With respect to change of a bit rate at the time of transmitting encoded data TS, a system delay is fixed and the output size of data frame_bit [j] every predetermined data unit is successively calculated, thereby making it possible to continuously obtain data from the buffer 103 of a decoding side without breaks irrespective of change of the bit rate.

Heretofore, in a digital broadcasting system, as shown in FIG. 1, video data is compression-encoded in the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) scheme with a video encoder 1, compression-encoded data ES is stored in an encoder FIFO2 and then transmitted to a decode buffer 3 of a decoding side as a transport stream TS. The decoder 4 reads out data which is stored in the decode buffer 3, at predetermined timing and decodes it.
In such a digital broadcasting system, approximately equivalent encoded data is transmitted to the decode buffer 3 every predetermined timing, thereby preventing the decode buffer 3 from overflow or underflow.
However, in the digital broadcasting system which transmits encoded data at a fixed rate, overflow or underflow occurs in a decode buffer if the transmission rate is variable for transmission.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Encoded data outputting apparatus and method


A child safety seat including a seat bottom and seat back first and second resilient side elements carried on laterally-opposed sides of the seat back, and including walls defining an enclosed chamber. The walls have sufficient rigidity to maintain a nominal shape and are deformable in response to a predetermined minimum impact.

This invention relates to juvenile seating products that include resilient side elements providing enhanced side impact protection. Such child safety seating products typically have a base that supports a seat on a vehicle seat. The seating products of this type are typically secured to the vehicle seat by the vehicle seat belts, or by a specialized latching device, such as an Isofix latch, carried on the seating product and interfacing with a complementary device carried by the vehicle seat.
While the invention relates broadly to juvenile seating products, it is further described and illustrated in this application with reference to a child safety seat of the type generally described above, it being understood that the invention is not so limited.
Child safety seats typically include a hard plastic shell to which are attach various fittings such as a seat occupant restraint harness and adjusting strap, securing latches, padding and a dress cover. Side torso protection is provided by the combination of the hard shell and the overlying padding. Head protection often includes separate outwardly-projecting side wings on the upper headrest part of the shell that limit the extent of sideways head movement and cushion the limited sideways head movement that does occur.
Head and torso side impact protection is thus provided by the hard plastic of the shell and the overlying protective padding elements. However, impacts sufficient to "bottom out" the outer padding layers can cause severe lateral movement of the entire seat with the potential of wrenching the seat from its anchoring elements and increasing the severity of injury to the seat occupant. Simply adding more and more side padding is not a satisfactory solution, in that it increases the weight, mass and volume of the seat. Increasing the weight and mass of the seat results in greater latent energy stored in the seat, and thus the potential for greater damage in the event of a severe side impact.
Therefore, there is a need for a child safety seat that provides enhanced side impact protection without an increase in weight, mass and volume.

Juvenile seating with resilient side impact protection


The present invention provides a board game and a method of playing a board game in which players follow a path while acquiring competition cards that are provided in certain classes and have varying game values and features. These cards are employed by players during a head-to-head competition phase in which players secretly select cards and the cumulative value of the selected cards determine which player wins a particular competition phase. The winning player may select one of the losing player's cards that were used in the competition. The game is won when a player acquires cards totaling over a certain value and that player reaches a final destination along the path.

Currently there are numerous board games available to the public in which the players use tokens or game pieces which follow a path provided on a game board. During the game, the players move along the path and follow instructions printed on the path or are given options from which to choose. These board games are typically involve the players attempting to be the first to reach or accomplish a common goal in order to win the game.
Generally, board games can be divided into three types of games: race games, acquisition games, and strategy games.
The first type of game, race games, are "races" in that the first player to reach the goal is the winner. In this type of game, the players usually do not have any direct effect on their opponent's game, thus limiting game strategy to decision which only benefit or hinder themselves (e.g., which path to follow). Some prior art games that fall into this category include Candyland® and Life®.
The second type of game, acquisition games, involve the attainment, usually through purchase with game scrip, of components or other game commodities. Typically, to win the game, the players attempt to collect the commodities the fastest. Usually, the amount of scrip and number of commodities are limited, thus some strategy is involved in determining which commodities should be purchased. These types of games, however, do not allow for direct competition between the players. The players merely take passive actions which may or may not immediately affect their opponents (e.g., charging rent to opponents to occupy a particular space). Examples of this type of game include Cooties® and Monopoly®. One drawback of these games is that once a player obtains a desirable commodity it is almost impossible to cause that player to relinquish that commodity, leaving other players less opportunity to win the game.
The third type of game, strategy games, are typically battle or combat related in which players attempt to defeat their opponents by attacking their opponent's game pieces/positions while defending their own. These games involve a great deal of strategy as each player is attempting to directly affect each of the opposing players. Examples of this type of game include chess and Risk®. These games suffer from the drawback that the players must either rely on strict predetermined rules (e.g., "attacking" player in chess always takes the "defending" piece) or must rely on chance to determine whether a move is successful (e.g., rolling dice against each other). Leaving critical portions of the game to chance, however, is often an undesirable means of determining whether your game strategy is effective.
The present invention provides for a game and a method of playing the game that overcomes all of the above stated drawbacks.

Card-based board game and method of playing the same


When an optical disc apparatus of the present invention writes to an optical disc, it detects the level of the drive voltage for its laser drive circuit and, based on the detected level, adjusts the drive voltage for its laser diode so as to adjust the drive voltage for the laser drive circuit to a level within an appropriate range. Further, the write speed is also adjusted in accordance with the above adjustment of the drive voltages for the laser drive circuit and the laser diode.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc apparatus for writing data and/or reading data by use of a laser beam, and more particularly to a laser driving technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the write speed of an optical disc apparatus increases, its writing power must be increased, which requires an increase in the intensity of the laser beam emitted by the laser diode. This can be achieved by increasing the drive voltage applied to the laser diode. Without special arrangement, an increase in the drive voltage for the laser diode results in a reduction in the drive voltage applied to the laser drive circuit if the power supply voltage is constant. To prevent this, conventional optical disc apparatuses include a booster circuit connected between the power supply and the laser drive circuit to control the drive voltage for the laser drive circuit so that it always exceeds a predetermined level.
Prior art techniques for controlling the drive voltage for the laser drive circuit include, for example, those described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2003-168232 and 2003-78202. Specifically, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-168232 discloses an optical disc apparatus adapted to maintain the intensity of its laser beam at a constant level. This optical disc apparatus includes a laser beam emitting means (or laser diode) for emitting a laser beam and a drive means (or laser drive circuit) for driving the laser beam emitting means, wherein the intensity of the laser beam emitted from the laser beam emitting means is detected and the power supply voltage of the drive means is adjusted based on the detection result. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-78202 discloses a semiconductor laser drive circuit (or a laser drive circuit) for driving a plurality of semiconductor laser devices (or laser diodes) having different operating voltages one at a time. This laser drive circuit includes a power supply for generating different level power supply voltages each corresponding to one of the operating voltages of the above semiconductor laser devices, wherein the laser drive circuit drives each semiconductor laser device by applying the power supply voltage corresponding to the operating voltage of the semiconductor laser device.

Optical disc apparatus and method for writing data using laser beam


A vehicle structure, preferably applied to a vehicle with 2-door automobiles with the intention of inhabitation of center pillar deformation, particularly intrusion inside the vehicle, as a side impact collision, including: a rear roof rail which is placed in a reward position of a center pillar and which forms a rear end of a roof of a vehicle; and a connector which connects a closed section formed on the center pillar and a closed section formed on the rear roof rail so that the first and the second closed sections are formed into a continuous closed section and which includes a side roof rail part which forms a portion of a side roof rail that extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle structure preferably applied to a vehicle with 2-door automobiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a vehicle has side roof rails extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on the upper positions of both sides and center pillars extending in the vertical direction behind door apertures. The upper end of a center pillar is coupled to a corresponding side roof rail, and the lower end thereof is coupled to a side sill.
There is provided a rear roof rail at the rear end of a roof of the vehicle, and each end of the rear roof rail are coupled to one of the side roof rails. These parts arranged as mentioned above, form an upper structure of the vehicle.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2543203 proposes a technique concerning a vehicle structure which an end of a rear roof rail is coupled to a connection between a rear pillar inner and a reinforcement of a center pillar.
However, in spite of efforts made by various conventional techniques, it has been difficult to ensure adequate strength to inhibit a deformation of the center pillar, particularly intrusion inside the vehicle, upon a side impact collision. In other words, such a conventional technique has a possibility of separation of the center pillar from a connection with the side roof rail and resultant intrusion of the center pillar inside the vehicle if a large force is laterally applied to the vehicle.
Additionally, the technique disclosed in the above patent Publication can improve the strength of each connection of parts but can be used only when a center pillar and a rear roof rail are at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Therefore, the technique can be applied on vehicles of limited types. Further, the technique merely strengthens the connection between the center pillar and the rear roof rail and problematically, cannot acceptably prevent the center pillar to deform when a side impact collision.
With the foregoing problems in view, the object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle structure with a center pillars whose strength is greatly increased so that the center pillar is not deformed and particularly does not intrude inside the vehicle upon a side impact collision.

Mitsubishi, Jidosha Engineering Kabushiki Kaisha


The invention relates to the fabrication of a cylindrical storage node in a stacked capacitor cell of DRAM. As is usual, a MOS transistor is fabricated in a silicon substrate, and interlayer insulator and interconnection are formed on the substrate. As an upper interlayer insulator film which serves as an etch stop film, a silicon nitride or silicon oxide film is formed, and this film is overlaid with a planarizing film such as a BPSG film. Then, a contact hole is formed and filled with a conductor to provide a storage node contact. After that the planarizing film is removed, and a cylindrical storage node is formed on the exposed etch stop film. The cylindrical part of the storage node is formed by patterning a relatively thick BPSG film so as to provide a cylindrical wall face, forming a polysilicon sidewall on the cylindrical wall face and then completely removing the BPSG film. At this stage the etch stop film retains sufficient thickness since this film was protected by the planarizing film at the stage of forming the storage node contact. So, no defects such as cavities develop in interlayer insulators. By this method the total thickness of interlayer insulators can be reduced, so that the storage node contact can be formed accurately and reliably.

This invention relates to the fabrication of a DRAM cell consisting of a MOS transistor and a capacitor which is stacked over the transistor, and more particularly to a method of producing a cylindrical storage node of the stacked capacitor.
In MOS DRAMs, since the introduction of the 1k DRAM in the early 1970s the memory density has been multiplied by 4 every 3 years with a reduction in memory cell area to 30-40%. Although the memory cell area is reduced, it is necessary to retain a sufficiently large storage capacitance in order to keep immunity to soft errors. In this regard, it is advantageous to employ stacked capacitor cells.
For further enhancement of the density of DRAM cells with furhter reduction in memory cell area, a stacked capacitor cell having a cylindrical capacitor is under development. The storage node of the cylindrical capacitor has a hollow cylinder of polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon) which stands vertically, and both the outer and inner surfaces of the cylinder are used as a capacitance area. With this structure the storage capacitance can be increased without enlarging the memory cell area.
For example, JP-A 2-260454 (1990) shows a method of producing the above-mentioned cylindrical capacitor.
In the accompanying drawings, FIG. 4 shows the structure of a memory cell produced by using a method according to JP-A 2-260454. On a p-type silicon substrate 60, a field oxide film 62 defines an active area. The memory cell has a MOS transistor 64 with a gate oxide film 66 and n.sup.+ -type source and drain regions 70, 72 in the substrate 60 and a gate electrode 68 on the substrate. Dielectric films 74 and 76 constitute an interlayer insulator. Bit line interconnection 82 on the interlayer insulator is connected to the source/drain region 70 of the transistor by a contact 80 provided by using a contact hole 78 in the insulator. The interconnection 82 is covered by a silicon oxide film 84, which is overlaid with a planarizing film 86 of borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), viz. silicon oxide doped with boron and phosphorus. On the planarizing film 86 there is another silicon oxide film 88 which is used as an etch stop film. The films 84, 86 and 88 constitute a second interlayer insulator. A cylindrical capacitor 94 stands on the silicon oxide film 88. The capacitor consists of a cylindrical storage node (viz. a lower plate) 96 having a closed bottom, a dielectric film 98 which covers the outer and inner surfaces of the storage node 96 and a conductor film (upper plate) 100 deposited on the dielectric film 98. The bottom of the storage node 96 is connected to one of the source/drain regions 70, 72 of the transistor by a contact 92 which is provided by using a contact hole 90 in the interlayer insulators.
FIGS. 5(A) to 5(F) illustrate a known process of forming the cylindrical storage node 96 in FIG. 4.
Referring to FIG. 5(A), the surface of the BPSG film 86 is planarized by a reflow treatment, and the silicon oxide film 88 is deposited to a thickness sufficient for an etch stop film. Then the contact hole 90 for the storage node is formed by photolithography and etching.
Referring to FIG. 5(B), a conductor film (not shown) is deposited on the etch stop film 88 until the contact hole 90 is filled with the deposited conductor 92, and then the conductor film is removed by an etch-back treatment so as to leave the conductor 92 only in the contact hole 90. It is inevitable that the etch stop film 88 also undergoes etching and consequently) considerably reduces thickness.
Referring to FIG. 5(C), a polysilicon film 96A is deposited on the etch stop film 88, and a relatively thick BPSG film 102 is deposited on the polysilicon film 96A. Then, the BPSG film 102 and the underlying polysilicon film 96A are patterned into the shape of a solid cylinder by photolithography and etching. The BPSG film 102 in the cylindrical shape becomes a temporary core of the aimed cylindrical storage node.
Referring to FIG. 5(D), a polysilicon film 96B is deposited on the etch stop film 88 so as to entirely cover the BPSG core 102 and the underlying polysilicon film 96A.
Referring to FIG. 5(E), the polysilicon film 96B is subjected to etch-back by anisotropic etching so as to leave the film 96B only as a cylindrical sidewall on the side face of the BPSG core 102 and the underlying polysilicon film 96A. After that, as shown in FIG. 5(F), the BPSG core 102 is completely removed by selective etching with high selectivity to the BPSG core 102 relative to the etch stop film 88. The polysilicon film 96A lying on the etch stop film 88 and the cylindrical sidewall part of the polysilicon film 96B constitute the cylindrical storage node 96 shown in FIG. 4.
In the above process, the etch stop film 88 is repeatedly exposed to etching solutions or gases. Therefore, it is likely that the etch stop film 88 in FIG. 5(F) is unduly thin or has openings. Then, the etching solution penetrates into the BPSG film 86 and locally dissolves the film 86 to form some cavities 106. When cavities exist in the BPSG film 86, subsequent heat treatments will induce unexpected stress in the film 86, and the dielectric film of the capacitor may be damaged by the influence of the stress.
If the initial thickness of the etch stop film 88 is greatly increased to compensate for the inevitable loss of film thickness, it becomes difficult to form the contact hole 90 because etching is liable to terminate before reaching the substrate surface. Incompleteness of the contact hole 90 is a cause of an open contact defect of the storage capacitor and a resultant bit error.
When the etch stop film 88 is very thick, it is conceivable to omit the planarizing BPSG film 86 to avoid undesriable increase in the total thickness of interlayer insulators. However, in that case the etch stop film 88 has a stepped profile reflecting steps on the underlying layer. So, in the photolithography for forming the contact hole 90 a resist pattern is formed on an unplanarized surface, and therefore there is a possibility of inaccurate opening of the contact hole 90. For this reason, the storage node contact is likely to be defective.

Method of producing cylindrical storage node of stacked capacitor in memory cell


A power supply device includes a switching amplification unit that supplies power to a load, a linear amplification unit that corrects an output voltage applied to the load according to an input signal, and a power supply control unit that controls the power supply of the linear amplification unit according to the input signal.

In a digital modulation method used for recent wireless communication such as a mobile phone or a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a modulation format of QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) or multivalued QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) is employed.
In such a modulation format, generally, the locus of a signal is accompanied by amplitude modulation during a change between systems. This causes, in the case of a high-frequency modulation signal that is superimposed on a carrier signal of a microwave band, a change in amplitude (envelope) of the signal over time. In this case, the ratio of peak power to average power of the high-frequency modulation signal is referred to as PAPR (Peak-to-Average Power Ratio).
When a signal having large PAPR is amplified, to secure high linearity, sufficiently large power must be supplied from a power source to an amplifier so as to prevent a waveform from being distorted with respect to the peak power. In other words, the amplifier must be operated with a margin (back-off) in a region of power sufficiently lower than saturated power limited by a power supply voltage. Generally, in a linear amplifier operated with a grade A or a grade B, power efficiency is highest near its saturated output power. Thus, when the amplifier is operated in a large back-off region, average efficiency is lower.
In an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) method using a multicarrier employed in a next-generation mobile phone, wireless LAN, or digital television broadcasting, PAPR tends to be very large, and the average efficiency of the amplifier is much lower. Thus, as characteristics of the amplifier, desirably, high efficiency is provided even in the large back-off power region.
As a method for amplifying a signal to high efficiency over a wide dynamic range in the large back-off power region, there is known a transmission method such as Envelope Elimination and Restoration (EER) or Envelope Tracking (ET).
In the EER method, first, an input modulation signal is decomposed into its phase component and its amplitude component. The phase component is input to a power amplifier at constant amplitude while phase modulation information is maintained. In this case, the power amplifier is always operated near saturation where efficiency is highest. On the other hand, in the case of the amplitude component, the output voltage of the power supply device is changed according to amplitude modulation information, and this is used as power for the amplifier.
Thus operated, the power amplifier operates as a multiplier, the phase component and the amplitude component of the modulation signal are synthesized, and an output modulation signal amplified with high efficiency irrespective of back-off is obtained.
In the ET method, a configuration in which the amplitude component of the input modulation signal changes the output voltage of the power supply device according to amplitude modulation information, and this is used as power for the amplifier is similar to that of the EER method. A difference is that while in the EER method, the amplifier is operated in the saturated manner by inputting only the phase modulation signal of constant amplitude to the amplifier, in the ET method, the amplifier is operated in the linear manner by directly inputting the input modulation signal including both amplitude modulation and phase modulation to the amplifier.
In this case, efficiency is lower than that in the EER method because of the linear operation of the amplifier. However, since only minimum necessary power is supplied to the amplifier according to the size of the amplitude of the input modulation signal, higher power efficiency can still be obtained compared with a case where the amplifier is used at a constant voltage irrespective of amplitude. In the ET method, a timing margin for synthesizing the amplitude component and the phase component is weakened, thus providing an advantage of easier realization than the EER method.
The modulation power supply device used in the EER method or the ET method must be a voltage source that can accurately and highly efficiently change the output voltage with low noise according to the amplitude component of the input modulation signal. It is because in the recent wireless communication method such as a mobile phone using digital modulation, ACPR (Adjacent Channel Leakage Power Ratio) or EVM (Error Vector magnitude) representing a modulation error must be reduced to a fixed value or lower to meet the standard.
When the output voltage of the power supply device is not linear with respect to the input amplitude signal, ACPR or EVM deteriorates due to mutual modulation distortion. When the noise of the power supply enters into the output of the amplifier, ACPR also deteriorates.
It is said that in the EER method or the ET method, the response band (speed) of the power supply device must be at least twice as large as or more than that (speed) of the modulation signal. For example, according to the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) standard of the mobile phone, a modulation band is about 5 MHz. According to the IEEE 801.11 a/g standard of the wireless LAN, a modulation band is about 20 MHz. In the general power supply device of a switching converter configuration, it is difficult to output the modulation signal of such a wide band.
Related to the foregoing, Nonpatent Literature 1 (upper stage of FIG. 2) discloses, to achieve a highly efficient and high-quality voltage source, two basic configurations of hybrid voltage sources that combine highly efficient switching amplifiers with highly accurate linear amplifiers.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing, as one of the two hybrid voltage sources disclosed in Nonpatent Literature 1, the configuration of a power supply device having a voltage modulation function according to a first related technology. In the drawing, A1 is an equivalent circuit.
In the power supply device shown in FIG. 1, switching amplifier 2 operating as a current source and linear amplifier 3 operating as a voltage source are connected in parallel. With this configuration, highly accurate linear amplifier 3 plays the role of correcting output voltage Vout to be equal to reference signal Vref. On the other hand, switching amplifier 2 detects output current Ic from linear amplifier 3. Then, based on the result, control signal generation unit 4 controls switching elements 21 and 22.
Through such an operation, switching amplifier 2 operates as a current source, and the most part of power supplied to load 1 is supplied from highly efficient switching amplifier 2. Accordingly, since linear amplifier 3 that is high in accuracy but low in efficiency consumes only power necessary for eliminating ripples included in output voltage Vout, a voltage source that is high in both accuracy and efficiency can be achieved.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing, as the other of the two hybrid voltage sources disclosed in Nonpatent Literature 1, the configuration of a power supply device having a voltage modulation function according to a second related technology. In the drawing, A2 is an equivalent circuit.
In the power supply device shown in FIG. 2, switching amplifier 2 and linear amplifier 3 are connected in series. With this configuration, highly accurate linear amplifier 3 plays the role of applying feedback to and correcting output voltage Vout to be equal to reference signal Vref. On the other hand, switching amplifier 2 applies feedback to output voltage Vm to be almost equal to reference voltage Vref (or output voltage Vout obtained by linearly scaling the same), and control signal generation unit 4 controls switching elements 21 and 22.
Output voltage Vc of linear amplifier 3 is added to this in series, for example, by transformer 35. Through such an operation, the most power that is supplied to load 1 is supplied from highly efficient switching amplifier 2. Accordingly, since linear amplifier 3 that is high in accuracy but low in efficiency consumes only power necessary for eliminating ripples included in the output voltage, a voltage source that is high in both accuracy and efficiency can be achieved.
The configuration of the hybrid voltage source combining the switching amplifier with the linear amplifier is classified into one of those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Nonpatent Literature 2 (FIG. 6) discloses an amplifier where the configuration of the hybrid voltage source shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the power supply device of the ET method.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a transmission device that uses the power supply device shown in FIG. 1.
In the transmission device shown in FIG. 3, amplitude component 9 of the input modulation signal is input to a portion equivalent to reference voltage Vref shown in FIG. 1, and highly efficient and wide-band modulation voltage 11 that is obtained is supplied as power for power amplifier 1. Hereinafter, the specific operation of the transmission device shown in FIG. 3 will be described by using an operating waveform.
FIGS. 4a to 4c are diagrams each showing the operating waveform of the power supply device shown in FIG. 1.
First, amplitude signal 9 is input to linear amplifier 3 of a voltage follower including operational amplifier 31. In this case, as input amplitude signal 9, the envelope of a WCDMA downlink signal is used (refer to waveform 9 shown in FIG. 4a).
Then, output current (operational amplifier current) Ic of linear amplifier 3 is converted into a voltage at current detection resistor 7 to be input to hysteresis comparator 51 of control signal generation unit 4. In this case, hysteresis comparator 51 selects signal polarities to be High when current flows out from linear amplifier 3 (Ic>0) and Low when current flows in (Ic<0). Accordingly, a pulse width modulation signal is output according to the intensity of input amplitude signal 9. This pulse width modulation signal is used as the control signal of switching element 21 typically including MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor).
Switching element 21 constitutes a switching converter with diode 22. When control signal 50 from hysteresis comparator 51 is High, switching element 21 is turned ON (conductive state), and current flows from power source Vcc 1 to load 1. In this case, switching voltage Vsw is set to Vcc 1 (set to 15 V) (refer to waveform 10 shown in FIG. 4c). The current from switching element 21 is passed through inductor 23 (set to 0.6 uH) to be integrated, thus becoming switching current Im where a switching frequency component has been eliminated.
At output terminal Vout, Ic=Iout−Im is established. Thus, when switching current Im of switching amplifier 2 is excessive with respect to output current lout flowing from output terminal Vout to power amplifier 1, operational amplifier current Ic of linear amplifier 3 reversely flows (Ic<0), and starts to flow in a direction into operational amplifier 3.
As a result, the polarity of control signal 50 of hysteresis comparator 51 is reversed from High to Low, and switching element 21 is turned from ON to OFF (nonconductive state). At this time, to maintain the current flowing through inductor 23, current Im flows from ground (GND) to load (power amplifier) 1 via diode 22. Cathode potential Vsw of diode 22 is set to 0 V (refer to waveform 10 shown in FIG. 4c).
By repeating the aforementioned switching operation, switching current Im is supplied to load 1 alternately from Vcc 1 and GND (refer to waveform 13 shown in FIG. 4b).
Switching current Im 13 includes an error component generated by switching. However, a voltage is corrected by linear amplifier 3, and output signal 11 (refer to waveform 11 shown in FIG. 4c) is supplied to amplifier 1 by accurately reproducing and amplifying the waveform of input signal 9.
In the series of operations, the current (refer to waveform 14 shown in FIG. 4b) flowing through operational amplifier 31 that is low in efficiency is only an error component, and thus the power consumption of linear amplifier 3 is reduced. Since the most the input signal is amplified by highly efficient switching unit 2, the efficiency of the power supply device can be increased.
By performing the aforementioned EER or ET operation using output voltage Vout thus obtained as power for power amplifier 1, only minimum necessary power is supplied from the power supply device according to the amplitude of the input modulation signal. As a result, power amplifier 1 can always operate near saturation of high efficiency, and the power efficiency of the entire transmitter system including the power supply device and the power amplifier can be increased.
Related to the foregoing, Patent Literature 1 discloses an amplification circuit for amplifying an input signal, including a voltage source that operates with a first bandwidth and first power efficiency and generates a first signal having a voltage changed with the input signal, a current source that operates with a second bandwidth not wider than the first bandwidth and second power efficiency that is higher than the first power efficiency and generates a second signal having current changed with current in the first signal, and a load which is coupled in parallel between the voltage source and the current source and to which the first and second signals are applied.
Patent Literature 2 discloses an amplification device for amplifying the amplitude component of an input signal including the amplitude component and a phase component to synthesize it with the phase component, thereby generating an output signal obtained by amplifying the input signal, including a pulse modulation unit that generates a pulse modulation signal by subjecting the amplitude component of the input signal to pulse modulation to amplify it, a low-pass filter that generates an amplified amplitude signal by filtering the pulse modulation signal from the pulse modulation unit to amplify the amplitude component, an error correction unit that generates a corrected amplitude signal by correcting an error included in the amplified amplitude signal from the low-pass filter by using the amplitude component of the input signal, and a synthesis unit that generates an output signal by synthesizing the corrected amplitude signal from the error correction unit with the phase component of the input signal.

Power supply device, transmission device using same, and method for operating power supply device


A GPS positioning method to obtain pseudorange between a receiver terminal and a satellite by capturing a portion of received satellite signals of a predetermined time duration. A predetermined number of first input signals, equivalent to 1-bit of navigation data, are obtained with various delays in the starting point of processing. The first input signals are synchronously summed up to obtain second input signals. A PN code replica (pseudopattern) prepared by the receiver terminal operates on the second input signals to detect the polarity of the navigation bits and correct the polarity of the bits so that the bit polarity of the second input signals are always positive. Synchronous summation is conducted on the resulting signals, which have been derived from the complete captured signal, and a correlation calculation is conducted on the obtained synchronously summed signal using a replica PN code prepared by the receiver terminal, the signal delay value is detected and pseudorange is obtained using the result of the correlation calculation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a GPS position measuring method and a GPS position measuring system to obtain pseudoranges between a number of satellites and a roving receiver terminal by processing signals from the satellites, and then computing the position of the terminal. The receiver terminal achieves higher sensitivity than a conventional stand-alone GPS receiver by also receiving and utilizing aiding information transmitted from a base station, or server. Such a system is often called an assisted GPS system to distinguish it from a conventional stand-alone receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many GPS satellites are orbiting around the earth, and continuously transmitting signals at the same carrier frequency. A periodic pseudorandom noise (PN) code (called C/A code for GPS), which is different for each of the satellites, is transmitted by the satellite as biphase PSK modulation of the carrier. In GPS signals one frame (or period) of the C/A PN code is 1 msec (1 millisecond) long, as shown in FIG. 1, and the frame is repeated continuously. Navigation data, including information such as orbital parameters of the satellite, is also transmitted from the satellite as 50 bit/sec biphase PSK modulation. Each bit of this data is 20 msec long and contains 20 successive periods of the C/A code modulation, which are inverted for a data bit value of −1 and not inverted for a data bit value of 1.
An example of a conventional assisted GPS position measuring system which enhances sensitivity can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,734. In this system, as shown in FIG. 14, a receiving unit 104 has an RF to IF converter 106 provided with a GPS receiving antenna 105, an A/D converter 107 to convert analog signals from the RF to IF converter 106 into digital signals, a memory (digital snapshot memory) 108 to record output of the A/D converter 107, and a general-purpose programmable digital signal processing circuit 109 (referred to as a DSP circuit) to process the signals from the memory 108.
The receiving unit 104 also has a program EPROM memory 110 connected to the DSP circuit 109, a frequency synthesizer 111, a power regulator 112, a write address circuit 113, a microprocessor 114, a RAM memory 115, an EEPROM memory 116, and a modem 118 having a transmitting-receiving antenna 117 and connected to the microprocessor 114.
The operation of this conventional assisted GPS system is as follows: The base station 101 commands the receiving unit 104 to conduct measurement through a message transmitted by a data-communication link 119. The message transmitted by base station 101 contains a list of visible satellites identified by satellite ID number and the Doppler frequency shift for each satellite as received at the base station 101. The message is received by the modem 118 within the receiving unit 104, and stored in the RAM memory 115 connected to the microprocessor 114. The microprocessor 114 controls data information transfer between the write address circuit 113 and the modem 118, and controls power-management function in the receiving unit 104.
When the receiving unit 104 receives a command (from the base station 101, for example) to initiate processing of the GPS signal, the Doppler shift information for the visible satellites is also received. This Doppler information is stored in RAM memory 115 and the microprocessor 114 then activates the power regulator circuit 112 according to the command. The power regulator circuit 112 in turn activates the RF to IF converter 106, the A/D converter 107, the memory 108, the DSP circuit 109, and the frequency synthesizer 111 via power lines 120a through 120e. The signal from the GPS satellites received through the GPS receiving antenna 105 is digitized by the A/D converter 107 after being down-converted from RF to the IF frequency, and the digitized signal is stored in the memory 108.
The stored signal generally has a duration of 100 msec to 1 sec (or longer).
The DSP circuit 109 processes the signal stored in memory 108 to obtain the pseudorange for each of the satellites being considered. The DSP circuit 109 can use the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm to greatly accelerate the speed of the pseudorange calculations, which requires many cross-correlation operations between locally-made PN code references and the PN codes of the received GPS signals. As is well known in the art, the FFT can compute these cross-correlations much faster than direct time-domain correlation methods.
When the DSP circuit 109 completes the calculations of pseudorange for each of the satellites, this information is transmitted to the microprocessor 114 through an interconnect bus 122. The microprocessor 114 then utilizes the modem 118 to transmit the pseudorange data to the base station 101 through the data-communication link 119 for final position calculation.
In addition to the pseudorange data, a time lag can also be simultaneously transmitted to the base station 101. This lag is the time delay from the start of the data collection in the memory 108 to the transmission of the pseudorange data through the data communication link 119. Knowledge of this time lag enables the base station 101 to determine when data collection actually started, which is necessary in order to compute the positions of the rapidly moving satellites at that moment. These positions are used in the calculations of the pseudoranges, which in turn are used by the positioning algorithm to obtain an accurate position of the roving receiver.
The modem 118 utilizes the separate transmitting-receiving antenna 117 to transmit and receive the message through the data-communication link 119. The modem 118 includes a communications receiver and a communications transmitter, both of which are connected to the transmitting-receiving antenna 117. Similarly, the base station 101 uses a separate transmitting-receiving antenna 103 to transmit and receive data link messages. The base station 101 can continuously receive the GPS signals through a separate GPS receiving antenna 102.
It is expected that the necessary time for pseudorange calculation by the DSP circuit 109 is less than a few seconds according to the amount of data stored in the memory 108 and the speed of the DSP circuit 109 (or several DSP circuits, if required).
As previously described, the memory 108 captures a signal record corresponding to a relatively long period of time (perhaps 100 msec to 1 second or more). All pseudoranges to the visible GPS satellites can be calculated using this same large stored block of data, which permits enough processing gain to achieve higher sensitivity than a GPS receiver using standard continuous tracking techniques. Thus, superior performance is obtained at a low signal reception levels (caused by buildings, trees, etc. blocking the signals). However, more processing is required as compared to a standard receiver. Such processing can be achieved by using efficient techniques such as the FFT or other fast convolution methods.
The object of the signal processing conducted by the DSP circuit 109 is to determine the delay of received PN code waveforms relative to similar locally-generated PN code wave forms. The received GPS signal (C/A code) is composed of repeating pseudorandom PN frames, each frame consisting of 1023 chips at a nominal chipping rate of 1.023×106 chips/sec. Thus the duration of each frame is 1 msec.
The signal processing steps performed by the DSP circuit 109 are shown in FIGS. 15A through 15E. FIG. 15A shows the repeating frames of the received PN code and their relationship to the data bits of the navigation message. Although there are actually 20 PN frames within each navigation data bit. FIG. 15A shows 4 frames per bit for the sake of simplicity. The polarity of the 4 PN frames within a bit is reversed if the bit is 0 (it is convenient to think of the bit value as −1 in this case) and is not reversed if the bit is 1. The first step in processing is to coherently add the 4 (actually 20) PN frames within each data bit, producing the result shown in FIG. 15B. This process (also called coherent synchronous addition) adds corresponding chips in each of the 4 (actually 20) PN frames to produce a result that looks like a single PN frame per navigation data bit, with its polarity inverted if the data bit is 0 (−1) and not inverted of the data bit is 1.
For simplicity of explanation, in FIG. 15 it is assumed that the locations of the navigation data bit boundaries are known, resulting in the proper grouping of the 4 PN frames to be synchronously added. In reality the locations of the bit boundaries are not known. This could cause a problem. For example, if the first of the 4 frames to be synchronously averaged were frame 2 in FIG. 15A, then the change in navigation data bit from 0 to 1 (occurring at the beginning of frame 4) would cause frames 4 and 5 to cancel out frames 2 and 3. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,734, which exemplifies the system being described here, no provision is made for determining the locations of the navigation data bit boundaries. This is a disadvantage, since the processing gain can be significantly reduced due to the aforementioned cancellation when the grouping of the frames is such that navigation data bit for some frames in the group is 0 (−1) and for other frames is 1. Thus, a solution to this problem is needed.
After each group of 4 PN frames are synchronously added, each of the resulting 1 msec waveforms of FIG. 15B is correlated with a replica of the PN code to produce the correlation functions shown in FIG. 15C. Note that the polarity of the peak value of a correlation function is positive when the polarity of the result of the synchronous summation is the same as the polarity of the replica PN code in the receiver, and negative when the polarities are opposite.
FIG. 15D shows the magnitudes of the correlation results of FIG. 15C, which are always positive and do not reflect the polarity changes caused by the navigation data bits. The results of the correlation calculations obtained as magnitudes are then synchronously added to produce the result shown in FIG. 15E (this process is often called noncoherent synchronous addition).
At this point the sensitivity (S/N ratio) has been greatly enhanced by the coherent synchronous coherent addition of many groups of PN frames (for example, 1000 frames occur in 1 second of signal data), followed by cross-correlation and noncoherent synchronous summation of the magnitudes of the correlation functions.
Another conventional GPS position measuring system, appearing in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,946, will now be described. This system is similar to the previously described system in that the roving terminal captures a portion the GPS signals (perhaps 100 msec to 1 sec or more) as it emerges from the A/D converter. The stored data contains repeating frames of the C/A code of each visible satellite, and, as described earlier, some of the frames have inverted polarities according to the sign of the GPS navigation data bits. However, this system differs from the previous one in that the base station (server) detects the same navigation data bit sequence that is being received by the roving terminal and transmits it to the roving terminal, thus permitting the terminal to remove the data modulation from its stored signal. This process, referred to as homogenization, makes the polarities of all PN code frames to be the same, and permits synchronous summation of all received frames. As constrasted to coherent synchronous summation of only 20 frames per data bit, the processing gain thereby obtained is much greater than would otherwise be possible, and results in a very high sensitivity of the roving receiver terminal.
However, the sequence of the navigation data bits as received by the server and that received by the terminal are not necessarily in time alignment, because of unknown and variable delays in the server-to-terminal communication link. One method of solving this problem would be for the receiver terminal of the GPS position measuring system to send a timing signal to the server, which in turn could send a timing signal back to the terminal, permitting the terminal to determine the communication delay. Knowledge of the communication time delay would permit determination of the phase difference of the navigation data from the base station and the corresponding data collected at the terminal. The former bit sequence could thereby time-aligned with the latter, permitting homogenization of the PN frames at the terminal. Ideal noise reduction would then be obtained by synchronous summation after the homogenization.
However, in many communication links, such as Internet or packet communication, the communication delay is highly variable and unknown, which prevents the above solution from being effective. In this case the data bit sequence sent by the server to the receiver terminal must be repeatedly scanned with shifts to many different positions in time in order to find the proper time alignment. For each value of shift, all coherent summations must be repeated in order to detect the signal. This can greatly increase the response time required to obtain the position of the receiver terminal. It is therefore a great disadvantage that receiver signal processing can not be conducted within a practical response time for high-sensitivity position determination without the strict requirement of knowing the communication time delay in the communication circuit.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a GPS position determination method and a GPS position measuring system in which the position of the receiver terminal is measured with super-high sensitivity and a short response time, even if the server-terminal communication link has greatly variable communication delay and the satellite signal is received inside a building, etc., namely, the satellite signal is attenuated.

GPS position measuring method and GPS position measuring system


A water heater tank is designed to be installed within a wall to provide substantially instantaneous and continuous hot water when the faucet is activated. The tank maintains water at a hot temperature to be mixed, if necessary, with standing water from the main hot water line. The tank includes a narrow channel through which the water traverses as it proceeds through the tank. A controller calculates the appropriate mixing ratio of the water sources depending on the desired water temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to providing hot water to the end user, in particular, for providing hot water substantially instantaneously to the user upon activation of the faucet.
2. Background of the Invention
In a typical household or apartment setting, obtaining hot water from a faucet requires the user to wait for a period of time, sometimes as long as several minutes, after turning on the faucet. This delay is primarily because the heating tank is usually located in the basement of the building or somewhere far from the faucet being used. Remote placement of the heating tank is common in North America and other regions where the space near the faucet, such as in kitchens and bathrooms, is limited. When the faucet is not turned on, the water in the piping between the hot water source and faucet loses its heat to the surroundings. Due to the substantial amount of piping in some homes and the corresponding exposed surface area of the water contained therein, after a minimal amount of time, the water drops to room temperature. As a result, all of this standing water must be flushed out before hot water from the water heater reaches the faucet. In addition, while waiting for the standing water in the pipes to exit the faucet, users generally continue to adjust the hot and cold dials, often overcompensating the percentage of hot or cold water, until the desired temperature is reached. The desired temperature, however, is only consistently maintained after all the standing water in the hot water pipes has been flushed out.
One of the simplest and cheapest solutions to mitigate this problem is to place the water heater closer to the faucet. An obvious drawback is that the limited space in bathrooms and kitchens cannot comfortably or aesthetically accommodate a 30 or 40 gallon water heater. In addition, multiple tanks throughout the house is not energy efficient.
Point-of-use heaters, which are currently available, heat water only as needed. They are generally smaller than conventional water tanks so they can be located in the same room as the faucet, although they cannot be readily concealed behind a wall. Moreover, point-of-use gas heaters require additional lines for the gas, a ventilation system for air intake, and an exhaust for combustion. Industrial point-of-use heaters, on the other hand, require substantial electrical power which is typically too much for the home. Electrically powered point-of-use heaters designed for residential use only raise the water temperature to take the "chill out." They are more common in warmer climates where the heating requirements are less.
Finally, hot water can be recirculated to keep the water in the hot water pipes hot. This type of system is mostly used for hotels and large buildings, and the cost of implementing such a system for a residential home is prohibitively expensive.
One company, In-Sink-Erator.TM., sells a system for providing water at 190.degree. F. instantly for making hot drinks. The system essentially comprises a separate faucet attached to a small heated reservoir under the sink. This device, called Steamin' Hot.TM., provides water at a temperature normally not obtainable through conventional water heaters because many states regulate the maximum water heater temperature setting to prevent scalding. This product, however, does not address the present problem of the time delay and temperature fluctuation associated with faucets and showers.
Merloni Termo Sanitari Company manufactures a product called Ariston.TM. which is a small water heater with a 2.4 or 4 gallon capacity. Although much smaller than a conventional water heater, it requires bulky insulation and is not designed to fit inside the walls of a house. More importantly, it does not keep the hot water inside the tank separate from the incoming cool water. This is essential for smaller tanks to provide uninterrupted hot water until the hot water from the hot water pipe arrives.
Currently, there are patents and devices on the market regulating water temperature through the use of servo controlled valves. Home use applications, however, have been limited primarily because of the high cost of the devices. Recently, Hass Mfg..TM. and American Standard.TM. have offered temperature regulating control systems called Intelli Faucet.TM. and Ultra Valve.TM., respectively. All of these temperature regulation means require a hot and a cold water supply source. Because these devices do not heat the water, they cannot provide the desired water temperature if the water in the hot water pipe is cooler than the desired water temperature. Thus, these temperature controllers cannot avoid the delay caused while flushing standing water from the hot water pipes.
Sprague, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,612, describes a water heating tank that can be installed inside a wall as a replacement for conventional water heating tanks. The patent describes a method for conserving space required by conventional water heaters. However, the Sprague water heater, having a thin profile, becomes larger and the surface area to volume ratio increases resulting in extraneous energy waste. In addition, the structural strength of the water tank must be made stronger to support the water if one were to use the Sprague device to replace a conventional tank.

System for providing substantially instantaneous hot water


An electronic gun lock for a firearm which includes an electronic lock enclosure, a locking shaft member, and an optional locking shell. The locking shell, if used, is disposed within a bullet chamber of the firearm, and is adapted to fit both the firearm's bullet chamber and the locking shaft member. The locking shaft member includes an axially moveable elongated locking rod which is moveable between an unlocked position where the locking rod is slidable with respect to the locking shell (or bullet chamber if no locking shell is used) and a locked position where the locking rod is restrained against axial movement with respect to the locking shell (or bullet chamber). A releasable actuator contactly engages and moves the locking rod between the unlocked position and the locked position. A solenoid includes a moveable arm and is responsive to a control signal to cause the moveable arm to allow the actuator to move the locking rod between the unlocked position and the locked position. An electronic combination code decoder is provided for decoding a sequence code entered through a pair of combination pushbutton code switches and for generating the control signal allowing the solenoid to be energized when the sequence code is correct.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gun locking devices and more particularly, it relates to an electronic gun lock for preventing unauthorized use of a gun, revolver, and the like which includes a solenoid responsive to a control signal and an electronic combination code decoder for decoding a sequence code and for generating the control signal causing the solenoid to be energized thus allowing a locking rod to be moved to the unlocked position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A prior art search directed to the subject matter of this application in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revealed the following U.S. Letters Patent:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,479,017 4,398,366 2,887,807 5,001,854 3,768,189 5,022,175
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,189 issued on Oct. 30, 1973, to Robert S. Goodrich, there is disclosed a firearm barrel lock which is formed of a combination lock body having three tumbler rings. A collar is disposed in front of the lock body and is slidable outwardly away therefrom when the tumbler rings are appropriately set to open the lock. The collar can then be rotated with respect to the lock body so as to expand or contract an expandable member. When the expandable member is compressed so as to cause it to frictionally engage the barrel of the firearm, the firearm barrel lock is prevented from removal, thereby eliminating unauthorized use of the firearm.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,366 issued on Aug. 16, 1983, to John J. Wernicki, there is taught a gun lock for a gun and is comprised of a dummy round rear member, a hollow intermediate rod, and a combination lock. The dummy member fits in a bullet chamber of the gun and includes locking ball receiving recesses for receiving locking balls disposed on the inner end of the intermediate rod. The intermediate rod has a slidably moveable central actuator with a cam end portion for forcing the locking balls radially outward to engage the recesses in the dummy member. The intermediate rod also includes circumferential recesses into which the locking balls can fall when the actuator is pressed in to move the cam portion. The combination lock abuts the outer end of the intermediate rod so as to prevent axial movement thereof toward the inner end of the intermediate rod, thereby insuring locking engagement of the locking balls with the locking ball receiving recesses.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,175 issued on Jun. 11, 1991, to Ockert P. H. Oncke et al., there is illustrated a safety arrangement for selectively disabling a firearm and consists of a control unit, an electronic decoder unit, an electronic driver stage, and a keypad unit. The control unit is adapted in the locked condition to lock the hammer mechanically against actuation by the trigger and in the unlocked condition to unlock the hammer to be actuable by the trigger for firing. The electronic decoder unit is adapted to decode input signals received from the keypad and to provide corresponding output signals. The electronic driver stage is adapted on receipt of the output signals from the electronic decoder unit to cause corresponding operation of the control unit for locking or unlocking the hammer. The keypad unit has a number of key buttons whose operation thereof functions to provide the input signals to the electronic decoder unit.
The remaining patents listed above but not specifically discussed are merely cited of general interest and to show the state of the art in the field of gun locking devices.
None of the prior art uncovered in the search disclosed an electronic gun lock for preventing unauthorized use of a revolver or other firearm like that of the present invention which includes a solenoid having a moveable arm and being responsive to a control signal for energization so as to cause the moveable arm to allow an actuator pin to move an axially moveable elongated locking rod between a free position and a locked position. An electronic combination code decoder is provided for decoding a sequence code entered through a pair of code switches for generating the control signal allowing the solenoid to be energized when the sequence code is correct.


An engine system includes a status determination module and an open-loop fuel control module. The status determination module determines whether a first ignition fuse is in a failure state. The open-loop fuel control module disables a first plurality of fuel injectors and actuates a second plurality of fuel injectors based on a first air/fuel (A/F) ratio when the first ignition fuse is in the failure state, wherein the first ignition fuse and the first plurality of fuel injectors correspond to a first cylinder bank, and wherein a second ignition fuse and the second plurality of fuel injectors correspond to a second cylinder bank.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Air is drawn into an engine through a throttle and distributed to a plurality of cylinders through an intake manifold of an intake system. Fuel is mixed with the intake air to create an air/fuel (A/F) mixture. The A/F mixture is combusted within cylinders of the engine to generate drive torque. More specifically, combustion reciprocally drives pistons that rotate a crankshaft to provide torque output from the engine.
Fuel is delivered to the cylinders by a fuel system that may include a fuel rail and a plurality of fuel injectors. Combustion within the cylinders is controlled by an ignition system that may include a plurality of ignition coils and a plurality of spark plugs. Exhaust gases are expelled from the cylinders and out of the engine through an exhaust system that may include an exhaust manifold and a catalytic converter.
The engine may include one or more banks of cylinders. An engine with one bank may be referred to as an inline engine because of the straight orientation of its cylinders. In an inline engine, each piston may be attached to a different crankpin on the crankshaft. Each of the plurality of cylinders may include a fuel injector that supplies the cylinder with fuel from a common fuel rail. Additionally, each of the plurality of cylinders may include a spark plug that supplies the cylinder with spark, and an ignition coil that supplies the spark plug with voltage.
An engine with two banks may be referred to as a V-type engine because of the angled orientation of its cylinders. The two banks may be aligned at an acute angle (i.e. less than 90°). For example, a V-6 engine may include two banks of three cylinders each. In a V-type engine, one piston from each cylinder bank may be attached to each crankpin on the crankshaft. In other words, two pistons may be attached to each crankpin.
A V-type engine is typically smaller than an inline engine of similar displacement. However, in V-type engines each ignition coil in the cylinder bank may share a common ignition fuse that is different from one or more fuses associated with the fuel injectors in the cylinder bank. Therefore, when the ignition fuse of a cylinder bank fails, the corresponding fuel injectors (operating on a different fuse) may continue injecting fuel. The injecting of fuel into cylinders that include inoperable ignition coils due to the failed ignition fuse may result in decreased performance, increased emissions, and/or damage to engine system components such as the catalytic converter.

Systems and methods for engine fuel control


A twisted stem internal abrading tool having molded axially curved swept back filaments is formed from a twisted stem internal finishing tool having strips of abrasive containing plastic arrayed in a radial pattern about a twisted tool stem. The filament end of the tool is inserted into an undersized mold cavity thereby forcing the filaments into an axially curved swept back configuration. With the filament end of the tool fully inserted into the mold, the mold is heated and quenched to permanently fix the filaments in an axially curved bent back configuration producing an abrading tool in which the lengths of the abrasive filaments are positioned for contact with internal surfaces, maximizing the amount of abrasive material put in contact with the work surfaces and increasing the abrading efficiency of the tool.

Twisted stem internal abrasive finishing tools such as are disclosed in Osborn Manufacturing catalog ABT-10 entitled, "Flexible Abrasive Brush Tools", and in co-pending patent Application Ser. No. 07/519,632 entitled "Abrasive Finishing Tool" are commonly used in the finishing of internal surfaces. These tools typically consist of individual plastic filaments containing abrasive material embedded homogeneously throughout which are placed in the bight of a cotter pin which is then clamped to form a slender shaft and twisted to hold the filaments in a radially extending arrangement. As shown in the Osborn catalog, the tool stems or shafts may be twisted to varying degrees to create a helical pattern of radially extending filaments. Such tools are effective in removing burrs, sharp edges, metal slivers from threaded bores, and in cleaning and finishing of curved internal surfaces.
The abrasive and cleaning action of such tools is accomplished primarily at the radial tips of the individual filaments which come in direct radial contact with the work piece surfaces. For applications in which the length of the filaments is approximately equal to the internal diameter of the hole to be abraded, only the tips of the filaments are utilized in the finishing process. It is desirable to have a greater portion than the tip of each abrasive filament come in contact with the work piece to increase the amount of abrasive material contacting with the work piece per revolution of the tool stem. This increases the working efficiency of the tool. However, in part because of the stiffness of the relatively short filament, it is difficult to insert an unmolded helical tool into an undersized hole. The axial curvature and bent back sweep induced into the filaments as they are forced into the hole is not of a controlled or permanent nature.
To apply a greater portion of each filament to the work piece, thereby putting a greater amount of abrasive material in contact with the work piece in a controlled and fixed manner, and increasing the working efficiency of the tool, it is desirable to have a finishing tool and a method to produce such tool in which the filaments are permanently positioned or set a transaxial in S-shape curve yet axially swept back configuration so that a portion of the length of each filament is put in contact with the work piece.

Internal abrading tool and method of making


A method and system are provided for implementing discrete step stabilization of AMR read sensors in tape or disk drives. In one implementation, a plurality of discrete step stabilizers and AMR read sensor elements are arranged with a rotational symmetry coupled with a plane inversion for an odd number of steps, and no inversion for an even number of steps. Preferably, the steps are oriented at 45 degrees, or approximately parallel to the desired bias direction. For relatively narrow track widths (e.g., approximately 5 microns), the edges of the sensor element nearest the permanent magnets are especially important to stabilize. Therefore, in one implementation, an edge of a stabilizer preferably intersects the edge of the sensor element at one half of the stripe height. Also, the rising and falling edges of the stabilizers do not always have the same slope. In order to compensate for the different slopes of a stabilizer's edges, the rising and falling edges of a stabilizer's pattern are interchanged by a “stabilizer phase” transformation to produce the complement (phase conjugate) of the stabilizer pattern. As such, if a single rising edge of a stabilizer pattern intersects the center of a sensor element, the “stabilizer phase” transformation changes this structure to a single falling edge that intersects the center of the sensor element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improved data storage technology, and in particular, but not exclusively, to a method and system for implementing discrete step stabilization of narrow-track, Anisotropic Magneto-Resistive (AMR) read sensors in magnetic media storage systems.
2. Background of the Invention
Tape drives are peripheral mass storage devices often used to archive data on tapes for later access. In certain applications, huge amounts of data are stored directly on magnetic tape for later retrieval and analysis. Tape drives are also used as random access devices in data storage applications where the cost of storage is more important than access time.
Data can be stored or written onto a magnetic media (tape or disk) by selectively magnetizing regions of the media with a write head. The magnetized regions of the media produce a magnetic field that can be detected and converted into an electrical signal by a read head. A common type of read head used for carrying out this conversion is an AMR read head.
More precisely, the operation of reading data from the magnetic media is performed by sensing the magnetic polarity transitions on the media as it is moved across a read head in a longitudinal direction. The magnetic transitions on the media present a varying magnetic field to a read transducer in the read head. The read transducer converts the magnetic field into an analog read signal that is delivered to a read channel for processing. The read channel converts this analog signal into one or more digital signals that are processed by a computer system.
In thin-film heads including a plurality of transducer elements, AMR sensors are often used to read information from the magnetic media, because of the increased sensitivity of the AMR sensors during read operations. During a read operation, an AMR sensor is held very near a disk or in contact with a tape, in order to sense the varying magnetic transitions on a particular track. A constant DC (bias) current is passed through the AMR sensor, and the sensed varying magnetic transitions produce a variable voltage across the sensor due to its varying resistance. This variable voltage signal is the read analog signal, which is then processed and converted to digital form.
A common goal in the information storage industry is to magnetically stabilize AMR read elements so that the generated electrical signals are linear. This goal is frequently accomplished by controlling the boundary or end magnetic domains in the read sensors involved. In the past, this boundary magnetic control was provided by permanent magnets or magnetic exchange tabs attached to the ends of the sensors. However, the greater the width of the track containing the stored data, the less effective boundary magnetic control was at the center of the read sensor.
One technique used to overcome this limitation has been to form a periodic perturbation (grating structure) which creates a periodic magnetic charge that stabilizes the middle region of the sensor. However, the resulting periodic perturbation can interfere with the magnetic field of the permanent magnet(s). This interference problem is exacerbated as the read heads are made smaller.
An improved magnetic stabilization technique for MR read heads is described and claimed in related U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,156 entitled "NON-PENETRATION OF PERIODIC STRUCTURE TO PM". This technique limits the undulations of the periodic grating structure used for magnetic stabilization of an MR read sensor to regions that are not directly adjacent to the permanent magnets attached at either end of the sensor. This technique allows the permanent magnets to stabilize the magnetization near the ends of the sensor, and also allows the periodic structure to stabilize the magnetization in the middle region of the sensor without perturbing the permanent magnets.
Nevertheless, a significant problem that has arisen is that read sensors are being made narrower while the pitch of the periodic structures is constrained. For example, in one of the narrowest track sensors currently being produced, only a single stabilizer centered on the sensor is used. Consequently, it is no longer tenable to regard such a structure as periodic.
In actual fact the parts of a stabilizer that influence magnetic behavior are the steps located beneath the sensor (e.g., depressions precisely milled typically in an Aluminum Oxide/Alumina (Al2O3) underlayer directly beneath the sensor). Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved method and system for implementing discrete step stabilization of AMR read sensors including, for example, narrow-track, AMR read sensors.

Discrete step stabilization of narrow-track AMR read sensors


The portable foot and leg rest assembly includes a main body and an extendible support assembly attached to a lower surface of the main body. The main body includes a top portion, a base portion, and an intermediate portion provided between the base portion and top portion. The intermediate portion includes removable dual leaf members. The leaf members are attachable to the top portion. The extendible support assembly includes first and second leg members and a stand member. The first and second leg members slidably engage the base portion and the stand member. The stand member includes a control assembly which is configured to selectively lock the first and second leg members at a desired position and thereby set the portable foot and leg assembly at a desired height.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foot and leg support, and more particularly to a portable foot and leg rest assembly including a height adjustment feature.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices used for resting a foot or leg are generally known. When a person is seated for a long time, he or she may use a footstool, an ottoman, or a leg rest to provide comfort and support to the lower extremities. A comfortable resting position for the leg is generally at a different elevation than that of the resting position of the foot. Conventional devices cannot provide a comfortable resting elevation for both the leg and the foot. Accordingly, a user typically uses separate devices for resting the foot and the leg.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a foot and leg rest assembly that can be used as a leg rest and a foot rest.


Eyeglasses that can be hung around the wearer's neck, without the necessity of a chain or cord, can be rotated between a normal viewing position, a conventional storage position and a hanging position. In the hanging positions, the rear ends of temple arms are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of a normal wearer's neck. In embodiment in which a hinge between the lens frame and the temple arms can be pivoted about three orthogonal axes, the lens frame will lie flat against the wearer's chest or neck. Two hinge configurations that allow the lens frame to lie flat include a ball and socket joint and a multiple hinge joint. The temple arms can also be extended so that the eyeglasses will more comfortably fit around the wearer's neck in the hanging position.

1. Field of the Invention
As an alternative to using conventional straps to retain eyeglasses around the wearer's neck, the instant invention allows the temple piece or arm to rotate about its longitudinal axis so that the curved ends will rotate toward each other to reduce their spacing. When rotated in this manner the ear pieces can extend behind the wearer's neck to retain the glasses when not in use. This approach would be suitable for a user who cannot use his reading glasses for normal vision, or cannot use his normal glasses or even his bifocals for reading. It could also be used with sunglasses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,795 does disclose an eyeglass frame in which the temple pieces can be folded into a flat configuration so that the glasses can hang flat against a wearer's neck. However, the temple pieces can only be folded in a direction opposite from the orientation that would permit the earpieces to engage the wearer's neck to retain the glasses when not in use. These glasses require the use of a strap to retain them around the wearer's neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,403 discloses eyeglasses in which the temple and nose pieces are free to rotate so as to fit the profile of the wearer. These eyeglasses employ a ball and socket connection. It would appear that the ball and socket joint would permit rotation of the temple or earpiece about the longitudinal axis of the temple piece. There is, however, no description of this possibility, nor is there anything to suggest that this ball and socket configuration could be employed to position the temple pieces so that they would grip the wearer's neck. There is no detent on anything to hold the temple pieces in position, so even if the ear pieces could be folded into the proper orientation, there would be nothing to prevent them from returning to their original position, allowing the glasses to slip from the wearer's neck. The split ball configuration shown in this patent might also be too expensive to manufacture for this type application. The shape of the rear earpieces does not appear suited for gripping the rear of the wearer's neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,466 discloses eyeglasses having a ball and socket hinge. This ball and socket can pivot about a vertical axis and a horizontal axis perpendicular to the temple or ear pieces so that the temple pieces can be folded over the front or rear of the lens. However, the ball and socket joint does not permit the temple pieces to be folded about a horizontal axis through the temple pieces because there will be no clearance for the ball stem. Therefore, the temple pieces cannot be folded so that the ear pieces can grip the wearer's neck for retaining the eyeglasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,952 discloses eyeglasses with a constrained ball and socket joint. A collar is positioned to resist torsional rotation along the longitudinal axis of the earpiece. Therefore the earpiece cannot be rotated to grip the back of the wearer's neck
U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,981 discloses a ball and socket hinge, but this hinge appears to be intended for use on a door or door jam. The ball has a threaded member secured to the ball, and apparently the threaded member is screwed into a door or similar article. There is no apparent suggestion that the threaded member should be attached to a temple or earpiece employed in an eyeglass frame.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0270480 discloses another ball and socket hinge, but this hinge cannot be rotated as required for the invention under consideration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,690 is an example of a retainer or strap that can be mounted on a pair of glasses.


A wireless sensing system and method for wireless sensor interrogation are disclosed. The wireless sensing system includes a plurality of radio frequency sensors distributed within a predefined area, a wiring system with conductors distributed in proximity to the plurality of sensors for providing at least one of electrical power and ground distribution, and a forward communication link with an energizer air link coupled to the wiring system. The method for wireless sensor interrogation includes providing a plurality of radio frequency sensors distributed within a predefined area, providing a forward communication link including an energizer coupled to a wiring system with conductors in proximity to the plurality of sensors for providing at least one of electrical power and ground distribution, transmitting radio frequency signals through the wiring system and air linking transmitted radio frequency signals to the plurality of radio frequency sensors through the conductors.

Devices and systems are known for enabling secure, keyless access control including vehicular access control. An authorized person possesses a radio frequency (RF) device, for example an RF identification (ID) tag embedded in an identification badge or credit card-type medium to enable access. Building access systems may rely upon swiping the badge or card through an energizer/reader which interrogates the RFID tag and verifies that certain information carried by the RFID tag meets the security requirements to allow access. Similarly, a vehicular access control system may rely upon door handle activation to initiate an interrogation and verification. If the door handle operator possesses a key, a key fob, badge, card or the like including an RFID tag with information meeting the security requirements, the door locks are actuated to provide access to the vehicle. Additional interrogation may enable operative functionality of the vehicle systems, including keyless push-button starting, in similar fashion. Related RF based systems are in use for authorizing purchases where small RF devices intended primarily for coupling to a key chain are brought into proximity of an RF energizer/reader associated with a dispensing mechanism for the product being purchased. In such systems, the RF device stores information related to the user's credit card account for completing the transaction. Other systems are known for automating the collection process on toll roads where an RF device carried by a vehicle is interrogated and communicates information back to an RF energizer/reader associated with certain designated toll collection booths.
Passive wireless devices (i.e. those requiring interrogation before transmission) may be categorized as backscatter type which reflects back a characteristic signal to the energizer/reader subsequent to the energizer/reader sending an interrogation signal. The energizer/reader can identify and distinguish unique backscatter signatures. This type of wireless system is generally a lowest cost approach. Another type of wireless system receives the interrogation signal, rectifies the RF energy to a DC source and uses the DC energy to send information stored in sensor memory. Another type has its own power source—commonly a battery. The battery may be completely independent of the RF energizer/reader energy or alternatively recharged by the RF energizer/reader signal. In both of these latter wireless systems, the RF signal serves to interrogate or wake up the wireless device. Such wireless devices use the interrogation signal for initiating the provision of stored information back to the energizer/reader.
Electromagnetic emissions are regulated. Such regulations limit the RF energy emitted by an energizer/reader in the frequency band where RF devices operate. Current United States regulations limit such energy emissions to 4 watts. Similar regulations exist in other countries around the world. Such energy restrictions effectively limit the effective range between the energizer/reader and the RF device.
The communication links of an RF system including an energizer/reader and remote RF device are not balanced. That is to say, the energizer/reader emits a relatively greater amount of RF energy than does the RF device. The energizer/reader must be located close enough to the RF device to effectively energize and/or interrogate the RF device to effect the desired return response from the device. If too far away from the energizer/reader, or in an area of attenuated RF signal, the RF responsive device will not receive enough energy to backscatter, to appropriately energize and effect a response, or to distinguish the energizer/reader emission as an interrogation looking for a response.
RF device communication systems are generally limited due to regulations. Beginning with the forward communication link power limitation, losses in communicating to the RF device include propagation losses, RF device antenna inefficiencies and losses in the energy and signal conversions for signal processing and energy utilization at the RF device. And, these same types of inefficiencies are repeated within the RF device in the reverse communication link from the RF device to the energizer/reader. The remaining reverse communication link, which includes the energizer/reader front end and digital signal processing, however, is more robust being characterized by effective noise immunity and the ability to detect relatively low level signals. Therefore, RF device communication systems are generally more limited with respect to the forward communication link than with respect to the reverse communication link.
Effective systems therefore require designed proximity and orientation between the energizer/reader and the RF device to ensure proper operation. In conventional applications, the energizer/reader and the RF device are dynamically manipulated such that the proximity and orientation requirements for effecting the desired interaction are met. This may include, for example, manipulating the RF device into an appropriate position relative to a static energizer/reader, manipulating the energizer/reader into an appropriate position relative to a static RF device or combinationally manipulating the RF device and the energizer/reader into an appropriate cooperative orientation. Such systems are used, for example, in inventory management control and product tracking. One such system may convey goods carrying an RF device along a defined path which includes an energizer reader oriented such that the conveyance brings the RF device within the proper proximity and orientation of the energizer/reader to effect the desired operation. Another such system may make use of a portable or maneuverable energizer/reader for spot checking material at various ad-hoc locations within a distribution chain—for example at a receiving dock, a warehouse or just about anywhere within a distribution chain—by maneuvering the energizer/reader within the proper proximity and orientation of the RF device to effect the desired operation. These systems tend to be characterized by relatively narrow interrogation fields relative to the energizer/reader within which the RF device can be made to, or is reasonably anticipated to, temporally but sufficiently reside to effect the desired interrogation. These systems are not generally concerned with wide range interrogation fields which, in fact, might undesirably initiate unintentional interrogations of RF devices away from the intended RF device thereby complicating energizer/reader tasks associated with intelligibly discerning return signals.


The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for providing revisional delta billing and re-billing in a dynamic project environment. A method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes capturing data points associated with a first billing at a first point in time, capturing data points associated with a second billing at a second point in time, comparing the data points captured at the first and second points in time; and generating a revisional delta bill based on differences between the data points captured at the first and second points in time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computerized billing systems. More particularly, the present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for providing revisional delta billing and re-billing in a dynamic project environment.
2. Related Art
Information Technology (IT) projects that provide services to individual employees often need to bill those employees' business units for materials or labor. The materials or labor can vary between employees, depending upon the individual employee's existing hardware or software configuration, environmental conditions, network connection, requirements for system modifications or system capabilities, etc. For example, during a migration from a token ring to an Ethernet network:
(A) There may be different types of Ethernet adapters required for different types of systems;
(B) Some employees may need patch cables;
(C) Some employees may need specialized connectors to plug a cable into a particular type of wall port; and
(D) The time needed to migrate each system may vary depending upon the system's hardware and software configuration.
Because of the highly dynamic nature of such a project, where metrics are constantly in flux, it often becomes difficult to manage the revisional delta billing and re-billing processes, particularly where timely revisional delta billing and timely re-billing is required. This is especially true for large projects involving thousands of employees and thousands of systems.

Method for providing revisional delta billing and re-billing in a dynamic project environment

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods of interfacing with a terminal based operating system include receiving a block of text including a plurality of lines of text, displaying the block of text on a terminal window, presenting a selection cursor on the displayed block of text at a cursor location on the terminal window, wherein a size of the block of text is equal to a screen size of the terminal window, receiving a cursor selection while the cursor is positioned at the cursor location, presenting a menu including menu options corresponding to available actions that can be taken, receiving a command corresponding to one of the menu options, identifying a text object associated with the cursor location wherein a size of the block of text is equal to a screen size of the terminal window, and executing the one of the menu options on the text object.

The present disclosure relates to computer systems, and more specifically, to client/server based computer systems in which information is transmitted to a client application in a screen-at-a-time based communication protocol.
In client/server computing environments, a client application obtains computing services from a server application, which may, for example, be hosted by a remote server. The client/server model of computing was originally developed to permit so-called "dumb" terminals to provide access to computing resources provided by mainframe computers. The function of the terminal was to receive user input, transmit a request to a mainframe computer, receive a response from the mainframe computer, and format and display data contained in the response for the user. The terminal was not required, and indeed often not able, to perform any substantial data processing.
In many instances, dumb terminals have been replaced with powerful personal computers, including desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile computing devices, etc. However, even with the availability of substantial processing power at the terminal level, client/server computing is still an important computing paradigm, due to the popularity of web-based applications, the utility of the hypertext transfer protocol, and the need to access remote databases for information. Furthermore, many mainframe applications are still in use worldwide. In order to access such applications, terminal emulator programs that can be used to access mainframe computers from personal computers are widely available. For example, a 3270 emulator is a computer program that duplicates the functions of an IBM 3270 mainframe computer terminal.
The IBM 3270 terminal interface is a standard interface designed to enable a terminal to communicate with mainframe computers. Due to restrictions on the memory and computational capacity of early mainframes, as well as restrictions on the amount of bandwidth available for communicating with terminals, the 3270 terminal interface was designed to minimize the amount of data transmitted between the terminal and the mainframe, and to minimize the frequency of interrupts presented to the mainframe.
To address these goals, the IBM 3270 terminal interface was designed to support a "screen-at-a-time" communications model with the terminal. In a "screen-at-a-time" communication model, the mainframe computer transmits an entire screen of data to the terminal at once. The terminal then formats and displays the screen of data for the user according to the 3270 interface. The standard 3270 screen consists of 24 lines of 80 characters each, for a total of 1920 characters. Other 3270 screen sizes were defined, such as 32×80, 43×80 and 27×132.
A screen of 3270 data transmitted from a mainframe to a terminal is referred to as a "data stream," which is essentially a large block of data. Transferring data in large blocks reduces the number of I/O interrupts that the mainframe must handle. A data stream includes both text and control characters, which allows the terminal to "paint" an entire screen in a single operation. The screen may be divided into clusters of contiguous character cells for which various attributes can be set, such as color, highlighting, character set, protection, etc.
The 3270 interface defines a "read buffer" method that transfers the entire contents of the 3270-screen buffer, including field attributes, to the mainframe. This method is primarily used for debugging purposes. To reduce the amount of data that is transmitted back to the mainframe, the 3270 interface also defines a "read modified" method that transfers back to the mainframe only changes from one or more formatted fields that have been modified by the user, but without sending any unmodified fields or static data. This technique reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, and thereby increases the number of terminals that a mainframe can support.
The Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) is a software product for the z/OS operating system that runs on IBM mainframes. ISPF provides an IBM 3270 terminal interface by means of a set of panels. Each panel may include menus and/or dialogs that provide a user interface. This interface allows a user to execute tools on the mainframe in an underlying time sharing environment using, for example, the Time Sharing Option (TSO) facility. ISPF is frequently used to manipulate z/OS files, referred to as "data sets," via its Program Development Facility (ISPF/PDF).
While the 3270 interface meets the requirements of low bandwidth and reduced frequency of interrupts that were required for early mainframes, it was defined before the mouse-based graphical user interface (GUI) became popular for use in personal computing. As a text-based interface, the 3270 interface requires substantially more keyboard interaction than a GUI, and may be unfamiliar or difficult to operate for users who are more familiar with a graphical user interface.

Graphical user interface text selection and processing in client applications employing a screen-at-a-time based communication protocol