A mounted storage device includes a mount for mounting the device on a vertical surface. A load arm is supported on the mount and structured to support an object thereon. The load arm is movable between a load position for loading the object on the load arm and a store position for storing the supported object. The storage device also includes a force device connected between the mount and the load arm that urges the load arm in a direction from the load position to the store position. The storage device further includes a resistance damper connected between the mount and the load arm that resists movement of the load arm in both directions between the load position and the store position. The resistance damper includes a plurality of damper members that creates the resistance by at least one of friction and compression tension between the damper members.

This invention relates in general to storage devices, and in particular to a mounted storage device for lifting and storing an object such as a bicycle.
Bicycles and other objects are often stored in confined areas, such as garages or patios. The available storage space in these areas is usually limited. Consequently, it may be difficult to find enough space for storing the objects. Another problem is that storing additional objects in the area may interfere with the use of objects currently located in the area. For example, storing a bicycle near a workbench in a garage may interfere with the use of the workbench. Unused space is often available on the upper portions of walls in the area. However, gaining access to this unused space for storage can be difficult.
A person can sometimes store an object on the upper portion of a wall by lifting the object and mounting it on the wall. However, lifting a relatively heavy object to an elevated storage position can cause stress and strain on the human body. Some people may be unable to lift a relatively heavy object to an elevated position. Even if someone is capable of lifting an object to store it on the wall, someone else less capable may be the next one who wants to remove it from the wall. The use of a ladder to reach the elevated position presents safety issues, because it is awkward to lift a relatively heavy object while positioned on the ladder. It is also difficult for a person to hold the object in the elevated position while simultaneously mounting the object on the wall.
Some devices, such as a block and tackle, are known for lifting objects. Unfortunately, currently available devices are not totally satisfactory for lifting an object such as a bicycle to an elevated storage position. The current devices suffer from drawbacks in the areas of ease of installation and use, controllability, reliability, cost or other areas. Some devices require an external power source. There is no widely accepted alternative to human-powered lifting available in the marketplace today.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,082,552, 6,269,958 B1 and 6,648,148 B1 issued to Pollock et al. describe improved wall-mounted storage devices. Nevertheless, it would still be advantageous to provide additional improvements in a storage device having excellent performance which is relatively simple in design and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.


A 3× circuit for partial product generation used in a radix-8 multiplier receiving only a single multiplicand input. Rather than providing 2-inputs to the adder (a 2× of multiplicand and the multiplicand itself), the new 3× circuit uses the multiplicand as the only input. Thus, in terms of connections at the multiplier circuit level, only one bus is required to connect to the input of the new 3× circuit. The 3× generation adder circuit further operates at a reduced number of logic levels and speeds up the critical path by taking advantage of the repetition and fixed spatial separation of the bits for the adder inputs.

There are other uses for 3× function; typically it is used in the Partial Product Generator (PPG) for Radix-8 Booth multipliers. For performing a radix-8 Booth Multiplication, one of the input terms that the partial product generator needs is 3 times the value of the multiplicand or 3× of the multiplicand. Other terms needed by the PPG are 0, ±1×, ±2×, ±4×, but these can be generated very easily.
Although 0, ±1×, ±2×, ±3×, ±4× values of the multiplicand are needed by the PPG, only the positive values need to be created, i.e. only 1×, 2×, 3×, 4×s are needed. To create the negative values, the corresponding positive value is inverted and +1 is added to it in the later stages of the compressor tree. The 3× term generation needs some extra logic. Typically, as shown in FIG. 1 depicting a flowchart of a current 3× generation method 10 using a prior art multiplier circuit, this 3× term is generated by adding 2× of the multiplicand together with itself.
That is, in the prior art method 10, to evaluate an expression out=3*in, at 12, the method implements an adder using a Parallel Prefix addition algorithm, to add 2× the "in" multiplicand with itself to produce 3× value as indicated at 20. However, first, at 15, the 2× of the multiplicand is easily obtained by shifting the input multiplicand bits left by 1 bit position (i.e., in<<1) to produce a binary multiplication of the input by 2 using a 1-bit fixed amount shifter circuit. Thus, to evaluate the product out=3*in, i.e., obtain the multiplication of 3*in at 25, the 2*in result from the 1-bit shifter is added together with the in multiplicand using a 2-input full adder circuit. Thus the 3× partial product output is: 3× multiplicand={multiplicand<<1}+multiplicand and is available for use in the next step in the radix-8 multiplication.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a radix-8 multiplication system 50 according to the prior art. In this embodiment, a register file 52 contains 128 n-bit wide integer words. Under the control circuitry 60 through control line 66 an integer word is loaded into the n-bit multiplicand operand latch 70. Likewise, the contents of the multiplier operand latch 65 are also loaded. The contents of the multiplier operand latch 70 are provided to a shifter 72 with a fixed shift amount of 1-bit left shift and a padding block 75 to add a bit "0" in front of the most significant bit of the output of the operand latch 70. As a result of the shifting and padding operations performed by shifter 72 and padding block 75, their corresponding outputs 76 and 78 are now n+1 bit wide data buses. For example, given a 16 bit input multiplicand, processing results in seventeen bits where the Pad 0 on MSB {1′b0,in} is such that the input is padded with a zero (bit) on the MSB side which does not change the value of the number. To multiply by two, Pad 0 on the LSB so that the input is padded with a zero on the LSB side {in, 1′b0} such that it equals 2*in.
The 2-input n+1 bit full adder 80 receives the outputs 76 and 78 from the shifter 72 and padding block 75 respectively. The full adder 80 produces the sum of the two n+1 bit input buses 76 and 78 and produces an n+1 bit sum. This sum from adder 80 is input into the radix-8 multiplier circuit 90. The radix-8 multiplier 90 also receives the contents of the multiplier operand latch 65. The radix-8 multiplier 90 performs multiplication and produces a 2*n-bit result on data bus 62. This output 62 is provided back to the register file 52 for a next operation.
But creating a 3× of the multiplicand in this way introduces a 2-input full adder whose 2 inputs are: 2× multiplicand and the multiplicand itself. Unfortunately, use of a full adder in implementing 3× is not an optimal design. For example, use of this adder, or any type of adder, e.g., a Sklansky adder, that produces the 3×=2×+1×, this calculation becomes a critical timing path.
It is desirable to speed up the 3× term generation, because the earlier it is available, the sooner the multiplication can start. The delay incurred in generating the 3× term is also dependent upon the size of the multiplicand. The 3× generation for a 64-bit multiplicand will take longer than a 32-bit multiplicand. Basically, current devices are limited by the speed of the adder. For a parallel prefix adder, such as the Sklansky adder 85 shown in FIG. 3, the delay increases as log2 (width (in bits 87) of multiplicand), i.e. delay ˜O(log2 n) with multiplicand[n−1:0]. Typically, in the prior art, the adder used is a general purpose adder 85, i.e., if this adder circuitry were to be detached from the multiplier, it can still work standalone as an adder.
Typically, the full Adder such as the Sklansky adder 85 conceptually shown in FIG. 3, has following levels of logic (assuming a 16-bit multiplicand): a first level of Propagate/Generate logic 82; an amount (log2 n)−1 levels 84 of carry tree at which a carry look-ahead is performed to predict what the carry will look like; a third level of buffering 86 for a final multiplexer; and, a final level of logic 88 for final multiplexing. Thus, a total levels of logic for increment operation=3+(log2 n)−1=2+log2 n, where "n" is the width (in bits) of the multiplicand. The amount of levels is determined by the number of bits of the multiplicand. FIG. 3 also shows the critical path 92 in which processing at the four (4) logic levels occur for a 16-bit multiplicand. The amount of logic levels will increase as dependent upon the number of multiplicand bits.
FIG. 3 further shows the adder's known propagate and generate cell block 95 employed along the critical path, that includes respective logic circuits 91, 93 for providing respective Generate and Propagate values at each level with "k" representing the level, e.g., Gk, k=1 is the first level generate. The numbers in the parenthesis [ ] represent the bit numbers, e.g., Gk[1], Gk[2], for i=0, 1, . . . , n−1. As known, the Generate represents AND functionality where a carry is always generated, and Propagate represents an OR functionality where a carry propagated from previous stage would be propagated to next stage. For example, in FIG. 3, the iG5 Generate term is the carry that is highlighted as the critical path 92.
In the typical n-bit adder, such as the 3×-Generation Adder according to the prior art depiction shown in FIG. 7A employing a parallel prefix adder carry tree 400, where n=16, as the adder receives two n-bit inputs a[n−1:0], b[n−1:0] and results in a sum=a[n−1:0]+b[n−1:0]. For such an adder, the internal carry tree 400 providing iG1[i], G2[i], iG3[i], iP1[i], P2[i], iP3[i] are expressed in terms inputs a[i], b[i] where "i" is each bit.
For example:
                    iG                                                            1                                [            i            ]                              =              !                              (                                          a                                                  [                  i                  ]                                            &&                              b                                                  [                  i                  ]                                                      )                                          :                                                                        These                                                              are                                                              the                                                              internal                                                              inverted                                                              Generate                                                              terms                      ;                      iP                                                            1                                [            i            ]                              =              !                              (                                          a                                                  [                  i                  ]                                                                                                                                                    b                                                  [                  i                  ]                                                      )                                          :                                                                        These                                                              are                                                              the                                                              internal                                                              inverted                                                              Propagate                                                              terms                      ;              G                                              2                          [          i          ]                      =                  !                  (                                    (                              iG                                                                                1                                                        [                    i                    ]                                                                                                                                                  iP                                                                                1                                                        [                                          i                      +                      1                                        ]                                                              )                        &&                          iG                                                                                1                                                  [                                      i                    +                    1                                    ]                                                              )                    =              !                  (                                                    (                                  !                                                            (                                                                        a                                                                                [                            i                            ]                                                                          &&                                                  b                                                                                [                            i                            ]                                                                                )                                                                                                                                                    !                                                                                (                                                                        a                                                                                [                                                          i                              +                              1                                                        ]                                                                                                                                                                                          b                                                                                [                                                          i                              +                              1                                                        ]                                                                                )                                                                      )                            &&                              (                                  !                                      (                                                                  a                                                                          [                                                      i                            +                            1                                                    ]                                                                    &&                                              b                                                                          [                                                      i                            +                            1                                                    ]                                                                                )                                                  )                                      ;                                          and                                                                                P                                                                                2                                                        [                    i                    ]                                                              =                                                !                                      (                                                                  (                                                  iP                                                                                1                                                                                [                              i                              ]                                                                                                                                                                                            iP                                                                                [                                                          i                              +                              1                                                        ]                                                                          )                                            &&                                              iG                                                                                1                                                                                [                                                          i                              +                              1                                                        ]                                                                                )                                                  =                                  !                                      (                                                                                (                                                      !                                                                                (                                                                                a                                                                                [                                      i                                      ]                                                                                                                                                                                                    b                                                                                [                                      i                                      ]                                                                                )                                                                                                                                                                                  !                                                                                (                                                                                a                                                                                [                                                                              i                                        +                                        1                                                                            ]                                                                                                                                                                                                    b                                                                                [                                                                              i                                        +                                        1                                                                            ]                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                &&                                                  (                                                      !                                                          (                                                                                a                                                                                [                                                                          i                                      +                                      1                                                                        ]                                                                                &&                                                                  b                                                                                [                                                                          i                                      +                                      1                                                                        ]                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                                    ;                                                                                where the "i" in front of iG1 represents an INVERT, ! represents a logic INVERT operation, && represents an AND logic operation and ∥ represents an OR logic operation.
In FIG. 7A, first level AND and OR gate processing 405 provides first level Generate terms iG1[ ] and first level Propagate terms iP1[ ] based on the two received inputs a[ ] and b[ ] (processing shows only first 4 bits being processed). The first level Generate terms iG1[ ] and first level Propagate terms iP1[ ] proceed as inputs to the next level of the carry tree where second level AND and OR gate processing 410 provides second level Generate terms G2[ ] and second level Propagate terms P2[ ] associated with the G2[i] and P2[i] calculations above. The process continues through third level processing 415 and fourth level processing 420 until final level Generate terms G4[ ] and Propagate terms P4[ ] are output.
By using this full adder in partial product generation, the prior art also exhibits increased area, power and wiring resources. Overall, the use of a 2-input full adder in the prior art does not result in an optimized implementation.

Generating a fast 3x multiplicand term for radix-8 booth multiplication

International Business Machines Corporation


An image processing device includes an image acquisition section that acquires a plurality of images captured while sequentially shifting the relative positions of a light-receiving plane of an image sensor and an image formed in the light-receiving plane, and an estimation calculation section that estimates a high-resolution image based on the plurality of images, the high-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than that of each of the plurality of images. The estimation calculation section estimates the pixel values of the high-resolution image corresponding to a first color based on the pixel values of the plurality of images corresponding to a second color when the estimation calculation section has determined that the pixel values of the plurality of images corresponding to the first color and the pixel values of the plurality of images corresponding to the second color have a high correlation.

The present invention relates to an image processing device, an imaging device, an image processing method, and the like.
It has become possible to capture a high-resolution image along with an increase in the number of pixels of image sensors. However, when the pixel size is merely reduced to increase the number of pixels, the light intensity per pixel decreases, and the S/N ratio deteriorates, for example. Specifically, good image quality is not necessarily obtained by merely reducing the pixel size. A pixel-shift imaging method has been proposed to deal with such a problem (see JP-A-11-18097 and JP-A-2005-143031, for example). According to the pixel-shift imaging method, since only the sampling interval can be reduced to be smaller than the pixel size while maintaining the pixel size, it is possible to obtain a high-resolution image without causing a deterioration in S/N ratio as compared with the case of capturing an image using an image sensor having an identical pixel size without performing a pixel shift.
JP-A-11-18097 discloses a method that captures an image while performing a pixel shift (⅔ pixel pitch) three times in the horizontal scan direction and three times in the vertical scan direction (nine times in total) so that the resulting color data has the same arrangement as that of the original color data. JP-A-2005-143031 discloses a method that captures an image while performing a pixel shift once in the vertical scan direction (1 pixel pitch) and four times in the horizontal scan direction (½ pixel pitch) (five times in total) to acquire color data having a honeycomb-like arrangement. A method that captures an image while performing a pixel shift (½ pixel pitch) four times in the horizontal scan direction and four times in the vertical scan direction (sixteen times in total), and a method that captures an image while performing a pixel shift (⅓ pixel pitch) six times in the horizontal direction and six times in the vertical direction (thirty-six times in total), have also been known.

Image processing device, imaging device, and image processing method


The present invention relates to well bore stabilization and, more particularly, to treatment fluids that may reduce the tendency of shales to swell and associated methods. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a method of stabilizing a subterranean formation that comprises a shale, the method comprising contacting the subterranean formation that comprises the shale with a treatment fluid, the treatment fluid comprising a base fluid, and a hydrophobically modified polymer. In other embodiments, the treatment fluids comprise a base fluid and a hydrophilically modified polymer. In yet other embodiments, the present invention provides shale-inhibiting components, treatment fluids, and methods of reducing the tendency of shale to swell when exposed to a treatment fluid.

The present invention relates to well bore stabilization and, more particularly, to treatment fluids that may reduce the tendency of shales to swell and associated methods.
A treatment fluid may be used in a subterranean formation in a variety of ways. For example, a fluid may be used to drill a well bore in a subterranean formation, to stimulate a well bore in a subterranean formation, or to complete a well bore in a subterranean formation, as well as or for a number of other purposes. The process of drilling a well typically requires the use of a drilling fluid. A drilling fluid used in connection with drilling a well in a subterranean formation may comprise a number of fluids (gaseous or liquid) and mixtures of fluids and solids (e.g., as solid suspensions, mixtures and/or emulsions of liquids, gases and solids) used in operations to drill well bores into subterranean formations. Drilling fluids are used, inter alia, to cool the drill bit, to lubricate the rotating drill pipe to prevent it from sticking to the walls of the well bore, to prevent blowouts by serving as a hydrostatic head to counteract the sudden entrance into the well bore of high pressure formation fluids, and to remove drill cuttings from the well bore.
During the drilling of subterranean well bores, it is not uncommon to encounter strata comprising shales. As referred to herein, the term "shale" will be understood to mean materials such as certain types of clays (e.g., bentonite) and related subterranean materials that may "swell," or increase in volume, when exposed to water. The shale may be problematic during drilling operations because, inter alia, of its tendency to swell when exposed to aqueous media, such as aqueous-based drilling fluids. Shale swelling may result in undesirable drilling conditions and undesirable interference with the drilling fluid. The increase in bulk volume of the shale associated with shale swelling may impede the removal of drill cuttings from beneath the drill bit, increase the friction between the drill string and the sides of the well bore, and inhibit the formation of a desirable filter cake on the formation. Shale swelling also may result in other problems, such as the loss of drilling fluid circulation or stuck pipe that may result in undesirable delays and expenses. Furthermore, shale swelling also may substantially decrease the stability of the well bore, which may cause irregularities in the diameter of the well bore, e.g., the diameter of some portions of the well bore may be either smaller or greater than optimally desired. In an extreme case, shale swelling may decrease the stability of the well bore to such an extent that the well bore may collapse.
A traditional method of inhibiting shale degradation during drilling has been to use an oil-based drilling fluid as opposed to an aqueous-based drilling fluid. However, environmental regulations enacted by numerous countries have limited the use of oil-based drilling fluids. Other attempts to counteract the problems associated with shale degradation during drilling have been to include shale-inhibiting components in an aqueous-based drilling fluid. As used herein, a "shale-inhibiting component" refers to a compound that demonstrates a propensity for inhibiting the tendency of shales to swell by absorbing water. Salts, such as potassium chloride, are one example of a conventional shale-inhibiting component. While salts may reduce the tendency of shales to swell, they also may flocculate the shale, resulting in undesirable fluid loss and a loss of thixotropy. Furthermore, an increase in salinity may result in a decrease in the functional characteristics of drilling fluid additives. Other examples of conventional shale-inhibiting components include, but are not limited to, amphoteric materials, polyglycols, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides, combinations of thickeners such as a copolymer and a polysaccharide, and polymers with a hydrophilic group and a hydrophobic group. However, these conventional shale-inhibiting components may not provide a desired level of shale swelling inhibition and/or may be environmentally undesirable in certain regions of the world.

Compositions and methods of stabilizing subterranean formations containing reactive shales


An aspect of the present invention is a logical arrangement of memory arrays. The logical arrangement includes a plurality of memory arrays deposed in a row-column configuration, a controller coupled to the plurality of memory arrays and at least one power line, at least one sense line and at least one address line coupled to the controller wherein a number of connections from the controller to the at least one power line, the at least one sense line and the at least one address line is minimized.

In the semiconductor processing industry, there is currently a strong trend toward scaling down existing structures and fabricating smaller structures. This process is commonly referred to as microfabrication. One area in which microfabrication has had a significant impact is in the microelectronic area. In particular, the scaling down of microelectronic structures has generally allowed the structures to be less expensive, have higher performance, exhibit reduced power consumption, and contain more components for a given dimension. Although microfabrication has been widely active in the electronics industry, it has also been applied to other applications such as biotechnology, optics, mechanical systems, sensing devices and reactors.
Microfabrication can be utilized to fabricate permanent inexpensive rugged memory (PIRM) arrays. PIRM is an extremely low cost archival solid-state memory for digital photography, digital audio and other applications. From a fabrication perspective, PIRM includes a series of semiconductor and other thin-films sandwiched between a patterned top metal layer and a patterned bottom metal layer. Where these metal layers cross forms a two-port device.
A PIRM configuration typically includes a plurality of layers whereby each layer includes a large number of memory arrays thereon. There are several reasons why it is desirable to have a large number of memory arrays on each layer of PIRM configuration. One advantage is that for a fixed minimum feature size, the larger number of arrays on each layer, the smaller each array will be. Smaller arrays consume less power since not all of the arrays need to be powered at all times. Furthermore, smaller arrays have a smaller capacitance which translates to a higher speed of operation.
Another advantage of having a large number of arrays on each layer has to do with defect management. In order for the PIRM array to obtain the low cost, the array must be tolerant of manufacturing defects. By subdividing each PIRM layer into a large number of arrays, feasible defect management strategies are facilitated whereby the amount of memory lost to an un-repairable manufacturing defect is minimized.
However, the problem with subdividing each PIRM layer into a large number of smaller arrays is the large number of connections that are required. If independent connections are made from a controller chip to each array then the number of connections needed is roughly proportional to the number of arrays. This is because the addressing has logarithmic efficiency and it takes nearly the same number of address lines regardless of the size of the array.
For example, if a 1.7 GB PIRM is divided into 12800 arrays each with independent connections to the controller chip, 371,000 connections are required. If the same 1.7 GB PIRM is divided into 128 arrays with independent connections to the controller chip, 4480 address lines are required. Neither of these examples is feasible. Not only are the number of connections to the controller die prohibitive, but layer-to-layer interconnect density and overhead routing are also unacceptably high.
Accordingly, what is needed is PIRM architecture that does not suffer from the above-delineated drawbacks of the PIRM manufacturing process. The architecture should be simple, inexpensive and capable of being easily adapted to existing technology. The present invention addresses these needs.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An alkaline peroxide cell for electrolytic regeneration of spent BHP from a chemical oxygen iodine laser, the cell having a for regenerating chlorine and a peroxide cell for regenerating BHP. The chlorine compartment having a potassium chloride electrolyte and producing chlorine gas for the chemical oxygen iodine laser. The peroxide cell having a spent BHP electrolyte and producing BHP for the chemical oxygen iodine laser. A cation exchange membrane between the chlorine compartment and the peroxide compartment allows potassium ions to be transported from the chlorine compartment to the peroxide compartment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to production and regeneration of concentrated basic (alkaline) hydrogen peroxide by electrosynthesis of water and oxygen in an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide for the purpose of operating a chemical oxygen-iodine laser.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) derives its power from continuous reaction of basic (alkaline) hydrogen peroxide and chlorine to produce electronically excited oxygen known as singlet delta oxygen O.sub.2 (.sup.1 .DELTA.) via reaction EQU Cl.sub.2 +2O.sub.2 H.sup.- (aq)+2K.sub.+ .fwdarw.H.sub.2 O.sub.2 +2KCl+O.sub.2 (.sup.1 .DELTA.) (1)
The singlet delta oxygen is then used to excite iodine atoms to a laser transition. The applicant's co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 09/020,996, filed on Feb. 9, 1998 now abandoned, which is hereby made a part hereof and incorporated herein by reference, teaches how COIL can be operated in conjunction with an electrochemical cell which regenerates products of the basic hydrogen peroxide reaction with chlorine into fresh basic hydrogen peroxide and chlorine reactants. The process uses a porous, packed bed, self-draining, gas diffusion cathode to generate basic hydrogen peroxide by reduction of oxygen in alkaline electrolyte.
Cathodic reduction of oxygen for production of hydrogen peroxide according to the process: EQU O.sub.2 (g)+2H.sub.2 O+2e.sup.- .fwdarw.O.sub.2 H.sup.- (aq)+OH.sup.- (aq)(2)
has been known since the 19th century. However, commercialization of the process has been retarded by several factors related to the complex electrochemistry of oxygen reduction, together with poor understanding of the influence of electrode materials and cell design on process efficiency. Prospects for commercial utilization of the alkaline hydrogen peroxide produced by this reaction as a bleaching agent in the pulp and paper industry motivated the research and development in the last two decades. During that period a number of patents have been awarded for process design, electrode design, configuration of the cell and method of operation.
Hydrogen peroxide generally used in bleaching is in the form of a stabilized alkaline solution of low peroxide concentration, typically 2 to 5% by weight. For economical reasons the alkali metal used is sodium. The relative molar concentration of NaOH to peroxide H.sub.2 O.sub.2 in the bleach solution is generally between 1.0 and 2.0.
Cells with packed bed electrodes are known for Oloman et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,969,201 and 4,118,305. Improvements in these cells have been disclosed by McIntyre et al in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,406,758; 4,431,494; 4,445,986; 4,511,441; and 4,457,953. Packed bed cathodes constructed from graphite chips coated with carbon black and polytetrafluorethylene as a binder have been found particularly suitable for the reduction of oxygen to alkaline hydrogen peroxide. Graphite is a good electrocatalyst, since it is electrically conductive, inexpensive, and requires no special treatment. The hydrophobic nature of the composite chips helps to prevent the cathode from becoming flooded by electrolyte. Moreover, composite chips have an improved capability to handle the flow of electric current in a packed bed. This both prolongs cathode bed life and improves its performance. A method for manufacture such composite particles has been disclosed by McIntyre in U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,953.
Dong in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,107 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,587 and Mathur in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,509 teach that a packed bed, self-draining cathode for maximum productivity within an electrochemical cell for the production of hydrogen peroxide in a solution of sodium hydroxide must be supplied with a liquid anolyte through a porous diaphragm at a substantially uniform rate of flow across the porous diaphragm without appreciable variation of the flow as a function of the head of the electrolyte. Said diaphragm can also be used to control the flow rate of electrolyte into the porous, packed bed cathode so as to avoid flooding the cathode or starving it of electrolyte.
The innovations disclosed by McIntyre, Dong and Mathur, listed above, have been recently utilized by Dow Chemical Company for a construction and operation of a pilot plant for commercial production of solution of hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide intended for use as a bleach in the pulp and paper industry. This plant which is located at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada has a capacity of 0.5 ton of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 per day and has been operated continuously for several years. A larger plant with a capacity of 3.5 of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 ton per day plant was built by Dow and installed at the Fort Howard Corporation mill in Muskogee, Okla.
Design attributes and method of operation of the Dow's alkaline peroxide cell are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,509. At ambient temperature, with a feedstock of 4% by weight (1 mol/liter) of NaOH in water, and current density of approximately 0.3 amperes/in2, the Dow's cell produces alkaline hydrogen peroxide with approximately 4-5% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 concentrations by weight at 80-85% current efficiency. At these concentrations and with the NaOH/H.sub.2 O.sub.2 molar ratio between 1.4 and 1.8 the Dow's cell product is suitable for use as a bleach in the Kraft paper making process. An alternate process used by the pulp & paper industry known as the mechanical pulp process requires a bleach solution with reduced alkalinity. Suitable de-alkalinizer cells which could post-process the output of Dow's cell have been disclosed by Clifford et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,464 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,547, and Paleologou et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,211.
Methods for direct production of low alkalinity H.sub.2 O.sub.2 in aqueous solution of NaOH in multi-compartment cells have been disclosed by Kuehn et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,217 and Jasinski et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,931. Both Kuehn and Jasinski claim to produce moderate concentrations of about 8% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 in a low alkalinity solution. However, this result was accomplished at the expense of a high cell voltage (3-7 V), a low current density (0.25 amperes/in.sup.2) and limited current efficiency making the process economically unattractive. The apparent source of problem with Kuehn's and Jasinski's cells was a poor performance of their gas diffusion cathode. Most recently, Dong et al, in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,437 discloses a method for co-generation of ammonium persulfate anodically and alkaline hydrogen peroxide cathodically with a cathode product ratio control. While this method can produce a lower alkalinity hydrogen peroxide in 5-6% concentration by weight, operating parameters of the cell, namely the high potential of 5 volt and low current density of 0.1 ampere/in.sup.2 together with low current efficiency of 47% make this process less attractive.
In summary, all of the above processes for manufacturing of basic hydrogen peroxide used sodium cations in the electrolyte and produced only low concentrations of H.sub.2 O.sub.2, typically less than 5% concentration by weight, all operate only at low current densities of typically less than 0.3 amperes/in.sup.2 and, with the exception of Dow's process, all suffered of low current efficiency.
In order to make the electrosynthesis of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 cost competitive with respect to the traditional methods of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 production such as anthraquinone method, the prior art considered the use of NaOH rather than KOH in the cathode electrolyte. However, the use of NaOH makes the cathode susceptible to formation of Na.sub.2 O.sub.2. 8H.sub.2 O (octohydrate) precipitate which gradually plugs the cathode pores (see Jan Balej, Application of Phase Diagram of the System NaOH--H.sub.2 O.sub.2 --H.sub.2 O for the production of Hydrogen peroxide by Cathodic Reduction of Oxygen in Sodium Hydroxide Solutions, collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications, vol. 37, p 2830, 1972). Certain advantages of using KOH in peroxide production by electro-reduction of oxygen were observed in early prior art and disclosed by Berl in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,000,815. Berl claimed to have produced peroxide concentration of 5% by weight but at low current density of 0.3 amperes/in2 and with low efficiency of 66%. In another experiment, Berl's cell generated a product of containing a 18% by weight H.sub.2 O.sub.2 and 38% by weight KOH at unspecified, but assumingly low current efficiency.
The basic hydrogen peroxide used in COIL (Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser) is an aqueous electrolyte containing hydrogen peroxide, potassium hydroxide, and often also potassium chloride. Experience shows that the basic hydrogen peroxide composition can significantly influence the efficiency and, therefore, the power output of the COIL. In particular, basic hydrogen peroxide with concentrations of H.sub.2 O.sub.2 and KOH each below 2 mols per liter result in excessive quenching of the excited singlet oxygen in the basic hydrogen electrolyte. Similarly, basic hydrogen peroxide with molar ratio of KOH with respect to H.sub.2 O.sub.2 in excess of 1.0 would contain a population of OH.sup.- anions which feeds a parasitic reaction between chlorine and OH.sup.- which does not produce the excited singlet delta oxygen. In either case the supply of the energetic singlet oxygen to the laser is reduced which has the consequential effect of reducing laser power. Furthermore, in order to maintain economical operation, the cell which regenerates basic hydrogen peroxide for the COIL should have a high current efficiency and low voltage. A regeneration cell with high current density is favored as it renders itself to a smaller hardware package. In order to avoid thermal decomposition of hydrogen peroxide the regeneration cell should operate at low temperature, preferably in the vicinity of 0.degree. Centigrade. This is particularly important as no stabilizers can be added to the BHP due to a potential interference with the singlet delta producing reaction. Finally, the singlet delta oxygen producing reaction in Equation 1, above, also consumes chlorine. It is, therefore, desirable for some configurations of the chemical oxygen-iodine laser to combine production of basic hydrogen peroxide and chlorine into one electrolytic cell.
In summary, a suitable electrolytic cell for production of basic hydrogen peroxide by electro-reduction of oxygen for a COIL should 1) produce at least 10% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 by weight and 11% KOH by weight, preferably in a molar ratio of not exceeding 1.0; 2) have a current efficiency at least 85%; 3) have a current density of at least 0.6 ampere/in.sup.2 ; 4) be capable of operating at near 0.degree. Centigrade, and 5) allow incorporation of chlorine generating anode into the cell. Methods disclosed in the prior art cannot meet all of these requirements simultaneously. A new electrosynthesis process, one specific for the needs of generating basic hydrogen peroxide for the chemical oxygen-iodine laser, is required.

Method of operating electrolytic cell to produce highly concentrated alkaline hydrogen peroxide


The present invention provides a nail clipper having a container for collecting and containing cut finger and toe nails. The container has separable first and second portions to allow for easy disposal of cut material. The first portion has an open bottom wall and the second portion has an open top wall and is removable from the first portion. The open top of the second portion is removably and reengageably attached to the open bottom of the first portion, such that the second portion slidably engages within the first portion of the container. The container includes a utensil or utensils, for example a nail file, in a receptacle in the second portion. The utensil can be used both when the second portion is attached to the first portion and when the second portion is detached from the first portion. The clippers are provided by a lower cutting edge fixed along a top edge of a front wall of the first portion of the container, and an upper cutting edge arranged above the lower cutting edge on an elongate resilient member. An actuator is arranged to move the elongate resilient member so that the upper and lower cutting edges are moved between an open position spaced from one another and a closed position in contact with one another thereby cutting a nail and causing said nail to fall into the container.

When cutting finger and toe nails a nail clipper is commonly used Most nail clippers in use are of a similar design comprising a pair of elongate members fixed together at one end with co-operating spaced apart cutting edges arranged at the other end, and with open sides. The finger or toe nail is cut by placing it between the cutting edges and actuating a lever member which moves the cutting ends of the two resilient members towards one another.
Nail clippers of this type do not capture or contain the nails after they have been cut. The cut nails instead tend to fly away from the cutting edges, sometimes considerable distances, which requires that they be gathered up before they can be disposed of. This presents a problem in that it is inconvenient to have to gather up the cut nails and can sometimes be difficult since the cut nails often fly off in different directions and can be difficult to find.
This problem has been addressed in the past by devices which are attached to a nail cutter of the type described. Most of these devices capture the nails after cutting but lack a means for containing the nails when the nail clipper is not in use thereby requiring that the devices be emptied after every use.
Nail clippers are often used with a nail file and scissors. These are usually separate from the nail clipper and have a tendency to be misplaced or used without the nail clipper for different tasks. This often requires that the nail clippers, scissors, and nail file be found before they can be used to cut and shape the nails. Looking for these items can be time consuming and frustrating.
An improved nail clipper is needed which includes a container that is integral to the nail clippers, and captures and contains cut finger and toe nails, and which includes a means for providing a nail clipper, a nail file, and other utensils in a single device.


A decorative simulated automobile hood light is disclosed. The hood light contains a light source with light passing through the front and the rear of the enclosure for the light source, which is a simulated automobile hood. The hood can be raised or lowered, permitting access to the light source and simulating the opening and closing of an automobile hood.

This invention relates to a decorative automobile hood light for use by automobile racing enthusiasts, particularly useful in conjunction with stickers and other paraphernalia typically associated with automobile racing.
There are various wall lamps on the market, and a few are in the shape of an automobile vehicle. With the tremendous increase in interest and attendance at automobile races, there is a substantial market for items associated with automobile racing. One object of the present invention is to provide a useful wall light in a form that is appealing to automobile racing enthusiasts. Another object of the present invention is to provide a wall lamp where individual owners can easily customize the wall lamp to have an appearance reflective of their particular interests in automobile racing. These and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof.


Provided are a method used for indicating and determining a parameter value of Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) parameters, a base station and a user equipment, the method including: determining a parameter value of LBT parameters, the LBT parameters including an LBT type, an LBT priority, and a start position of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH; determining an index for carrying out joint indication of the LBT parameters on the basis of a subset of a full set which is formed by combining possible parameter values of each LBT parameter; generating downlink control information including the index; and sending the downlink control information to a user equipment.

Among the grant-free spectrum transmission technologies studied in recent years, listen-before-talk (LBT) is an important channel access mechanism. In the LBT process, the base station includes the parameter value of the LBT parameters in the downlink control information and transmits to the user equipment. The user equipment receives and detects the downlink control information, so that the LBT process is performed according to the parameter value of the LBT parameters included in the downlink control information.
The LBT parameters included in the downlink control information include various kinds of parameters like an LBT type, a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) start position, an LBT priority, a contention window size (CWS), and a multi-subframe scheduling gap in the case of multi-subframe scheduling, etc.
If separate bits are used to indicate the various parameters, a significant signaling overhead is required. Thus, a method, a base station, and a user equipment for indicating and determining the LBT parameters and capable of reducing the signaling overhead are desired.

Method for indicating and determining listen-before-talk parameters, base station and user equipment


Method and arrangement for providing a remote control system for a vehicle (1) including a primary heading sensor (14) fixedly attached to the vehicle (1). The primary heading sensor (14) is adapted to detect a reference heading (N). A remote control unit (15) having a steering input manipulator (16) that is either portable by a user or rotationally attached to the vehicle (1) relative to a main axis (4) of the vehicle (1). The remote control unit (1) is adapted to communicate steering input data to a steering computer (12) that is programmed to process the steering input data into steering commands and to communicate the steering commands to a steering mechanism (9) of the vehicle (1). The remote control unit (1) has a secondary heading sensor that is synchronized with the primary heading sensor (14) with respect to the reference heading. The steering input data includes information of an active position of the steering input manipulator (16) relative to the reference heading (N) and the active position of the steering input manipulator (16) determines the desired direction of travel of the vehicle (1) regardless of the orientation of the remote control unit (15) relative to the main axis (4) of the vehicle (1).

Remote controls for vehicles are well established and are currently used for controlling a wide span of vehicles ranging from simple radio-controlled toys to larger vehicles such as trucks, boats and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
A remote control unit normally communicates wirelessly with the vehicle, for example by means of radio transmissions or other suitable means such as infra red light. Alternatively, the remote control unit communicates with the vehicle by means of a communication wire.
In the marine sector, the use of multiple independently steerable propulsion drives now extends not only to larger ships, offshore platforms and the like, but also to yachts and smaller boats where an increased maneuverability compared to conventional fixed-drive/rudder combinations or conventional stern drives is desirable. The coordination of steering and thrust of the independently steerable propulsion drives in order to execute a desired maneuver is generally managed by an onboard steering computer. Here, the use of a remote control system for communicating with the steering computer allows the user or helmsman to move about freely aboard the boat into optimum vantage positions for various maneuvers. For example, the user or helmsman may conveniently stand near the stern or bow of the boat—whichever the case may be-in order to gently maneuver the boat alongside a dock or jetty while maintaining a close overview of boat movement.
A well known problem with current remote control systems, however, is that the relative orientation of the controls only coincides with the "normal" orientation of the fixed primary controls of the boat as long as the remote control unit is aligned with the stern-to-bow direction of the boat. As soon as this is no longer the case, the user or helmsman has to mentally convert (translate) the desired direction of travel into correct steering commands to the remote control. If, for example, the user or helmsman is facing backwards towards the stern of the boat, the correct steering commands to enter into the remote control unit becomes a mirror image of the normal commands to which the user or helmsman is accustomed. This problem is common to known remote controls of the above-described type and is often a contributing cause of maneuvering errors, especially in the case of inexperienced users.


Techniques for detecting discontinuous transmission (DTX) are disclosed. In an example method, given a sequence of bits that is known by a wireless receiver to be included in transmission bursts targeted to the wireless receiver and given a series of received signal samples corresponding to an expected transmission burst for the wireless receiver, the wireless receiver estimates a channel response and a location for the sequence within the series. The wireless receiver generates a plurality of bit estimates from the subset of received signal samples, based on the estimated channel response, compares the bit estimates to bits in the sequence of bits, and determines whether a valid burst for the wireless receiver is present, based on said comparing. The disclosed techniques are particularly suitable for use in detecting DTX in VAMOS scenarios.

In a typical wireless communication system, the radio link between a user terminal (e.g., a cellular telephone) and the base station serving the user terminal is capable of conveying continuous voice signals in both directions, i.e., from the user terminal to the base station (and on to a remote party) and from the base station to the user terminal. However, in normal conversation, each person speaks on average for less than 50% of the total time. Transmitting radio signals that effectively carry nothing but silence creates unnecessary interference and wastes energy. Likewise, at the receiver end of the link, decoding radio signals carrying no voice signal wastes computing resources and also wastes energy. Accordingly, many wireless systems, including those based on the well-known Global System for Mobile Communications, support a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) feature that allows the radio transmitter to be switched off during periods when there is no voice signal to be sent.
DTX is enabled by a family of techniques known as voice activity detection (VAD), also known as speech activity detection or speech detection, which are used to detect the presence or absence of human speech in a signal. DTX is a mechanism that allows the radio transmitter to be switched off during periods of no speech activity, to achieve power savings in the user terminal and overall system level interference reduction over the air interface. With DTX, no speech signal is transmitted during the absence of the speech detected by the VAD. This state is known as DTX state.
When the receiver at the other end of the radio link detects that the transmitter has not transmitted speech frames, it marks the frame as 'bad', which is known in GSM specifications as "bad frame indication" (BFI), and generates appropriate comfort noise, so that the user feels that the connection is still active. Generally, in the GSM case, when a transmitter enters the DTX state it transmits a Silence Interval Descriptor (SID) frame after the last speech frame; the SID frame is used by the receiver to generate comfort noise. The transmitter thereafter transmits one SID frame at regular intervals of 480 milliseconds, for so long as there is no voice activity. The signalling of the Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) remains active during the DTX period. When a GSM mobile station (MS) is in DTX mode, only twelve TDMA bursts are sent in each 480-millisecond interval; of those, four bursts are for a SACCH frame and eight are for SID frame transmission. Currently, a similar DTX functionality is implemented in almost all mobile communications standards (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE), for the downlink (base-station-to-mobile-terminal) as well as in the uplink (mobile-terminal-to-base-station). Additional information about VAD and DTX can be found in the 3rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards directed to specifying speech handling in 3GPP networks, which can be found at http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/06-series.htm.
During a DTX period, the receiver at the other end of the link receives only a noise signal, if it opens up a radio frequency (RF) "window" during the no-transmission period. Ideally, the receiver should not process this noise signal. However, DTX condition detection in a receiver is not always easy. Several problems arise if DTX is not reliably detected. For instance, if a speech frame is wrongly detected as silence then the speech carried by that frame will not be played, leading to a degrading of speech performance. On the other hand, if a silence period or no-transmission period is wrongly detected as speech then a noise signal is improperly converted into an audio signal, resulting in poor speech quality and the unnecessary consumption of extra power for processing the signal. Furthermore, Automatic Frequency Control (AFC) and Automatic Time Correction (ATC) values can be wrongly updated from a noise signal burst, which will cause deterioration of the frequency- and time-synchronization of the receiver.
Release 9 of the 3GPP GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) specifications introduces a new feature, called "Voice Services over Adaptive Multi-user channels on One Slot," or VAMOS, which can potentially double the network voice channel capacity by assigning the same time slot and frequency for simultaneous use by two paired mobile stations. More about VAMOS can be found in the 3GPP report, "Circuit switched voice capacity evolution for GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN)," 3GPP TR 45.914, v. 11.0.0 (September 2012), available at www.3gpp.org. Additional information can also be found in chapter 11 of Sajal Kumar Das, Mobile Handset Design, Wiley (2010).
In the downlink direction, the VAMOS solution introduces an Adaptive QPSK (AQPSK) modulation scheme, in contrast to the Gaussian Minimum-Shift Keying (GMSK) modulation used in prior systems. This enables the scheduling of two users on in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) subchannels, known as subchannel 1 and subchannel 2, respectively. Allocation of different power levels to each subchannel is also possible. So, one user or MS uses the I channel and the other uses the Q channel, for simultaneous transmission of voice using the same time slot and frequency. A parameter α, where 0≦α≦√2, is chosen to create a quaternary constellation—the resulting constellation points of the AQPSK modulator are: (±α/√2, ±j√(2−α2)/√2). FIG. 1 illustrates an example AQPSK constellation diagram. As seen in the diagram, each symbol contains two bits (one for each mobile station), so there are four points in the constellation. Because the power to the I and Q channels may be imbalanced, the deviations in the I and Q directions of the constellation may differ, as is the case in the example shown in FIG. 1. The ratio of power between the Q and I channels is defined as the Subchannel Power Imbalance Ratio (SCPIR). The value of the SCPIR is given by:SCPIR=20*log 10(tan(α))dB=Powersubchannel-2/Powersubchannel-1
According to 3GPP TS 45.001, "in downlink, for a VAMOS pair, when DTX is employed for the TCH channels, AQPSK modulation as shown above shall be used when on a given physical resource both the TCH channels in the VAMOS pair have bursts scheduled for transmission simultaneously. If only one of the TCH channels in a VAMOS pair has bursts scheduled for transmission, with the other TCH channel being in DTX state (having no bursts scheduled for transmission, see 3GPP TS 45.008), the BSS shall send GMSK normal bursts. If none of the TCH channels in the VAMOS pair has bursts scheduled for transmission, then nothing is transmitted."
This excerpt from the 3GPP standards indicates that AQPSK modulation is only used if both users have bursts scheduled for transmission. If one of the paired VAMOS users is in DTX state, i.e., the voice transmission for one of the users is interrupted because of speech pauses, and then the base station (a BSS, in GSM terminology) will use traditional GMSK modulation instead of AQPSK. If neither user/subchannel is active then the network does not send anything, except SID updates and SACCH frame data for GSM. In this condition, both receivers must detect the DTX scenario properly and must also compute the subchannel power imbalance ratio (SCPIR) appropriately. Note that the measured ratio of powers can approach infinity in this scenario, as both powers are ideally zero. This can lead to an improper computation of the SCPIR, if proper care is not taken in the computational algorithm. That might lead to unexpected issues as the SCPIR value is used by the receiver for dynamic detection of interference cancellation, among other things.
The problem of reliably detecting a DTX condition is an old one. Prior patents and patent application publications have addressed this problem in several different ways. For example, US Patent Application Publication 2003/0142728 describes a two-dimensional quality metric, generated using an energy-per-bit-to-noise-power ratio as the first dimension and a re-encoded symbol error count as a second dimension, which is used to characterize the received frame as an erasure or as DTX. U.S. Pat. No. 6,904,557 describes a decoding of the received signal over a frame to determine a cumulative metric, which is then compared with a threshold. U.S. Pat. No. 7,616,712 describes Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) checking, whereby a received burst is classified as a normal burst or not based on a preliminary classification and the validity of CRC. Several other patents and patent application publications describe other techniques, including: US Patent Application Publication 2004/0095918; U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,054; U.S. Pat. No. 7,782,820; U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,979; U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,447; U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,238; U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,172; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,392.
All of the methods described in these references suffer from one or more issues, however. For instance, many of these methods are based on a metric that characterizes frame quality. To use these methods, the receiver has to receive all the bursts of that frame/block, then trigger the decoder, and then compute the frame quality based on one or more of several metrics, and then compare the results with a threshold. Some methods are also based on CRC checking. These techniques assume that if a frame is a DTX frame, then it will show up as a bad quality frame, or the CRC will fail, etc. But these techniques have several issues. First, the receiver has to receive all four bursts of the frame—only then can it decode and estimate block or frame quality. This leads to a significant time delay in detection. Further, unnecessary power and processing resources will be consumed due to the unnecessary reception and processing (including demodulation and block decoding) of all bursts of the invalid frame/block.
Other techniques are based on a bit-energy-to-noise ratio (Eb/N0) computation. This approach also has several issues. Again, these approaches may involve a delay in detection, as these techniques generally take all bursts of the frame and include decoding of the block. Further, techniques based only on Eb/N0 are not very reliable, yielding excessive false detections and/or missed detections. Methods based on received power measurements have similar issues.
DTX detection is complicated by the introduction of VAMOS. Previous DTX-detection techniques are not likely to be sufficient in VAMOS scenarios. In addition to the problems discussed above, reliable DTX detection becomes much more complicated when two orthogonal users (sub-channel-1 and 2) are dynamically going in and out of DTX mode and when the respective modulation is changing to and from AQPSK (two users active), GMSK (one user active), or a noise-like signal (no user active). In this scenario, the MS has to quickly detect that a DTX scenario has happened and respond accordingly.
For example, consider that MS1 and MS2 are two mobile stations paired for VAMOS. Further assume that MS1 is allocated more power than MS2. The network sets this power imbalance by using the 'SCPIR' value. So, the 'SCPIR' for MS1 is +ve. Now, in the paired condition, the modulation type is AQPSK, so MS1's receiver will detect the 'SCPIR' value as positive. (Generally, the MS employs an 'alpha' estimator to detect the 'alpha' value applied to the AQPSK signal. One technique for detecting a SCPIR value is described in US Patent Application Publication 2012/0244817, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein.) If the detected SCPIR is positive, then MS1 processes the received signal as is, e.g., using Single Antenna Interference Cancellation and/or other advanced receiver techniques, but generally without subtracting MS2's signal, i.e., the other sub-channel's data. MS2, on the other hand, will detect the 'SCPIR' as −ve, and will generally use one or more advanced receiver techniques, such as Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) and/or joint detection (JD) to process and decode the weaker signal targeted to MS2.
In this scenario, if one of the mobile stations goes to DTX mode, then the modulation will switch from AQPSK to GMSK. The SCPIR value will also change. If earlier it was −ve, then it will go to +ve. This is what MS2 will perceive if MS1 goes to DTX mode. On the other hand, if MS2 goes to DTX, then MS1, which earlier observed a SCPIR value of +ve, will now observe an even more positive SCPIR.
As a result of these complexities, DTX detection based on SNR, Eb/No, or received signal power will not work in the VAMOS scenario. Accordingly, improved techniques are needed.

Fast detection of discontinuous transmission


An apparatus and method for treating infestation in a wooden body is provided. The apparatus comprises at least one transducer configured to deliver High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) signals to at least one region of the wooden body. The method comprises scanning at least one part of the wooden body to identify at least one region of the wooden body infested with one or more pests. The method further comprises delivering HIFU signals to the at least one region of the wooden body infested with the one or more pests.

Pests affect a wide variety of wooden bodies ranging from household furniture to tree plantations. It is difficult to detect and remove or kill the pests residing inside the wooden bodies to prevent them from causing damage to the wooden bodies. This is because the infestation usually begins in a small region inside the wooden body. In this stage, the pests are relatively small and usually in a larva form. The size of the wooden bodies also poses a difficulty in detecting the infestation.
There are certain methods for detecting infestation inside wooden bodies. These methods include, but are not limited to, acoustic detection, electromagnetic detection and optical detection. These methods only assist in finding where the infestation is in the wooden bodies. There are a limited number of methods for treating the infestation within the wooden bodies.
One of most commonly used method for treating infestation inside wooden bodies is to burn down the wooden bodies affected by the infestation. This is particularly applicable for preventing the spread of pests in tree plantations. Other methods for treating infestation inside wooden bodies include use of ultrasound and microwave. The methods which use ultrasound do not use electronic focusing. Further, such methods attempt to treat infestation by raising the temperature of the entire wooden body. In such methods, the treatment is generally effective only in the regions nearest to the probes. The use of ultrasound signals in such a manner is generally not effective in treating infestation in wooden bodies. Further, such arbitrary application of temperature may be harmful to wooden bodies such as trees. The methods which use microwave radiation for treating infestation also have limitations. Firstly, the temperature of treatment drops rapidly with distance. Further, the application of microwave usually causes the surface of the wooden bodies to burn due to the high power applied on the surface. In addition, these methods do not focus the microwave radiation to specific regions within the wooden bodies.
In view of the above, there is a need for an improved apparatus and method for treating infestation in a wooden body.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the invention.

Apparatus and method for treating infestation in a wooden body

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)


A robot that uses sensor inputs for attention activation and corresponding methods, systems, and computer programs encoded on computer storage media. The robot can be configured to compute a plurality of attention signals from sensor inputs and provide the plurality of attention signals as input to the attention level classifier to generate an attention level. If a user is paying attention to the robot based on the generated attention level, the robot selects a behavior to execute based on the current attention level, wherein a behavior comprises one or more coordinated actions to be performed by the robot.

This specification relates to robots, and more particularly to robots used for consumer purposes.
A robot is a physical machine that is configured to perform physical actions autonomously or semi-autonomously. Robots have one or more integrated control subsystems that effectuate the physical movement of one or more robotic components in response to particular inputs. Robots can also have one or more integrated sensors that allow the robot to detect particular characteristics of the robot's environment.
Modern day robots are typically electronically controlled by dedicated electronic circuitry, programmable special-purpose or general-purpose processors, or some combination of these. Robots can also have integrated networking hardware that allows the robot to communicate over one or more communications networks, e.g., over Bluetooth, NFC, or WiFi.
Robots are often mobile machines that can operate away from grid-connected power sources and away from wired networking connections. As a result, resource consumption is of particular concern to mobile robots, both in terms of processing power and network bandwidth that is consumed for particular tasks. Therefore, computing power and network bandwidth are often resource bottlenecks when implementing sophisticated modern applications on mobile robots.


Methods, systems, articles of manufacture, and apparatus to extract shape features based on a structural angle template are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a template generator to generate a template based on an input image and calculate a template value based on values in the template; a bit slicer to calculate an OR bit slice and an AND bit slice based on the input image, combine the OR bit slice with the AND bit slice to generate a fused image, group a plurality of pixels of the fused image to generate a pixel window, each pixel of the pixel window including a pixel value, and calculate a window value based on the pixel values of the pixel window; and a comparator to compare the template value with the window value and store the pixel window in response to determining the window value satisfies a similarity threshold with the template value.

In recent years, the need for computers to determine features in an image has drastically increased. Computers are now expected to receive input images, identify objects within the input images, and present the user with images of similar objects. Such expectations require adequate computations and resources.
The figures are not to scale. Instead, the thickness of the layers or regions may be enlarged in the drawings. In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, descriptors such as "first," "second," "third," etc. are used herein without imputing or otherwise indicating any meaning of priority, physical order, arrangement in a list, and/or ordering in any way, but are merely used as labels and/or arbitrary names to distinguish elements for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor "first" may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as "second" or "third." In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for identifying those elements distinctly that might, for example, otherwise share a same name.


A touch panel system (11) prevents an incorrect operation caused by an unintended contact of an object with a touch panel while suppressing a decline in sensitivity of detection of presence or absence of a touch on the touch panel. The touch panel system (11) includes a touch invalidating section (9) which, in a case where a specific point of a touch panel (1) is continuously touched for a predetermined period of time, invalidates an instruction that is given, in accordance with the touch, to an electronic apparatus including the touch panel (1).

Currently, introduction of a touch panel system into various kinds of electronic apparatus including portable information devices such as smartphones and automatic vending machines such as automatic ticket vending machines is rapidly progressing.
In such electronic apparatuses, there is a demand for a technique for preventing an incorrect operation caused by an unintended contact of an object with a touch panel.
For example, in a case where a user operates such an electronic apparatus while carrying it in a user's hand, contact of the hand holding the electronic apparatus with a touch panel is judged as a touch on the touch panel. Based on this judgment, an incorrect operation would occur in the electronic apparatus. The incorrect operation caused by such a mechanism is expected to occur in a case where the electronic apparatus is a portable apparatus such as a smartphone, a tablet-type terminal, notebook computer, or the like. This reduces convenience of a user.
FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining this mechanism. As illustrated in FIG. 7, when a hand (object) 73 holding a tablet-type terminal 71 makes contact with a touch panel 72 of the tablet-type terminal 71, the contact is judged as a touch on the touch panel 72. This reduces convenience of a user as mentioned above.
The problem of an incorrect operation caused by such a mechanism is expected to more frequently occur as a width of a frame with respect to a display screen in which a touch panel is provided becomes narrower.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for preventing an incorrect operation of continuously detecting a specific coordinate position although no touch is made to a touch panel.
According to an input device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, in a case where detection of a specific coordinate position continues for a predetermined period of time, it is determined whether or not a difference between a detection value based on a change of an electrostatic field between electrodes and a reference value falls in a predetermined update detection range. In a case where the difference falls in the predetermined update detection range, the reference value is updated to the detection value. Note that the reference value is a value which serves as a standard by which presence or absence of a touch is judged based on the detection value. In a case where the detection value in a specific coordinate position is not less than the reference value or in a case where the detection value in a specific coordinate position is above the reference value, it is determined that a touch has been made to the coordinate position.
In this way, according to the input device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it is possible to prevent an incorrect operation of continuously detecting a specific coordinate position although no touch is made to a touch panel. Moreover, sensitivity of detection may be improved by detecting presence or absence of a touch on the basis of the updated reference value.

Touch panel system and electronic apparatus


A door checker includes a housing which has a base from which first and second opposing flanges extend. First and second guide pins are spaced apart from one another and are interconnected to the first and second flanges. The first and second guide pins are configured to deflect in response to a load. A check arm extends through the base and is arranged between the first and second guide pins. The check arm is configured to move relative to the housing and includes a profile that corresponds to a variable door holding force. A bearing member is arranged on one side of the check arm and the bearing member coacts with the profile and is supported on the first and second guide pins and is configured to slide thereon in response to movement of the check arm relative to the bearing member. The bearing member transfers the load from the check arm to the first and second guide pins.

This disclosure relates to a door checker used for automotive vehicle doors.
A door checker is commonly used in an automotive vehicle to hold a door in one of several discrete open positions. The door checker housing is mounted within a door cavity, and a check arm extends through the housing and attaches at one end to a vehicle pillar. The check arm includes a profile with a groove that has a variable height and several spaced apart pockets that correspond to the discrete open positions. A pair of spring loaded balls is arranged within the housing and cooperates with opposing sides of the check arm to provide a desired lateral and longitudinal holding force on the check arm.
In one prior art arrangement, the housing is provided by two stamped sheet metal housing portions that are secured to one another to provide a six-sided box-like structure enclosing the balls and springs. This configuration has been widely used and provides a robust door checker design, but is relatively heavy.


A combustion nailer includes a tool housing, a combustion source disposed at least partially in the housing and including a valve sleeve reciprocating relative to a cylinder head along a tool axis between a rest position and a pre-firing position, a fuel cell chamber in the housing in operational proximity to the combustion source and dimensioned for accommodating a fuel cell, at least one pivot point associated with the fuel cell chamber transverse to the tool axis for facilitating movement of the fuel cell between a non-activated position and an activated position, and at least one actuator pivotable about the pivot point and engaging the valve sleeve at a point closer to the tool axis than to the fuel cell chamber such that movement of the valve sleeve from the rest position to the pre-firing position causes movement of the fuel cell from the non-activated position to the activated position.

The present invention relates generally to handheld power tools, and specifically to combustion-powered fastener-driving tools, also referred to as combustion tools or combustion nailers.
Combustion-powered tools are known in the art, and one type of such tools, also known as IMPULSE® brand tools for use in driving fasteners into workpieces, is described in commonly assigned patents to Nikolich U.S. Pat. Re. No. 32,452, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,522,162; 4,483,473; 4,483,474; 4,403,722; 5,197,646; 5,263,439 and 6,145,724, all of which are incorporated by reference herein. Similar combustion-powered nail and staple driving tools are available commercially from ITW-Paslode of Vernon Hills, Ill. under the IMPULSE®, BUILDEX® and PASLODE® brands.
Such tools incorporate a tool housing enclosing a small internal combustion engine. The engine is powered by a canister of pressurized fuel gas, also called a fuel cell. A battery-powered electronic power distribution unit produces a spark for ignition, and a fan located in a combustion chamber provides for both an efficient combustion within the chamber, while facilitating processes ancillary to the combustion operation of the device. The engine includes a reciprocating piston with an elongated, rigid driver blade disposed within a single cylinder body.
Upon the pulling of a trigger switch, which causes the spark to ignite a charge of gas in the combustion chamber of the engine, the combined piston and driver blade is forced downward to impact a positioned fastener and drive it into the workpiece. The piston then returns to its original, or pre-firing position, through differential gas pressures within the cylinder. Fasteners are fed magazine-style into the nosepiece, where they are held in a properly positioned orientation for receiving the impact of the driver blade.
Conventional combustion fastener driving tools inherently create a resistance to the user pressing the tool against a workpiece before a fastener is driven. This operation causes a main portion of the tool to depend vertically under user pressure against at least one biasing element relative to a workpiece contact element for causing internal operational steps prior to ignition. Such steps include movement of the valve sleeve toward a cylinder head to close the combustion chamber, and the delivery of a dose of fuel from the fuel cell into the closed combustion chamber. In conventional tools, the resistance of the various internal components and linkages in this operation combine to create a significant actuation force. Conventional combustion nailers have an actuation force in the range of 10-14 pounds. The actuation force is sufficient to contribute to user fatigue after periods of extended tool operation.

Fuel cell actuation mechanism for combustion-powered tool


The present invention relates to a high-sensitivity defect inspection method, apparatus, and system adapted for the fine-structuring of patterns; wherein, in addition to a cleaning tank which chemically cleans a sample and rinses the sample, a defect inspection apparatus having a liquid-immersion element by which the interspace between the sample and the objective lens of an optical system is filled with a liquid, and a drying tank which dries the sample, the invention uses liquid-immersion transfer means from said cleaning tank through said liquid-immersion means of said defect inspection apparatus to said drying tank so that the sample is transferred in a liquid-immersed state from said cleaning tank to said liquid-immersion means.

The present invention relates to a defect inspection method, defect inspection apparatus, and defect inspection system used to inspect and observe defects, foreign particles, and the like, on the micropatterns formed on substrates through a thin-film forming process represented by manufacturing processes for semiconductors and/or flat-panel displays.
Fine-structuring of the patterns formed with photolithography is progressing with the enhancement of semiconductor integration density and the improvement of flat-panel display resolution. During the manufacturing processes for these products, the formation of the patterns is followed by defect inspection and/or the like in order to improve production yields. During the defect inspection, the patterns are detected as images by an optical system and then defects are extracted by comparing these images with those of adjacent dies (or cells). When it comes to the generation of sub-100 nm in terms of pattern size, however, optical systems lack resolution and pattern images become difficult to accurately detect. In the field of defect inspection optical systems, therefore, the resolution enhancement technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-155099 (corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/397,334) is known as an ultrahigh-resolution detection technology that uses wavelength reduction, numerical aperture (NA) enhancement, and light polarization.
In response to fine-structuring of technical nodes, wavelength reduction and NA enhancement are also progressing in the field of lithography. At present, the exposure apparatus that uses ArF laser light of a 193 nm wavelength is in practical use, and for further reduction in wavelength, F2 laser light with a wavelength of 157 nm is expected as a promising light source. However, the exposure with F2 laser light, presents problems such as increases in apparatus costs because the construction of an optical system becomes complex and decreases in exposure margins due to decreases in the depth of focus during exposure. For this reason, WO Patent Publication No. WO99/49504 describes the exposure technology that achieves the improvement of resolution and the suppression of decreases in exposure margins at the same time by applying the liquid immersion exposure that uses, for example, ArF laser light as exposure light.
In the above ultrahigh-resolution detection technology that uses light polarization, when a sample is irradiated with specific polarized light via a dry-system objective lens by incident illumination, the light thus reflected/diffracted is captured by the same objective lens and an image of the sample is detected using an image sensor. This conventional technology has had the characteristic that an optical image of the sample can be obtained with high contrast by detecting this image using only specific polarized components of the reflected/diffracted light. However, in a sample, represented by a semiconductor wafer, that has undergone a thin-film forming process, a transparent film made of silicon dioxide (SiO2), for example, is formed as an interlayer-insulating film. This insulating film has thickness unevenness in the wafer. During the inspection, such film thickness unevenness should originally not be detected since it has no fatal influence on device characteristics. During observation through a dry-system lens, however, thin-film interference on the transparent film causes the unevenness of the film thickness to appear as the unevenness of brightness on the image detected. For example, during comparative inspection with respect to adjacent dies, if the transparent films on these adjacent dies are uneven in film thickness, differences in the brightness of the respective images detected will occur and an image of the object will be incorrectly detected as a defect image. Increasing an inspection threshold value in an attempt to avoid such incorrect detection will pose the problem that total inspection sensitivity decreases.
Also, etched patterns are usually subjected to defect inspection. During defect inspection, therefore, sufficient consideration must be given to the fact that the pattern materials varying in type and form and in surface roughness (surface irregularities in level) are used in semiconductor processes.

Method and apparatus for inspecting defects and a system for inspecting defects


A joint torque computing unit computes joint torque T1 necessary to set a joint angle θ of a joint to a target joint angle ra. A summing unit obtains a sum value U1 representing a sum of generated force command values ue1 and uf1 as to mono-articular driving actuators, based on target stiffness rs of the joint. An elastic torque computing unit obtains elastic torque TPC1 according to elasticity of the mono-articular driving actuators acting on the joint. A restricting unit restricts the total value of the joint torque T1 and the elastic torque TPC1, so as to satisfy restriction conditions of |T1+TPC1|<U1×r, where r represents the moment arm radius of the link. A generated force computing unit computes the generated force command values ue1 and uf1 of the mono-articular driving actuators, based on the total value (T1+TPC1) restricted by the restricting unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot device having a control unit to control a pair of actuators for rotational driving of a link, a robot control method, a program, a recording medium, and a control device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ability for end effectors to flexibly come into contact with objects is becoming important in control methods of manipulators. Application of this to industrial robots could realize cooperative work between humans and robots, facilitating work of fitting parts to each other by controlling the direction of flexibility of end effectors, and so forth.
Also, applying this to legged locomotive robots could alleviate shock to the torso by coming into contact with the ground softly, and enable smooth ambulation over unsmooth terrain by absorbing difference in height.
In order to realize control of flexibility of the end effectors, impedance control where force sensors are worn on the end effectors, control using artificial muscle actuators, and so forth, is being performed. It is known that while human muscles are actuators, they are also control mechanisms with variable viscoelasticity. Rubber pneumatic artificial muscle actuators, of which the McKibben type artificial muscle actuator is representative, are similar to human muscles with regard to their viscoelastic properties. Now, controlling the softness of the artificial muscle actuators included in a manipulator enables contact with an object with optional end effector flexibility.
"Mechanical Properties of Robot Arm Operated with Muscle Coordinate System Consisted of Bi-articular Muscles and Mono-articular Muscles", Toru OSHIMA, Tomohiko FUJIKAWA, and Minayori KUMAMOTO, Journal of The Japan Society for Precision Engineering, Vol. 66, No. 1 pp. 141-146 (hereinafter "Oshima et al") proposes a "three-pair six-muscle model" manipulator having, in addition to artificial muscle actuators which drive a first link and a second link, a bi-articular simultaneous driving actuator to drive the first link and second link at the same time. Oshima et al have verified that by making the elasticity of the artificial muscle actuators to be equal, in a case where external force is applied to the end effectors along a line connecting a first joint and an end effector, there is exhibited a feature in stiffness characteristics in that the eternal force direction of the end effector and the direction of motion agree. McKibben actuators are difficult to use in motion control, due to the following reasons. The viscoelastic properties of McKibben actuators are nonlinear, and also control has to be applied to an antagonistic arrangement.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-86354 discloses deriving a simple feedback control system using saturation of control input, which controls joint angle at the same time as with stiffness control of the end effectors.
The dynamics of manipulator systems changes depending on the mass of the end effectors. A control system which does not take this change into consideration will exhibit degradation in capabilities to control the joint angle, due to grasping a payload at the end effectors, and so forth. Control based on passivity is known as a control technique to maintain control capabilities and stability in a case where change in dynamics has occurred in a manipulator system.
However, the manipulator control disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-86354 includes an integrator in the feedback system, to compensate for joint torque according to elastic elements of the actuator. Accordingly, control based on passivity such as Proportional Derivative (PD) control is not readily applied, and there is a problem in that change in mass at the end effectors due to grasping a payload or the like causes degradation in capabilities of tracking control of joint angle.

Robot device, robot control method, program, recording medium, and control device