The invention provides a method and system toll charge payment system using electronic messaging from at least one electronic communication device, for example a mobile telephone, said system comprising: a remote communication system adapted to communicate with the at least one electronic communication device; recording means for capturing vehicle identifier information for vehicles passing through a toll charge area and storing said identifier information on said remote communication system or another remote communication system; characterised by said at least one communication device is associated with a pre-existing telecommunication account belonging to a user; means for sending an electronic message, for example a SMS (text) message or WAP message or voice control message, from the electronic communication device by said user to the remote communication system wherein said electronic message comprises a vehicle registration identifier and/or toll identifier information; and said remote communication system comprises means for automatically matching said received electronic message with said captured vehicle identifier information and, if a match is made, a toll charge payment is debited from the user's pre-existing telecommunication account and credited to a toll operator account. The main advantage of the system is that the user does not have to pre-register account information in order to effect a toll charge payment and no retrofitting of vehicles with specific devices is required. The convenience of the solution ensures widespread acceptance by users of toll charge systems.

Tolls are charged by governments or private companies for many reasons: to raise revenue, to reduce traffic levels, or to pay for construction of, for example, a road system or bridge. The general principle is that to use a section of road, roads within a predetermined area or areas, bridge, or area of the road network, a toll charge is payable. The toll can be charged for in many different ways: for example on a time in increments from minutes to hours to daily basis, on a per-use basis, or on an amount of use basis.
Numerous systems have been made for the electronic payment of tolls whereby sensors interact remotely with devices carried by passing vehicles or persons and, for example, a pre-paid token or pre-paid card in the device is cancelled or partially cancelled as payment. These do not provide a positive feed-back inter-action with the facilities used. Misreading and defective products give rise to increased losses to the operators and users alike at times. The absence of any reliable form of confirmation that the toll has been discharged is problematic.
Mobile or Cellular phones are being used for making payments, whereby the customer opens an account, enrols/registers/purchases devices first to permit for the payment service and then every time a payment has to be made, the customer sends a text message consisting of a security code, the amount to be paid and other pertinent data to a special access number. For example, it is known to use RF ID technology for making road toll payments using SMS text messages. In road toll systems, the mobile phone or cell phone is simply waived "to be seen" on a Reader located on top of the gate. In toll ways, the customer drives through the toll plaza and as long as the mobile phone is located within the driver's area it will be automatically sensed by a Reader installed on the side of the toll booth. The RF ID chip with memory can either be in the form of a thin flat module which is attached to the back of the cell phone or embedded in the SIM card inside the mobile or cell phone.
The main problem with all automated toll charge payment systems requires users to set up an account or have their vehicle or phone retro fitted with a RF ID device to allow for automated payment of the toll. This is problematic as many people are not sufficiently technically minded to set up an account or simply are not aware as to how to set up an account. In addition to this the requirement of setting up accounts furnishing personal, financial and other details together with account maintenance costs is unacceptable. For example, European Patent Publication number EP 1 583 038 A1, assigned to C.R.F. Societa Consortile per Azioni, discloses an automatic toll pay system where an on-vehicle unit is installed in the vehicle which has a receiving function for receiving toll information when the vehicle passes through a toll area. The on-vehicle unit is adapted to co-operate with a mobile phone that provides a communication channel to allow the on-vehicle unit send/transmit toll payment information. There are two problems with this system, the first is that each vehicle is required to be retro-fitted with the on-vehicle unit and secondly each vehicle must be pre-registered with the toll operators that requires financial details of the vehicle user in order for a toll to be paid.
Another problem is for non-frequent users or tourists when passing through an automated toll charge system is very difficult to monitor and enforce. As a result, some people will forget to pay road tolls charge occasionally, or not realise that they have to pay a toll charge, and these people will end up with a fine. Alternatively, people who do not know how the system works, or that it exists, may not be aware that they have to pay it or how to pay it.
A further problem with remote toll charge payment systems is in maintaining the ability to pursue those who have not paid while preserving the principle of anonymity to adhere to privacy legislation in some countries. A growing resentment on the part of consumers being required to disclose personal, financial and other details to drive on the roads is also a factor.
A typical operating system provides a photographic or video camera recognition system may be positioned on or adjacent to a gantry to photograph the number plates of vehicles in a road toll charge system the passage is recorded and stored. Such photographs or more usually video/digital image recordings and are of no monetary value being discarded if the toll payment transaction were completed satisfactorily. Alternatively microwave or radio tag identification association with the vehicles or communication devices might be employed however these can also be the source of difficulty. False and misreading errors occur frequently with certain conditions, such as adverse weather, condition of vehicle registration plates and improperly sited cameras, inoperative tags or RF ID devices for example.
The existing method of enforcing payment is to arrange that the defaulter is traced through the registration details recorded by the license plate camera. This is compared with the central database of vehicle registration numbers for contact details attached or associated with the vehicles in default. It is this default group that is processed using the system of written notification and demand for payment on terms. These traditionally include the imposition of late payment charges, fines and legal proceedings in the event that the toll charge remains outstanding. This gives rise to significant increase in costs associated with the use of the toll charge facilities to the consumer and by reason of costs incurred, public relations fallout, to the toll charge operator. The restriction of methods of payment by toll charge operators is considered by solicitors or lawyers as being in breach of competition requirements and could give rise to a determination that it constitutes an unlawful imposition of a penalty, such a situation, requiring repayment in due course of millions of currency units to consumers affected.
In addition to this aspect of the operation, as exists at present, the false reading/error of tags in or on vehicles fitted with a RF ID device is the source of consumer dissatisfaction. When this is challenged in the courts is likely to result in damages for breach of contract against the tag/toll operator. Because this is a foreseeable result, this gives rise to significant resources being invested in call centers and infrastructural facilities to deal with complaints arising. The costs to the toll charge operator in public relation terms is high, particularly when the consumer is of the view, rightly or wrongly, that they did nothing wrong. The existing default procedures result in the issuing of letters of demand and legal enforcement procedures.
There is therefore a need to provide a system and method to facilitate a simple mechanism for toll charge payment by customers or users of toll charge systems that overcome the above mentioned problems.

Electronic toll charge payment system and method


The present invention relates to an amplifier for amplifying an input signal. In a sensor amplifier construction according to the present invention, a series arrangement made up of a resistor and a transistor is inserted in a feedback path for an amplifier, and the collector of the transistor is connected to one input of the amplifier and a capacitor is connected between the emitter and the base of the transistor. According to the above-described arrangement, there is provided a sensor amplifier which can eliminate noise with a small-scale construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor amplifier for amplifying a signal output from a light receiving element.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the construction of the electrical circuit of a general automatic focus adjustment device which utilizes a sensor amplifier.
Referring to FIG. 5, a controller 1, which consists of a microcomputer or the like, controls the sequence of the entire autofocus operation.
A solid arrow 2 represents a light emission driving signal outputted from the controller 1. A block 3 represents a light emission driving circuit 3 for causing an infrared light emitting diode which will be described later to emit infrared light intermittently. A solid arrow 4 represents a light emission driving current formed by the light emission driving circuit 3. A block 5 represents the infrared light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as the "IRED"), and a dashed arrow 6 represents infrared light emitted from the IRED 5. A lens 7 is a projecting lens, and an infrared light beam 8 is projected through the projecting lens 7.
The light emission driving signal 2 drives the light emission driving circuit 3, and the light emission driving current 4 which is the output from the light emission driving circuit 3 is supplied to the IRED 5 to cause it to emit infrared light.
The infrared light 6 emitted by the IRED 5 is condensed by the projecting lens 7, so that the infrared light beam 8 is projected onto a subject (not shown) to form a projected beam spot thereon.
A dashed arrow 9 represents infrared reflected light of the projected beam spot from the subject. A lens 10 is a light receiving lens, and a dashed arrow 11 represents received infrared light of the infrared reflected light 9 conducted through the light receiving lens 10. Blocks 12a and 12b represent light receiving sensors, and solid arrows 13a and 13b represent light currents outputted from the respective sensors 12a and 12b. Blocks 14a and 14b represent sensor amplifiers (current-to-voltage conversion circuits), and solid arrows 15a and 15b represent the outputs of the respective sensor amplifiers 14a and 14b. Blocks 16a and 16b represent voltage amplifiers (voltage amplifying circuits), and solid arrows 17a and 17b represent the outputs of the respective voltage amplifiers 16a and 16b. A block 18 represents an addition/subtraction circuit, the addition/subtraction output of which is represented by a solid arrow 19. A block 20 represents a sync detecting circuit, the detection output of which is represented by a solid arrow 21. A block 22 represents an integration circuit, the integration output of which is represented by a solid arrow 23.
The operation of the device having the above-described construction will be described below.
The reflected infrared light 9 of the projected beam spot, which has been formed on the subject, is condensed to the received infrared light 11 by the light receiving lens 10, and the received infrared light 11 is focused onto the light receiving sensors 12a and 12b. The focused image is a real image of the beam spot which has been projected onto the subject.
A light receiving sensor assembly 12 is composed of two parts, i.e., the light receiving sensors 12a and 12b.
The light current 13a which is the output of the light receiving sensor 12a is converted into the voltage value 15a by the sensor amplifier 14a. The voltage value 15a is amplified to the voltage value 17a of sufficient magnitude by the voltage amplifier 16a, and the voltage value 17a is applied to the addition/subtraction circuit 18.
In the meantime, the light current 13b which is the output of the light receiving sensor 12b is similarly processed through the sensor amplifier 14a and the voltage amplifier 16a.
The addition/subtraction circuit 18 performs addition or subtraction on two inputs (a channel a and a channel b), and outputs the sum or difference 19. The addition/subtraction circuit 18 selects addition or subtraction in accordance with an instruction given by the controller 1.
The addition/subtraction output 19 is detected by the sync detecting circuit 20, and only the addition/subtraction output 19 obtained during the light emission of the IRED 5 is integrated by the integration circuit 22, and the integral 23 is supplied to the controller 1.
The controller 1 has an A/D conversion function, and recognizes the integral 23.
The sequence controlled by the controller 1 will be described below.
First, the controller 1 sets the addition/subtraction circuit 18 for addition, and initiates driving for infrared light emission. The integration circuit 22 continues integration of the addition output of the addition/subtraction circuit 18, while the controller 1 memorizes the integration time period (the number of times of blinking during the infrared light emission) taken until the integral 23 reaches a predetermined voltage value.
Then, after the controller 1 resets the integration circuit 22, it sets the addition/subtraction circuit 18 for subtraction and again initiates driving for infrared light emission.
The integration circuit 22 integrates the subtraction output of the addition/subtraction circuit 18 during only the integration time period which has been memorized during the above-described addition. The resultant integral 23 is A/D converted by an A/D converter included in the controller 1, and the digital value is evaluated by the controller 1.
The controller 1 determines the direction of rotation of a motor 24 in accordance with the polarity of such a value and also makes a decision as to the driving speed of a photographic lens and the state of focus on the basis of the absolute value of the value. More specifically, in the case of positive polarity, the photographic lens is made to move forward or, in the case of negative polarity, backward. If the value is near zero, the driving speed is reduced, and if it is approximately zero, the driving is stopped.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the mechanism of an automatic focus adjustment device provided with the above-described circuit having the construction of FIG. 5. In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals are used to denote elements which are substantially identical to those shown in FIG. 5. The mechanism shown in FIG. 2 includes a photographic lens 31, an interlock cam 33 arranged integrally with the photographic lens 31 and movable in either of the directions indicated by an arrow 41 by the drive of the motor 24, and a sensor board 34 to which the light receiving sensors 12a and 12b are fixed. The sensor board 34 moves in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis in interlocking relation to the movement of the cam 33 along the optical axis. An image sensor is indicated by reference numeral 32. Incidentally, if the present invention is to be applied to a silver-salt camera, a film may be substituted for the image sensor 32. The received infrared light 11 (spot light) is made uniformly incident on both of the sensors 12a and 12b when the photographic lens 31 is in focus, whereas if the photographic lens 31 is out of focus, the incident spot light is shifted toward either one of the sensors 12a and 12b, depending on whether the state of focus is near focus or far focus. Thus, the photographic lens 31 is made to move on the basis of the integral output evaluated by the controller 1, whereby the position of the photographic lens 31 is adjusted to coincide with a position where the spot light is uniformly incident on the sensors 12a and 12b, i.e., a position where the photographic lens 31 is in focus.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a conventional example of the sensor amplifier 14a.
The shown circuit is a circuit in which the feedback impedance of an operational amplifier G1 is provided with a band-pass characteristic. Since two resistors R3 and R4 and one capacitor C3 are only required besides a resistor R1 for setting gain relative to a signal, the circuit can be realized at low cost.
However, since noise (particularly, high-frequency noise) occurring at the input of the amplifier itself is amplified because of the characteristic of the circuit, a good S/N ratio is not obtained.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing another conventional example of the sensor amplifier 14a. In the circuit of FIG. 4, if a current iIN from the sensor 12a increases, an output voltage vOUT of the operational amplifier G1 decreases and the collector current of the transistor Q3 flows due to the characteristic thereof. This current is smoothened by a capacitor C4, and is fed back to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier G1 by a current mirror (Q4 and Q5), whereby only a DC component of the current from the sensor 14a is bypassed.
As described above, the circuit of FIG. 4 has the function of selectively compressing the output voltage with respect to the input current.
This circuit does not have a noise-amplification characteristic such as that of the conventional example of FIG. 3, and can achieve good direct-current elimination capability. However, a somewhat complicated circuit construction which employs a plurality of transistors and a few capacitors is needed, and if a discrete arrangement is adopted, mounting space and cost will become unnegligible.
On the other hand, if a monolithic IC including an operational amplifier is adopted, the problem of the number of transistors or capacitors used may be solved. However, since such an IC requires a terminal for externally mounting a capacitor of large capacity, the cost of the IC will increase by the cost of such a terminal.


A method for inputting and processing phone number is provided. The method includes: taking or storing a picture P1 including a phone number; obtaining a picture P2 including only the phone number by automatically processing the picture P1 and saving the picture P2; obtaining editable character strings of the phone number in the picture P2 by automatically recognizing the phone number in the picture P2; determining whether a format of the editable character strings of the phone number in the picture P2 is consistent with a standard format of the contact information of the mobile terminal; when consistent, the phone number in the picture P2 is displayed in the dialing interface for dialing or saving; and when not consistent, the phone number in the picture P2 is displayed in a modifying interface for correcting.

In the related art, when a phone number is stored by a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, the digits of the phone number is usually input and saved one by one, and even the wrong number may be input or saved. Thus, it takes several minutes to input and check so as to ensure that the phone number is recorded correctly. In the company, there are more than one address book, or there may be hundreds or even more. It will not only take a long time to input one by one and waste time, but also be easier to make mistakes and cause low work efficiency and inconvenience.
Furthermore, in the related art, the phone numbers that need to be input into the address book are made into text format and then converted into anther format that can be recognized by the mobile terminal for import. However, different mobile terminals have different format of the address book. Thus, it is very inconvenient for the user to import the phone numbers after multiple transformations.
In addition, when there are not many phone numbers that need to be input, it is very easy for the user to paste the information irrelevant to the phone number in the process of saving the phone numbers by copying and pasting. At this time, the irrelevant information needs to be deleted before saving the phone numbers. It is easy to cause the user to delete the phone number by mistake, and needs to copy the phone number again. When the phone number is recorded on white paper or notebook, the user cannot process the phone number by copying and pasting.
Therefore, there is room for improvement and development in this art.

Method for inputting and processing phone number, mobile terminal and storage medium


A method of performing a cryptographic operation on a point in an elliptic curve cryptosystem using an elliptic carve. The method comprises the steps of obtaining information that uniquely identifies the elliptic curve and performing computations on the point to obtain the result of the cryptographic operation. The computations use the information. The computations produce an incorrect result if the point is not on the elliptic curve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to elliptic curve arithmetic.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cryptography is an important tool for information security. Authenticated key establishment is a necessary ingredient for secure use of cryptography. Public key cryptography is a powerful tool for authenticated key establishment. Two families of public key cryptography techniques are the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) techniques, the Diffie-Hellman (DH) techniques and the related ElGamal discrete logarithm (DL) techniques. Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is a member of the latter family using elliptic curve arithmetic as opposed to the modular integer arithmetic. The advantages of ECC are many.
An elliptic-curve point is a pair (x,y) of values x and y that belong to a finite field. An elliptic curve E is a set of such points defined by an equation plus one further point, called the point at infinity and denoted by O. When the finite field is a prime field Fp then the equation is of the form y2=x3+ax+b for some elements a and b in the field. When the finite field is a binary field F2^m then the equation is of the form y2+xy=x3+ax2+b. The values a and b are called the coefficients of the equation. The notation Ea,b distinguishes the values of the coefficients a and b, if need be. Points can be added using formulae involving the components. A point can be multiplied by an integer k to obtain another point kP=P+P+ . . . +P, where there are k points in the sum. A point G and an integer n are distinguished such that nG=O. The distinguished point G is called the generating point and n is called the order of the point G. An elliptic-curve public-key P is of the form P=vG where v is the associated private key. Numerous standards specify curves and their distinguished points such that their order n is prime.
The ECIES protocol is specified in the standard ANSI X9.63-2001 [X9.63, Section 5.8] and is summarised here for completeness. In this protocol a sender wishes to encrypt a message to a recipient. The recipient's long term keypair is (v,Q), where Q=vG. The sender generates an ephemeral elliptic-curve key-pair (e,P), where P=eG, and generates two symmetric-encryption keys, K1 and K2, from the product eQ via the use of a key-derivation function as described in the standard. The first symmetric key is used to encrypt the message and the second symmetric key is used to generate a keyed hash of the encrypted message. The ephemeral public key P, the encrypted message, and the keyed hash are transmitted to the recipient. The above standard also provides methods of key agreement, key transport, encryption, and authentication.
The recipient validates the purported ephemeral public key P and then recovers the two symmetric-encryption keys from the product vP via the use of the key-derivation function as described in the standard. The second symmetric key is used to verify the keyed hash and the first symmetric key is used to recover the message.
In a prior patent application PCT CA98/100959, the assignees of the present application recognised that an important security safeguard for all forms of public-key cryptography is public-key validation. Public-key validation comprises confirming that what purports to be a public key is, in reality, a public key by ensuring that is satisfies a number of predefined criteria. A good security principle is to always validate a purported public key before use. If the purported public key is invalid then performing any operations with it may jeopordize security.
Elliptic-curve public key validation involves the following four steps:    1. Verify that the public key is not O;    2. Verify that the co-ordinates x and y of the public key P=(x,y) are valid elements of the field;    3. Verify that P is on the curve, which can be done by testing the defining equation; and    4. Verify that nP=O.
If public-key validation is not performed for every purported public key received then there is the risk that the public key is not valid and processing it will adversely affect the security of the system. In particular, the third step above, checking that P=(x,y) is on the curve, is important because of possible attacks. Processing a public key P invariably involves multiplication by some secret integer v that acts as the long term private key. The secrecy of v is vital to the security of the system. The quantity vP is computed and then used subsequently as the long term public key. The intractability of recovery from the vP is the basis of public key cryptography. If P has undesirable characteristics then information can leak from the computation about private data, such as private keys. In particular, this is true using a unsafe variant of ECIES with non-validated public keys, as will be explained more fully below.
In a recently proposed protocol, an unsafe variant of ECIES was advocated wherein the step of validating the public key at the recipient is omitted. The lack of validation opens the recipient to the attack described below that can be carried out by anyone who wishes to discover the private key of the recipient.
The attack is based on the observation that, although an elliptic curve Ea,b is defined in terms of its coefficients a and b, the usual formulae defining addition and doubling in elliptic curves do not involve the coefficient b. Thus the same elliptic-curve addition and doubling formulae for Ea,b will also work for another curve Ea,b′ with b′≠b. If an attacker chooses a point P that belongs not on the curve Ea,b but rather on another curve Ea,b′ that possesses undesirable characteristics, calculations involving P do not take place in the former curve but rather in the latter curve. If the recipient does not validate P as belonging to Ea,b as set forth in the above referenced prior application then calculations involving P will leak information.
In one attack, the sender who wishes to attack the security of v forces a zero-division at the recipient by ajudicious choice of the transmitted ephemeral point P. This variant assumes that the recipient's behaviour on zero-division can be detected by the attacker. (For example, if a zero-division causes a fault or exception or some such behaviour that can be detected and distinguished as such.) Information can then leak out.
By way of example, with a prime curve, the attacker sends the point P=(x,0) and the recipient calculates 2P as part of the decryption process of multiplying P with the private key. The use of the usual affine formula causes some sort of detectable behaviour because the usual formula involves dividing by zero. The attacker now knows that the corresponding bit of the private key is zero. More bits can now be extracted by sending points that cause zero-division with specific multiplications kP. (Finding such points involves solving polynomial equations over the underlying finite-field which may be done relatively efficiently.)
In an alternative attack, the attacker discovers the factors of the private key by forcing the recipient to calculate in another elliptic curve of lower order and then combines said factors to recreate the private key.
To perform this attack, the attacker first finds a point P and an elliptic curve E′ such that the former generates a low-order subgroup in the latter, say of order r so that rP=O in E′. Next, ajudicious guess is made of an integer t such that tP=vP in E′, where v is the recipient's private key. Having this, the attacker can create an ECIES message based on E′. If t and v are congruent modulo the order of the low-order subgroup, the validation of the keyed hash succeeds. The success of the keyed hash informs the attacker that the private key equals t modulo r. The attacker then repeats the process with different points and curves, eventually combining all the modular pieces using the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT).
This attack may be applied for example to the NIST-recommended curve P-192 that is defined over a prime field Fp, where p is close to 2192. This curve has prime order, also close to 2192. To launch the attack, first find 36 points that belong to curves with b coefficients different from P-192 but with the same a coefficient and whose orders are the first 36 prime numbers: 2, 3, 5, . . . , 151. (It is possible to find such points by selecting random coefficients b, counting the number of points on the associate curve by the Schoof-Elkies-Atkin algorithm, checking the order of the curve for divisibility by one of the first 36 primes, and finding points on the curve of each of such prime order by multiplying random points on the curve by the order of the curve divided the prime divisor.) Once the 36 points are collected, they can be used to find a victim's private key modulo 2, 3, . . . , 151. Each prime requires half its value in guess attempts by the attack. On average, the attacker requires the victim to confirm about (2+3+ . . . +151)/2 guesses, or about 1214 guesses. If the recipient is an automated server, this is completely plausible. For curves of larger order, more guesses are required while for curves of smaller order, fewer guesses are required.
In general, it is not necessary that such a large number of guesses be confirmed by the recipient. Harm can be done even if one guess is confirmed, since information is then leaked about the recipient's private key. Even if the attacker's guess of t for a given modulus r is incorrect, the attacker still learns that the recipient's private key does not equal t modulo r, so that information is leaked. A limited set of confirmed guesses is considerably worse than merely what the theoretical information leakage would suggest because of the following practical means of exploiting partial information leaked about the private key.
Suppose that the private key v is between 1 and n−1. Suppose further that the attacker learns d modulo rj for k small and relatively-prime numbers rj, . . . , rk but m=r1r2 . . . rk<n. In this case the attacker can use the Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) to compute n completely. The attacker uses CRT to compute that d=x (mod m) where x is between 0 and m−1. The attacker can thus deduce that d=x+ym for some y between 1 and (n−1)/n. Now the attacker can speed up the usual Pollard rho and kangaroo methods to find d as follows. The attacker has the public key Q=vG, a valid point on the curve. The attacker computes (1/m mod n)(Q−xG) which the attacker knows to be equal to yG. Since the attackers know that y belongs a smaller range [1,(n−1)/m] than the general range [1,n−1], the attacker can speed up the Pollard rho algorithm by well-known techniques.

Method and apparatus for performing elliptic curve arithmetic


An approach is provided for ranking candidate answers to a natural language question. Candidate answers to a natural language question received from a mobile device are generated. First contextual information about a user of the mobile device is identified. A prioritization of definitions of terms is determined. Based on the prioritization, a lexicon of the terms is generated. Using mobile-based time series manipulation and pattern recognition and based on historical usage of the mobile device, a location of the user, an environment of the user, and a bodily function of the user, second contextual information is forecasted. Based on a word sense disambiguation of the terms in the lexicon and an adjustment of the prioritization, the candidate answers are modified and then ranked. The highest ranked candidate answer is more likely to be a correct answer to the natural language question than the other candidate answers.

Natural language processing (NLP) systems are attempting to minimize uncertainty from reasoning through the use of known lexicons, ontologies, and corpora ingestion, but overall system accuracy using these known techniques has limitations. A known probabilistic distributed NLP system delivers answers to questions by parsing a natural language query in input text provided by a user, searching for multiple candidate answers to the query in its data set, and assigning confidence scores to the candidate answers. The probabilistic distributed NLP system can, in a limited way, take into account the context of the user who provided the input text if the context is appended to the query. Appending such context to a query, however, does not provide an ideal user experience because the combination of the query and the appended portion is not in the form of a question that would be posed naturally by a user. A known web search engine being utilized via a user's mobile device can take into account context consisting of the user's geographic location by processing search terms based in part on the user's location, which is provided by a global positioning system (GPS) incorporated into the device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A lead-acid battery electrode including a tubular bag. The tubular bag includes a textile fabric, wherein the textile fabric includes a consolidated binder with thermoplastic properties and at least one electrically conductive additive.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Lead-acid batteries are widely used because of their reliability and relatively low cost. For example, most automobiles include a lead-acid battery to start the engine and power various onboard systems. Although there are many types of lead-acid batteries, their general construction includes "positive" and "negative" electrodes (e.g., lead or lead alloy electrodes) in contact with an acid electrolyte, typically dilute sulfuric acid. During discharge, the lead-acid battery produces electricity as the sulfuric acid reacts with the electrodes. More specifically, the acid electrolyte combines with the negative and positive electrodes to form lead sulfate. As lead sulfate forms, the negative electrode releases electrons and the positive plate loses electrons. The net positive charge on the positive electrode attracts the excess negative electrons from the negative electrode enabling the battery to power a load. To recharge the acid-battery, the chemical process is reversed. As lead sulfate forms on the positive electrode, the positive electrode gradually loses the ability to attract electrons from the negative electrode reducing the ability of the cell to continue the chemical reaction and produce power.


Thin film type magnetic transducer head is disclosed in which a track width recorded on a magnetic recording medium is determined by a thickness of thin film magnetic core halves formed on a non-magnetic substrate. The head has a rear core portion having a larger thickness than the track width forming portion of the head facing to the travelling magnetic recording medium, and a coil wound around the rear core portion. The coil comprises first coil portions underlying the rear core portion and second coil portions overlying the rear core portion and third coil portions connecting the first and the second core portions. The head is manufactured by thin film forming technique in combination with photolithography.

The present invention relates to a magnetic head for use in combination with a video tape, a hard disk or a floppy disk, and to a method of fabricating such a magnetic head.
In the magnetic recording field, reduction in the magnetic head gap of a magnetic head has been required to deal with increase in recording density in recording data on recording tacks of a recording medium. The applicant of the present patent application has previously proposed a thin-film magnetic head for recording data on narrow tracks, having a magnetic core formed of a film of a thickness equal to the track width. This previously proposed thin-film magnetic head comprises, as shown in FIG. 3, a nonmagnetic substrate 1, a thin-film magnetic path 5 having a thickness equal to the track width, having a magnetic head gap g, and formed by forming a first thin-film magnetic core 3 of a thickness equal to the track width on the nonmagnetic substrate 1, forming a second thin-film magnetic core 4 of a thickness equal to that of the first thin-film magnetic core 3 on the nonmagnetic substrate 1 with a gap spacer 2 formed between the opposite side surfaces of the first thin-film magnetic core 3 and the second thin-film magnetic core 4, and a protective plate 6 put on the first thin-film magnetic core 3 and the second thin-film magnetic core 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. Hei 2-14411). Most thin-film magnetic heads having magnetic cores formed of films of a thickness equal to the track width are provided, similarly to a bulk head, with a wound coil 6 as shown in FIG. 3 or a spiral coil, which is employed generally in conventional thin-film magnetic head.
A magnetic head 10 as shown in FIG. 4 has been applied to practical use in combination with a hard disk. The magnetic head 10 has a floating slider 8, and a thin-film magnetic head element 9 formed on one end surface of the slider 8 and having a thin-film magnetic core formed so that the direction of its thickness is perpendicular to the direction of the track width.
The thin-film magnetic head 7 shown in FIG. 3 is capable of coping with the reduction of the track width. However, the wound coil similar to that for a bulk head requires a troublesome coil winding operation, needs a large winding aperture 11 to form a wound coil of a large capacity and increases the length of the magnetic path, which affects adversely the improvement of the efficiency of the thin-film magnetic head. The spiral coil formed of a thin-film conductor increases dc resistance entailing problems attributable to noise.
In the magnetic head 10 of FIG. 4 employing the thin-film magnetic head element 9, the direction of the track width is perpendicular to the direction of the thickness of the film forming the magnetic core. Such a construction entails difficulty in controlling the magnetic domain taking into consideration wiggle to deal with a narrow track.

Thin film magnetic head having increased core cross section


A method is provided for controlling an electric power pump type power steering system. In this method, there are provided a brushless motor (1) rotating, when a current is fed to coils, for driving a hydraulic pump of an automotive vehicle, thereby obtaining an assist power; a plurality of upper transistors (Q1) connected to the coils of the brushless motor with a control voltage being higher than a drive voltage of the brushless motor; a plurality of lower transistors (Q2) connected to a connection point between the coils of the brushless motor and the plurality of transistors and connected to each other; a controller (6) for selectively turning on one transistor out of the plurality of upper transistors in order and repeating an operation of selectively turning on one transistor other than the transistor connected to the upper transistor which has been turned on, out of the plurality of the lower transistors, thereby feeding the current to the coils for respective phases of the brushless motor; and a capacitor (C1), connected at one terminal to a power source and at the other terminal to each connection point between the upper and lower transistors and the coils, for accumulating a drive energy therein. When the upper transistor is turned off, the other terminal of the capacitor is set at a ground potential so that the drive energy of the upper transistor is accumulated in the capacitor.

The present invention relates to a control method and a control apparatus for an electric power pump type power steering system in which a brushless motor is used to drive a hydraulic pump.
In general, in an electric power pump type power steering system used in a vehicle, an electric motor drives a hydraulic pump in response to a vehicle running conditions such as a vehicle velocity, and a desired assist force is obtained by the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic pump.
Conventionally, brush motors have been used in many cases as electric motors to be used in such an electric power pump type power steering system. However, in view of the fact that a friction is generated in brushes in contact with rectifiers and it is necessary to periodically inspect and maintain the brushes, brushless motors that dispense with brushes have recently been used.
FIG. 17 is a view showing a structure of a driver for driving such brushless motors, in which reference numeral 1 denotes a three-phase brushless motor, reference numeral 2 denotes a battery, reference numeral 3 denotes a DC-DC convertor, reference numeral 4 denotes a gate driver circuit, and reference characters Q1 and Q2 denote field effect transistors (FETs) for supplying armature coils L of the brushless motor 1 with electricity.
Incidentally, in FIG. 17, there is shown an example of drive for a single phase out of the three ones of three-phase brushless motor. The systems for the other two phases are driven by the same structures. Also, in the drawings described hereinafter, the description is made in the same manner.
In this case, in the case where the motor 1 is driven, due to the fact that in some drive conditions a current is caused to flow from a terminal +V of the battery through the upstream transistor Q1 to the motor coil and in other drive conditions a current is caused to flow from the motor coil through the downstream transistor Q2 to a terminal GND of the battery, the transistor Q1 is referred to as an upper transistor and the transistor Q2 is referred to as a lower transistor.
Namely, in the case where the brushless motor 1 is driven, first of all, the upper transistor Q1 is turned on, and thereafter the other lower transistor (not shown) is turned on, whereby a current is caused to flow in a direction from armature coils L1 to L2 for the armature coils L1 and L2, for example. Subsequently, after the upper transistor Q1 is turned off, the upper transistor (not shown) is turned on and at the same time the lower transistor Q2 is turned on, whereby a current is caused to flow in a direction from the armature coils L2 to L1 for the armature coils L1 and L2. Thus, the current is caused to flow to thereby rotate the motor 1 by changing, in order, the directions for the armature coils L1 to L3 by the respective transistors Q1 and Q2 and the other transistors (not shown). By the way, in the case where the motor 1 is driven, the upper transistor Q1 and the lower transistor Q2 connected in series with the upper transistor Q1 are controlled not to be turned on simultaneously.
By the way, in the case where an N-channel element like the field effect transistor Q1 is used as the upper drive element of the brushless motor 1, it is necessary to set, at a higher voltage level, the control voltage that is a gate voltage than the drive voltage that is a source voltage. For this reason, in the example shown in FIG. 17, the DC-DC convertor 3 is used to thereby increase the gate voltage of the field effect transistor Q1. Namely, when an instruction for turning the transistor Q1 on is executed by a gate drive signal, the gate driver circuit 4 applies +voltage of a terminal OUT of the DC-DC convertor 3 to a point between the gate and source of the transistor Q1.
Thus, in the conventional brushless motor driver, in the case where the control voltage of the upper transistor is set at a higher voltage than the drive voltage, the DC-DC convertor is used. However, this DC-DC convertor normally operates during the period when the brushless motor driver operates, this is not preferable in an energy efficiency point of view. Also, since the DC-DC convertor has to be provided for every driver circuit of the three-phases of the DC-DC convertor, there are problems that the structure thereof is complicated, and also that the system is expensive.

Control method and control apparatus for electric power pump type power steering system


A combined dual-conductive key switch including a base, a cover arranged above the base, a conductive core, a mechanical-conducting component and an inductive switch which are electrically connected to a PCB respectively; and a conduction trigger block corresponding to the mechanical-conducting component and a magnet corresponding to the inductive switch are respectively arranged on the conductive core; and the conduction trigger block triggers a conduction stroke of conducting the mechanical-conducting component, which is different from a conduction stroke of conducting the inductive switch triggered by the magnet. The combined dual-conductive key switch is provided for achieving dual-conductive functions of pressing once and performing two actions for a product.

At present, when a key switch on the market is pressed once, the key switch is only conducted once, that is, the key switch only has a single conduction, function. Along with the wide application of the key switch, people not only have continuously improved requirement for the performance of the key switch, but also have higher and higher function requirement for the key switch.
For example, it is required that when the key switch is pressed once, it can be conducted twice. When it is applied to games, the key switch with the function of being pressed once and conductive twice has higher speed and provides better user experience for players compared with the traditional key switch.
However, the key switches with the function of being pressed once and conductive twice have not been available on the market today.


Methods and systems for treatment of vesicoureteral reflux are disclosed in which a detachable balloon catheter is incorporated into a endoscopic instrument, such as a cystoscopic needle. The needle is directed through the cystoscope and inserted into the subureteral region of the refluxing ureter. A catheter or similar delivery device is inserted into the subureteral region, carrying a balloon. The balloon is then inflated, preferably filled with an inert biocompatible material, and then sealed. After inflation, the balloon is detached and left in the pocket such that the junction of the bladder and ureter is reconfigured to prevent reflux.

The technical field of this invention is treatment of urological defects and, in particular, the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux.
The discharge of urine via the urinary tract is essential to the maintenance of healthy kidney functions. In the normal individual, urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters into the bladder. From there it is periodically released via the urethra. The terminus of the ureter at the bladder normally provides a competent sphincter which insures that urine flows from the ureter to the bladder. However, if this junction is impaired, vesicoureteral reflux can occur wherein urine from the bladder can return to the kidney, particularly during voiding or when pressure is exerted upon the bladder.
Vesicoureteral reflux can cause renal damage or even renal failure either directly as a result of high pressures transmitted to the kidney or indirectly as a result of infections introduced by retromigration of bacteria into the kidneys. These problems can be particularly acute in newborns and infants when incompetent ureterovesical junctions are present. In some children, the risk of kidney damage can be reduced by antibiotic therapies and minor reflux problems will disappear over time with increased developmental maturity.
However, when vesicoureteral reflux is severe, surgery has often been necessary to repair the disfunctional junction. In most of these approaches, the ureter is dissected from the bladder and re-implanted to lengthen or otherwise restrict the submucosal tunnel. By reconfiguring the tunnel, closure of the ureteral lumen can be markedly improved as a result of intravesical pressure as the bladder fills.
Unfortunately, these open surgical procedures always carry risks, including collateral damage to other urological structures and the possible introduction of further infectious agents. These risks are particularly pronounced when surgery is required on newborns or infants.
The endoscopic treatment of reflux was first introduced in 1981 by Matouschek when he injected polytetrafluorethylene (Teflon) paste in the subureteral region of a patient. In this approach, a bolus of Teflon paste is introduced into the subureteral region to restrict or reshape the submucosal tunnel. In a manner similar to surgical procedures, the effective length of the submucosal tunnel is increased and effective closure, as the bladder fills, is likewise achieved. This technique was popularized by O'Donnell and Puri, and has now been utilized to treat vesicoureteral reflux in over 8000 children.
The use of Teflon paste in the pediatric population is not without controversy due to evidence of Teflon particle migration to the lungs and nodes and granuloma formation in both animal models and in humans. Nonetheless, there are definite advantages in treating these patients endoscopically. The method is simple and can be completed in less than 15 minutes, it has a success rate of over 85% with a low morbidity, and can be performed in an outpatient basis.
Various other substances have been proposed as safer alternate implant materials, including collagen, autologous fat and fibroblast injections, polyvinyl alcohol foam (Ivalon) and glass; however each has its disadvantages. Volume loss has been identified as a problem with collagen, autologous fat and fibroblast injections. Granuloma formation with possible latent carcinogenic effects has been associated with Ivalon and glass particles as well as Teflon paste.
There exists a need for better methods and systems for treatment of vesicoureteral reflux and related urological disorders. In particular, approaches that avoid open reconstructive surgery while providing effective control of urinary reflux would satisfy a long-felt need in the field, especially in the treatment of neonatal birth defects.

Detachable balloon catheter for endoscopic treatment of vesicoureteral reflux


A golf wood clubhead has a body having face and sole portions which define a leading edge therebetween. The width from the leading edge of the head body to the rear end of the sole portion is nearly equal to or less than a half of the width from the leading edge of the head body to the rear end thereof. The head body may have a rounded lower back portion of a certain radius of curvature within a region from the rear end of the sole portion to the rear end of the head body. The sole portion may have a rounded surface of the same radius of curvature as that of the rounded lower back portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf wood clubheads. It is to be understood that golf wood clubheads according to the invention are not limited to those made of wood but include those made of other materials such as synthetic resins, metals or the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a golf wood clubhead having a specific outer shape for reducing the contact resistance between the sole portion and the ground or turf.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a golf wood clubhead having a head body is brought into contact at the sole portion thereof with the ground or turf when striking the golf ball. Therefore, it is generally difficult to execute a good swing, and the head speed is apt to be reduced due to generation of contact resistance between the sole portion of the head body and the ground or turf. On the other hand, if the head body of the clubhead strikes the ground just before the golf ball, which is so called "duffing", the head body is apt to receive a great reaction force at the sole portion thereof from the ground, thus resulting in the bouncing of the head body and the deviation of the swing orbit.
In order to reduce the contact resistance on the sole portion, there has been proposed a golf wood clubhead in which the width l.sub.2 from the leading edge of the head body to the rear end of the sole portion thereof is made smaller than the overall width l.sub.1 from the leading of the head body to the rear end thereof, as shown in FIG. 5. However, in such a proposed wood clubhead, since the difference between the sole width l.sub.2 and the overall width l.sub.1 of the head body is relatively small, i.e., l.sub.2 1/2.times.l.sub.1, and the sole portion has a generally flat surface, the above drawback has not been sufficiently overcome.


In a method for discharging a volume flow consisting of successive drops to produce a three-dimensional object of solidifiable material present in a fluid phase, the fluid phase of the material is introduced into a material storage means. A pressure (p) is applied to the fluid phase, in order to discharge the material in drops out of a cyclable outlet opening to build up the three-dimensional object in a construction chamber. A method is provided for achieving a constant, discontinuous volume flow by the pressure (p) being regulated via a closed-loop control in the event of a change in the viscosity of the fluid phase of the material, while maintaining the other process parameters, to achieve a predetermined drop size. The pressure is applied by a conveying element, the average displacement velocity of the conveying element per discharged drop being converted as a measured variable into the control variable for the closed-loop control.

Such a method is known from EP 2 266 782 A1, wherein the therein disclosed device delivers solidifiable material plasticized with a plasticising unit known in injection molding technology in a fluid phase into a material storage. The material storage is pressurized and this pressure is used to discharge the material in the form of drops via a clockable discharge opening in order to produce a three-dimensional object in a construction chamber. The fluid phase of the material comprises a temperature dependent viscosity. A solid body joint is used for discharging the drops at the discharge opening, the pretension of which can be regulated. For this purpose the operation point of the solid body joint is measured and readjusted, if necessary. Specific displacement/force curves can be driven with an actuating element actuating the solid body joint, in order to targetedly and consciously influence the form of the drops.
Such a method is also known from DE 10 2004 025 374 A1, in which drops of one reaction component are discharged and brought into contact with a basis reaction component present on a substrate, in order to produce a three-dimensional object with varying material characteristics layer by layer. This causes a gradual transition from one material characteristic to another material characteristic. The drop size can be regulated in dependency of a measured layer thickness without having attention to the viscosity of the processed material which viscosity may eventually change during the production process.
EP 1 886 793 B1, in which a plasticising unit known in injection molding technology is coupled to a pressurized material storage means to produce a fluid phase of a material. To produce an object on an object support in a construction chamber, this material is discharged via a discharge opening in the form of drops, it being necessary to apply a high pressure and generally also high temperatures due to the adhesive strength of the material.
In this device the advantages of plastics parts production using standard materials used conventionally in injection molding is combined with the possibility of producing plastics parts for single-item or small batch production. It allows parts to be produced without a mold which parts have properties similar to those of injection-molded parts.
To produce such individual parts or small batch sizes, such as for example samples, further manufacturing processes are also known, which are known widely as "prototyping" and "rapid manufacturing". Such parts are produced without using molds, the geometry in most cases being produced on the basis of 3D data. These geometries are produced in a wide variety of forms using appropriate means such as melting powder layers by the application of heat, for example by means of a laser, additive systems such as printing processes, the powder particles being bound in different ways, or also using so called melt strand methods.
In practice it has been found that when using the method known from EP 1 886 793 A1 for production purposes, a relatively long construction time is needed for one part. Although as little melt as possible is kept in the melt pressure generator and thus in the entire system through the geometric construction, on the other hand this amount must not be too little, since otherwise every opening of the outlet opening on the discharge of the drops has a significant dynamic effect on the pressure level, which the melt pressure controller cannot track due to the inertia thereof. On the other hand, the amount of plastics discharged is dependent on the following parameters: temperature, the liquefied melt in the pressure generator, melt pressure and outlet nozzle geometry and also opening times and stroke of the orifice plate of the outlet opening and also the viscosity of the molten material influenced by the total residence time. In addition, the intrinsic viscosity of the plastics material reduces viscosity at higher shear rates, which in turn affects drop size and their tendency to coalesce with drops which already previously have been discharged.
The prior art also discloses a measurement method in which material discharge per unit time from the nozzle is determined. The value is stated in g/10 min, the plastics material being forced through a nozzle with a diameter of 2.095 mm by means of a plunger. The necessary force is applied by a weight. When stating the values the test temperature and nominal mass used must always be stated. The method is defined according to DIN EN ISO 1133. When determining the MFI value, which corresponds to the melt flow rate, established in this way, the fluidity of the plastics material is determined only at a defined operating point. Any change in fluidity as process parameters change, in particular as a function of residence time, is not taken into account.


A method for programming a universal remote control comprises receiving a signal from a source remote control, determining characteristic information based on the signal, comparing the characteristic information to a database, determining a matching code set for the source remote control based on the comparing, and configuring the universal remote control to mimic control features of the source remote control based on the matching code set. Still other aspects and other features are also described herein.

Many electronic devices (e.g., TVs, VCRs, DVD players, satellite receivers, set-top boxes, garage door openers, etc.) can be controlled by their corresponding remote controls. However, as one accumulates more electronic devices, these remote controls can cause undesirable clutter in one's home. Further, when a source remote control (SRC) is inadvertently misplaced, the corresponding device cannot be controlled by other remote controls.
Universal remote controls (URC) have been introduced to solve these problems. A URC typically can be programmed to control one or more electronic devices and, thus, can replace one or more source remote control. Typically, a user of a URC is provided with a manual which includes code sets for a plurality of source remote controls. The user has to determine the correct code set corresponding to each SRC to be programmed into the URC, then manually enter that code set into the URC. This process is tedious and time consuming. Further, if the manual for the URC is lost, the user will have no way to program the URC except by obtaining another manual from the manufacturer. In addition, the types (e.g., manufacturers & models) of SRCs that may be programmed into the URC are limited to the code sets provided in the manual.
Some URCs have the capability of being programmed without requiring the user to manually enter a code set. This type of URC is typically able to operate in a so-called "learning mode," where the URC is able to duplicate a signal received from each key of a SRC and store that signal in memory. For example, commonly available URCs for consumer electronic devices (e.g., TVs, etc.), as well as for garage door openers (e.g., the HomeLink system) operate in this fashion. Programming a URC in a learning mode has several drawbacks. First, the URC can only duplicate signals from SRC keys that are physically pressed by the user. Thus, the user has to press every one of the keys on a SRC to be programmed. While this may be acceptable for single-key (or, equivalently, single-signal) devices such as garage door openers, it is inconvenient for multiple-key (or multiple-signal) devices such as TV remote controls. Second, duplication of signals can be time consuming. Third, the URC needs a relatively large memory space to store all the signals from the keys of each SRC to be programmed, thus increasing the cost of the URC. All of the foregoing illustrates that such "learning" remote controls are dumb devices that simply memorize the characteristics of any given SRC, rather than being able to recognize and identify a given SRC.
Thus, a market exists for a universal remote control that can be virtually automatically programmed, whereby a user will not need to select a code set from a manual, enter the code set manually, and teach the URC to learn each SRC key separately.


A storage area network controlled, part, by performing the following steps: (i) for each host link of a plurality of host links in a storage area network (SAN), determining a maximum possible data transfer rate; (ii) for each host link of a plurality of host links in a storage area network, determining a maximum permitted data transfer rate based on the maximum possible data transfer rate; (iii) making a plurality of data transfers, through SAN fabric of the SAN and between a storage controller module of the SAN and various host links of the plurality of host links; and (iv) for each data transfer, controlling the data transfer so that a data transfer rate for the data transfer does not exceed the maximum permitted data transfer rate.

The present invention relates generally to the field of storage area networks (SANs), and more particularly to control of storage controller bandwidth. A storage area network is a dedicated network that provides data storage, which is typically in the form of consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are often used to enhance storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes. Typically, SANs are accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices to the operating system. A SAN typically has its own network of storage devices that are generally not accessible through the local area network by other devices. Typically, a SAN does not provide file abstraction, but, rather, only block-level operations. However, file systems built on top of SANs do provide file-level access, and are known as SAN filesystems or shared disk file systems.
Emergence of Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) with 10/40/100 Gbps (gigabits per second) Ethernet along with 10/40/100 Gbps FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet), 16 Gbps Fibre channel have led to creation of truly heterogeneous SAN fabrics. These heterogeneous SAN fabrics typically include a mixture of Fiber Channel and Ethernet networks. Even on the same Ethernet backbone, storage protocols like Fibre Channel Over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI are used to transport SAN traffic over the same Ethernet infrastructure. The CEE network can be connected to a native Fibre channel network using Fibre Channel Forwarders (FCFs) to create a heterogeneous fabric consisting of both Ethernet and Fiber Channel fabrics. Some currently conventional SAN fabrics include a combination of 4 Gbps/8 Gbps/16 Gbps fiber channel elements and 10 Gbps/40 Gbps/100 Gbps ethernet elements.
Currently conventional storage controllers do not "understand" the SAN fabric topology. The storage controller simply transmits as much data as it is being requested by the host. Under heavy load the amount of data it can transmit either gets limited by its own link bandwidth or the link bandwidth of the host. When the link bandwidth of the host is less than that of the storage controller, the storage controller's data transmission is limited by the switch that employs congestion control techniques. The storage controller should avoid saturating host port links.
Currently conventional storage controllers do not "understand" the SAN fabric topology. The storage controller simply transmits as much data as it is being requested by the host. Under heavy load the amount of data it can transmit either gets limited by its own link bandwidth or the link bandwidth of the host. When the link bandwidth of the host is less than that of the storage controller, the storage controller's data transmission is limited by the switch that employs congestion control techniques.

Maximizing storage controller bandwidth utilization in heterogeneous storage area networks


The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting an anomalous condition of a cooling motor fan to be mounted on a vehicle. The anomalous condition detecting apparatus includes a detector for detecting a pair of positive and negative terminals of a motor of the motor fan and a decision circuit for deciding whether an anomalous condition exists or not based on a voltage detected between the terminals. For example, an external resistor is provided between the positive terminal of the motor and the power source, the negative terminal of the motor is earthed, a voltage between the terminals of the motor is detected as a potential of the positive terminal, and the decision circuit decides that an anomalous condition exists when the potential of the positive terminal is smaller than a predetermined value in a state that a drive signal of the motor fan is being output. Accordingly, it is possible to detect an anomalous condition of the motor fan at low cost.

The present invention relates to an anomalous condition detecting apparatus for a motor fan to be mounted on a vehicle for cooling engine cooling water or a medium for air conditioning.
A cooling motor fan to be mounted on a vehicle can not achieve its full function when the rotation of the cooling motor fan is stopped (a locked state) though this state is not wanted or when the operation of the cooling motor fan is in an over-loaded state (a half-locked state), because of a foreign material caught into the fan, for example. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures for checking from time to time whether the motor fan of the vehicle is in an abnormal state or note, and when an anomalous condition has occurred, for making this state to be known to vehicle occupants or for compulsively stopping the motor fan.
As an apparatus for detecting an anomalous condition such as a locked state or a half-locked state of a motor fan, there has been a device for detecting the rotation number of the fan by a magnetic or photo-electric pulse sensor or the like and for deciding that the motor fan is in an anomalous state when the rotation number is below a reference value. As a lock state detector, there is a one for detecting an excess current which flows during a locked time.

Anomalous condition detecting apparatus for cooling motor fan


A method of treating a fetus or embryo suspected of having a congenital condition that involves an abnormal or missing protein, the method has the steps of a. providing a plurality of human umbilical cord blood in a form suitable for intravenous administration; a b. administering the human umbilical cord blood cells to a mother carrying a fetus of embryo suspected of having said congenital condition. Such congenital conditions include Sanfilippo's syndrome, Hunter's syndrome, Hurler's syndrome, Tay-Sachs disease, Gaucher's disease, von Gierke's disease, Pompes disease, Cori disease, Andersen disease, McArdle's disease, Hers disease, Tauri's disease or Type IX glycogen storage disease.

Lysosomal Storage Diseases
Lysosomal storage diseases are a group of uncommon inherited (with rare exception) diseases resulting from defective function within the intracellular lysosome that results in significant clinical morbidity and dysfunctionality as well as premature death. More than thirty different lysosomal storage diseases have been identified and characterized clinically and in many instances pathophysiologically as well. Lysosomes are cytoplasmic membrane-bound, intracellular organelles. These intracellular vesicles contain a variety of glycoprotein hydrolytic enzymes that degrade various macromolecules into their subunits, such as amino, nucleic and fatty acids. The enzymes that are contained within the primary lysosomes are synthesized by the endoplasmic reticulum, and these primary lysosomes may fuse with other intracellular organelles to form secondary lysosomes where macromolecule degradation occurs.
Cell therapy is the transplantation of specialized cells or tissues. It is different from gene therapy, which is a process by which a functional gene or DNA fragment is inserted into key cells to mitigate or cure a disease. Gene therapy in utero is more challenging for researchers because of numerous inherent problems, such as; how to introduce the therapeutic gene across the blood-brain barrier or, how to target the therapeutic gene to one specific area of the body or, how to limit the therapy to the fetal target. However, in utero cell transplantation has been successful in both animals and humans. (See, Muench, M. O. and Barcena, A., "Stem Cell Transplantation in the Fetus," in Cancer Control, 2004, 11(2), 105-118). The inventors herein disclose microchimerism in the fetus can also be achieved using a less invasive method, by intravenously injecting the maternal host with capable cells. This method has the advantage of allowing the earliest possible intervention in addition to avoiding trauma to the fetus.

Method of prenatal administration of mammalian umbilical cord stem cells for the intrauterine treatment of sanfilippo syndrome


A gated nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) switch employing metal-insulator-metal (MIM) technology and related devices and methods which can facilitate implementation of low-power, radiation-hardened, high-temperature electronic devices and circuits. In one example embodiment a gate electrode is configured as a cantilever beam whose free end is coupled to a MIM stack. The stack moves into bridging contact across a source and drain region when the applied gate voltage generates a sufficient electrostatic force to overcome the mechanical biasing of the cantilever beam. A second set of contacts can be added on the cantilever beam to form a complementary switching structure, or to a separate cantilever beam. The switching can be configured as non-volatile in response to stiction forces. NEM circuits provide a number of advantages within a variety of circuit types, including but not limited to: logic, memory, sleep circuits, pass circuits, and so forth.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to an electrical switching element, and more particularly to a gated nano-electro-mechanical switch utilized in place of conventional switching transistors within logic and memory circuits.
2. Description of Related Art
Power consumption has emerged as a major challenge for continued scaling of CMOS technology. In particular, static (leakage) power is an issue because it increases exponentially with reductions in gate length and gate-dielectric thickness. Dynamic power is difficult to reduce by scaling the supply voltage (VDD), because of threshold voltage (VT) variability and non-scalability due to fundamental thermal limits which dictate that leakage current increases exponentially with decreasing VT.
In general, there exist four main areas to this scaling problem: (1) drain leakage which doubles with each successively smaller generation of CMOS; (2) attempts to ameliorate gate leakage necessitate utilizing advanced gate dielectric materials from which cost and process integration issues arise; (3) threshold voltage control and reduction issues arise with variability resulting in yield issues, and in which non-scalability arises in response to the thermal limit (kT/q) making supply-voltage (VDD) scaling difficult; (4) performance gains as technology scales down are controverted by parasitic resistance and capacitance which seriously limit performance in nanoscale transistors.
Potential technological solutions to this challenge include alternative transistor structures (e.g., thin-body MOSFETs) and high-mobility semiconductor channel materials (e.g., Ge, GaAs). However, drain leakage due to quantum-mechanical tunneling and VT variability and non-scalability remain as issues for these approaches in the sub-10 nm gate-length regime. In addition, the formation of uniform ultra-thin or narrow films and fins present a number of manufacturing challenges. In addition, the use of high-mobility channel materials poses a myriad of process integration challenges while performance benefits over Si are not dramatic. Still further, none of these proposed solutions address challenges for radiation hardness and high-temperature operation.
Therefore, electronic switching methods and devices are needed which can dramatically lower power consumption, such as in digital logic and memory devices while providing radiation hardness.

Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) switching devices

The Regents of the University of California


A processing device receives a selection of at least one host resource associated with a storage area network as selected by a network manager. In addition to receiving the selection of the at least one host resource, the processing device receives a selection of at least one storage parameter associated with the storage area network. The selection of the at least one storage parameter includes a selection of a vendor type of a storage system resource of the storage area network. Based on the selection information, the network management application correlates the selection of the at least one host resource with the selection of the vendor type to identify: i) storage devices of the storage system resource corresponding to the at least one storage parameter, and ii) access control rights of the at least one host resource with respect to the storage devices.

Certain conventional computer devices include software to generate Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) that enable network managers to graphically manage, control and configure various types of hardware and software resources associated with a corresponding managed storage area network. In one conventional application, a network management storage application renders a graphical user interface enabling a network manager to graphically select, interact with, and manage local or remote devices and associated software processes operating in a storage area network. More specifically, based on use of the graphical user interface in combination with an input device such as a hand operated mouse and corresponding pointer displayed on a viewing screen, a network manager is able to manage hardware and software entities such as file systems, databases, storage devices, network data communications devices, etc. associated with the storage area network. Typically, in such network management applications, the network manager selects a displayed icon representing a corresponding managed resource in the network and applies management commands to carry out intended management functions.
Conventional network management applications are designed to provide a network manager with information regarding access rights associated with clients in a network. For example, a network may include a number of hardware devices such as host computers, servers, data communications devices (e.g., switches, routers, etc.), network attached storage devices, proxy devices, firewall devices, and so forth that are coupled amongst each other via physical cables. A conventional management application typically provides access to a database of data structures describing and defining how these hardware resources are interconnected and, more specifically, which host computers are able to access which storage devices in a storage system. At any given time, the network manager can view and change access right information associated with the managed network resources via use of the network management application. Thus, the network manager has the ultimate power to grant and deny access rights to corresponding storage systems.
Over time, a managed storage system may grow to include network resources associated with different vendors. For example, a storage area network may grow (based on increased storage needs of the owner) to include storage systems manufactured by two or more vendors. Each vendor typically requires that its manufactured products communicate via use of a corresponding vendor specific protocol. For example, a Hitachi storage system typically requires use of Hitachi specific commands to control settings of the Hitachi storage device. Similarly, an IBM (International Business Machines) storage system requires use of IBM specific commands to control settings of the IBM storage device, and so on.
To manage storage system resources associated with multiple vendors according to conventional techniques, the network manager must utilize different network management software applications, one for each vendor type of storage system. Each of the network management software applications supports unique, vendor specific display information and views to manage settings of a corresponding type of vendor's storage system.

Methods and apparatus for managing resources


Meta behavioral analytics techniques include, at one or more network devices that are operatively coupled to a plurality of behavioral analytics systems associated with a network or system, monitoring data outputs of the plurality of behavioral analytics systems that are representative of activity in the network or system. The one or more network devices correlate the data outputs from two or more of the plurality of behavioral analytics systems that are dedicated to analyzing different subject matter domains. Additionally, based on the correlating, the one or more network devices detect a previously unidentified condition in (a) the network or system; or (b) one of the plurality of behavioral analytics systems.

During network testing and/or monitoring, multiple behavioral analytics systems monitor a network and apply various analytical algorithms to the data flowing through and/or being output by the network in order to correlate and/or organize the data outputs as needed. Consequently, these systems can detect or analyze issues in the network, including such as security, privacy and performance optimization issues, in various network elements, report them, and/or take automatic actions to correct them. However, in some instances, the behavioral analytics systems may experience issues themselves. For example, behavioral analytics systems may be subject to hacking, data breaches, and performance deficits. Unfortunately, behavioral analytics systems are typically not monitored by another entity (instead, these systems are performing the monitoring) and, thus, if the analytics systems are compromised, it may be difficult to discover the issue, let alone to recover from the issue.
Moreover, typically behavioral analytics systems are siloed so that each behavioral analytics system only analyzes a specific aspect of system or network behavior, such as security, performance, predictive maintenance, or efficiency, or extracts key insights using big data or data mining techniques. In these siloed deployments, various behavioral analytics systems often do not coordinate or correlate their results in any manner. In fact, often, different behavioral analytics systems generate outputs in various formats that are incompatible with other types of behavioral analytics systems and/or other types of behavioral of the same type (i.e., a security-focused behavioral analytics system may output reports that are incompatible with reports output by performance-focused behavioral analytics systems and/or other security-focused behavioral analytics systems, for example, due to the type or formatting of data included in the report).

Meta behavioral analytics for a network or system


Provided are a broadcast switching device, method and terminal for switching between broadcast modes of a terminal, and the broadcast switching device includes: a second signal broadcasting unit; a first signal broadcasting unit; a signal reception module, connected respectively to the first signal broadcasting unit and the second signal broadcasting unit, configured to receive a first signal and a second signal and receive preferentially the first signal; a parsing module configured to parse the first signal to acquire signal strength of the first signal; a determination module configured to compare the signal strength of the first signal with a preset broadcasting strength and obtain a comparison result; and a switching module configured to control the signal reception module to receive the second signal when comparison result is that the signal strength of the first signal cannot meet the preset broadcasting strength. By means of technical solutions of the present disclosure, a digital broadcast signal can be switched to an FM broadcast signal when signal strength of the digital broadcast signal cannot meet broadcasting requirements, thus providing a user with optimal audio experiences.

Frequency Modulation (FM) broadcasting is a technique for transmitting broadcast in a wireless emission manner and transmitting audio signals in an FM manner by using the change of frequencies of high-frequency oscillation over amplitudes of the audio signals.
The China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB) system is a first system developed independently by China for various mobile terminals such as mobile phones, laptop computers and the like. Integratedly aerial and terrestrial coverage and domestic roaming achieved by using S-band signals supports not only 25 television programs but also up to 30 broadcast programs.
Since FM signals received at a mobile phone side are an analog signal, and electrical signals are affected by various interferences both from environment and from within a communication system during their transmission along a route, it is hard to separate noises and signals from each other after their combination, thereby lowering the communication quality; and the longer the route is the more the noises accumulate. In the CMMB system, the received broadcast signals are digital signals, which have the following advantages: 1. the use of advanced digital compression/decompression method enables the provision of Hi-Fi broadcast programs compliant with DRA audio standards; 2. in a weak-field-strength region, its powerful error correction capability can be performed so that no noises are heard; 3. other data services can be conducted conveniently.
At present, most terminals only support reception of broadcast signals in an FM manner, though the FM manner has advantages such as wide signal coverage and convenient reception, it provides users with limited experiences of tone quality due to disadvantages of analog signals; from the viewpoints of the stability of received signals, its extendibility and the richness of program contents provided, broadcast signals of the CMMB are superior, but since broadcast signals of the CMMB are not fully popularized so far, signals can not be well received in certain urban areas or small-sized cities.
Therefore, optimal broadcasting experiences cannot be provided to users by above individual signals in existing techniques.

Broadcast switching device, method and terminal


An apparatus which couples light to a fiber from a light source at an input plane while reducing back reflections includes returning light reflected back through such that the returning light does not substantially overlap with an output of the light source in the input plane. This apparatus may include a mode matching element and/or an angular distribution altering element. The apparatus may be reciprocal. The reciprocal apparatus may prevent light traversing the apparatus again having a change in phase of light from substantially overlapping an original object in an input plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a coupler for coupling light to a fiber while minimizing feedback to the light source due to reflection along the transmission system.
2. Description of Related Art
As the use of non-physical contact connections between light sources and fibers increases, the need for effective isolation to prevent light reflected at the fiber interface from being returned to the light source increases. Feedback to the light source may result in spectral broadening, light source instability, and relative intensity noise, which affect the monochromaticity of the light source. As data rates go up, the systems become more sensitive to relative intensity noise and require low bit error rates. Conventional optical isolators using polarization effects to attenuate reflection are very expensive, making the non-physical contact impractical. The importance of avoiding feedback is further increased when trying to use cheaper light sources, such as vertical cavity surfaces emitting laser diodes and light emitting diodes.
One solution that avoids the use of an optical isolator is a mode scrambler that divides power from the light source into many modes. A configuration employing a mode scrambler includes a single mode pigtail that provides light from the light source to the mode scrambler that then delivers the light to a transmission cable via an air-gap connector. Since any reflected power will still be divided across the many modes, any reflected power in the mode that can efficiently be coupled into the pigtail is only a small fraction of the total reflected power, thereby reducing return losses. However, this solution involves aligning another fiber, physically contacting the fiber with the mode scrambler, and placing the light source against the fiber. This pigtailing is expensive. Thus, there still exists a need for true non-physical contact connection between a light source and a transmission system that does not require an isolator.
The present invention is therefore directed to a coupler between a light source and a transmission system that substantially overcomes one or more of the problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
These and other objects of the present invention may be realized by providing an apparatus for coupling light from a light source at an input plane into an optical fiber including an optical element which couples light from the light source to the optical fiber and which returns light traversing the optical system back towards the input plane such that the returning light does not substantially overlap with an output of the light source in the input plane.
The optical element may be a mode matching element, wherein light output from the optical element is distributed in a desired angular distribution that is substantially maintained along the fiber for more than a depth of focus of the optical element. The mode matching element may be a diffractive element. The mode matching element may be a refractive element. The optical element may have first and second surfaces, with the mode matching element being provided on the second surface, further from the light source. The apparatus may further include an angular distribution altering element on the first surface. The angular distribution altering element may provide a ring pattern on the second surface. The angular distribution altering element may be a diffractive surface having a radially symmetric lens function and a negative axicon function.
The optical fiber may be a multi-mode GRIN fiber and the optical element couples light into higher order modes of the multi-mode GRIN fiber to reduce differential mode delay. The optical element may be a diffractive surface having a radially symmetric lens function and a negative axicon function. The optical element may map a point from the input plane into more than one point on the optical fiber. The optical element may couple light to the optical fiber by directing light from the light source away from a center of the optical fiber.
The above and other objects of the present invention may be realized by providing a system for coupling light to an optical fiber including a light source at an input plane and an optical element which couples light from the light source to the optical fiber and which returns light traversing the optical system back towards the input plane such that the returning light does not substantially overlap with an output of the light source in the input plane.
The system may include a power monitor for the light source. The power monitor may monitor light output from a front of the light source. The system may include a deflecting element that deflects a portion of the light output from the front of the light source to the power monitor.
The above and other objects may further be realized by providing an apparatus including a reciprocal optical element that couples light from a light source in an input plane into a fiber and reduces coupling of light reflected back to the light source. The reciprocal optical element may be a single optical element. The single optical element may have at least two surfaces. The reciprocal optical element may be an axicon. The reciprocal optical element may be a mode matching element. The reciprocal optical element may map a point in the input plane to more than one point at the fiber. A change in phase of light passing back through the reciprocal optical element towards the light source may prevent light from substantially overlapping an output of the light source in the input plane.
While the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which the invention would be of significant utility without undue experimentation.

Fiber coupler system and associated methods for reducing back reflections


A semiconductor device (400) and method are provided for multiplying a capacitance. A contact region (402) is formed in an island in a semiconductor substrate (499) bounded by an isolation region (403), producing the capacitance at the junction of the contact region (402). A dielectric layer (404) is formed over the semiconductor substrate (499) adjacent to the contact region (402). A contact layer (408) is formed over the dielectric layer (404) wherein an inversion layer (406) is formed under the contact layer (408), producing an inversion capacitance in response to an enabling signal. The inversion capacitance corresponds to a multiple of the capacitance.

This invention relates, in general, to programmable delay circuits, and more particularly to semiconductor capacitance devices.
Fiber channel is an integrated system of specifications for high speed network communication. Communications between network nodes are based on protocol and hardware standards designed for synchronous high speed data transfers at a fixed rate of 1.0625 gigabits per second. A fiber channel network has no system master clock as such so each node provides an oscillator for producing its own transmission timing signals. These localized oscillators are generally crystal controlled and tuned to 106.25 megahertz. Phase shifting circuits produce the bit interval timing signals for sending data at the specified 1.0625 gigabits per second data transmission rate. Because the network transmitters are asynchronous each node also provides its own receiving clock for synchronizing to transmitted data signals. The frequency and phase of the receiving clock are adjusted to align with the incoming data bits so the data is captured when the bit signals are stable and not during logic level transitions when there is a higher probability of data error.
A ring oscillator circuit is used for generating the receiving clock signal because its phase and frequency can be adjusted to synchronize to the data signals. Each stage of the ring oscillator has an array of programmable delay elements which are switched on or off to add or subtract delay for adjusting the clock signal to the data signal.
A conventional programmable delay element consists of a transistor switch in series with a capacitor. When the transistor switch is turned on the capacitor is connected to the stage and provides a capacitive load for slowing it down. When the transistor switch is turned off the capacitor is disconnected from the stage, thereby speeding it up. Parasitic capacitance associated with the programmable delay element is always loading the stage, even when the transistor switch is turned off. This parasitic capacitance reduces both the maximum speed of the stage and the programming range because the switched capacitance comprises a smaller portion of the total capacitance.
A disadvantage of the conventional programmable delay element is that it requires a separate transistor switch for controlling the capacitance, which increases the component count and adds to system cost. Moreover, the transistor switch increases parasitic capacitance, thereby increasing the minimum stage delay and reducing both the programming range and the maximum oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator.
What is needed is a method for providing a programmable delay to a ring oscillator circuit that reduces cost by eliminating the need for a separate transistor switch. It would be a further benefit if the method reduced parasitic capacitance in order to provide a higher capacitance multiplication when the capacitor was enabled.

Device and method for multiplying capacitance