A transverse flux motor (10) includes a housing (20), a stator (50), and a rotor (30) external to the stator (50) and installed onto the housing. The stator (50) includes a stator sub-assembly including at least one pair of stator core elements (52), each having multiple stator pole teeth (56) circumferentially offset from pole teeth of the other stator core element in the pair. The rotor (30) includes a rotor body (32) made of a single piece part or multiple rotor body laminas (36). The rotor body (32) includes multiple magnetic flux retention features (40) for positioning first magnets (34). Two adjacent magnetic flux retention features (48) define a second magnet retention feature (47) for positioning a second magnet (45) that form a substantially U-shape together with two neighboring first magnets with the same magnetic poles facing each other.

A typical transverse flux motor (TFM) is a type of brushless electric motor and, when compared to a radial flux motor, may provide higher torque and efficiency at lower speeds. A transverse flux motor typically includes a stator and a rotor that substantially surrounds the stator. The stator may include one or more filed windings that are commutated to produce rotating magnetic fluxes to drive the rotor. The magnetic field inside a transverse flux motor is three-dimensional in nature and thus usually requires complex numerical simulation techniques (e.g., finite element analysis) to predict or estimate the magnetic field distribution.
A conventional transverse flux motor has a housing that includes multiple magnetic flux concentrators extending radially toward the center of the housing. Corresponding to each magnetic flux concentrator, there are two rotor permanent magnets attached the interior wall of the housing along the circumference direction. The magnetic flux concentrators typically have the form of a rod or bar and are attached to the interior wall of the housing by, for example, using adhesives or mechanical fastening techniques or other similar manufacturing processes for joining two components. The rotor permanent magnets are also usually attached to the interior wall of the housing using similar manufacturing processes. The positioning of the magnetic flux concentrators or the rotor permanent magnets usually exhibits larger variations or tolerances in conventional transverse flux motors due to the larger tolerances associated with such manufacturing processes. As a result, the efficiency of conventional TFMs is typically lower than desired and thus runs contrary to the intended purposes for achieving higher efficiencies of using transverse flux motors.
Therefore, there exists a need for a transverse flux motor that includes multiple magnetic flux retention features in the rotor and multiple magnets in both the rotor and the stator, while providing the desired or required positioning precision for the rotor, the stator, or various magnets in the stator or the rotor.

Transverse flux permanent magnet rotatory device


There is disclosed a meanderline loaded antenna comprising a ground plane, a non-driven vertical element affixed thereto, a driven vertical element and a shaped top radiating element conductively connected between the driven and non-driven vertical elements. One or more segments or regions of the top plate are resonant depending on the input signal frequency. Since top plate presents several such segments or portions, several different resonant frequencies (a band of closely spaced resonant frequencies or multiple bands of disparate resonant frequencies) are presented to the antenna driving signal, thus allowing the antenna to resonate at several different frequencies and bands. In another embodiment, the antenna comprises a plurality of top radiating elements in parallel spaced relation or in a single plane, wherein each top radiating element is resonant at a different frequency, when considered with the effective lengths of the other antenna elements. Thus the plurality of top radiating plates accommodate multiple resonant frequencies and wideband operation. A plurality of such antennae can be used as elements to form an antenna array. The antenna functions similarly in a receive mode in accordance with the antenna reciprocity therein.

The present invention relates generally to antennae comprising a plurality meanderlines (also referred to as variable impedance transmission lines or slow wave transmissions lines), and specifically to such an antenna providing multi-band operation using a simple or complex polygonal or irregularly shaped radiating element or a plurality of such radiating elements.
It is generally known that antenna performance is dependent upon the antenna shape, the relationship between the antenna physical parameters (e.g., length for a linear antenna and diameter for a loop antenna) and the wavelength of the signal received or transmitted by the antenna. These relationships determine several antenna parameters, including input impedance, gain, directivity and the radiation pattern shape. Generally, the minimum physical antenna dimension must be on the order of a quarter-wavelength of the operating frequency, thereby allowing the antenna to be excited easily and to operate at or near its resonant frequency, which in turn limits the energy dissipated in resistive losses and maximizes the antenna gain.
The burgeoning growth of wireless communications devices and systems has created a significant need for physically smaller, less obtrusive, and more efficient antennae that are capable of operation in multiple frequency bands and/or in multiple modes (i.e., having different radiation patterns). As is known to those skilled in the art, there is an inverse relationship between physical antenna size and antenna gain, at least with respect to a single-element antenna. Increased gain requires a physically larger antenna, while users continue to demand physically smaller antennae. As a further constraint, to simplify the system design and strive for minimum cost, equipment designers and system operators prefer to utilize antennae capable of efficient multi-frequency and/or wide bandwidth operation. Finally, it is known that the relationship between the antenna frequency and the antenna length (in wavelengths) determines the antenna gain. That is, the antenna gain is constant for all quarter-wavelength antennae (i.e., at that operating frequency where the antenna length is a quarter of a wavelength).
One prior art technique that addresses some of these antenna requirements is the so-called xe2x80x9cYagi-Udaxe2x80x9d antenna, which has been successfully used for many years in applications such as the reception of television signals and point-to-point communications. The Yagi-Uda antenna can be designed with high gain (or directivity) and a low voltage-standing-wave ratio (i.e., low losses) throughout a narrow band of contiguous frequencies. It is also possible to operate the Yagi-Uda antenna in more than one frequency band, provided that each band is relatively narrow and that the mean frequency of any one band is not a multiple of the mean frequency of another band. That is, a Yagi-Uda antenna for operation at multiple frequencies can be constructed so long as the operational frequencies are not harmonically related.
Specifically, in the Yagi-Uda antenna, there is a single element driven from a source of electromagnetic radio frequency (RF) radiation. That driven element is typically a half-wave dipole antenna. In addition to the half-wave dipole element, the antenna has certain parasitic elements, including a reflector element on one side of the dipole and a plurality of director elements on the other side of the dipole. The director elements are usually disposed in a spaced-apart relationship in the transmitting direction or, in accordance with the antenna reciprocity theorem, in the receiving direction. The reflector element is disposed on the side of the dipole opposite from the array of director elements. Certain improvements in the Yagi-Uda antenna are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,083 (disclosing a Yagi-Uda antenna configuration to achieve coverage of two relatively narrow non-contiguous frequency bands), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,944 (disclosing the use of a full or partial cylinder partially enveloping the dipole element).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,811 discloses an invention directed to a dipole array antenna having two dipole radiating elements. The first element is a driven dipole of a predetermined length and the second element is an unfed dipole of a different length, but closely spaced from the driven dipole and excited by near-field coupling. This antenna provides improved performance characteristics at higher microwave frequencies.
One basic antenna model commonly used in many applications today is the half-wavelength dipole antenna. The radiation pattern is the familiar donut shape with most of the energy radiated uniformly in the azimuth direction and little radiation in the elevation direction. The personal communications (PCS) band of frequencies extends from 1710 to from 1990 MHz and 2110 to 2200 MHz. A half-wavelength dipole antenna is approximately 3.11 inches long at 1900 MHz, 3.45 inches long at 1710 MHz and 2.68 inches long at 2200 MHz, and has a typical gain of a 2.15 dBi. A derivative of the half-wavelength dipole is the quarter-wavelength monopole antenna located above a ground plane. The physical antenna length is a quarter-wavelength, but the ground plane changes the antenna characteristics to resemble a half-wavelength dipole. Thus, the radiation pattern for such a monopole is similar to the half-wavelength dipole pattern, with a typical gain of approximately 2 dBi.
The common free space (i.e., not above a ground plane) loop antenna (with a diameter of approximately one-third the wavelength) also displays the familiar donut radiation pattern (along the radial axis) with a gain of approximately 3.1 dBi. At 1900 MHz, this antenna has a diameter of about 2 inches. The typical loop antenna input impedance is 50 ohms, providing good matching characteristics. Finally, another conventional antenna is the patch, which provides directional hemispherical coverage with a gain of approximately 3 dBi. Although small compared to a quarter- or half-wavelength antenna, the patch antenna has a low radiation efficiency.
The present invention discloses an antenna comprising one or more conductive elements, including a horizontal element and at least two oppositely disposed vertical elements, each connected to the horizontal element by a meanderline coupler, and a ground plane. The meanderline coupler has an effective electrical length through the dielectric medium that influences the overall effective electrical length, operating characteristics, and pattern shape of the antenna. Further, the use of multiple vertical elements or multiple meanderline couplers on a single vertical element provides controllable operation in multiple frequency bands. An antenna comprising meanderline couplers has a smaller physical size, yet exhibits enhanced performance over a conventional dipole. Further, the operational bandwidth is greater than typically available with a patch antenna. Finally, an antenna constructed with two meanderline couplers and more than one horizontal element offers polarization diversity depending on the relationship between the transmitted/received signal and the orientation of the radiating/receiving elements.
A meanderline coupled antenna constructed according to the prior art typically operates in two frequency bands, with a unique antenna pattern for each band (i.e., in one band the antenna has an omnidirectional donut radiation pattern (referred to herein as monopole mode) and in the other band the majority of the radiation is emitted in a hemispherical elevation pattern (referred to as loop mode). According to the teachings of the present invention, the antenna comprises a plurality of horizontal conductors (also referred to as top plates) or a single horizontal conductor with an shape determined by the desired antenna characteristics. The multiple top plates or the shaped top plate provides multiple resonant frequencies or multiple resonant frequency bands and therefore the antenna operates in multiple modes in a single frequency band, dependent upon which one or more of the multiple top plates are excited or in the shaped top plate embodiment, dependent upon the particular segment or region of the shaped top plate that is excited.

High gain, frequency tunable variable impedance transmission line loaded antenna having shaped top plates


A structure is disclosed to protect explosive ordnance. The structure comprises an inner ceramic layer. A polyurethane layer encompassing the inner ceramic layer. A third layer is a stainless steel layer encompassing the polyurethane layer with a second polyurethane layer wrapping around the stainless steel layer. A fifth layer is an outer ceramic layer. A sixth layer through tenth layer comprises interconnected aramid fiber fabric (i.e., KEVLAR) impregnated with polyurethane. The structure may be part of an explosive handling system to include a shipping container that decelerates projectiles approaching the explosive device. The container comprises fifteen additional layers to encompass the structure. The first layer is steel encompassing the structure with a second layer through fifteenth layer of the container each being KEVLAR impregnated with polyurethane. Both the composite structure and the shipping container can be made from commercially available products.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an explosive ordnance handling and transport system and more particularly to a composite structure and shipping container that is ballistic-resistant and protects the ordnance.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Recently, there has been an emphasis on compliance with Insensitive Munitions (IM) standards as part of an effort to improve the safety of explosives and energetic materials. Military products are manufactured, shipped and stored at various locations throughout the world. The increasing threat of terrorist attacks on military installations and public infrastructure has driven all branches of the military to assess the safety of existing ordnance handling and transport systems and products under their area of responsibility.
Tests that address the various threats to explosive ordnance transport include the impact of bullets on the Insensitive Munitions, fragment impact, slow cook-off, fast cook-off, and sympathetic detonation. IM compliance and hazard classification testing addresses the safety of the product relative to transportation, storage, and system vulnerability over the entire life cycle of the product.
The bullet impact test is considered the most difficult to pass with the Insensitive Munitions because of the severity of the test. More particularly, one aspect of Insensitive Munitions compliance is to assess the reaction of the device relative to the standard attack threat of a 0.50 caliber M2 armor-piercing bullet.
As such, a need exists to improve the IM compliance for handling of explosive ordnance and energetic material especially ballistic-resistance to M2 armor-piercing bullets.

Anti-ballistic composite structure for ordinance

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A system for facilitating filling at least one unfilled form including at least one data field is disclosed. The system includes a display module configured to display the at least one unfilled form. Further, the system includes a scanning module configured to scan at least one supporting document, a classifier module configured to classify the at least one supporting document into at least one document class, an extracting module configured to extract the information from the at least one supporting document based on the at least one document class, a questionnaire module configured to provide an adaptive questionnaire to obtain additional information, and a form-filling module configured to fill out the at least one unfilled form to obtain at least one filled form. Finally, the system includes a communication module configured to send the at least one filled form over a communication network.

Customer acquisition is a key requirement for growth for service businesses in various industries such as banking, insurance, telecommunication, cable or satellite TV, print or media, etc. Enrolling or subscribing new customers for a service involves getting critical information about the customer, informing the customer regarding terms of a service contract, getting customer consent, receiving payment, etc. Typically, paperwork related to enrollment is completed by filling out standard forms, which are processed and/or validated by the businesses to set up the service or transaction. Often, the enrollment or application forms are filled out by the customers or sales representatives of the businesses. For example, at a bank, opening a new bank account involves completing one or more account opening forms, while a new loan may require completion of one or more loan application forms.
For a customer's convenience, a business representative may go on the road and facilitate filling out the relevant forms at a customer's home or office. For example, banks can capitalize on a business opportunity by sending representatives to the premises of a company to enroll new employees by opening salary accounts. Further, bank branches in rural or semi-urban areas may not be easily accessible to customers; therefore, banks acquire new customers in such areas by sending representatives to customer's home or workplace. In urban areas, a bank representative may set up meetings and meet individual customers by appointment at a convenient location. Each bank representative may meet as many as 20 people per day within his or her assigned area. As a result, there are risks of errors if the representative mistakenly switches documents from different customers.
When they go on the road, bank representatives may carry a kit of forms to the customer's home or workplace to open a new account. In the customer's presence, the representative may fill out parts of the required forms and collect photocopies of required supporting documents, such as proof of identity and proof of address. Later on, the bank representative may use the photocopies of the supporting documents to fill out the application form completely. This process may be prone to errors as the customer is not present to validate and verify the information in the forms. For example, a representative may enter an error in a person's address or birth date.
Further, if the customer does not have photocopies of the supporting documents, the bank representative may have to take the supporting documents to on external photocopying service (such as a nearby photocopy shop) to prepare the application set, which is time-consuming. Thereafter, the filled forms are typically couriered to a branch office or a back-office, for further checking and processing. If any form is missing or inconsistent or inaccurate information is inserted, the bank representative may have to contact the customer again. There is also a great risk that the forms or the supporting documents may get damaged or lost during transit.
In practice, bank representatives often take photocopies of the supporting documents and customer's photographs and signature on an empty form and fill out the application form with the help of supporting documents once he or she is back to the branch office. Although this practice saves the time in the beginning, it may increase time that the representative has to spend verifying information or the customer may have to contact the bank to fix errors in the application. Because the representative is not filling most of the form in the customer's presence, the chance of errors in filling information increases. For example, the bank representative may mistakenly switch the first and last name of the customer or use a prior phone number as the current contact number, etc.
Thus, there is a need to develop portable devices, related systems and methods that are robust, and decrease the time needed to fill out and process forms quickly and accurately with minimal errors.


Oligonucleotides of the formula5′-(CAP)-(Oligo)-(CAP)-3′are disclosed where (oligo) is a nucleotide sequence of from 10 to 40 nucleotides in length, and CAP is Gm, where m is an integer of from zero to ten, the two CAP's which are present in the molecule can be defined independently of each other and must be different in the case where m is zero at the 5′ or 3′ end and the end of the Oligo sequence is other than guanine. The oligonucleotides can be synthesized chemically. The oligonucleotides are used to diagnose or treat cancer, restenosis, a disease caused by a virus, a disease affected by integrins or cell-cell adhesion receptor or a disease triggered by diffusible factors.

Antisense oligonucleotides (AO), triple helix-forming oligonucleotides (TFO) and sense oligonucleotides have been found to be specific inhibitors of gene expression in a large number of systems, both in vitro and in vivo (e.g., Uhlmann & Peyman, Chem. Rev., 1990, 90: 543; Milligan et al., J. Med. Chem., 1993, 36: 1923; Stein & Cheng, Science, 1993, 261: 1004; Bielinaki et al., Science, 1990, 250: 997).
One of the main problems when using naturally occurring phosphodiester (PO) oligonucleotides is their rapid degradation by various nucleolytic activities both in cells and in the cell culture medium. A variety of chemical modifications have been employed in order to stabilize oligonucleotides. Reviews on the state of the art are provided, for example, by Uhlmann & Peyman, above, and P. D. Cook (Antisense Research and Applications, Crooke and Lebleu, Eds., Chapter 9, p. 149ff, CRC Press Boca Raton 1993).
Stabilization against nucleolytic degradation can be effected by modifying or replacing the phosphate bridge, the sugar structural component or the nucleotide base, or by replacing the sugar-phosphate backbone of the oligonucleotides. Numerous modifications of the internucleoside bridge have, in particular, been described, since the phosphate bridge is the center of the nucleolytic attack. The nuclease-resistant inter-nucleoside bridges which are most frequently used are phosphorothioate (PS), methyl phosphonate (MeP) and phosphoramidate (PA) bridges. Hairpin or self-stabilized oligonucleotides, as described, for example, in Tang et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 1993, 21: 2729) represent a further option for stabilization.
An additional problem in antisense technology is that cell penetration by the oligonucleotides is often inadequate. Numerous chemical modifications have been employed to improve this situation as well. Uhlmann & Peymann, above, and P. D. Cook, above, provide reviews of the state of the art. These modifications involve, inter alia, lipophilic conjugate groups at the 5′ or 3′ end of the oligonucleotide and neutral or ionic modifications of the backbone, and also 2′ modifications on the pentofuranosyl ring. Hughes, Antisense Research and Development, 1994, 4: 211, demonstrates that the cell uptake of a 10-mer homo-G phosphorothioate is higher, by a factor of 2, than the cell uptake of the 10-mer homo-oligomeric phosphorothioate of T, A or C.
Blackburne, Nature, 1991, 350: 569, describes structures which can be assumed by G-rich oligonucleotides. In the presence of Na+ or K+, G-rich oligonucleotides which possess at least four short segments containing G residues are able to form intramolecular structures which contain so-called G quartets as the stabilizing element; these quartets comprise four guanine residues which are linked in one plane by way of Hoogsten base pairing. Several such elements are arranged one above the other. Frequently, oligonucleotides are too short to form such intramolecular structures. In these cases, G quartet structures can be formed by the association of two separate oligonucleotides.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A thermoplastic building block consisting of a hollow block molded out of a thermoplastic resin such as an aromatic polycarbonate resin. The block has molded flanges extending outwardly from the outer surfaces of the block. The flanges have interlocking means such as ribs on the under side of the extended flanges so as to join the corresponding outer flange of an adjacent block. The joining means do not require the need for cementing or adhesive bonding the flanges together. The block may be used to form a straight or curved wall.

Plastic blocks for use in erecting walls whether they may be decorative or otherwise, are becoming more popular. Such plastic blocks are known and there are patents covering various types of blocks and designs with respect to wall construction using plastic blocks. Several patents in the area of plastic blocks are U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,589; U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,925; U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,104 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,245.
In comparison to glass blocks, plastic blocks are inexpensive, easily produced and provide aesthetically appealing modular wall structures both for interior and exterior decorative walls. Plastic building blocks provide a number of advantages over conventional glass building blocks, such as, they are lighter in weight, have better impact resistance, generally have better optical clarity, are generally less expensive to make and may be easier to incorporate decorative features in a plastic block, and allows an interlocking system as part of the plastic block.
Several of the above patents disclose plastic blocks and these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,891,925 and 5,033,245. U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,925 discloses a plastic block having special inter-connecting means without the need for motor or adhesive joining of the blocks. The blocks of the reference are joined by a spanning member having ends adjusted for engaging in cavities of two adjacent blocks which can then be connected to form a unified straight wall structure. However, the patent discloses using grouting, once a partition is erected, to cover the recessed spacing flanges between the faces of the blocks (col. 3, lines 54-55).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,245 is directed to decorative architectural building blocks which are generally a plurality of halves joined together along a seam to form a hollow block. The outer surfaces may be surfaced with a transparent, abrasion, chemical and/or ultraviolet light resistant coating. The blocks are assembled and joined together adhesively (Col. 3 lines 1-10), with such adhesive as RTV silicones or other adhesives which can be utilized in place of conventional motor (Col. 1, lines 29-32).


Methods and apparatus for generating a delayed output signal from an input signal applied to an RC delay circuit of a semiconductor device during an active mode. The RC delay circuit is configured to pull up a voltage level on a node responsive to a reset signal during a stand-by mode.

Variations that are of interest in semiconductor devices are typically grouped into three different types: process variations (P), voltage variations (V), and temperature variations (T). These variations together comprise PVT variations. Semiconductors often include resistive-capacitive (RC) delay circuits to introduce delay into control signals to mitigate PVT variation dependency, especially for array control timing adjustment. The output of the driving inverter becomes slanted due to the RC time constant of the load and the output inverter also decides the RC delay trip point. Consequently, the output timing of the inverter may be vulnerable to its PMOS threshold voltage (Vth) fluctuation according to its negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) stress degradation, which manifests as an increase in the threshold voltage and consequent decrease in drain current of the MOSFET.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional RC delay circuit 100 for control signals of a memory array. The RC delay circuit 100 includes inverters that are serially coupled together to receive an input signal DELAY_IN and generate a delayed output signal DELAY_OUT. In particular, the RC delay circuit 100 includes a first inverter 102, a second inverter 104, a first RC load inverter 106, a third inverter 116, a fourth inverter 118, a second RC load inverter 120, a fifth inverter 130, and a sixth inverter 132 serially coupled with each other. The first RC load inverter 106 and the second RC load inverter 120 have RC time constants as will be discussed below, whereas the other inverters 102, 104, 116, 118, 130, 132 do not have RC time constants associated therewith.
The first RC load inverter 106 includes a first transistor 108 and a second transistor 110 having a resistor 112 therebetween. The output (Node A) of the first RC load inverter 106 is also coupled to a capacitor 114 that, with resistor 112 provides an RC time constant for the output signal on Node A. The third inverter 116 and the fourth inverter 118 may be coupled in series between the output of the first RC load inverter 106 and the input to the second RC load inverter 120.
The second RC load inverter 120 includes a first transistor 122 and a second transistor 124 having a resistor 126 therebetween. The output (Node C) of the second RC load inverter 120 is also coupled to a capacitor 128 that, with resistor 126, provides an RC time constant for the output signal on Node C. The output of the second RC load inverter 120 may also be coupled to the fifth inverter 130 and the sixth inverter 132.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram 200 showing waveforms for each input (DELAY_IN), output (DELAY_OUT), and various internal nodes of FIG. 1 in the scenario of no NBTI stress degradation. The RC delay circuit 100 may operate according to the following modes: active mode and precharge mode. Active mode may be defined by the input signal DELAY_IN being asserted. Stand-by mode may be defined by the input signal DELAY_IN being deasserted.
In operation, responsive to the input signal DELAY_IN switches from low to high, the output of the first RC load inverter 106 on node A may switch from high to low. The signal on node A is slanted according to the RC time constant of the resistor 112 and the capacitor 114 of the first RC load inverter 106. In addition, the output of the second RC load inverter 120 on node C may switch from low to high. The signal on node C is also slanted according to the time constant of the resistor 126 and the capacitor 128 of the second RC load inverter 120. The output signal DELAY_OUT switches from low to high according to a delay determined from the different inverter stages. The delay timing for the output signal DELAY_OUT may be determined by the number of delay stages.
FIG. 3 is a timing diagram 300 showing waveforms for each input (DELAY_IN), output (DELAY_OUT), and various internal nodes of FIG. 1 in the scenario of NBTI stress degradation. The PMOS transistor within the third inverter 116 may be degraded due to the NBTI stress because the Node A is low during the active stand-by state. As a result, the rise timing of the Node B may be delayed due to the PMOS threshold voltage Vth shift. The PMOS transistor within the fifth inverter 130 may also be degraded; however, the fall timing of the Node D is approximately the same because the Node D fall timing may be dominated by the NMOS transistor of the fifth inverter 130.

Semiconductor device, delay circuit, and related method


A resource request is sent from a user to a resource controller. The resource controller is resident on a node of a distributed computing platform comprising a plurality of nodes configured to collectively execute at least one application program. A quota pool associated with the resource controller is searched for a matching resource quota for the user to inherit. The resource quota is assigned to the user when a matching resource quota for the user to inherit is found in the quota pool. The resource request is forwarded to a resource scheduler that globally manages resources for the distributed computing platform, when a matching resource quota for the user to inherit is not found in the quota pool.

The analysis of massive amounts of data is becoming a routine activity in many commercial and academic organizations. Internet companies, by way of example only, collect large amounts of data such as content produced by web crawlers, service logs and click streams. Analyzing these data sets may require processing tens or hundreds of terabytes of data. Such data sets are known to be referred to as "big data." A data set characterized as big data is prohibitively large such that it is beyond the capabilities of commonly used software tools to manage/process the data, or at least to do so within a reasonable time frame. To perform the analysis tasks, researchers and practitioners have been developing a diverse array of Massively Distributed Computing Platforms (MDCP) running on large clusters of commodity machines (nodes). Examples of such platforms include MapReduce from Google™ and its open-source implementation Hadoop, Dryad from Microsoft™, MPP Database from Greenplum™ and Spark from University of California at Berkley AMPLab.
The node cluster where a MDCP resides represents a limited set of resource elements, such as central processing unit (CPU), memory, disk and network, which fuel the application programs running in the MDCP. Conceptually, a MDCP application includes one or multiple jobs, which in turn are composed of short tasks. Each task is typically executed at a dedicated node. In order to optimize the performance of MDCP applications, the resources of the cluster need to be managed both effectively and efficiently.


The invention provides for a method for aggregating dermal papilla cells or dermal sheath cells or a combination thereof, the method comprising: growing dermal papilla cells or dermal sheath cells or a combination thereof in suspension culture; and contacting the culture with an effective amount of an enzyme, wherein a substrate of the enzyme is an extracellular matrix molecule in the suspension culture, so as to aggregate dermal papilla cells or dermal sheath cells. The culture may be a hanging drop culture and the enzyme may be a hyaluronidase.

Dermal condensation is crucial for morphogenesis of skin appendages. Although mechanisms for condensation have been elucidated for other systems such as bone, the precise molecular basis for hair follicle dermal condensation are not known. Historical studies have described expression of CD44 and hyaluronan (HA) during early hair follicle morphogenesis. Through microarray analysis, we have uncovered new evidence that this mechanism may play a key role in formation of the dermal condensate. There is increasing evidence from the literature that CD44 acts as a component of developmental signaling pathways as well as functioning as the major receptor for HA.

Methods for compact aggregation of dermal cells

THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK


An image forming apparatus includes a unit including at least two rotary members, and an apparatus main body configured to detachably mount the unit. The apparatus main body includes a first rotation drive source, drive rotary members corresponding to the at least two rotary members and engaging with the at least two rotary members, directly or indirectly, to rotate the at least two rotary members, respectively, and a drive force transmission mechanism transmitting a drive force of the first rotation drive source to the drive rotary members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using electrophotography, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, etc. and a process cartridge to be installed in the image forming apparatus, and in particular relates to a process cartridge unit that can be detachable relative to the main body of an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus provided with a mechanism to transmit a driving force to the process cartridge unit.
2. Discussion of the Background
Recently, a process cartridge unit in which process devices, such as, a photoconductor, a charging device, a development device, a cleaning device, etc, are integrated is used in an image forming apparatus in a detachable manner to reduce the size of the apparatus and to facilitate maintenance of the apparatus.
Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 8-339153 describes a process cartridge unit including an electrophotographic photoconductor and a developer bearing member. A drum gear is provided to an end part of the photoconductor to engage with a drive gear of the main body of an image forming apparatus, a sleeve gear is provided to an end part of the developer bearing member to engage with the drum gear of the photoconductor, and the sleeve gear of the developer bearing member is engaged with gears of other rotary members (a toner stirring member, etc.) via a gear row.
Thus, in the process cartridge unit described in the above-described JP publication, drive forces for all rotary members in the process cartridge unit are obtained from the side of the main body of the image forming apparatus via the drive force transmission mechanism relative to a single rotary member (i.e., the photoconductor) and are transmitted to the other rotary members via the gear row. Therefore, within the process cartridge unit, the layout of the gear row is restricted by the positional relationship between image forming elements (the photoconductor, the developer bearing member, a charging device, a development device, a cleaning device, etc.), and further, the space occupied by the drive force transmission mechanism within the process cartridge unit is relatively large.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge unit therefore


A method for processing data packets in an interception proxy server without using a Network Address Translation module. A TCP packet received at a router is encapsulated using generic routing encapsulation (GRE). The TCP packet is redirected to a proxy server through a GRE tunnel which includes a redirection rule comprising a local destination IP address and port to be used for traffic passed through the tunnel. When the proxy server receives the TCP packet, the TCP packet is decapsulated. If a flag is set in the payload header of the TCP packet indicating that a redirection rule has been configured for traffic passed through the tunnel, the payload header of the TCP packet is modified according to the redirection rule. The modified TCP packet is then passed to a transmission control protocol of the proxy server.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular, to a computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for processing data packets in an interception proxy server without using a network address translation module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Proxy servers are generally known in the art and are available for common Internet services. A proxy server is a server or an application that breaks the connection between a client and a server and performs some operations on behalf of the original server. For example, an HTTP proxy is used for Web access, and an SMTP proxy is used for e-mail. As an example, a proxy server may perform the operation of network address translation (NAT), which presents one organization-wide IP address to the Internet. The network address translation funnels all user requests to the Internet and fans responses back out to the appropriate users. Proxies may also cache Web pages, so that the next request can be obtained locally.
A configuration of a conventional interception proxy server system which provides network address translations is shown in FIG. 1. With the interception proxy server system, a user's Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) request via Web browser 102 may be diverted by router 104 to proxy server 106 using a combination of Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) and Internet Protocol (IP) Network Address Translation (NAT). Generic Routing Encapsulation is a method for encapsulating and routing a payload packet. The payload packet is first encapsulated in a GRE packet. The resulting GRE packet is then encapsulated in some other delivery protocol and forwarded to its destination. Network Address Translation comprises the translation of an IP address used within one network to a different Internet Protocol address known within another network. For instance, a company may map the local IP address on an outgoing data packet to a global IP address outside of the company's local network, and unmap the global IP address on incoming data packets back into a local IP address. Proxy server 106 configures a network address translation module 108 within the proxy to redirect all TCP traffic for a particular port, such as port "80", to the proxy.
Consider the example of a Web request which comprises a TCP packet containing a global destination address, "Google", and a global port number, "80". When the Web request "Google:80" passes router 104 and router 104 is aware of proxy server 106, router 104 encapsulates the TCP packet using generic routing encapsulator 110 and redirects the TCP packet from its intended destination address "Google:80" to proxy server 106. When the encapsulated packet arrives at proxy server 106, decapsulator 112 decapsulates the GRE packet. Decapsulation is typically performed in TCP/IP protocol stack 114. Proxy server 106 then applies NAT module 108 to convert the global destination address and port, "Google:80" to a local destination address and port number for proxy server 106. For instance, the address may be translated to "local_ipname:5000". This network address translation is commonly implemented using firewall software products such as IPFilter which provide D-NAT (destination network address translation) and S-NAT (source network address translation) functionality as well as firewall services. Incoming packets to proxy server 106 are subject to a D-NAT rule, and the outgoing packets are subject to an S-NAT rule.
Although NAT module 108 allows proxy server 106 to convert an IP address from one network to another, if proxy server 106 is very busy, proxy server 106 can experience a large amount of state maintenance overhead by requiring a large number of entries to be created and maintained. Specifically, proxy server 106 must perform a number of steps to an incoming GRE packet before the packet may be delivered to the destination server. Input processing 116 in TCP/IP protocol stack 112 receives the GRE packet and passes the packet to the firewall product (NAT module 108), since all incoming IP packets are scanned by the firewall. NAT module 108 will return the packet back to input processing 116 without any modifications. Input processing 116 will then pass the packet to the GRE protocol processor (decapsulator 112) for decapsulation.
If the decapsulation is successful, the GRE headers are stripped off and the "payload" packet is passed back to input processing 116 again for processing of the "payload" packet. Input processor 116 validates the IP packet and passes it to the firewall. The firewall applies D-NAT to convert destination IP address of "Google" to a local IP address, and destination port of 80 to the local port on which the interception proxy server is listening. If a network address translation entry does not exist, the process creates one. If a network address translation entry exists, the process performs state maintenance and updates the TCP checksum. The modified packet is then passed to input processing 116 to continue processing of the packet. Input processing 116 then determines that the destination IP address is one of the local interfaces, and input processing 116 passes the packet to TCP.
There are, however, several drawbacks to using the interception proxy technique described above. One limitation is that NAT module 108 maintains an entry for each TCP connection. On a busy interception proxy server server, the number of these connections can grow to a very large number. NAT module 108 maintains state to decide when to expire these entries. In addition, current interception proxy techniques cause all incoming packets to be passed to the firewall twice. And, for outgoing TCP packets, input processing 116 passes the TCP packet to the firewall to perform source network address translation.

Integrated tunneling and network address translation: performance improvement for an interception proxy server

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques to filter pilot symbols for a pilot in an “adaptive” manner to provide an improved estimate of the response of a communication channel. A received signal may experience different channel conditions at different times, and different multipaths may also experience different channel conditions even when received close in time. A pilot filter with an adaptive response is used to provide an improved estimate of the channel response. Various adaptive pilot filtering schemes may be used. In a first scheme, the channel conditions are estimated based on the quality of the received pilot. In a second scheme, the channel conditions are estimated based on the quality of the pilot estimates (i.e., the filtered pilot symbols). For each scheme, a particular filter response is selected based on the estimated quality of either the received pilot or the pilot estimates.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to data communication, and more specifically to an adaptive pilot filter for use in a wireless communication system.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication such as voice, packet data, and so on. These systems may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), or some other multiple access technique. CDMA systems may provide certain advantages over other types of systems, including increased system capacity. A CDMA system is typically designed to implement one or more standards, such as IS-95, cdma2000, IS-856, and W-CDMA standards, all of which are known in the art.
In a wireless communication system, a pilot is often transmitted from a transmitter unit (e.g., a base station) to a receiver unit (e.g., a terminal) to assist the receiver unit perform a number of functions. The pilot is typically generated based on a known data pattern (e.g., a sequence of all zeros) and using a known signal processing scheme (e.g., covered with a particular channelization code and spread with a known scrambling code or pseudo-noise (PN) sequence). The pilot may be used at the receiver unit for synchronization with the timing and frequency of the transmitter unit, estimation of the quality of the communication channel, coherent demodulation of a data transmission, and possibly other functions such as determination of the specific transmitter unit having the best link to the receiver unit and the highest data rate supportable by this transmitter unit.
At the receiver unit, a rake receiver is often used to recover the transmitted pilot, signaling, and traffic data. A transmitted signal may be received via multiple signal paths (or multipaths), and each received multipath of sufficient strength may be assigned to and processed by a respective finger processor of the rake receiver. Each finger processor processes the assigned multipath in a manner complementary to that performed at the transmitter unit to recover the data and pilot received via this multipath. The recovered pilot has an amplitude and phase determined by, and indicative of, the channel response for this multipath. The pilot is typically used for coherent demodulation of various traffics transmitted along with the pilot, which are similarly distorted by the channel response. The pilots for a number of multipaths are also used to combine demodulated symbols derived from these multipaths to obtain combined symbols having improved quality.
The quality of the recovered pilot directly impacts the performance of the demodulation process, which may in turn impact the performance of the communication system. A transmitted pilot is typically degraded by channel noise and further distorted by fading in the communication channel. These various phenomena (or channel conditions) combine to make it challenging to estimate the time-varying response (i.e., amplitude and phase) of the communication channel at the receiver unit based on the received pilot.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to provide an improved estimate of the time-varying response of a communication channel from a received pilot in a wireless communication system.

Adaptive pilot filter for a wireless communication system


The present invention discloses a dry powder composition comprising a thermosetting resin in particulate form, wherein the dry powder composition has a particle size measured according to ISO 13320 (2009) characterized by a Dv90 of 50 μm or lower, a Dv50 in the range of 5.1 to 12.5 μm, and a ratio of

Bonding agents based on thermosetting resins are well-known in the art. Such bonding agents are typically applied via wet spraying, roller coating or dipping processes using the active ingredients dispersed and/or dissolved in a solvent. This necessarily involves a wet production process including milling to obtain the required particle size of the dispersed ingredients. The presence of solvent, which has to be removed after application, in the bonding agent increases costs and efforts of the production process and of shipping of the bonding agent, and is undesired from an environmental viewpoint. Therefore, attempts have been made for obtaining powdered coating compositions.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,709,195 discloses a powder primer composition in connection with rubber to metal bonding. However, U.S. Pat. No. 8,709,195 does not disclose special dry coating application techniques or suitable particle sizes of the powder primer composition and, thus, also does not mention techniques for advantageously milling the powder primer composition so as to obtain a suitable particle size.
Various milling techniques for grinding solids to powder are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,947 uses jet milling for preparing a powder composition. At least 50% of the particles in the powder composition have particle sizes in the range of 3 to 5 μm, which means that the median particle size is below 5 μm. Furthermore, before application as a coating agent, the powder composition is processed into a slurry using a solvent or liquid.
Methods of applying a dry powder coating to a substrate are likewise known in the art. For example, electrostatic spraying is a coating method which uses a spray gun to create an electrical charge on powder particles, while the substrate to be coated is grounded (made neutral). In the electrostatic spraying process, the powder to be used as coating is fluidized using air. This fluidized powder is supplied to the spray gun through a small hose. The nozzle of the spray gun uses high-voltage DC power to charge the fluidized powder particles and deposit them on the substrate. Alternatively, the panicles are charged by friction as they interact with the spray gun and pipe internal surface.
In order to get a consistent, low coat weight, the particle size and the particle size distribution of the powder to be coated is critical. For example, amounts of particles larger than e.g. 30 μm tend to result in an unnecessarily thicker coat weight film. On the other hand, in the presence of significant amounts of particles smaller than e.g. 5 μm, fluidization of the powder before spraying is impaired.
Thus, there is a need in the art for dry powder compositions suitable as a bonding agent having an advantageous particle size distribution for electrostatic spraying, as well as for processes for obtaining such dry powder compositions. The dry powder composition may be suitable for other applications as well.

Dry powder thermosetting resin composition

Abstract: Dv                                      90        -          Dv                                      10            Dv                          50  in the range of 1.5 to 4.2. The present invention also discloses processes for preparing the dry powder using jet milling, and processes of applying the dry powder composition to a metal surface. Furthermore, the present invention discloses the uses of the dry powder composition as a bonding material or as an adhesion promoter in a polymer compound.


An adaptive antenna reception apparatus includes a reference signal level determination section, reception level detection sections, and beam formers. The reference signal level determination section determines the level of a reference signal for generating an error signal used for antenna adaptive control on the basis of a reception level of each antenna before beam forming. The reception level detection sections calculate antenna weighting factors for the respective paths on the basis of the multiplex signals received through the respective antennas and the error signal output from the reference signal level determination section. The beam formers receive the received multiplex signals and form antenna directivity beams for the respective paths in accordance with the antenna weighting factors output from the reception level detection sections.

The present invention relates to an adaptive antenna reception apparatus for receiving code division multiple access (CDMA) signals and adaptively forming antenna directivity beams to receive a desired user signal while suppressing other user interference signals.
The CDMA scheme has the potential of increasing the subscriber capacity and is expected as a radio access scheme for a next-generation mobile communication cellular system. On the base station receiving side, however, a problem arises in terms of interference with other user signals due to simultaneous access with the same carrier. As a method of eliminating such interference, a method using an array antenna is available.
An array antenna receives signals through a plurality of antennas and performs weighted combining of complex numbers. With this operation, the amplitude and phase of the signal received through each antenna are controlled to form a directivity beam so as to receive a desired user signal, and other user interference signals are suppressed. An adaptive array antenna is an apparatus for forming such a directivity beam by adaptive control.
FIG. 6 shows a conventional adaptive antenna reception apparatus. Referring to FIG. 6, the adaptive antenna reception apparatus has L path processing sections 107-1 to 107-L corresponding to the number of paths in accordance with multipath propagation channels in a mobile communication environment. The adaptive antenna reception apparatus forms directivity beams for the respective L paths to receive signals therefrom, and combines the reception signals to obtain a high-quality reception signal. The path processing sections 107-1 to 107-L have the same arrangement. Each section is comprised of a beam former 101 and adaptive control section 106.
The beam former 101 receives a despread signal obtained at each path timing by using the spreading code of a desired user, and performs weighted combining of complex numbers to form a directivity beam for each path.
A combiner 102 combines outputs from the respective beam formers 101. A determination unit 103 determines a transmission signal with the highest possibility of being a reception signal, and outputs a user determination symbol. A switch 104 is switched to output a known reference signal as a reference signal to a subtracter 105 if the known reference signal is present and to output a determination signal as a reference signal to the subtracter 105 if no known reference signal is present. The subtracter 105 generates an error signal by subtracting the reception signal sent from the combiner 102 from the reception signal sent from the switch 104.
The adaptive control section 106 obtains an antenna weighting factor used by each beam former 101 by adaptive control using an error signal and a reception signal before beam forming. Adaptive control, minimum mean square error (MMSE) control is generally used. As adaptive update algorithms for antenna weighting factors using error signal, LMS (Least Mean Square), NLMS (Normalized LMS), and RLS (Recursive Least Square) algorithm are known.
FIG. 9 shows the gains of beam patterns formed by the beam formers for the respective paths. FIG. 9 shows a case of two paths. In this case, high gains are directed to the respective path directions of desired signals, while the gains in the interference signal directions are suppressed low. In an array antenna using adaptive control, a beam is directed to a desired signal direction, and a point (null) where the gain is extremely low is directed to an interference direction to maximize the reception SINR (Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio).
Other conventional adaptive antenna reception apparatuses are disclosed in xe2x80x9cPilot Symbol-Assisted Decision-Directed Coherent Adaptive Array Diversity for DS-CDMA Mobile Radio Reverse Linkxe2x80x9d, IEICE Trans. vol. E80-A, pp. 2445-2454, December 1997 (reference 1) and xe2x80x9cPerformance of Coherent Adaptive Antenna Array Diversity Receiver Using the Common Antenna Weights for Rake Combined Paths for W-CDMA Reverse Linkxe2x80x9d, Technical Report of IEICE, RCS 99-100, August 1998 (reference 2).
FIG. 7 shows the basic arrangement of this scheme. A beam former 121 receives a despread signal obtained at each path timing by using the spreading code of a desired user, and performs weighted combining of complex numbers to form a directivity beam for each path. A combiner 122 combines outputs from the respective beam formers 121. A determination unit 123 determines a transmission signal with the highest possibility of being a reception signal.
A switch 124 is switched to output a known reference signal as a reference signal to a multiplier 125 if the known reference signal is present and to output a determination signal as a reference signal to the multiplier 125 if no known reference signal is present. The multiplier 125 multiplies the reference signal output from the switch 124 and the reference signal level output from an averaging section 130. A subtracter 126 generates an error signal by subtracting the reception signal from the output from the multiplier 125.
An adaptive control section 127 obtains an antenna weighting factor used by the beam former 121 by adaptive control using the error signal output from the multiplier 125 and the reception signal before beam forming. According to the above reference, antenna weighting factors are updated by using the NLMS algorithm.
A reference signal level A(n) is calculated on the basis of the transmission channel estimation value output from the beam former 121. A reception level detection section 128 detects the reception level of each path from a corresponding transmission channel estimation value, and outputs it to an adder 129. The adder 129 adds the reception levels of the respective paths output from the reception level detection section 128. The averaging section 130 averages the sum level output from the adder 129 and outputs the resultant value to the multiplier 125. The presence/absence of the averaging section 130 or its averaging time is arbitrarily determined.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the reception level detection section 128. Referring to FIG. 8, an amplitude detection section 141 detects the absolute value (amplitude) of a transmission channel estimation value (complex number). A squaring section 142 calculates the square (power) of an output from the amplitude detection section 141. The reference signal level A(n) is given by                               A                                (            n            )                          =                              ∑                          n              =              0                                      N              AVR                                                      xe2x80x83                                                        ∑                              i                =                0                                            L                -                1                                                                xe2x80x83                                                                  "LeftBracketingBar"                                  h                                                        (                                          i                      ,                      n                                        )                                                  "RightBracketingBar"                            2                                                          (        1        )
where NAVR is the averaging time of the averaging section 130.
The conventional adaptive antenna reception apparatus exhibits excellent steady-state characteristics owing to low-speed MMSE adaptive control in which antenna weighting factors are long-term-averaged. In a high-speed fading environment or the like, amplitude and phase variations due to fading cannot be corrected. For this reason, to correct phase variations, a transmission channel correction section is connected to the output terminal of each beam former.
With regard to reception level variations, however, when a prescribed value is used as a reference signal, a level difference is produced between the reception signal and the reference signal, resulting in an error in the desired signal itself. This leads to unstable operation. If high-speed transmitting power control (TPC) is used together, a desired signal is suppressed in a short period of time in the process of initial convergence, and TPC diverges.
According to a method of determining a reference signal in accordance with a reception level, when a reception level after beam forming is used as a reference signal, the reference signal level drops as the beam gain decreases, as in the prior art. For this reason, the gain decreases for a long term because of the absence of power that adjusts the gain direction of a beam. In this method, therefore, the capability of tracking a change in the arriving direction of a desired signal may deteriorate.
This tracking capability can be improved by averaging reference signal levels. This operation amounts to setting the averaging time NAVR of signal levels to be long. If this averaging time is set to be long, variations in reception level cannot be quickly handled. This method is therefore equivalent to the method using a prescribed value.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adaptive antenna reception apparatus which can stabilize adaptive control by quickly changing a reference signal in accordance with a reception level.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an adaptive antenna reception apparatus for receiving multiplex signals from a plurality of users with the same carrier through a plurality of antennas, and receiving a desired user signal by adaptively forming an antenna directivity beam while suppressing other user interference signals, comprising determination means for determining a level of a reference signal for generating an error signal used for antenna adaptive control on the basis of a reception level of each antenna before beam forming, a plurality of adaptive control means for calculating antenna weighting factors for the respective paths on the basis of the multiplex signals received through the respective antennas and the error signal output from the determination means, and a plurality of beam formers for receiving the received multiplex signals and forming antenna directivity beams for the respective paths in accordance with the antenna weighting factors output from the adaptive control means.


The invention provides a technique for optimizing transmission conditions to achieve large-capacity transmission, and also provides peripheral techniques for the practical implementation of optical multiplexing that makes large-capacity transmission possible. A transmission characteristic is measured in a transmission characteristic measuring section, and control of signal light wavelength in a tunable light source, control of the amount of prechirping, control of the amount of dispersion compensation, and/or control of optical power are performed to achieve the best transmission characteristic. Wavelength dispersion is deliberately introduced by a dispersion compensator, to reduce nonlinear effects. A tunable laser is used to optimize signal light wavelength for each optical amplification repeater section. Peripheral techniques, such as drift compensation, clock extraction, optical signal channel identification, clock phase stabilization, etc., are provided for the implementation of optical multiplexing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical transmission system and its related techniques. More particularly, the invention relates to an optical transmission system having a transmission line with its transmission conditions optimized for large-capacity transmission, an optical transmission system employing an optical multiplexing technique such as optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM) to achieve large-capacity transmission, and related techniques for implementing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasing the transmission speed severely limits the transmission distance because of the waveform distortion, caused by group-velocity dispersion (GVD), in optical fibers. Furthermore, when the transmission speed is increased, the optical power for transmission needs to be increased to maintain required difference between transmitted and received optical power levels. This in turn increases the effect of self-phase modulation (SPM), a nonlinear effect of optical fibers, which further complicates the waveform degradation through interaction with group velocity dispersion (SPM-GVD effect).
When the waveform distortion caused by the SPM-GVD effect is dominant, the scaling rule expressed by the following equation essentially holds. EQU DB.sup.2 P.sub.av L.sup.2 =const. (1)
D: dispersion value (ps/nm/km) PA1 B: transmission rate (Gb/s) PA1 P.sub.av : average optical power through transmission line (mW) PA1 L: transmission distance (km) PA1 const.: determined by required penalty
For example, when the transmission rate B is quadrupled from 10 Gb/s to 40 Gb/s, the average optical power P.sub.av through the transmission line needs to be quadrupled. This means that to achieve the same transmission distance, the dispersion value D at signal wavelength must be set to 1/64.
To minimize the dispersion value of signal light, work is currently under way to transmit signals in the 1.55-.mu.m range by using a dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF), an optical fiber whose zero-dispersion wavelength .lambda..sub.0 is shifted to the 1.55-.mu.m range where fiber transmission loss is minimum. The zero-dispersion wavelength .lambda..sub.0 is the wavelength at which the chromatic dispersion value D (ps/nm/km), representing the amount of change of propagation delay time with respect to slight variations in wavelength, changes from negative (normal dispersion) to positive (abnormal dispersion). Near this wavelength .lambda..sub.0, the absolute value of chromatic dispersion becomes the smallest, so that the waveform distortion due to the chromatic dispersion is reduced to a minimum.
However, since the fiber drawing process introduces slight variations in fiber core diameter, the zero-dispersion wavelength .lambda..sub.0 of a DSF transmission line is inevitably subjected to variations along its longitudinal direction. Furthermore, transmission cables are fabricated by connecting segments of multi-core cables, each segment extending several kilometers, and the wavelengths .lambda..sub.0 between adjacent segments are not continuous but randomly distributed. Moreover, .lambda..sub.0 varies with aging and due to changes in ambient temperature, etc.
Therefore, in the prior art, the worst-case design has been employed by which the transmission line has been designed by considering the distribution of .lambda..sub.0 and the deterioration with time so that the required transmission quality can be satisfied even if the worst-case value is applied throughout the transmission line. This has inevitably increased transmission line costs, which has impeded the implementation of high-capacity transmission systems.
On the other hand, signal processing, such as modulation and demodulation of optical signals, is usually performed at the electrical signal level, and it has been standard practice to increase the speed of optical transmission systems by increasing the speed of electrical signals used to modulate optical signals. In recent years, however, increasing the speed at the electrical signal level using electronic devices has been posing a difficult problem. Research and development is being undertaken on optical communication devices, at 10 to 40 Gb/s, using Si, GaAs, HBT, HEMT, etc., but it is said that at the present state of technology, 10 to 20 Gb/s is the maximum for practical implementation.
Therefore, to increase the transmission speed of optical transmission systems beyond the operating speeds of electronic devices, multiplexing techniques in the optical region provide effective means. There are two main techniques that can be used: one is wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) and the other is optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM). For practical implementation of either technique, development of related peripheral techniques is needed.

Drift compensating circuit for optical modulators in an optical system


A passenger cabin system includes a plurality of passenger control units, a plurality of passenger service units, and a programming code. The programming code is stored on a computer readable medium for dynamically linking each of the passenger control units to a separate one of the passenger service units.

Cabin management systems on aircraft and other passenger vehicles typically use static databases to map cabin and seat controls to corresponding controller functions per the layout of the passenger area (LOPA). Typically, a custom database, which is specific to the given vehicle layout, is manually generated by a database generator for the cabin management system, and a corresponding overhead is required to generate, maintain, and deploy the database. Also, an in-flight-entertainment system is typically used to provide communication between passenger seat controls and overhead units. Some of the drawbacks associated with typical cabin management systems include the following: they often require a database generator to produce a specific database for the vehicle layout; they often require time to generate the database; they often require a configuration management system to track revisions of the database; they often require a mechanism to deploy the database; they often require in-flight-entertainment systems to route messages to the cabin management system; they often require an overhead associated with mapping in-flight-entertainment and cabin management system functions; they often require a great deal of weight; and they often are overly expensive and complex.
A system and method is needed to overcome one or more issues of one or more of the existing cabin management systems and methods.

Self-configuring cabin management system


Transition metal carbonitrides (in particular, titanium carbonitride, TiC.sub.0.5 N.sub.0.5) are synthesized by a self-propagating reaction between the metal (e.g., titanium) and carbon in a nitrogen atmosphere. Complete conversion to the carbonitride phase is achieved with the addition of TiN as diluent and with a nitrogen pressure .gtoreq.0.6 MPa. Thermodynamic phase-stability calculations and experimental characterizations of quenched samples provided revealed that the mechanism of formation of the carbonitride is a two-step process. The first step involves the formation of the nonstoichiometric carbide, TiC.sub.0.5, and is followed by the formation of the product by the incorporation of nitrogen in the defect-structure carbide.

The present invention relates to methods for direct synthesis of transition metal carbonitrides, in particular titanium carbonitride.
Transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides are of practical interest because of their hardness, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability. Furthermore, cermets of titanium carbide/nickel and titanium carbonitride/nickel are considered excellent substitutes for tungsten carbide/cobalt cermets; nickel is more abundant and less expensive than cobalt.
Three approaches have heretofore been employed to produce TiC, TiN, and titanium carbonitride (TiC.sub.x N.sub.y). One route calls for direct chemical reduction of titanium oxide, titanium chloride, and titanium hydride by carbon, nitrogen, and ammonia, or by carbon and nitrogen to form TiC, TiN and TiC.sub.x N.sub.y. Another approach involves solid state diffusion of C, N or both into Ti powders at high temperatures (1000.degree.-1500.degree. C.) in a reaction taking place over the course of several hours, or by sintering a mixture of TiC and TiN. These approaches generally involve three steps: formation of the carbide and nitride phases separately, followed by a homogenizing process in which these two phases are reacted at high temperature.
A third known route is self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) or combustion synthesis which has been used for TiC [J. B. Holt and Z. A. Munir, "Combustion Synthesis of Titanium Carbide: Theory and Experiment, " J. Mater. Sci., 21(1), 251-9 (1986); A. G. Merzhanov and I. P. Borovinskaya, "Self-Propagating High Temperature Synthesis of Refractory Inorganic Compounds," Dokl. Akad. Nauk. SSSR (Chem.), 204, 429-32 (1972); A. I. Kirdyashkin, Yu. M. Maksimov, and E. A. Nekrasov, "Titanium-Carbon Interaction Mechanism in a Combustion Wave," Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva (Translation), 17(4), 33-6 (1981); O. Yamada, Y. Miyamoto, and M. Koizumi, "High Pressure Self-Combustion Sintering of Titanium Carbide," J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 70(9), C206-8 (1987)], TiN [S. L. Kharatyan, Y. S. Grigorev, and A. G. Merzhanov, "Ignition of Titanium in Nitrogen," Comb. Explo. Shock Waves, 11, 21-6 (1975); Z. A. Munir, S. Deevi, and M. Eslamloo-Grami, "The Synthesis of Titanium Nitride by Self-Sustaining Combustion Method," High Temperatures-High Pressures, 20, 19-24 (1988); M. Eslamloo-Grami and Z. A. Munir, "Effect of Porosity on the Combustion Synthesis of Titanium Nitride," J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 73(5), 1235-9 (1990); M. Eslamloo-Grami and Z. A. Munir, "Effect of Nitrogen Pressure and Diluent Content on the Combustion Synthesis of Titanium Nitride, " J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 73(8), 2222-7 (1990); S. Deevi and Z. A. Munir, "The Mechanism of Synthesis of Titanium Nitride by Self-Sustaining Reactions", J. Mater. Res., 5(10), 2177-83 (1990)], and TiCN [A. B. Avakian et al., "Synthesis of Carbonitrides of Transition Metals," in Combustion Process in Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Chernogolovka, 1975]. In the SHS process, the highly exothermic heat of reaction propagates in the form of a combustion wave through the reactants, converting them into product phases. While production of TiC and TiN by the SHS method has already been studied extensively, research on TiC.sub.x N.sub.y by this method has been limited. The primary focus in the reported study of combustion synthesis of TiC.sub.x N.sub.y [Avakian et al., supra] was on the use of liquid nitrogen as a reactant.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods for the synthesis of transition metal carbonitrides.

Synthesis of transition metal carbonitrides

The Regents of the University of California


A radio frequency power generation and power measurement system includes power sensors to measure both the radio frequency (RF) power transmitted by radio equipment under test, and the RF power received by the radio equipment under test. Power sensors are mounted in a separate assembly remote from the main power measurement and generation. The RF power sensors and other components in the remote assembly are interconnected to allow measurement of both received and transmitted RF power at the RF connector or connectors of the radio equipment under test. The main assembly and the remote assembly are connected by a flexible link.

When measuring RF power, it is necessary to define the physical point in the system at which the measurement is made. This is because the transmission of RF power, whether through space, waveguide, or coaxial transmission lines is subject to loss. RF power measured in one place is only an accurate measure of RF power at another place to the extent that the transmission losses are known.
For this reason, equipment for measuring RF power often separates the RF power sensing element from the measuring equipment, so that the sensing element can be remote. The advantage of this arrangement is that whilst the full RF power measurement equipment may be large, the power sensing element can be made small and connected directly to the unit under test.
FIG. 1 shows a known example of this technique.
When generating RF power, it is also necessary to define the physical point in the system at which the output power is specified. As stated before, the transmission of RF power is subject to loss. RF power generated at one place is only an accurate measure of RF power generated at another place to the extent that the transmission losses are known.
For this reason, equipment for generating known RF power is sometimes used with a remote RF power sensing element, which may be connected to a separate means of power measurement, or may form part of a feedback loop which controls the RF power generation equipment. Such a system provides a signal source whose RF power at a defined point is determined by the accuracy of the remote sensor and the coupling device. The advantage is that whilst the full RF power generation equipment may be large, the power sensing element and coupling device can be made small, and connected directly to the unit under test.
FIG. 2 shows a known example of this technique.
Radio communication equipment often has either a single RF connector for transmission and reception, or one RF connector for transmission and another for reception. When characterising such equipment it is required both to measure the RF power transmitted by the unit under test, and to set the RF power received by the unit under test. It is usual to specify both powers at the RF connector or connectors of the unit under test.

Radio frequency power generation and power measurement

Racal Instruments Wireless Solutions Limited


Methods and apparatus are provided. A memory device has a memory array, base trim circuitry adapted to store base control parameter values common to the memory array, and a reference trim circuit corresponding to a portion of the memory array. The reference trim circuit is adapted to store one or more reference control parameter values for respectively correcting one or more of the base control parameter values of the base trim circuitry for application to the portion of the memory array. The memory device may include an index circuit corresponding to the reference trim circuit. The index circuit is adapted to store one or more index parameter values for respectively selecting the one or more base control parameter values of the base trim circuitry for correction by the one or more reference control parameter values of the reference trim circuit.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal storage areas in computers. The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the form of integrated circuit chips. In general, memory devices contain an array of memory cells for storing data, and row and column decoder circuits coupled to the array of memory cells for accessing the array of memory cells in response to an external address.
One type of memory is a non-volatile memory known as flash memory. A flash memory is a type of EEPROM (electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory) that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks. Many modern personal computers (PCs) have their BIOS stored on a flash memory chip so that it can easily be updated if necessary. Such a BIOS is sometimes called a flash BIOS. Flash memory is also popular in wireless electronic devices because it enables the manufacturer to support new communication protocols as they become standardized and to provide the ability to remotely upgrade the device for enhanced features.
A typical flash memory comprises a memory array that includes a large number of memory cells arranged in row and column fashion. Each of the memory cells includes a floating-gate field-effect transistor capable of holding a charge. The cells are usually grouped into blocks. Each of the cells within a block can be electrically programmed on an individual basis by charging the floating gate. The charge can be removed from the floating gate by a block erase operation. The data in a cell is determined by the presence or absence of the charge on the floating gate.
NOR and NAND flash memory devices are two common types of flash memory devices, so called for the logical form the basic memory cell configuration in which each is arranged. Typically, for NOR flash memory devices, the control gate of each memory cell of a row of the array is connected to a word line, and the drain region of each memory cell of a column of the array is connected to a bit line. The memory array for NOR flash memory devices is accessed by a row decoder activating a row of floating gate memory cells by selecting the word line connected to their control gates. The row of selected memory cells then place their data values on the column bit lines by flowing a differing current, depending upon their programmed states, from a connected source line to the connected column bit lines.
The array of memory cells for NAND flash memory devices is also arranged such that the control gate of each memory cell of a row of the array is connected to a word line. However, each memory cell is not directly connected to a column bit line by its drain region. Instead, the memory cells of the array are arranged together in strings (often termed NAND strings), e.g., of 32 each, with the memory cells connected together in series, source to drain, between a source line and a column bit line. The memory array for NAND flash memory devices is then accessed by a row decoder activating a row of memory cells by selecting the word line connected to a control gate of a memory cell. In addition, the word lines connected to the control gates of unselected memory cells of each string are driven to operate the unselected memory cells of each string as pass transistors, so that they pass current in a manner that is unrestricted by their stored data values. Current then flows from the source line to the column bit line through each series connected string, restricted only by the selected memory cells of each string. This places the current-encoded data values of the row of selected memory cells on the column bit lines.
Memory devices usually include trim circuits that are programmed to output bit values used to provide a variety of options for algorithms that control the operations of the memory device, such algorithm options may include timing, pulse counts, applied voltage levels, etc. The bit values are usually programmed once for a memory device and are rarely changed once the memory device has reached production. Moreover, the bit values are usually applied globally to an entire memory array, which can include thousands of memory blocks, especially for NAND devices. However, as memory array sizes increase, applying the bit values globally to an entire memory array may not be sufficient.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternative trimming methods.


An image processing apparatus comprises means for generating, from first-resolution image data including signals according to a plurality of color filters, second-resolution image data including signals according to the plurality of color filters at a resolution lower than the first-resolution image data; means for generating luminance signals from the signals according to the plurality of color filters of the second-resolution image data; means for storing image data including the luminance signals generated from the second-resolution image data; means for generating image data, which includes signals according to the plurality of color filters as many as the number of pixels of the first-resolution image data, from the stored image data and includes the luminance signals; and means for combining the signals according to the plurality of color filters of the first-resolution image data and signals according to the plurality of color filters of the image data output from the conversion means.

An image sensing apparatus such as a digital camera is required to precisely remove noise components, so as to meet user's requirements for a still higher sensitivity and a larger number of pixels.
As a conventional noise reduction method, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-015741 describes a technique which divides an image into a plurality of frequency bands, removes noise components from high-frequency components, preserves edge components of the high-frequency components, and combines these high-frequency components and low-frequency components.
As a conventional signal processing method, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-045308 describes a technique for setting different gammas in luminance signal processing and chrominance signal processing.
Furthermore, as another conventional signal processing method, a technique for generating luminance signals from R, G, and B signals after gamma processing is available.
A conventional arrangement will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.
Referring to FIG. 4, input image data 3000 is RGB Bayer matrix data, and is stored in a memory 3010. The image data stored in the memory 3010 will be referred to as first-resolution image data. The input image data 3000 undergoes low-pass filter processing by an LPF 3101 and down-sampling (reduction) processing by a DS unit 3102 to generate second-resolution image data, which has a resolution lower than the first-resolution image data, and the second-resolution image data is stored in a memory 3110. At this time, the data in the memory 3110 is synchronized for respective color filters to be data in which each pixel has signals of all of R, G, and B color filters. This second-resolution image data undergoes low-pass filter processing by an LPF 3201 and down-sampling processing by a DS unit 3202 to generate third-resolution image data, which has a still lower resolution and is synchronized. The generated data is stored in a memory 3210.
An NR processing unit 3011 applies noise reduction processing to the first-resolution image data output from the memory 3010, and an edge detection unit 3012 detects edge intensities of the first-resolution image data output from the memory 3010. An NR processing unit 3111 applies noise reduction processing to the second-resolution image data output from the memory 3110, and an edge detection unit 3112 detects edge intensities of the second-resolution image data output from the memory 3110. An NR processing unit 3211 applies noise reduction processing to the third-resolution image data output from the memory 3210, and stores the image data after the noise reduction processing in a memory 3221.
A US unit 3222 applies up-sampling (enlargement) processing to the third-resolution image data stored in the memory 3221, thus generating image data having the same number of pixels as the second-resolution image data. A combining unit 3120 combines the image data output from the NR processing unit 3111 and that output from the US unit 3222 using edge intensity detection signals output from the edge detection unit 3112. More specifically, the combining unit 3120 mixes these two data while increasing a weight of the image data output from the NR processing unit 3111 for a pixel which is determined by the edge detection unit 3112 to have a large edge intensity. Conversely, the combining unit 3120 mixes these two data while increasing a weight of the image data output from the US unit 3222 for a pixel which is determined to have a small edge intensity.
The image data output from the combining unit 3120 is temporarily stored in a memory 3121, and a US unit 3122 applies up-sampling processing to the image data stored in the memory 3121, thus generating image data having the same number of pixels as the first-resolution image data. A combining unit 3020 combines the image data output from the NR processing unit 3011 and that output from the US unit 3122 using edge intensity detection signals output from the edge detection unit 3012. The combining unit 3120 then stores the combined image data in a memory 3030. More specifically, the combining unit 3020 mixes these two image data while increasing a weight of the image data output from the NR processing unit 3011 for a pixel which is determined by the edge detection unit 3012 to have a large edge intensity. Conversely, the combining unit 3020 mixes these two image data while increasing a weight of the image data output from the US unit 3122 for a pixel which is determined to have a small edge intensity.
R, G, and B signals of the image data output from the memory 3030 are respectively input to an R gamma circuit 3032, G gamma circuit 3033, and B gamma circuit 3034 since they individually undergo gamma processes. Also, chrominance signals (U, V) of the image data output from the memory 3030 are input to a chrominance signal processing circuit 3031 since they undergo chrominance signal processing. That is, the memory 3030 is required to store the R, G, and B signals for luminance signals, and the U and V signals for chrominance signals.
For this reason, the two image data input to the combining unit 3020 are required to respectively include the R, G, and B signals for luminance signals and the U and V signals for chrominance signals. Thus, since the memories 3121 and 3221 require synchronized data as both the luminance and chrominance signals, they require data for a total of five planes, that is, R, G, and B data for luminance signals and U and V data for chrominance signals, resulting in a large circuit scale. Note that the U and V signals are generated by a known method before each NR processing unit applies the noise reduction processing, and each NR processing unit applies the noise reduction processing to the R, G, B, U, and V signals.
Another conventional arrangement will be described below with reference to FIG. 5. In this example, image data output from the memory 3030 is input to a Y gamma circuit 3035 in place of the R gamma circuit 3032, G gamma circuit 3033, and B gamma circuit 3034 in FIG. 4. That is, the memory 3030 is required to store image data including Y signals for luminance signals and U and V signals for chrominance signals. For this reason, the two image data input to the combining unit 3020 need only be those each of which includes Y signals for luminance signals and U and V signals for chrominance signals. Hence, the memories 3121 and 3221 need only store data of a total of three planes, that is, Y signals for luminance signals and U and V signals for chrominance signals, thus reducing the capacities of the memories 3121 and 3221. Note that the Y, U, and V signals are generated by a known method before each NR processing unit applies the noise reduction processing, and each NR processing unit applies the noise reduction processing to the Y, U, and V signals.
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, the capacities of the memories 3121 and 3221 become large, resulting in a large circuit scale. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, which can solve this problem, since the gamma processing is applied after the Y signals are generated, image quality lowers compared to the arrangement in which luminance signals are generated from R, G, and B signals after the gamma processing.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method


A computer-implemented method is disclosed. The method comprises calculating a first new rank value in a rank address space for a first issue of a plurality of issues. The rank address space comprises unique, ordered values, and each of the plurality of issues has a rank value in the rank address space. The method further comprises determining whether a length of the first new rank value is greater than or equal to a first rebalancing trigger length. In addition, the method comprises, in response to determining that the length of the first new rank value is greater than or equal to the first rebalancing trigger length, identifying a first delay period that is to elapse before rebalancing the rank address space comprising updating at least one rank value of at least one of the plurality of issues to reduce a possibility of congestion in the rank address space. The method additionally comprises following the first delay period, rebalancing the rank address space.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that are known to the inventors and could be pursued. They are not necessarily approaches that have been pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section, or that those approaches are known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Issue tracking systems are systems that manage the creation and tracking of issues in a variety of contexts. Issue tracking systems are variously referred to a trouble ticket systems, support ticket systems, request management systems, and incident ticket systems.
As one example, an issue tracking system may be deployed for use by a helpdesk. A busy helpdesk may manage thousands, tens of thousands, or even more issues. Each issue may have a different priority, require different actions, be handled by different people, and/or be handled by multiple different people over its lifecycle. An issue tracking system may be used to assist in managing and tracking this process. When a problem is submitted to the helpdesk an issue is created and assigned (at times with a particular priority). As the issue is worked on by various users, the progress of the issue is recorded and tracked by the issue tracking system until, ideally, the issue is solved and closed. At any point during the life of the issue (and/or for historical review purposes) the issue tracking system can be queried to access information on a given issue, such as its status, the actions that have been taken, who the issue is currently assigned to etc.
An important feature of issue tracking systems is the ability for issues to be ranked relative to one another. This allows issues to be prioritized at a granular level. Issue ranking is a complex problem for various reasons, including: (a) the existence of multiple users, all of whom may want to add new issues, assign priorities or re-rank existing issues; (b) automated systems that may also add new issues and/or reorder existing issues; (c) changes to the issues may occur at the same or substantially the same time; (d) multiple actors may attempt to perform different rank operations on the same (or closely ranked) issues; (e) over time issues may become congested in the sense that their rank addresses indicate consecutive ordering without any space for a new issue to be ranked in between.
Some issue tracking systems are implemented in a clustered architecture, typically in order to increase capacity for concurrent users to work with the system and the issues maintained by the system. In a clustered architecture an issue tacking system is implemented across multiple nodes, each node of the cluster running its own instance of the issue tracking system. While end users see and interact with a single issue tracking system, any given operation may, in fact, be performed by any of the system nodes. A clustered architecture increases the complexity of issue ranking. For example, in order to effectively implement a ranking functionality the issue tracking system should be able to handle multiple concurrent modifications of the same issue (and closely ranked issues) by different users on different nodes of the cluster without the rank order of the issues being corrupted.

Issue and trigger rebalancing in a ranked issue tracking system