A method and system for implementing a multimedia call are provided. The method includes: after receiving a calling request from a VoIP client, a calling controller transmitting the calling request to an application server; the application server acquiring rate options of calling respective called numbers by the VoIP client and returning the rate options to the calling controller, wherein the respective called numbers comprise one or multiple numbers registered by and/or bound with a called party of the calling request; the calling controller transmitting the rate options to the VoIP client, and suspending call handling of the calling request; and, after receiving a rate option selected by the VoIP terminal among the rate options, the calling controller transmitting the rate option selected by the VoIP terminal to the application server, resuming the call handling, and connecting a call between the VoIP client and a called terminal of a called number corresponding to the rate option selected. The disclosure shows the rate of the call before connecting the call, thereby improving user experience.

In the current technical evolution to the next generation network (NGN), a plurality of means, such as softswitch, IP multimedia core network subsystem (IMS), H.323, session initiation protocol (SIP) server, can be used to implement the interaction of multimedia information such as voices, videos or even short messages over packet networks such as an Internet protocol (IP) and conventional telephone switch networks such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN). The trend of replacing time division multiplex (TDM) with IP has already been determined, and has been widely applied. Compared to the conventional circuit-based voice technique, voice over IP (VoIP) does not only have low costs, but the quality of voice has been significantly improved with the increase of bandwidth; in addition, various multimedia applications based on IP enables the VoIP to have a very strong attraction.
In another aspect, the progress of the broadband technique is changing with each passing day in recent years. In the wired aspect, the broadband technique is changing from the asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ASDL) to the very high data rate DSL (VDSL) to various passive optical networks (PON) (xPON); and in the wireless aspect, the broadband technique is changing from the general packet radio service (GPRS) to the HSPDA to the worldwide interoperability for microwave access (Wimax) to the long term evolution (LTE). With the increase of bandwidth, multimedia services are borne with higher and higher proficiency. In these wireless access techniques, the maturity of the wireless fidelity (WiFi) technique and the large deployment of WiFi access points (AP) enable free or concessional access to the Internet in family/enterprise/hotspot regions to enjoy high-speed Internet surfing. In particular, with the popularity of products such as APPLE iPhone and iPad, the mobile broadband has an explosive growth, and WiFi plays a more and more important role due to its high speed and free of charge.
Numerous Internet service providers (ISP) have developed various soft terminals and provide subscribers with services of IM, PRESENCE and VoIP, such as MSN, Skype. Most of these terminals are PC-based, and in particular, for real-time services such as voice, services such as computer-computer (PC-PC) free calling and computer-telephone (PC-PHONE) pre-charged calling may be provided for registered subscribers, thereby saving the call expense of the subscribers. For the clients of a PC version, the biggest disadvantage is that the operation is relatively inconvenient. Generally, a normal subscriber will not carry a PC or a notebook computer, and VoIP cannot be used without these; even if the subscriber carries a PC or a notebook computer, he/she needs to turn on the computer, enter the operating system, operate the soft terminal, input the account and password, and then input a called number, and thus the call can be implemented. Compared to mobile phone terminals and fixed-line telephones, it has the defects of inconvenient use and complicated operation process.
Some providers and device manufacturers are also formulating RCS and RCS-e and unifying specifications and requirements on software installed on mobile phones, so as to enhance intercommunity. However, as regards RCS-e, it is mainly concentrated on specifications of non-real-time services such as IM and file transmission, while as regards real-time services such as voice and short messages, they are explicitly required to go over conventional domains. Some mobile phone clients, due to the limit of wireless bandwidth, mainly provide non-real-time services such as IM chatting, file/picture transmission, and social networking, but do not include real-time services such as voice/videos.
Some device manufacturers directly design and manufacture specified hardware terminals supporting WiFi or other high-speed wireless bearer techniques, and pre-installed with corresponding software clients so as to support corresponding real-time and non-real-time services. However, in one aspect, the subscriber needs to carry one more specified customized mobile phone terminal supporting WiFi besides the current existing mobile phone (supporting GSM, WCDMA, CDMA or CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA or subsequent techniques); in another aspect, because of the development and numerous and abundant applications of the current Apple iOS and Android smart phone systems, such customized terminal is pale by comparison due to the lack of other services.
Some terminals with mobile phone clients also provide real-time services such as VoIP. However, some terminals can only provide PC-PC or PC-PHONE calling, and it needs to occupy wireless PS bandwidth such as GPRS, EDGE, HSPDA, and the quality of voice cannot be guaranteed, and the subscriber still needs to pay a large amount of PS bandwidth fees; some terminals can support social networking services such as IM and PRESENCE, but it needs to constantly query and update states of friends, and thus consuming a large amount of bandwidth, especially under PS such as GPRS, EDGE and HSPDA; some clients support social networking services such as IM and PRESENCE, however, with regards to a VoIP call, the subscriber can only select a PC account of a called friend subscriber as the called party, but cannot associate with a mobile phone number, a home number or a working number thereof and then connect same.
Some clients supporting social networking services such as IM and PRESENCE may associate multiple subscriber numbers, such as a mobile number and a fixed number, of a client with each other at the same time, such that when this account is called, simultaneous ringing or sequential ringing can be performed so as to perform connecting. However, as regards sequential ringing, in an extreme case, the connecting time will be very long which affects the experience of the caller side subscriber; meanwhile, since the called number is indefinite, the caller side subscriber does not clearly know which called number (mobile or fixed number) is really connected, and thus the fees may be different, which affects the financial experience of the caller side. At last, as regards providers, whether simultaneous ringing or sequential ringing, the connection is implemented by means of calling attempt, which will occupy a large number of resources for calling attempt, and the more the bound numbers are, the more the occupation is, and the less the economic is. Some clients are operated by means of pre-charging, etc.; however, the subscriber cannot learn the rate before the call is connected, but the continuous fee deduction is displayed during the call; therefore, the right of selecting a rate for calling the called subscriber is not provided for the subscriber.
With regards to the problem that a calling subscriber cannot learn or select a rate of calling the called subscriber before the call is connected in the related art, there is still not effective solution proposed now.

Method and system for implementing multimedia call


A fingerprint collection method and a terminal, where the method includes obtaining, by a terminal, a fingerprint collection instruction, where the fingerprint collection instruction instructs to collect a fingerprint using a fingerprint sensor integrated on a function key, collecting, by the terminal using the fingerprint sensor based on the fingerprint collection instruction, fingerprint information recorded by a user on the function key, obtaining, by the terminal on the function key at any moment of collecting the fingerprint information, a first key event triggered by the user, where the first key event is any operation other than a fingerprint recording event, and discarding, by the terminal, the first key event.

Currently, many applications (APP, Application) can implement various fingerprint application functions that are based on fingerprint authentication, for example, fingerprint payment and fingerprint unlock. A core principle of the fingerprint application functions is: authenticating a collected fingerprint of a user, and performing a corresponding application function after an identity of the user is determined based on an authentication result.
To implement the foregoing fingerprint application functions, a fingerprint sensor (that is, fingerprint sensor) needs to be disposed on a terminal, and a fingerprint of a user is collected by using the fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor may be integrated on any function key of the terminal, for example, a power key, a home key, or a volume key. The power key is used as an example. When the fingerprint sensor is integrated on the power key, the user not only can implement a lock screen or wakeup function of the terminal by pressing the power key but also can implement a corresponding fingerprint application function by collecting the fingerprint of the user by using the fingerprint sensor on the power key.
In this case, when a fingerprint application function is performed, for example, when a fingerprint payment function is enabled to collect a fingerprint of a user, once the user accidentally presses the power key and triggers a lock screen operation, the terminal switches to a lock screen state. In this case, a fingerprint payment procedure that is being performed is forced to be interrupted, and the fingerprint payment function cannot be completed.

Fingerprint collection method and terminal


A force sensor chip which comprises: a base member, which includes an action portion to which an external force is applied through an attenuator, a support portion supporting the action portion, and a connection portion which connects the action portion and the support portion and deflects according to the applied external force; and a plurality of strain resistance elements which are arranged in the connection portion and detect the applied external force based on a deflection of the connection portion, wherein longitudinal directions of the plurality of the strain resistance elements are oriented in an identical direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a force sensor chip and a force sensor, and particularly relates to the force sensor chip and the force sensor which detect an applied external force using a plurality of strain resistance elements.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a multiaxial force sensor which precisely detects a strength and direction of an applied external force is used, for example, for industrial robots for correctly and flexibly controlling the external force applied during operations.
For example, a multiaxial force sensor which utilizes a property of a strain resistance element (piezoresistive element) is known, in which the resistance changes by a micro-strain (compressive, tensile) due to an applied external force. The sensor is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Numbers 2003-207405 and 2003-254843.
The multiaxial force sensor includes a force sensor chip fabricated on a semiconductor substrate through a semiconductor fabrication process and an attenuator formed by a metal member for fixing and housing the force sensor chip.
Practically, the force sensor detects a strength and direction of an external force by appropriately arranging a plurality of strain resistance elements around an action portion to which the applied external force is transmitted and by detecting changes of resistances of the strain resistance elements as electric signals. Meanwhile, if the applied external force is directly transmitted to the strain resistance elements, the force sensor chip may be damaged when the force is too large. Therefore, an attenuator is disposed for suitably responding to various kinds of external forces and transmitting the external forces to the force sensor chip by appropriately attenuating the external forces.
In a conventional force sensor chip, a plurality of strain resistance elements are often arranged on a semiconductor substrate in two directions orthogonally crossing each other. On the other hand, the semiconductor substrate is manufactured to have a surface with some crystal orientation. However, a small difference in crystal orientation is produced between the surface and the crystal orientation by a semiconductor substrate manufacturing process. If a plurality of the strain resistance elements are arranged orthogonally on the semiconductor substrate described above, a physical constant such as a piezoresistive coefficient becomes different among the elements, thereby resulting in non-uniform characteristics among the strain resistance elements. If the force sensor chips described above are applied to the multiaxial force sensor, a correction of non-uniformity is required among detected values because of the non-uniform characteristics among the strain resistance elements, thereby resulting in complexity of signal processing.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a force sensor chip and a force sensor which can improve uniformity of characteristics among a plurality of strain resistance elements.


A method of installing a receiving member for a latch assembly or strike assembly in a door or jamb. The receiving member including a base plate, a wall around the perimeter of the base plate, the wall extending substantially perpendicular to the base plate, and a flange extending outwardly from the perimeter of the wall distal the base plate. The base plate has an aperture therein configured to allow a latch to pass therethrough.

Swing doors are often hinged along a vertical edge to a door jamb and have a latch assembly, installed in the edge of the door opposite the hinges, which engages with a strike plate installed in the door frame.
A latch bolt is a part of the latch assembly mounted in a hole bored into the door and having a head which fits into a shallow rebate in the surface of the door edge. The latch bolt is able to move in and out of a hole in the head of the latch assembly. Often the latch bolt is spring loaded to urge it to protrude outwards from the edge of the door. The assembly often includes a mechanism that allows someone to retract the latch bolt back into the edge of the door, for example by turning a door handle. Often the end of the latch bolt has an angled or contoured profile on the side that the door closes towards, to allow it to be smoothly pushed back into the door when engaging with the strike plate.
The strike plate fits into a rebate in the door jamb in a position adjacent the latch bolt when the door is closed. The strike plate often has a hole, which when installed is positioned over a hole in the jamb that receives the latch bolt when the door is closed. The strike plate often has a curved lip protruding from its side towards the opening side of the door,—the lip providing a contoured contact surface to smoothly push the latch bolt backwards into the door, allowing the door to shut. The latch bolt can then protrude from the door edge into the hole in the strike plate, preventing the door from opening again, unless the latch bolt is pulled backwards, for example by someone turning a door handle connected to the latch assembly.
Another bolt, independent of the latch bolt is sometimes installed in a door in order to provide a locking mechanism independent of the latch and door handle assembly, for example a dead bolt. A dead bolt is often part of an assembly having a faceplate mounted within the door, and also having a corresponding strike plate, which may be the same strike plate as is associated with the latch bolt, although in such a case the strike plate will have two holes, one for the latch bolt and one for the dead bolt. A dead bolt may not spring loaded and may need to be deliberately moved between the extended position in which it is used to lock the door, and a retracted position in which it is within the door. For this reason, the strike plate corresponding to a dead bolt may not have a contoured lip.
Sliding doors often also have latch bolt type assemblies with heads and corresponding strike plates that fit into recesses in the door. Bolts on sliding doors may have a hooked end to prevent the sliding door being opened unless the bolt is disengaged.
When the door and/or jamb are wooden, it can be time consuming and difficult to install this conventional and widely used hardware because of the need to cut the rebates in the door and door jamb to house the latch head and the strike, respectively.
In particular, where a builder needs to cut the recesses in a door and jamb on the building site, they often only have basic hand tools, and therefore crudely chisel out the recess, which can be a time consuming process and can leave an untidy appearance around the edges of the strike plate.
Latch assemblies and strikes are currently available with heads and strike plates that have curved ends rather than being a rectangular shape. However, to prepare the rebates in the door edge and jamb for a plate with curved ends, more complicated tools are typically required, such as a router and template jig. Such tools are expensive, difficult to transport and use on site and therefore may often not be carried by door installers.
It is one object of the invention to provide an improved method of installing door hardware.
It is an alternative object of the invention to provide an improved door and latch assembly.
It is an alternative object of the invention to provide an improved door jamb and strike assembly.
Alternatively, it is an object of the invention to address at least one of the foregoing problems or at least provide the public with a useful choice.


Dry yield for baled forage crop materials may be obtained for specific cut locations in the field by allocating the overall average baled dry yield for the entire field to the specific cut locations in accordance with the cut yield at such locations. Information obtained from a position sensor and one or more crop volume sensors on the windrower or mower is later combined with information obtained from a weight sensor on the baler to arrive at a specific location dry yield report for the baled product.

Various methods have heretofore been suggested for measuring the cut yield of forage crop materials at specific locations within the field as the cut materials pass through the machine that severs them from the ground. However, due to the unique nature of forage crop materials and the many variables that exist in the size, shape and density of the stalks, stems, and mat or stream moving through the machine, it is extremely difficult to determine actual cut yield in meaningful units of measurement with any degree of accuracy. At best, the data obtained from prior methods could thus only be relied upon to provide the user with yield information in relative terms, i.e., a comparison of the volume in one part of the crop materials stream with another. Furthermore, measurement of yield for baled forage crop materials needs to be determined when the forage is dry, not as cut yield, because baled forage is sold as dry matter.
Conventionally, dry yield can be averaged over the entire field by measuring the weight of the finished bale(s) and dividing that number by a value for the surface area actually harvested. This gives a total dry yield per unit area, e.g., tons per acre, but does not answer the question of where the yield came from within the field. In order to improve the preciseness of crop fertilization techniques and other agronomic practices, it is critical that dry yield data be available for specific locations with the field, not just as an average over the total area of the field.
Complicating matters is the fact that the crop cutting (windrowing) and baling operations are carried out by different machines at different times in the harvest cycle. Moreover, the separate operations of windrowing, raking and baling can result in the forage materials being moved substantial distances from their original starting points, particularly where the materials are being prepared for baling by large rectangular balers which require that several small windrows be combined into one large windrow to achieve optimum baler efficiency.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies and complicating factors of the prior art and provides a way of obtaining dry yield measurements for baled forage at specific cut locations within the field.

Specific location dry yield measurement for forage


A method for determining spatial characteristics of a selected object in an image that has pixel values representing heights of corresponding portions thereof is characterized by the steps of finding one or more heights of portions of the object, determining a volume of the object at and above (or below) a selected height by summing a count representing a cross-sectional area of the object at that height with a count representing a volume of the object at a greater (or lesser) height, and outputting the volume so determined. A related method determines a cross-sectional area of an object in such a "height" image by finding one or more heights of portions of the object and summing a count of pixels in the object at the selected height with a count representing a cross-sectional area of the object above that height.

The invention pertains to machine vision and, more particularly, to machine vision methods for determining spatial characteristics of three-dimensional objects, such as the solder bumps on ball grid array devices and "flip" chips.
In automated assembly processes, such as those for assembling electronic circuit boards, it is important to verify the existence and robustness of components prior to placing them for assembly. For example, in order to make assemblies with ball grid array (BGA) devices and flip chips, an automated assembly system must verify the existence of solder "bumps" on those devices and chips, before attempting to align them for soldering of leads or other circuit components.
Verifying the existence and location of solder bumps and other features on the surfaces of electronic components is ever more difficult as the size of components decrease and the number of features increase. This is the case with ball grid array devices, which may have tens or hundreds of conductive solder bumps arranged in regular patterns. This is also the case with flip chips, whose surfaces include complicated "art work" and circuit traces, as well as solder bumps. Due to the small size and complexity of these devices, it is difficult to distinguish well-formed solder bumps on their surfaces from defective bumps and from other features, such as solder pads.
The prior art suggests a few approaches to finding solder bumps on circuit devices. The traditional approaches are primarily binary techniques based on two-dimensional "blob" analysis of the solder bump array images. A drawback of these approaches is that, due to their binary nature, they are highly susceptible to adverse lighting conditions or device-to-device variations. More significantly, they do not adequately distinguish properly formed solder bumps from imperfects bumps and solder pads.
Although not the subject of this invention, the art provides techniques for generating "height" images. Unlike conventional images (which are referred to herein as "intensity" images) containing pixels that represent the intensities (e.g., brightness or color) of corresponding portions of a scene, height images contain pixels that represent the heights of those corresponding portions.
An object of this invention is to provide improved methods for machine vision analysis and, particularly, improved methods for determining spatial characteristics of objects such as solder bumps.
More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide methods for interpreting height images to determine the spatial characteristics of objects shown in those images.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide machine vision methods for interpreting height images to provide information that permit three-dimensional objects, such as solder bumps, to be distinguished from two-dimensional objects, such as solder pads. A related object is to provide methods that provide information permitting well-formed three-dimensional objects to be distinguished from poorly formed three-dimensional objects.
Yet still another object of the invention is to provide such methods that can execute quickly, and without undue consumption of resources, on a wide range of machine vision analysis equipment.

Machine vision methods for determining characteristics of three-dimensional objects


A plurality of transistor cells (36) formed on a semiconductor substrate (32) are connected to form a radio frequency power transistor device (30), whereby individual conductive paths (38) are formed on one side of the substrate (32) to connect respective common gate terminals (34) of adjacent transistor cells (36) in series. A further conductive path (40) is formed on an opposite side of the substrate connecting respective drain terminals (35) of the transistor cells (36) in parallel. A resistive element (42) is interposed in the conductive path (38) connecting each adjacent pair of gate terminals (34). The conductivity of the respective resistive elements (42) is selected so as to adequately provide a conductive pathway for connecting the respective gate terminal outputs, while being sufficiently resistive such that each gate terminal 34 "sees" an electrical circuit termination.

Radio frequency transistor devices may be formed by fabricating a plurality of transistor cells on a semiconductor substrate, e.g., a silicon wafer, with each transistor cell comprising a multiplicity of interdigitated transistor elements connected at common output junctions. The outputs of two or more transistor cells may then be combined to increase the overall power output of the device.
For example, FIG. 1 depicts a radio frequency MOSFET device 10 is formed on a silicon die 12 by connecting the gate terminals 14 and drain terminals 15 of adjacent transistor cells 16 formed on the die 12.
In particular, the transistor cells 16 are successively formed in an alternating, "mirror image" relationship, such that every cell 16 shares either a common gate terminal 14 or common drain terminal 15 with the next adjacent transistor cell 16. Individual conductive paths 18 are formed on one side of the die 12, connecting the respective common gate terminals 14 of each adjacent transistor cell pair, such that all of the gate terminals 14 are connected in series. A further conductive path 20 is formed on an opposite side of the die 12, connecting the respective drain terminals 15 in parallel.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the gate terminals 14 each "see" a non-terminated impedance in the respective conductive path 18 connecting the adjacent cells 16--i.e., the relative distance of the conductive path 18 between adjacent cells 16 is effectively "infinite". This results in an undesirable push-pull effect between respective transistor cells 16, which, in turn, can cause the device 10 to oscillate and become unstable, especially as the number of interconnected transistor cells 16 is increased in order to increase the overall power output of the device 10.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide an improved construction for the interconnection of multiple transistor cells to construct radio frequency transistor devices.

Resistive interconnect of transistor cells


A carton is provided for containing brick-shaped containers which has a dispenser in the top permitting the removal of any of the containers while maintaining the structural integrity of the carton through the provision of either a top gusset or middle gusset spanning each end of the carton. The top of the carton serves as a dispenser when the dispenser flap is removed.

Brick-shaped containers made of paperboard and plastic composites for containing drinks have become popular in recent years. One of the popular brands of such containers is Tetra Pak®. These brick-shaped containers with product are sometimes sold as a single package. A number of these containers can be packaged together in plastic wrap. The plastic wrap is destroyed when the package is opened. Paperboard cartons can be used for containing these brick-shaped containers, but they are also destroyed as a package when they are opened to remove one or more containers. It would be desirable to have a package that could be torn open to allow the removal of one or more containers, but would still function as a package for the containers that are not removed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Carton for brick-shaped containers with a top dispenser


A technique and apparatus for evaluating the degree of hydroenhancement achieved in a woven fabric. The degree of hydroenhancement is related to the permeability of the woven fabric (i.e., the permeability of the woven fabric will decrease as the hydroenhancement increases). The hydroenhanced fabric is pulled over a vacuum source (while a constant vacuum is maintained) and the air flow through the fabric is measured. The air flow per unit area of fabric is then calculated and defined as the permeability. Alternatively, the permeability can be calculated by maintaining a constant air flow and measuring the vacuum drop associated with the treated fabric. The degree of hydroenhancement may then be assessed as related to this permeability measurement. The measurement may be performed on "wet" fabric immediately after it exits the hydroenhancement process and the permeability measurements used as a control signal for the hydroenhancement process (that is, to regulate the machinery used to impart the hydroenhanced quality to the fabric). Alternatively, the measurement may be performed on "dry" fabric and used, as an audit process, to assess the quality of the finished product.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an on-line hydroenhancement evaluation technique and, more particularly, to a technique for measuring the permeability of a woven fabric (i.e., textile) being subjected to a hydroenhancement process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional hydroentangling processes, webs of nonwoven fibers are treated with high pressure fluids while supported on an "entangling" substrate wire. Typically, the substrate wire is provided on a drum or continuous planar conveyor which traverses a series of pressurized fluid jets to entangle the web into cohesive ordered fiber groups and configurations corresponding to open areas in the screen. Entanglement is effected by action of the fluid jets which cause fibers in the web to migrate to open areas in the screen, tangle and intertwine.
Hydroenhancement is a term used to describe the hydroentanglement process when used specifically on a woven fabric. In hydroenhancement, the properties of a woven fabric are modified (or "enhanced") by exposing the fabric to a sequence of high pressure water jets to act on the woven, spun thread fibers that make up the fabric. During the enhancement process, fibers from the same or adjacent threads become entangled, decreasing the open spaces among the weft and warp threads.
The above-described loss of openness in the woven fabric during the hydroenhancement process results in a reduction of permeability of the fabric, where permeability is defined as the air that will flow through a unit area of a fabric at a known, controlled pressure drop. The capability of measuring the permeability of a fabric during the hydroenhancement process ("wet" permeability) would be a useful control tool in order to provide an indication of the degree of enhancement for a given fabric, allowing the process to be altered to increase or decrease the degree of hydroenhancement, as required. The capability of measuring the permeability of a fabric at the end of the drying process ("dry" permeability) would be useful as a means of auditing the quality of the finished product, in terms of both the product itself and the efficiency of the machinery used to produced the fabric.

On-line hydroenhancement evaluation technique


A micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) ultrasonic transducer device includes a substrate defining an opening and an active transducer having multiple of active layers stacked over the opening of the substrate. The active transducer is completely encapsulated by multiple passivation layers.

Transducers generally convert electrical signals to mechanical signals or vibrations, and/or mechanical signals or vibrations to electrical signals. Acoustic transducers in particular convert electrical signal to acoustic signals (sound waves) in a transmit mode (e.g., a speaker application), and/or convert received acoustic waves to electrical signals in a receive mode (e.g., a microphone application). The functional relationship between the electrical and acoustic signals of an acoustic transducer depends, in part, on the transducer's operating parameters, such as natural or resonant frequency, acoustic receive sensitivity, acoustic transmit output power and the like.
Various types of transducers include micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) transducers, such as piezoelectric micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs), which are especially sensitive to operating environments. In order to provide some protection, a transducer may be passivated on top and bottom surfaces of the active transducer, in accordance with a simple passivation scheme.
For example, FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a conventional transducer device.
Referring to FIG. 1A, transducer device 100 includes a substrate 110 with an opening 115, over which various layers are stacked to form an active transducer 150. More particularly, active layers of the transducer device 100 are formed between a first passivation layer 121 and a second passivation layer 122, which are stacked on the substrate 110. The active layers include a first conductive layer 131 formed on the first passivation layer 121, a piezoelectric layer 140 formed on the first conductive layer 131 and a second conductive layer 132 formed on the piezoelectric layer 140. The first and second conductive layers 131 and 132 act as first and second electrodes for the active transducer 150.
The first and second passivation layers 121 and 122 partially protect the active layers from moisture, corrosives, contaminants, debris and the like, but only with respect to the bottom (at opening 115) and top surfaces, respectively. In other words, the side surfaces or edges of the first and second conductive layers 131 and 132 and the piezoelectric layer 140 are exposed, having no passivation layer protection, e.g., after separation or dicing of the transducer device 100 from a wafer.
Accordingly, degradation due to exposure to the environment may occur in the active layers, for example, by channeling along the active layers through the exposed edges, as indicated by representative degraded portion 144 of the piezoelectric layer 140 in FIG. 1B. Such degradation compromises the integrity of the active layers, eventually causing the transducer device 100 to operate less efficiently and/or to malfunction, and otherwise shortening its operational life, particularly in harsh environments.

Encapsulated active transducer and method of fabricating the same

Avago Technologies Wireless IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Systems and methods for inhibiting bone loss using FoxP3+ CD8 T-cells (TcREG). Osteoclasts are induced to produce FoxP3+ CD8 T-cells (TcREG) either in vivo or ex vivo. The FoxP3+ CD8 T-cells (TcREG) are provided to the patient to subsequently regulate osteoclast function, thereby establishing a bi-directional regulatory loop between osteoclasts and FoxP3+ CD8 T-cells (TcREG).

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of devices, methods, treatments and processes for suppressing bone loss and inflammation in individuals. Specifically, this disclosure relates to exploitation of the bi-directional regulatory loop between osteoclasts and FoxP3+ CD8 T-cells through cell-based therapies, biologics, small molecule agonists, or other known methodologies to suppress bone loss, control inflammatory responses and/or illicit certain desired responses from the human immunological and/or skeletal systems.
2. Description of Related Art
The human skeletal system is a dynamic system—an individual's bone structure is constantly being remodeled. Bone consists of a protein matrix embedded in a mineral layer. Two cells play a key role in the ever-changing reconstruction of an individual's bone structure throughout his or her life: osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts are large multinucleated cells that are the principal, if not sole, bone resorbing cells in the body. Stated differently, and simply, osteoclasts are cells that remove bone tissue from the skeletal system through bone resorption; i.e., by removing and breaking up a bone's mineralized matrix. Osteoblasts, which are the cells responsible for bone formation, balance the function of osteoclasts. The activity of osteoblasts is regulated by several growth factors, including transforming growth factor beta and bone morphogenetic protein. Osteoblasts, in turn, regulate the production of osteoclasts by secreting macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and displaying the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) on their cell surface to induce cells of the monocytic/macrophage lineage to develop into osteoclasts.
In healthy organisms, the two cells operate in homeostasis with the amount of bone resorption, and formation, being in harmony. Alteration of the carefully balanced roles of osteoclasts and osteoblasts in this dynamic system can result in the creation of certain problematic conditions. For example, increased activity of osteoblasts, but more commonly the decreased activity of osteoclasts, leads to osteopetrosis, where the bones become overly dense leading to stress fractures. In contrast, increased activity of osteoclasts or decreased activity of osteoblasts, leads to bone deconstruction which can manifest itself in osteoporosis and Paget's disease, which result in bones being fragile and brittle.
Recently it has been discovered that the equilibrium of the skeletal system, skeletal homeostasis, does not operate in a vacuum but, rather, is dynamically influenced by the human immune system. For example, lymphocyte-derived cytokines, such as the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), interleukin (IL)-17 and type I and II interferons, are potent mediators of osteoclast function and osteoclastogenesis. Further, osteoclast activity and numbers are increased by cytokines produced by pro-inflammatory effector T-cells, augmentation of which leads to the bone erosion which occurs in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis. T-cell produced cytokines also play a critical role in bone cancers, post-menopausal osteoporosis, and in Paget's disease. This crosstalk between the immune and skeletal system has been termed osteoimmunology.
Currently, one way in which inflammation and bone-loss-based diseases, such as but not limited to osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, periodontitis, Paget's disease and bone cancers, are treated is through multiple classes of anti-inflammatory agents including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents/analgesics (NSAIDs), steroids and biologics that mediate the TNFα blockade. These forms of treatment address the effects of the disease; i.e., reducing inflammation, but do not directly counteract the underlying bone loss. Generally, these forms of treatment are effective in about 30-50% of patients. However, each of these classes of anti-inflammatory agents also have severe safety and adverse reaction issues, which tend to limit their use in specific populations.
Another treatment methodology for inflammatory and bone-loss-based diseases are drugs or biologics which directly treat osteoporosis and bone erosion. For example, bisphosphonates (also called diphosphonates) are a widely-prescribed class of drugs that prevent the loss of bone mass by inhibiting the digestion of bone though encouraging osteoclasts to undergo apoptosis, or cell death, thereby slowing bone loss. However, use of bisphosphonates comes with serious safety issues. First, osteonecrosis of the jaw is increased in patients taking bisphosphonates. Second, even though bisphosphonates slow bone loss, the risk of bone fracture in elderly patients is increased in patients on this class of drugs. This increase is most likely due to the fact that suppression of bone remodeling by bisphosphonates leads to an effete skeletal structure since bone remodeling (both the removal of old bone and new bone formation) is required to keep bone strength. As bisphosphonates are irreversible inhibitors, the removal of old bone in this carefully balanced system is suppressed, placing a patient at additional risk for a fracture.
Other biologics which directly treat osteoporosis and bone erosion include Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody designed to block the effect of RANKL and possibly TNFα. However, higher incidences of infection have been reported in patients treated with Denosumab, possibly because of the off-target effect on TNFα. Another biologic is pulsed parathyroid hormone (PTH), a treatment which has been demonstrated to decrease bone fractures and increase bone density in postmenopausal osteoporosis. PTH targets osteoblasts to increase bone function and has shown great promise in the treatment of osteoporosis. However, the high cost of PTH (currently about $40,000 per year) has limited its use. Notably, neither PTH nor Denosumab have any noted effect of decreasing inflammation.

Suppression of bone loss by introducing FoxP3+ CD8 T-cells (Tc


A cassette accommodation case for accommodating therein a cassette containing an information recording medium, a card or the like includes a case body in which the cassette is accommodated, an openable and/or closeable lid molded of transparent plastic, having a lenticular lens on its external surface, and rotatably supported by the case body, a card to be inserted between an inner surface of the lid and the cassette and on which a stereoscopic synthetic picture is printed, the picture forming a 3-dimensional picture when it is seen through the lenticular lens, and a supporting portion formed in the case body so as to support the card such that its printed surface is held at a predetermined portion with respect to the lenticular lens of the lid when the lid is closed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cassette accommodation case preferable for accommodating a tape cassette such as a compact cassette and the like for audio use, and more particularly to a cassette accommodation case having a display function enabling an index card on which a stereoscopic synthetic picture is printed to be seen as a 3-dimensional image (3D) through a lenticular lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional cassette accommodation case having this kind of display function will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cassette accommodation case, a compact cassette, and an index card in a separated state. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a state in which the compact cassette and the index card are accommodation in the cassette accomodated case.
The cassette accommodation case is made of plastic moldings and comprises a case body 1 and a case lid portion 3 which can be opened and closed about a hinge portion 2 as a fulcrum for rotation. A bottom of the case body 1 has a pair of reel rotation stoppers 4, 4 which engage with reel hub apertures of a cassette when a compact cassette which will b e described later is accommodated there in. Further, cassette supporting ribs 5, 5 are formed on a wall face 1a of the case body 1 on an opening end side opposite to the hinge portion 2 of the case body 1.
A cassette accommodation pocket 6 is provided on a back face of the case lid portion 3 at its hinge portion 2 side and a vertical stripe shaped lenticular lens face 7 is formed entirely on an external surface of the case lid portion 3. For this reason, the case lid portion 3 is molded of at least transparent plastic.
A compact cassette is indicated by reference numeral 8. The compact cassette 8 contains therein a pair of tape reels (not shown) which are rotatable and reel hub apertures 10, 10 coincide with a pair of opening portions 9, 9 formed through the cassette case. Further, the compact cassette 8 comprises a swelling portion 11 formed in a trapezoidal shape so as to form a tape mouth at one side portion thereof.
On the other hand, an index card is indicated by reference numeral 12. A folded piece 14 is formed through a folding line 13 at one end side of the index card 12. A stereoscopic synthetic picture 15 is printed on one surface of the index card 12. An index marking area 16 is printed on the other surface thereof as shown in FIG. 3.
Then, with the stereoscopic synthetic picture 15 of the index card 12 in contact with a rear face of the case lid portion 3 of the cassette accommodation case, the folding piece 14 is incorporated in a bottom portion of the cassette accommodation pocket 6 and a cassette label 17 (see FIG. 2) is accommodated so as to overlap the index card 12. Successively, the compact cassette 8 is accommodated in the cassette accommodation pocket 6 in order from the swelling portion 11 side. By closing the case lid portion 3 to the case body 1 side, a state in which the compact cassette 8 is accommodated as shown in FIG. 2 is presented.
The compact cassette 8 in the accommodation condition is supported by the cassette supporting ribs 5 of the case body 1 while the reel hub apertures 10 are engaged by the reel rotation stoppers 4 to prevent the reels from being rotated so that the cassette is accommodated stably.
The stereoscopic synthetic picture 15 of the index card 12 accommodated in the cassette accommodation case together with the compact cassette 8 can be seen as a 3-dimensional image through the lenticular lens face 7 formed on the external surface of the case lid portion 3. For this 3-dimensional image to be seen clearly, the stereoscopic synthetic picture 15 needs to be in close contact with the rear surface of the case lid portion 3 with no clearance.
By the way, in the above cassette accommodation case, it is necessary to provide a predetermined space between the top face of the compact cassette 8 and the case lid portion 3 because of a tolerance in dimension of the compact cassette 8 to be accommodated and deviations in thickness of the index card 12 and the cassette label 17. For the reason, although the index card 12 which is accommodated between the top face of the compact cassette 8 and the case lid portion 3 can be made to firmly contact the rear face of the case lid portion 3 on the swelling portion 11 side of the compact cassette 8 because the space between the compact cassette 8 and the case lid portion 3 is small, there occurs a large space relative to the case lid portion 3 in a portion opposite to the swelling portion 11. Further, there is no member for supporting the index card 12. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, the index card 12 is warped so that if there occurs a gap relative to the rear face of the case lid portion 3, the operation of the lenticular lens is not exerted and an 3-dimensional image effect of the stereoscopic synthetic picture 15 is lost. As a result, a product performance as a cassette accommodation case is reduced.
When a user writes a content of description into the index marking area 16 printed on the rear face of the index card 12, folded back this index marking area 16 to the front side and then accommodates it in the cassette accommodation case such that it can be seen through the case lid portion 3, if the opening end side of the index card 12 is warped so that there occurs a gap relative to the case lid portion 3, the content of the description on the index marking area 16 cannot be read clearly by an effect of the lenticular lens surface 7.
In addition to the accommodation case for the compact cassettes, for example, some types of compact disk (CD) accommodation cases have a function for making the index card to contact the case lid portion on which the lenticular lens surface is formed and to support the former. However, a structure of a mold for forming the case lid portion becomes complicated so that the mold cost becomes expensive.


A cabinet safety device has a fixing base neighboring a side of the cabinet, a slide base mounted on the fixing base, lock members provided that can hook on both the slide base and the fixing base, and a fastening member provided between a bottom of the slide base and a bottom of the cabinet. When one of the drawers is pulled out, the slide base will go down to let the lock member escape from the slide base, and the slide base then goes up to prevent other drawers from sliding out, thus only one drawer can be pulled out at one time, which avoids potential danger when the center of gravity of the tool cabinet is shifted due to too many drawers being slid out at one time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabinet safety device, and particularly relates to a safety device being mounted on the cabinet to prevent the drawers from sliding out.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a conventional tool cabinet has several drawers mounted from the top down to store various tools and four wheels are mounted at the bottom of the cabinet, whereby the cabinet can be pushed conveniently, as shown in FIG. 13. In order to pull the drawers out more easily, rails are provided between the drawer and the cabinet. However, the drawers may slide out accidentally when the cabinet is moving, thus the tools may be scattered over a floor, and worse, the center of gravity of the tool cabinet might be shifted such that it tips over and endangers workers. Later, a locking device is provided to prevent the drawers from sliding out, but once the locking device is unlocked, all the drawers can be pulled out, whereby the center of gravity of the tool cabinet still might be shifted, resulting in danger to workers.
Therefore, the invention provides a cabinet safety device to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A method for operating a wind turbine generator connected to a power network to account for recurring voltage faults on the power network caused by automatic reclosure of at least one circuit breaker following a short-circuit. The method comprises: identifying a deviation of voltage level of the power network from a normal operational voltage level of the network; determining that the identified deviation fulfils criteria for automatic reclosure; and operating the wind turbine generator in a recurring fault mode if automatic reclosure criteria are fulfilled. When operating the wind turbine generator in recurring fault mode, the method comprises: monitoring the recovery of the voltage level from the deviation; categorising the recovery of the voltage as one of at least a strong recovery or a weak recovery; and implementing a ride-through protocol according to the category of recovery.

Wind power plants, as well as other renewable energy power plants, are expected to conform to particular requirements of the power network to which they are connected. Wind power plants, which typically comprise a plurality of wind turbine generators and are also known as a wind parks or a wind farms, are each connected to a power network or 'grid'. At the power network, the power output from each wind power plant to the network is controlled, under normal operating conditions, by a power plant control system or controller (PPC). In exceptional operating conditions, such as during a grid fault, wind turbine generators are protected by low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) and fault ride-through (FRT) protection schemes implemented by a wind turbine controller. Both the PPC and wind turbine controller implement operational limits and requirements as set out by a Transmission System Operator (TSO) or in country-specific grid interconnection requirements or 'grid codes' to achieve continuity of power supply.
Establishing continuity of power supply is particularly important to grid operation and control. A notable challenge to this continuity is presented when a transient fault occurs, which leads to a voltage dip while the line or equipment on which the fault occurred is temporarily taken offline by opening circuit breakers around the fault. Transient faults are often only temporary events, such as flash-overs across insulators or self-clearing fault on power lines, and the preferred approach on many power networks is to automatically reclose the tripped breaker after a predefined time delay to increase availability of power supply. If the fault has not been fully cleared when the breakers are reclosed, then there may be a second voltage dip, and the fault becomes a recurring fault. Until the fault clears, there may be any number of dips. Wind turbine generators are expected to remain connected to the power network through such temporary faults.
As mentioned, during external fault scenarios, each wind turbine generator is protected from voltage deviation beyond its tolerable limits by an LVRT protection scheme. The protection scheme operates to track a predefined curve during the fault, and is set to disconnect the turbine for any voltage deviation below the curve. The turbine should remain connected to the network at all other times. If a ride-through threshold is reached, the LVRT protection scheme is reset in preparation for future faults.
However, even though the turbine design and LVRT protection scheme are coordinated with the requirements of the power network, recurring fault scenarios present a problem in wind power plant operation. More precisely, operating conventional LVRT protection schemes may result in unwanted disconnection of the wind turbine generator from the power network due to the configuration of the LVRT protection scheme not taking account of recurring faults. Even when LVRT protection schemes are configured to be compliant with the network requirements relating to recurring faults, a conflict may result due to other protection systems operating in precedence to the LVRT protection scheme. This conflict impacts the ability of the LVRT protection scheme, as well as other protection schemes, to provide sufficient protection to the wind turbine generator, and so may make the wind turbine generator vulnerable to damage.
In view of the above mentioned problems there is need for protection of wind turbine generators that can sufficiently operate during recurring faults and without impacting the operation of conventional LVRT protection schemes.

Recurring fault protection for wind power plants


An attachment combination for positioning an accessory along an elongate structure such as a shoe lace a shoe strap, arm or finger where the accessory has a loop attached to the accessory that at least in part holds the accessory to the elongate structure. In one form the accessory has a closed loop held inside a releasable clasp that has an open position for receiving the closed loop and the elongate structure and a closed position that holds the elongate structure and the closed loop together in a pocket formed by the releasable clap. The releasable clasp is a flexible strap having joinable sections that when spaced apart allow the strap to receive both the loop band and the elongate structure and when joined together surround the elongate structure and hold the loop band together with the elongate structure. The joinable sections may be the hook and loop portions of a hook and loop type strap. In another form the releasable clasp may be attached directly to the accessory.

It is known that various accessories can be attached to living creatures and inanimate objects such as clothing to and, in particular, shoes using holders that secure such items for attachment and detachment. Such accessories include decorative items, ornamentation, and amusing objects. Many patents claim different arrangements for a holder and the article to secure these accessories to people, to clothes and to shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,198 provides a structure for retaining decorative items such as decal on the vamp of a shoe with a holder that extends below flaps of the shoes and requires unlacing of the shoelaces from multiple eyelets and the re-lacing of the laces back through the eyelets and also through the holder.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,467 shows a "Decorative Shoe Accessory" that uses a base located above the tongue of the shoe and that can be releasably attached to the vamp of the shoe by engagement with the shoe laces. The holder may releasably hold an ornamental figurine for interchange of such figures. The base holder cannot engage shoelaces for passage therethrough.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,779,519 is directed to an "Accessory for Shoelaces" that comprises a clamping device for retaining and encapsulating free ends of a shoe lace at the top of the shoe's vamp. The rear wall of the clamping device has a pair of openings positioned to receive the free ends of the shoelaces. Thus, the clamping device can only be used for shoelaces and only at the top of the shoe's vamp.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,347 shows many different decorative animal figures for attachment to the vamp of the shoe by its shoelaces or using hook and loop straps. Each depicted animal has a different holder incorporated into its body to retain the figure on shoelaces or via hook and loop straps in a different manner. To take advantage of the different positioning offered by the different attachment arrangement a different decorative animal figure is needed.
Thus, many different holders or attachment arrangements are available to secure accessories about the vamp of shoes. The numerous different holders and attachments permit the user to locate accessories in a wide variety of positions on or about a shoe's vamp. However, one needs many different holders and/or accessory attachments to vary the positioning of an accessory and attach the accessory to different types of shoes. Moreover, the most beneficial holder and accessory combination will accommodate many different sizes and styles of shoes with the same holder and accessory. Thus, the individual holders and accessory attachments of the prior art fail to provide a high degree of variation in the way each of them can secure an accessory in the vamp area of a shoe.
It is an object of this invention to provide a holder for attaching an accessory to an object having an extended portion long enough to provide the necessary length to fit a releasable clasp of this invention around the object. Another object of this invention is to provide a releasable clasp and loop combination for attaching an accessory to an object having an extended portion long enough to provide the necessary length to receive the releasable clasp of this invention. A further object of this invention is to provide a holder for attaching an accessory to an object such as a person, clothing or a shoe by engaging shoelaces or hook and loop straps in multiple ways to reliably secure an accessory to a shoe in a variety of positions.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an accessory that has attachments for securing the accessory to the vamp of a shoe in multiple positions by engaging the attachments with a holder.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a combination of a holder and attachment on an accessory that provides a wide variety of possible positions in which the accessory may be securely attached about the vamp of a wide range of shoes.

Accessory with tight pull strap for encircling attachment to other objects


The present disclosure relates to a data acquisition device and a configuration method. The device includes a channel, wherein the channel includes a data control panel and a plurality of detection components. At least one of the plurality of detection components is directly connected to the data control panel. The data control panel may be configured to identify the channel and send a configuration command to the plurality of detection components. The plurality of detection components may determine channel location numbers of the plurality of detection components based on the configuration command and send the channel location numbers to the data control panel. The data control panel may determine identification numbers for the plurality of detection components based on the channel location numbers and allocate the identification numbers to the plurality of detection components.

Medical devices, particularly large medical devices, for example, computed tomography (CT) devices, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices, X-ray devices, generally use a data acquisition system to acquire imaging signals. Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of sensing units may be used in the data acquisition system, which constitute a plurality of detection components. Recently, how to dynamically configure the data acquisition system and effectively control time management of the detection components during the data acquisition process has become a research focus in the field of medical devices.

Systems and methods for data collection in a medical device

SHANGHAI UNITED IMAGING HEALTHCARE CO., LTD.


A ballast for feeding a high-pressure discharge lamp. The ballast:

The invention relates to a ballast for igniting and feeding a high-pressure gas discharge lamp, which ballast comprises means for supplying the lamp during an ignition period (ti) with an AC voltage at an ignition frequency (fi), means for supplying the lamp with an AC voltage at a glow frequency (fg) during a glow period (tg) following the ignition period (ti), means for at least repeating the start-up sequence of ignition and glow periods (ti, tg), and means for feeding the lamp during an operating period (tb) following the last start-up sequence. Mention is made here of an ignition period (ti) and a subsequent glow period (tg), however, this should be construed such that, in practice, a clear distinction between these two periods cannot always be made, whereby the ignition frequency (fi) and the glow frequency (fg) can be variable and gradually blend with each other, or they may even be equal to each other.
The invention also relates to a projection unit provided with such a ballast.
Such a ballast is described in the international patent publication WO-99/35890 and can be used to start-up or ignite and feed a high-pressure mercury-vapor gas discharge lamp having, for example, a rated power of approximately 100 W, which is used predominantly as a (slide, sheet or LCD-screen) projection lamp. Such a lamp comprises a bulb or tube of quartz glass as the discharge vessel, which is provided on two sides with an electrode, which is made, for example, of tungsten and which has a solid core around the end portions of which a wire is wound. The discharge vessel contains a quantity of mercury. During the ignition period (ti), a high voltage is generated by means of a high-frequency voltage source, resulting in a discharge arc between the electrodes. During the subsequent glow period (tg), the frequency is reduced, so that the impedance in the circuit decreases and the current flowing through the lamp increases. As a result, the electrodes heat up more rapidly. The increase in temperature causes the mercury to evaporate, so that the necessary mercury vapor pressure is built up. If the electrodes are at a sufficiently high temperature, the ballast goes over to the stable operating period (tb), which, in the case of the known ballast, has a comparatively low operating frequency (fb). If, however, it is detected through measurements that the lamp is not burning after this start-up sequence, the start-up sequence (ti, tg) is automatically repeated until the lamp does burn. If the lamp still does not burn after the start-up sequence has been repeated a number of times, the start-up cycle is interrupted.
It is desirable for the discharge arc to develop along the shortest path between the two electrodes so as to make the electrodes heat up entirely. A problem concerning the start-up of such a lamp is that the discharge arc initially often develops between the rear sides of both electrodes, where no wire is wound, so that the cross-section of the electrode is smaller at said location. The mercury tends to deposit at this part, which leads to a better conduction and hence enhances the formation of a discharge arc from this location. Furthermore, the electrodes may be covered with salts, which can counteract the development of the desired discharge arc. As a result, an elongated, curved discharge arc may be formed between the rear sides of the electrodes, which may subsist also during the stable operating period, which does not lead to optimum results since the electrode is heated only partly instead of bodily because only the part of the electrode through which current flows is heated. The lamp may spontaneously go out during the start-up time because the discharge arc is too long and the temperature of the electrodes is too low, in which case the lamp has to be put into operation by hand. This problem occurs, in particular, with lamps having a high rated power and heavier electrodes, which is the reason why they have not been widely used hitherto. Lamps having such a high power comprise a plurality of layers of wound wire, leading to comparatively wide electrode end portions as compared to lamps having a lower power, so that the above problems are more likely to occur. There is, however, a need for projection lamps having such a high power, which can be used for projection representations at ambient light conditions.
It is an object of the invention to provide a measure for a ballast which can be used to ignite and feed a high-pressure gas discharge lamp, which measure counteracts the above-mentioned drawbacks and problems.
To achieve this, the ballast of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph additionally comprises means for interrupting the power supply to the lamp in a start-up sequence, which is not the last start-up sequence, during an interruption period (td) following the glow period (tg). The invention thus includes an intentional interruption of the power supply during a short period of time. Preferably, the interruption period (td) is long enough to substantially de-ionize the gas contained in the lamp.
Preferably, the interruption period (td) ranges between 50 ms and 500 ms, more preferably between 250 ms and 350 ms, and most preferably approximately 300 ms. By interrupting the power supply to the lamp for a short period of time, the gas present in the lamp will no longer be ionized and the built-up, possibly suboptimal, elongated, curved discharge arc will disappear. During the preceding start-up sequence, however, the wide end portions of the electrodes are slightly heated up, and both the salts and the mercury are removed from the electrodes. This leads to better conditions for the development of a short, straight discharge arc between the closely spaced end portions of the electrodes during the subsequent start-up sequence. In general, this will cause the lamp to burn better after this second start-up sequence.
Preferably, the glow frequency (fg is smaller than the ignition frequency (fi). The lower frequency causes the impedance in the circuit to be lower too, so that a higher current intensity is achieved and the electrodes heat up more rapidly.
The ignition frequency (fi) preferably ranges between 30 kHz and 120 kHz, and the ignition period (ti) preferably ranges between 0.25 and 5 seconds. More preferably, the ignition frequency (fi) is approximately 62.5 kHz, and the ignition period (ti) lasts approximately 0.5 seconds.
The glow frequency (fg) ranges between 10 kHz and 40 kHz, and the glow period (tg) preferably ranges between 0.4 s and 1.7 s. More preferably, the glow frequency (fg) is approximately 20 kHz, and the glow period (tg) lasts approximately 0.85 seconds.
Preferably, the ballast additionally comprises means capable of feeding the lamp, after the glow period (tg) of the last start-up sequence during an end glow period (tg), at an end glow frequency (fge) which is smaller than the glow frequency (fg). This end glow period serves to further increase the current intensity by further reducing the resistance of the electrodes. The end glow frequency (fge) preferably ranges between 8 kHz and 30 kHz and the end glow period (tge) preferably ranges between 0.25 and 1 second. More preferably, the end glow frequency is approximately 15.5 kHz, and the end glow period lasts approximately 0.5 s.
The operating frequency (fb) preferably ranges between 50 Hz and 200 Hz, more preferably the operating frequency is approximately 90 Hz.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

Ballast for feeding a high-pressure gas discharge lamp

Abstract: supplies the lamp with an AC voltage at an ignition frequency (fi) during an ignition period (ti),

Abstract: supplies the lamp with an AC voltage at a glow frequency (fg) during a glow period (tg) following the ignition period (ti),

Abstract: repeats the start-up sequence of ignition period and glow period (ti, tg),

Abstract: supplies the lamp with an AC voltage at an operating frequency (fb) during an operating period (tb) following the last start-up sequence, and

Abstract: interrupts the power supply to the lamp in a start-up sequence, not being the last start-up sequence, during an interruption period (td) following the glow period (tg).


A mechanism is provided for using a single bank of electric fuses (eFuses) to successively store test data derived from multiple stages of testing are provided. To encode and store array redundancy data from each subsequent test in the same bank of eFuses, a latch on a scan chain is used that holds the programming information for each eFuse. This latch allows for programming only a portion of eFuses during each stage of testing. Moreover, the data programmed in the eFuses can be sensed and read as part of a scan chain. Thus, it can be easily determined what portions of the bank of eFuses have already been programmed by a previous stage of testing and where to start programming the next set of data into the bank of eFuses. As a result, the single bank of eFuses stores multiple sets of data from a plurality of test stages.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and method. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for using a single bank of electrical fuses (eFuses) to successively store testing data from multiple stages of testing.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditionally, the manufacturers of complex integrated circuits with arrays of components use multiple stages of testing to test the operation of the various components. For example, a manufacturer may first test the components of the integrated circuit at normal temperature and voltage in wafer form. The manufacturer may then run additional tests of the good components, i.e. those that pass the initial test, under stress. The manufacturer may then test the integrated circuit again when it is packaged. Other tests may also be included in the test regime to check the operation of the components of the integrated circuit under various conditions.
For example, large integrated circuits and processors typically include large arrays of memory cells as part of their design. To ensure a reasonable yield, these arrays have built-in spare cells, i.e. redundant cells, that may be substituted for any less than perfect cell. When these large arrays are tested, it is determined which cells need to be mapped to the spare or redundant cells of the array of memory cells. This information is transformed into data that is referred to as array redundancy data.
The data that is required for each cell substitution is called a repair and the correction performed based on this data is referred to as a repair action. These repair actions are necessary to skip over the non-functional cells in the array, and map to the redundant cells. These repair actions are loaded serially, one after the other. Once an array tester determines the required array redundancy data or the required repair actions, this data must be reloaded at power-on of the integrated circuit device or processor.
Each of the tests may produce array redundancy data which may be used to correct the arrays of components upon power-on. This array redundancy data, once verified, is typically stored in an area of the integrated circuit device or processor that can be programmed at test time, such as a bank of laser fuses, electrical fuses (eFuses) or other type of storage device. On a large integrated circuit device or processor, there is a large amount of array redundancy data that can take up large amounts of eFuses. Large numbers of eFuses occupy a large area of the device.
In addition, for each stage of testing, a specific dedicated separate bank of eFuses, located on the integrated circuit, is required to store the array redundancy data generated by that stage of testing. Each of these separate banks of eFuses thus, requires its own separate device area on the integrated circuit and its own control logic. Moreover, if there are any eFuses left over from one stage of testing, they cannot be used in any subsequent stage of testing.
Thus, the known mechanisms for storing and using array redundancy data from multiple stages of testing of an integrated circuit device result in excess area of the integrated circuit device or processor being dedicated to banks of eFuses and result in wasted space when eFuses are not able to be utilized from one stage of testing to the next. This is undesirable in that the extra area and logic impact the function and cost of the overall integrated circuit device or processor. Moreover, if the device is larger, then more power is needed to operate it.
In view of the above, it would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method for reducing the amount of area on an integrated circuit device that is needed for providing banks of eFuses. Moreover, it would be beneficial to have an apparatus and method that reduces the amount of wasted space generated by the inability to use eFuses from one test to the next in a series of multiple test stages.

Using a single bank of efuses to successively store testing data from multiple stages of testing

International Business Machines Corporation


Computer tools and methods novelly combine periodic backup and restore features with migration features to transfer the components of a failed system to a new system, which new system may be dissimilar to the old system. As well as backing up and transferring critical data files during the disaster recovery operation, the present invention also transfers, inter alia, applications, user states, hardware settings, software settings, user preferences and other user settings, menus, and directories. In another aspect of the present invention, a network of shared end-user computers periodically backs up each individual end-user computer to a central instrumentality, in a novel manner to reduce storage and time requirements. That is, redundancies for the end-user computer backup files are eliminated or greatly reduced by only making reference to but not storing components that are generic to the system, and further for each previously stored component, only storing differential or incremental information, unless predefined conditions are met. In yet another aspect of the present invention, remote end-users upload, via a wide area network such as the Internet, backup information to a central location. In the case of end-user computer failure, backup and migration information can be delivered to a new machine by means such as mailing a storage medium (e.g., compact disc), and downloading from the Internet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to computer backup and restore technologies. The present invention also broadly relates to computer migration technologies.
2. Background
The periodic backup of computer system components, such as files, data, applications and the like, is a well-known and oft practiced approach to storing a useful copy of a computer system in a previous state, should the system malfunction in some important way. The storage of the back-up copy can then be used to restore the system to the previous state when the system returns to viability. This may be the most common form of system back-up and restoration.
In the general case, currently available disaster recovery tools create back-up copies of computer systems that can be summoned and transferred to new systems when there is a catastrophic failure. These tools are efficacious for transferring the back-up copy en masse to the new system. However, problems arise when the new system is dissimilar to the old system. When they are sufficiently dissimilar, the transfer can cause problems ranging from system instability, to partial inoperability, to complete inoperability.
Prior art responses to the aforementioned problems include completely overwriting the new operating system with the old one during a full system restore, in order to avoid system conflicts and instability. Using this approach, however, the new system will not be able to take advantage of the new features of the newer operating system, and may not be compatible with newer application software.
To avoid overwriting the new operating system, some prior art approaches merely restore critical data files, leaving out applications, user settings, user preferences, and user state information. Incidentally, none of the prior art disaster recovery approaches is believed to restore user settings, user preferences, and user state information on the new system, whether or not the new system is similar to the old system.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/378,999, filed Aug. 23, 1999, and titled "Application and Method for Transferring Information between Platforms," and which is also assigned to the Assignee of the present Letters Patent, discloses a computer migration method for the efficient transfer of information between a source computer and a target computer. The source and target computers need not have matched hardware or operating system characteristics. Along with data and applications, the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application also allows for the migration of, files, user settings and user preferences, and hardware settings. User-specific settings include internet bookmarks, e-mail settings, names, addresses, telephone numbers, and the like. Hardware-specific settings include the designation of MODEMS, printers, scanners, displays, and the like that are to be used.
The Abstract of the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application states:                A method and apparatus for relocating application programs, settings, menus, files and documents from a source computer to a target computer. The method and apparatus function properly regardless of whether the source and target computers have the same hardware or operating system. The method includes scanning the source and target machines for all applications programs, settings, menus, files, and documents in order to create a relocation strategy. The relocation strategy is created in view of pre-programmed selection rules or selection rules created by the user. The strategy is then implemented by copying, replacing or merging data from the source machine to the target machine.
While the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application discloses useful migration approaches, it does not address disaster recovery, system back-ups used for disaster recovery, catastrophic system failures, and the need to restore the components from a backed-up, failed system to a new system.
Therefore, there is a great unfilled need to provide a tool or tools which can both completely backup computer systems and the like, and to allow the intelligent restoration of the backup information on a target computer system with a dissimilar hardware or operating system, so that the improvements of the target system over the source system are utilized, while maintaining the desirable information and settings from the source system.
The prior art problems associated with disaster recovery and then (as they are not integrated) migration are magnified in a network environment where a server or other central computer must perform these operations for a number of networked end-user computers. Chief among the problems are the astronomical storage space sometimes required to backup each networked computer, and the undue burden on the system resources during the many backup operations that can degrade overall system performance.
The prior art also lacks efficient means of availing safe, robust, and cost-effective backup and migration resources to a large number of computer users who do not have the wherewithal to perform their own extensive periodic backups that can be migrated to a new machine in the case of system failure or upgrade.

Combined computer backup, disaster recovery and migration in a shared environment


A client device configured with a neural network includes a processor, a memory, a user interface, a communications interface, a power supply and an input device, wherein the memory includes a trained neural network received from a server system that has trained and configured the neural network for the client device. A server system and a method of training a neural network are disclosed.

Increasingly, machines (i.e., computers) are used to provide machine vision or object recognition. Object recognition provides users with a variety of beneficial tools.
In some instances, object recognition relies upon algorithms that include a neural network. That is, a device may recognize that an object is within an input image by using a neural network. Generally, the neural network has been trained to recognize objects through prior use of training images. This object recognition process can become more discerning if more training images are used for the object.
Generally, neural networks include systems of interconnected "neurons." The neural networks compute values from inputs and are capable of machine learning as well as pattern recognition as a result of their adaptive nature.
Neural networks for image recognition require data processes for learning and for recognition that are memory and processing intensive, and therefore computationally expensive. Indeed, the values of the weights require memory space for storage and for processing during computational processes.
As might be expected, increasing the size of a training data set improves the performance of a neural network. Unfortunately, in a mobile device such as a smartphone, memory and processing capabilities are comparatively limited. Accordingly, the increasingly pervasive use of mobile devices generally has not benefitted from image recognition technology.
What are needed are methods and apparatus to provide for improved performance of a neural network on a computing device that has limited resources.

Object recognition with reduced neural network weight precision


Taught herein are portable digital horizontal inclinometers which utilize magnetic field to dampen the free swing of the pendulum. The inclinometers feature simple structure, small size, high sensitivity, good linearity, high precision, and strong anti-jamming capability. They are also easy to manufacture and provide fast and accurate reading over a wide range of inclination angles of up to 360°.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to measuring instruments, and specifically, to portable digital horizontal inclinometers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, two types of conventional pendulum inclinometers, one with a damping device and one without a damping device, are used for the measurement of inclination angles. The inclinometer without a damping device is only suitable for static measurement as it takes a long time for the stabilization of the pendulum to obtain a correct angle reading. On the other hand, the inclinometer with a damping device can provide damping of the pendulum to rapidly eliminate its free swing, and thus to realize a continuous dynamic measurement to the inclination angle.
Conventionally, silicon oil or air has been used for damping of the pendulum. However, the damping coefficient of silicon oil decreases greatly with increasing temperature which restricts significantly the operating temperatures of inclinometers utilizing silicon oil. Similarly, using air for damping is not ideal because it requires complicated designs and high machining precision.
In view of the forgoing, a Chinese Pat. App. No. CN00223002.X disclosed a digital inclinometer with magnetic damping, which offers the advantage of stable and fast reading. Unfortunately, the design disclosed therein is not functional for wide angle measurements.

Portable digital horizontal inclinometer


A multi-channel fiber optic connector includes a first connector housing and a mating second connector housing. The first connector housing includes a plurality of abutting first termini and a first guidance feature amongst the plurality of abutting first termini to form a first grouping. A circular containment sleeve surrounds the first grouping. The second connector housing includes a plurality of abutting second termini and a second guidance feature amongst the plurality of abutting second termini to form a second grouping. When the first and second connector housings are mated, the first guidance feature cooperates with the second guidance feature, and the plurality of abutting second termini enter into the containment sleeve to assume an end-to-end alignment with the plurality of abutting first termini. The termini may be formed as ceramic ferrules and the guidance features may be formed as an extending pin amongst one of the plurality of termini for filing a void space amongst the other plurality of termini.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fiber optic connectors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi-channel connector of robust design with a high density of channels, which can be easily fabricated and repaired and which has improved tolerances.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-channel fiber optic connectors are known in the background art. For example, in an eight channel connector of the background art, one connector housing would hold eight ferrules terminating eight optical fibers. When the connector housing is mated with a complimentary housing (e.g. on a back plane), eight ferrules held by the complimentary housing would need to precisely align with the eight ferrules of the connector housing. Some multi-channel connectors in the background art use individual alignment sleeves to align opposing ferrules. The thickness of the sleeve and the thickness of the structure to hold the sleeve combine to increase the distance between adjacent channels and greatly reduce the connector density.
It is understood in the background art, that the ferrules of the connector housing must be precisely aligned with the ferrules of the complimentary housing or signal attenuation will occur in the channels of the misaligned ferrules. Therefore, it was an obvious design parameter in the background art to make the ferrule to connector housing attachments extremely fixed and precisely located. Any slight deviation of a ferrule from its intended position within the connector housing led to poor performance of the channel of the multi-channel connector.


A rack structure mounted to a vehicular hitch socket is provided to include a first support tube received within the hitch socket, with a second support tube pivotally mounted in a selective latching arrangement relative to the first support tube, with a third support tube fixedly and orthogonally mounted to the second support tube containing a plurality of hook legs thereon for engaging a bicycle frame for support of the bicycle relative to the rack apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to bicycle rack structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved bicycle rack apparatus wherein the same is arranged for mounting to a hitch tube of an associated vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bicycle rack structure of various types have been employed in the prior art for the ease of transport of bicycles relative to an associated vehicle, wherein such structure is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,641 to Johnson having a support tube structure arranged for reception within a socket portion of an associated motor vehicle.
Further examples are indicated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,128,195; 4,461,410; and 4,050,616.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for a support rack structure arranged for ease of pivoting relative to a rear door portion of an associated motor vehicle for ease of access to the motor vehicle without removal of the bicycle structure relative to the rack apparatus and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for rendering objects. According to one aspect, a program has instructions to receive at run time, in a render manager, a request for rendering a first object and an output destination for rendering the first object, which is an object in a graph of objects; instructions to select a first renderer appropriate to the object and the output destination; and instructions to invoke the selected first renderer to render the first object. Advantageous implementations include instructions in the selected first renderer to call back the render manager when the selected first renderer encounters a second object to be rendered in rendering the first object, where the second object cannot be rendered by the selected renderer; and instructions in the render manager to select and use a second renderer to render the second object.

The present invention relates to data processing by digital computer, and more particularly to rendering a graph of objects of existing classes.
For the purposes of this invention, rendering an object includes any transformation of an object into a different representation of the object. The different representation of the object can include a visual representation of the object that can be displayed on a screen. Rendering an object can also include transforming the object to produce an HTML document or an XML description of the object. It is possible to have many renderers for the same object, each renderer transforming the object to a different representation of the object. For example, the data contained in an object can be rendered as text displayed on the screen, as an HTML file, or as an XML file.
The need to separate an object from a visual representation of the object has been recognized in the design of applications that display objects on a screen. Such applications can be required to display a number of different visual representation of the same object. In an interactive visual application, including graphical user interface (GUI) components, any change in the object caused by user interaction with one visual representation of the object needs to be communicated to other visual representations of the object. It can also be desirable to have the ability to add new visual representations for an existing object without making significant changes to the implementation of the object itself or to existing renderers for that object. These objectives can be met by partitioning the visual applications such that there is some separation between the data contained in the object and the visual representation of the object.
The model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, illustrated in FIG. 1, represents one of the approaches for separating the data contained in an object from other aspects of the visual application. The MVC architecture breaks GUI components, that are part of a visual application, into three separate parts—a model 100, a view 105, and a controller 110. The model encompasses the state data for each component. There are different models for different classes of components. The view is the visual representation of the data. The view determines the visual appearance of the component on the screen. The controller is the portion of the user interface that dictates how the component interacts with events. The controller takes user input on the view and decides how each component will react to the event.
In the MVC architecture illustrated in FIG. 1, each of the three components—the model, the view, and the controller—requires the services of another element to keep itself continually updated. The view must obtain the data from the model in order to display the component on the screen. The view monitors the user events and determines if the component associated with the view is the recipient of user events. The view also communicates the user events directed at the component to the controller. The controller receives the user events from the view and determines the appropriate response. The controller's response to the user events may include modifying the state data in the model. The controller communicates any required changes to the state data to the model. The visual representation of the component is updated in response to the user event when the model passes the new state data to the view for display.
FIG. 2 illustrates another approach for separating an object from visual representations of that object that is used by Java™ Swing. Swing uses a simplified variant of the MVC design, called the model-delegate. Swing combines the view 215 and the controller 220 for the object into a single element, known as the UI-delegate 205, that draws the component to the screen and handles GUI events. Each Swing component 200 contains a model 210 and a UI-delegate. The model is responsible for maintaining information about the component's state. The UI-delegate is responsible for maintaining information about how to draw the component on the screen. In addition, the UI-delegate reacts to various events, including user interaction with the view, that propagate through the component. Separating the UI-delegate from the model can permit the user to select different views for the same component without changing the data contained in the model.
A model in Swing has no intrinsic knowledge of the view that represents it. A model only has a set of listeners interested in knowing when the state of the model has changed. Swing uses the separation between the model and the UI-delegate to support the pluggable look-and-feel (PLAF) architecture. The Swing toolkit provides a default look-and-feel. An application can override the default look-and-feel to dictate a particular look-and-feel. A Swing component that is displayed using the pluggable look-and-feel API is aware of the fact that it is being displayed and implements special hooks required by the look-and-feel API. Each Swing component that has a specific look-and-feel behavior defines an abstract class to represent its UI delegate. A particular look-and-feel is installed for a component by creating a UI delegate and setting it as the "UI" property for the component. Each component also provides a method which creates and sets a UI delegate for the default look-and-feel.