A foldable, portable fabric children's wading pool for installation in the ground and which has improved stability characteristics is provided. The pool includes a base region with a generally circular sheet of water-resistant woven fabric with a thread denier of between 400 denier and 600 denier, a stabilizer region comprising one or more sections of woven fabric with a thread denier of between 200 denier and 400 denier, where the stabilizer region is affixed to the outer edge of the base region, and with a number of sand anchors affixed to the stabilizer region. The pool is set up by digging a hole in the ground and forming berms along the edges of the hole. Then, the pool is unfolded and positioned such that the waterproof fabric base is in the hole, and the sand anchor section extends downwardly and outwardly from the edge of the sand berm. Then, a weighting material is loaded onto the sand anchor section and the pool is filled with water, preferably using the waterproof bag that also serves as a storage and transport bag for the pool when folded.

Going to the beach, either at the ocean or at a lake, is a common and beloved pastime for families. However, trips to the beach often present challenges to families with young children, particularly with respect to the safety and comfort of the children. Specifically, young children who have not yet learned to swim, or who are weak swimmers, should generally not be allowed to play in waves or rough surf. Further, for much of the year, although air temperatures may be pleasant, water temperatures remain too cold for young children. This is particularly true along the Pacific Coast of California. Nevertheless, few children want to go to the beach and not play in the water. As such, it is popular to bring a portable swimming pool to the beach, fill the pool with ocean or fresh water, and permit the child or children to bathe or swim therein. These portable pools are well known in the prior art and typically are inflatable or molded from plastic.
Such prior art portable pools are cumbersome, take up significant room in the family's vehicle, and tend to be unstable in the sand. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a portable wading pool for use at the beach which is easily transportable and stable when in place at the beach.
Some prior art approaches to solving the problems of transportability and stability have focused on positioning a rubber or fabric pool in a hole dug into the sand. However, each of these prior art approaches suffer from various instability and inconvenience problems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,402, entitled, "Portable In-Ground Pool," issued to Devino on Mar. 16, 1999, discusses a portable pool for beach use which employs an inflatable circumferential ledge which is secured into the sand utilizing stakes. Several disadvantages of this prior art pool are the fact that it must be inconveniently staked down and inflated to try to achieve stability. However, it is likely still unstable and prone to deformation of the pool and collapse of the sand sidewalls, or to having the stakes pulled out of the sand when the pool is filed and/or children enter and exit it, due to the weight of water and children on the sides and bottom of the pool, all of which could lead to failure of the pool fabric, leakage of water, causing falls of children entering or exiting the pool, and causing undue amounts of sand to fall into the pool.
Published Patent Application No. US 2007/0248414 A1, entitled, "Method and Apparatus for Making a Pool," was filed by Ralph Fratianni on Apr. 20, 2007, and was published on Oct. 25, 2007. This published application discusses an apparatus for forming a pool including a panel of waterproof material supportable by a surface of a concaved area of sand and at least one sleeve or pouch coupled to or formed in an outer edge of the material, the at least one sleeve or pouch capable of holding a weighting substance and preventing an entire outer edge of the material from being relocated by the wind. Disadvantages of this prior art pool include instability and a tendency to have deformation of the pool and collapse of the sand sidewalls, when the pool is filed and/or children enter and exit it, due to the weight of water and children on the sides and bottom of the pool, all of which could lead to failure of the pool fabric, leakage of water, causing falls of children entering or exiting the pool, and causing undue amounts of sand to fall into the pool. Moreover, the described sleeve or pouch would appear to be difficult to load and unload with weighting material that is readily available at the beach, namely sand.
Published Patent Application No. US 2012/0023655 A1, entitled, "Portable Swimming Pool for Beach Use," was filed by Jeffrey Junquet on Jul. 26, 2011, and was published on Feb. 2, 2012. This published patent application discusses a portable swimming pool for use at the beach formed from vinyl or other flexible waterproof material comprising a circular base and a side wall that extends upward from the base and tapers outward as it extends up. To use it, a user digs a hole and unfolds the pool into the hole. The Junquet portable swimming pool, discussed, also includes a sand apron extending outwardly from the edge of the side wall, which can be laid out on the surface of the sand next to the hole, and then covered with sand, which allegedly provides stability. Disadvantages of this prior art pool include instability in the interface between the pool and the sand, a tendency to have deformation of the pool and collapse of the sand sidewalls, when the pool is filed and/or children enter and exit it, due to the weight of water and children on the sides and bottom of the pool, all of which could lead to failure of the pool fabric, leakage of water, causing falls of children entering or exiting the pool, and, due to the sand apron lying flat on the surface of the sand—and then be covered with a layer of sand—having undue amounts of sand to fall into the pool as children enter and exit it.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,518,399 and 9,963,894 discuss prior art fabric wading pools invented by the present Applicant. Further research and investigation by Applicant has revealed drawbacks and problems with the pools disclosed in these patents, related to their ease-of-use, which impact directly upon a parent's willingness to use these patented devices, particularly when faced with an impatient toddler that wants to swim in the pool, or alternatively, run toward the breaking surf. Some parents who tested an embodiment of the device disclosed in the '399 patent found that the oval-shaped hole required by some embodiments of the '399 patent was difficult to accurately dig in the sand and to then mound up the sand berms at the edges of that oval-shaped hole, so that the berms aligned with the fixed sand stabilizers of that patented embodiment. Relatedly, some parents who tested an embodiment of the device disclosed in the '894 patent found that it was difficult to position the moveable sand stabilizers correctly over the top of a sand berm, that children tripped on the moveable sand stabilizers, or simply pulled them off of their Velcro anchor points. Still further, other parents found that using the upwardly projecting foam sand anchors of the embodiment of the '894 patent required what they considered to be an excessive amount of positioning and pouring of sand onto multiple small sand anchors. Based on these inconveniences and usage issues, Applicant sought a simpler and easier-to-use system that still overcome the drawbacks of the other prior art discussed herein.
Further, Applicant has discovered that various prior art, including the Applicant's own prior inventions, have drawbacks resulting from the particular weight, thickness, and material of the fabric used. Materials that are too thick often do not form properly to the sand when water is poured into them, resulting in problems with the ease of use, the ability of the fabric to remain in place and stretch out given the weight placed in the sand anchors, and the ability to large and unsightly wrinkles or folds in the material when the pool is filled with water. Overly thick materials also do not fold or pack well when the pool is prepared for carrying and storage. Moreover, many overly thick materials do not dry quickly, and due to trapped or retained moisture, are at risk for mold and bacterial growth when stored between uses.
On the other hand, Applicant has discovered that materials that are too thin also suffer from drawbacks. Overly thin materials do not stabilize the pool sides and bottom. When a child steps into or stands in the middle pool section, overly thin fabric can compress into the sand, pulling the rest of the fabric toward the spot where the child stepped or stood, thereby displacing the pool limits and deforming the shape of the pool, which reduces stability of the sand at the sides of the pool. Overly thin materials for the center of the pool are also not complementary with the outer material that form the sand anchors.
Further, the Applicant has discovered that, in pools that use a single type and/or thickness of material, it is difficult to achieve a satisfactory balance between the stability of the sand and the water, as described above with respect to other prior art efforts.
Further, use of a single type of material, or a single color of material, does not create an obvious visual separation (for the parent or child) between the water area and the sand anchor area. This lack of visual separation makes set-up of the pool more difficult for the parent, and ingress and egress more difficult for the child.
The Applicant has also discovered that, in pools that use more than one material, were the materials meet, they must complement each other in a way that creates stability in the weight balance between the sand anchors and the water.
Thus, there is a need to be able to have a portable wading pool that is stable, with respect to both wind and shifting sand, is able to easily allow children to climb into and out of the pool, and is easy for parents to set up, while withstanding the rigors of children climbing into and out of the pool when filled with water and not filling with spilled sand.

Fabric children's wading pool and method of use


A method is provided for operating a converter circuit, in particular a pulse-width modulated frequency converter circuit having a DC voltage intermediate circuit, which controls two or more winding sections of a polyphase dynamo-electrical machine, in particular a three-phase asynchronous motor for a laundry appliance. The method determines one or more parameters of the dynamo-electrical machine, before a rotating field is produced in the dynamo-electrical machine by the converter circuit. The parameters can be used to deduce a variant of the dynamo-electrical machine, and to select open-loop and closed-loop control parameters which are associated with the variant. Likewise, the method allows possible machine faults to be determined by using the parameters. Likewise, a converter circuit and a laundry appliance perform the method and have a converter circuit for controlling a polyphase dynamo-electrical machine, which, in particular, drives a drum which is mounted in the laundry appliance such that it can rotate.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for operation of a converter circuit, in particular a pulse-width modulated frequency converter circuit having a DC voltage intermediate circuit that controls two or more winding sections of a polyphase dynamo-electrical machine, in particular a three-phase asynchronous motor for a laundry appliance. The method determines one or more parameters of the dynamo-electrical machine. Furthermore, the invention relates to a converter circuit for carrying out the method and to a laundry appliance having a converter circuit for controlling a polyphase dynamo-electrical machine that, in particular, drives a drum that is mounted in the laundry appliance such that it can rotate.
Converter circuits and methods for operation of a converter circuit that control a dynamo-electrical machine are known in numerous forms from the prior art. Converter circuits are used for conversion of an input-side single-phase or polyphase AC voltage to an output-side single-phase or polyphase AC voltage, whose frequency, number of phases and/or amplitude differ from the input-side AC voltage. Converter circuits that can convert the frequency of an AC voltage, so-called frequency converter circuits or frequency change circuits, can produce any desired voltage frequencies and/or voltage amplitudes on the output side. Frequency converter circuits are also used to control the rotation speed of dynamo-electrical machines, for example three-phase asynchronous motors. Asynchronous motors such as these require extremely little maintenance, have high power limits and can be operated with particularly little noise. Owing to these advantages, dynamo-electrical machines such as these whose rotation speed is regulated are also used in laundry appliances, such as domestic washing machines or domestic washer/driers. Machines such as these are used to drive, for example, a washing drum that is mounted in the laundry appliance such that it can rotate. In this case, pulse-width modulated frequency converter circuits are used, in particular, in order to control three-phase asynchronous motors. The components of frequency converter circuits such as these generally each include a mains filter, a DC voltage intermediate circuit, a power stage with a so-called driver stage, and a microcontroller or a digital signal processor. The components are generally combined in an assembly, in which case, for example, the mains filter may form a separate assembly. In addition to the components mentioned above, converter circuits for open-loop and/or closed-loop control of dynamo-electrical machines also use sensor elements for detection of the voltage, current, and/or temperature in the converter circuit, and/or devices for detection of parameters relating to the driven dynamo-electrical machine. The parameters may vary, particularly as a result of heating during operation of the machine. Sensor elements or devices such as these are in some cases integral assemblies within the converter circuit and are used for power-optimized operation of the dynamo-electrical machine. The detected currents, voltage, temperature value, and/or the machine parameters can be used in conjunction with individual calculation rules or complex mathematical machine models for the microcontroller or digital signal processor to determine closed-loop and/or open-loop control variables, which result in the machine being driven in a power-optimized manner in every operating state of the machine.
Known converter circuits may have a technically complex and costly construction and, in some cases, are susceptible to defects. Further devices are required for protection of the converter circuit and/or of the dynamo-electrical machine to disconnect the converter circuit during an overvoltage, an overtemperature, a short-circuit, a ground short, and/or a turns short in the frequency converter circuit and/or in the dynamo-electrical machine.
When using a dynamo-electrical machine with a converter circuit in a laundry appliance, in particular in a domestic washing machine or in a domestic washer/drier, the protective devices ensure compliance with the regulations of the international electrical standards that are applicable to a laundry appliance. In this case, even in the event of malfunctions and/or faults of individual components, such as the converter circuit and/or the dynamo-electrical machine in the laundry appliance, no hazards may result, for example as a result of excessive component heating, overcurrents, and line shorts for the operator of the laundry appliance. The protective devices that have been used in laundry appliances until now admittedly result in reliable compliance within the specified standards, but in some cases the protective devices are costly and do not ensure sufficient preventative protection against a component defect resulting in a repair to the laundry appliance.

Method for operation of a converter circuit for a washing machine or a washer/drier, converter circuit, and washing appliance or washer/drier


A method and an apparatus select optimized Frequency Allocation (FA) in a mobile communication system that includes mobile base stations. A first control information is received from neighbor base stations. System capacities of the respective neighbor base stations are determined based on the first control information. The FA that maximizes a sum of the system capabilities of the respective neighbor base stations is selected. Therefore, the method has an advantage of securing maximum capacity by adaptively setting FA with consideration of radio environments of neighbor base stations during network entry of a new mobile base station or during an operation of a mobile base station.

A mobile base station is deployed in a communication network or a public security network, or an area that temporarily requires a wireless service. Unlike a fixed base station which an operator deploys and manages through a cell plan and a driving test, the mobile base station is placed in serviced and managed based on a variably changing position. In this environment, when a user powers-on a mobile base station, the mobile base station should be automatically installed and optimized. In addition, the mobile base station should adapt to an installation environment to determine the FA to be used, transmission (Tx) power, a cell Identifier (ID), and such, and provide a service to a terminal.
As described above, because the mobile base station is mainly used for a special purpose, its arrangement is very irregular, and sometimes, substantial overlapping between base stations may occur. When proper FA selection and Tx power control are not performed in an area where such cell coverage overlaps, a system capacity may be reduced. In addition, because it is difficult to predict an arrangement sequence, and movement of the mobile base station and topology of the mobile base station frequently changes, it is desirable to selectively set FA and Tx power such that each base station improves capacity of a system in a distributed manner rather than to set parameters of a plurality of base stations at one time. Each base station repeatedly performs a setting such that a system capacity improves through FA change of the base station, and such that an entire base station FA may be set at its optimum state. In addition, location information of a base station is utilized for estimation of Path Loss (PL) between neighbor base stations during initial installation, such that an optimized FA setting may be possible.
Therefore, a method and an apparatus for automatically selecting FA in a distributed manner using location information in order to maximize capacity under a cell overlap environment generated due to mobile base stations are required.

Method and apparatus for selecting frequency allocation in wireless communication system


A method and apparatus for analyzing and debugging natural language parses is provided. An input sentence is received and parsed by a parsing engine. A table of constituents is retrieved from the parsing engine and a grid tree is drawn representing the input sentence. Nodes of the tree, or connecting points, appear at intersections of the tree “branches.” Once the grid has been drawn, the first syntactically correct parse of the sentence is mapped to the grid in a tree-like manner (the “parse tree”). Input is then received for selecting one of several graphical buttons, for selecting a node that is in the parse tree, for selecting a node that is not in the parse tree, or for selecting options from one of several “pull-down” menus. If a connecting point that is not contained in the parse tree is selected, a group of menu options may be displayed adjacent to the selected connecting point. The user may select menu options for displaying successful rules applied at the connecting point, or for displaying unattempted and failed rules for the connecting point. If a connecting point that is contained in the parse tree (i.e. a constituent was formed at the connecting point) is selected, a second group of menu options may be displayed adjacent to the selected connecting point. The menu options may include displaying the name of the connecting point and the name of the rule that was applied at the connecting point to form the constituent.

In order for humans and computers to communicate effectively using natural human languages (i.e. English, Japanese, etc.), computer systems must be developed that can "understand" natural human languages. A starting point toward developing computers that can truly understand natural human languages is the development of computer systems for analyzing human language text. One type of system for analyzing human language text is the natural language parser. Natural language parsers, or simply "parsers," analyze human language text to determine its syntax, or grammatical structure.
Parsing a natural language sentence involves several steps. First, the sentence is broken down into tokens, which may be words or punctuation marks. Next, a dictionary is consulted to determine grammatical information about each word, such as its part of speech (i.e. verb, noun, etc.). Finally, grammar rules are applied to the words and tokens to join them into larger sentence fragments called constituents. The grammar rules are applied recursively to the constituents until the entire sentence may be formed by joining two constituents. For example, the sentence "The dog barked" is comprised of the constituents "The" (adjective phrase), "dog" (noun phrase), and "barked" (verb phrase). Therefore, this sentence may be parsed by first applying a grammar rule that joins an adjective phrase followed by a noun phrase. The result of the application of this rule provides a larger constituent, the noun phrase "The dog." Another grammar rule may then be applied that joins a noun phrase and a verb phrase to create a verb phrase. The application of this grammar rule joins the noun phrase "The dog" with the verb phrase "barked," and results in a grammatically correct parse of the entire sentence.
Parsers typically apply all of the available grammar rules to a sentence using a brute-force algorithm. Therefore, the parser itself is relatively simple to create. In contrast, the grammar rules that the parser applies can be very complicated and must be created by a linguist. When creating grammar rules, a linguist typically asks the question "Given a span of text in a sentence, are there grammar rules that can be applied to form that span into a constituent?" If the answer to this questions is "Yes," the linguist may then ask "What rules were applied to form the span into a constituent, and what is the resulting constituent?" If the parse of a sentence fails, and the parser is unable to form a constituent that spans the entire sentence with the available rules, the linguist may ask the question "Where did application of the grammar rules fail, and why?" The linguist may also ask "Are there rules that could be successfully applied?" In order to answer these and other questions regarding grammar rules, linguists utilize software tools for analyzing and debugging natural language parses.
Previous tools for analyzing and debugging natural language parses have been very difficult to use because of their text-based nature. For instance, some previous tools for analyzing and debugging parses simply display all of the constituents formed during a parse in a text-based list. To determine how a span of text may be joined, a linguist must scan through the entire list of constituents to find all of the constituents that join the span of text. This searching process can be very time consuming and frustrating for the linguist. To apply a grammar rule to two constituents, the linguist must first scan the list for the two constituents they want to join. Then, the linguist must type in a command to apply a rule to the two constituents. The linguist must know beforehand the rule that they want to apply, and either memorize or reference all of the available rules. This process is also very counterintuitive for a linguist and can be extremely time consuming.
Therefore, in light of these problems, there is a need for a method and apparatus for analyzing and debugging natural language parses that permits a linguist to quickly and intuitively analyze and debug the application of grammar rules. There is also a need for a method and apparatus for analyzing and debugging natural language parses that provides quick and easy access to all of the available grammar rules.

Method and apparatus for analyzing and debugging natural language parses


There is provided an apparatus for handling a disklike member having a surface, especially for handling of a wafer, including a robot for carrying out at least an angular motion in a defined moving plane, an end-effector for holding the disklike member, and a wrist member operatively interconnecting said robot with said end-effector. The wrist member provides at least a motion of the end-effector about an axis in a plane of the surface of the disklike member. An inclining motion of said disklike member is achieved by combining the angular motion of the robot and the motion about the axis in the plane of the surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for handling of a disklike member, and an apparatus for optically inspecting a surface of a disklike member, and an end-effector means for holding a disklike member.
2. Description of Related Art
Apparatus for handling of a disklike member and for optically inspecting a surface of a disklike member, especially of wafer surfaces, are well known in the art.
Semiconductor wafers are produced by complicated multi-step processes in a clean room environment. The production of sophisticated electronic chips from wafers may include as many as about 150 steps. Technologies in the submicron range are very delicate, and there always exists a chance of error or malfunction at each of the many stages, which ought to be discerned as soon as possible. Inspection during the production process and at its end is an imperative stage of the production process and there exists a real need for effective inspection means, capable of inspecting a large number of wafers in an accurate manner within a reasonable time period.
To this end, in world-wide Semiconductor Fabrications, optical measurement tools are used for inspecting and analysing of defects on the wafer surface, which follows an optical characterisation and/or classification of the defects.
This analysis is done on the various measurement spot sizes with a microscope, which is called the Micro-Station, and also on larger areas on the wafer up to the whole wafer surface on the front and on the back side of the wafer. The measurement is carried out in a separate station which is called the Macro-Station. Within the Macro-Station the surface of the wafer is optically inspected by irradiating the surface with light. This kind of measurement is also referred to as Bright-Light-Inspection.
The Bright-Light-Inspection measurement on a wafer is done to check certain properties of the surface which can be made visible by shining light onto a surface of the wafer and looking to the reflected light at a certain angle. The color and the intensity under given angles between the wafer, the light source and an operator (in most cases the naked eye, seldom a camera) is giving the measurement results.
For that purpose, typically, the wafer will by positioned in a bright light beam and the surface of the wafer will be check with the naked eye, while the angle of the wafer surface is changed with respect to the eye and the light source. To be able to get all the required angles the wafer has to be rotated around two orthogonal axis's which are in plane with the wafer surface. FIG. 1 shows the respective co-ordination System of the wafer and the three degrees of rotation together with the rotating axis in-plane.
Today this measurement is done in a special set-up which is holding the wafer. This wafer holding mechanism incorporates the moving parts which are used to change the angle of the wafer surface to the light source. An example of such an holding mechanism is disclosed in JP-A 162133.
The major disadvantage of this kind of system is that it needs a special and quite complicated structural set-up in the Macro-Station which on the one side increases the costs of the Macro-Station and the footprint of it, and which in turn gives rise to higher maintenance costs in a quite expensive clean room environment. Moreover the handling expenditure increases since the handling robot has to place and pick the wafer to or from the holding mechanism. This is even more important if one takes into account that the Macro-station is often used in conjunction with a Micro-station. The additional handling decreases the throughput numbers of the system drastically.
These and other disadvantages have lead to the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for handling of a disklike member or wafer, which avoids the described disadvantageous with respect to the handling and/or inspection of a wafer, which is simpler in design, has a reduced footprint, and an increase in throughput.

Apparatus for handling of a disklike member, especially for handling of a wafer


A valve arrangement is configured to rectify a volumetric flow supplied by a hydraulic pump to a first pump connection or second pump connection. The valve arrangement includes a first suction valve arranged between a suction-side connection of the valve arrangement and the first pump connection. The valve arrangement also includes a second suction valve arranged between the suction-side connection and the second pump connection. The valve arrangement also includes a first pressure valve arranged between a pumping-side connection of the valve arrangement and the second pump connection. The valve arrangement also includes a second pressure valve arranged between the pump-side connection and the first pump connection. The first suction valve is acted on by the pressure of the second pump connection in the opening direction. The second suction valve is acted on by the pressure of the first pump connection in the opening direction.

Hydrostatic pumps are frequently constructed in such a way that they can be driven in two directions. If, however, the rotational direction of the drive is reversed, the delivery direction is also reversed. It is therefore frequently required to ensure rectification of the volumetric flow which is produced. This means that a suction-side connection and a delivery-side connection of the entire pump unit retain their function even in the case of a change in the rotational direction of the pump. For this purpose, it is known to arrange four valves in what is known as a Graetz circuit. Here, as is shown in DE 42 34 139 C2, a first suction valve is arranged between a first pump connection and the suction-side connection of the pump unit and a second suction valve is arranged between a second pump connection and the suction-side connection of the pump unit. Furthermore, a first pressure valve is arranged between the second pump connection and a delivery-side connection of the pump unit and a second pressure valve is arranged between the first pump connection and the delivery-side connection of the pump unit. Depending on the delivery direction, the pump then delivers toward the first pump connection or the second pump connection, whereas it sucks in pressure medium at the respectively other pump connection. For example, in the case of a first delivery direction, pressure medium is sucked in from the suction-side connection of the pump unit via the first suction valve and is sucked in by the pump at the first pump connection. The pump delivers toward the second pump connection, with the result that the pressure medium is fed via the first pressure valve to the delivery-side connection of the pump unit. On account of the pressure conditions which are produced, in contrast, the second suction valve and the second pressure valve are moved into their closed position and are held there by the delivery pressure.
It is problematical in the case of the proposed valve arrangement that in the case of jamming or sticking in the described case example of the first suction valve which is opened only by the vacuum, the pressure medium which is conveyed by the pump toward the delivery-side connection cannot be replenished. This can lead to damage of the pump. The valve arrangement which is described here is preferably arranged in a connection plate of a hydrostatic piston machine and forms a pump unit together with the latter. In order then to make the opening of the suction valve to be opened possible reliably, it is already known to connect the valve bodies of the two suction valves to one another. As a result, one of the two valves is always open. The force which is exerted in the closing direction by the delivery pressure on the suction valve which is connected to the delivery-side pump connection is therefore used to open the suction valve which is connected to the suction-side pump connection. However, this variant has the disadvantage that jamming of the connecting rod or the valve bodies which are connected thereto can occur.
It is therefore the object to provide a valve arrangement, a connection plate and a hydrostatic piston machine, in which reliable opening of the suction valve which is situated on the respective suction side is ensured.
The object is achieved by the valve arrangement according to the disclosure, the connection plate and the corresponding hydrostatic piston machine.

Valve arrangement, connection plate for a hydrostatic piston machine, and hydrostatic piston machine


A balloon display generally having decorative, informative and/or structural value. The display is comprised of an aperture framework, inflated chambers and connector members that join inflated chambers through apertures small enough to resist the passage of the inflated chambers. There is generally a plurality of connector members associated with each inflated chamber. Connector members from a given inflated chamber start from different locations, go to different locations and do not intersect.

1. Field of the Invention
The field deals generally with balloons and their use for decorative, informative and structural values. The field is discussed in more detail in the referenced prior applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Considerable prior art is discussed at length in the referenced prior applications.
There are a variety of needs in the balloon décor industry that remain unfilled. The current application addresses many of those in this application. Those solutions have implications for displays of other objects and media with decorative, informative and/or structural value. The current application addresses many of those implications as well.                a) A dominate issue in constructing balloon displays is their practical lifetime. Most displays made with latex balloons are limited to a few days. This is certainly true with helium filled latex balloons, even when treated with "Hi-Float". This patented chemical greatly enhances the float time of helium filled balloons, but still gives only a few days of practical life to normal sized balloons. Air filled balloons last longer than helium filled latex balloons but a longer life would be a great advantage for many displays. This application discloses a practical solution for many such displays.        b) Exploding balloons walls are a dramatic special effect, but the normal method of constructing such a display and exploding the balloons is difficult and risky. Most often the large latex balloons in such a display are glued together and then individually wired with a detonating device. If something happens to one of the balloons to explode it prematurely, that explosion will usually set off adjacent balloons as well. Also, it would be considerably more efficient if wiring layouts were reusable. This application discloses a practical solution for many such displays        c) Graphic balloon displays are popular, but their remains a need to make the displays more precise, more detailed and last longer. This application discloses a solution that is distinct from, but may be used with the "longer life" solution suggested under a) immediately above.        d) The Over Lapping Cut Expandable Matrix (OCEM) discussed elsewhere in the referenced applications offer great advantages over more traditional forms of balloon framing for displays. Further economy of means and versatility in creating an expandable framework would be helpful. This application discloses solutions.        e) The current OCEM framework normally depends on the balloons to give some stiffness to the display of balloons and Matrix. It would be helpful to have a convenient way to add reinforcement and shape to the display so that the reinforcement is generally hidden. This application discloses solutions.        f) The current popular way of joining balloons and OCEM framework work well, but an easier system of joining the two would be a distinct advantage. This application discloses solutions.        g) The continuous balloon structures discussed elsewhere offer a variety of advantages over other balloon displays. One of those advantages is the ease with which the larger, "flat" side of film balloons may be set to face the spectators. There is a need to get this same "facing" advantage in displays of balloon garlands and clusters. This application discloses solutions.        h) Multiple film layers and multiple layers of inflatable chambers have been disclosed earlier in the referenced applications on Continuous Balloon Structures. There are ways to make more use of this technology than discussed in the formal application. These CBS balloons with multiple layers may be constructed so that by varying the sequence and relative volume of inflation in various sets of chambers, the overall shape of the display may be controlled and changed.A. Density Enhanced Balloon Displays
One of the pervasive problems of balloon displays is keeping the balloons inflated. Gases normally used to inflate balloons such as air, nitrogen and helium leak out through latex balloons in a matter of hours or days. Even film balloons leak, though they do last much longer.
Some displays utilize fans to replenish leaking gas and maintain pressure especially in film balloons. It is common practice with latex balloons to coat the inside of the balloons with a liquid which drys to form an extra layer of material resistant to leakage of gases.
This invention discloses the use of a variety of density enhancing materials and methods for the filler within balloons and the association of these materials and methods with frameworks for the finished balloon display. This not only extends the useful life of the balloons but makes possible new uses as well.
B. LEM Layered Expandable Matrix
The Overlapping Cut Expandable Matrix first disclosed in the "Balloon Displays" application by Rouse provides a very efficient way to produce an expandable aperture framework from a thin sheet of material. Before expansion, however, the sheet will have a width approximately equal to the total of the widths of individual straps crossed by a line perpendicular to the length of the sheet. If there are, for example, 20 straps forming apertures in one cross section of the framework and each strap is one inch wide, then the total width of the framework before expansion will be approximately 20 inches. It would be desirable to have a smaller surface area occupied by the framework before expansion.
It is also often difficult to expand the OCEM without getting twists in some of the straps.
In one aspect, this invention discloses the joining of aperture straps in layers so that, for example 20 straps would be stacked rather than laid out side by side therefore requiring one inch of surface space rather than 20 inches and simultaneously reducing the risks of twisting.
C. Stretched Bubble Balloon Display
One of the difficulties to overcome, particularly with latex balloons, in balloon displays is the shrinkage of balloons over time as the gasses leak out. Such shrinkage can leave gaps in the display.
One system for dealing with this problem is to stretch a balloon over a framework. When properly done, the display area exhibited by the balloon remains relatively constant even as gas escapes from the balloon and the volume decreases. The balloon becomes flatter but retains a display area the size of the frame over which the balloon is stretched.
Current practice, however, is limited in scope, technique, materials, and systems for generating larger displays from individual units. This invention discloses a variety of materials, techniques and systems that advance the art for balloon displays incorporating stretched bubble technology.
D. Balloon Buttons for Balloon Displays
In the inventory of techniques for anchoring one balloon to a supporting framework is what I call the "button". In its most common usage one inflatable chamber is connected directly to a second inflatable chamber. Usually the inflation stem of one balloon is tied to the inflation stem of a second balloon. One balloon is forced through an aperture in a supporting framework. The second balloon remains on the starting side of the framework. As with a button, the aperture is configured to allow the button (balloon) through, but resist its return to the starting side. The flexibility of balloons, especially latex balloons, allows a broader range of shapes to pass through and still resist a return.
As with standard buttons, the current practice with balloon buttons is to have a single line or single area of connection between the button on one side and the object on the other side with the connection being generally centered on the button.
This invention advances the art of balloon displays with innovations in design and technique for balloon buttons.
E. FAT Matrix Framework and Transmission Matrix
The Overlapping Cut Expandable Matrix first disclosed in the "Balloon Displays" application by Rouse provides a very efficient way to produce an expandable aperture framework. The main emphasis of the initial application was for such a framework to be used in support of balloons for display. A variety of other uses were also suggested. This invention discloses uses of the OCEM as framework and transmission device.
There are many conditions under which there is a need to distribute and/or display gases, liquids, solids, electricity, light, data, information and other useful content to locations in a predetermined array. In many of those situations it would be useful to manufacture the delivery device in compact form and then have it readily expandable upon arrival to the appropriate location. The Rouse overlapping cut, expandable matrix is appropriate and useful under many such conditions. It may serve as framework supporting the delivery device or may be especially formed to become the delivery device.
F. Structural Aperture System
Currently, there are two commercially available, flexible, aperture framework systems for balloon displays. One is the overlapping cut expandable matrix known as the Rouse Matrix Systems (RMS) and the "soft" SDS (Skistimas Design System). The soft SDS is basically a foam sheet with die cut holes to hold balloons. The foam sheet is flexible. RMS frameworks are usually flexible sheets of plastic expanded into an array of apertures to hold balloons.
Neither of these frameworks has any built in system to add structural reinforcement for the creation and maintenance of three dimensional shapes made from sheets of balloons in these frameworks. This invention discloses innovations in framework design that make such systems both possible and practical.


Techniques for associating an electronic identifier of a user equipment (UE) with a user of the UE are described. In embodiments of an apparatus, system, method, and computer program of the present disclosure, a UE may transmit an electronic identifier associated with the UE via peer discovery, for receiving by a second UE. A perceivable cue associated with the electronic identifier may be indicated to a second user. The UE or the user of the UE may indicate the perceivable cue to the second user. Selection of the perceivable cue by the second user may cause the initiation of communications between the UE and the second UE.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications, and more specifically to techniques for associating user equipment (UE) electronic identifiers with a user of the UE.
II. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. Wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks. A wireless communication network may also be referred to as a wide area network (WAN).
A wireless communication network may include a number of network communications hubs (also referred to as evolved node Bs, eNBs, or access nodes) that can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). In a WAN, communication by and between UEs typically occurs at the request of at least one of the UEs via uplink/downlink channels between the UEs and a network communications hub. A UE is thus enabled to communicate with a network communications hub. Also, if two UEs are in the vicinity of each other, they may be enabled to communicate directly, that is, without communicating through the network communications hub. A UE may thus be enabled to communicate peer-to-peer (P2P), also referred to as device-to-device (D2D), with one or more other UEs.
More particularly, often times in public environments (e.g., social events or gatherings), two people within a line of sight (or line of acknowledgement) of one another may wish to converse directly with one another, and doing so using P2P communication might prevent others in the environment from knowing the substance of the conversation. Further, despite being within visual range, the two people may not be close enough to one another to engage in the desired private conversation without using P2P communication. As such, communicating directly using P2P over the respective UEs of the people in the conversation is likely ideal in this scenario. However, in the known art, only if the two people already know one another, and if each device knows the identifier of the other, is the desired P2P communication likely to be available. That is, without any prior knowledge of the other person (i.e., without knowing any identification information, such as a phone number), the problem of establishing a private P2P conversation remains.
An approach to this problem has been to setup a local peer registry in which each person's UE may register its respective identifiers and monitor other neighboring UEs' identifiers. Such a local peer registry may either be realized by: 1) setting up a local broadcast radio channel for peer announcement and discovery; or 2) setting up a central location server to which UEs may report their respective global positioning system (GPS) coordinates and identifiers through a wireless WAN connection (whereby the proximity is determined according to their reported locations). However, particularly in the aforementioned social setting, it may be very difficult for a person (or user) to find a particular identifier of the other user with whom he or she is interested in conversing, such as due to the fact that there maybe many people using the local peer registry.
Accordingly, there is a need for a user to be able to associate a particular identifier of a UE with the user of the UE.

Methods and apparatus for associating user equipment electronic identifiers with users


The present disclosure relates to a protective apparatus for a high voltage battery of a vehicle, the protective apparatus capable of guiding downwards a movement path of a rear roll mounting bracket using a sliding prevention structure disposed in front of a high voltage battery, thereby preventing the damage and breakage of the high voltage battery due to the rear roll mounting bracket.

In recent years, interest in environmentally friendly vehicles has been increasing due to environmental issues and high oil prices, and development of electric vehicles using electric energy as an environmentally friendly vehicle has accelerated.
An electric vehicle is a vehicle that uses an electric motor as a driving source, and is essentially equipped with a high-voltage battery that provides driving power to the electric motor.
An electric vehicle travelling range is usually determined by a capacity of the battery, and an external size of the battery is inevitably increased in order to increase the capacity of the battery.
In a case that the high voltage battery is mounted on a position below a center floor, it is necessary to increase the external size of the battery toward a forwards direction in order to meet a demand for an increase of the travelling range. As a result, a space between a front part of the high voltage battery and a rear part of a subframe is inevitably narrowed.
Meanwhile, the rear roll mounting bracket, with which the motor speed reducer assembly is coupled, is provided at the rear part of the subframe. When a collision accident occurs with a structure in which the space between the front part of the high voltage battery and the rear part of the subframe is narrow, as the subframe slides backwards, the rear roll mounting bracket hits the front part of the high voltage battery. As a result, a problem occurs that the front part of the high voltage battery is severely damaged by a blow of the rear roll mounting bracket.
It should be understood that the foregoing description of the background art is merely for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the background of the present disclosure and should not be construed as an admission that the description forms a related art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Protective apparatus for high voltage battery of vehicle


In one implementation, a method is provided for an image guide coupler. The method includes controlling a coupling between adjacent waveguides of a propagating wave by controlling a coupling through at least one field pick up probe positioned next to the adjacent waveguides. In some implementations, controlling the coupling through the at least one field pick up probe includes using a series connected switch. In some implementations, the method includes controlling the coupling through the at least one field pick up probe using a pin diode, a transistor, a MEMS switch, or a varactor, in series with the at least one field pick up probe.

At very high frequencies, 30 to 300 GHz for millimeter wave frequency band, typical integrated circuit transmission lines, such as microstrip or coplanar waveguide, become very lossy due to conductor and dielectric losses, and metal and substrate surface irregularities which can cause unwanted reflections and radiation. At these high frequencies, dielectric waveguides, of which there are a number of different forms provide a lower loss alternative to signal routing.
Conventional dielectric waveguide switches require a transition from the dielectric waveguide to a transmission line which leads to a localized switch circuit. Typical transmission lines have a metal strip on the top side of the circuit substrate and a metal ground on the bottom of the circuit substrate, or coplanar waveguide which has a signal strip on the top side of the substrate and two metallic grounds also on the substrate top-side which are separated on each side of the strip by a gap which is determined by the desired characteristic impedance of the line. These transitions are typically necessary to connect the image guide to sources, mixers, amplifiers, and switching, but they degrade the overall performance of the image guide system through parasitic reflections and radiation which increase as the frequency of the system increases.
At very high frequencies, these transitions and transmission lines add RF loss to the overall dielectric waveguide circuit. So, at very high frequencies, 30 Ghz and up, switches tend to be either very lossy or narrow band. What is needed is a high frequency switch that provides signal switching without having to remove the signal from the dielectric waveguide. Also, what is needed is a means to avoid the RF losses associated with metallic transmission lines at higher frequencies. Furthermore, what is needed is a device that does not require a transition from dielectric waveguide to printed circuit transmission line. This is particularly true in high frequency applications.
One alternative approach utilizes an image guide coupler. In this approach, a ferrite is placed between the image guides along the coupling region as disclosed in an article by P. Kwan and C. Vittoria, entitled "Scattering Parameters Measurement of a Nonreciprocal Coupling Structure," in IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Technique, Vol. 41, No. 4, April 1993, pp. 652-657. A magnetic field bias applied to the ferrite controls the coupling between the image lines. Thus, the coupling coefficient is modified by an external applied magnetic field bias on the ferrite for isolators, filters, modulators, switches, and phase shifters. With appropriate external applied magnetic field bias on the ferrite, the four port device prior art can be made into an image guide switch.
With such an approach, however, there are several problems. One problem is that ferrites become lossy at high frequency. What is need is a high frequency switch capable of providing low loss. Another problem is that ferrites are not easy to integrate into monolithic structures. Thus, there is a need for a switch capable of easy integration into monolithic integrated circuit structures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In a wireless multi-hop network, packet routing paths are determined for a first node device based on passive measurement of data messages over a wireless link formed between the first node device and a neighboring second node device. The first node device transmits a first data message to the second node device via the wireless link. At least one of the first node device and the second node device monitors at least one transmission performance parameter corresponding to only a selected subset of frames of the first data message. The selected subset of frames has structural similarity to selected subsets of frames of other data messages communicated and monitored by other node devices of the network. A link cost associated with the wireless link is determined based on at least one transmission performance parameter value produced as a result of the monitoring, which can be used to update the packet routing paths.

A wireless multihop communications network, such as a mesh network, includes a set of nodes capable of exchanging messages with one another over a wireless medium, typically using radio frequency (RF) airwaves. Each of the nodes can be primarily a communications device or, alternatively, the communications functionality may be secondary to its primary function. For example, in a given node, the communications circuitry can be a part of a device such as a computer system, a smart appliance, a vehicle, a media device, a piece of industrial equipment (e.g., an instrument, machine, sensor, actuator), and the like.
In a mesh architecture the nodes are uniquely addressable, and able to route messages from an originating node toward the intended destination node. In general, each of the nodes can be an originating and destination node as well. Although routing can be centrally controlled, this approach requires the central controller to have an intimate knowledge of the network topology. This often presents difficulties in situations where the topology is dynamic such that nodes may join or leave the network, or have varying degrees of connectivity due to changing circumstances. Accordingly, a variety of techniques have been developed for distributed routing in which individual nodes make routing decisions based on information that they have about the current (or nearly current) state of the network.
In one type of routing algorithm, known as a link-state routing, each of the nodes constructs a map of the entire network and determines a complete or partial route for a message which that node originates based on one or more criteria for route optimization. In another approach, known as distance vector (DV) routing, each node assesses local connectivity distance to its immediate neighbors and uses the information obtained from these neighbors to construct the total path distance to other nodes in the network, without having to keep track of the actual pathways. In DV routing, an originating or forwarding node indicates which one of its neighbors should be the next hop for the message transmission. Each hop toward a particular destination node is associated with a cost. The decision of which neighbor to specify as the next hop is based on a comparison of the predetermined total costs to the destination through each of its neighbors, with the lowest-cost neighbor prevailing. Various routing mechanisms and metrics for cost estimation are disclosed and compared in Baumann, Heimlicher, Strasser, and Weibel, "A Survey on Routing Metrics," Computer Engineering and Networks Laboratory, ETH-Zentrum, Switzerland (2007), which is incorporated by reference herein.
Regardless of which routing algorithm is used, routing metrics are needed to determine a best route. A simple distance metric is hop count, which represents the number of hops needed to reach the destination. Other known metrics are based on time delay statistics, transmission success statistics, radio link quality, and bandwidth capacity. A routing metric commonly employed in wireless mesh networks is a traffic-based metric called "Expected Transmissions Count" (ETX). ETX represents the expected (or average) number of transmissions required on a particular link to deliver a message successfully to that neighbor. This type of metric assigns a high cost to retransmitssions of failed frames, which produce consequences of reduced throughput, channel use inefficiencies, time delays, and the like, which may be more burdensome to overall network efficiency than other measures such as higher hop counts, for instance. ETX values also, to some extent, reflect radio link performance and the incidence of possible interference or obstructions, the presence of which tends to result in retransmissions, thereby increasing the ETX value for a particular link.
In a given wireless multihop network, the routing metric is typically determined by sending special probing messages between nodes, and measuring the performance of the link in delivering the probing messages. Probing messages have predetermined size and information format and content, which establishes a uniform condition to test link performance from one instance to another. In one approach, specialized probing messages are periodically sent between nodes with higher-than-normal priority in the routing queues. One drawback of these so-called out-of-band probing messages is they may not represent the network conditions that ordinary traffic experiences. In another approach, probing packets are interlaced with the regular traffic. These so-called in-band measurements contribute to the amount of traffic and network resource overhead, thereby reducing the efficiency of the network.
Probing messages are preferably sent around with some regularity, or periodicity. See, for example, Raisanen, Grotefeld, and Morton, "Network Performance Measurement with Periodic Streams," IETF RFC 3432, (2002), incorporated by reference herein. Ideally, smaller intervals can provide insight into link performance at various times and under various conditions to provide a statistically reliable representation of the true link quality. However, small intervals require large amounts of overhead. Conversely, increasing the interval between probing messages increases the risk of missing important information. There are additional challenges of collecting balanced statistics from one node to the next in network topologies where certain nodes are much more active than others.
As an alternative to the use of probing messages, passive methods of monitoring a routing device's performance have been proposed, generally in the context of Internet traffic routers. Passive monitoring generally examines the performance of a router that operates at the packet level. Measured parameters include such measures as packet queue lengths, losses and waiting times. More advanced passive monitoring applications utilize packet sniffing, tcpdump, and polling the management information base (MIB). Although this passive approach is non-intrusive in that extra traffic is not introduced as is the case with probing packets, it suffers from not having an objective measure that probing packets provide. Since passive measures look at existing traffic, the performance data is based on packets that can vary considerably in size and content. For a wireless network, packets that are larger will naturally have more difficulty being communicated successfully than smaller packets. The passive approaches are also resource-intensive in terms of requiring considerable processing and memory overhead. This problem is not as acute in the Internet router context, where devices are line powered, and have considerable processing capacity. However, in wireless networks or networks in which the nodes are attached to low-power or low-cost devices, such computing overhead is not feasible from a technical constraint or cost constraint perspective.
In fact, wireless multihop networking is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and is finding its way into applications in which nodes are low-bandwidth, low-cost, or low-power devices. Very often, nodes have all three of these constraints. These pressures are often coupled with the growing demands of data throughput as data sources become increasingly sophisticated. As a result of these, and other, developments, a practical and efficient solution is needed for gathering reliable routing metrics without unduly burdening the network's capacity.

Non-intrusive in-band link cost estimation in multihop networks


A human-powered borehole drill bridges the gap between large drilling rigs and the other less-effective manual methods. Intended mainly for developing countries, the design is affordable and also extremely simple, as very little product support or spare parts will be needed. The drill uses conventional drill pipe and drill bits allowing the drill system to mimic more conventional methods of drilling and existing hardware to maintain uniformity in drilling and easier access to more drilling products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to borehole drills, and more particularly to a manual or human-powered borehole drill
2. Background and Related Art
Tanzania is one of the many countries in the world that suffers from extreme poverty. Many of the hardships in Tanzania can be attributed to the lack of clean water. Despite the facts that the country is surrounded by three major lakes and an ocean, and 7% of its area is covered by fresh water, it is difficult to find clean water because the water is contaminated and not suitable for human consumption.
Potable, or drinkable, water is the basis for a better life. It is estimated that Tanzanian women and children spend an average of 2 hours a day just collecting water, and it is common to find people who walk 6 hours just to find water. Other than the time concerns, 80% of all disease in developing countries is caused by bad water. Many of these people die because of the lack of medicine and health care. Since these people are collecting contaminated water, they spend their time being sick, visiting doctors, and paying for medicine they cannot afford. Although the people know the water makes them sick, they have no alternative.
Installing a village water well dramatically reduces all of these concerns and provides clean water for up to 1,500 families. Not only can the children go to school and the people have more time to help themselves financially, but they also have more opportunities to start businesses and in turn help the village progress.
Unfortunately, many villages lack clean water wells because the current methods of drilling in Tanzania are limited by opposite extremes. One option for drilling a well is a professional drilling rig, which is too expensive (from $15,000 to $20,000), while the other option is a homemade drilling system, which is too primitive and therefore unsuccessful drilling beyond 100 feet, where potable water is reached.
Of course, a professional drilling rig can drill to depths sufficient to access clean drinking water, but it costs upwards of $20,000 to hire the rig for the few days required to drill the borehole. The villages that need these wells cannot afford to spend this extreme amount of money. As a result, they turn to homemade drilling systems, which often are insufficient. The primitive, manual methods with which they dig or drill simply cannot penetrate deep enough to access clean water. The two main manual methods in most developing countries are hand augering and Rota-sludge. Hand augering simply uses an auger to dig the earth away and is effective only in soft soil formations, reaching depths of no more than 30 m (about 100 ft). Rota-sludge is a less effective method because it reaches the same depths but has success in much less diverse formations. In all manual techniques, due to limited mechanical advantage and strength of tools, these methods generally are not sufficient to reach the depths required to access clean water.


A system and method for allocation of actuators is provided. Electrodes having several voltages are assigned to actuators within correlation regions of the actuators. By varying the voltages, a desired actuation profile for the actuators may be achieved.

Many systems employ actuators to apply forces to objects. For example, smart matter systems or materials are physical objects having arrays of actuators for applying forces in response to the detection of changes in their environment. Smart matter can be used to move sheets of paper in a printing machine or maneuver an aircraft by performing tiny adjustments to wing surfaces. In the former example, actuators in the form of air jets apply forces to a sheet of paper to direct the motion of the sheet through the printing machine.
With the advent of low cost actuators such as those produced by batch fabrication, systems with large numbers of actuators are being contemplated. A major problem in such many actuator systems is addressing and controlling the actuators in a low cost manner. Matrix addressing may work for only some kinds of actuators, and in high density configurations, even this addressing scheme can result in too many costly connections to the controlling electronics. Moreover, the communication between the actuators and the controlling electronics can be expensive if it requires many channels of communication and individually controlled power.
For example, referring to FIG. 1, a conventional actuator array 4 is shown containing twenty-five actuators 6. Ten electrodes 8 control the actuators (for a general N×M array, N+M electrodes are used to control the actuators). To activate the actuator in the second row and third column, for example, an electrical signal is sent to this actuator using the electrode that controls the second row and the electrode that controls the third row.
In systems employing smart matter, which contain many actuators, running numerous electrodes to individually control each actuator can be expensive and unwieldy. Individual electrode lines must be routed into an array, drive electronics with a capability for handling each actuator must be built, and the actuation data rates must be correspondingly high, thereby loading down communication channels.

Analog actuation allocation structure with many actuators


Measurement of an internal structure of a sample is performed using interference of light within a short time. Through a first optical frequency comb generator 5 using a first signal having a frequency f1 and generating reference light having a sideband every interval of the frequency f1 and a second optical frequency comb generator 6 using a second signal having a frequency f2 and generating object light having a sideband every interval of the frequency f2, and sweeping of emission timing between the reference light and the object light, by changing a phase difference or frequency difference between the first signal and second signal, and detecting a change in light intensity of the interference light due to the interference, operation of detecting the interference position is made at a high speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an interference detecting apparatus and a tomography apparatus using interference property of light and detecting a structure of a measurement sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
A shape measuring apparatus employing light interference tomography is known as a measuring apparatus by which an internal structure, a refractive index, a thickness and so forth of an object is obtained.
As such a shape measuring apparatus, there is one shown in FIG. 14 for example. In this shape measuring apparatus, light L 101 emitted from a light source having a short coherence distance is split into object light L102 and reference light L103 by a beam splitter 102. The object light L102 is reflected by a measurement sample S via a scanner 103, thus becomes object light L104, and is incident on the beam splitter 102 again. Further, the reference light L103 is reflected by a reference-light mirror 105 positioned by a motor 106 via a frequency shifter 104, and is incident on the beam splitter 102 again.
The object light L104 and reference light L103 are combined as a result of being incident on the beam splitter 102, and then is incident on a photodetector 107 as interference light L105. The photodetector 107 detects the interference light in which light intensity is modulated through interference between the object light L104 and reference light L103, and generates a detection signal. The detection signal undergoes filtering, A/D (analog to digital) conversion, for example, by a signal processing circuit 108, and is input to a control part 109. In the control part 109, based on the input signal, an image indicating an internal structure of the measurement sample S, for example, is generated as a measurement result. Further, the control part 109 drives the motor 106 while controlling a motor control circuit 110 based on the input signal and a feedback signal from the motor 106. Further, the control part 109 controls the scanner 103 so as to cause it to scan the surface of the measurement sample S with the object light L102.
In this shape measuring apparatus, the measurement sample S is moved along Z directions or a reference mirror 105 is moved along X directions, and a distance the measurement sample S or reference mirror 105 has moved is obtained. Thereby, a distribution in reflectance of the measurement sample S along depth directions is obtained. Thereby, the shape measuring apparatus can perform tomographic measurement of the measurement sample S, and thereby, measures an internal shape and an external shape of the measurement sample S. This shape measuring apparatus can be used for observation of the inside of a living body by using light of a wavelength range of red through near infrared, for example.
Further, by the shape measuring apparatus in the prior art, when pulse laser is emitted as the light source 101 having a short coherent distance, it is possible to observe an internal structure of the measurement sample S by using a component thereof for which interference occurs as a result of the pulse reflected by the reference mirror 105 being on time.
However, in the shape measuring apparatus in the prior art, as the light source 101 is of a single one normally, it is necessary to control interference by mechanically controlling the position of the reference mirror 105 along the X directions. However, in many cases, as the movement speed of the reference mirror 105 has a limit, much time is required for measuring the measurement sample S.
Further, in the prior art, a tomography apparatus to which a method called Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry: OFDR) is applied is proposed. However, actually, it is necessary to cause the frequency of a used laser to sweep through a wide range, and, mechanical driving is used for this purpose.
Further, in the prior art, there is an example without employing mechanical driving, which has, however, a low resolution.
The present invention has been proposed in consideration of the above-described situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shape detecting apparatus and a tomography apparatus by which it is possible to measure a sample within a short time at a high resolution.
An interference detecting apparatus relating to the present invention solving the above-described problems, comprises: a light source emitting light having coherency; a first signal generating means generating a first signal having a frequency of f1; a first optical frequency comb generating means using the first signal provided from above-mentioned first signal generating means, modulating the light provided from the above-mentioned light source, and generating reference light having a sideband every interval of frequency f1 in the light provided from the above-mentioned light source; a second signal generating means generating a second signal having a frequency of f2; a second optical frequency comb generating means using the second signal provided from above-mentioned second signal generating means, modulating the light provided from the above-mentioned light source, and generating object light having a sideband every interval of frequency f2 in the light provided from the above-mentioned light source; a combining means combining the reference light provided from the above-mentioned first optical frequency comb generating means and the object light generated by the above-mentioned second optical frequency comb generating means and reflected by a to-be-measured object so as to generate interference light; and a detecting means controlling an interference timing between the reference light provided from the above-mentioned first optical frequency comb generating means and the object light provided from the above-mentioned second optical frequency comb generating means, by using a phase difference or frequency difference between the first signal and second signal, and detecting a change in light intensity of the interference light.
A tomography apparatus relating to the present invention, comprises: in order to solve the above-described problems, a light source emitting light having coherency; a first signal generating means generating a first signal having a frequency of f1; a first optical frequency comb generating means using the first signal provided from the above-mentioned first signal generating means, modulating the light provided from the above-mentioned light source, and generating reference light having a sideband every interval of frequency f1 in the light provided from the above-mentioned light source; a second signal generating means generating a second signal having a frequency of f2; a second optical frequency comb generating means using the second signal provided from the above-mentioned second signal generating means, modulating the light provided from the above-mentioned light source, and generating object light having a sideband every interval of frequency f2 in the light provided from the above-mentioned light source; a combining means combining the reference light provided from the above-mentioned first optical frequency comb generating means and the object light generated by above-mentioned second optical frequency comb generating means and reflected by a to-be-measured object so as to generate interference light; a first detecting means controlling an interference timing between the reference light provided from the above-mentioned first optical frequency comb generating means and the object light provided from the above-mentioned second optical frequency comb generating means, by using a phase difference or frequency difference between the first signal and second signal, and detecting a change in light intensity of the interference light; a scanning means scanning the to-be-measured object with a position of application of the object light provided from the above-mentioned second optical frequency comb generating means; a second detecting means detecting shape information of the to-be-measured object based on an interference detection result given by the above-mentioned first detecting means; and an image producing means producing an image representing the shape of the to-be-measured object by using a plurality of shape information sets of the to-be-measured object generated by the above-mentioned second detecting means as a result of above-mentioned scanning means scanning it.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Interference detecting apparatus and tomography apparatus


The invention relates to a photocatalyst that is active under irradiation with UV light, visible light and sunlight, comprising a powder or a ready-to-use nanometric suspension of nitrogen-doped TiO2, wherein the brookite crystalline phase is also present and whose doping nitrogen content (% by weight) is sufficient to ensure photocatalytic activity in the visible region. The photocatalyst can be easily applied to substrates of varying nature.

The use of light energy in processes of photodecomposition of chemical substances (such as, for example the abatement of pollutants in the liquid or gas phase, the production of hydrogen by water splitting, etc.) is presently one of the research fields of greatest interest from a scientific-technological viewpoint, as well as regards the investment of resources by the most industrialised countries. In this area a fundamental role is played by photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide (TiO2), since the use of the latter has numerous advantages, including its low cost, high availability, nontoxicity, chemical and thermal stability and high oxidative power. However, the largest disadvantage of using titanium dioxide-based photocatalysts is that they are active only if irradiated by a suitable source of light having a wavelength in the interval of the ultraviolet region (λ=350-400 nm), due to the relatively large band gap energy of TiO2 (Eg=3.0-3.2 eV), which absorbs light only with a wavelength smaller than about 387 nm. Sunlight is the most abundant, accessible and renewable source of photons available to us. About 50% of solar radiation is emitted in the infrared region (NIR, near visible), whilst the rest is emitted in the visible region and only 5% in the ultraviolet region. For this reason, many efforts have been dedicated with the aim of improving the photocatalytic performance of titanium dioxide toward the visible region and developing photocatalysts that are active under excitation with visible radiation, deriving both from the solar spectrum and from normal lamps for interior lighting, thus overcoming the high costs and problems of accessibility tied to the use of UV lamps.
Therefore, in order to solve the problem of the non-absorption of visible radiation, various strategies have been followed; these include modifying TiO2 by introducing oxygen defects or doping with transition metals (such as Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Cr, Mo, V and W), noble metals (such as Au, Ag and Pt), rare earth elements and, only recently, non-metals (for example C, N, P, S, F etc.). In particular, doping with nitrogen is one of the most effective approaches for improving TiO2 activity in the visible region.
Starting from one of the first examples of nitrogen-doped TiO2 with photocatalytic sensitisation in the visible region, reported in a 1986 article by Sato (S. Sato, Chem. Phys. Lett. 123 (1986) 126-128), numerous studies have appeared on the method of preparation and characterisation of this material.
Among the various "wet-chemistry" methods of preparing TiO2—N known in the prior art, it is possible to identify processes in which the doping takes place simultaneously with the synthesis of titanium dioxide through the addition of a nitrogen source to the suspension containing the precursor of TiO2, like in the article by Livraghi (S. Livraghi et. al., Journal of Solid State Chemistry 182 (2009) 160-164) for example, or processes that start off from an already formed colloidal solution of TiO2, to which the nitrogen source is added in a second step (CN 1736584). In this case the final product is obtained in the form of a nano-TiO2—N powder (anatase) following a drying process and subsequent calcination at 300-650° C. for 0.5-6 h.
Moreover, in the literature it is known that, in general, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 can be influenced by other factors such as the crystalline structure, particle sizes, surface morphology and porosity.
Among these factors, the crystalline structure is the factor that most influences the photocatalytic performance.
Titanium dioxide is a material that exhibits polymorphism, i.e. it exists in more than one crystalline structure. There are four commonly known crystalline phases of TiO2: anatase (tetragonal), rutile (tetragonal), brookite (orthorhombic) and TiO2 (B) (monoclinic).
Among the two most common crystalline phases of TiO2, anatase and rutile (which is also the most thermodynamically stable phase), in the present state of the art anatase appears to be the phase with the greatest photo-activity. For this reason, most research on TiO2-based photocatalysts has focused on anatase, rutile or biphasic compositions thereof.
The brookite phase, by contrast, has received less attention. It is important to note that this lack of interest is due not to the photocatalytic activity of brookite (which is actually very active from a photocatalytic viewpoint), but rather to its thermodynamic metastability and the difficulty of obtaining it in high percentages.
A photocatalyst based on nitrogen-doped TiO2 is described in patent EP 2000208 A2. In this document mention is made of the possibility of obtaining a product comprising TiO2 in any of the crystalline forms, anatase, rutile or brookite, or in a mixed crystalline form comprising two or more of the aforesaid crystalline phases. However, the final photocatalyst shows a limitation in the content of doping nitrogen, which must remain below 0.1% by weight in order to avoid impairing the photocatalytic activity of the product in the visible region.
In this context, the technical task at the basis of the present invention is to propose an optimised alternative to the existing TiO2—N-based photocatalysts which has the same effectiveness or a greater effectiveness and can be adapted to cover different substrates that are not necessarily resistant to high temperatures (thus to calcination), a problem that is present in the current state of the art with many similar products comprising TiO2—N. Said technical problem is overcome by the present invention, which provides a photocatalyst (and a process for the preparation thereof) which comprises a powder or a stable suspension of nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with photocatalytic activity both in the UV region and in the visible region, wherein the brookite crystalline phase is present and whose nitrogen content is sufficient to ensure the absorption of visible light. The photocatalyst can be easily applied to a variety of different substrates by means of known industrial systems, in particular also to substrates that are not resistant to high temperatures.

Nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and the use thereof in photocatalysis


There are provided a portable terminal and a method of controlling the same with which it is possible to choose and display only data that is useful for users among contents existing on a communication network. A browser unit acquires a desirable contents source from a website by using reference information. An analyzing unit analyzes whether or not link information is established to the image data designated in the acquired source by the browser unit, and whether or not the domain and home directory of the image data match with the domain and home directory of text data contained in the source. A display control unit determines display or non-display of image data which is designated in the source based on the result of analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement to a portable terminal and a method controlling the same which makes it possible to display contents existing on a communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a variety of arts has been proposed to display and inspect the contents existing on a communication network such as the internet or the like on a portable terminal.
For example, in JP-A-2004-133532, an information transforming system is disclosed, in which an information exchange device is provided between a web-server and a proxy server to transform image data and the like appropriately according to the size of a display screen of the portable terminal.
However, in the prior art, because data of large capacity such as an image is transmitted to the portable terminal whose transmission speed and imaging speed are slow, there was a problem that users were stressed due to taking time in data processing at the portable terminal.
To solve such a problem, for example, the existence or nonexistence of the image acquisition is established in the portable terminal side, but in the case where nonexistence of the image acquisition is established, a disadvantage arises that not even useful image for users can be acquired.

Portable terminal and method of controlling the same


A modulo address generating apparatus and method are disclosed which obtain high speed performance with reduced integrated circuit area. A modulo address generator according to the present invention includes a first adder for adding a current address to an address increment to generate an incremented address, an inverter for producing a complement of a maximum address, a second adder for generating a circular correction value by adding the complement of the maximum address to a minimum address, an adder/subtracter for generating a corrected next address by adding or subtracting the circular correction value to or from the incremented address according to a sign value of the address increment, a comparator for checking whether the incremented address is within an address range defined by the maximum and minimum addresses, and a multiplexor controlled by the comparator which selects the incremented address for output as a next address when the incremented address is within the address range and selects the corrected address for output as the next address when the incremented address is outside the address range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modulo address generating apparatus and method which obtains performance speed suitable for high-speed digital signal processing with reduced integrated circuit area by performing additions in parallel using low speed adders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, modulo addressing is used in digital signal processors (DSPs) to efficiently perform a DSP algorithm, such as a digital filter.
Modulo addressing is, in essence, a circular addressing method. The simplest type of modulo addressing returns to a base address (B) when reaching a predetermined maximum address (M) by incrementing a current address (A) by a predetermined address increment (I). The same data region is therefor repeatedly accessed. Modulo addressing can thus be implemented in a DSP algorithm to repeatedly access data that is located in a specific region, such as filter coefficient data, with high speed and a low level of address generation overhead. The address increment I can be either positive, for incrementing the address A, or negative, to decrement the address A.
In more general terms, given that a predetermined data region is defined by the maximum address M and the minimum address B, the modulo algorithm for the next address NEXT.sub.-- A can be expressed as described below.
First, when I.gtoreq.0 and A+I.ltoreq.M, then the next address NEXT.sub.-- A is expressed by NEXT.sub.-- A=A+I. Conversely, if I.gtoreq.0 and A+I>M, then the next address NEXT.sub.-- A is expressed as follows: EQU NEXT.sub.-- A=A+I-(M-B+1) (1)
where M.gtoreq.A.gtoreq.B and I<M-B+1.
Similarly, when I<0 and A+I.gtoreq.B, then the next address NEXT.sub.--A is expressed as NEXT.sub.-- A=A+I. However, when I<0 and A+I<B, then the next address NEXT.sub.-- A is expressed as follows: EQU NEXT.sub.-- A=A+I+(M-B+1) (2)
where M.gtoreq.A.gtoreq.B and .vertline.I.vertline.<M-B+1.
However, the implementation of equations (1) and (2) above typically requires a circuit having multiple stage adders connected in series. This has the disadvantage that the modulo address generation function may become a critical path in a high speed digital signal processor due to the delay introduced by the sequentially operating multistage adders. Circuits have been constructed, such as the module addressing circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1, that use high speed adders instead of multiple stage adders in order to avoid the delay introduced by multistage adders.
Modulo addressing circuit 100 consists of a first adder 11 which adds the current address A and the address increment I and outputs a resulting sum signal a. Two multiplexors (MUXs) 12 and 13 are included for selecting and outputting either the maximum address M or the minimum address B according to the sign bit, sign(I), of the address increment I. An inverter INVI inverts the output from the first MUX 12 and inputs the resulting signal b to a second adder 14 which adds the output signal a of the first adder, the output signal b of the inverter and sign(I) to produce an output signal d. A third adder 15 adds the output signal d from the second adder, the output signal c from the second MUX 13 and sign(I) to produce an output signal e. XNOR gate 16 performs an exclusive NOR operation on sign(I) and the sign bit of the output signal d from adder 14, sign(d), to control the selection in MUX 17 of either the output signal a from the first adder or the output signal e from the third adder.
To understand the function of modulo addressing circuit 100, note that when I.gtoreq.0 and A+I>M, then equation (1) above can be rewritten as follows: ##EQU1##
In equation (3), inv(M) designates a one's complement of M and -M=inv(M)+1, under a two's complement representation. The relation of A+I>M can therefore be expressed as A+I+inv(M).gtoreq.0. Note also that sign(I)=0 for the inputs to adders 14 and 15.
In a similar manner, when I<0 and A+I<B, equation (2) above can be expressed as follows: ##EQU2##
In equation (4), inv(B) designates a one's complement of B, and the equation A+I<B can be expressed as A+I+inv(B)<0.
The algorithm implemented by modulo addressing circuit 100 can then be expressed as follows: EQU a=A+I; EQU b=inv(M), when sign(I)=0, or EQU b=inv(B), when sign(I) is 1; EQU c=B, when sign(I)=0, or EQU c=M, when sign(I)=1; EQU d=a+b+sign(I); EQU e=d+c+sign(I); EQU NEXT.sub.-- A=a, when sign(I) XNOR sign(d)=0, or EQU NEXT.sub.-- A=e, when sign(I) XNOR sign(d)=1 (5).
Modulo addressing circuit 100 can be implemented as described above using only three high speed adders and some additional logic circuitry. The method illustrated in FIG. 1 is used in the D950 core from SGS-Thomson. However, the drawback of the solution illustrated by modulo addressing circuit 100 is the increased chip area required to construct the three high speed adders 11, 14 and 15.

Modulo address generating circuit and method with reduced area and delay using low speed adders