, the child-locking means and the inside opening lever are mounted on a module of the lock that is separate, before assembly, from another module containing the restraining parts of the lock.
In a particular embodiment, the child-locking actuator includes a boss cooperating with a flexible lever on a body of the lock, to define the two stable positions, child-locked and child-unlocked, of said child-locking actuator, on each side of said flexible lever, by elastic action of said boss on said flexible lever.
Obviously, the three objects of the invention defined previously can be taken separately or in combination with each other while remaining within the scope of the invention.


A tiled display device including a plurality of display panels, a lenticular pattern disposed on a display panel, a base film disposed on the lenticular pattern and a prism pattern disposed on the base film.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an optical sheet and a tiled display device including the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and an electrophoretic display includes a plurality of pairs of field generating electrodes and electro-optical active layers that are interposed therebetween. The LCD includes a liquid crystal layer as the electro-optical active layer, and the OLED display includes an organic light emitting layer as the electro-optical active layer. To display an image, one of the field generating electrodes of a field generating electrode pair is connected to a switching element to receive an electrical signal, and an electro-optical active layer converts the electrical signal to an optical signal.
To manufacture a large display device for an outdoor advertisement, a tiled display in which a plurality of display devices are connected to each other is employed, for example. The large size of the tiled display device is realized by fixing a plurality of display panels having a predetermined size to a mounting frame. However, bezels, which are the borders separating the display panels, can be seen such that the display quality of the tiled display device may be deteriorated.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve the display quality of a tiled display device.

Optical sheet and a tiled display including the same


Embodiments are provided for enhancing an in-store retail experience for a customer by facilitating search queries for products and services available for sale in a retail store. According to certain aspects, an electronic device may receive a search string associated with the retail store and transmit the search string to a server that may execute a corresponding search query. The server may send results from the search query to the electronic device, which may dynamically update an interface accessible by a user. The user may view the information and make appropriate selections.

Portable electronic devices such as smart phones and tablet devices are becoming more ubiquitous as underlying technology and device capability improves. These devices incorporate numerous components that support various device functions and applications. For example, current smart phones include components that enable network connections as well as location modules capable of detecting device location.
Certain technologies exist to assist individuals during a retail shopping experience. For example, individuals may maintain account information using device applications, and complete point of sale transactions using device hardware (e.g., near field communication technology). However, existing technologies do not support certain situations that would improve the shopping experience for these individuals.
There is therefore an opportunity to offer an improved and enhanced shopping experience for individuals within a retail store. In particular, there is an opportunity to enable effective and efficient product location, comparison shopping, and other beneficial functionalities.

Systems and methods for improving a shopping experience within a retail store


What is described is a lighting unit 10 with a plurality of lighting segments 30a, 30b. The lighting segments 30a, 30b are arranged on a strip 40 in spaced relation from each other. Each lighting segment 30a, 30b is connected to an electrical supply terminal 20. In order to obtain a lighting unit with a flexible electrical configuration, each lighting segment 30a, 30b comprises at least one LED element and at least one driver circuit 36 including a controllable, current limiting element for controlling a current through the LED element.

The lighting unit according to the invention is intended to be used in lighting applications, i.e. provide a light output suitable in particular for illumination purposes. Particularly, but not exclusively, a lighting unit according to the invention may be used as an LED replacement for prior art lamps, such as incandescent or fluorescent lamps (LED retrofit). For this use, the lighting unit needs to be provided with mechanical and/or electrical means compatible with the lamp to be replaced.
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) offer advantages such as high efficiency and long lifetime. However, an individual LED delivers luminous flux only from a small area. For lighting purposes, generally a plurality of LEDs are required.
US 2008/0290814 A1 discloses a light emitting diode (LED) lamp mounted to an existing fixture for a fluorescent lamp. The fixture comprises a ballast delivering electrical power to the lamp, which has a tubular housing around discrete or surface mount LEDs compactly arranged and fixedly mounted on a flat rectangular flexible circuit board. The AC power generated by the external fluorescent ballast is converted to DC power by bridge rectifiers to convert the AC voltage to DC voltage. The individual LEDs may be electrically connected in series, in parallel, or in a combination of series and/or parallel configurations. In preferred examples, two LEDs are connected in series with a current limiting resistor. A plurality of such series circuits are connected in parallel to the rectifier. A filter capacitor may be also arranged in parallel.
A lighting unit as described in US 2008/0290814 A1 may be used for retrofitting, i.e. replacing prior art fluorescent lamps by a lamp, or lighting unit, based on LEDs. However, the electrical design is not flexible, so that for a different number of LEDs the electrical circuitry needs to be adapted.


A method and a system to pre-scan a file, analyze data and create the Condensed Macro Library (CML) file. The method used is to find macros or cells of certain classes that are defined by rules. After a suitable macro or cell is identified, a parser scans the macro or cell pins and finds pins which have ports with the shapes defined on the specific layers defined by the rules and user data. Further processing is then performed based on a set of rules and the pin data to generate a CML file that contains relevant information regarding relevant pins.

In general I/O Library cells and the general design data representations of I/O cells, for example LEF (Library Exchange Format) files do not contain sufficient information for a designer to be able to determine how to interpret the function of the pins of individual I/O cells. The pins of I/O cells can supply power to the cell, pass power supply voltages from outside the IC into the core of the IC, be embedded flip-chip solder bumps or wirebond bondpads, connect multiple redistribution layers routing to separate flip-chip bumps or wirebond pads, or connect to core cells of the IC to pass signals from outside the chip to the IC or from the IC to the system to which it is connected.
There can be dozens or even hundreds of pins on one I/O cell, and each pin can be used for one of the above purposes. In order to correctly interpret I/O cells to use them appropriately when planning the I/O structures and die pads of a new IC, it is necessary to determine how each pin is intended to be used. Certain pins, such as those which supply power to the cell, or pins that connect to core cells are not important when planning I/O. Thus, they can usually be ignored. Other pins, such as those that are embedded die pads or that connect to die pads, are significant to I/O planning.
As this information is not available in the cell library, the current approach to determining how to interpret the various pins of I/O cells when planning the I/O and die pad layout of a new IC was done manually by a human. This made sense since the I/O planning was a completely manual task. Once the Condensed Macro Library file format was developed, a way was provided to record the information. However, this solution still requires the CML file to be created manually by a human using a computer program user interface. Thus, a user must manually determine the use of each pin for all cells in the library. Since a library typically has hundreds of cells that can have hundreds of pins this could be a very lengthy and tedious process.
What is needed is a system and method using parameterized rules which can develop a Condensed Macro Library file that contain the desired information.

Method and system for the condensed macro library creation


According to some embodiments, a borehole deployable apparatus is described that can be used to generate strong vibrations in a subterranean rock formation. In some embodiments, the apparatus accelerates a mass using mechanisms built into the tool and causes the mass to strike the borehole wall. The mechanisms can control the mass acceleration, and the frequency of strikes. In some embodiments, the apparatus is designed for use in the field of petroleum recovery where the vibrations are used to create or re-establish a flow rate for the fluids in the formation.

Wave stimulation is a known technique for enhancing oil recovery from oil-bearing formations. For example, known techniques include generating shock waves by releasing a compressed liquid or by fluidic oscillation within the borehole. Strong vibrations are known to cause oil droplets to coalesce and form larger bulbs of oil that can move and be produced. These vibrations may also change the wettability of the rock. These effects can help increase fluid production from oil wells.


A disposable pod adaptor assembly for use in a single serve beverage brewer. The assembly is designed for use in brewers configured for cup-shaped beverage extract cartridges. The assembly includes a receptacle and a cover configured to engage with the receptacle. The receptacle includes a raised portion in it's interior, which raised portion is adapted to push a beverage pod residing inside the receptacle upward against the cover to create a tamping effect. In some implementations, the receptacle and raised portion are molded as a single piece to provide a low cost disposable pod adapter.

The present invention relates to accessories for single serving beverage brewers, and in particular to a disposable pod adaptor for a single serving beverage pods.
Various types of single serve beverage brewers have been developed in recent years. These machines are generally designed with brewing chambers adapted to receive a small amount of ground coffee or other beverage extract. Once the beverage is placed in the brewing chamber, the machine injects hot water into the beverage to produce a single serving of freshly brewed beverage. Some machines have brewing chambers configured to receive pods which are small, flattened disk-shaped filter packages of beverage extract, while other machines are configured to accommodate larger, cup-shaped beverage cartridge.
One particular type of single serve beverage brewers designed to accommodate the cup-shaped beverage filter cartridge is manufactured and sold by Keurig Inc. of Wakefield, Mass. The Keurig beverage brewer has a brewing chamber dimensioned to receive cup-shaped cartridges such as those sold under the trademark K-Cup. These cartridges are configured in the form of a container having a cone-shaped permeable filter packet containing a dry beverage medium such as ground coffee, which is disposed in the interior of the container. The machine also has upper and lower puncture needles. In operation, the upper needle punctures the top cover of the cartridge and injects pressurized water through the opening onto the beverage medium while the lower needle punctures the bottom of the cartridge to create an outlet for outflow of the brewed beverage. Additional detailed descriptions of this type of machine and cartridge are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,325,765, 5,840,189 and 6,606,938, which are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.
The configuration of the brewing chamber of the above described single serve beverage brewer inherently limits the use of the machine to cup-shaped cartridges. As a result, users of the Keurig machine or similar brewers designed for cup-shaped cartridges, would have to purchase a different machine to brew beverage known pods, which are typically somewhat flattened disc shaped filter paper packets containing coffee. The use of multiple machines can be costly, inconvenient and cause inefficient use of counter space. Thus, there is a need for an apparatus and method for modifying single serve beverage brewers configured for cup-shaped cartridges so that they can also be used to brew beverages from pods.
Additionally, conventional automated pod brewers typically include a brewing chamber adapted to receive an individual pod. During the brewing process, hot water is injected into the brewing chamber across the surface of the pod while brewed beverage is directed to flow out of an outlet into a cup. Some coffee connoisseurs believe that coffee brewed using pod brewers do not have as good flavor extraction as coffee brewed by baristas who usually tamp or compact the coffee prior to brewing. Thus, there is a need for an improved pod brewing system.
Further, there is a need for a very low cost disposable pod brewing system which may be included with prepackaged pods.

Disposable single serving beverage pod adapter


According to some embodiments, a radio network controller (RNC) facilitates a communication session for a wireless device in soft handover with an active set of cells. The active set of cells includes a serving cell (which provides an HS-DSCH connection) and a plurality of non-serving cells. The RNC attempts to admit the HS-DSCH connection in a first non-serving cell that satisfies each of one or more HS-DSCH cell change requirements and provides the best signal strength to the wireless device. If a failure occurs, the RNC attempts to admit the HS-DSCH connection in a second non-serving cell that satisfies each of the HS-DSCH cell change requirements and provides the second best signal strength to the wireless device. If successful, the RNC facilitates moving the HS-DSCH connection from the serving cell to the second non-serving cell.

In a wireless network, a wireless device may communicate with one or more radio access nodes to send and/or receive information, such as voice traffic, data traffic, control signals, and so on. In some cases, the wireless device may have a connection with a particular radio access node, but have additional radio access nodes that the wireless device could connect to. In certain circumstances, the wireless device may not be able to maintain its connection to the particular radio access node. In such circumstances, it may be desirable for the wireless device to connect to one of the additional radio access nodes to avoid releasing the connection.

System and method for mitigating congestion handling during HS cell change


A method for finding the correlation between tool PM (prevention maintenance) and the product yield of the tool is disclosed. The method uses a moving average method to magnify a curve trend that is formed by the product yield data that is captured during a predetermined days before PM and after PM. The magnified curve trend is shown by a Cumulative sum chart. The Cumulative sum chart is analyzed for informing related workers of the effect between the tool PM and the product yield, so as to accurately estimate PM timing. Thereby, via the method, the effect between the tool PM and the product yield may be determined, which serves as an important reference for workers to execute further PM.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for finding the correlation between two subjects, in particular, to a method for finding the correlation between tool prevention maintenance (PM) and the product yield of the tool.
2. Description of Related Art
In terms of equipment manufacturing, the prevention maintenance (PM) for a tool is very important. A timely prevention maintenance schedule can effectively increase the productivity of the tool, the availability of the tool, and the associated yield of the overall equipment manufacturing. On the other hand, an improper prevention maintenance schedule besides resulting in decreased productivity and decreased yield for the associated tool, may also cause the tool itself to have a chance of malfunctioning.

Method for finding the correlation between the tool PM and the product yield


Laminated fiber network structures having high resilience, good cushioning properties, and excellent impact-resistance include at least one layer of a three-dimensional fiber network material and a second layer, which may be a planar material (e.g. a fabric, film, or sheet) or a second layer of a three-dimensional fiber network material. The surfaces of the two layers face each other and are bonded together at their points of contact. The three-dimensional fiber network material is a fabric made from thermoplastic filaments that are at least 0.1 mm in diameter, where the fabric has an array of projections and optional depressions pushed out of one or both sides of the fabric.

Three-dimensional fiber networks are known. These are generally derived from textile fabrics that have been impregnated with a thermoset polymer or a low melting thermoplastic and then molded so that the fabric has an array of projections rising from the plane of the fabric. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,221 describes a laminate containing a rigid three-dimensional fiber network having regularly arranged projections. The three-dimensional network is placed between two sheets of rigid material. The three-dimensional network used in the laminate is made by the deep-drawing of a sheet-like textile fabric to make projections. The textile fabric is impregnated with a thermoset resin and dried to yield a pre-preg prior to deep drawing, and is cured after deep-drawing. The textile fabric is made from a multifilament yarn so that a larger amount of resin can be absorbed into the interfilament regions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,686 describes a three-dimensional shaped material which is made from a fabric comprising a yarn that has thermoplastic fibers mixed with higher melting reinforcing fibers; the fabric is shaped by deep drawing at a temperature high enough to melt the lower melting thermoplastic material but not the reinforcing fiber to yield a three-dimensional structure which becomes rigid after it is cooled, possibly due in part to the fixing of fiber crossover points. This also can be laminated so that it has rigid layers on the outside.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,877 describes an energy absorbing structure for use in automobile doors, wherein the energy absorbing structure is a highly stretchable lightweight material that has been coated with a resin (e.g. a thermoset) and then molded so that it has a series of projections, which are preferably truncated cones. The structure after molding does not appear to have an open fiber network appearance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,821 describes a fabric that can be easily deep drawn and then impregnated with a resin to make materials like those described above.
Thermoplastic three-dimensional fiber networks which are similar in appearance to those described above but which are much more resilient are described in commonly assigned copending U.S. application No. 08/577,65 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,062 to kim et al. These fiber networks are made from large diameter thermoplastic fibers, usually monofils, and have projections in which the fibers are not bonded to one another at the points where the fibers intersect one another. These fiber networks were not used in laminated products.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,584,228; 4,252,590; and Re 31,345 all describe non-woven matting materials that have undulating patterns of projections both above and below the plane of the fabric. These have impact absorbing properties. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,472 describes protective devices in which impact is absorbed by bowed plastic members, which flex on impact but then recover afterwards to absorb future shocks.
The fiber network structures described above and elsewhere that are in sandwich structures generally are rigid and are intended for use mainly as lightweight structural materials. Sandwich structures that are resilient and can perform as cushioning or impact-absorbing materials are generally not known and have apparently not been described or even suggested. Such materials may be useful in a variety of applications.