A method and apparatus are provided which detects distortion in a received FM signal caused by amplitude modulating and phase transition of two combined FM signals. A method corrects and modifies the distortion by detecting a distorted sample, replacing the distorted sample with an appropriate sample, and applying a smoothing process to the sample.

Many public safety agencies, such a police and firefighter departments, employ radio communication systems that use a conventional Carrier Squelch (CSQ) repeater system. For example a typical fire ground scene can have many firefighters on the scene, in close proximity, all transmitting uncontrolled on a single voice channel. One problem that can arise with concurrent usage is blocked transmissions. Any system which receives analog frequency modulated (FM) voice transmission which can receive multiple transmissions on the same channel simultaneously (by design or accident), such as message trunking systems, carrier squelch, or DPL/PL systems to name just a few, are susceptible to such transmission blocking problems. Under these conditions the multiple transmissions have relatively similar signal strengths. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have improved FM radio operation environments that provide for concurrent transmissions on the same channel without blocking transmissions.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.


Provided is an elliptic curve exponentiation apparatus that can counter the DFA when an elliptic curve exponentiation technique is used. A computation result verification unit 127 receives, as a computation result, an exponentiation-result-point (X, Y) from an elliptic curve computation unit 124. The computation result verification unit 127 computes X3+a×X+b, and computes Y2, and outputs the received exponentiation-result-point when judging that Y2=X3+a×X+b, and does not output the received exponentiation-result-point when not judging that Y2=X3+a×X+b.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computation processing technique using an elliptic curve, and in particular relates to a technique for countering Differential Fault Attack (DFA).
(2) Description of the Related Art
Public key cryptography has conventionally been known as a method for realizing confidentiality of information, authentication of information, etc.
According to public key cryptography, a pair of a secret key exclusively held by the user and a public key that is made public is generated. Encryption is performed using the public key, and decryption is performed using the secret key.
Despite its large amount of computation processing, public key cryptography, which does not require a secret key to be shared by a plurality of users, is often employed in such applications that require high security. Typical examples of public key cryptography include RSA cryptography and elliptical curve cryptography.
The security of public key cryptography is based on the discrete logarithm problem. Typical examples of the discrete logarithm problem are problems defined over finite fields and problems defined over elliptic curves. Here, the following describes a discrete logarithm problem defined over an elliptic curve. Assume that E(GF(p)) is an elliptic curve defined over a finite field GF(p), with an element G on the elliptic curve E being set as a base point when the order of the elliptic curve E is exactly divided by a large prime. In this case, the discrete logarithm problem is to compute an integer x, if any, that satisfies the equation;
Y=x*G, where Y is a given element on the elliptic curve E.
Here, pis a prime and GF(p) is a finite field that includes p elements. In this specification, the symbol "*" represents repeated additions of a point, i.e., an element, on the elliptic curve, and such computation involving "*" is referred to as the "computation of an elliptic curve exponentiation".
The security of public key cryptography is based on extreme difficulty of the discrete logarithm problem for the finite field GF(p) including a large number of elements.
For public key cryptography, a secret key is usually held by such means as an IC card that does not allow revealing of the key to third parties.
With the technique described above, secret information can be transmitted without being revealed to third parties. However, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-261751 refers to the emergence of attacks of unauthorized obtaining of secret information by analyzing various information output from an IC card or the like. One type of such attacks is the DFA.
The DFA is made by a third party intentionally causing a failure in an IC card that is being engaged in decryption processing, by applying overcurrent or the like. The IC card then outputs a value that had been computed before the occurrence of the failure. The third party collects a large number of values output from the IC card by repeating this. The third party then obtains secret information by analyzing the collected values.
To counter this problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H11-8616 discloses an IC card particularly designed to deal with the DFA. This IC card includes a coprocessor, and can realize rapid processing of exponential remainder computation for generating digital signature according to RSA cryptography, by Chinese remainder theorem, using a prime factor of a public key n. This IC card can compute, at the same time with data generated in the computation process of Chinese remainder theorem, error-detecting code for the data. The IC card then can compute error-detecting code again for the data when the digital signature is generated, and compare the computed error-detecting code with the stored error-detecting code.

Elliptic curve exponentiation apparatus that can counter differential fault attack, and information security apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An amplifier, in particular for RF-applications, comprises a circuit board (2), at least one amplifier stage with at least one transistor package (8) arranged on the circuit board (2), and a feedback path (12) around the at least one transistor package (8), said feedback path (12) comprising a feedback element (15) with at least one capactive (C) element for blocking the flow of direct current through the feedback path (12) and preferably further comprising at least one inductive (L) and/or resistive element (R). In order to reduce negative effects on the performance of the amplifier due to long printed feedback lines, the feedback path (12) in an amplifier according to the invention is formed of a feedback bridge (9) comprising two feedback lines (13, 14) extending out of the plane of the circuit board (2) from two contact flags (10, 11) of the transistor package (8), and the feedback element (15) bridging over the transistor package (8) between the two feedback lines (13, 14).

In amplifiers, in particular power amplifiers, feedback paths are provided to flatten the gain curve and to assure stability of operation with regard to oscillations. Such feed-back paths comprise feedback lines in the form of conductors in connection with feed-back circuit elements, i.e. resistors, inductors, and capacitors, wherein a combination of the latter forms an application-specific feedback element. The use of at least one capacitor in such a feedback path is necessary in order to block the flow of direct current between the input and output of the transistor package, as such a flow would lead to short-circuiting of the transistor package.
Suitable feedback paths for a given application can achieve improvements of bandwidth and gain ripple versus frequency as well as stabilize individual stages of multi-stage amplifiers, e.g. preamplifiers, driver amplifiers and also, especially when lower output levels are required, final amplifiers of modular amplifiers.
Amplifiers of the above-mentioned type use bulky transistors, i.e. being relatively big with regard to the used wavelengths, hereinafter referred to as packaged transistors or transistor packages, which are used as surface mounted devices (SMDs) or drop-in devices in hybrid circuit layouts and which require an extensive amount of circuit board space. There are known transistor packages with fully integrated feedback paths, i.e. the individual feedback loops are integrated in the transistor packages, which can be used to build up the amplifier. Normally, subsequent modification of the feedback elements is not possible when implementing this type of integrated feedback solution.
However, for the majority of applications, only packaged transistors without internal feedback paths are available. If a feedback path is needed for a particular application, this problem can only be avoided by either devising an external realisation for the feedback path or by developing an expensive customer specific transistor.
Due to the large sizes of the transistor packages, known amplifiers use external feedback paths comprising printed feedback lines on the circuit board which are relatively long and thus not well suited for high frequency applications, e.g. RF (radio frequency)-applications in the GHz-range. Long lines in feedback paths have a negative effect on the performance of the amplifier. Therefore, such lines should be avoided. A transmission line is referred to as "long" if it is longer than about 1/10 of the RF wavelength being used. Long lines cause impedance transformation and may therefore lead to an undesirable misbehaviour of the feedback path, e.g. if an inductive element is used as a feedback element it may be transformed into a capacitive element because of the long line.


A method of drilling into a geological region including a subsurface clathrate reservoir includes drilling a borehole into the geological region including the subsurface clathrate reservoir and dissociating at least a portion of the clathrate in a region near the borehole. After the dissociating, material within at least a portion of the region near the borehole in which the clathrate has been dissociated is compacted to form a compacted region at least partially surrounding the borehole within the clathrate reservoir. After the compacting, well casing is placed into the borehole within the compacted region and the well casing is cemented into the borehole in the compacted area.

Clathrates are substances in which a lattice structure made up of first molecular components (host molecules) that trap or encage one or more other molecular components (guest molecules) in what resembles a crystal-like structure. In the field of hydrocarbon exploration and development, clathrates of interest are generally clathrates in which hydrocarbon gases are the guest molecules in a water molecule host lattice. They can be found in relatively low temperature and high pressure environments, including, for example, deepwater sediments and permafrost areas. Clathrates are also referred to as hydrates, gas hydrates, methane hydrates, natural gas hydrates, CO2 hydrates and the like. For the purposes of this invention the term Clathrates will be used.
Clathrates generally form a significant portion of the structural support for the reservoir in which they occur, particularly with respect to cementing and/or occupying pore space. As clathrates dissociate, the constituents become mobile and cease acting as support, weakening the formation and potentially causing localized compaction of the reservoir. In a production environment, such localized subsurface compaction can lead to effects on equipment in the local area, both subsurface and on the surface. For example, in the subsurface environment, casings and drill strings may be collapsed due to high compressive loading caused by compaction of the reservoir, subsidence of the reservoir overburden strata and uplift of the reservoir underlying strata. On the surface, subsidence caused by subsurface clathrate dissociation and reservoir compaction can lead to sinkholes, subsidence, and other related motions that can cause damage to surface equipment such as well-heads, pipelines, equipment and other facilities in the immediate vicinity. The inventors have recognized a need to reduce or remediate this possibility.

System and method for pre-conditioning a hydrate reservoir


A vitreous silica crucible has high strength at high temperature, and allows easy taking-out from a susceptor after completion of pulling. The vitreous silica crucible includes a vitreous silica outer layer provided on the outer surface side of the crucible, a vitreous silica inner layer provided on the inner surface side of the crucible, and an vitreous silica intermediate layer provided between the vitreous silica outer layer and the vitreous silica inner layer. The vitreous silica outer layer has a mineralizer concentration of 100 ppm or more, and the vitreous silica intermediate layer and the vitreous silica inner layer has a mineralizer concentration of 50 ppm or less. The thickness of the vitreous silica outer layer is 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm on the bottom portion, and the thickness on the sidewall portion of the vitreous silica outer layer is larger than that on the bottom portion.

A vitreous silica crucible used for pulling a silicon single crystal by the CZ method has become larger along with enlargement of the diameter of the single crystal, and the crucible is exposed to higher temperature environment for a long time, and thus the crucible is required to have high strength. As the solution, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique to enhance the crucible strength by applying a crystallization promoter on the crucible surface to crystallize the crucible surface under high temperature during the pulling process. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique to provide, on the outer surface of the vitreous silica crucible, a stabilization layer having a softening temperature higher than vitreous silica.
Furthermore, Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose a vitreous silica crucible having three-layer structure which is comprised of an outer layer of an aluminium (Al)-doped silica layer, an intermediate layer of a natural silica layer or high-purity synthetic silica layer, and an inner layer of a transparent high-purity synthetic silica layer. Furthermore, Patent Document 5 discloses a vitreous silica crucible having three-layer structure on the sidewall portion and the curved portion, and having two-layer structure on the bottom portion. The three-layer structure includes an outer layer of crystallization promoter-doped vitreous silica, an opaque intermediate layer of natural vitreous silica, and a transparent inner layer of natural or synthetic vitreous silica. The two-layer structure includes an opaque outer layer of natural vitreous silica, and a transparent inner layer of natural vitreous silica or synthetic vitreous silica. According to the structure, contact between the crucible bottom portion and a susceptor can be enhanced, and thus the crucible can be stably supported.
In the above-mentioned pulling of a silicon single crystal, the vitreous silica crucible is mounted in a susceptor, and the entire crucible is heated, and thereafter the polycrystalline silicon is charged and melted inside the crucible, and a single crystal is pulled therefrom. The inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible contacting the silicon melt corrodes, and thus after single or multiple pulling, a corroded vitreous silica crucible is left in the susceptor. Some silicon melt is left in the used vitreous silica crucible, and when the silicon melt and the crucible are cooled, distortion is generated due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the crucible and the silicon melt. This distortion damages the crucible and leaves the damaged used crucible together with silicon melt in the susceptor. The damaged used crucible cannot be re-used, and thus is scrapped after taking-out of the susceptor.
In the conventional vitreous silica crucible, when the used crucible is to be taken out of the susceptor, the crucible sometimes adheres to the susceptor, and thus is difficult to be taken out of the susceptor. In such a case, it is necessary to break the portion adhering to the susceptor by use of a tool, and the handling is difficult for a large-size crucible, and the expensive susceptor is sometimes damaged. Therefore, users have a strong need of a vitreous silica crucible whose can be easily taken out of the susceptor after the pulling.
In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 6, a crystallization promoting layer is formed so as to form a crystallized layer having a thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm by crystallizing the outer surface at high temperature. This crystallized layer at the crucible sidewall portion is finely crushed during cooling after termination of pulling, and allows easy taking-out of the crucible.

Vitreous silica crucible having outer, intermediate, and inner layers


The user communicates through a digitizing writing surface with the audio/video control apparatus. An on-screen display is generated, providing the user with a user environment in which a wide range of different tasks and functions can be performed. The digitizing writing surface can be incorporated into a hand-held remote control unit and the audio/video control apparatus may likewise be incorporated into existing home entertainment or computer equipment. By tapping on the writing surface a command bar is presented on the screen, allowing the user to select among various functions. Included in these functions is an on-screen programming feature, allowing the user to select programs for viewing or recording by entry of user-drawn annotations or commands via the writing surface.

The present invention relates generally to the control of audio, video and multimedia equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to an on-screen user interface for interacting with audio, video and multimedia components using a remote control apparatus having a digitized writing surface for entry of hand-drawn instructions by the user.
Television is on the verge of a revolution. Previously separate computer, communications and consumer electronics technologies are converging. This convergence will undoubtedly yield a rich assortment of program content and services, although it is by no means clear that a user will be able to navigate through the assortment of choices to find what he or she is interested in. For example, future systems are expected to provide both high quality digital, audio and video, up to 500 channels of programming, and a variety of on-demand services, including home shopping and banking, interactive games and entertainment, multimedia libraries and full access to the Internet.
Providing a user interface for a complex system such as this is by no means a simple task. Easy-to-use access to a complex system--as television is expected to become--simply cannot be accomplished using the numeric keypad and forward and reverse buttons on today's hand-held remote controls. In terms of convenience and usability, present hand-held remote controls have already reached the point of diminishing returns. Adding more buttons makes these systems harder to control, not easier. Some systems today use on-screen display to echo the current operating parameter of a remote control push button as it is being pushed. While pressing the Color Tint button, for example, the conventional system may display a bar graph showing the current tint setting. While this simple user feedback system is certainly better than nothing, it by no means solves the more fundamental problem of how to provide intuitive control to users of all ages and all nationalities. Also, while the on-screen display of parameters may be viewable in a darkened room, the push buttons used to control these parameters may not be visible. Thus the greater the number of push buttons on a hand-held remote, the harder it becomes to locate the correct push button while in a room darkened for optimal viewing.
Aside from the shortcomings of push button user interface technology, current technology is also deficient in supporting users that do not have the time or inclination to learn complex system features or users, such as preschool children, who cannot read. The addition of a computer style keyboard for controlling the functions does not help to simplify such a system. Moreover, the placement of a keyboard on the family room coffee table appears less acceptable than a small remote control or digitized writing tablet.
The present invention takes a fresh approach to the problem. Although the hand-held remote with push buttons may still be used, the present invention provides a digitizing writing surface through which the user may enter hand-drawn instructions. These instructions can be handwritten text, symbols or even pictures, all of which are written to the digitized writing surface using a pen or stylus. Such a means for controlling the system and providing input appeals to a broader range of users than does a conventional keyboard. Through the mechanism of providing hand-drawn instructions, complex systems can be controlled with ease. The user can create his or her own hand-drawn instructions (words, symbols, pictures, etc.) to represent any desired control function, even complex control functions such as instructing the audio/video system to turn on at a certain time and display the user's selected favorite program, or to search all available programs to locate those meeting the user's criteria of interest. This hand-drawn input can also include gestures which are recognized by the system and processed as commands to control various functions of the audio/video system. For example, drawing a large "X" over the digitized writing surface could be interpreted as a command to turn off the television and/or the audio/video system. Additionally, handwritten symbols or text input can be written to the digitized writing surface and then processed using known handwriting recognition technology as if the symbols were typed on a keyboard. Once the handwriting is translated into standard character symbol codes, this input can be further processed or stored in the system's memory for later use.
According to one aspect of the invention, the enhanced video user environment comprises an audio/video control apparatus that selectively performs predetermined audio/video control functions according to the user's selection or instruction. The control apparatus is preferably designed with a port for coupling to a video display apparatus, such as a television, or projection system or monitor. The audio/video control apparatus can be packaged separately from the existing audio/video equipment, or it can be incorporated into existing components. A remote control apparatus having a digitizing writing surface is provided for entry of hand-drawn instructions by the user. The remote control apparatus communicates with the audio/video control apparatus. Alternatively, a full-featured personal digital assistant (PDA) that implements TV remote control as one of its programmable functions could also be used as the remote control apparatus. Many commercially available PDAs currently include means for wireless communication, such as an infrared link.
The system further includes a processor that communicates with the audio/video control apparatus, the remote control apparatus or both. The processor controls operation of the video display apparatus in accordance with the hand-drawn instructions provided through the digitizing writing surface. The processor can be incorporated with the circuitry of the audio/video control apparatus, or it can be incorporated with the circuitry of the remote control apparatus. It is also possible to implement the invention using multiple processors, one associated with the audio/video control, and another associated with the remote control. The multiple processors work in concert as distributed processors to implement the processing functions required by the invention.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, refer to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for treating a non-weight bearing arthritic joint involves resecting at least one of the opposed joint surfaces to expose a cancellous bone surface. A bioresorbable implant is mounted to one of the joint surfaces so that the resected joint surface rubs against the surface of the implant. This causes the fibroblast to change into fibrocartilage at the resected bone surface as the implant is resorbed thereby effectively replacing the implant with fibrocartilage during such resorption.

This invention is related to the pathological condition of arthritis. Arthritis is the wear and tear of the articular surface of the joint. "Arthro" means joint; "Itis" is inflammation. Normally the bone ends at the joint surfaces are covered with articular cartilage. This type of articular cartilage with which we are born is called hyaline cartilage and is smooth, is lubricated by synovial fluid, and in some people will wear more than a hundred years. In others, depending upon the quality of the cartilage which they have inherited, it will wear down exposing bone surface which then rubs against bone surface producing inflammation of the joint and thus the arthritis.
The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis which is the result of wear and tear of the cartilage with time and use. The cartilage may also be destroyed by a systemic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout. The smooth, matching congruous articular surface may also be disrupted by trauma, either a fracture that goes through the joint surface, or an infection wearing away the cartilage. Nevertheless, the end result is the exposure of bone against bone which is painful, disabling and limits function.
Once the original hyaline cartilage with which we are born is destroyed, the joint is incapable of stimulating the regrowth of hyaline cartilage or growing any other type of articular cartilage. Therefore, various operative procedures are used to alleviate the pain and dysfunction associated with arthritis; these include fusion of the joint, thereby relieving the pain by completely stopping motion at the joint, and some type of arthroplasty reconstruction of the joint. This may be done by inserting some prosthetic material between the joint surfaces; a biological tissue, such as tendon graft or a strip of fascia, which is the tissue covering the muscle sleeve, may also be placed between the joint surfaces. There are obviously disadvantages to each of these alternatives as well as advantages. A fusion will result in permanent loss of motion. The biological tissue which is inserted will often degenerate into scar tissue and often will not wear well with stress. Various types of prosthetic implants are used, some more advantageous than others.
The carpometacarpal joint of the thumb, also called the basal joint of the thumb, is the only joint of the hand that we rotate. The joint is essentially saddle shaped, having not progressed in evolution as quickly as man has. Man is the only primate on earth that does rotate the thumb into opposition against the fingertips; therefore, we are constantly turning in the saddle. Depending upon the quality of cartilage, which is inherited, the stress to which it is often subjected will often cause the articular cartilage to wear down producing painful, grinding arthritis. Almost 10% of the population will be subject to this particular pathological entity.
Over 25 years ago, Dr. Charles R. Ashworth and I developed an arthroplasty for this joint in which we would use a wafer or disc-like implant made of a silicone rubber sold by Dow Corning as Silastic. Silastic has proven to be one of the most durable and best tolerated implant materials in the upper extremity and is often utilized for major joint replacements at the knuckle joints, the joints in the middle of the fingers, at times between the small ball-bearing or carpal bones of the wrist, and as stated, at the base of the thumb. We have used this Silastic interposition arthroplasty quite successfully for over 25 years. FIGS. 1A–1C illustrate treatment of arthritis at the scapho-trapezial-trapezoidal joint 2. FIG. 1A illustrates a line of resection 4 of the convex dome of the scaphoid. FIG. 1B shows the status following resection of the arthritic surface, including the preparation of a cylindrical recess 6 formed in the center of resected surface 8 for receipt of a stem 10 of an implant 12 made of Silastic. FIG. 1C illustrates the implant 12 in place. FIGS. 1D–1F illustrate a conventional treatment of an arthritic carpometacarpal joint 3 of the thumb. FIG. 1D shows the amount of the saddle or convex portion 5 to be resected from the trapezium 7. FIG. 1E shows the resected trapezium 7 prepared for accepting a hat-shaped implant 9; implant 9 is typically made of Silastic material. FIG. 1F shows implant 9 in place between the resected trapezium 7 and the base of the metacarpal 11.
While these procedures have been quite successful and have improved the quality of life for numerous people over the last 25 years, there have been some recent questions regarding the efficacy of continued use of any implant made of silicone rubber. Therefore, I gave thought and consideration as to what other type of material might be used as an interpositional implant.
As background to the development of the present invention, I conducted a review of reported cases of patients who have broken or worn away their Silastic implants. The joints of these patients, based on re-exploration conducted from a period of nine months to several years postoperatively, have been covered by a smooth, white, moistened, glistening surface in the area where there had previously been raw resected bone. Therefore, my postulation is that the original surgery, removing the arthritic spurs and the uneven joint surface, left a raw bony surface normally covered by a blood clot or hematoma which then came in contact with the inert, smooth Silastic disc. The gradual fibroplasia of the blood clot appears to progress to fibrocartilage. At times the surgical exploration of this surface tissue has been biopsied and has microscopically proven to be fibrocartilage.
Another important concept is the body's attempt to repair the joint surface with normal scar tissue. The basic cell of healing is called the fibroblast and will develop at any site of injury and is the transformation of a normal blood clot. The fibroblast will go through a series of histological microscopic changes called fibroplasia. The fibroblast on a surface where there is constant motion will change and develop into an entity known as fibrocartilage. This is white, smooth and looks very much like cartilage. It does not, however, have a basic property of hyaline cartilage, that is the ability to withstand impact stress. Therefore, fibrocartilage has been known to not survive the weight bearing stress of lower extremity joints, including the hip, the knee or the ankle. There have apparently been no studies of the competence or resilience of fibrocartilage as a joint surface for non-weight bearing, upper extremity joints.


A data interface circuit for portable radio terminal equipment having wire and radio data communication functions, thereby capable of being applied to a variety of communication systems. For a communication using a radio network, the signal type is changed from a differential-ended-signal (DES) type highly influenced by noise to a single-ended-signal (SES) type hardly influenced by noise by an operation of the radio interface unit, thereby enabling the redundancy to noise to be increased. Furthermore, it is possible to provide various audio services by the audio signal processing control unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable data terminal equipment having a communication function, and more particularly to a data interface circuit capable of connecting portable data terminal equipment to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and an analog cellular network, thereby enabling data transmission and reception.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modems are digital communication equipment (DCE) for transmitting and receiving data between data terminal equipment by use of channels in the audio band. Such data terminal equipment is usually a personal computer.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are views for explaining the conventional concept of data communications in a data terminal equipment wherein data transmission and reception are achieved using PSTN's. Data terminal equipment such as personal or portable computers carry out data transmission and reception with other personal or portable computers via a modem serving as DCE and PSTN. Used as an interface technique between the data terminal equipment and the DCE is V.24, which is a standard scheme of Comite Consoltatif International pour Telegraphie et Telephonie (CCITT) typically called "RS232C". A data access arrangement (DAA) is used as an interface between the DCE and the PSTN, as in general telephones. As shown in FIG. 1B, the modem, which is the DCE, includes a modem control circuit 1 and an analog interface circuit 2. The DAA includes a hybrid circuit 3 and a line transformer 4 and serves to protect terminal equipment connected to the PSTN from a surge voltage. In this case, the hybrid circuit 3 is an impedance matching circuit for separating a transmitting signal Tx and a receiving signal Rx on a transmission line from each other. The line transformer 4 serves to optimize a signal TIP transmitted from the data terminal equipment to the PSTN and a signal RING received from the PSTN to the data terminal equipment for an impedance matching.
Recently, utilization of data transmission and reception using radio networks, such as cellular networks, has been abruptly increasing. In this case, transmitting-side and receiving-side cellular phones carry out data transmission and reception with each other by a trunking operation of a base station, as shown in FIG. 2A. Since radio channels are used in this case, as different from the PSTN shown in FIG. 1, modems, which are DCE's, should be constructed to transmit and receive radio frequency signals. Each modem should also be interfaced with the associated cellular phone executing a cellular protocol. Generally, the interface between the DCE and the cellular phone includes a hybrid circuit 3 and a line transformer 4. Additionally, this interface also includes an Rx/Tx separating circuit 5. This Rx/Tx separating circuit 5 serves to separate the transmitting signal Tx and the receiving signal Rx on the transmission line from each other, similar to the hybrid circuit 3 used in the DAA. It is advantageous that the Rx/Tx separating circuit 5 is provided with an operational amplifier because input and output signals of cellular phones are generally single-ended signals. As shown in FIG. 2B, signals on nodes A are used in this case, taking into consideration an impedance matching of the hybrid circuit 3.
In the above-mentioned conventional interface circuit, however, a signal attenuation occurs because the additional Rx/Tx separating circuit should be used to connect the modem and the cellular phone.. As a result, there is a limitation on data transfer rate. It is also difficult to provide various services because the interface circuit does not take into consideration the establishment of audio application path at all.

Data interface circuit for portable terminal equipment


A color graphics terminal for monitoring a system in which a graphics monitor is connected to a computer, the graphics and at least two separate graphics windows which are capable of representing simultaneously two geographically, hierarchically related graphic displays of the system, with an arrangement for controlling the computer to automatically display on the graphics monitor the related graphic displays in response to certain inputs received by the computer.

Recent advancements in alarm system technology involve the integration of remote alarm devices and computer systems. The computers typically allow the operator to view a diagram of the specific floor plan from which the alarm source is derived, and control certain functions of the system directly from a computer keyboard or mouse.
Although use of computers has greatly enhanced the control over the entire alarm system, there remains a desire to make these systems more user friendly. That is, firemen entering a burning building under an emergency situation find it extremely difficult to sit down at a computer keyboard to issue commands to, or decipher information provided from, the computer. This problem has prompted the alarm system industry to undertake the development of systems which are easier to use and operate.
In one user friendly system that has been developed, a single graphics window and touch screen capability are provided, thereby overcoming the disadvantages of manual computer systems, i.e., keyboard commands and cumbersome key stroke combinations.
Still, under emergency situations it is very difficult for a fireman or other system operator to know exactly where the alarm source is coming when confronted with a single graphic display system. That is, a fireman unfamiliar with the premises will be confronted with a graphic display that only shows the floor plan of the specific floor from which the alarm source is emanating. The fireman will have no other reference to aid in his or her understanding of the location or relationship of this floor plan to the building or facility. This is a particular problem in a building having multiple wings or facilities having multiple buildings, such as a university campus.
Another problem arises when there are multiple fires on different floors or in a different building. A single graphic display system only permits viewing of the alarm situation on one floor, and thus the operator has no idea that there are fires on other floors or in other parts of the facility. Having such information would certainly aid in the strategy for extinguishing the fires.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages relating to both keyboard systems and single graphic display, touch screen systems. It is an object of the present invention to provide easy-to-read multi-graphic displays, preferably with a touch screen that eliminates keyboard inputs, complex codes, and single graphic displays.
The multiple graphics windows of the present invention having at-a-glance portrayal of events and their relationship to the overall building or facility, coupled with the graphic terminal's touch screen operation, makes it invaluable in emergency situations when seconds count. That is, a fireman simultaneously views the detail area of the fire, as well as broader peripheral views of where the fire's location is relative to the building and/or campus. Also, the fireman receives visual information as to what other areas of the building or campus may be involved in the fire. All this information is provided to the fireman as he or she approaches the graphics monitor without the need to interact with the computer or issue any commands.
A further object of the present invention is to keep tabs on a wide range of system events, whereby alarm, trouble, supervisory, and monitor inputs are instantly color-coded and depicted on floor plans that pinpoint their source. Additionally, authorized operators can manipulate certain aspects of the fire alarm system, i.e., they can acknowledge status changes, such as alarm or supervisory inputs, print hard copy reports, and activate or deactivate individual devices and circuit, such as smoke detectors, manual stations, doors, fans, sprinklers, and individual circuits.
The present invention also provides many additional advantages which shall become apparent as described below.

Color graphics terminal for monitoring an alarm system


Porous beads are provided of a polymer of a non-acidic monomer and a cross-linker having polar functionality, one of which is hydrophilic, the other of which is hydrophobic, further comprising residues of polyvinyl alcohol. The beads may be molecularly imprinted or non-molecularly imprinted. The use of such beads in the removal of nitroso-containing compounds from material containing them is also disclosed. Also disclosed is a non-molecularly imprinted polymer which is selectively adsorbent for at least one tobacco specific nitrosamine in the presence of nicotine, said polymer being a polymerization product of a non-acidic monomer and a cross-linker having polar functionality, one of which is hydrophilic, the other of which is hydrophobic.

In the tobacco field, sorbent materials are used for the selective quantification of hazardous compounds in, or the removal of such compounds from, tobacco-based products, which compounds are either originally present in the raw tobacco leaf itself or generated when the product is processed (e.g. by curing) or consumed (e.g. by smoking or chewing). Nitroso-containing compounds such as nitrosamines, in particular the nitroso compounds known as tobacco-specific nitrosamines ("TSNAs") and their precursors, are examples of such compounds. TSNAs include:

Materials prepared by molecular imprinting (molecularly imprinted polymers or "MIPs") are polymers having sites adapted to bind selectively with targeted compounds.
There has been an attempt to remove nicotine from tobacco smoke using MIPS, as reported in Liu, Y., et al., Molecularly imprinted Solid-Phase Extraction Sorbent for Removal of Nicotine from Tobacco Smoke, Analytical Letters, Vol. 36, No. 8, pp. 1631-1645 (2003). The MIP described in the article was designed to bind nicotine and not nitrosamines. It is unclear if the MIP was in fact selective for nicotine as the scientific method producing the data was lacking in key control-checking elements.
WO 2005/112670, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses MIPs that are selective for TSNAs relative to nicotine. That is to say, when exposed to a mixture of a TSNA and nicotine, the MIP adsorbs proportionately more TSNA than nicotine. The MIPs are prepared by polymerizing an acidic or highly acidic monomer, such as methacrylic acid ("MAA"), trifluoromethacrylic acid ("TFMAA"), 4-vinylbenzoic acid or 4-vinyl benzene sulphonic acid, with a crosslinker such as ethylene glycol dimethacrylate ("EDMA"), trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) or pentaerythritol tetraacrylate in the presence of a template molecule, such as 4-(methylpropenyl-amino)-1-pyridin-3-yl-butan-1-ol ("4 MPAPB") or pyridine carbinol. The resulting materials are described in the Examples as being in the form of powder prepared by crushing and grinding the solid polymer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Polymers selective for nitro-containing compounds and methods of using the same

British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited


A system, method, and computer program product are provided for managing a plurality of heterogeneous software robots to automate business processes. The system provides an architecture for use in forming business automation systems comprising a plurality of software robots designed to implement specific operations used for implementation of a business process spanned across multiple systems. The system also provides command and control for automation systems comprising a plurality of software agents adapted to implement specific tasks using on screen application integration, application programming interfaces (APIs), or database access to fetch or insert the required data.

Most business applications are built as a standalone functionality designed to implement a specific business task. Automation robots and their control systems are designed to manage the activities of the specific robot. A conventional implementation of the robot program automation will include the robot and the associated management system that will enable configuration of the robot, triggering the scripts and monitoring of its operations.
Currently, there is no solution that enables operations of multiple robots from different vendors and multiple integration capabilities with processes implemented by multiple robots for the same business process.
There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.

System, method, and computer program for managing a plurality of heterogeneous software robots to automate business processes


An apparatus and method for branch prediction are disclosed. The branch predictor has four portions. The first includes a bimodal branch predictor in series with a local branch predictor; the second includes a global branch predictor. The first and second portions are in parallel and operate concurrently, and each provide an output received by the fourth portion. The third portion receives address data and selection data, and also provides output to the fourth portion. The fourth portion receives these outputs, and provides a branch prediction. The branch prediction is a selection of either the output from the first portion or the output from the second portion, based upon selection criteria received from the third portion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to computers. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for branch prediction.
2. Description of the Related Art
To maximize performance, modern computer designs attempt to execute as many instructions as possible concurrently. To find enough instructions to keep busy, the processors in modern computers use branch prediction to guess which instructions will be executed.
Branch prediction accuracy is a major performance factor in modern computer processor design. To improve branch prediction, various branch prediction strategies have been studied and implemented. See, for example, McFarling, "Serial Branch Prediction" (November 1996); Su and Zhou, "A Comparative Analysis of Branch Prediction Schemes", Computer Science Division, University of California at Berkeley (undated); Evers, Chang, and Patt, "Using Hybrid Branch Predictors to Improve Branch Prediction Accuracy in the Presence of Context Switches", Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Michigan (undated); Patel, Friendly, and Patt, "Critical Issues Regarding the Trace Cache Fetch Mechanism", Advanced Computer Architecture Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Michigan (undated); and Yeh, Marr, and Patt, "Increasing the Instruction Fetch Rate via Multiple Branch Prediction and a Branch Address Cache", The 7th ACM International Conference on Supercomputing, Tokyo, Japan (July 1993). The sophisticated branch predictor implementations described in these papers use various different strategies, in various combinations, to achieve greater branch prediction accuracy.
While these branch predictors are satisfactory for state-of-the-art microprocessors, they are not optimum for future processors that will be designed to process many more instructions concurrently, at much higher speeds.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, these problems, and to provide a branch predictor for future generation microprocessors.

Apparatus and method for branch prediction utilizing a predictor combination in parallel with a global predictor


A power supply apparatus supplies power to a body-insertable apparatus from outside a subject. The body-insertable apparatus is introduced into the subject and obtains intra-subject information. The power supply apparatus includes a first electric cable which is wound around a circumferential surface of a garment and forms a coil, the garment covering the subject, the coil having a non-directionality at a time of power supply; and a power supply unit which supplies power to the body-insertable apparatus in a contactless manner through the coil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus which supplies power to a body-insertable apparatus in a subject from outside the subject. The body-insertable apparatus is exemplified by a swallowable capsule endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a capsule endoscope equipped with an imaging function and a radio function has appeared in the endoscope field. The capsule endoscope is moved in internal organs such as a stomach and a small intestine (or in body cavities) with peristaltic motion thereof to sequentially perform imaging in the body cavities using the imaging function in an observation period during which the capsule endoscope is swallowed into a subject as a tested body for observation (examination) and is naturally discharged from the living body as the subject.
Image data imaged in the body cavities by the capsule endoscope in the observation period of movement in these internal organs is sequentially transmitted to an external device provided outside the subject by the radio function such as radio communication and is then stored in a memory provided in the external device. The subject carries the external device having the radio function and the memory function. The subject can be freely moved in the observation period during which the capsule endoscope is swallowed and discharged. After observation, a doctor or a nurse can display the images in the body cavities on a display device such as a display based on the image data stored in the memory of the external device to perform diagnosis.
JP-A No. 2001-231186 (KOKAI) (page 3, FIG. 1) shows one conventional system for supplying power to the capsule endoscope of the above-described type. When a radio capsule (corresponding to the capsule endoscope) is placed inside the living subject, the system transmits the power from outside the subject to an inside of the capsule endoscope. The system includes an external device having a power-transmitting antenna and the capsule endoscope having a power-receiving antenna arranged therein. The external device supplies power to the capsule endoscope through the power-transmitting antenna and the power-receiving antenna, whereby the capsule endoscope can perform an observation operation in the subject for an extended period of time.

Power supply apparatus for a body insertable apparatus


A vehicle dual-system compatible control method includes: building a first system and a second system respectively on two independent processors, the first system communicating with a display screen, an audio output unit and a touch screen; obtaining, by the first system, touch coordinates on the touch screen, and determining a type of an application currently being executed; sending, by the first system, a video signal to the display screen, and outputting an audio output signal to the audio output unit when an application in the first system is executed; sending, by the second system, a video signal to the display screen, outputting an audio output signal to the audio output unit through data interfaces of the first system, and obtaining touch coordinates of an application in the second system when the application in the second system is executed.

At present, an operation system adopted by a vehicle-mounted host on the market is the Linux system or the Android system. These two types of products have corresponding advantages and disadvantages. The vehicle-mounted host adopted with the Linux system has advantages of less hardware resources, low price and easy connection to Carplay and Android Auto, but application software thereof is less, especially map software. The vehicle-mounted host adopted with the Android system has relatively rich application software, but has high requirements for performance and memory of a processor.

Vehicle dual-system compatible control method and system, storage medium and vehicle-mounted terminal

FAURECIA CLARION ELECTRONICS (FOSHAN) LIMITED COMPANY


A system includes a first controller carried by a first electrical outlet, and a management system in communication with the first controller through a first communication link. A second controller is carried by a second electrical outlet, and an electrical load operates in response to receiving power from the second electrical outlet. The management system determines a performance parameter of the electrical load in response to receiving information corresponding to the operation of the electrical load from the first controller.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to power regulation and, more particularly, to monitoring and controlling the operation of electrical loads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Energy monitoring and control systems are widely used to provide centralized monitoring and control of an electrical load in an electrical system. The electrical load can be of many different types, such as heating, cooling, appliances and lighting devices. It is desirable to monitor and control the electrical load to monitor and control the energy usage by the electrical load. More information regarding such systems and electrical loads is provided in the Backgrounds of the above-identified related applications. Other references to note include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,521,838, 5,563,455, 5,880,677, 5,978,569 and 7,379,997, as well as U.S. Patent Application Nos. 20060120008 and 20080031026.
Control systems are available for controlling household appliances from a central location. Some of these control systems use a power line modem, which is a transmitter/receiver capable of operating over conventional AC 120/240 volt (V) power lines. Examples of these types of control systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,174,517 and 4,418,333. In some of these control systems, a control unit is programmed to control a desired function within various electrical loads depending upon the time of day. For example, the control unit can control the operation of a lighting device and/or appliance. However, it is desirable to provide a way to control the operation of an electrical load, and to monitor the energy usage of the electrical load.

Power monitoring and control system and method


A stapler is provided for stapling decorative staples into a sheet media, where the decorative staples have an indicia platform and a plurality of prongs. The stapler includes a base and a cartridge assembly pivotably mounted to the base. The cartridge assembly has a magazine for storing the decorative staples. A stapler head is provided with a ram configured to press downwardly on the indicia platform of the decorative staple, pushing the decorative staple out of the magazine such that the prongs enter a top side of a sheet media and deformed against the base on a bottom side of the sheet media. The ram is provided with ridges that extend below a table portion of the ram such that the ridges are disposed substantially directly above the prongs on the decorative staples.

In the field of fastening devices, staplers are a commonly used device to bind multiple pages of sheet media, such as paper. In addition to staplers being used in office supply situations, they are becoming more prevalent in the craft industry where decorative sheet media are being fastened to one another in an artistic manner.
The office supply versions of staplers can work in this capacity in a utilitarian manner, but they lack the decorative qualities desired in the craft industry. One of the qualities that the craft industry desires is the ability to decorate the face of the staple. Artistic designs or other such information can compliment the art project in which the staples are being used. The narrow utility staples of the office supply industry are insufficient in this respect.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1A–1C, U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,991 demonstrates office supply staples that have been created that provide a platform for including company logos and advertisements. These staples use additional prongs above the standard two prong staple in order to provide support for the indicia platform. However, the prior art does not show a means for using such staples in a craft environment. The craft industry requires not only ease of use and cost effective production, but also requires additional features for enhancing staple placement beyond the normal corner insertion used in a standard office setting and also requires that thicker sheet media and larger numbers of sheet media be fastened to one another.


An appliance that conducts a useful cycle of operation on an article comprises a treating chamber receiving the article and having an access opening. A first closure element selectively closes at least a first portion of the access opening, and a second closure element movable relative to the first closure element selectively closes at least a second portion of the access opening. An operative device can be coupled to the second closure element. A cable providing at least one of electrical or data communication to the device is routed through the first closure element to the second closure element and is operatively connected to the device on the second closure element.

Some household appliances, such as dishwashers, refrigerators, and ovens, have multiple closure elements, such as pivoting doors and sliding drawer fronts, that selectively close chambers, such as a refrigerator chamber, a freezer chamber, a dish treating chamber, and an oven cavity. Operative devices, examples of which include user interfaces/control panels, displays, and lights, mounted to one of the closure elements can require a supply of power and/or data communication.

Appliance with closure element having an operative device


A light source device which produces illumination light for illuminating a target illumination area on a predetermined light receiving surface includes: a light source which emits light; a superimposing illumination element which superimposes the light emitted from the light source and applies the light to the target illumination area; an optical path converting unit disposed on an optical path between the light source and the superimposing illumination element to convert the optical path of the light emitted from the light source and supply the light having the converted optical path to the superimposing illumination element; and a shift unit which shifts the optical path converting unit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light source device and a projector.
2. Related Art
Currently, a technology of incorporating a laser beam source in a projection type image display apparatus (projector) has been proposed, which display apparatus projects color light containing image information produced by a spatial light modulating device such as a liquid crystal device on a screen by using a projection system (for example, see JP-A-2007-33576).
A lighting device disclosed in JP-A-2007-33576 includes a light source device for emitting light and a diffraction optical element for equalizing illuminance distribution of entering light. The lighting device applies rectangular conversion to light emitted from the light source device by using the diffraction optical element and illuminates a predetermined illumination area. The projection type image display apparatus having this lighting device includes a light valve disposed opposed to the diffraction optical element, and illuminates the light valve by diffraction light produced by the diffraction optical element.
However, the related-art technology described above has the following problems.
When an illumination image obtained after rectangular conversion by the diffraction optical element is enlarged and projected via a projection lens, speckle patterns easily recognizable by human eyes are produced on the image. These speckles are generated by manufacture errors or design errors of the diffraction optical element. Since the image is expanded to about one hundred times larger image through the enlarged illumination by the projection lens at the time of display on the screen, the speckles are easily observed on the image.
A possible method for solving this problem is to provide a rotation type diffusing plate which rotates laser beam emitted from the light source, or a swing type diffusing plate which swings the laser beam in the vertical, horizontal, or other directions on the light source device. However, the rotation type diffusing plate requires a rotation driving system such as a motor, which increases the size of the device. Moreover, the rotation type and swing type diffusing plates which diffuse light emitted from the diffraction optical element have positional limitation in positioning these plates and decreases light utilization efficiency. Thus, according to the structure having the diffusing plate, reduction of the device size and space saving cannot be achieved.


A goods scanning device in which the goods scanning window fitted in a housing is arranged upright beside the goods conveying surface has already been proposed. Furthermore, goods scanning devices in which the goods scanning window is arranged in the goods conveying surface and level with or above the latter are known from practice. In the case of the novel goods scanning device, the goods scanning performed by the goods scanning window is to be facilitated.. For this purpose, the housing (12) is adjustable in such a way that the goods scanning window (13) is located as desired in a horizontal or vertical position (B, C, D). In a preferred embodiment, the goods scanning window (13) is arranged in the horizontal position (B, D) as desired in the region of the goods conveying surface (11) and level with the latter or above the goods conveying surface (11) and at a distance therefrom.. The goods scanning device is particularly suitable for registering heavy and/or bulky articles.

The invention relates to a goods scanning device for sales.
Such a good scanning device is known from German reference DE 31 37 572 A1. In the case of the known subject, a scanning device for reading goods markings is arranged in a housing. The housing can be adjusted into various positions along a circular path. In a position below the goods conveying surface, the scanning is performed through a fixedly arranged goods scanning window. In this position, the distance between the goods marking on the goods and the scanning device is constant, so that an exact reading-in of the goods marking can be performed. When adjusting into the vertical position and into the position above the goods conveying surface, the goods scanning window is not adjusted at the same time. This means that, in the vertical position, in which the housing is arranged to the side of the goods, the distance between the scanning device and the goods marking can vary. As a result, the reading-in of the goods marking is impaired or even impossible.
A goods scanning device in which the goods scanning window is vertically adjustable and arranged upright in each operating position has already been proposed. Furthermore, goods scanning devices in which the goods scanning window is provided in a horizontal goods conveying surface and level with or above the latter are known from practice. For their registration, all the goods, products or articles must be deposited on the goods conveying surface and taken past the goods scanning window, in order that the goods marking can be scanned by a scanning device arranged behind the goods scanning window. Problems in registration may occur in particular in the case of bulky and/or heavy articles, since these not only have to be lifted by the user, that is the operator or the customer, onto the goods conveying surface, but also have to be turned in such a way that the goods marking provided on the goods is facing the goods scanning window. Depending on the weight of the article, such an operation may require great exertion, so that in some circumstances certain groups of users are not able at all to register the articles concerned themselves.

Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme Aktiengesellschaft


Hydrogenated canola oils having improved oxidative stability are disclosed. These oils have relatively low levels of trans-fatty acids and saturated fatty acids, yet possess an oxidative stability of greater than 300 AOM hours. Such oils can be produced by hydrogenation of refined, bleached canola oil extracted from Brassicaceae seeds having elevated levels of oleic acid and reduced levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Brassica lines producing seeds having such fatty acid profiles are disclosed. Hydrogenated oils may be fractionated to obtain canola oils that are liquid at or below room temperature and have relatively low levels of trans-fatty acids and saturated fatty acids, yet have an oxidative stability of greater than 300 AOM hours.

Canola oil has the lowest level of saturated fatty acids of all vegetable oils. As consumers become more aware of the health impact of lipid nutrition, consumption of canola oil in the U.S. has increased. However, canola oil extracted from many natural and commercial varieties of rapeseed contains a relatively high .alpha.-linolenic acid content (C.sub.18:3 ; all cis 9,12,15 octadecatrienoic acid; ALA). The oil is unstable and easily oxidized during cooking, which in turn creates off-flavors and compromises the sensory characteristics of foods cooked in such oils. It also develops unacceptable off odors and rancid flavors during storage.
Hydrogenation can be used to improve performance attributes by lowering the amount of linoleic and .alpha.-linolenic acids in the oil. Hydrogenation converts cis mono- and cis poly-unsaturated fatty acids into trans-fatty acids and saturated fatty acids. Saturated and trans-fatty acids are not desirable for health reasons. It would be desirable to reduce the level of polyunsaturates in order to improve the oxidative stability and the shelf life of these oils while minimizing the increase in trans-fatty acids and saturated fatty acids.
Different vegetable oils can be blended to reduce the .alpha.-linolenic acid content and improve performance attributes. However, blending canola oil with other vegetable oils such as cottonseed oil increases the saturated fatty acid content of the final product and decreases the healthy attributes of canola oil.
.alpha.-Linolenic acid has been reported to have a relatively low oxidative stability. In general, the oxidative stability of oleic acid is about 10 fold greater than that of linoleic acid, and the oxidative stability of linoleic acid is about 2 fold greater than that of linolenic acid.
Linoleic and .alpha.-linolenic acids have been suggested as precursors to undesirable odor and flavor development in foods. To improve the functionality of canola oil, the University of Manitoba developed the canola variety "Stellar" which has reduced .alpha.-linolenic acid (Scarth et al., Can. J. Plant Sci., 68:509-511 (1988)). The low .alpha.-linolenic acid oil was reduced in odor when heated in air, but still remained unacceptable to the sensory panel in flavor evaluations (Eskin et al., J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 66:1081-1084 (1989)). The oxidative stability of Stellar oil increased by 17.5% over the commercial variety Westar as measured by Active Oxygen Method (AOM) hours. (Can. J. Plant Sci. (1988) Vol. 68, pp. 509-511).
European Patent Application, EP 0 323 753 A1 describes a canola oil having an enhanced oleic acid content and suggests that such an oil would have increased heat stability in combination with other traits. The application describes a canola oil with reduced .alpha.-linolenic acid. However, no flavor or performance testing was reported for any oil.
The factors affecting oxidative stability and flavor stability of canola oils are not completely understood, although it is known that the amount of .alpha.-linolenic acid in the oil affects oxidative stability and flavor stability. A canola oil is needed that possesses very high oxidative stability and improved flavor and odor characteristics.


A mixing device includes: processing units each provided for a set of two microphones, each processing unit being configured to process acoustic signals output by the corresponding set of two microphones to output a first acoustic signal and a second acoustic signal; a first adding units configured to add up the first acoustic signals; and a second adding unit configured to add up the second acoustic signals. Each processing unit processes the acoustic signals output by the corresponding set of two microphones, based on a scaling factor that determines a scaling up/down rate of a sound field, a shift factor that determines a shift amount of the sound field, and attenuation factors that determine attenuation amounts of the acoustic signals output by the microphones.

Recently, virtual reality (VR) systems using a head-mounted display have been provided. Such a VR system displays images that correspond to a field of view of a user wearing the head-mounted display on the display.
Sounds that are output from speakers of the head-mounted display together with the images were collected by, for example, a plurality of microphones. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sound collecting method. Referring to FIG. 1, eight microphones in total, namely, microphones 51 to 58 are arranged on the circumference of a circle with a predetermined radius centered at a position 60. If acoustic signals collected by the microphones 51 to 58 are directly mixed and are output to the speakers, the sounds collected by the microphones 51 to 58 will be output from the speakers at the same level. If sounds collected by the microphones 51 to 58 are reproduced at the same level when, for example, an image in the range between the reference numerals 61 and 62 shown in FIG. 1 is displayed on the head-mounted display, a difference will occur between the range of view of the user and the range of the sound field.
Patent literature 1 discloses a configuration for adjusting the range of a sound field, by processing acoustic signals collected by two microphones based on a scaling up/down rate of the sound field to generate two acoustic signals for a right (R) channel and a left (L) channel, and driving a pair of speakers with the two acoustic signals for the R channel and the L channel.

Acoustic signal mixing device and computer-readable storage medium


A wire arc spray system (100) includes a plurality of arc spray subsystems (130) mounted to a movable carriage (120) on an x-y robot (110). Each arc spray subsystem includes a wire drive (132) that provides wire (133, 134) to a spray head (138) through a pair of lead cables (136). The spray heads are mounted for circular motion, such that the molten spray is applied to an underlying substrate in a swirling pattern. In one embodiment, the spray heads are mounted to a distal end of a rod (164) that extends through a swivel ball joint (166) and engages an eccentric link (162) fixed to a motor (160). The system applies an overlapping pattern of molten spray to provide excellent non-skid and adhesion properties. The system is particularly suited to spray coating with a wire comprising a hollow metallic portion and a core having ceramic particles.

Thermal spraying refers to coating or material-addition processes wherein materials are sprayed onto a surface or substrate. The materials that form the coating are typically heated by electrical or chemical means. Thermal spraying has many desirable properties, including the ability to apply thick coatings, for example metal coatings, over large areas and with relatively high speed. Materials used in thermal spraying include metals, alloys, ceramics, plastics, and composites. Thermal spraying modalities include plasma spraying, detonation spraying, wire arc spraying, flame spraying, and high velocity oxy-fuel coating spraying.
Wire arc spray, also called twin-wire arc spray, is a thermal spraying technique using two consumable metal wires that are more-or-less continuously fed in spaced-apart relation into a spray head, sometimes referred to as a spray gun. The two wires are electrified, for example, with a welding machine, and the distal ends of the two wires are angled toward each other. An electric arc generated between the ends of the wires causes the wires to melt in the region of the arc. One or more air jets are directed toward the arc region to entrain the molten feedstock, and transports it to the desired substrate.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,512,513 and 4,624,410, to Rogers (which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety), one of the present inventors discloses an arc metal spray apparatus and method for wire arc spray that includes monitoring the distal ends of the wires and temporarily stopping the wire feed process if a failure occurs, such that the system clears the failure by allowing the ends of the wires to melt and become vaporized. Rogers also discloses a wire arc spray system wherein multiple spray heads are mounted to a carriage system with the nozzles directed downward, such that the multiple spray heads can be moved along a path transversely and longitudinally to apply a coating to a substrate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,560, to Rogers et al. (which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), one or more of the present inventors discloses a wire arc spray head, system, and method wherein a plurality of pressurized gas streams are directed toward the electrical arc to atomize, cool, and uniformly distribute the molten metal into a desired spray pattern.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,740, to Rogers (which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), one of the present inventors discloses a wire arc spray process using a novel feedstock formed as a hollow wire composed of aluminum or zinc, and filled with particles of oxides or carbides to produce a wear-resistant surface on a substrate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,271, to Rogers (which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), one of the present inventors discloses a voltage-controlled wire arc spray wherein the wire feed motor of the two wires for the wire arc spray process receives power from the same power circuit that creates the arc spray operation such that the wire feed rate is automatically adjusted as voltage changes occur in the spray process.
This invention relates to wire arc spray systems and methods including, for example, wire arc spray systems for surfacing a substrate with non-slip properties, wherein the surfacing material adheres reliably to the substrate and is able to maintain its adherence at very high temperatures.
There is a need in the industry for a metallic or metalized, non-skid coating that provides heat resistance, wear resistance, slip resistance, corrosion protection to the substrate, long-term durability, a rough surface profile, and a high bond strength on all or many types of steels used in naval and other shipbuilding. A particular application for the present method is to provide a metalized surface on ship decks of all types, in particular, aircraft carrier decks for vertical lift aircraft that impart heat onto the deck surface.
Prior art technology does not exist for a sustainable, heat-resistant, non-skid coating system for vertical lift jet aircraft; and thermal spraying has not been used for this application. For example, the present method is suitable for use with a hollow aluminum and/or zinc wire filled at least in part with ceramic particles, such as the wire disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,740 discussed above. This type of wire may sometimes be referred to herein as "Thermion® TH604 wire."

System and method for wire arc spray thermal spraying


A system and method are used to provide uncorrelated code hopping in a communications system. A multi-bit linear shift register receives data and clocks the data fifteen times. A word assembler receives the shifted data and outputs a fifteen bit word. A mixer mixes the fifteen bit word with an numerical value of active codes to generate a mixed signal. A divider divides the mixed signal to produce a divided signal. A truncator truncates the divided signal to its seven most significant bits to produce a pseudo random hop number. A code matrix shifter circularly shifts the active codes in a code matrix based on the pseudo random hop number to produce a circularly shifted code. A transmitter transmits the circularly shifted code matrix.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an uncorrelated code hopping of a code matrix used to transmit data in a communications system.
2. Related Art
The existing data over cable standard is DOCSIS 2.0 includes a Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (S-CDMA) modulation as one of several modulation options. Code hopping refers to a method whereby a modified code matrix is used for transmission at each spreading interval. The modified code matrix is produced via circular shifting of the codes in the original code matrix based on a pseudo-randomly generated shift number. In this shifting process, each code or row in the matrix is left unchanged, but the ordering of the codes or rows is altered. The DOCSIS S-CDMA scheme includes 128 spreading codes, where each spreading code (or waveform) is a row in the 128 bit×128 bit code matrix specified in the DOCSIS standard. A single row of the code matrix is a sequence of 128 bits of either 1 or −1. Each bit in the code is sometimes referred to as a chip. No two rows of the code matrix are the same. For example, if a first row in the code matrix is all 1s, the next row in the code matrix is a pseudo-random set of 1's and −1's. The rows are orthogonal, such that a dot product of a row with any other row equals zero. A dot product refers to an operation on two vectors wherein an element by element multiplication occurs, followed by a summing. This also means the rows are delta correlated with each other and they are zero correlated with any other row.
The rows of the code matrix are used for transmission of a symbol, e.g., a quadrature amplitude modulated (QAM) symbol, such as up through 256 QAM. Using the DOCSIS S-CDMA scheme, 128 QAM symbols can be transmitted at the same time. Each symbol is a complex value, because it has both in-phase and quadrature components, such that X and Y are its real and imaginary parts, respectively. To transmit the QAM symbol using S-CDMA, the symbol is multiplied by one of the rows of the code matrix. The product is then transmitted serially over a channel, where it may be summed with modulated QAM symbols utilizing the other rows of the code matrix. The rows of the code matrix remain orthogonal even after they are multiplied by different (or the same) complex constants, such as the QAM symbol complex values. There are 128 rows in the code matrix, and since the rows remain orthogonal even with multiplication by the QAM symbols, all 128 rows (each multiplied by its associated QAM symbol) can be transmitted simultaneously, thus conveying 128 QAM symbols at the same time. The transmission of 128 QAM symbols at the same time can also be parsed such that more than one user is transmitting, each user employing a different subset of the 128 spreading codes. This is sometimes referred to as multiple access. This is in contrast to pure time division multiple access (TDMA), wherein only one QAM symbol is sent at a time.
In DOCSIS the symbols are sent at a maximum chip rate of 5.12 mega chips per second, which provides 5.12 million QAM symbols per second when all 128 spreading codes are utilized. Up to 64 users using as few as two codes per user can transmit at the same time, as one example of multiple access. If 128 symbols are sent at the same time all the symbols might be from one user (e.g., cable modem), or the symbols might be from 64 cable modems, each utilizing a different two of the 128 spreading codes, as two extreme cases.
One problem associated with transmission of the symbols derives from the unequal response of the codes to narrowband interference. The frequency response (or spectrum) of each code is not flat when the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of the sequence is calculated. The spectrum has peaks and valleys, and may appear random. There may be narrowband interference in the channel, an impairment common in cable networks. If narrowband interference occurs at a valley in the spectrum of a particular spreading code, then a reduction of the impact created by the interference can occur, which is desirable. But if the interference occurs at a peak in the frequency response of that particular code, this is undesirable because it will amplify the interference. Another code has another random sequence of peaks and valleys, which results in a different response to that particular narrow band interference. Thus, there is inequality in transmission. Some of the codes have a good response, e.g., they are not very responsive to that narrow band interference, while other codes become degraded by the narrow band interference. This is in contrast to a goal of these systems, which is for all the users to receive equal performance. Also, due to the nonlinear relationship between bit error rate (BER) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the system's average BER will be dominated by the codes having the poorest performance.
In order to improve performance, code shuffling or hopping has been introduced into DOCSIS, instead of assigning the spreading codes (i.e., rows) in the same pattern in repeated transmissions. Consider the full code matrix, with rows enumerated 0-127, with row 0 at the bottom of the matrix and row 127 at the top of the matrix. (This is the row numbering method used in DOCSIS.) We will refer to "code i" as the ith row of the original spreading matrix, starting with code 0 at the bottom. As the matrix is permuted, the codes will in general move to different rows in the modified spreading matrix. For the permutation (hopping) of the code matrix, a pseudo-random number is generated and applied so that the ordering of the rows in the matrix is modified. For example, the pseudo-random number 0 would result in the original matrix with rows 0-127 unchanged. In another example, a pseudo-random number 10 would circularly shift every row or code up by 10. In the example when the rows of the code matrix are circularly shifted by 10, then the code matrix shifts codes 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , 117 to the top, with code 117 occupying the topmost row, and codes 118, 119, . . . , 127 at the bottom, with code 118 occupying the bottommost row. (A more detailed illustration is given later.) Through these permutations, an averaging effect occurs allowing each user which only has allocation of a subset of the spreading codes to get substantially equal performance over time. Thus, if a row of the code matrix experiences interference during one transmission, e.g., a QAM symbol gets degraded, desirably the next transmission gets better performance, such that it just averages out over time and any errors can be corrected by the forward error correction (FEC) decoder. A user which repeatedly has a subset of codes allocated for its transmissions does not get "stuck" with a poor performing code or codes.
In DOCSIS, a maximum of 40,000 symbols are transmitted per second on each one of the codes. Since there are up to 128 codes being sent at the same time, the maximum DOCSIS symbol rate is 5.12 million QAM symbols per second. This time interval for transmitting a spreading code, 40,000th of a second, is called the spreading interval. With code hopping, the code matrix numbering (i.e., assignment) starts over using a different configuration of the code matrix (which can be thought of as a modified code matrix), i.e., the code hopping is performed on each spreading interval. Thus, after each use of the code matrix, the rows of the code matrix are permutated through another circular shifting of the rows within the code matrix.
Thus, code hopping refers to a systematic re-ordering of the rows of the original spreading matrix C, such that at each spreading interval k, a new code matrix Ck is produced. A pseudo-random number generator determines a
cyclic shift of a subset of the rows of the original matrix C. In code hopping, using selectable active codes mode 1 (DOCSIS 2.0 mode),when the number of active codes Na<128, the cyclic codes are hopped (cyclically shifted), while code 0, the all Is code, which is considered a less desirable code due to its poor spreading characteristics, remains fixed at the bottom of the code matrix.
The unused codes are located in the (128−Na) bottom rows of the hopped matrix Ck. Thus, for Na<127, the set of unused codes changes at each spreading interval. When Na=128, all codes are hopped, including code 0.
The hopped spreading matrix is defined by:
            C      k        =          [                                                  C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      127                                        )                                                  ,                127                                                                        C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      127                                        )                                                  ,                126                                                          …                                              C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      127                                        )                                                  ,                0                                                                                C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      126                                        )                                                  ,                127                                                                        C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      126                                        )                                                  ,                126                                                          …                                              C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      126                                        )                                                  ,                0                                                                          …                                …                                …                                …                                                              C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      0                                        )                                                  ,                127                                                                        C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      0                                        )                                                  ,                126                                                          …                                              C                                                f                                                        (                                          k                      ,                      0                                        )                                                  ,                0                                                        ]            where    ,                                    f                          (                      k            ,            i                    )                    =              {                                                                                modulo                                                                                (                                                          128                              -                                                              lfsr_out                                                                                (                                  k                                  )                                                                                +                              i                                                        )                                                                          ,                        128                                            )                                                                                N                      a                                                        =                  128                                ,                                  0                  ≤                  i                  ≤                  127                                                                                modulo                                                                                (                                                      126                            -                                                          lfsr_out                                                                                (                                k                                )                                                                                +                            i                                                    )                                                                    ,                      127                                        )                                    +                  1                                ,                                                      N                    a                                    <                  128                                ,                                  1                  ≤                  i                  ≤                  127
The code matrix elements Ci,j are the elements of the original code matrix C, k indicates the spreading interval, i indicates the row in the code matrix, lfsr_out is a pseudo-random number, and Na is the number of active codes.
In one example, instead of using all 128 codes, only a subset will be needed. For example 128 total-16 unused=108 active rows or 128 total−8 unused=120 active rows. In the latter example, 120 codes are active or used and 8 of codes are inactive or unused.
Although the rows in the code matrix are orthogonal to each other, a code in one row in the code matrix is nearly equal to a code in the next row, except just shifted by one. One exception is that the bits in the last row of the code matrix are not shifted. Thus, 127 out of 128 of the rows are simply a shift of the previous row or the code in the next row in the other direction. Because each row is so closely related to its neighboring row in its structure, the spectra of neighboring rows in the code matrix are very nearly the same, even though in the time domain the spreading codes are orthogonal. Thus, the maximums and minimums (e.g., peaks and valleys) in the spectra are almost identical between one row and the next row. Therefore, the neighboring rows will experience similar impacts from interference during transmissions, and since neighboring rows are assigned to users in DOCSIS 2.0 which are only allocated a contiguous subset of the rows, this means that such users could be allocated a subset of rows such that all are more impaired by a given narrowband interference than many other of the rows in the code matrix. Furthermore, this inequality between rows may persist over multiple transmissions for this user if the user is allocated the same or a similar subset of rows repeatedly.
The above code hopping scheme typically also uses a correlated hopping sequence. The code achieved after a first hop is related to a code achieved after a next hop. Because of this, although there is shifting in the rows of the code matrix when code hopping is enabled, the rows are not being shifted far enough from their previous positions. Thus, not enough randomness is being introduced into the code matrix between transmissions, which results in any narrowband interference to still introduce inequality in communication fidelity.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that would allow for larger and uncorrelated code hopping, which can increase equality in transmissions.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number may identify the drawing in which the reference number first appears.

System and method of uncorrelated code hopping in a communications system


Disclosed is a method for producing a multicrystalline silicon substrate for solar cells comprising: a metal deposition step for depositing such metal particles as platinum and silver on the surface of the substrate by electroless-plating chloroplatinic acid or silver perchlorate; a boring step for subjecting the substrate surface to etching in a solution containing at least one of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide; and a step for removing a stain layer by immersing the substrate into an alkaline solution. A multicrystalline silicon substrate having a lower reflectance is provided at a lower cost.

It is known that crystalline solar cells in which monocrystalline silicon or multicrystalline silicon is used as a substrate have energy conversion efficiency higher than that of amorphous solar cells. When light reaches the silicon substrate of solar cells, sunlight divides into light entering inside the substrate and light reflecting on the substrate surface. Only the light entering inside contributes to photovoltaic effects.
In conventional crystalline solar cells, selective etching is given to the substrate surface to provide a so-called texture configuration in which multiple pyramids are continuously formed, thereby having improved energy conversion efficiency. This is a configuration utilizing an optical confinement effect in which even light once reflected on the slant plane of the pyramid can be received on the slant plane of the adjacent pyramid and is allowed to be made incident through refraction, unlike a case where the substrate surface is even.
Such a texture configuration of the substrate surface is in general formed by subjecting a substrate having the (100) orientation to anisotropic etching in an alkaline solution, in a case where the substrate is made from monocrystalline silicon. In addition, where a substrate is made from multicrystalline silicon, the orientations individually vary depending on crystal grains, and anisotropic etching may fail to provide an optimal texture configuration to which pyramids are connected, thereby a machining method, reactive ion etching (RIE), isotropic wet etching and others are adopted for decreasing the surface reflection. In the machining method, the surface of a multicrystalline silicon substrate is mechanically grounded down by a dicer into V-shape grooves and then subjected to chemical etching to smooth the V-shaped slant planes, thereby forming a texture configuration. In the RIE method, gases such as SF6, CF4 and Cl2 are introduced into an etching chamber and glow discharge is allowed from a high-frequency power source to provide etching. Isotropic wet etching is a chemical etching using nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid.
However, in the case of monocrystalline silicon solar cells, monocrystalline silicon itself is very expensive, whereas in the case of multicrystalline silicon substrates, from the necessity of machining individually in a machining method, taking too much time in providing many desired grooves is required, resulting in higher production costs. In the RIE method, introduced gases such as SF6, CF4 and Cl2 into an etching chamber are corrosive, therefore, the device must be composed of anti-corrosive materials, resulting in higher costs. Isotropic wet etching provides a textured substrate surface which is 20%, or still high in the reflectance, inferior in energy conversion efficiency and emits a harmful gas of NOx due to the use of nitric acid in the etching solution. By any of the above methods, a serious problem has not been solved where the energy conversion efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells is lower than that of monocrystalline silicon solar cells.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a multicrystalline silicon substrate having a lower reflectance at a lower cost.

Method for producing multicrystalline silicon substrate for solar cells

Kansai Technology Licensing Organization Co., Ltd.