A particulate material dispensing system suitable for metering seed for individual rows of a seed sowing drill. The seed sowing drill having a container which acts as a seed hopper. Positioned beneath the container is a metering device. Below the metering device are a number of tubes which are seed outlets to which the metering device feeds the seed it receives from the container. A peripheral guide forms part of the metering device. The peripheral guide is a disc of material that defines an aperture. On the inner walls of the guide is a seed track and an outlet. There are a plurality of seed track/outlet combinations, one for each of the outlets. A vertical-axis rotor fits within the aperture of the guide. The rotor rotating within the aperture causes seed falling from the container into the guide to be dragged down and around the inside walls of the guide. The seeds are guided by a seed track to a guide outlet and into the appropriate seed outlet. At the base of the seed track is a flange. The flange enables a column of seed to build up within the seed track providing some independence of the availability of the seed to the rotor from the container. A method of dispensing particulate material is also disclosed.

In agriculture, it is important to be able to sow seed in accurate amounts at a set distance apart. In small scale agriculture this is important in terms of the ready management of a sown field. In large scale agriculture, this is even more important as a small deviation from a desired sowing rate can cause inter-plant competition and reduce yields and increase seed wastage.
A number of metering devices for seed drills are known to ensure accurate and consistent sowing. However, these devices have a number of problems associated with them.
One type of device uses fluted rollers which pick up seed from a seed hopper and distributes the seed to multiple outlets. These fluted rollers however give inconsistent seeding rates as a consequence of the seed being delivered by the cavities of the rollers. In some cases seed may be damaged by the fluted roller.
New Zealand Patent No. 126307 disclosed a revolutionary metering device which had sponge rotor rotating about a horizontal axis and pressed against a funnelled outlet from a seed hopper. The resilient sponge rotor is very effective at picking up individual seeds and metering them to a single outlet on the seed drill.
Unfortunately, this metering device also has problems associated with it.
One problem is that the sponge rotor is difficult to change if it has degraded to a stage where it is no longer efficient. Sponges left on metering devices for a period of time (as a consequence of being difficult to remove) are eaten by vermin, degrade by ultraviolet light or retain permanent impressions as a consequence of seeds left on the rotor. In this particular metering device the rotor is glued to a metal disc which is biased against the funnelled outlet by a complicated arrangement of springs and other biasing means. This arrangement understandably makes it difficult to readily remove the rotor when required in order to maintain the accuracy of the seed drill.
Yet another problem with metering devices is that the seeds being channelled to the rotor can be subject to a phenomenon known as bridging. Bridging is the clumping together of seeds which can block the inlet of the metering device. To overcome this problem agitators are incorporated into the seed drill which adds to the expense and maintenance of the device.
Yet another problem with this metering device is that is gravity affected. For example, in the seeding process the funnel may tilt as the seed drill travels on a slope. This can cause the seed within the funnel to move away from the funnel outlet and thus there may be no seed available for the metering device to distribute.
Yet another problem is that only one outlet per metering unit is possible. Seed drills have multiple outlets (say up to 20) allowing them to sow multiple rows. Thus, with the existing metering devices it is necessary to have a separate metering device for each seed drill outlet. Not only is this expensive, but also bulky. The bulkiness of this system precludes ready use of this metering device with small vehicles such as four wheeled motorbikes.
Many seed drills use either directly or indirectly the rotation of a seed drill wheel to determine the rate at which the seeds are delivered. This is sensible in many situations as if the seed drill is being slowed for a turn, it is desirable that the rate at which the seed is delivered is likewise slowed to keep a consistent distance between the seeds being sowed.
Unfortunately, there is a problem with this system as wheel slippage is common which can cause the metering device to be driven at a rate slower than the seed drill is actually travelling. This leads to greater spacing between the seeds.
Considerable research has been invested into insuring that there is minimal wheel slippage during seed sowing so that the delivery rate of seed is proportional to the rate the seed drill travels over ground. Such research has included provision of spikes or special tyres on the wheels of the seed drill. This is an unfortunate expense and these features do not fully solve the problem.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Vertical axis metering device for a particulate material dispenser

Pohangina Valley West Road, Rd, Ashhurst


A ceramic electronic component includes a ceramic body and an outer electrode. The ceramic body includes first and second principal surfaces, first and second lateral surfaces, and first and second end surfaces. The outer electrode is provided on the first principal surface. The outer electrode includes an underlying electrode layer containing Cu and glass, and a Cu plating layer. The underlying electrode layer is disposed on the first principal surface. The Cu plating layer is disposed on the underlying electrode layer. The Cu plating layer is thicker than the underlying electrode layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic electronic component and a wiring board including a built-in ceramic electronic component including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the reduction in the size and thickness of electronic devices, such as cellular phones and portable music players, a reduction in the size and thickness of wiring boards which are installed in such electronic devices has also been advancing.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100875 proposes a method for reducing the thickness of a wiring board, in which a ceramic electronic component is embedded in a wiring board, and an interconnect line to the ceramic electronic component is formed by a via-hole electrode disposed on the ceramic electronic component. In this method, it is not necessary to secure a region in which a ceramic electronic component is disposed on the surface of a wiring board, and also it is not necessary to secure a region in which an interconnect line to the ceramic electronic component is provided separately from a region in which the ceramic electronic component is provided. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the size of a wiring board having a built-in component.
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100875, the via-hole electrode is formed by Cu plating in many cases. Therefore, in view of improving connectivity between the via-hole electrode and an outer electrode of the ceramic electronic component, the outermost layer of the outer electrode is preferably composed of Cu.
In general, a via-hole electrode is provided in a via hole which is formed by irradiation with a laser, such as a CO2 laser, toward a position at which an outer electrode of a ceramic electronic component is located in a wiring board. There is a possibility that the outer electrode will be melted by being heated during laser irradiation.
In particular, in a thin ceramic electronic component in which a thin outer electrode is provided in order to reduce the thickness of a wiring board, the problem of melting of the outer electrode during laser irradiation is likely to occur.

Ceramic electronic component and wiring board having built-in ceramic electronic component


An ECC decoder outputs, to a likelihood substituting unit, information on data in data blocks that is corrected to be valid. Based on the information, the likelihood substituting unit substitutes likelihood corresponding to the data corrected to be valid by the maximum value, and outputs it to an LDPC decoder. The LDPC decoder decodes user data with likelihoods partly substituted by the maximum value using LDPC parity, and calculates likelihood of data that constitutes the user data. The LDPC decoder outputs the calculated likelihood to a channel APP decoder as external data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a technology for correcting data error. The present invention specifically relates to a technology for decoding reproduced data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a low-density parity-check (LDPC) code is drawing attention as a next generation error correcting technology. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,547 discloses a method for LDPC encoding of data. The LDPC code indicates a linear code that is regulated such that the number of "1" included in a parity check matrix is reduced (becomes low density).
Regulating the LDPC code such that the number of "1" included in the parity check matrix is reduced enables an iterative decoding called belief propagation (BP) method using an algorithm such as sum-product algorithm and a min-sum algorithm. Further, increasing a code length of the LDPC code and including random nature enables to realize a significantly greater correcting ability than the correcting ability of a code used in a conventional error correction (Humming code or Reed-Solomon Code etc.).
Applying the LDPC code to a digital signal process of a storage device such as a magnetic disk device is examined. FIG. 23 is a block diagram for explaining the conventional technology, i.e., the digital signal process of an encoding/decoding unit of a magnetic disk device using the LDPC code.
The encoding/decoding unit includes an error correcting code (ECC) encoder and an LDPC encoder that carry out an encoding process, a partial response (PR) channel that carries out a recording/reproducing process, and a channel A posteriori probability (APP) decoder, an LDPC decoder, a determination output unit, and an ECC decoder that carry out a decoding process.
The encoding process of the encoding/decoding unit is explained first. The ECC encoder outputs, to the LDPC encoder, an encoded sequence b that is obtained by carrying out error correction encoding on a data bit sequence u. The LDPC encoder carries out LDPC encoding on the encoded sequence b received from the ECC encoder and outputs data c to the PR channel. The recording/reproducing process is explained next. The PR channel records the data c received from the LDPC encoder on the disk, and outputs a reproduced signal y from the disk to the channel APP decoder.
The decoding process is explained next. Based on the reproduced signals y received from the PR channel and prior data (no prior data for the first decoding process), the channel APP decoder decodes a posterior probability likelihood L(c) for the data c and outputs the posterior probability likelihood L(c) to the LDPC decoder. The LDPC decoder carries out belief propagation decoding on the posterior probability likelihood L(c) received from the channel APP decoder and outputs, to the channel APP decoder, external data Le(c) with updated likelihood (highest degree of reliability) as prior data. After repeating the aforementioned operations in the decoding process for a predetermined number of times, the LDPC decoder outputs the posterior probability likelihood L(b) to the determination output unit. The determination output unit determines a threshold value of the posterior probability likelihood L(b) received from the LDPC decoder and outputs a resultant decoded bit sequence b to the ECC decoder. The ECC decoder carries out symbol correction on the decoded bit sequence b received from the determination output unit and obtains a decoded data bit sequence u.
As described above, the channel APP decoder decodes posterior probability likelihood L(c) for the data c, and outputs the result to the LDPC decoder. The definition of the likelihood is explained with reference to FIG. 24. The likelihood can be obtained as:L(c)=log{P1(c=1|y)/P0(c=0|y)where P1 is a probability at which the data has a value 1, while P0 is a probability at which the data has a value 0. That is, the likelihood L(c) is, as shown in FIG. 24, represents the possibility of whether the data has a value 0 or 1. Specifically, the likelihood for data with a value 0 is represented by a negative maximum value (−∞), while the likelihood for data with a value 1 is represented by a positive maximum value (+∞). When it cannot be determined whether the data has a value 0 or 1, the likelihood will be zero (0).
A scheme has been proposed by Nikolaos Thomos, Nikolaos V. Boulgouris, and Michael G. Strintzis, "Product Code Optimization for Determinate State LDPC Decoding in Robust Image Transmission", IEEE trans. Image Process., vol. 15, No. 8, pp. 2113-2119, August 2006, which employs a product coder consisting of LDPC codes and Reed-Solomon (RS) codes to deal with bit errors. The likelihood of determinate data, in which errors have been corrected with RS codes, is set to a large value, and used in LDPC decoding.
However, if the LDPC code is applied as the error correcting technology to the storage device such as the magnetic disk device, burst errors that originate due to a defect of data cannot be corrected. In other words, because the LDPC code randomizes the error and repeat propagates data to greatly enhance the error correcting ability, if a decoder that performs LDPC decoding is applied to the storage device such as the magnetic disk device, relatively large errors such as the burst errors are propagated (distributed). As a result, the errors reach a correction limit of an error correcting decoder (e.g., ECC decoder), and the burst errors cannot be corrected.
The aforementioned drawback is not limited to when the LDPC code is applied to the storage device such as the magnetic disk device. Application of the LDPC code to the digital signal process in storage goods such as an optical disk or in the field of communication such as a wireless local area network (LAN), wireless Internet, long distance optical communication etc. also results in a similar drawback.
Moreover, application of a turbo code, which includes functions that are similar to the functions of the LDPC code, to the storage device such as the magnetic disk device also results in the similar drawback.

Encoding apparatus, decoding apparatus, encoding method, decoding method, and storage device


The present invention provides a method for initialization and stepsize control of a time-domain equalizer (TEQ) in a receiver of a multi-carrier communication system to upgrade the performance of adaptive TEQ algorithms. As to TEQ initialization, the Time-domain Window Mask method generates a modified channel impulse response (CIR) by performing a locate maximum energy algorithm and then applies a time-domain window mask to adjust the modified CIR to obtain an initial value of a target impulse response. Then, a dividing operation is performed on the frequency-domain initial target impulse response and the modified CIR to determine an initial value of the frequency-domain TEQ impulse response. The Head-tail Equalizing method also performs the locate maximum energy algorithm, and the remaining points other than the consecutive points with maximum energy are combined and padded zero to the last few points to generate a modified CIR. The reciprocal of the frequency-domain modified CIR is determined to be an initial value of the frequency-domain TEQ impulse response. The initial value of the frequency-domain target impulse response is determined by multiplying the determined frequency-domain. TEQ impulse response with the frequency-domain of the CIR. The stepsize control method configures the stepsize coefficient as a time-varying coefficient during the whole adapting TEQ algorithm. It is smaller value at an early stage to prevent from divergence and becomes larger at a late adapting stage to prevent from slow convergence.

(a). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a multi-carrier communication system, and more particularly to a method for initiation and stepsize control of a time-domain equalizer in a multi-carrier communication system.
(b). Description of the Prior Arts
Multi-carrier modulation is widely used in communication systems nowadays. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system 100 using multi-carrier modulation. The communication system 100 employs a set of N-point Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) 102 in the transmitter and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) 111 in the receiver to transceive data. A channel 106 is divided into N subchannels for transmitting data. The signal transmitted by one subchannel is orthogonal to those transmitted by any other subchannels. Thus, the signal transmitted by the subchannels would not interfere each other, and inter-channel interference (ICI) can be avoided.
The set of N-point data outputted from IFFT 102 is called a symbol. Since the channel impulse response (CIR) is not ideal, that is, the amplitude/frequency response of the channel are not constant across the all used subchannels, then the received signals will different from the transmitted signal, and the signals presented to the QAM decoder 113 will different from the signals outputted from the QAM encoder 101. If the distortion is severe then the data transmitted by one subchannel will affect both the data transmitted by other subchannels (ICI) and the data transmitted by that subchannel in the previous and subsequent symbol periods (inter-symbol interference, ISI). In order to avoid inter-symbol interference (ISI) and ICI, a "cyclic prefix" (CP) is added to each symbol, i.e. the last υ points of each symbol are copied and added in the front of the symbol, as shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, each symbol outputted from adding cyclic prefix circuit 103 includes (N+ν) points. The adding cyclic prefix circuit 103 in the transmitter and the removing cyclic prefix circuit 110 in the receiver of FIG. 1 are used to add and remove cyclic prefixes, respectively.
In the communication system 100 of FIG. 1, if the valid length of channel impulse response (CIR, denoted by h[n]) is shorter than the length of cyclic prefix, then a symbol, after being transmitted in the channel 106 and received by the receiver (i.e. the convolution of the symbol and the CIR, h[n]), would not affect the data of the subsequent symbol received in the subsequent symbol period. However, if the length of CIR is larger than that of the cyclic prefix, then ICI and ISI will occur. Under this circumstance, a time-domain equalizer (TEQ) with an impulse response w[n], as shown in the block 108 of FIG. 1, is necessary for the receiver of the system 100. The TEQ 108 is used to modify the CIR of the communication system 100, such that valid length of the modified CIR (called target impulse response and denoted by b[n]), i.e. the convolution of the CIR h[n] and the TEQ impulse response w[n], is shorter than that of the cyclic prefix, thereby preventing the received data from ICI and ISI.
Since the CIR is different with various transmission channels, the TEQ impulse response needs to be adjusted accordingly. Many adaptive TEQ algorithms are developed in succession. Since these adaptive TEQ algorithms are sensitive to initial values of TEQ impulse response W[n] and target impulse response B[n] in frequency-domain (In the following description, time-domain variables will be referred to by lower-case letters and frequency-domain variables will be referred to by capital letters), the adapting result would be unreliable if the initial values are not properly determined during the TEQ initialization process. The adapting result will fail into the local maxima point.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,285,474 and 6,396,886 disclosed the conventional adaptive TEQ algorithms. However, both of these two patents failed to disclose the method to determine the initial values of frequency-domain TEQ impulse response W[n] and target impulse response B[n]. In addition, the coefficient (called stepsize coefficient in this specification) used to stepwise adjust W[n] using frequency-domain Least Mean Square (LMS) will greatly affect the performance of the adaptive TEQ algorithms. If the stepsize coefficient is set too small, the converging speed will be too slow; if too large, then a diverging result will occur frequently. Both cases would degrade the system performance seriously.

Method for initialization and stepsize control of time-domain equalizer in multi-carrier communication system


An improved process for converting hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) particles into cubic boron nitride (CBN) in a high pressure/high temperature apparatus (HP/HT) is disclosed. More specifically, by using melamine as a catalyst, operating pressures and temperatures as well as catalyst costs, may all be reduced.

Cubic boron nitride is second only to diamond in hardness but has a greater chemical stability, and is therefore becoming increasingly more important as a grinding, polishing and cutting material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,194 describes a process for making sintered polycrystalline CBN compacts which utilizes pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN) in the absence of any catalyst. An improvement on this direct conversion process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,503 wherein boric oxide is initially removed from the surface of the HBN powder.
A variety of methods have been proposed and used in the production of CBN, but the most well-known of these, which is widely used commercially, is a method of converting HBN to CBN under the high-temperature/high-pressure (HT/HP) conditions of about 50-75 Kbar and 1400.degree.-1600 .degree. C. in the presence of a catalyst.
Typical catalysts for the HP/HT process have conventionally been nitrides, amides, fluorides of alkaline and alkaline earth elements, urea, aluminum nitride, Fe-Al and Mg-Al alloys, nitrides and boronitrides of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals. Of these, lithium-type catalysts have been thoroughly studied, and lithium nitride and lithium boronitride are considered to be particularly effective catalysts (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,428).
One method of converting HBN to CBN employs at least one catalyst selected from the class consisting of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, lead, antimony, tin and nitrides of these metals as described by Wentorf Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,947,617, incorporated herein by reference.
Another method employing Fe.sub.3 Al and certain silver-cadmium alloys as catalysts in the conversion of HBN to CBN has been described in "Synthesis of Cubic Boron Nitride" by Saito et al. (Yogyo-Kyokai Shi, Vol. 78, No. 893).
Another method employs aluminum alloys of cobalt, nickel and manganese as catalysts for the conversion of HBN to CBN at HP/HT conditions. The habit and size of the CBN crystals developed depends on whether HBN or a mixture of HBN and CBN crystals (or sintered carbide grains) is employed with the catalyst metal. This method is described by Wentof, Jr., et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,219, incorporated herein by reference.
Even with the use of catalysts, the pressures and temperatures required for CBN growth are high, e.g., 50-75 Kbar and 1400.degree.-1800 .degree. C., which necessitates the use of a belt type HP/HT apparatus such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,409,193, 4,810,479 and 2,947,617 and French Pat. No. 2,597,087.
CBN can also be grown at lower pressures, approximately 30 Kbar, using hydrazine (NH.sub.2 NH.sub.2) as a catalyst. However, use of this catalyst is not practical because hydrazine is a carcinogen, is highly corrosive, flammable, and reactive, and is potentially explosive when it comes in contact with air.
CBN cutting and abrasive tools are typically in the form of compacts. A compact is a mass of abrasive particles bonded together in a self-bonded relationship (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,852,078 and 3,876,751); by means of a bonding medium (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,136,615, 3,233,988, 3,743,489, 3,767,371, and 3,918,931); or by means of combinations thereof. A composite compact is a compact bonded to a substrate material, such as cemented metal carbide. Compacts or composite compacts may be used in blanks for cutting tools, drill bits, dressing tools, and wear parts (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,136,615 and 3,233,988).
Sintered CBN/cermet compacts prepared by HP/HT pressing of mixtures of CBN, various cermets, and aluminum compounds (with or without metal additions) are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,334,928 and 4,389,465. U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,170 proposes a composite sintered compact containing high density BN (CBN and Wurtzite boron nitride, WBN), ceramic and various metal bases obtained by HP/HT processing of mixtures of CBN, WBN, and various ceramic and metal mixtures. A supported version of such CBN/cermet compact is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,015. These prior CBN cermet compact disclosures, however, must initially make the CBN in one HP/HT step and the CBN cermet product in a second HP/HT step. This necessarily results in extra wear on the HP/HT presses, reduced throughput, and increased manufacturing costs result from the use of two different HP/HT processing operations.
The above-mentioned catalysts and processes all require high temperature and high pressure to obtain CBN in sufficient yields and therefore are less than desirable from an industrial point of view. Also, the CBN obtained by use of said catalysts have irregular shapes or nearly spherical shapes, poor in development of euhedral planes.
It is an object of the present invention, in the light of these circumstances, to provide a method of converting HBN to CBN with a high yield, using lower temperatures and pressures than are currently practised.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of converting HBN to CBN in high yield using temperatures and pressures lower than the prior art through the use of a stable and relatively inexpensive catalyst.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in a standard HP/HT process by using melamine (C.sub.3 H.sub.6 N.sub.6) as a catalyst.

Method for producing cubic boron nitride using melamine as a catalyst


A method for reprogramming a video input device to multiplex video data from at least two different video sources is disclosed. A video input device contains control registers for controlling the behavior of the video input device. At least first video data from a first source and a second video data from a second source are received at the video input device. Information about the video data is sent to a controller which generates reprogramming data based on the information. The reprogramming data is transmitted to the video input device, wherein the reprogramming data reprograms the operation of the control registers. Portions of the first and second video data are outputted based upon how the control registers are reprogrammed.

Demands are increasingly being placed on computers to be able to run applications using video data. As a result, computer systems need to have video interfaces to provide an input/output interface. Once such interface is illustrated in FIG. 1. The video chip 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is made up of several sections: a decoder section 12; a multiplexer section 14; and a scalar section 16. The decoder section 12 receives digital video data from an external A/D converter. The decoder 12 extracts and formats video related information from the input video stream. The multiplexer section 14 selects between the data from the decoder 12 and decoded data being directly supplied by another external source. The scaler section 16 receives the video data stream from the output of the multiplexer 14 and scales the image based on the contents of the scalar control registers 18.
The scalar control registers 18 control the behavior of a video chip. By programming the control registers in various ways, the video chip will perform different operations on the received video data before outputting the video data to an I/O controller, such as a direct memory access (DMA) controller which takes the digitized video stream and writes it into memory.
DMA is a common method for performing input/output on personal computers, mini computers, and mainframe computers. DMA permits the transfer of blocks of data without processor intervention, using a separate DMA controller that can gain access to the memory in which the host processor has set the buffers. In some implementations, the DMA controller may be controlled by one or more programs that are also set up in the memory by the host processor. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the scaler control registers are accessed by the DMA controller via a serial interface 20. The two-wire serial interface allows communication between the video chip and the DMA controller.
While this prior art method for providing video data is adequate for providing a single image on the display screen, it may be advantageous in some situations to be able to provide multiple images from different video streams on the same display screen at the same time. One such situation arises in teleconferencing. In teleconferencing, a user may wish to divide the screen into several regions to simultaneously display several images on the same screen. For example, the teleconferencing users may wish to display a video image of a meeting room in Washington, and a video image from a meeting room in San Francisco on each of the display screens in each of the meeting rooms in San Francisco and Washington. However, the prior art system described in FIG. 1 is not capable of displaying two separate video images as required in teleconferencing.
One method for providing dual images on a screen would be to provide two video chips wherein one video chip supplies one image and the other video chip supplies the other image. However, the addition of an extra video chip can be costly, both in terms of space as well as monetarily. As a result, there is a need for a method and apparatus for providing dual images on a display screen wherein the images displayed on the screen come from different video streams fed into a single video chip.

Method of and apparatus for reprogramming a video controller


There is disclosed a method for cleaning out of a well in which a compressed inert gas, produced by the non-cryogenic separation of air is delivered to the region of the well where particulate matter has collected that inhibits the ability of the well to produce.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to methods of cleaning out wells using an inert gas. More specifically, the invention is directed to methods of cleaning out wells which employ an inert gas in a region of the well where collected matter has inhibited the ability of the well to produce. The inert gas, typically nitrogen gas, is supplied on-site by the separation of air using a membrane or a pressure swing adsorption system.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the cleaning out of oil or gas or geothermal wells, a fluid is typically delivered to a particular area of the well. For example, in a cleaning out operation, fluid must be introduced in the area of the well to be cleaned to remove the sand, scale or other substances that have effected the ability of the well to produce. One such fluid includes a foam consisting of nitrogen gas and liquid. Nitrogen can also be combined with a surfactant, foaming agent or water for different applications, like well treating.
One method of cleaning out a well includes the use of air cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The frozen air not only reduces the threat of downhole combustion but also freezes the ground to prevent the influx of water during clean out. As is well known, cooling to cryogenic temperatures is costly and requires additional heavy equipment which may not be readily available, particularly when the well is in a remote location like offshore. It is also common to use liquid nitrogen as the source of gas. Liquid nitrogen, however, is disadvantageous because it is considerably more expensive to use than air and difficult to obtain in remote locations.
It would therefore be desirable to devise a method by which an inert gas, typically nitrogen gas, may be conveniently and efficiently supplied to an area of a well to be cleaned out which eliminates the problems associated with cryogenic nitrogen and other sources of nitrogen gas.
The present invention is generally directed to a method for cleaning out oil and/or gas or a geothermal wells in which a compressed inert gas is delivered to the area of the well where production is inhibited. The inert gas is obtained from an on-site, non-cryogenic source. In particular, the source of the inert gas is air which is preferentially separated into an inert gas rich fraction and an oxygen waste gas fraction such as by membrane separation or by pressure swing adsorption, for example.

Non-cryogenic production of nitrogen for on-site injection in well clean out


Methods and systems are provided for using state ranges for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems. In an embodiment, in an intrusion-prevention system for examining network traffic and identifying therein the presence of signature data patterns, a state-transition table is provided. The state-transition table is representative of a predetermined data pattern, and includes states each having one or more egress events defining transitions to other states. A subject is received for evaluation for the presence of the predetermined data pattern. While using the state-transition table for said evaluation, the presence of a first egress event of a first state is detected in the subject, resulting in a transition from the first state to a second state. A second-state range in the subject is calculated, and the second-state range is searched for the presence of at least one of the second state's egress events.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the processing of regular expressions, and, in particular, to improved state-diagram formations and state-transition processing.
2. Description of Related Art
Packet-data communication, such as communication over the Internet, is extremely popular, and is becoming more so every day. People and companies routinely use Internet-connected computers and networks to conduct their affairs. Myriad types of data are transmitted over the Internet, such as personal correspondence, medical information, financial information, business plans, etc. Unfortunately, not all uses of the Internet are benign; on the contrary, a significant percentage of the data that is transmitted over the Internet every day is malicious. Examples of this type of data are viruses, spyware, malware, worms, etc.
Not unexpectedly, an entire industry has developed to combat these vicious attempts to disrupt and harm Internet-based communications, along with the networks and computers used by those who engage in Internet-based communications. This industry, and the effort to fight these malicious threats generally, is often referred to as "intrusion prevention." One important aspect of intrusion prevention involves identifying known threats (files that are or contain viruses, worms, spyware, malware, etc.) by particular data patterns contained therein. These data patterns are sometimes referred to as "signatures" of the security threats.
As such, data (e.g. IP) packets flowing through, towards, or from a particular router, switch, network, etc. are often screened—perhaps by an intermediate device, functional component, or other entity sometimes referred to as a "bump in the wire"—for the presence of these signature data patterns. When particular packets, or sequences of packets, are identified as containing at least one of these signatures, those packets (or, again, sequences of packets) may be "quarantined," analogous to the way that people or animals having been identified as or suspected of carrying a particular disease would be, such that those packets cannot cause harm to any more networks and/or computers. These packets, removed from the normal flow of data traffic, can then be further analyzed without holding up that traffic generally.
It can thus be appreciated that it would be advantageous for a network device to be able to quickly and accurately identify these signature data patterns across one or more packets, and to do so in a way that uses relatively little in the way of computing resources such as processing time and memory.
These signature data patterns are often expressed using what is known as a "regular expression," which is an instance of a system of notation that can, fairly elegantly, represent complicated data patterns that, by their presence, may indicate a potential security threat. As a small example, a regular expression such as ".+[a]{5}[b]" may be used to represent a data pattern that could be stated as "one or more of (+) any type of character (.), followed by five consecutive 'a' characters ([a]{5}), followed by a 'b' character ([b])." Thus, the data being analyzed, often referred to as the "subject," would have to contain that data pattern at least once to be considered to match that regular expression, which often is also referred to as a "regex."
The screening for these particular data patterns is often implemented using a state machine, which is typically generated from a particular regex. Basically, the characters (e.g. "@") and character classes (e.g. "[0-9]," i.e. "any digit") in the regex define the transitions between states in the machine. A particular data subject, perhaps the payload of one or more packets, would then be evaluated using the state machine; this evaluation essentially involves starting in an initial state, and using the characters in the subject to try to transition through the state machine. If the right sequence of characters is present in the subject to cause the processing of the state machine to arrive at what is known as a "match state," then the subject is considered to match the regex that was used to generate the state machine, and the packet or packets that contained that subject may be quarantined for further analysis.
State machines are often also referred to as "automata," and are of one of two types: deterministic finite automata (DFA) (a deterministic state machine, a.k.a. a DFA state machine) or nondeterministic finite automata (NFA) (a nondeterministic state machine, a.k.a. an NFA state machine). In general, a DFA will have no ambiguity; that is, from a given state, a given character in the subject will result in either zero or one valid transitions to a next state. In contrast, an NFA will have ambiguity in that, from a given state, a given character can, and often does, match more than one transition to a next state. Thus, in an NFA, multiple paths through the state machine may be valid for the same subject.
In general, then, DFAs are typically faster and more straightforward to execute, but involve a higher number of states, while NFAs typically can be implemented with many fewer states, which uses far less memory, but are more complex to execute, since multiple valid paths through the state machine must be assessed. And DFAs and NFAs have other advantages and disadvantages in comparison with the other, in addition to those mentioned here.
Further with respect to regex processing, the popularity of the PERL scripting language has had a significant effect on the art of processing regular expressions. The PERL syntax incorporates regex processing with a powerful and popular regex feature set. The PERL regex syntax is the most widely used 'flavor' today, and regex engines are often referred to as being 'PERL compatible.' There is a FOSS (Free Open Source Software) project called PCRE (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions), which is a library in the C programming language for compiling and processing regular expressions using the PERL syntax and feature set. This library is used in existing Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) products.
PCRE works at least in part by converting a regex to an NFA state machine. Again, an NFA state machine is referred to as being non-deterministic because, in some states, there may be more than one valid transition out to respective next states. Using an NFA gives a lot of flexibility in terms of language syntax, but processing an NFA can require a lot of attempts to match on failed branches of the state machine. The process of backing up in to a prior state after a failed match attempt is called 'backtracking.' The conventions used in PCRE call for attempting to match as much text as possible, and backtracking if the match fails. For this reason, backtracking is common and performance suffers. Note that the type of search done using the PCRE engine is called a 'depth-first' search, because it tries the deepest paths through the NFA state machine first, and then backtracks to try other branches.
As also noted above, there is a different type of state machine, called a DFA state machine (or just DFA), which does not require backtracking. It is possible to convert an NFA to a DFA with some restrictions on syntax features (e.g., no backreferences). A DFA is more like a traditional state machine that is driven from state to state based on events (i.e. characters in the subject being searched). As noted above, DFAs are generally faster than NFAs, but usually have more states, and thus require more memory.
Recent versions of PCRE include an Application Program Interface (API) purporting to implement a DFA search, though PCRE does not generate a DFA in this case. Instead, these versions walk an NFA in a breadth-first manner. This process is, in essence, like generating a DFA on the fly, every time the search is performed. The results are the same, but the performance is very slow.

Methods and systems for using state ranges for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A molded multi-layer article has an interior layer contained within inner and outer layers. The article is molded by co-injecting the inner, outer, and interior layer materials into a mold defining a cavity. The interior layer material is caused to flow along a steam line offset from the zero velocity gradient of the combined material flow in a manner so that the interior layer material flow stream does not flow along or cross the zero velocity gradient yet has a greater flow velocity than the average flow velocity of the combined flow front. These methods and apparatus can mold four or more multilayer articles at once, each having an interior layer extending throughout 95% or more of the sealable portion of the article. The interior layer of a resultant article can extend throughout 99% or more of the sealable portion of the article.

Injection molded articles are used for a variety of purposes. Plastic injection molded products are commonly made from materials such as polyethylene (PET) or polypropylene (PP). These products resist environmental degradation, and are reasonably durable, watertight, and economically produced.
However, plastic materials such as PET and PP are gas (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) permeable. For applications in which gas permeability is undesirable, for example, food products, medicines and products that degrade upon gaseous exposure, a barrier material or scavenger material is co-injected with the plastic material. Typically, the barrier material, such as Ethyl Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH), is injected as an interior core material stream between an inner and outer flow stream of the PET or PP material stream, forming an EVOH interior layer inside the PET or PP skin to form the molded product. In order to prevent detrimental gas permeation, it is necessary that the interior barrier layer extend throughout substantially the entire portion of the molded article that is exposed. Even if a very small percentage of the exposed surface area lacks an adequate barrier layer, detrimental amounts of gas permeation may occur.
In order for the barrier layer to form throughout the molded article, it is necessary that the interior layer material flow to substantially the ends of the mold cavity during the molding process. If the interior layer material does not flow to the end of the cavity during molding, there will be an inadequate barrier layer at the corresponding "end" of the molded product. On the other hand, if the interior layer material flows too quickly, the interior layer material can penetrate or breakthrough the flow front or leading edge of the inner and outer layer material (i.e., skin), causing undesirable results. Thus, known techniques attempt to cause the interior layer material to flow to the ends of the mold cavity without breakthrough, e.g., by attempting to precisely control injection parameters, such as, for example, injection pressure, temperature, timing, injection location, etc.
Due to significant material flow disparities in non-symmetric mold cavities (i.e., non-symmetric molded articles), this co-injection process has until now been limited to products that are essentially symmetrical in shape. However, even symmetrical geometries, which theoretically have symmetrical flow characteristics throughout the mold cavity, have met with limited success. Systemic and process variations (e.g., manufacturing tolerances in mold cavity dimensions and surface finishes, local temperature variations, injection pressure variations, normally occurring streamline variations, limitations of calculation methodologies used, etc.) cannot be eliminated using current technology and can result in either breakthrough or "gaps" (or both) in barrier layer coverage. Thus, previously known techniques do not provide adequate and/or consistent permeability resistance.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods and apparatuses for forming injection molded articles having an interior layer where the interior layer extends sufficiently throughout the article to adequately prevent gas permeation without breakthrough. There is further a need for injection molded articles containing such a layer.


In an image forming apparatus for charging a photosensitive body, changing the light exposure amount in at least three levels at exposure to light, thereby forming an electrostatic image made up of a high-potential part, a low-potential part, and an intermediate-potential part therebetween on the photosensitive body, and normally developing and inversely developing the electrostatic image using toners different in charge polarity for forming two types of toner images on the photosensitive body, a first developer used with a first toner image developing unit has electric resistance changed within 10% in the change range of applied voltage to the developer as the difference between a surface potential of the photosensitive body and a developing bias voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image forming apparatus using electrophotography and in particular to an image forming apparatus comprising a developing unit using a magnetic developer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A one-path color print system for printing two colors or more in one cycle is available as one system of electrophotography. As shown in JP-A-48-37148, the following developing method is available: A photosensitive body is charged and then the light exposure amount is changed in three levels of no exposure, weak exposure, and strong exposure in response to color information of an image on exposure to light, whereby electrostatic images at three levels of a high-level area, a low-level area, and an intermediate-level area therebetween as surface potential on the photosensitive body are formed and the high-level area is normally developed and the low-level area is inversely developed for forming two types of toner images on the photosensitive body. Toners different in charge polarity can be used as the two types of toners. A two-color image can be formed by using toners different in color as in the example in the related art. The description to follow assumes a two-color developing method for forming a two-color image.
As the electrostatic image developing method, a method using a dual-component developer of a mixture of toner of colored particles and carrier of magnetic particles is available. To develop the high-level area, a developing bias voltage between the high-level surface potential and the intermediate-level surface potential is applied to a developing electrode of a developing unit and on the other hand, to develop the low-level area, a developing bias voltage between the low-level surface potential and the intermediate-level surface potential is applied to the developing electrode of the developing unit, whereby the toners are developed in the high-level area and the low-level area.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a printer using a system wherein three values of potential on a photosensitive body are provided, described in JP-A-48-37148 as one of the one-path color print systems. Throughout the specification, the system is called potential division developing system. FIG. 3 is a potential model chart of the potential division developing system. The system is a system for printing in two colors of black and any other color than black, such as red, blue, or green. In the description to follow, any other color than black is red and the first developing is normal developing in a red developer and the second developing is inverse developing in a black developer.
A photosensitive body 1 having photoconductivity is charged by a charger 2 and then exposure responsive to image information is executed by an exposure unit 3. A black image portion is exposed to strong light so that the photosensitive potential becomes the minimum as potential VL, a print area in red is not exposed to light as potential VH, and a background portion, namely, a white paper portion is exposed to weak light as potential VM of about a half the potential VH, whereby three-value potentials are formed. Next, a first developing unit 4a develops the red image portion. The developing unit 4a contains a developing roller 30a having a rotatable sleeve roller 31a on the outer periphery of a magnet 32a internally fixed. The sleeve roller 31a is electrically connected to a power supply and a bias voltage Vb1 is applied so that |VH| greater than |Vb1|xe2x89xa6|VM|. A dual-component developer 20a of a mixture of a red toner 21a in the first developing unit 4a and a first carrier 25a for charging the red toner 21a to an opposite polarity to the charge polarity of the photosensitive body 1 by friction with the red toner 21a at an appropriate ratio is magnetically attracted to the surface of the sleeve roller 31a and is transported to a developing area 40a with rotation of the sleeve roller 31a and scrubs the surface of the photosensitive body 1. The red toner 21a is deposited on the red image area by an electric field formed by an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive body 1 and the bias voltage Vb1 applied to the sleeve roller 31a, and developing is executed.
Next, a second developing unit 4b develops the black image portion. A black developer 20b used here is a mixture of a black toner 21b and a second carrier 25b for charging the black toner 21b to the same polarity as the charge polarity of the photosensitive body 1 by friction with the black toner 21b at an appropriate mix ratio. A bias voltage Vb2 applied to the sleeve roller 31b is set so that |VM| greater than |Vb2| greater than |VL|, and the black image portion is developed.
An image is thus formed in the black and red toners different in charge polarity. Thus, in the state, if an attempt is made to apply a corona of a single positive or negative polarity and transfer in a transfer unit 7, the toner of the same polarity as the applied corona repels and is not transferred to a sheet member 8. Therefore, before the toner is transferred, the polarity of the toner needs to be matched with the polarity opposite to that of the applied corona in the transfer unit 7, and a before-transfer charger 6 is installed. The toner with the polarity matched by the before-transfer charger 6 is transferred efficiently to the sheet member 8 by the transfer unit 7. After the toner is transferred, the sheet member 8 passes through a fuser 9 and the toner is fixed onto the sheet member 8.
The remaining toner or a deposit of paper powder, etc., on the photosensitive body 1 after transfer section passage is removed and collected from the photosensitive body 1 by a cleaning unit 11.
The potential division developing system for performing two-color print according to the described process has very excellent features that it can execute two-color print at the same speed as monochrome print, that the costs are low because of one exposure unit, and that a position shift in a two-color image does not occur.
However, in the developing methods using a dual-component developer as well as the above-described two-color developing method, the carrier is developed in the potential area opposite to the potential area in which toner is developed with respect to the developing bias voltage; this is a problem. The reason is that in the dual-component developer, the toner and the carrier are mixed, whereby they are charged in opposite polarities to each other. For example, in the above-described two-color developing method, as shown in FIG. 3, to develop the high-level area charged negatively, the developing bias voltage Vb1 between the high-level surface potential VH and the intermediate-level surface potential VM is applied to the developing electrode of the developing unit, whereby the toner charged to the positive polarity is developed in the high-level area. On the other hand, the carrier is charged to the negative polarity and thus is developed in the low-level area where the surface potential is lower than the developing bias Vb1. The carrier is magnetic particles and the developing electrode of the developing unit generally is a developing roll having an internal magnet wherein an external metal cylinder rotates, and the carrier is made to stay by the magnetic force of the internal magnet so that it is not developed to the photosensitive body. However, it is hard to completely make the carrier stay, and slight carrier developing occurs.
A phenomenon in which the carrier is developed as mentioned above generally is called carrier deposition, and also raises a problem of causing a toner image transfer failure to occur in the transfer step of a post-step of developing in one-color image formation in the related art. As a measure against the carrier deposition, after developing, a carrier collection roll having an internal magnet wherein an external metal cylinder rotates like the developing roll of the developing unit is placed and the deposited carrier is attracted by a magnetic force and the external metal cylinder is rotated for collecting the carrier in the developing unit, whereby the problem is solved.
However, as shown in FIG. 3, the photo sensitive body charge potential is divided into two areas and latent images of a two-color image are prepared and thus the developing contrast potential of each color (|VH-Vb1| in red, |Vb2-VL| in black) is also reduced by half as compared with a usual single-color print system. Thus, it is difficult to provide a high print density; this is a problem. To enlarge the contrast potential, the photosensitive body charge potential may be raised. However, there is a limit from the point of the life of the photosensitive body and the difference between the developing bias potential and the image portion potential of another color (|Vb-1-VL| in red, |VH-Vb 2| in black) is also enlarged inevitably and thus in the area, the electric field oriented for depositing the carrier on the photosensitive body becomes very strong. Therefore, there is a problem of a drastic increase in carrier deposition on the photosensitive body as compared with the usual single-color print system. A harmful effect caused by the carrier deposition in the usual single-color print system is a transfer failure of a toner image in the proximity of deposition of carrier produced by impairing intimate contact between a sheet member and the photosensitive body at the transfer time because of the deposited carrier on the photosensitive body and the carrier-deposited area is a white paper area and thus if the carrier is somewhat deposited, a defect does not appear on the print image.
In the potential division developing system, however, the carrier-deposited area is an area in which another toner image is formed and thus if a carrier is deposited only a little, accordingly toner is not deposited on the toner image and a background is exposed, namely, a defect called a white dot occurs on the final print image.
This is occurrence of the following problem: In the two-color image forming apparatus, when a high-level area is developed, the carrier of the developer is deposited on a low-level area and in addition, the potential of the low-level area is disturbed. This is a problem revealed from the two experiment results of the fact that when a high-level area is developed as the first color and then a low-level area is developed, a large number of white dots occur in the image in the low-level area and the fact that when only a low-level area of the second color is developed without developing the first color as high-level area, low-level area, and intermediate-level area are formed as surface potential of photosensitive body, white dots do not occur. That is, the carrier comes in contact with the photosensitive body, whereby the potential of the low-level area is raised and the portion is not developed in the second color and appears as a white dot.
This means that the developing unit adopting the potential division developing system requires suppressing carrier deposition on the photosensitive body and executing high-density print more than the usual single-color print system in stricter restrictions as compared with the single-color print system.
As a developing system for enhancing the print density, a system using a plurality of developing rolls, a system using a low-resistance developer called conductive magnetic brush developing, and the like can be used alone or in combination. However, the system using a plurality of developing rolls inevitably involves upsizing the developing unit and an increase in costs and is hard to use with a small-sized developing unit, and the conductive magnetic brush developing involves a problem of resolution, a problem of the developer life, etc. In a system in which a latent image portion developed by a second developing unit is scrubbed by a first developing unit like the above-described potential division developing system, if the conductive magnetic brush developing is used for the first developing unit, it is feared that the second latent image may be disturbed at the first developing time.
That is, in the above-described configuration, the following problem easily occurs: At the first red image developing time, the potential VL at which the black toner is deposited rises, the print density of the black image is lowered, resolution degradation occurs, or the potential VM of the background portion becomes non-uniform and fogging increases.
Therefore, as the developing unit used with the potential division developing system, a high developing capability and less carrier deposition become important and in the developing unit used for the first developing, it also becomes important not to disturb the latent image formed on the photosensitive body.
As a small-sized developing system being capable of providing a high print density and having a weak force of scrubbing a photosensitive body, a system of placing magnetic poles of the same polarity in an entrance part and an exit part of a developing area using a magroller called W magnetic roller, etc., is known.
FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing to show one example of the system. A first developing pole 27 is placed in an entrance part of a developing area 40 and a second developing pole 28 of the same polarity as the first developing pole 27 is placed in an exit part of the developing area 40. A developer 20 first forms a magnetic brush in the developing area entrance part and scrubs a photosensitive body 1, then is moved toward the second developing pole 28. At the point in time, the magnetic binding force acting on the developer 20 is weakened by a repulsive magnetic field, no magnetic brush is formed, the developer comes apart, a large number of clouds occur, and developing is performed. Next, the developer is magnetically bound by the second developing pole 28 and again magnetic brush developing is performed. That is, in this method, developing is performed in one developing area in the order of a portion of the entrance part with a comparatively strong magnetic field, a portion of the center with a comparatively weak magnetic field, and a portion of the exit part with a comparatively strong magnetic field. Since the developing efficiency is raised because of a toner cloud occurring in the weak magnetic field portion of the center, the print density is enhanced and moreover no magnetic brush is formed in the center of the developing area and the magnetic field is comparatively weak even in the magnetic brush formation area. Thus, the scrubbing force of the photosensitive body is weakened as compared with the method in the related art for forming a strong magnetic field in the whole developing area.
However, in the center portion, the carrier is easily deposited on the photosensitive body and the force of collecting the deposited carrier in the exit portion is also weakened and thus there is a problem of an increase in carrier deposition on the photosensitive body.
Aside from the above-described problem, there is a problem of thinning the density of the rear end part of a solid image. In the periphery of the solid image, toner receives the action of being pulled into a latent image because of the peripheral effect of enhancing the electric field in the periphery of the latent image. Particularly, in the rear end part of the solid image portion, the direction in which the developer scrubs the photosensitive body with rotation of the developing roll is the same as the direction in which the peripheral effect acts on the toner, so that the toner deposited on the rear end part is scraped into the solid image. Thus, the problem of thinning the density of the rear end part of the solid image occurs.
In the example in the related art, the above-described problem occurs and thus the image density does not become uniform and a clear image cannot be provided.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a small-sized and low-cost developing unit capable of executing high-density print even at a low contrast potential and having a high resolution without carrier deposition, particularly a developing unit for providing sufficient performance even in a system wherein carrier deposition easily occurs and the detriment effect of the deposited carrier easily appears, such as the potential division developing system. It is another object of the invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of providing a clear image with occurrence of no white dots and having a uniform density.
The first problem is solved by using a developing unit comprising a fixed magnet having a magnetic pattern such that the magnetic flux densities of the entrance and exit portions of a developing area in which a magnetic developer comes in contact with a photosensitive body are high and that the magnetic flux density of the center of the developing area is low and a sleeve roller being placed on the outer periphery of the magnet for rotation, wherein the magnetic developer is transported with rotation of the sleeve roller and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive body is scrubbed with the magnetic developer for developing, wherein the maximum magnetic flux density of a first area in which the magnetic flux density is high in the entrance portion of the developing area is 500 Gauss or more on the surface of the sleeve roller, wherein the maximum magnetic flux density of a second area in which the magnetic flux density is high in the exit portion of the developing area is 700 Gauss or more on the surface of the sleeve roller, wherein the minimum magnetic flux density of an area in which the magnetic flux density is low in the center of the developing area on the surface of the sleeve roller is 60% or less of the maximum magnetic flux density of the exit portion of the developing area, and wherein the first and second areas in which the magnetic flux density is high are formed and are placed facing the photosensitive body so that the angle between a center point when points at which the magnetic flux density becomes 80% of the first maximum magnetic flux density on both sides of point at which the first maximum magnetic flux density is reached on the surface of the sleeve roller are connected and a center point of a line connecting points at which the magnetic flux density becomes 80% of the second maximum magnetic flux density on both sides of point at which the second maximum magnetic flux density is reached becomes 25 degrees or more.
The second problem is solved by using a developer whose electric resistance is lowered small if the applied voltage is raised is used as the developer for forming the first toner image.
The third problem is solved by using a developer whose electric resistance is lowered if the applied voltage is raised is used as the developer for forming the second toner image.

Image forming electrophotography apparatus and magnetic developing unit


A device (10) for sorting coins (31) has at least first and second receiving containers (20) for receiving coins (31) and a separating unit (14). Further, a transport unit (18) for transporting coins (31) to the receiving containers (20) is provided and has a first transport section (52) arranged between the separating unit (16) and the first transport container (20). The transport unit (18) also has a second transport section (54) between the first receiving container (20) and the second receiving container (20). A first sensor (62) for detecting coins (31) is arranged in the first transport section (52) and a second sensor (64) for detecting coins (31) is arranged in the second transport section (54). A control unit (24) determines the number of coins (31) fed to the first receiving container (20) dependent on the information obtained from the first sensor (62) and from the second sensor (64).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for sorting coins, comprising a first and at least a second receiving container for receiving coins. Further, the device has a separating unit for separating coins and a transport unit for transporting coins from the separating unit to the first receiving container arranged downstream of the separating unit and the second receiving container arranged downstream of the first receiving container, the transport unit having a first transport section and a second transport section. The first transport section is arranged between the separating unit and the first receiving container so that along the first transport section both the coins to be fed to the first receiving container and to the second receiving container are transported. The second transport section is arranged between the first and the second transport container so that along the second transport section only the coins which have not been fed to the first receiving container are transported.
2. Description of the Related Art
In devices for the input and/or output of coins the coins input as an unsorted quantity of coins are distributed to a plurality of receiving containers, so-called coin hoppers, after they have been separated, their authenticity has been checked and their denomination has been determined. In particular, a type-specific storage of the coins is carried out, i.e. that for each denomination at least one receiving container is provided.
For this, in particular a sorting path is provided which comprises a support surface on which the coins rest during transport and in which several holes having an increasing size in the transport direction of the coins are arranged. One coin receiving container each is arranged under each of these holes, so that the coins are distributed to the individual receiving containers dependent on their size. Due to the high processing speed and the different condition of the coins it may, however, happen that a coin is inadvertently fed to an incorrect receiving container. This is particularly critical when the coins are again disbursed since, when an incorrect coin is received in a coin hopper, thus the incorrect amount of money would be disbursed.
Therefore, devices are known in which for determining the correct feeding of the individual coins to the individual receiving containers light barriers for detecting the coins are arranged in the entry area of the receiving containers or in the area between the hole and the receiving container, i.e. in any case in the area in which the coins are in free fall. Such devices are known, for example, from documents DE 20 2006 007 932 U1 and DE 29 807 688 U1. What is problematic here is that in the case of coins which are in free fall it may easily happen that due to the rotation of the coins and the close sequence of successively fed coins, the light beam of the light barrier is continuously interrupted in the case of two successively fed coins so that the two coins are perceived as only one coin by the light barrier. It may also happen that in the case of an unfortunate rotation and position a coin does not interrupt the light beam at all. Both results in incorrect determinations of the number of coins fed to the corresponding receiving container. Further, it may happen that the light beam of the light barrier is permanently interrupted when the receiving container has a filling level that is so high that the received coins are stacked up to the area of the light barrier.
It is the object of the invention to specify a device for sorting coins, in which a monitoring of the orderly feeding of the coins to the individual receiving containers is reliably possible in an easy manner.


A method for tuning a sensor coil for a fiber optic gyroscope. The coil is initially wound in a known pattern. One end of the fiber of the wound coil is then adjusted relative to the other end so that a known differential is obtained that effectively displaces the midpoint of the winding pattern. The coil is then attached to an interferometer test apparatus and performance measured. After successive observations a "trimmed" coil is obtained of acceptable performance characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fiber optic gyroscopes. More particularly, this invention pertains to a method for tuning the gyro sensor coil to eliminate non-reciprocity error sensitivities.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fiber optic gyroscope comprises the following main components: (1) a light source, (2) a beamsplitter (either a fiber optic directional coupler or an integrated-optics Y-junction), (3) a fiber optic coil, (4) a polarizer (and sometimes one or more depolarizers), and (5) a detector. Light from the light source is split by the beamsplitter into copropagating and counterpropagating waves travelling in the sensing coil. The associated electronics measures the phase relationship between the two interfering, counter-propagating beams of light that emerge from opposite ends of the coil. The difference between the phase shifts experienced by the two beams provides a measure of the rate of rotation of the platform to which the instrument is fixed.
Environmental factors can affect the measured phase shift difference between the counterpropagating beams, thereby introducing a bias or error. Such environmental factors include variables such as temperature, vibration (acoustical and mechanical) and magnetic fields. Such factors are both time-varying and unevenly distributed throughout the coil. These environmental factors induce variations in the optical light path that each counterpropagating wave encounters as it travels through the coil. The phase shifts induced upon the two waves are unequal, producing a net undesirable phase shift which is indistinguishable from the rotation-induced signal.
While appropriate coil winding techniques can minimize some of the bias errors found in the output of a fiber optic gyro, in practice it is not possible to attain a "perfect" winding pattern. Bumps, wrinkles and various errors will invariably occur in winding. To the extent that such asymmetries exist, winding patterns are rarely as intended and the reduction of output bias is inherently limited. That is, while an intended symmetric coil winding pattern may locate similarly situated fiber segments equal lengths from the fiber center, in practice the theoretical cancellation of Shupe error due to temperature change is not observed. Rather, the presence of such difficult-to-avoid winding errors as "drop outs" and the like regularly frustrate the fabrication of a perfectly symmetric sensor coil. Such winding errors are to be expected in view of the quite substantial task involved in the precise winding of a coil of, for example, one thousand meters of optical fiber. As a result of such unavoidable winding imperfections, time-dependent changes in fiber properties, bias effects, sometimes significant, appear in the outputs of even symmetrically-wound sensor coils.

Method for tuning fiber optic sensor coils


The invention relates to a foldable display unit comprising a lower half supporting an upper half. The lower half includes a lower right wall and a lower left wall, housed therein. The upper half comprises an upper right wall and an upper left wall, housed therein. The walls of the right side are interconnected in a hinged manner, and the walls of the left side are also hinged. Each half includes shelves that are pivotally connected thereto. Once the lower left and right walls, the upper left and right walls and the lower and upper shelves are housed, the upper half rotates over the lower half supported on the hinged connection existing between the lower and upper left walls and the hinged join existing between the lower and upper right walls, thereby the display unit is folding in two parts.

In many places where public gather for the acquisition and exposure of products and services, such as fairs, conventions, information centers and so on, there is a need to use furniture, counters and showcases, in order to approach the public to the suppliers and present their products to them. In this regard, there is an important variety of such furniture, e.g. wooden-made, metallic, furnished with shelves and partitions; in general terms, though, they are bulky, difficult to handle and transport thereof results in hardships since they take up a lot of space.
One art-known solution to such problems has involved the creation of carton foldable furniture and counters. Nevertheless, their structural rigidity is poor, so that heavy things may not be placed on them; furthermore, it is impossible for one person to lean thereon. An example of a carton showcase is disclosed in European Patent No EP 0 575 275 A1. In addition, this type of carton-made furniture lacks of an outstanding aesthetical appearance, which is an important factor to achieve a commercial impact of the product or service being offered.
In this sense, there is other type of furniture very used in points of sale as the showcases and counters, of which, foldable versions have been designed which are very practical and compact, some examples thereof are disclosed in Mexican Patents 212,227; 225,710 as well as in International Application No. PCT/IB2005/002083. In addition, in Mexican Patent No. 233,812 of the same inventor as the instant application, it is disclosed a foldable showcase having shelves or tables, this showcase is essentially divided in two halves, of which, the second half is folded over the first half in order to achieve the folded position of the showcase, however. The showcase of Mexican Patent No. 233,812 lacks of transparent compartments as the showcases require.
Moreover, the furniture and counters made of cardboard as well as the showcase mentioned in the previous paragraph are far away to satisfy the functions of the showcases, in which, the products should be stored in transparent and restricted access compartments either for safe reasons or make the products more attractive. As it may be expected, the compartments of the showcases should be fabricated of materials such as glass, polycarbonate or transparent acrylic sheets.
In addition, in the showcases, it is preferred that the compartments allow to observe the products contained therein from many observation angles, moreover, the compartments should have an acceptable internal space in order to place many kind of products therein. Taking the above into consideration, it would be desirable to have a low weight foldable showcase, in which the compartments have an ample inner capacity, however the design thereof should be that allows the showcase to be folded in order to have a reduced space once it is stored.
In the International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2007/004211, it is disclosed a foldable showcase, in which the compartments of said showcase protrude backwards of the same and form a parallelepiped. In the showcase, the exhibition space is small in comparison with all the size of the showcase; in fact, this showcase requires a base for providing stability.
Therefore, it is required new exhibitors, wherein the exhibition space can be wide as possible in order to observe the objects from many angles, and, when the exhibitor is not occupied the same can be easily demounted and folded.


Optically pure clopidogrel can be prepared in a high yield by optically resolving a racemic form of the compound of formula (II) using an optically active amine to form the optically active form of the compound of formula (III) or its acid-addition salt; and methylating the compound of formula (III) or its acid-addition salt.

Clopidogrel, methyl (S)-(+)-α-(2-chlorophenyl)-6,7-dihydrothieno[3,2-a]pyridine-5(4H)-acetate of formula (I), is a platelet-aggregation inhibitor which is effective in treating peripheral arterial diseases such as stroke, thrombosis and embolism, as well as coronary arterial diseases such as myocardial infarction and angina pectoris:

Various methods of preparing clopidogrel are described in European Patent Nos. 0,281,459, 0,466,569, 0,971,915, 0,099,802, 1,021,449, 1,404,681 and 1,353,928, and International Publication Patent No. WO 2004/094374. Among these methods, preferred in terms of commercial applicability are methods which involve resolving a racemate composed of clopidogrel of formula (I) or an intermediate thereof and its levorotatory isomer using an optical resolution agent.
For example, European Patent No. 0,281,459 discloses a method of preparing clopidogrel of formula (I) by way of reacting a racemate of clopidogrel with (1R)-(−)-10-camphorsulfonic acid to selectively form camphorsulfonate of clopidogrel, and removing the camphorsulfonate moiety therefrom (optical resolution process); and European Patent Nos. 0,099,802 and 1,353,928, by way of optically resolving an intermediate of clopidogrel racemate as described above using (1R)-(−)-10-camphorsulfonic acid, and then preparing the desired clopidogrel from the resolved intermediate (see Reaction Scheme 1).

However, these methods have the problem that the salt of clopidogrel or an intermediate thereof formed by the selective crystallization from the racemate of clopidogrel or its intermediate and (1R)-(−)-10-camphorsulfonic acid has an insufficient optical purity and must be subjected to further purification, the purification resulting in a yield reduction. In addition, it is difficult to recover (1R)-(−)-10-camphorsulfonic acid from the reaction solution for the purpose of recycling due to its high solubility in water.

Method of preparing clopidogrel and intermediates used therein


A computer voice operated dictations system having a text editing mode provided for editing dictated text. The text editing mode navigates a user through the dictated text by highlighting a correction window comprised of a plurality of words comprising a portion of the text. The correction window is comprised of "m" words and the value of m is preferably determined, based upon the voice recognition capabilities of a particular voice recognition engine associated with the dictation system. The greater the ability of the speech recognition engine to recognize and distinguish spoken words, the larger the value of m. A correction vocabulary is defined which consists of the plurality of words which are contained within the correction window and a plurality of correction commands. The voice recognition computer dictation system is configured for processing a spoken utterance which corresponds to an error word contained within the plurality of words highlighted in the correction window is processed. When the error word is spoken by a user it uniquely identifies the word which is to be edited. Thereafter, the error word can be immediately corrected by the user articulating a further voice command.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of computer voice recognition systems for dictation and more particularly to a system for fast voice correction of error words in dictated text.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer voice recognition dictation systems are designed to allow user data to be entered in a target application program by means of spoken words (e.g. dictation of a report in a word processing application program). Such programs automatically recognize a spoken utterance as a word comprised of a series of characters, and display the word as part of a set of dictated text on a user interface screen. These types of programs are particularly helpful for persons who either lack the physical ability to operate a keyboard and/or computer mouse, or who find it more convenient to dictate documents rather than type them.
One basic problem with computer voice recognition systems for dictation relates to correction of any errors which may occur in the dictated text. Since each word which is entered into a dictated document is generated by a software voice recognition engine, typical errors can include words which are misunderstood by the recognition engine, words which are not contained in the vocabulary of the voice recognition engine, homonyms, or user errors. Correction of such errors with conventional keyboard/mouse controlled document editing systems is typically accomplished by moving a cursor to each location where an error is detected and them making the appropriate correction using the keyboard or mouse controls. This is a relatively simple task in the case of a keyboard/mouse controlled system because the user receives dynamic information regarding the position of the cursor as the mouse or cursor position keys are manipulated. More particularly, the user can visually detect the location of an error word on a computer screen which displays dictated text, and receives direct visual feedback as the cursor is repositioned by manipulation of keyboard and mouse controls. In this way, the user can immediately and accurately position the cursor at the location of the word to be edited.
By comparison, positioning a cursor at the location of an error word using voice commands only, has been a rather tedious task in voice controlled systems of the prior art. Typically, the design of prior art systems has been such that the user can select a word for correction only by using a finite set of specifically recognizable spoken utterances, or voice commands, which cause a cursor to move a predetermined number of increments in a predetermined direction. Usually these voice commands will move the cursor a few words or lines at a time, until it is positioned at the error word to be corrected. This approach is tedious and time consuming because it often requires a user to count the number of words or lines between the present location of the cursor and the error word. Further, it is common that a user will miscount or incorrectly estimate the number of words (or lines) between the cursor and the error words. Such errors commonly result in the need for additional cursor movement commands to place the cursor at the exact position required, and can also result in overshoot and backtracking.
Also, the need to constantly move the cursor using voice commands is distracting to the natural process of proofreading a document. Typically, a reviewer who is proof-reading a document will begin reading the document at a certain point (typically at its beginning) and continue reading to the end. Mistakes or errors are corrected as the erroneous word is encountered in the course of reading through the document. If a user must constantly stop reviewing the document in order to move the cursor to a desired location, the process becomes disjointed and proceeds more slowly. Also, words and sentences may be unintentionally skipped with the result that certain error words may not be detected.
Some voice type computer dictation systems permit correction of the last few dictated words upon recognizing certain voice commands from the user. For example, in some systems, the user can articulate a special command word, such as "Oops" which causes the system to present to the user on the display screen a correction dialog box. The correction dialog box contains the last few dictated words which are displayed separately from the body of the dictated text. Each word in the correction dialog is displayed in a column adjacent to a title word, such as "Word 1", "Word 2", etc. The user then selects the word to be corrected by saying the title word corresponding to the word which requires correction. Finally, any necessary correction can be performed. Obviously, this approach is of limited usefulness as it only permits the last few dictated words to be corrected, and it requires multiple spoken commands.
Finally, while it is theoretically possible to allow a user to identify a word to be corrected in a document by simply speaking the word, such an approach has been found to have a serious problem. In particular, multiple occurrences of the same word within a document, the existence of homonyms, and similar sounding words, all result in practical difficulties in implementing such an approach.
Currently available speech recognition engines and text processors are often unable to consistently discern which word in a document a user is referring when such word is spoken or articulated by a user for correction purposes. Attempting to identify error words in a document comprised of a substantial amount of dictated text inevitably leads to ambiguity and errors with respect to the word that is to be corrected. Once again, this results in an editing process which is both time consuming, tedious and frustrating for a user.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for rapid hands-free selection of error words in dictated text. It would also be desirable to provide a method for facilitating accurate hands-free proof reading and correction of a dictated document on a computer. It would further be desirable to provide a method and apparatus by which a computer user of automatic voice dictation software can unambiguously identify a word to be corrected in a document, by simply speaking the word which is to be edited.

Method and apparatus for fast voice selection of error words in dictated text

International Business Machines Corporation


A wave generator comprises a seat; a positioning ring a wave generating unit received in an upper side of the seat; the wave generating unit being formed by a flow-steady base and a flow-collecting mask; the flow-steady base having a central platform; an upper surface of the central platform having a plurality of projecting blocks which are annularly arranged; the spaces between projecting blocks being formed as flow channels; an inner wall of the wave generating unit being formed with a plurality of longitudinal slots for draining water; a positioning unit for positioning the flow-steady base and the flow-collecting mask precisely; a filtering web having a plurality of holes which formed as an umbrella shape; a positioning rod extending from a central lower side of the web; and a front end of the positioning rod being formed an enlarged tapered head.

The prior art wave generator has some disadvantages which will be described herein. The water channels of the flow-steady base must be aligned to the slots of the flow-collecting mask so that water can flow out. However no positioning structure is formed so that water flows through the flow-steady base and flow-collecting mask are hindered by the blocks at the flow-steady base. Thus, the density of water flowing out from the faucet is not so high as expected. Therefore, in assembly, the worker must take time to align the flow-steady base and flow-collecting mask. This will induce low yield ratio and high cost.


A dry moisture barrier film coating composition for forming a moisture barrier film coating for pharmaceutical tablets and the like comprises polyvinyl alcohol, soya lecithin, and optionally a flow aid, a colorant, and/or a suspending agent. A liquid coating solution or dispersion for forming a moisture barrier film coating for pharmaceutical tablets and the like comprises polyvinyl alcohol, soya lecithin, water, and optionally a flow aid, a colorant, and/or a suspending agent. A method of coating pharmaceutical tablets and the like with a moisture barrier film coating comprises forming a liquid coating solution or dispersion for forming a moisture barrier film coating for pharmaceutical tablets and the like comprising polyvinyl alcohol, soya lecithin, water, and optionally a flow aid, a colorant, and/or a suspending agent, applying the coating solution or dispersion onto the tablets to form a film coating on the tablets, and drying the film coating on the tablets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of coating of substrates like pharmaceutical tablets, and it is specifically concerned with coating such substrates with a coating that acts as a moisture barrier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many medicinal substances and the dosage forms into which they are made undergo degradation during storage due to contact with moisture which has been absorbed from the atmosphere. To combat this degradation, it is frequently necessary for such moisture sensitive dosage forms to be packed in special containers to limit the exposure of the dosage forms to the atmosphere.
In territories where the climate is very humid, specialized packaging does not provide a totally satisfactory answer to moisture degradation.
Elimination of the need for the special packaging, or augmentation of the moisture protection provided by such packaging, may be achieved in the case of solid dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules and granules, by coating with materials which reduce the rate at which the dosage form absorbs atmospheric moisture. Moisture barrier coatings of this type have been employed previously. The traditional means of providing the moisture barrier characteristics required for moisture barrier coatings has been by the use of polymers which are soluble in organic solvents or are relatively insoluble in water. The disadvantages of this approach are 1) the need to use either organic solvents or difficult aqueous polymer dispersion techniques to apply these water-insoluble polymer materials, and 2) the reduced aqueous solubility of the coating leading to prolonged disintegration time of the dosage form in the body when ingested, with consequent delayed or reduced activity of the medicinal substance in the tablet.
The use of the polymer polyvinyl alcohol, PVA, as a moisture barrier coating has been previously suggested. However, practical usage has been inhibited by the stickiness of grades of the polymer which have a fast enough rate of going into solution in water to make a dispersion to render them economical to use in making the coating. A further problem with the use of PVA is in identifying or selecting a plasticizer which does not compromise the moisture barrier properties of the final coating.
A dry powder moisture barrier coating composition is made to form a moisture barrier film coating for pharmaceutical tablets and the like, which comprises polyvinyl alcohol in combination with soya lecithin, together with, none, one or more of the following components which enhances the desirable coating characteristics of the resulting film coating: a flow aid, a colorant, and a suspending agent.
A method of making the moisture barrier film coating powder composition of the invention comprises the steps of mixing polyvinyl alcohol with soya lecithin and optionally with one or more of the following components, until a dry homogenous powder mixture is produced: a flow aid, a colorant, and a suspending agent. Preferably, the mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and soya lecithin, or the mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and soya lecithin and any of the following components, if any of the following components is to be included in the coating composition, is milled: a flow aid, a colorant, and a suspending agent. The resulting dry powder coating composition is readily soluble or dispersible in cold water to form a liquid coating solution or dispersion that is ready to use within 45 minutes.
Another method of making a dry edible film coating composition of the invention comprises producing a mixture of the ingredients processed into a granular form to form a granular coating composition by using any of the following methods: wet massing, fluid bed granulation, spray granulation and dry compaction, roller compaction or slugging.
The invention also includes a liquid coating solution or dispersion for forming a moisture barrier film coating which comprises polyvinyl alcohol, soya lecithin, an optional flow aid, an optional colorant, and an optional suspending agent mixed into water.
The method of making the liquid coating dispersion of the invention comprises dispersing the dry powder coating composition, the granular coating composition, or the individual ingredients of the coating composition separately, into hot or cold water, and/or milling and/or stirring until a homogenous mixture of a desired correct viscosity is produced.
The film former of the coating is the polyvinyl alcohol, which may be GOHSENOL polyvinyl alcohol made by NIPPON GOHSEI, for example.
Excellent moisture barrier properties are obtained when hot water soluble grades of PVA are used in the inventive coating, but use of such grades requires that the water of the liquid coating dispersion be heated. The coatings of the invention may use cold water soluble grades of PVA to provide moisture barrier protection, but they provide less moisture barrier protection than that provided by the inventive coatings that use hot water soluble grades of PVA. A preferred grade of PVA for use in the inventive coating is a grade in the medium range (i.e., the grades of PVA between the grades that dissolve only in hot water and the grades that dissolve very easily in cold water) of PVA because the step of heating the water of the liquid coating dispersion may not be necessary, while still maintaining excellent moisture barrier properties in the inventive coating.
The flow aid may be talc, fumed silica, lactose or starch.
The colorant may be any food approved colors, opacifiers, or dyes. For example, these may be aluminum lakes, iron oxides, titanium dioxide, or natural colors.
The soya lecithin, which may be ALCOLEC soya lecithin made by American Lecithin Company, for example, acts an a anti-tack agent, and surprisingly, and unexpectantly, acts as a plasticizer by locking moisture in the coating so the coating stays flexible and not brittle. Surprisingly and unexpectantly, this locked-in moisture in the coating, while contributing to plasticization, does not compromise the moisture barrier properties of the overall coating.
The suspending agent acts as a viscosity modifier stabilizing the coating dispersion. A preferred suspending agent is xanthan gum. Examples of alternative suitable suspending agents include hydroxypropylmethlycellulose (HPMC), alginates, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), natural gums, and carboxymethylcellulose.
The ranges for each component of the dry coating compositions of the invention are as follows, by weight:
The ranges for each component of the liquid coating dispersions of the invention are as follows, by weight:

Moisture barrier film coating composition, method and coated form