A movable partition system includes a movable partition, a floating jamb attached to an end of the movable partition and located within a pocket configured to retain the movable partition when in a retracted position, at least two base plates attached to the floating jamb, and at least two jamb stops attached to opposing interior walls of the pocket. Each of the at least two jamb stops are configured to engage a respective base plate of the floating jamb, wherein the floating jamb, the at least two base plates, and the at least two jamb stops are configured such that disengaging the floating jamb from a secure position within the pocket when the movable partition is in an extended position requires disengaging one of the at least two jamb stops from the respective base plate on each side of the movable partition. Methods of providing a security barrier are disclosed.

Movable partitions are utilized in numerous situations and environments for a variety of purposes. Such partitions may include, for example, a foldable or collapsible door configured to enclose or subdivide a room or other area. Often, such partitions may be utilized simply for purposes of versatility in being able to subdivide a single large room into multiple smaller rooms. The subdivision of a larger area may be desired, for example, to accommodate multiple groups or meetings simultaneously. In other applications, such partitions may be utilized for noise control depending, for example, on the activities taking place in a given room or portion thereof.
Movable partitions may also be used to provide a security barrier, a fire barrier, or both a security barrier and a fire barrier. In such a case, the partition barrier may be configured to automatically close upon the occurrence of a predetermined event, such as the actuation of an associated alarm. For example, one or more accordion or similar folding-type partitions may be used as a security barrier, a fire barrier, or both a security barrier and a fire barrier wherein each partition is formed with a plurality of panels connected to one another, with hinges in some cases. The hinged connection of the panels allows the partition to fold and collapse into a compact unit for purposes of storage when not deployed. The partition may be stored within a pocket formed in the wall of a building when in a retracted or folded state. When the partition is deployed to subdivide or separate a space within a building, so as to secure an area during a fire or for any other specified reason, the partition may be extended along an overhead track, which is often located above the movable partition in a header assembly, until the partition extends a desired distance across the room.
When deployed, a leading end of the movable partition, often defined by a component known as a lead post, complementarily engages another structure, such as a wall, a post, or a lead post of another door. A trailing end of the movable partition may include a fixed jamb or, alternatively, a floating jamb configured to slide within the pocket accommodating the movable partition when in a retracted position. Jamb stops may be provided to retain the floating jamb within the pocket when the movable partition is in the extended position.

Movable partition systems and related methods


A mutual capacitance touch panel includes a substrate (4), a plurality of lower electrodes (10) provided in a form of wide bands formed of transparent conductive material and arranged parallel with each other and with narrow spacing therebetween along a first direction on a first face of the substrate (4), a plurality of upper electrodes (20) provided in a form of narrow bands formed of transparent conductive material and arranged parallel with each other and with wide spacing therebetween along a second direction intersecting the first direction on the first face of the substrate (4) and on the lower electrodes, and an insulating film (3) formed of photosensitive resin having adhesiveness and arranged between the upper electrodes (20) and the lower electrodes (10) to support the upper electrodes (20). The insulating film (3) includes a sloped side face (3b) sharing a long side with a support face (3a) which supports the upper electrode (20).

As capacitance touch panels, there are two types, i.e. the surface type and the projection type. The capacitance touch panels are configured to specify a detection point by determining a change in capacitance which occurs when the surface of the touch panel is touched by an operating object such as a finger. The surface type can detect only one point at a time, whereas the projection type can specify coordinates of a detection point through determination of change in capacitance with utilization of electrodes which are arranged to intersect the X direction and the Y direction. For this reason, many electronic devices employ the projection type.
Further, the projection type includes a self capacitance type and a mutual capacitance type which differ in the method of detecting change in capacitance. The mutual capacitance type configured to specify a detection point directly when a change in mutual capacitance is detected through determination of mutual capacitance between an X electrode and a Y electrode is superior to the self capacitance type for multiple point detection applications. Therefore, electronic devices implementing a user interface contemplating multiple point detection employ the mutual capacitance type (see e.g. Patent Document 1).
Here, an electrode configuration of a conventional mutual capacitance type touch panel is illustrated in the schematic diagram of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, a touch panel 501 includes a plurality of lower electrodes 510 arranged parallel with each other along the X direction and a plurality of upper electrodes 520 arranged parallel with each other along the Y direction to intersect (perpendicular to) the respective lower electrodes. The upper electrodes 520 and the lower electrodes 510 are formed by etching a thin film made of a transparent conductive material (e.g. ITO, indium oxide, tin oxide, etc.) in the form of band-like electrodes separated from each other.
As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 10, the lower electrode 510 functions as a transmitter-side electrode, whereas the upper electrode 520 functions as a receiver-side electrode. When an object 200 such as a finger is not in contact with or not in the vicinity of the upper electrode 520 side, that is, the touch surface side, there is formed an electric field whose electric force lines L extend from the transmitter-side lower electrode 510 toward the receiver-side upper electrode 520. When the object 200 such as a finger approaches the upper electrode 520 to such an extent to affect the above electric field, some of the electric force lines L will travel around the upper electrode 520 to be absorbed by this object such as a finger. As a result, a change occurs in the mutual capacitance, and coordinates of this change can be detected as a detection point. Incidentally, in order to eliminate noise influence from LCD, the width of the lower electrode 510 is set wider than that of the upper electrode 520. Conversely, the spacing between adjacent lower electrodes 510 is set narrower than the spacing between adjacent upper electrodes 520.
Further, as a method of forming an electrode pattern in such a device as a flat panel display, a touch panel, a solar cell, etc., a commonly employed method is such that after a thin film made of transparent conductive material (transparent conductive film) is formed by the sputtering technique, a resist pattern is formed by the lithography and then a predetermined portion of the transparent conductive film is removed by the wet etching technique, thereby forming an electrode pattern.
In recent years, however, in consideration to costs or the like, attempts have been made to form a transparent electrode pattern with using a material other than ITO, indium oxide, or tin oxide (e.g. conductive ink containing conductive fibers such as silver nano fibers). For instance, in Patent Document 2, there is disclosed a method as follows. Namely, there is employed a photosensitive conductive film (dry film resist) comprising a conductive layer 12 containing conductive nano fibers and a photosensitive resin layer 13, which layers are laminated one after another on a support film 11. Then, the above resultant assembly is laminated on a substrate 45 with the photosensitive resin layer 13 of the assembly being placed in gapless contact therewith (FIG. 11A), after which the photosensitive resin layer 13 is exposed with irradiation of active beam L2 thereon (FIG. 11B) and then the photosensitive resin layer 13 is developed (FIG. 11C), thereby to form a photosensitive resin layer 13b and a conductive layer 12a in the form of a pattern.


A network includes nodes that transmit information to each other. Some nodes operate intermittently; other nodes operate continuously. Information is transmitted to an intermittently operating node by a handshaking protocol in which the intermittently operating node indicates that it is ready to receive. Information is transmitted to a continuously operating node without such handshaking, thereby saving time and power. Each transmitting node has a memory storing information indicating which other nodes require handshaking.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information transmission device, system, and method in which handshaking is used for power-saving purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sensor networks and other networks that transmit information often include battery-driven nodes that operate only intermittently and power down or 'sleep' when not operating, in order to extend their battery life. Since a node cannot receive transmitted information while asleep, the transmitting node must use some scheme to make sure that the receiving node is ready. One such scheme is the RICER (Receiver Initiated CyclEd Receiver) handshaking scheme proposed by Lin et al. in 'Power-Efficient Rendez-vous Schemes for Dense Wireless Sensor Networks' in the proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Communications, pp. 3769-3776, 2004, in which a node with information to transmit waits to receive a signal indicating that the destination node is awake before beginning the transmission. The RICER scheme will be further described in the detailed description of the invention.
Actual networks (multi-hop networks, for example) often include both battery-powered nodes, transmission to which requires this type of handshaking, and externally powered nodes, transmission to which does not require such handshaking. A problem with use of the RICER scheme in these networks is that the RICER scheme always employs handshaking. Even in a transmission to a node that is always awake, extra signals must first be transmitted and received to confirm that the node is awake. This consumes extra power and delays the information transmission process.

Information transmission device, system, and method


A method of determining a parameter and state of a system from a time series of a system measurement, comprising using a processor to: a) build an approximate model of the system; b) sample a plurality of approximate system parameters for a current time interval from a posterior probability distribution; c) determine an estimate of the system parameter at the current time interval from the distribution of the plurality of approximate system parameters; d) determine an estimate of the system state at the current time interval given the estimate of the system parameter; e) repeat b) to d) for the next time interval. An apparatus for performing the method is disclosed, and application of the method to drilling and wellbores is discussed.

In many cases, the state or parameters of a system may be difficult or impossible to directly measure or observe. For example, the state and/or parameters of a magma chamber of a volcano, or a geological fault, may be of interest in predicting the risk of an eruption or earthquake. Similarly, in some industries it can be difficult to determine a state or parameter of a system from the available measurement data. This may be because the measurements are subject to error, or because it is not possible or practicable to directly measure the system parameter(s) or state(s) of interest.
In such cases, it is known to use Bayesian inference to determine a probable state or parameter of the system, from a system measurement (or measurements), taking into account an understanding of the relationship between the measurement values and the system parameter(s) and state(s). Such an understanding may be in the form of a mathematical model.
A known technique for determining probable states and parameters of a system based on system measurements is particle filtering. However, a number of challenges limit the application of such techniques to real problems.
An improved method and apparatus for Bayesian inference is therefore desirable.

Method and apparatus of determining a state of a system


A programmable interface module includes a linear power regulator to control and provide power to interfaced components on an as needed basis. The interface module is implemented in, for example, a threat sensor pack and multiplexed to a plurality of sensor modules. In a first mode, the linear voltage regulator provides a relatively small amount of power which allows a sensor module to output a signal responsive to detecting an environmental condition (e.g., gamma or x-ray radiation, extreme temperatures, etc.). The interface module can switch the linear voltage regulator to a second mode in which the linear voltage regulator ramps up the amount of power provided to a detecting sensor module. The sensor module can then provide a threat level indicative of a concentration or intensity of the environmental condition. If the threat level surpasses a predetermined threshold, the senor pack can output a threat signal to security server.

Public safety is constantly threatened by environmental dangers. For example, a plume of smoke from a dirty bomb can quickly consume a metropolitan area to cause mass harm. In another example, ports receive millions of cargo containers every year, while only a few are inspected for terrorist sabotaging. In response, the Department of Homeland Security has promulgated initiatives for threat monitoring and readiness that are designed to prevent threats and to improve emergency response. Conventionally, a threat is manually observed, and a call is made to 911 which has to be routed to the correct authorities.
One shortcoming of conventional automated threat detection systems is that they are typically hardwired for a specific type of environmental condition. Thus, once the system is manufactured, it cannot be adapted for different environments. Furthermore, current threat detection systems typically have complex deployment requirements or short deployment periods. For example, some threat detection systems are wired to a power source. Other threat detection systems must be constantly serviced to replace batteries.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for a robust threat detection system that is easily deployable and is low-powered to provide a long deployment life.

Sensor and transmission control circuit in adaptive interface package


A serviceable muffler (20) has an end plate (34) releasably clamped (36) to an open end (30) of a muffler body (26) and permitting access to an internal catalytic or filter element (28) for removal and replacement. An apertured flange (44) has an outer border with flared rounded portion (46) complemental to flared rounded portions (40 and 42) of each of the end plate (34) and the open end (30) of the body (26), and having an inner border defined by an aperture (48) through which the element (28) is removed and replaced. Servicing and manufacturing methods are provided.

The invention relates to mufflers, and more particularly to serviceable mufflers containing an element requiring servicing.
Emission regulations for internal combustion engines are requiring ever decreasing levels of emissions. It has accordingly become necessary to fit catalysts and filters inside of mufflers to treat engine exhaust. Particle filters for diesel engines require routine cleaning to remove ash built-up from the filters. Catalytic elements also require maintenance and/or replacement.
The present invention provides a serviceable muffler permitting easy removal of an end plate from an open end of a muffler body for gaining access to an internal filter element and/or catalytic element. The invention eliminates the need for welding, and the need for a sealing gasket. The invention further provides particularly cost effective manufacturability. The invention uses high speed lock forming techniques providing precise mounting and sealing structure.


A reactive ride simulator includes package of sensors along with a telemetry radio transmitter and/or a recorder. This package is carried at a movable remote site, such as aboard an actual vehicle. A radio receiver, or a player for the recorded data from the remote site, is interfaced with a decoder providing a electronic signals which include a replication of the sights, sounds, and motions experienced at the remote site. A motion base is used to provide the accelerations necessary to replicate the G-forces experienced at the remote site, while a cabin on this motion base is associated with audio/visual presentation devices so that a passenger on the reactive ride simulator also receives the audio/visual sensations of being present at the remote site. As a result, the passenger on the reactive ride simulator receives a sensory experience of being at the remote site, or of riding on the actual vehicle, while actually moving only slightly on the motion base.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the field of amusement rides and vehicle ride simulators. More particularly, the present invention relates to a ride simulator which gives a passenger the false impression of actually experiencing the sights, sounds, and motions occurring (or which have occurred) at a remote site through the use of a combination of stimuli. The remote site can be defined by a vehicle, conveyance, animal (a race horse, for example), human (a surfer or skier, for example), building (such as during an earthquake), or any other environment providing sights, sounds and movements which it is desired to experience in a simulated form at a distance from the remote site. The combined stimuli are presented to the passenger through all of the senses of sight, sound, and touch. While actually moving in only a limited or confined space, the passenger experiences a simulated "ride" on a variety of vehicles, or "presence" at the remote site through the use of this invention. For example, a passenger may "ride" an Indianapolis 500 race car, a drag race car, a power boat, a land speed record car, an aircraft, a jet fighter, and any number of other interesting and potentially dangerous vehicles in which most people will never have an opportunity to ride. Also, a passenger on the reactive ride simulator may experience a ride or "presence" on a Kentucky Derby race horse, a surf board, on water or snow skis, on an Olympic bob sled, or within a building during an earthquake, for example.
Importantly, the invention may provide these simulated vehicle "riding" sensations, or remote site "presence" sensations, to a passenger using a multi-media, or combined sensory menu which is either historical, near-real-time, or actually in real-time while the actual vehicle being simulated is in motion. For example, the passenger may experience a "ride" in a race car while sensory data (i.e., the sights, sounds, and G-forces from the motion of the car) are obtained from an actual racing car on a race track. In this way, the passenger may ride along with a favorite driver in the Indianapolis 500 mile race, for example, and experience the actual sensations of the racing car in competition as well as the spontaneous give-and-take of heated, unpredictable competitive racing as the race is actually in progress.

Reactive ride simulator apparatus and method


According to embodiments of the present invention, a piezoelectric resonator is provided. The piezoelectric resonator includes a piezoelectric substrate, a first electrode comprising a first plurality of electrode fingers, a second electrode comprising a second plurality of electrode fingers, wherein the first plurality of electrode fingers and the second plurality of electrode fingers are interdigitated, and wherein electrode patches are arranged along the first plurality of electrode fingers and the second plurality of electrode fingers according to a 2-dimensional lattice.

The present technology for piezoelectric resonators requires excitation of resonant vibration mode that usually involves some form of acoustic wave coupling. Almost all the piezoelectric resonators can be categorized as Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) and Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) resonators. Two important parameters for MEMS resonators are quality factor electrical-to-mechanical coupling coefficient for RF filters. It is desirable to have high quality factor for oscillator applications and high coupling coefficient for filters.
The existing piezoelectric resonators with periodic interdigitated fingers—such as contour-mode, extensional-mode, and piezo-on-substrate resonators—excite longitudinal plate acoustic waves along one dimension. Plate-wave resonators with periodic electrodes are prone to excite other spurious modes and careful design is required in order to suppress these undesirable modes. One of the short-comings of plate-wave contour-mode resonators is insufficient piezoelectric coupling coefficient in order to build band-pass filters with large enough bandwidth for today's RF communications.

Piezoelectric resonator having electrode fingers with electrode patches

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


In order to provide a handy phone which enables a user of a radio telephone network to reopen automatically a communication disconnected because of communication quality degradation by way of another available radio telephone network with a simple configuration, a multi-modal handy phone (1) of the invention comprises a plurality of radio modules each prepared for accessing corresponding each of the plurality of radio telephone networks; monitoring means for monitoring communication quality; a change-over unit for selecting one of the plurality of radio modules according to result of the monitoring; a telephone number register for storing telephone number of the other party; a calling unit for calling the telephone number registered in the telephone number register 4 by way of one of the plurality of radio modules selected by said changeover unit; and a user interface unit.

The present invention relates to a multi-modal handy phone provided with a plurality of radio modules for enabling the handy phone to select and communicate through a radio telephone network among those having different systems such as the PHS (Personal Handy phone System) and the PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) system, for example, optionally or dealing with degradation of communication quality.
Compared to the radio telephone network called the PDC which has a wide service area in Japan covering most of the principal cities, the service area of the PHS as of 1995 is yet smaller, only covering busy streets and shopping areas around railway stations in metropolises such as Tokyo. With respect to the covering area of a relay station, that of the PHS is limited to several hundreds' meters in radius, while that of the PDC attains several kilometers. However, there are many underground facilities such as a sub-mall or a sub-street where the PHS is available even when the PDC system is not accessible. The low cost service charge is also an advantage of the PHS system superior to that of the PDC system.
This is the reason why the multi-modal handy phone is expected. With a multi-modal handy phone having radio modules accessible to different radio telephone networks, a user may select another network that remains available even when the network in use goes out of service because the user has gone out from its service area, for instance.
As a prior art similar to the multi-modal handy phone, there is a Japanese patent application laid open as a Provisional Publication No. 274552/'86, wherein is disclosed a communication apparatus which can automatically call the other party through another network when a communication network is found unavailable, effectively increasing connection probability with the other party.
However, any countermeasure against disconnection during a communication because of going out of the service area, for instance, is not considered in the prior art being proposed to be applied for wire-networks.
In another Japanese patent application laid open as a Provisional Publication No. 152745/'94, a prior art concerning a portable telephone system is disclosed, wherein an exchange station for a private radio telephone network in a precinct is provided with a relaying apparatus of a public radio telephone network to the private radio network having different carrier frequency than the public network. The relaying apparatus receives data from the public network for transmitting the data to a mobile terminal of the private network for enabling a user of a portable telephone of the public network, coming into the precinct from out of the service area of the public network, to continue receiving the data through the mobile terminal of the private network.
If the latter prior art could be easily applied between different public radio telephone systems such as the PHS and the PDC system, a user of a PHS handy phone, for example, might be able to receive a call from the PDC system with his ordinary PHS handy phone through a relay station of the PHS provided with a relaying apparatus of the PDC system. However, an enormous cost would be needed in reality together with intricate operation for providing such a relaying apparatus for every relay station of the PHS, for example.


A conveying device is formed by two conveying sections which are arranged one behind the other and run in the form of a spiral. The first conveying section runs from an exterior inlet towards a center, whereas the other conveying section leads from the center to an exterior outlet. The conveying sections have opposite run-through directions. The windings of one conveying section run in each case between the windings of the other conveying section. In order to convey the conveyable articles, a conveying arrangement is used which serves jointly for the two conveying sections and comprises an endless, driven conveying belt and a stationary roller path located opposite the conveying belt. This design of the conveying device with two conveying sections, which are in the form of a spiral, engage one another, and have opposite conveying directions, provides an extremely compact arrangement.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying articles. In particular the apparatus is for conveying sheet-like, flexible articles.
DE-C-3621834 discloses a conveying apparatus which is intended for the temporary storage of folded printed products. The conveying sections of this apparatus run either in loops or in the form of helixes (FIGS. 7 and 8). By virtue of this arrangement of the conveying sections, a large number of products can be accommodated in a small amount of space. Aside from this fact, the transporting arrangement which conveys the printed products can be compressed along the conveying sections to increase storage capacity. For this purpose, the transporting arrangement has to be designed correspondingly. Also, additional devices are necessary in order to compress the conveying arrangement and to extend it again.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a conveying apparatus which is designed with the lowest possible space requirement, and to be as long as possible so that as many articles as possible can be kept simultaneously in the given space.

Apparatus for conveying articles, in particular sheet-like, flexible, products


A level shift circuit composed of two terminals which are different in potential level, at least two capacitors each incorporating a ferroelectric material and connected to each other in series between the two terminals, and output terminals each provided on one side of each of the capacitors, so that the output terminals are capable of outputting respective signals which are different in direct-current voltage level.

The present invention relates to a level shift circuit for use in a low power source coupled field effect transistor logic circuit (hereinafter referred to as "LSCFL"), buffered field effect transistor logic circuit (hereinafter referred to as "BFL"), emitter coupled logic circuit (hereinafter referred to as "ECL") or a like circuit. More particularly, it relates to a level shift circuit capable of reducing a power supply voltage and a current needed for an operation of a circuit incorporating this level shift circuit while outputting a desired direct-current voltage level (hereinafter referred to as "DC level").
A LSCFL is used in a variety of circuits because it can utilize a series gating means and operates at a high speed with a low power consumption. A conventional-type LSCFL is shown in FIG. 4 wherein a reference character P denotes a differential logic circuit section comprising an OR circuit formed by field effect transistors (FETs) Q.sub.11 to Q.sub.16 which are connected by using a three level series gate, and a reference character S denotes a level shift circuit section. In this LSCFL, output parts of the differential logic circuit section P are connected to the gates of FETs Q.sub.17 and Q.sub.18, respectively. The drains of these FETs are connected to a power supply terminal V.sub.s while on the other hand the sources thereof are serially connected respectively to diodes D.sub.11,D.sub.12 and diodes D.sub.13, D.sub.14 and grounded through FETs Q.sub.20 and Q.sub.21, respectively, which FETs Q.sub.20,Q.sub.21 generate a constant current.
With this LSCFL the differential logic circuit section P generates logic signals, which are then increased in capability of driving load by the level shift circuit section S. The level shift voltage are outputted to a next circuit (not shown) through output terminals O.sub.1 to O.sub.4 connected respectively to the terminals of the diodes D.sub.11 to D.sub.14. Thus, a logic circuit is formed as a whole. In this case, in order to obtain three DC levels, it is conceivable to obtain one DC level from output terminals A and B provided before the diodes D.sub.11 and D.sub.13, respectively. However, DC levels at output terminals A and B are almost the same as those of the gate electrodes of the FETs Q.sub.17 and Q.sub.18, respectively. Hence, the respective DC levels of the terminals A and B are instable due to current to voltage characteristic (hereinafter referred to as I-V characteristic) of a FET, like a I-V characteristic in rise of a triode. This results in a difficulty of obtaining a DC level which assures a stable operation of the circuit.
There has been introduced a level shift circuit which can reduce the series voltage of the level shift circuit section S governing the power supply voltage so as to operate a LSCFL with a low power supply voltage, in "Level Shift Circuits for GaAs Low Power Source Coupled FET Logic", The Transactions of the IEICE, VOL. E 70, NO. 4 April 1987, pages 224 to 226. This circuit is shown in FIG. 5 wherein FETs Q.sub.31 to Q.sub.34 are used instead of the diodes D.sub.11 to D.sub.14 in the level shift circuit section S, and the FETs Q.sub.31 and Q.sub.32 as well as the FETs Q.sub.33 and Q.sub.34 are connected to each other in series with respective gate which is connected with drain. In the level shift circuit, each diode conventionally requires a level shift voltage of about 0.7 V, while the introduced level shift circuit can provide the same current intensity as with the conventional one, with each FET requiring a level shift voltage of only about 0.4 V. As a result, the power supply voltage needed for the introduced level shift circuit is less than that for the conventional one by 1.8 V, or by 30% in total.
The LSCFL, despite its large power consumption, is employed in various circuits in view of its wide applicability to devices which are different in electric characteristics. With the recent trend of compact and lightening electronic devices, however, the LSCFL is being required to operate at a low supply voltage.
In this respect, with the conventional level shift circuit using diodes it is difficult to reduce power supply voltage and operating current since current always needs to flow in the circuit. Further, since a saturation voltage for each diode cannot be reduced to less than 0.7 V without the loss of operation speed, the power supply voltage in total cannot be reduced because of serial connection of diodes though this circuit can cause other circuit associated with the LSCFL to operate at a relatively low voltage. In addition, there is another problem that the amount of level-shifting cannot be set to a desired value because it depends on the semiconductor material used for each diode and, hence, cannot be varied.
With the above-mentioned level shift circuit using FETs in which the respective gates are short-circuited with drains, current always needs to flow in the circuit as with the above circuit using diodes. Although this circuit can substantially reduce the power supply voltage, the voltage-current relation in this circuit is instable due to variation in characteristics of the FETs, particularly static characteristics such as threshold voltage V.sub.th and current amplification factor since a FET operation is similar to a triode operation in rise in a transient state. This results in a substantial instability in a level-shifting amount of output at each unit level shift circuit, resulting in a problem of extremely poor controllability in level shift voltage.
The present invention has been attained in view of the foregoing circumstances. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel level shift circuit capable of obtaining a stable level-shifting amount while operating at a low power supply voltage.


In an embodiment, a processor includes at least one processor core and power control logic having energy usage logic to predict an energy usage of the processor and a voltage regulator coupled to the processor, during a low power period according to a first voltage regulator control mode and a second voltage regulator control mode, and to control the voltage regulator based at least in part on the predicted energy usage. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Advances in semiconductor processing and logic design have permitted an increase in the amount of logic that may be present on integrated circuit devices. As a result, computer system configurations have evolved from a single or multiple integrated circuits in a system to multiple hardware threads, multiple cores, multiple devices, and/or complete systems on individual integrated circuits. Additionally, as the density of integrated circuits has grown, the power requirements for computing systems (from embedded systems to servers) have also escalated. Furthermore, software inefficiencies, and its requirements of hardware, have also caused an increase in computing device energy usage. In fact, some studies indicate that computing devices consume a sizeable percentage of the entire electricity supply for a country, such as the United States of America. As a result, there is a vital need for energy efficiency and conservation associated with integrated circuits. These needs will increase as servers, desktop computers, notebooks, Ultrabooks™, tablets, mobile phones, processors, embedded systems, etc. become even more prevalent (from inclusion in the typical computer, automobiles, and televisions to biotechnology).
To save energy during periods of low activity, a processor may be placed in an idle power state, e.g., one of states C1 to CN that consumes less power than when the processor is in an active state, according to the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standard, e.g., Rev. 5.0, published November, 2011.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and method to manage energy usage of a processor


A bug killing device includes a body that defines a combustion chamber with a candle disposed in the combustion chamber. The burning candle produces heated gases that include carbon dioxide. A first bait receptacle is disposed above the combustion chamber with bait being disposed in the first bait receptacle such that the heat from the burning candle warms the bait receptacle to evaporate bait into an electrified grid.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to insect killing devices and, more particularly, to the class of insect killing devices that uses a bait to lure the insects toward the device. Specifically, the present invention combines the use of lures to draw insects, particularly mosquitos, towards an electrified grid and/or sticky umbrella.
2. Background Information
Home and business owners desire to reduce or eliminate the number of biting insects, particularly mosquitos, from their backyards and business areas. Numerous traps, sprays, and killing devices are known in the art for reducing the number of biting insects from these areas. These devices include those that use various types of baits and lures to draw the bugs toward the devices. The devices use electricity, poison, and sticky surfaces to eliminate the bugs. The lures include devices that generate carbon dioxide, light, heat, and scents. One drawback with known devices is the expense of the fuels used to create or supply carbon dioxide to the device. One class of devices burns a gas such as natural gas or propane to create the carbon dioxide. Another class of devices uses pressurized containers of carbon dioxide. Both of these devices have pressurized containers which create a safety risk. These devices also require the users to purchase relatively expensive fuel or gas containers as they are depleted. Despite the numerous traps and killing devices known in the art, room remains for improvement.


A throttling valve formed by introducing an elongate tubular body into a tubular member through which fluid is flowing. The tubular body is provided with first and second ends, the first end being adapted for engaging a flow control device and the second end having a beveled end that enables fluid communication between the tubular member and the tubular body. The tubular body is provided with a tapered stem, the outside diameter of the stem proximate the first end of the tubular body being greater than the outside diameter of the stem proximate the second end, for seating against the opening in the end of the tubular member and effecting a seal between the outside surface of the stem and the margin of the opening in the tubular member. An elastomeric or other seal may be mounted on the outside surface of the stem for this same purpose.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for adaptive transitioning from a tubular member to a device to be mounted on the tubular member. In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for regaining pressure control of an underground hydrocarbon reservoir. In more detail, the present invention relates to an apparatus that is introduced into the open end of a tubular member, particularly a tubular member such as a well head, from which fluids are escaping for mounting a device to the tubular member for capturing, or controlling, the flow of the fluids from the tubular member.
A common problem that arises in many industries in which fluids are moved through pipes and/or other types of tubular members, especially under pressure, is a break in the pipe, apparatus, device failure, or tubular member, particularly in a situation in which it is difficult and/or time-consuming to either reduce the flow or pressure of the fluid moving through the pipe or tubular member to enable the repair of the break. Examples, including hydrocarbon refining, hydrocarbon production and transport, water treatment and distribution, steam distribution, refrigeration, production of geothermal energy, and pipeline transmission, are all too frequent. A particularly difficult situation is the loss of pressure control of an underground hydrocarbon reservoir (a so-called blowout) because the only way to regain control of the pressure of the reservoir is by operations that are conducted from the surface (or from the floor of the body of water if the well is not located on land).
Because the fluid is often under pressure, such breaks can be catastrophic and may cause damage to the tubular member or pipe, making remedial action difficult. The primary goal of the remedial action is usually to capture, or even shut off, fluid flow from the tubular member, which usually involves mounting a flow control device or additional pipe to the tubular member in fluid communication with the interior of the tubular member. The particular problem presented by such a situation is to provide a way to mount or affix the flow control device, piping, or other device to the tubular member while fluid is flowing through the tubular member and to obtain a seal with the tubular member that minimizes the leaking of fluids from the interior of the tubular member. Various tools and devices have been developed that clamp onto or otherwise interact with the tubular member to provide a mount for a flow control device, pipe, or other device, but what is needed is a tool that provides a transition from the pipe or tubular member to the flow control or other device that is introduced into the open end of the tubular member to effect a seal with the tubular member, that provides a mount for the flow control, pipe, or other device, and that provides passage for the fluid from tubular member to the flow control, pipe, or other device.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an adaptive transition tool for mounting to the open end of a tubular member having fluid flow therethrough for transitioning from the open end of the tubular member to a flow control device, pipe, or other device for controlling or capturing the fluid flowing through the tubular member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adaptive transition tool for sealing against the open end of a tubular member having fluid flowing therethrough and for providing a mount for a flow control device, pipe, or other device for capturing or shutting off fluid flow through the tubular member that is capable of effecting the seal over a range of diameters of the tubular member and when the tubular member is not round.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adaptive transition tool for use in capturing and/or controlling the flow of fluid escaping from the open end of a tubular member through which fluid flow is maintained and that is capable of being introduced into the open end of the tubular member even when fluid is exiting from the tubular member in high volume and/or high pressure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adaptive transition tool having a configuration that assures alignment with the tubular member through which fluid is flowing by equalizing the pressure of the fluid against the tool as the tool is inserted into the open end of the tubular member and so as to seat the outside surface of the tool on the opening in the end of the tubular member.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for regaining control of the pressure of an underground hydrocarbon reservoir after a loss of pressure control that causes damage to the wellhead.
Other objects, and the many advantages of the present invention, will be made clear to those skilled in the art in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the drawings appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that the embodiments of the invention described herein are only examples provided for the purpose of describing the making and using of the present invention and that they are not the only embodiments of adaptive transitions tools that can be constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.


In a method for controlling the composition of a combustible air-fuel mixture present in a combustion chamber of a spark-ignited internal combustion engine having external mixture formation, at least two fluids containing air are generated, of which at least one is an air-fuel mixture; the fluids are supplied to the combustion chamber, wherein the quantity proportions of the fluids are controlled such that their total composition corresponds to the predetermined composition.

The composition of the combustible air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber is of decisive importance for fuel consumption as well as for the pollutant content of the exhaust gas. Precise controlling of the mixture formation is very important, especially for internal combustion engines tuned for lean operation. The following fuel metering methods are known and usable for internal combustion engines having external mixture formation:
The fuel metering can take place in a cylinder-selective manner by feeding the fuel into individual intake pipes leading to the individual cylinders by means of fuel injection values disposed close to the intake valves. These fuel injection valves usually function such that they can be switched between two positions—valve "fully open" and valve "fully closed"—and the injected fuel quantity is changed exclusively by manipulating the time duration of the opening as well as, if desired, by manipulating the phase position of this opening relative to the phase position of the opening of the intrinsic intake valve. As a result, it can rapidly respond to varying quantity demands, i.e. the system operates highly dynamically. Due to the fact that the mixture mass flowing into the cylinder proceeds as a function in accordance with the piston movement, which piston movement is predetermined by the crankshaft design, the fuel mass flow remains constant at a constant load, but a relatively inhomogeneous mixture composition results inside the combustion chamber. At the lean operating limit, this leads in particular to large standard deviations in the cylinder mean effective pressure and to high NOx-emissions.
In the other fuel metering methods, the fuel metering takes place remotely in a manner centrally for all cylinders and relatively far from the intrinsic intake valves. Consequently, a buffer volume exists between the fuel metering location and the intake valves, whereby a good homogeneity of the inflowing air-fuel mixture is in fact achieved, but wherein the dynamic capability is restricted due to the long way between the fuel metering location and the intake valves, i.e. the composition of the inflowing air-fuel mixture can be adapted to the varying demands only with a certain lag.

Method and apparatus for controlling an air-fuel mixture


A motion vector search apparatus and method that search for inter-frame motion vectors of motion pictures are provided. The motion vector search apparatus and method involve: inputting a search target frame to be coded; inputting as a reference frame a frame on which a motion vector search has been performed; by using each of a plurality of specific blocks set within the search target frame and each corresponding one of reference blocks set within the reference frame, performing a block matching for each of the specific blocks within a predetermined range of the reference frame; determining a search pattern for a motion vector for the entire frame according to block matching results for the plurality of specific blocks; by using the search pattern determined, executing a block matching in predetermined units of blocks on the inputted search target frame to be encoded; and generating motion vectors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motion vector search apparatus and method that favorably search for motion vectors between frames of digital moving pictures.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, a block matching method has been frequently used as a motion vector search method in a motion compensation inter-frame prediction coding method.
The block matching method is a method in which a block in a reference frame in the same position as a motion search target block (N×N pixel area) is used as a center to calculate matching evaluation functions with blocks that shifted in units of pixels within a search range of ±M×±M pixels, the best matching block is searched, and the amount and direction of the shift to the matching block is used as the motion vector. As the matching evaluation function, a sum of absolute values of differences between pixel values calculated on a pixel to pixel basis for all pixels within the block (i.e., a difference evaluation value) may be used, for example.
The block matching method, however, has a problem in that searches must be conducted a great number of times, which requires an enormous amount of calculation when this system is realized. For this reason, various simplification techniques such as a method of searching with multiple steps, such as, for example, a 3-step search method have been suggested.
In the 3-step search method, a search is made at rough search-point intervals as the first step, and then the second search is made at search-point intervals each of which is a half of the interval for the first step around the best matching position as a center, instead of the all-pixel position search. In this manner, in the 3-step search method, the same process is repeated in a plurality of steps to narrow the coarse search-point intervals to close ones, thereby searching for a motion vector.
Accordingly, the amount of calculation can be significantly reduced with the 3-step search method than with the block matching method that performs the all-pixel position search described above. However, the 3-step search method entails a possibility of finding a motion vector completely different from the search direction sought if an erroneous search is made in the first step.

Motion vector search apparatus and method


An adaptable mount that enables two devices, or one device, such as handheld electronics, tools, and other physical objects, and one surface to be securely connected. One embodiment enables this connection by use of a flexible appendage that wraps around either or both the surface and the device to secure them. One embodiment enables a secure connection through the use of additional hardware so to complement the functionality of the device.

The advent of mobile computing devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and handheld computers, has shown the need for portable, adaptable accessories to extend the inherent capabilities of those devices. Especially considering the versatility of such products from a software perspective, enabled in part by the massive growth of independently developed applications, physical hardware is often the limiting factor hampering the usefulness of such technology.
One particular challenge that mobile device users face is using their technology "hands-free." As in the case of viewing media, hands-free use is often an ideal experience. However, the need for a robust solution is only accentuated when the "hands-free" use case is much more dynamic as opposed to a stationary mobile device propped up on a surface. In sports, for instance, hands-free device use is often the only way to use such technology. Still, few solutions exist that offer a secure, adaptable, robust and aesthetically pleasing answer to such needs.
Going further still, there are many instances where a product that securely holds a mobile computing device may solve the needs of a different, though similarly hand-free consumer need. As one example, a product that allows a consumer to attach their smartphone to the handlebars of their bicycle might be adapted to hold a flashlight, or other necessary piece of equipment. As such, it becomes clear that there is a significant need for multi-purpose mounting solutions that allow two devices to be united safely and securely.

Systems and methods for adaptable mounts for attachment to cylindrical surfaces


It is made possible to provide a deformable mirror apparatus which is deformable to a complicated shape (high-order shape). A deformable mirror apparatus includes: a substrate; a plurality of electrodes provided on the substrate; a spacer fixed above the substrate, having a first opening passing through from a first face of the spacer facing to the substrate to a second face of the spacer facing opposite from the first face, surrounding the electrodes, and having a step on the second face; a drive part including a membrane part disposed so as to cover the step of the spacer and so as to be opposed to the electrodes, a casing part having an opening at a bottom face of which the membrane part is exposed and supporting the membrane part, and a reflection film provided on the membrane part; and a voltage generator configured to generate predetermined voltage patterns on the electrodes, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a deformable mirror apparatus.
2. Related Art
In general, the eyeground observation apparatus is an apparatus which irradiates a retina of an eye to be examined with illumination light and receives and detects light of an image of the retina to be examined through a retina image forming optical system by using an image pickup device (for example, a CCD camera) to observe the retina of the eye. For detecting and preventing a disease concerning eyes, it is desirable that the detection accuracy and resolution are high as far as possible. Since an eyeball is not an ideal lens having no aberration, however, the eyeball has wavefront aberration which becomes a factor of lowering the detection accuracy and resolution.
Therefore, a deformable mirror which can vary its surface shape on the basis of information supplied from a controller is provided between the image pickup device which detects the image of the retina and the retina of the eye to be examined. The image of the retina of the eye to be examined reflected by the deformable mirror is led to a wavefront sensor (for example, the Shack Hartmann sensor) to detect the wavefront aberration. On the basis of the detected wavefront aberration, a control device orders the deformable mirror to deform so as to reduce or eliminate the wavefront aberration. As a result of the order, an image having no wavefront aberration is obtained from the image pickup device.
A deformable mirror having a shape changed by electrostatic sucking force is known (see, for example, FIG. 2 in JP-A 2-101402 (KOKAI)). The deformable mirror shown in FIG. 2 in JP-A 2-101402 (KOKAI) has a configuration obtained by forming a fixed electrode film 12 on an insulative substrate 11, forming a spacer 18 having an opening in the center on the fixed electrode film 12, laminating a reflection film 17, a movable electrode film 16 and a SiO2 insulation film 14 on the spacer 18 so as to cover the opening, and forming a silicon substrate 13 having an opening in the center on the laminated film. Therefore, the laminated film formed of the reflection film 17, the movable electrode film 16 and the SiO2 insulation film 14 is constituted as a membrane part having a peripheral part fixed by the spacer 18 and the silicon substrate 13 and a central part deformed by electrostatic force between the fixed electrode 12 and the movable electrode film 16.
In the membrane part, "generated force (load)—deflection characteristics" obtained when a predetermined voltage is applied between the fixed electrode and the movable electrode vary and have anisotropy (non-uniformity) in the plane, under the influence of thermal stress of a film forming the membrane part and a casing part which supports the membrane part (generated by differences in thermal expansion coefficient) and intrinsic stress existing within the thin film of the membrane part (generated from the film structure).
The degree of influence of the boundary conditions (conditions for fixing the membrane part) exerted upon the "generated force (load)—deflection characteristics" is also very large. As a result of composite factors: thermal stress, genuine stress and boundary conditions (conditions for fixing the membrane part), the magnitude of the internal stress on the membrane part (residual stress) changes and the "generated force (load)—deflection characteristics" are influenced.
In the conventional deformable mirror apparatus having small internal stress (residual stress), the deflection shape of the membrane part caused by "generated force (load)—deflection characteristics" becomes gentle and it is difficult to deform the membrane part to a complicated shape (high-order shape) in some cases.


A timing controller for a display device, the timing controller including a luminance control area detecting device configured to analyze image data and detect at least one candidate area of an active area of a display panel in the display device satisfying a luminance control area condition as a luminance control area; a luminance control reference setting device configured to set luminance control reference information on the luminance control area, based on an input luminance of the at least one candidate area; and a luminance controlling device configured to control a luminance of the luminance control area, based on the luminance control reference information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a timing controller and a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices including Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) devices, Plasma Display Panels (PDP) devices, and Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED) devices in related art have an afterimage phenomenon in which a previous image is shown after an image. The image, which is also referred to as an object in the present specification, is displayed on a screen. But, an afterimage phenomenon results from a disappearance of the image and causes a degradation of image quality. When a condition of a circuit device (e.g., a transistor or an organic light emitting diode) in a pixel of the display device is degraded, a more critical or persistent afterimage phenomenon may occur.


A quantum computer includes a refrigeration system under vacuum including a containment vessel, a qubit chip contained within a refrigerated vacuum environment defined by the containment vessel. The quantum computer further includes a plurality of interior electromagnetic waveguides and a plurality of exterior electromagnetic waveguides. The quantum computer further includes a hermetic connector assembly operatively connecting the interior electromagnetic waveguides to the exterior electromagnetic waveguides while maintaining the refrigerated vacuum environment. The hermetic connector assembly includes an exterior multi-waveguide connector, an interior multi-waveguide connector, and a dielectric plate arranged between and hermetically sealed with the exterior multi-waveguide connector and the interior multi-waveguide connector. The dielectric plate permits electromagnetic energy when carried by the interior and exterior pluralities of electromagnetic waveguides to pass therethrough.

The present invention relates to hermetic interconnects for quantum applications, and more specifically, to high density microwave hermetic interconnects for quantum applications.
Universal quantum computers require large numbers of physical qubits. The qubits are often stored in a refrigeration system under vacuum to maintain coherence and to utilize the superconducting properties of materials at low temperatures. A large quantum computer is expected to include millions of qubits housed in a dilution fridge.
Error correction schemes require access to all qubits. Thus, each qubit must have a connection between the inside and outside of the dilution refrigerator. However, access to the vacuum environment inside the dilution refrigerator is limited by the number of connectors integrated into the plates that cover the access ports of the dilution refrigerator. Existing plates have a maximum of 200 microwave ports (superconducting qubits operate in the microwave range of electromagnetic radiation), limiting the number of qubits that can be included in a quantum computer to about 60. Further, each feedthrough connector on the plate requires an o-ring seal, introducing a possible point of failure with each connection.

High density microwave hermetic interconnects for quantum applications

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention is directed to novel retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ) modulators, processes for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing these modulators, and their use in the treatment of inflammatory, metabolic and autoimmune diseases mediated by RORγ.

Retinoid-related orphan receptors (RORs) are transcription factors that form a subgroup of the nuclear receptor superfamily (Adv. Dev. Biol. 2006, 16, 313-355). This subgroup consists of three members: ROR alpha (RORα), ROR beta (RORβ) and ROR gamma (RORγ). RORα and RORβ have approximately 55% homology in the ligand binding domains to RORγ. RORs contain four principal domains shared by the majority of nuclear receptors: an N-terminal A/B domain, a DNA-binding domain, a hinge domain and a ligand binding domain.
The RORα, RORβ and RORγ genes have been mapped to human chromosomes 15q22.2, 9q21.13 and 1q21.3, respectively. Each ROR gene generates several isoforms, which differ only in their N-terminal A/B domain. To date, five splice variants have been recorded for RORγ and two isoforms of this member of the ROR family have been identified: RORγ1 and RORγ2 (also known as RORγt). RORγ is a term used to describe RORγ1 and/or RORγt.
While RORγ1 is expressed in a variety of tissues including thymus, muscle, kidney and liver, RORγt is exclusively expressed in the cells of the immune system and has a critical role in thymopoiesis, development of several secondary lymphoid tissues and Th17 lineage specification.
RORγt has been identified as a key regulator of Th17 cell differentiation (A. Jetten, Nuclear Receptor Signalling 2009, 7, 1-32). Th17 cells are a recently discovered subset of T helper cells which preferentially produce cytokines IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21 and IL-22. RORγt also induces transcription of the gene encoding IL-17A and IL-17F in naïve CD4+ T helper cells, iNKT and NKT (Mucosal Immunol. 2009, 2(5), 383-392; J. Immunol. 2008, 180, 5167-5171), γδT cells (Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2010, 182, 464-476), CD8+ T cells (J. Leukocyte Biol. 2007, 82, 354-360) and finally CD4−CD8−TCRαβ T cells (J. Immunol. 2008, 181, 8761-8766). Additional immune cells such as eosinophils, neutrophils and macrophages can also be a source of IL-17A in allergic inflammation related to asthma (J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2001, 108, 430-438; J. Immunol. 2008, 181, 6117-6124; Immunity 2004, 21, 467-476).
Th17 cells and their products have been shown to be associated with the pathology of a number of human inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. IL-17A and IL-17F are implicated in numerous immune and inflammatory responses primarily as pro-inflammatory regulators inducing the expression of cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, mucin genes and growth factors. There is emerging evidence that an increase in IL-17A level is closely associated with a range of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (Curr. Opin. Investig. Drugs 2009, 10, 452-462), multiple sclerosis (Allergol. Int 2008, 57(2), 115-120), inflammatory bowel diseases (J. Inflamm. Res. 2010, 3, 33-44), uveitis, psoriasis (Sci. Transl. Med. 2010, 2(52)) and lung diseases (Prog. Respir. Res. Basel 2010, 39, 141-149; Resp. Research 2010, 11 (78), 1-11).
There is considerable evidence suggesting that Th17 cells/IL-17 play a key role in the pathogenesis of asthma. In asthmatic patients, both RORγt and IL-17A expression levels have been shown to be increased in sputum (Chin. Med. J. 2005, 118, 953-956; Resp. Res. 2006, 7(135), 1-9), lung (J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2003, 111(6), 1293-1298), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and peripheral blood (Immunol. Invest. 2009, 38, 652-664; Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 2005, 137(suppl. 1), 51-54) and levels directly correlate with disease severity (Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 2010, 151, 297-307). In addition to IL-17A, a recent study has shown that a further cytokine of the IL-17 family, IL-17F, may have a crucial role in allergic airway inflammation and hence have key implications in airway diseases, such as asthma. The overexpression of the IL-17F gene in mice airways was associated with airway neutrophilia, cytokine induction, an increase in airway hyperreactivity and mucus hypersecretion (Inflamm. Allergy Drug Targets 2009, 8, 383-389). Evidence of role of Th17 cells in allergens has been discussed in Int. Immunopharmacol. 2010, 10, 226-229.
The pathogenesis of chronic autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis arises from the break in tolerance towards self-antigens and the development of auto-aggressive effector T cells infiltrating the target tissues. Studies have shown that Th17 cells are one of the important drivers of the inflammatory process in tissue-specific autoimmunity (J. Exp. Med. 2008, 205, 1517-1522; Cell. Mol. Immunol. 2010, 7, 182-189). There is also evidence that Th17 cells are activated during the disease process and are responsible for recruiting other inflammatory cells types, especially neutrophils, to mediate pathology in the target tissues (Annu. Rev. Immunol. 2009, 27, 485-517). RORγt plays a critical role in the pathogenic responses of Th17 cells (Cell 2006, 126, 1121-1133). RORγt deficient mice show very few Th17 cells. Further support for the role of RORγt in the pathogensis of autoimmune or inflammatory diseases can be found in the following references: Immunity 2007, 26, 643-654; Nat. Rev. Immunol. 2006, 6, 205-217; J. Immunol. 2009, 183, 7169-7177; Brain Pathol. 2004, 14, 164-174; Brain 2007, 130, 1089-1104; Nat. Rev. Immunol. 2008, 8, 183-192.
In light of the role RORγ plays in the pathogenesis of diseases, it is desirable to prepare compounds that modulate RORγ activity and hence have utility in the treatment of inflammatory, metabolic and autoimmune diseases mediated by RORγ, such as the respiratory diseases asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchitis, allergic diseases including allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis, cystic fibrosis and lung allograph rejection.

Sulfonamide compounds and their use in the modulation retinoid-related orphan receptor


Atomic layer deposition is utilized to deposit a coating on a membrane. The coated membrane exhibits a tightly bound hydration layer upon exposure to water. The resultant coated membrane is oleophobic.

Oil and water environments are commonplace in many industrial settings. For example, oily wastewater originates directly as a waste output from various processes or through the use of water to clean-up oil spill accidents and industrial waste. Oily wastewater may also result directly from extraction and refining processes. While hydrocarbons can pose a significant risk, oil, such as crude oil, can particularly pose a significant hazard to the environment and human health. Crude oil includes hydrocarbons of various molecular weights as well as other organic compounds, often varying depending on where the oil is extracted and how it is processed. The high viscosity and complex composition make crude oil extremely sticky to many materials that would be used to treat the wastewater.
While various technologies have been developed to help address oily wastewater, filtration is one of the primary manners in which such wastewater is treated. Recently, membrane technology has been a focus as a possible solution for oily wastewater treatment due to its high separation efficiency and low energy consumption. To that end, membranes have been widely implemented in oilfield wastewater treatment to meet reinjection or discharge standards. While such membranes provide some useful function, they also present a major challenge. The current membranes experience fouling by the oil, often severe fouling by crude oil. The fouling results in a dramatic decline of membrane performance and overall average lifetime.
Some attempts have been made to alter the oil in the wastewater, either by chemically breaking down the oil or by binding the oil to another compound. However, such techniques have failed to satisfactorily avoid fouling such that the membrane is able to provide the desired performance and lifetime.
Another strategy has been to prevent adhesion of the oil to a surface based on surface properties of the membrane. Oil adhesion on a surface is closely related to the surface properties, and an ideal anti-oil surface would be hierarchically structured and fully hydrated. Water trapped in micro- and nano-structures reduces the contact area between oil and solid, and the water on the solid surface serves as a physical barrier to prevent direct oil adhesion. Based on these design principles, many superhydrophilic/underwater-superoleophobic polymer membranes have been developed for oil/water separation. In general, these previously reported membranes are satisfactory for nonpolar solvents or light oils, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, but unfortunately, few if any can resist crude oil. This failure is largely rooted in the flexibility of polymer chains and the concomitant soft surface morphology. Hydrocarbon segments comprising the polymers are oleophilic, so they tend to reorient toward oil at the oil/water interface, and water that may be initially trapped in a soft, rough structure is easily excluded under filtration pressure. Therefore, non-flexible hydrophilic moieties and rigid roughness are favored in constructing a robust and stable anti-oil surface. For example, nanocellulose exhibits superior anti-oil performance relative to polyelectrolytes due to its abundant hydroxyl groups secured to a rigid molecular structure.
Inorganic minerals, such as calcium carbonate in clam shell, are another category of material with rigid rough structure and plenty of hydrophilic moieties on the surface. Such structures can stabilize superoleophobicity even under filtration pressure and cross flow. For instance, Liu, et al., fabricated a hierarchical CuO surface with excellent underwater superoleophobicity by mimicking the surface structure of clam shell. Another work by Guo, et al., presented a nacre-inspired composite surface composed of montmorillonite and hydroxyethyl cellulose with extremely low oil adhesion. Similarly, oil/water separators could be fabricated by growing inorganics such as copper oxide nanowires, cupric phosphate nanosheets and zeolites on steel meshes. Most of them, however, are only realizable on large-pore materials such as meshes, fabrics, and sponges rather than membranes, because using those synthetic methods, minerals aggregate into micron-sized particles (i.e., larger than membrane pores). These separation materials cannot meet the requirements of oilfield wastewater treatment because of their poor rejection of sub-micron contaminants. In addition, the poor compatibility between inorganics and polymers renders realization of conformal and stable mineral coatings on polymer substrates an ongoing challenge. One research group has developed a bio-inspired mineralization strategy to fabricate conformal mineral nanocoatings on polymer microfiltration membranes. A polyacrylic acid or polydopamine/polyethyleneimine interlayer was introduced on the membrane surface for in-situ mineral growth. The interlayer not only promotes the uniformity and stability of mineral coatings, but it also stabilizes their amorphous structure to confine their thickness within several tens of nanometers. Unfortunately, the coating thickness is poorly controlled, and only a few minerals are available by this strategy.
Therefore, there is unmet demand for crude-oil-repellent membranes in the oil and gas industry, among others.

Systems and methods for oleophobic composite membranes


An embodiment vehicle body connection structure for connecting an underbody on which a battery assembly is mounted and an upper body includes a plurality of main mounting portions engaging the battery assembly, a chassis frame on both sides of the underbody and side sills on both sides of the upper body along a length direction of the upper body through a main engage unit.

Recently, the vehicle industry has introduced a new concept of future mobility vision for realizing a dynamic human-centered future city. One of these future mobility solutions is a PBV (Purpose Built Vehicle) as a purpose-based mobility.
A PBV is an environment-friendly mobility solution that provides the customized service required for occupants during the time of moving to the destination, and it can perform optimal path predetermination and cluster driving for each situation using electric vehicle-based and artificial intelligence.
The PBV includes an underbody as a chassis (also referred to as a rolling chassis or skateboard in the industry) and an upper body as a vehicle body mounted on the underbody. Here, the battery assembly is mounted on the underbody. And the upper body may be a space frame formed by welding a steel plate or pipe to form a skeleton.
Furthermore, the upper body and the underbody are mutually engaged through a cabin bracket, and the battery assembly is engaged inside the edge of the underbody.
The general battery assembly is limited in width increase, and may cause an increase in the mounting part of the upper body and the underbody, and the mounting part of the battery assembly and the underbody.
In addition, as the space for absorbing impact between the underbody and the battery assembly is insufficient, it may cause damage to the battery assembly and damage to the occupant during a side impact.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


Apparatus and methods are provided for managing SAS zone group permission tables using associated version identifiers. Zone group permission tables of a SAS domain may have associated version identifiers, indicating a version of the zone group permission table. The version identifier may be used to determine whether the zone group permission table is the same as the current version for the SAS domain without comparing the contents of the zone group permission table with the contents of the current version. The version identifier may also be used for determining which of a plurality of zone group permission tables of the SAS domain is the current version if two or more SAS zoning expanders are storing different zone group permission tables.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to serial attached SCSI ("SAS") domains and more specifically to apparatus and methods using zone group permission table version identifiers for managing zone group permission tables of a SAS domain.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Small Computer Systems Interface ("SCSI") is an American National Standards Institute ("ANSI") standard electronic interface specification that allows, for example, computers to communicate with peripheral hardware. Common SCSI compatible peripheral devices may include storage devices, such as disk drives, tape drives, CD drives ("CD-ROM", "CD-RW", etc), DVD drives, storage subsystems, printers and scanners. SCSI as originally created included both a command/response data structure specification and an interface and protocol standard for a parallel bus structure for attachment of devices. SCSI has evolved from exclusively parallel interfaces to include both parallel and serial interfaces. "SCSI" is now generally understood as referring either to the communication transport media (parallel bus structures and various serial transports) or to command subsets common to most devices and command sets that meet the needs of specific device types as well as a variety of interface standards and protocols.
SCSI interface transports and commands are also used to interconnect networks of storage devices with processing devices. For example, serial SCSI transport media and protocols such as SAS as well as Serial Advanced Technology Attachment ("SATA") protocol exchanges may be used in such networks. These applications are often referred to as storage networks. Those skilled in the art are familiar with SAS and SATA standards as well as other SCSI related specifications and standards. Information about such interfaces and commands is generally obtainable at the websites www.t10.org and www.t13.org.
Such SCSI storage networks are often used in large storage systems having a plurality of disk drives that store data for organizations and/or businesses. The network architecture allows storage devices to be physically dispersed in an enterprise while continuing to directly support SCSI commands. This architecture allows for distribution of the storage components in an enterprise without the need for added overhead in converting storage requests from SCSI commands into other network commands and then back into lower level SCSI storage related commands.
A SAS network typically comprises one or more SAS initiators coupled to one or more SAS targets often via one or more SAS expanders. In general, as is common in all SCSI communications, SAS initiators initiate communications with SAS targets. The expanders expand the number of ports of a SAS network domain used to interconnect SAS initiators and SAS targets (collectively referred to as SAS devices or SAS device controllers).
In general, a SAS initiator directs information to a SAS target device through ports of one or more SAS expanders in the SAS domain. A "port" in SAS terminology is a logical concept. A port may comprise one or more physical links in a SAS domain. Such physical links are often referred to as PHYs in the terminology of SAS domains. A port may use a single PHY or, if the port is configured as a wide port, may use multiple PHYs logically grouped to provide higher bandwidth.
A variety of protocols are defined in the SAS standards, each useful for communications with particular types of devices and/or for particular applications. Serial SCSI Protocol ("SSP") provides a mapping of SCSI exchanges supporting multiple initiators and targets. SATA Tunneled Protocol ("STP") provides a mapping of SATA expanded to support multiple initiators and targets. Serial Management Protocol ("SMP") provides a management protocol. Each protocol defines layers of exchanges including, for example, application layer processing, transport layer processing, and link layer processing. For example, in general, STP is used in communicating with SATA devices coupled to the SAS domain. An STP initiator (e.g., a host system or a SAS expander) exchanges information with an STP target (e.g., a SATA storage device) using the STP link layer. The STP link layer generally encapsulates SATA related exchanges and flow control into SAS domain exchanges. For example, SSP is used in communicating with SCSI devices coupled to the SAS domain. An SSP initiator exchanges information with an SSP target using the SSP link layer, transport layer, etc.
The SAS specifications presently support zoning capabilities within a SAS domain. A SAS zoning expander (e.g., a SAS expander with zoning capabilities) can control whether a particular PHY is permitted to participate in a connection with another particular PHY. This controls whether two SAS devices attached to the SAS zoning expander through the PHYs are able to communicate. This is important for sharing storage resources among multiple servers, and ensuring that each of the servers is blocked from connecting to other servers and associated storage devices of the other servers. SAS zoning expanders and the PHYs are assigned zone groups. Thus, when SAS exchanges are routed through SAS zoning expanders, the SAS zoning expanders may verify that the PHYs (e.g., the SAS devices coupled to the PHYs) are permitted to participate in the connection. Further, the SAS zoning expander may deny the connection if the PHYs are not permitted to participate in the connection.
A SAS domain may additionally comprise a zone manager, which assigns zone groups to PHYs that are capable of participating in connections within the SAS domain. A zone manager may be an application that interacts with components of the SAS domain to manage the permission settings of the SAS domain. Every PHY in a SAS domain, and the associated SAS devices coupled to the PHY, may be assigned to a zone group. As presently practiced according to the SAS specification, there are up to 128 possible zone groups.
To facilitate zoning, each SAS zoning expander stores a zone group permission table that controls whether a connection is allowed between PHYs based on their zone groups. The purpose of the zone group permission table is for each SAS zoning expander to lookup the zone group associated with a source and destination SAS address to see if they have permission to connect to each other. A requested connection between two PHYs is allowed if the zone group permission table indicates that access between the zone group of the source port and the zone group of the destination port is allowed. Otherwise, the connection is rejected with an error.
For zoning to function correctly, all SAS zoning expanders within the SAS domain should have the same zone group permission table. Otherwise, one SAS zoning expander may allow a connection that should be denied based on the zoning permissions of the SAS domain. Thus, a zoning supervisor is provided within a SAS domain that is capable of generating SMP commands for SAS zoning configuration and management. The zoning supervisor may be one of the SAS zoning expanders, or may be a device attached to the SAS domain. One of the SAS zoning expanders may be elected as the SAS zoning expander supervisor based on having the largest SAS address in the topology. The SAS zoning expander supervisor is responsible for propagating zone permission table changes to all SAS zoning expanders in the SAS domain. The purpose of the supervisor is to ensure that all of the other SAS zoning expanders are using the same zone group permission table and to coordinate the update of zone group permission tables within the SAS domain.
To ensure that all SAS zoning expanders are using the same zone group permission table, the supervisor must retrieve the zone group permission table of each SAS zoning expander (e.g., using an SMP report zone permission request) and compare the retrieved zone group permission table with a current version within the supervisor to determine whether each SAS zoning expander is using the same current zone group permission table. A zone table is logically structured as a 128 zone by 128 zone matrix where each element identifies whether the corresponding zone group of the row may connect with the corresponding zone group of the column. Thus the process of the supervisor to read the zone permission table from each other SAS zoning expander requires transmission of (at least) a 128×128 bit zone group permission table from each of the SAS zoning expanders to the supervisor. Additionally, the supervisor must expend time comparing all of the retrieved zone group permission tables with the current version within the supervisor to determine whether all SAS zoning expanders are using the same zone group permission table. If any of the zone group permission tables are different, then the supervisor needs to update the zone group permission table on the SAS zoning expander that is different (e.g., using an SMP configure zone permission request).
It is a problem that this process must be done at least each time a new SAS zoning expander is elected supervisor or when the SAS zoning expanders are reset during test cases. The process may also be done during discovery and when changes are made to the zone group permission table of the SAS domain. The process is slow and resource intensive. There are also no mechanisms in present SAS zone management to determine which zone group permission table is more up to date. There is no information to choose which zone group permission table to use to resolve a conflict in the event that there are multiple conflicting zone group permission tables within the SAS domain. This can lead to incorrect zoning and server security issues. A SAS zoning expander cannot ensure that the zone group permission table is current. Finally, the zoning configuration and synchronization process slows the entire SAS domain discovery and table routing configuration process because I/O presently cannot be allowed to flow through the SAS domain until the zone group permission tables are the same on each SAS zoning expander.
It is evident from the above discussion that a need exists for an improved structure and method for managing zone group permission tables of a SAS domain.

SAS zone group permission table version identifiers


An electronic tag housing assembly is attachable to the extending neck of a bottle having an undercut thereabout. The tag housing includes an annular wall having a central opening for insertion over the extending bottle neck. At least one electronic tag is supported in the housing. The housing has a plurality of resilient fingers extending into the aperture for engagement with undercut on the bottle neck for securing the housing thereto. The housing further includes a portion of the annular wall having a location of reduced thickness for effecting severing of the annular wall thereat so as to remove the housing from the bottle neck.

Electronic tags have a wide variety of uses, including the tracking of items which contain the tag, inventory control, security, and the provision for electronically readable information. These electronic tags may take various forms. For example, the tags may include radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags. Whether for identification, security or other purposes, the tags are typically one of two types, either a dual resonator (DR) tag or a radio frequency (RF) tag.
Tags of this type are typically enclosed or supported in a variety of different devices such as holders, housings and the like, which provide for the secure accommodation of the tag and also may be securely attached to the article to prevent unauthorized removal therefrom. These tags remain with the article after purchase, are removed from article at the time of purchase or may be removed by the consumer after purchase.
With respect to certain articles, such as bottles for containing beverages or other liquids, various housings have been developed to secure the tag to the extending neck of the bottle itself. Such bottle neck tag housings of this type are shown and described in commonly-assigned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/769,917, entitled "Single Component Tag Housing Assembly For Removable Attachment to a Bottle Neck," U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/769,926, entitled "Dual Component Tag Housing Assembly For Removable Attachment to a Bottle Neck," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/819,012, entitled "One-Piece Tag Housing Assembly For Non-Removable Attachment to a Bottle Neck," the contents of all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
As is common with bottle neck tag housings disclosed in the above-incorporated applications, the tag housing is typically secured to the bottle by passing it over the bottle neck through an aperture in the housing. The housings shown include flexible fingers which engage a perimetrical undercut on the bottle neck. These flexible fingers engage the bottle neck at the undercut to secure the tag housing to the bottle.
As noted above, after purchase, the consumer may leave the tag housing on the bottle as the bottle may be used unencumbered by the tag housing. However, for aesthetic purposes, the consumer may desire to remove the tag housing before use. In situations where the tag housing is not removed at the point of purchase, it is up to the consumer to remove the tag housing from the bottle. Such removal is difficult as the tag housing by its nature is securely attached to the bottle neck to prevent unauthorized removal.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a tag housing which may be easily removed from a bottle neck by the consumer after purchase.

Consumer removable tag housing assembly for attachment to a bottle neck


An automatic gain controller uses a voltage controlled amplifier coupled to an averaging circuit that feeds back into the amplifier. The averaging circuit supplies a controlling voltage that keeps the amplifier output voltage tending towards a certain reference level. When the amplifier output is generally high, the averaging circuit output is also generally high and the reverse is also true for low signals. For low averaging circuit output voltages corresponding to low intensity signals, amplification of the signal by the amplifier is enhanced or augmented. The result is to boost the signal of low intensity signals significantly, compressing the dynamic range of an incoming signal received from a phone. This reduces the variance of an incoming phone line signal for an analog to digital converter (ADC) in a digital telephone answering device, and the effective dynamic range of the ADC is closer to optimum. A scaling circuit couples the signal from the automatic gain controller to the ADC.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telephone answering devices and sound signal manipulation, and more particularly to the means by which a voice signal may be better presented to an analog/digital converter in a digital telephone answering device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Telephone answering devices (TADs) are well known and in common use throughout the United States. Recently, advancement in digital technology has influenced recent TAD design and production. Instead of using cassette tapes to record outgoing and incoming messages, TADs are now available that use digital memory storage as a recording medium. Digital memory storage, namely random access memory (RAM), requires the conversion of an analog voice signal generated by a microphone or phone line into a digital representation. This is not difficult, but does require a good clear signal for optimum performance.
Such good clear signals are easily generated by microphones attached to digital telephone answering devices (DTADs), but the same is not true for signals coming into the DTAD from the phone line. On present phone lines, voice signals from telephone lines have a dynamic range of about thirty or more decibels (dB). For this reason, some calls can be very clear while others can be faint or have much noise.
Standard analog to digital converters are eight bits "wide" and have a dynamic range of forty-eight decibels. Between the dynamic ranges of the phone line and the analog to digital converter is a difference of eighteen decibels. Thus, under worst case conditions, the effective dynamic range of the ADC would be limited to only eighteen dB. This would have severe voice quality consequences that make an eight bit ADC unusable. Conversely, if the dynamic range of the signal from the phone line was reduced to three dB, the ADC would have forty-five dB with which to work and eight bits would easily handle voice signals from the phone line.
Beyond the limitations of current eight bit ADCs with respect to phone line dynamic range, the use of sophisticated speech compression algorithms require clear signals for their operation. Without such clear signals, the use of speech compression in the storing and retrieving the digitized analog signal results in an overall degradation of the voice signal. The signal degradation is not experienced by clear signals, but only those that suffer a significant loss of integrity upon digitization, such as low level signals.
When an eight bit ADC attempts to convert a phone line signal from analog to digital representation, the signals that are close to the ADCs input range are fairly well converted. When the whole of the signals transmitted to a DTAD over the phone line are of low intensity, the digital signal created by the ADC will lose some of the information contained in the analog signal. As the analog signal from the phone line is of low intensity, only a small portion of the ADC's digitizing range is used. This leads to what is called "quantization noise" in the digitized signal and is noticeable when the digital signal is converted back into an analog signal upon playback. The quantization noise arises from the resolution available in an eight bit ADC. When the signal is low, the audio signal resolving power of an eight bit ADC is limited. In an extreme example of a faint signal, only four or five of the eight bit ADC's two hundred and fifty-six quantizing levels might be used for the whole of the signal.
When an analog signal is sampled by the ADC, the ADC changes the analog signal into the closest digital representation available, even though there is some disparity between the analog signal and its closest available digital representation. The more bits available to the ADC, the closer the digital representation will be to the analog signal. The loss of part of the analog signal experienced in digitization is called the quantization noise and can be modeled as the introduction of an unwanted signal when the analog signal is quantified by digitization. When the quantization noise of a digitized analog signal is high, the resulting analog signal created when the digital signal is played back has a tendency to become "granular" and reveal the discrete levels that were used to digitally record the original analog signal. When an analog signal dwells within a short range of digital levels, the quantization noise can be severe. Analog signals of low intensity with respect to the input range of the ADC have the tendency to dwell within such a short range.
One method that can be used to combat quantization noise is to increase the resolution of the ADC. By increasing the number of bits, an ADC has more levels available with which an analog signal can be represented. Where the number of bits can be increased, this is a successful means for reducing quantization noise. As a result, most DTADs demand that a twelve of thirteen bit ADC be used. The use of larger ADC's having more bits demands greater cost and more sensitive circuitry compared with eight bit systems. Additionally, many single chip microcontrollers used in DTADs have built-in ADCs and these ADC's are usually limited to only eight bits. If an eight bit ADC could be used, circuitry would be eliminated and costs could be reduced.
Another method is merely to use a fixed gain amplifier. In Millet, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,638, issued on Dec. 27, 1988, a fixed gain amplifier is used. As the gain is fixed, no increase in the effective dynamic range is realized. High and low intensity signals are amplified by the same amount. Upon digitization, no improvement is seen in the loss of low intensity signals and quantization noise is not diminished.
In light of the decreased expense and design considerations, there is a need for a method by which eight bit ADC's may be used in DTADs with limited quantization noise for low intensity signals.

Means for improving the dynamic range of an analog/digital converter in a digital telephone answering machine


A multiplexer adds synchronizing bits to receive data transmitted from a digital communication line to a digital private branch exchange, and checks for synchronizing bits in send data transmitted from the digital private branch exchange to the digital communication line. If the multiplexer detects synchronizing bits, it switches to a non-compression mode in which it transmits selected bits of send data without compression, and transmits receive data without decompression but with addition of synchronizing bits.

This invention relates to a method of determining whether to compress data transmitted from a digital private branch exchange (hereinafter, PBX) to a digital communication line, and whether to decompress data transmitted from the digital communication line to the digital PBX. The invented method is suitable for use, for example, by a multimedia multiplexer in transmitting PCM audio data.
Large corporations and other entities with sites at diverse locations often construct in-house communication networks comprising nodes linked via high-speed digital communication lines leased from a common carrier. Switching at each node is performed by a digital PBX.
Increasingly, such networks are used for multimedia purposes, carrying both telephone conversations and other types of information such as video images and computer data. The PBXs are then connected to the leased communication lines through multimedia multiplexers. To enable the leased lines to carry more information, a multimedia multiplexer usually compresses audio and video data when sending such data on the line, the data being decompressed by the multimedia multiplexer at the receiving end of the line.
To avoid excessive distortion, it is preferable that the compression and decompression processes be performed only at the originating and destination nodes, not at any intermediate nodes through which the data may be routed. Since a PBX is capable of determining whether it is at an originating, destination, or intermediate node, a prior-art scheme was to have each PBX notify its connected multimedia multiplexers whether compression and decompression were required or not.
Methods of passing compress and non-compress commands from a PBX to a multimedia multiplexer have not been standardized, however, so when the prior-art scheme is adopted, it restricts the selection of PBX equipment. That is, the PBXs must have a non-standard feature for sending such commands, and must use particular commands understood by the multimedia multiplexers. In addition to limiting the range of selection, these restrictions tend to raise the cost of building a network by preventing the use of inexpensive PBX equipment without such special features.

Data compression and decompression controlling method