A system for a hydraulically driven vehicle includes a pump producing fluid flow at an outlet, pump-motors having variable flow rates for driving the wheels, a hydraulic rail having a pressure and connecting the pump and the pump-motors, sensors producing signals representing rail pressure, pump-motor speed, pump-motor displacement, and a controller for determining a target hydraulic system parameter, determining, based at least in part on the flow rate of the pump-motor, rail pressure, and a flow rate produced by the engine-pump, a flow rate produced by the engine-pump that is required to produce the target system parameter, and adjusting an engine operating parameter of a cylinder-pump bank such that the demanded magnitude of the system parameter is produced.

The invention relates to a hydraulic hybrid powertrain for vehicles, particularly to a powertrain having an engine-pump for pressurizing a hydraulic system, an accumulator for energy storage, and pump-motors for driving the wheels.
In a hydraulic hybrid powertrain having a prime mover, such as an engine-pump that produces hydraulic flow at system pressure, and one or more pump-motors driving the wheels, it is desirable to operate at low system pressure to maximize the pump-motor efficiency during most operating conditions. There is, however, a mismatch in operating efficiency of the engine-pump and the efficiency of the pump-motors. The engine-pump has its highest efficiency at high system pressures. The pump-motors have their highest efficiency at lower system pressures.
It is desirable to operate at a high system pressure at times of peak demand, to achieve the required power with a smaller pump-motor. Also, system pressure is directly coupled to the stored energy state from regenerative braking. In a hydraulic hybrid, therefore, it is desired that rapid transitions occur between low system pressure and high system pressure, without incurring significant energy loss. This would allow normal operation at a low system pressure, and quick access to a higher peak torque level on demand. A powertrain operating this way would realize a significant improvement in system cycle fuel economy.
In a hydraulic hybrid powertrain, hydraulic flow at system pressure produced by the prime mover is used to drive one or more hydraulic pump-motors. Energy exceeding the current requirements of the powertrain is stored in a hydro-pneumatic accumulator. The pump-motors can provide regenerative braking. Kinetic energy of the vehicle produced by the pump-motors is recovered by a regenerative braking strategy and is stored in the accumulator. That energy can be supplied as required to the drive system from the accumulator. However, the system pressure necessarily decreases while the accumulator supplies this energy to the system. This drop in accumulator pressure reduces the available drive torque from the system.
It is desirable that the engine and storage accumulator are decoupled so that one pump-motor can use the stored energy to drive a first set of wheels, and another pump-motor can be powered by flow from the engine at pressure up to maximum system pressure to drive another set of wheels. This technique makes more total power available and better uses stored energy.
The magnitude of energy stored in an accumulator is approximately proportional to system pressure, and peak tractive output available from the pump-motors is also directly proportional to system pressure. Changing system pressure in this case requires a significant change in stored energy, and also takes time. This requires a compromise between drivability and use of energy storage to improve fuel economy.

Multiple pressure mode operation for hydraulic hybrid vehicle powertrain


A method and apparatus for storing a plurality of tires having a threaded portion, a rim portion and two sidewall portions, said method comprising the following steps; peripherally slicing each of said tires in two half tires along said threaded portion about midway between said sidewall portions; performing radial incisions in each of said two half tires, said incisions extending through said threaded portion and part of said sidewall portion; stacking up said half tires one on top of the other in order to form a pile of half tires; compressing said pile longitudinally in order to flatten said half tires one over the other; whereby, said radial incisions allow the threaded portion of each half tire to lie in the same plane as the sidewalls of the same half tire without warping when said half tire is compressed into a flattened condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of used tires storage and more specifically to a method and apparatus for taking used tires and slicing them into rings which are then stacked one on top of the other and compressed. The used tires are thus stored in a compressed flattened condition occupying a minimal amount of space.
2. Prior Art
Used tires represent a major problem in most industrialized countries. Various attempts have been made to burn or recycle used tires but the cost of such operations is so high that the majority of used tires are simply stacked in random piles or buried.
As a result, some areas have huge piles of used tires occupying valuable space and representing a potential hazard for fires which could cause environmental disasters.
To minimize the space occupied by the used tires, the present invention provides a method and an apparatus adapted to slice the tires into rings which are vertically stacked and compressed into flattened discs.
The piles of compressed stacked tires are held together by top and bottom retaining components which allow the tires to be stored in a compressed condition. A plurality of piles can be juxtaposed in order to form structures which can be used as blocks.
A search amongst prior patents revealed an apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,224 for stabilizing vertical stacks of tires on a pallet. However, the tires were not previously sliced into rings and thus still occupy a large amount of space.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,545,632, 3,922,942, 4,338,840, 4,338,339 and 4,134,316, all disclosed tire cutting apparatus adapted to cut the used tires according to various patterns. However, only 4,134,316 granted to Billinger discloses an apparatus adapted to cut the tires into annular configurations. Billinger's patent discloses an apparatus for severing tire carcasses through the thread portion in order to reduce the carcasses to a plurality of annular rings. However, the rings are not cut radially and thus are not adapted to be compressed in a flattened configuration.

Method and apparatus for storing used tires


A grinding machine turret enclosure system and an integrated computer monitor. The turret system comprises a pair of curved turret doors which are disposed between a circular top enclosure and a circular bottom turret platform. Each turret door forms a circular arc of approximately 130xc2x0, and each door is slideably positioned within a respective circular channel. Access to a grinding machine staging area is provided by sliding one or both doors in a circular direction, within its channel, away from the other door. When both doors are fully opened, access of approximately 230xc2x0 is created around the staging area. A computer monitor, which is used to set grinding coordinates, is pivotally attached to the top of the circular enclosure such that a grinding operator may revolve the monitor around the staging area to the area where adjustments are being made.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to the design of tool maker""s grinding machine enclosures.
2. Description of Prior Art
Today, tool maker""s grinding machines are generally enclosed within a box-like structure which allows the operator to access the tool making machine apparatus through a hinged access door mounted within a door frame. Once the operator has completed the set up operation to permit the machine to grind a specific tool design, the access door is closed and the machine is turned on. During the grinding operation, lubrication is accomplished by means of a continuous stream of oil which is directed at the grinder and tool. One function of the box-like enclosure is to direct the oil, which splashes in directions away from the grinder and tool, down and through an opening in the bottom of the grinding machine to permit the oil to be cooled and then recycled to be used again as the lubricant.
One of the limitations to the box-like enclosure is that its hinged door must be designed such that when closed it forms a complete seal around the frame to prevent the oil from leaking to the outside of the enclosure. Another significant limitation is that the door only allows the operator to access the grinding or staging area from one direction. Often times this limited access makes it difficult for the grinder and tool to be adjusted and positioned properly to permit a specific grinding operation to be performed. Some designs have addressed this problem by providing additional openings in the two sides of the box-like structure which are adjacent to the hinged door frame. Although these additional openings provide some improvement, access is still restricted where the two additional openings abut the hinged door frame. Further, these additional openings must also be sealed to prevent oil from leaking out of the enclosure.
Another limitation in prior art grinding machine enclosures is that the enclosures restrict the operator""s view of the grinding when the machine is being operated. Some prior designs have attempted to address this problem by providing a window in the hinged door and in the two adjacent sides of the enclosure. The operator""s view is still particularly restricted, however, by the window frames.
A further limitation of grinding machines as they presently exist relates to the location of the operator""s control monitor. Generally, the control monitor is located in a fixed position near the machine and is used by the operator to obtain the starting point coordinates of the grinder and tool, after the operator adjusts their location within the grinding machine. The operator makes these adjustments by using a hand held remote device which is attached to the monitor by means of a long cable. However, the hand held remote can be cumbersome because the operator must lay the remote down in order to use both hands to perform an operation within the staging area. Normally, the safest place to put the remote is on or near the monitor, which requires that the operator leave the grinder and walk over to the monitor, dragging the remote cable along the way. Further, in order to obtain the coordinates, the operator must also walk from the grinder over to the monitor where the coordinates are displayed.
The present invention is a grinding machine enclosure and monitor arrangement which overcome the limitations found in prior art grinders.
The present invention provides a new and unique method and device for accessing a grinding machine""s staging area where the tool grinding operation is performed. The invention comprises a grinding machine turret enclosure system and an integrated computer monitor. The turret enclosure system includes a pair of curved turret doors which are disposed between a circular top turret enclosure and a circular bottom turret staging platform. Each turret door forms a circular arc of approximately 130xc2x0 and is preferably made of transparent acrylic. The bottom end of each turret door rests in a circular channel which is integral to the perimeter of the bottom staging platform. By using handles attached to each turret door, the grinding operator can slide one door, or both doors, in a horizontal and circular track, formed by the channels, away from the other door in order to create a front opening between the two doors. Similarly, the operator may close the front opening by sliding one door, or both doors, toward the other door until their adjacent vertical edges come into contact. The adjacent vertical edges are notched such that when the opening between the two panels is closed, the notched edges overlap each other a sufficient distance to form a seal between the edges. A splash panel is positioned in a back opening which is formed when the two turret doors are closed. The splash panel, however, is not moveable in that it is rigidly connected to the top turret enclosure and bottom turret staging platform.
In operation, the operator may readily access the grinding machine""s staging area located within the turret enclosure by simply and efficiently sliding open the two turret doors. In fact, each door can be opened to create an opening of up to approximately 115xc2x0, and when both doors are opened to their fullest extent an opening of approximately 230xc2x0 is created. When both doors are fully opened, each door overlaps the other door, and both doors similarly overlap the outside surface of the splash panel.
It should be readily apparent that the present invention""s turret enclosure system overcomes all of the disadvantages of the prior art without introducing any disadvantages. The present invention provides the operator with 230xc2x0 of unrestricted access around the grinding machine""s staging area, while prior art designs provide only limited access through a front door in a rectangular enclosure, or possibly additional access through side window openings. The prior art configurations, however, are unable to eliminate the door and window frame access restrictions which are inherently part of the designs. These prior art designs must also provide elaborate sealing means around the door and windows to ensure that the grinding machine""s lubricant does not leak through the enclosure. On the other hand, the present invention provides an inexpensive and efficient means for sealing the turret enclosure when the turret doors are closed by simply overlapping the doors by means of the vertical notched edges.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the turret enclosure system""s transparent acrylic turret door design allows the grinding operator to visually inspect the grinding operation being carried out in the machine""s staging area. As a result, if a problem develops (e.g., loss of lubricant) remedial action may be taken quickly.
Another aspect of the present invention comprises the grinding machine""s integrated coordinate setting computer monitor. A horizontal arm member is pivotally attached at one end to the center of the top surface of the circular top turret enclosure. The arm member""s other end is pivotally attached to the top surface of a computer monitor, which is used by the operator to set the relative location of the grinding spindle and the tool which is in position to be ground, both within the staging area. First, the operator opens the turret doors so that he/she has the best possible access to the staging area. Then the operator revolves the monitor around the staging area in order to position the monitor so that it is adjacent to that specific portion of the staging area where access is needed. In this manner, the operator is able to establish the necessary starting point settings and obtain the starting point coordinates without leaving the vicinity of the staging area. This feature is advantageous in that it eliminates the need for the remote hand held device incorporated in prior art designs.


Provided is a device and a method for smart device and sensor node integrated application update, including an application program updating device including a generator to generate a package in a storage space by installing a sensing application, an extractor to extract an installation file and a profile of an application program interworking with the sensing application from the package, a recognizer to recognize a sensor node by referring to the profile, an installer to install the application program by transmitting the installation file to the sensor node, and an executor to execute the application program and the sensing application when the application program is installed in the sensor node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for installing or updating an application program of a sensor node for providing a personalized service by interworking with various sensor nodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the development of a sensing application that may receive sensing information from a sensor node and provide a personalized service to various fields such as medicine, security, and the like is in progress. Changing the sensor node based on the sensing application may be possible and thus, a smart device user may make use of various sensing applications.
However, limitations of installing a new application program that may control the sensor node when the sensor node is changed, and a need for the sensor node to be updated by a retailer, exist.
Accordingly, there is a desire for a technology that automatically installs an application program provided in a package of a sensing application in a corresponding sensor node when the sensing application is installed.

Device and method for smart device and sensor node integrated application update

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


An apparatus for the amplification and projection of the sound of a musical instrument, such as an acoustic guitar, adapted to mount within the guitar itself. The apparatus may mount within the sound hole of the guitar, with an outward facing speaker within the sound hole adapted to project the sound of the instrument. The apparatus may have an amplifier attached to the speaker in a unitary design. The apparatus may be battery powered.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to music, and more specifically to a system for amplifying an acoustic instrument, such as a guitar, using an internally mounted amplifier and speaker system that may be battery operated.
2. Description of Related Art
Musical instrument amplifiers are used to increase the acoustic volume of a performance of a musical instrument in a manner that produces sound faithful to the original instrument for the purpose of enabling the performance to be better heard.
Generally, a plucked string instrument such as a guitar is structured so that both ends of a plurality of strings are fixed to an instrument main body constituted of a body and a neck, and a bridge is sandwiched by the strings and a top of the instrument main body. A plucking operation of plucking the strings between the bridge and a nut on the neck with fingers produces musical sound. The bridge, in the case of a guitar, if fixedly attached to the top of the main body.
With an electric guitar, a magnetic pickup device that electrically detects the vibration of the steel strings by an induction effect allows for sensing, and then the amplification of, the vibration of the strings. With an acoustic instrument, the amplification typically is based upon the use of a microphone. With acoustic electric guitars, the guitar appears to be an acoustic instrument, but is wired with a pickup, typically within the bridge, that translates the vibrations into an electrical signal, often using a piezo effect.
Electric guitars and acoustic guitars and the music they produce are well known. Electric guitars are used with external speakers and amplifiers. When used in live performances in relatively large areas, the sound of an acoustic guitar is also amplified. Recent years have seen a demand for the faithful detection of the raw sound particular to acoustic instruments. In addition, often the need for amplification falls into a lower category that does not require large speakers and high power amplifiers.
What is called for is an amplification system for acoustic electric instruments that allows for increased volume and amplification without the use of large external amplifiers and speakers. What is also called for is such a device that can be as easily installed as guitar strings. What is also called for is such a system that does not constrain the user without physical connection to a stationary amplifier system.

Internally mounted self-contained amplifier and speaker system for acoustic guitar


A predetermined mathematical formula, which defines an occurrence degree of an image defect where the toner layer is thinned or no toner image is formed, is set up, which is valid for a developing device including a reverse turn developer carrier and a forward turn developer carrier. A difference between the total sum A of the values by the above formula showing the occurrence degree of the image defect on the forward turn developing roller and the total sum B of the values by the above formula showing the occurrence degree on the reverse turn developing roller, i.e., (A-B), is selected within a range of -0.56 to +0.5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developing device employed for an image forming apparatus, e.g., a laser printing machine and a copying machine in use with an electrophotographic picture.
2. Description of the Related Art
The image forming apparatus such as a laser printing machine and a copying machine in use with an electrophotographic picture basically takes a printing process including of 1) forming an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier (photosensitive body) rotatably supported, 2) supplying developer (toner particles) from a developing device onto the latent image to visualize the latent image as a toner image, and 3) transferring the toner image from the image carrier to a recording medium, e.g., a recording paper, and 4) fixing the toner image on the recording medium One of known developing devices that are applicable to this type of the image forming apparatus uses a developer having two components, toner particles and carrier particles.
The above developing device using the two-component developer will be described below. A two-component developer is mixed and blended in a developer container by stirring. During the mixing/blending process, the toner particles frictionally contact with the carrier particles, and those particles are charged to have a predetermined charge intensity. The thus charged developer is led from the developer container to a developer carrying member (developing roller), which includes a plural number of magnets, and is layered on the peripheral outer surface of the developing roller. With the rotation of the developing roller, the developer that is layered on the outer surface of the developing roller is moved forward under a doctor blade, which is disposed close to the outer surface of the developing roller. The developer is uniformly layered over the outer surface of the developing roller with the aid of the doctor blade when the developer moves under the blade. With a further turn of the developing roller, a uniform layer of developer is moved to a location (developing zone) being confronted with the surface of the latent image carrier. In the developing zone, a latent image formed on the image carrier is developed in a manner that the developer uniformly layered on the developing roller is brought into contact with the image carrier. At this time, a bias potential (referred to as a developing bias) has been applied to the developing roller so as to guide the developer to only an image area of the latent image, of the image area and a nonimage area. Under the developing bias, the developer is attracted to the image area of the latent image to develop or visualize the latent image.
The two-component developing device is devised in many varieties. One of these developing devices is a hybrid developing device. The hybrid developing device includes a plural number (e.g., two) of developing rollers oppositely disposed with respect to the developing zone. The rotating directions of the developing rollers are opposite to each other.
Terms "forward turn developing roller" and "reverse turn developing roller" will be used in the description of the hybrid developing device to follow. The "forward turn roller" means a developing roller which is rotated counterclockwise when the image carrier is rotated clockwise. The peripheral outer surfaces of both the rotary members move in the same direction when observed in the developing zone.
The "reverse turn developing roller" means a developing roller which is rotated in the same direction as of the image carrier. For example, when the image carrier is rotated clockwise, the "reverse turn developing roller" is also rotated clockwise. The moving directions of the peripheral outer surfaces of the rotating members are opposite to each other when observed in the developing zone.
In this type of the developing device, a ratio of a rotating speed of the developing roller to that of the image carrier, i.e., a peripheral speed ratio, is selected to be over 1.
Disadvantages of the conventional hybrid developing device will be described. When a toner image, which is formed through the developing process by only the forward turn developing roller, is observed, the toner layer is thinned and/or no toner layer is formed at the trailing end of the toner image, which is located upstream when viewed in the rotating direction of the image carrier. Therefore, the toner image is blurred at the trailing end. This image defect of the image will be referred to as a "trailing end blurring phenomenon".
On the other hand, the toner layer which is formed through the developing process by only the reverse turn developing roller is thinned and/or no toner layer is formed at the leading end of the toner image. Therefore, the toner image is blurred at the leading end. This image defect will be referred to as a "leading end blurring phenomenon".
Those image defects of the hybrid developing device can be indeed overcome in a manner that the forward turn developing roller supplementarily supplies toner particles to the defective portion, i.e., the toner-layer thinned leading end of the toner image developed by the reverse turn developing roller, while the reverse turn developing roller supplementarily supplies toner particles to the defective portion, i.e., the toner-layer thinned trailing end of the toner image developed by the forward turn developing roller.
However, this approach to overcome the image defects fails to achieve the above object in some setting conditions, however.


Methods of forming power semiconductor devices include the steps of forming an insulated gate electrode on a face of semiconductor substrate containing a body region of first conductivity type (e.g., P-type) therein extending to the face. Using the gate electrode as a mask, a step is then performed to oxidize the body region and substrate at the face to form a first oxide layer. Source and drain region dopants are then implanted through the first oxide layer and into the body region and substrate to define recessed source and drain regions of second conductivity type therein, respectively. The step of implanting source and drain region dopants may be preceded by the step of etching the first oxide layer using an etching mask which covers the gate electrode. The step of oxidizing the body region and substrate may also be preceded by the step of forming nitride spacers on sidewalls of the gate electrode and then also using the nitride spacers as a mask during the oxidation step. These nitride spacers are then removed prior to performing the step of implanting the source and drain region dopants.

Future intelligent power ICs will require high-density power devices along with analog functions and VLSI logic. DMOS transistors are important in power device applications capable of handling high voltages. For such devices, one figure of merit is the current handling capacity per unit area or the ON resistance per unit area. For a given voltage rating, the ON resistance per unit area may be reduced by reducing the cell area of the MOS device. In the field of power transistors, the combined width of the polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) and the contact region, which forms the gate and source electrode, respectively, is defined as the cell pitch of the device. For a DMOS power transistor, a known technique to reduce the width of the polysilicon region is to decrease the P-well junction depth. However, minimum junction depth is defined by the breakdown voltage required.
A conventional lateral DMOS (LDMOS) device is typically well suited for incorporation into VLSI processes because of its simplicity. However, LDMOS devices have been considered inferior to vertical DMOS (VDMOS) devices, and therefore have not received significant attention. Recently, a RESURF (Reduced SURface Field) LDMOS device with good specific on-resistance (R.sub.sp) has been demonstrated. But that device structure is more complex and not very versatile because it is typically limited to grounded source applications. More specifically, in the past, DMOS transistors have been utilized either as discrete power transistors or as components in monolithic integrated circuits. DMOS transistors are inherently conservative of semiconductor substrate area because of the manner in which they are fabricated in a self-aligned fabrication sequence. A channel body region is usually formed first by introduction of one type of dopant (P or N impurities) through an aperture in a mask of gate-forming material. This provides a channel region which is self-aligned to the gate electrode. Then a source region is usually formed by dopant introduction of a type opposite to that of the channel body region through the existing aperture so that the source is self-aligned to both the gate electrode and the channel body region. This permits a very compact structure.
Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a conventional method for fabricating a typical DMOS transistor is described. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a field oxide layer 2 is formed on a P-type semiconductor substrate 1 according to a well-known LOCOS (local oxidation of silicon) process in the art. Then, a layer 4 of oxide (silicon dioxide) is preferably thermally grown or deposited over the surface of the substrate 1 including over the substrate surface. This oxide layer 4 will preferably and subsequently serve as the gate insulator of the completed DMOS device. Next, 5000 .ANG. of polycrystalline silicon, for example, may be deposited on the insulating layer 4 and patterned, preferably by a conventional photolithographic masking and etching technique, to yield one or more conductive gate electrode regions 5 with each gate electrode region 5 serving as the gate electrode for a completed DMOS device. Also on the substrate, a photoresist layer is deposited and patterned to form a body forming mask 6. A P-type body region 8 is formed in the surface of the P-type substrate 1 by, for example, conventional photolithographic masking, etching and diffusion techniques using a P-type dopant source 7 such as boron.
Particularly, so as to render high conductivity to the gate electrode regions 5, a POCI.sub.3 doping or a ion implantation step has been used before performing a heat treatment step at high temperature. If desired, ion implantation techniques can be used to form the P-type body 8. The number of P-type bodies formed depends on whether a discrete DMOS device is being formed or whether one or more DMOS devices are being used as unit cells of an integrated circuit power device. The P-type body 8 doped with P-type dopants will eventually be used as the high conductivity (i.e., low resistivity) contact regions for the body channel of the completed DMOS device.
However, during fabrication of such a DMOS device using POCI.sub.3 doping and heat treatment (particularly for power devices), there arise at least two problems. One of the problems is that the channel region in the P-type body 8 has a nonuniform doping profile. This is because the P-type impurity injected into the gate electrode region 18 is diffused downwardly and laterally during the formation of the P-type body 8 and an N.sup.+ drain/source region therein. More particularly, a region of the P-type body which is nearly adjacent to the drain region has a rather low concentration of impurities therein. As a result, if an increased drain voltage is applied to the completed DMOS device, the drain region which is nearly adjacent to the channel region is easily depleted and susceptible to punchthrough. Accordingly, the electrical characteristics of the completed DMOS device, particularly the withstand voltage, can be seriously degraded.
In order to prevent the above described withstand voltage from being lowered, it is typically necessary to increase the channel length between the P-type body and the source region. This, however, increases the lateral dimensions of the DMOS device and reduces integration density. The other of the problems is that it is difficult to make the gate polysilicon have high conductivity by diffusing an N-type conductive source such as, POCI.sub.3, WSi.sub.X or the like. This is because the P-type body 8 is previously formed by doping with P-type impurities before diffusion of the conductive N-type source in the gate polysilicon. If the conductive gate is formed by diffusion of POCI.sub.3, an additional masking layer may be necessary to block P-type impurities during formation of the conductive gate. Also, when the conductive gate is formed without the use of such an additional masking layer, an impurity ion implantation step may need to be performed in place of the diffusion of POCI.sub.3. In the event an ion implantation step is performed, the resistance of the conductive gate may be undesirably increased. When diffusion of WSi.sub.X is used, an additional problem associated with lift-off may occur.
Moreover, if an ion implantation step for forming the P-type body is performed before forming a gate electrode region, there may arise a problem of misalignment during the formation of the P-type body. Such misalignment may degrade the electrical characteristics of the DMOS device. Additionally, it is typically necessary to form a very low-resistance channel between the channel body region and the source region to prevent undesired parasitic transistor action that may occur if the source/body P-N junction becomes forward biased at high current levels. Because the channel body region is lightly doped, and a low resistance electrical contact to a semiconductor region typically requires a heavily-doped surface region, it is necessary to provide an auxiliary heavily doped contact region for the channel body region to insure good electrical contact to both the source and body regions. Such a heavily doped body region usually cannot be self-aligned and hence there may be an increase in the overall size of the DMOS device. Typically, the heavily doped body contact region is formed before the other two regions. Then a rather thick masking oxide layer is used to protect the heavily doped body contact region against the source region dopant. The necessity to etch away or remove this masking oxide layer together with any oxide over the source regions, without disturbing the insulator over and/or under the gate electrode, increases fabrication costs, tolerances, and process complexity and, as a result, decreases the yields of electrically good devices.
While various processes having been utilized in an attempt to ameliorate the foregoing problems, there still exists a need to provide improved DMOS fabrication methods and process sequences.

Method of forming power semiconductor devices having insulated gate electrodes


The intake system has a valve seat, a plate valve, and an elastic sealing member. A path is provided to pass through the valve seat and to communicate with an intake passage of an internal combustion engine. The plate valve fits to or separates from the valve seat to close or open the path. The plate valve is provided with through holes passing through the plate valve in the thickness direction at a valve periphery part. The through holes are arranged linearly one after another in a peripheral direction of the plate valve to be offset to each other in the direction perpendicular to the peripheral direction. The elastic sealing member includes an elastic covering part that covers a first surface and a second surface of the plate valve and elastic coupling parts that are disposed in the through holes and are coupled with the elastic covering part at the first surface and the second surface.

Conventionally, the variable intake system is known to change a length of an intake passage through which intake air is supplied to an internal combustion engine (e.g., a combustion chamber in the internal combustion engine), based on an operation condition of the internal combustion engine. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP-2010-001847 A) and Patent Document 2 (JP-2009-216066 A) describe such a variable intake system.
According to Patent Document 1, a variable intake system has an intake manifold, an intake control valve, and an actuator. The intake manifold includes an annular protruding portion (e.g., an annular valve seat) protruding from an inner surface of an opening part that is provided at a curved wall surface of a connector. The intake control valve includes a valve body that is made of synthetic resin and is formed in a rectangular plate shape. The actuator operates a shaft of the intake control valve. The intake control valve further includes a sealing lip. The sealing lip is made of an elastomer and attached to an outer peripheral surface of the valve body. For example, the sealing lip is adhered to the outer peripheral surface by using an adhesive. When the sealing lip fits tightly to the annular valve seat that protrudes from the inner surface of the opening part, the opening part is fully closed and restricts intake air from leaking.
According to Patent Document 2, an intake control valve of a variable intake system has a valve shaft, a valve body, a base member, and an elastic spacer. The valve shaft is operated by an actuator. The valve body opens or closes a connecting hole provided by a periphery part, which is provided by a partition wall forming a chamber wall or an intake pipe. The base member rotates integrally with the valve shaft and supports the valve body to be relatively movable. The elastic spacer is made of an elastomer which is capable of deforming elastically. The elastic spacer is arranged between the valve body and the base member. The valve body includes a body member and an elastic sealing member. The body member substantially fully closes the connecting hole when the intake control valve is closed. The elastic sealing member is made of an elastomer. The elastic sealing member is arranged at a tip part of the body member and forms a tip part of the valve body. The elastic sealing member includes a sealing lip which is elastically deformed when the sealing lip fits tightly to a front edge of the periphery part provided by the partition wall.
According to Patent Document 1, the intake control valve used in the variable intake system has the valve body and the sealing lip. The valve body is made of the synthetic resin. The sealing lip is made of the elastomer and attached to the outer peripheral surface of the valve body. Therefore, an adhesion process is required to adhere the sealing lip to the outer peripheral surface of the valve body by using the adhesive. Therefore, manufacturing cost increases. The manufacturing cost may decrease when the sealing lip is adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the valve body without using the adhesive. However, adhesive strength of the sealing lip with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the valve body decreases, and the sealing lip may be peeled partly or peeled off from the valve body. Accordingly, a clearance is provided between the valve body and the valve seat when the intake control valve is fully closed, and intake air leaks through the clearance. As the result, while the intake control valve is fully closed, a volume of intake air leaking through the clearance increases. That is, a sealing performance declines.
A thermoplastic elastomers may be used instead of the elastomer forming the sealing lip. However, an adhesive strength between the thermoplastic elastomer and the synthetic resin forming the valve body is lower than an adhesive strength between the elastomer and the synthetic resin. Accordingly, when the sealing lip is made of the thermoplastic elastomer, the sealing lip may separate easily from the valve body. Therefore, a clearance is provided between the valve body and the valve seat when the intake control valve is fully closed, and intake air leaks through the clearance. As the result, a volume of intake air that leaks through the clearance while the intake control valve is fully closed increases. That is, the sealing performance declines.
According to Patent Document 2, the intake control valve used in the variable intake system has the valve body including the body member and the elastic sealing member, the base member, and the elastic spacer. Further, the elastic sealing member is integrally molded with the elastic spacer to form an elastic part that is made of the elastomer and mounted to the intake control valve. Accordingly, manufacturing cost increases due to increase of the number of components and the number of assembly processes.


The present invention aims to provide an ink which has a sufficiently large area factor even in a small ink droplet quantity and can obtain images having a high image density, and further has a superior storage stability. According to the present invention, a cyan ink is provided which is used in an ink set having four kinds of aqueous inks consisting of a cyan ink, a magenta ink, a yellow ink and a black ink in which each ink comprises at least water, a water-insoluble coloring material, and a plurality of water-soluble organic solvents having a good medium or good mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material and a poor medium or poor mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material, wherein, the ratio B1/A1 is from 0.5 or more to 3.0 or less, where A1 denotes the total content (mass %) of the good medium based on the total mass of the cyan ink and B1 denotes the total content (mass %) of the poor medium based on the total mass of the cyan ink, and a water-soluble organic solvent which shows the maximum Ka value among the respective Ka values of the plurality of water-soluble organic solvents as determined by the Bristow method is the poor medium.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an aqueous ink which contains a water-insoluble coloring material, and an ink set having the same. More particularly, it relates to an aqueous ink which is preferable in an ink-jet recording processes, and to an image-forming method which make use of the aqueous ink.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, inks which contain a water-insoluble coloring material such as pigments as colorants (pigment inks) are known to give images having good fastness such as water resistance or light-resistance. In recent years, various techniques are proposed for the purpose of more improving the image density of images formed using such inks.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-198955, it is proposed to achieve much more improvement in image density by the use of an ink containing a self-dispersion type carbon black and a specific salt. As also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-63719, a technique is proposed in which an ink-jet recording ink which is a composition containing a pigment, fine polymer particles, a water-soluble organic solvent and water and an aqueous solution containing a polyvalent metal salt are caused to adhere to a recording medium, and the ink composition is allowed to react with the aqueous polyvalent metal salt solution to form images having a high grade. In these techniques, in both cases, the pigment present in the ink in a dispersed state is forcedly made to flocculate on the recording medium surface to thereby keep the pigment from permeating into the recording medium, to obtain images having a much higher density.

Aqueous ink, ink set, and image-forming method


A nonreducible dielectric ceramic composition of a system, (A.sub.1-x R.sub.x).sub.y BO.sub.3, is produced using using at least one compound selected from the group consisting of water-soluble inorganic compounds and organic solvent-soluble organometallic compounds of rare earth element R together with oxides and/or carbonates of elements A and B.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for production of nonreducible dielectric ceramic composition and, more particularly, a method for production of a nonreducible ceramic composition used as a dielectric material for monolithic ceramic capacitors for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, monolithic ceramic capacitor are produced by a process comprising the steps of preparing ceramic green sheets, forming an internal electrode layer on each green sheet, stacking the green sheets to form a monolithic multilayer body, cutting it into green capacitor chips, firing them in a suitable atmosphere and then forming external electrodes on opposite sides of the resultant capacitor chips.
As a dielectric material for such monolithic ceramic capacitors, there have been used dielectric ceramic compositions of barium titanate modified with zirconates and titanates of alkaline earth metals. Since these dielectric ceramic materials of the prior art are generally reduced to semiconductors when fired in a neutral or reducing atmosphere with a low-oxygen partial pressure, they must be fired in an oxidizing atmosphere.
These conditions require use of an internal electrode material which does not melt at sintering temperature of the dielectric ceramic material and which does not oxidize even in an atmosphere with a high-oxygen partial pressure. For this reason, noble metals such as palladium or platinum have been used as a material for internal electrodes. However, the use of noble metals has resulted in the increase in the cost of monolithic ceramic capacitors as the noble metals are expensive. In addition, there is an increasing demand for monolithic ceramic capacitors which are small in size but large in capacitance. Thus, the cost occupied by internal electrodes increases with decrease in size of monolithic ceramic capacitor.
To solve these problems, it has been proposed to use inexpensive base metals such as nickel as a material for internal electrodes. However, these base metals are easily oxidized in the sintering atmosphere with a high partial pressure of oxygen. Thus, in order to prevent internal electrodes from oxidation during sintering, it is required to use a nonreducible dielectric ceramic material which is not semiconductorized even if fired in a neutral or reducing atmosphere with a low partial pressure of oxygen and which possesses high insulating resistance and excellent dielectric properties enough to use it as a dielectric material for capacitors.
JP-B H2-63664 discloses a nonreducible dielectric ceramic composition composed of a solid solution of barium titanate containing a rare earth element such as Ce. This composition is very useful as a dielectric material for monolithic ceramic capacitors because of its high dielectric constant and high resistance to reduction. Such a dielectric ceramic material has generally been produced by mixing carbonates and/or oxides of the respective components in given molar ratios and then calcining the mixture in air. It is, however, difficult with such a process to prepare raw materials having grain size of not more than 1 .mu.m. If raw materials with large grains size are mixed and calcined to prepare a dielectric ceramic composition, the concentration of the rare earth element varies with place to place because of its nonuniform diffusion, thus making it difficult to produce a dielectric ceramic material with a uniform composition. If such a dielectric ceramic material is fired in a reducing atmosphere, it is partially semiconductorized in the regions where the concentration of the rare earth element is increased. For these reasons, the use of such a dielectric ceramic material results in decrease in the reliability of the monolithic capacitors.

Production of nonreducible dielectric ceramic composition


Estimating and compensating the frequency offset between a transmitter and a receiver is essential for reliable communication in wireless communication systems. Before a client terminal synchronizes with a base station, the initial frequency offset may be high. The frequency offset estimation may need to be performed even without having time synchronization with a base station. In case of cellular systems multiple base stations may be using the same RF channel to transmit their signals. The signals from different base stations may be superimposed at the receiver of the client terminal. A method and apparatus are disclosed for frequency offset estimation in presence of the signals from multiple base stations and with unknown timing of the base station.

Typically, as shown in FIG. 1, a wireless communication system 10 comprises elements such as client terminal or mobile station 12 and base stations 14. Other network devices which may be employed, such as a mobile switching center, are not shown. In some wireless communication systems there may be only one base station and many client terminals while in some other communication systems such as cellular wireless communication systems there are multiple base stations and a large number of client terminals communicating with each base station.
As illustrated, the communication path from the base station (BS) to the client terminal direction is referred to herein as the downlink (DL) and the communication path from the client terminal to the base station direction is referred to herein as the uplink (UL). In some wireless communication systems the client terminal or mobile station (MS) communicates with the BS in both DL and UL directions. For instance, this is the case in cellular telephone systems. In other wireless communication systems the client terminal communicates with the base stations in only one direction, usually the DL. This may occur in applications such as paging.
The base station to which the client terminal is communicating with is referred as the serving base station. In some wireless communication systems the serving base station is normally referred as the serving cell. While in practice a cell may include one or more base stations, a distinction is not made between a base station and a cell, and such terms may be used interchangeably herein. The base stations that are in the vicinity of the serving base station are called neighbor cell base stations. Similarly, in some wireless communication systems a neighbor base station is normally referred as a neighbor cell.
Duplexing refers to the ability to provide bidirectional communication in a system, i.e., from base station to client terminals (DL) and from client terminals to base station (UL). There are different methods for providing bidirectional communication. One of the commonly used duplexing method is the Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD). In FDD wireless communication systems, two different frequencies, one for DL and another for UL are used for communication. In FDD wireless communication system, the client terminals may be receiving and transmitting simultaneously.
Another commonly used method is the Time Division Duplexing (TDD). In TDD based wireless communication systems, the same exact frequency is used for communication in both DL and UL. In TDD wireless communication systems, the client terminals may be either receiving or transmitting but not both simultaneously. The use of the radio frequency (RF) channel for DL and UL may alternate on periodic basis. For example, in every 5 ms time duration, during the first half, the RF channel may be used for DL and during the second half, the RF channel may be used for UL. In some communication systems the time duration for which the RF channel is used for DL and UL may be adjustable and may be changed dynamically.
Yet another commonly used duplexing method is the Half-duplex FDD (H-FDD). In this method, different frequencies are used for DL and UL but the client terminals may not perform receive and transmit operations at the same time. Similar to TDD wireless communication systems, a client terminal using H-FDD method must periodically switch between DL and UL operation. All three duplexing methods are illustrated in FIG. 2.
In many TDD wireless communication systems, normally the communication between the base station and client terminals is organized into frames as shown in FIG. 3. The frame duration may be different for different communication systems and normally it may be in the order of milliseconds. For a given communication system the frame duration may be fixed. For example, the frame duration may be 10 milliseconds.
In a TDD wireless communication system, a frame may be divided into a DL subframe and a UL subframe. In TDD wireless communication systems, the communication from base station to the client terminal (DL) direction takes place during the DL subframe and the communication from client terminal to network (UL) direction takes place during UL subframe on the same RF channel.
When a client terminal is powered on, it may not have information about the frame timing of the base station. The client terminal may first perform power scan and select a suitable RF channel for performing synchronization with the base station timing. Therefore, in general the power scan may be performed by the client terminal when its timing is not aligned with that of the base station.
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems typically use Cyclic Prefix (CP) to combat inter-symbol interference and maintain orthogonality of the subcarriers under multipath fading propagation environment. The CP is a portion of the sample data that is copied from the tail portion of an OFDM symbol to the beginning of the OFDM symbol as shown in FIG. 4. One or more OFDM symbols in sequence as shown in FIG. 4 are referred herein as OFDM signal.
In addition to the purposes mentioned above, the CP is often used for frequency offset estimation at the receiver. Any frequency offset at the receiver relative to the center frequency of the transmitted signal will cause the phase of the received signal to change linearly as function of time. The two parts of an OFDM signal that are identical at the transmitter, i.e., the CP and the tail portion of the OFDM symbol, may undergo different phase change at the receiver due to the frequency offset. Therefore, the frequency offset can be estimated by performing correlation between the CP and the tail portion of the symbol. The angle of the CP correlation indicates the amount of phase rotation that is accumulated over the duration of an OFDM symbol. This accumulated phase rotation is then used for frequency offset estimation. There may be other impairments such as noise, fading and interference that may make the two parts of an OFDM symbol different. However, such impairments may be random in nature and may tend to cancel out during CP correlation computation. On the other hand, the phase offset between the two parts of the OFDM symbol tend to accumulate as each sample pair of parts being correlated may have on average the same phase difference.
The frequency offset at the receiver during initial synchronization may be very high. Furthermore, since the client terminal is not synchronized to any base station during initial synchronization, the OFDM symbol boundaries are not known to the client terminal. In wireless communication system deployments where frequency reuse is employed, the signals from several base stations may be superimposed. In some cases, the various base stations may not be time synchronized, i.e., the OFDM symbol boundaries for the different cells may not be time aligned. Even if the OFDM symbol boundaries are time aligned the propagation delays from different base stations to the client terminal may be different and therefore the OFDM symbol timing may not be time aligned at the client terminal receiver. Furthermore, in some wireless communication systems such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced, an option of using different CP length exists and the exact CP in use may not be known a priori to the client terminal. Also, the different base stations whose signals may be superimposed may be using different CP length. The overall received signal scenario is illustrated in FIG. 5. In case of TDD systems since the same frequency is used for transmit and receive, at power up the client terminal may not be aware of the boundary between DL and UL. In case of TDD systems, the significant power difference between DL and UL may create challenges in performing frequency offset estimation and may lead to inaccurate frequency offset. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable frequency offset estimation in presence of multiple interfering OFDM signals of different CP types and with or without time synchronization for all types of duplexing schemes.

Method and apparatus for frequency offset detection in OFDM systems with frequency reuse


A control system for a variable flow filtration system that is configured for receiving an operating condition of a variable speed impeller of the variable flow filtration system; determining a threshold filter force associated with the received operating condition to determine an increased threshold filter force proportionally to increases in the received operating condition; receiving one or more real-time environmental conditions of the variable flow filtration system; modifying the determined threshold filter force based on the received one or more real-time environmental conditions; receiving a real-time filter force imparted by a filter of the variable flow filtration system on a load cell or other filtration system component, the filter force being imparted by a flow of gas or fluid driven by the variable speed impeller; comparing the received real-time filter force to the modified determined threshold filter force; and generating a filter status notification based on the comparison.

Filtration is a ubiquitous technique used for removing particulates and other unwanted matter from any type of fluid or gas. For example, in many heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, air (and other fluids and gasses) are filtered to remove debris within an enclosed space of a temperature-controlled environment. In the case of HVAC systems, for example, as the air is circulated, an air filter collects and traps particulate matter which is later removed via either filter replacement or cleaning. A dirty or loaded air filter places a strain on the air movers of the HVAC system, which can cause increased power consumption, reduced airflow, mechanical stress on the motors of the air movers, and shorter system life expectancy. In some instances, air filters are physically inspected to determine if maintenance or replacement is necessary. In other instances, air filters are replaced at scheduled intervals, even if the air filter does not necessarily need to be changed. Often, air filter replacement and/or cleaning does not take place at proper intervals, and overall system performance is negatively impacted.
Likewise, liquid and gas filtering systems are an integral component in the gas and oil industry, and in other systems that involve the removal of contaminants from a flowing stream of liquids and gases. For example, in automotive and industrial applications, fluid filters are used to remove particulates from motor oils (e.g., using an oil filter), refrigerants, coolants, and brake fluids. In the case of industrial applications, many companies spend significant time and resources on monitoring, scheduling, and replacing dirty oil and coolant filters, and on repairing damage that occurs from overly dirty fluid filters.
Moreover, the nature of filtration is changing due to the changing nature of forced fluids and air systems. In particular, whereas in the past, air and fluids were either being driven, or not, in modern systems, air and fluids are more often being driven at variable speeds and forces. As a result, existing techniques are insufficient for determining filter loading by measuring an amount or extent of clogging or dirtiness.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system to accurately determine the status of filters by determining an amount or extent of clogging or dirtiness of fluid/air filters in a variable flow environment.

System for determining force imparted by a filter in a variable force environment and related methods of use


The relay has at least one switching system with a base body (1) forming a baseplate (11), in which base body a contact spring connection element (4) and mating contact elements (5, 6) are anchored and on which base body a coil (21, 22) with a core (23) and a yoke (24) is arranged upright with the coil axis perpendicular to the baseplate, an armature being arranged between the coil and the baseplate. A contact spring (3) connected to the armature (26) is constructed in a U-shaped manner, and the resultant two spring limbs form a connection limb (31) and a contact limb (32) having high current conductivity. The relay can be produced in a simple manner with simple parts either as a single relay or as a double or multiple relay.

The invention relates to an electromagnetic relay having at least one switching system, which has:
a base body forming a baseplate, PA1 a contact spring connection element and at least one mating contact element, which are each anchored in the base body, PA1 a coil with a core and a yoke, which coil is arranged upright with its winding axis vertically over the baseplate, PA1 an armature arranged between the coil and the baseplate, and PA1 a contact spring, which is connected to the armature and interacts with the mating contact element.
In addition, the invention relates to the use of such a relay on a printed circuit board.
A relay of the type mentioned in the introduction is disclosed in German reference DE 28 54 591 A1, for example. In that case, the contact spring is fastened as an armature restoring spring to the yoke, and the associated connection element is connected to the yoke on the opposite side. Apart from the manufacturing difficulties entailed by such fastening of the current-carrying parts on two opposite sides of the yoke, the current path from the contact spring to the printed circuit board thereby becomes comparatively long. Moreover, the two-fold contact resistance could lead to undesirable heating in the event of high switching currents.
German reference DE 42 43 852 C1 likewise shows a relay of the type mentioned in the introduction. In that case, in order to obtain a sufficient spring length at the rear side of the yoke the contact spring is first of all angled upward, is then bent downward through 180.degree. and fitted, using a connecting element in the form of a resilient clamping device, onto the associated connection element, where it is then permanently welded in a further work operation.

electromagnetic relay and its use on a printed circuit board


One embodiment provides a method for predicting a next action in a conversation system that includes obtaining, by a processor, information from conversation logs and a conversation design. The processor further creates a dialog graph based on the conversation design. Weights and attributes for edges in the dialog graph are determined based on the information from the conversation logs and adding user input and external context information to an edge attributes set. An unrecognized user input is analyzed and a next action is predicted based on dialog nodes in the dialog graph and historical paths. A guiding conversation response is generated based on the predicted next action.

In recent years, great efforts have been made to research and develop virtual conversation assistants (e.g., Chatbots). Currently, in conversations with chatbots, a large percentage of user answers returns default or does not match any conditions including intents, entities or variables in a dialog. In these cases, the chatbot system responds with a default message, e.g., "I am sorry," "I do not understand," etc. Conventional methods are focused on improving the accuracy of natural language understanding solely based on linguistic features.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Graph based prediction for next action in conversation flow

International Business Machines Corporation


An engine assembly includes a gas-turbine engine having a tailcone portion and a bypass duct, a rocket engine combustion assembly located at the tailcone portion of the gas-turbine engine, and a movable nozzle segment subassembly that is selectively engageable with the gas-turbine engine bypass duct in an open position and with the rocket engine combustion assembly in a closed position.

Space travel has traditionally utilized vertical takeoffs to send a vehicle to orbit. Vertical takeoff vehicles utilize a controlled explosion to produce enough thrust to overcome the inertia of the motionless vehicle, which generally weighs millions of pounds including fuel and cargo. The stress generated by such vertical liftoffs is tremendous. Such stresses can limit the re-usability of components, and can lead to failure of components during flight. Historically, vertical takeoff vehicles have not been able to achieve the same level of safety and reliability rates as found with commercial jet aviation. Moreover, even reusable shuttlecraft utilize booster rockets, which are expensive and present retrieval or disposal difficulties after being jettisoned.
It is desired to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective access to space. Thus, the present invention provides a single-stage-to-orbit engine system that can be used with a vehicle suitable for horizontal takeoffs and horizontal landings.

Integrated airbreathing and non-airbreathing engine system


A noncontact coupler comprising a pair of magnetic cores 1, 1 each having a U-shaped open magnetic path, a primary coil L1 and secondary coil L2 being wound around said cores 1, 1 separately respectively, said coupler transmitting AC electric power between said primary and secondary coils L1, L2 by means of an annular closed magnetic path B formed by opposing in proximity both open magnetic face sides of said cores, wherein said primary and secondary magnetic cores 1, 1 are respectively split at least at their sides facing to each other, and a gap forming a spatial magnetic path is interposed between said split pieces. A diameter a of a medium leg 51 positioned inside an annular groove 52 around in which the coils L1, L2 are wound (housed) is set almost equal to a width b of the annular groove 52. These provide effects of lightening a noncontact coupler while securing its performance and improving handleability with enhancing tolerance for positioning of the primary and secondary cores.

A noncontact coupler using magnetic coupling technique is used as a means of supplying power to or charging an electric car, electric bicycle or other electric apparatuses.
FIGS. 16A–16D illustrate a structure of a prior art noncontact coupler. In this figure, FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a magnetic core 1′, FIG. 16B is a plan view of FIG. 16A; FIG. 16C is a cross-sectional view of a noncontact coupler using the core 1′; and FIG. 16D is an equivalent circuit of the same.
As shown in the figures, the noncontact coupler includes a pair of magnetic cores 1′, 1′, each of which forming a U-shaped open magnetic path, and a primary coil L1 and a secondary coil L2 separately wound around the respective cores. The cores 1′, 1′ are opposed to each other with both open magnetic face sides of the respective cores 1′, 1′ in proximity to form an annular closed magnetic path B to allow the primary coil and the secondary coil to transmit AC power (high frequency power) to each other.
In this case, the core 1′ in which the primary coil L1 is wound corresponds to a primary of a transformer and the core 1′ in which the secondary coil L2 is wound corresponds to a secondary of a transformer respectively. The primary and the secondary are closely located each other at the interval of d and work as though it constituted one transformer.
The magnetic core 1′, 1′ is made of for example a ferrite magnetic body and integrally formed in a disc-shape. At one side of said disc magnetic core 1′, a circular groove 52 is formed so that the coil L1, L2 is wound (received) therein, and the U-shaped open magnetic path is formed as detouring around the circular groove 52. Inside the annular groove 52, namely in the center of the disc, is formed a medium leg 51 which forms one pole face of the U-shaped open magnetic path. On the other hand, an outer circumference of the annular groove 52, namely outside of the disc, is formed an annular outer leg 53 and the other pole face of the U-shaped open magnetic path.
In the above noncontact transmission coupler, it is necessary to strengthen the magnetic coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil for improving efficiency of power transmission. In other words, it is necessary to keep the magnetic coupling coefficient between the primary/secondary as high as possible. Then, in the prior art, a magnetic coupling was maximized between the cores 1′, 1′ by means of enlarging the area of the pole face (pole area) as large as possible. Because the wider the area of magnetic surface facing to each other is made, the tighter the magnetic coupling becomes. Therefore, the cores 1′, 1′ are formed in a solid integral structure, namely filled structure, having no void as a whole and to have a large magnetic pole area as large as possible. See Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2000-150273.
In the noncontact coupler, there were some problems as to its characteristics and structure stated below.
Namely, the structure confining the magnetic path B into the magnetic cores 1′, 1′ each having a filled integral structure can get high coefficient of the magnet coupling when both the magnetic cores 1′, 1′ are faced to each other concentrically. However, as shown in FIGS. 17A, 17B, when a lateral displacement (side displacement) arises between both the magnetic cores 1′, 1′, then the coupling coefficient fairly decrease by the lateral displacement h. Convenience in handling of the noncontact coupler will be deteriorated when the changing rate of the coupling coefficient for the displacement is large, because positioning between the primary and secondary requires accuracy.
Further, most weight of the noncontact coupler owes the magnetic cores (1′, 1′) of solid integral structure, increase in weight was unavoidable and this interrupted attempt to lighten the noncontact coupler.
The first object of the present invention is to improve usability of the noncontact coupler while securing its performance.
The second object of the present invention is to improve usability of the noncontact coupler by means of lightening the weight while securing its performance.
The third object of the present invention is to improve usability of the noncontact coupler by broadening tolerance in positioning of the primary and secondary cores.
Other objects and features according to the invention described above would be made clear by the following description of the specification and drawings.


Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to optical dark section conditioning. An embodiment generates at least one of a broadband noise or signal at the head end of a section for a first module of the section; and operates all other modules of the section in gain control mode.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to monitoring dormant or out-of-service fiber optics for layer 0 restoration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Turning up wavelengths in an optical link, especially in a DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) system, is becoming time critical in terms of layer 0 restoration schemes. Any potential link failures can delay the wavelength turn up and therefore delay or fail the overall layer 0 restoration with respect to time. Such optical link failures include, but are not limited to, optical line fails, line fiber cut, extended span loss reach in any span that can drive the next amplifier block, or EDFA (erbium doped fiber amplifier) to shutoff or in input loss of signal (LOS) state. It is possible to have high back reflection present on the line fiber that could severely impact the performance of the optical channels. It can also drive down the amplifier output power to a lower value by triggering, for example, the amplifier safety mechanisms (e.g., automatic power reduction mechanism or APR). Any of the line amplifiers, for example, can be manually set to out-of-service that can shutdown the amp causing severe service interruption on that link.
If these traffic interrupting link disturbances can be detected ahead of time for any optical link, that link can be avoided during the phase of layer 0 restoration. Traffic impacting link disturbances can be detected when links are already carrying some level of traffic channels.
If the link remains dark either in day 1 installation when the link is not carrying any traffic or after fixing link down related conditions (e.g. fiber cut) where all services were earlier moved due to link failures, traffic may be reverted back on the home path after fixing the fault points. If the link is not verified ahead of time, any restoration or reversion action triggered over the dark link may fail due to the above mentioned link imperfections.

Systems and methods for optical dark section conditioning


The folding baby carriage is foldable so that four wheels approach each other back and forth and from side to side. The baby carriage includes a lower frame structure that is positioned above the four wheels to form a seating surface portion of a seat and that is foldable so as to approach back and forth and from side to side with the four wheels, and an inverted U-shaped member extending to rise upward from both sides of the seating surface portion. The inverted U-shaped member remains on a single plane in both the folded state and the opened state without bending out of this plane, but lower ends of the inverted U-shaped member come closer together in the folded state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a folding baby carriage and more particularly, to a folding baby carriage folded so that four wheels may approach each other back and forth and from side to side and more particularly, to a folding baby carriage in which its rigidity is enhanced.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a baby carriage disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-58599. FIG. 1 shows an opened state of the baby carriage and FIG. 2 shows a folded state of the baby carriage. As can be clear when FIG. 1 is compared with FIG. 2, when the baby carriage 1 is folded, four wheels 4 and 6 approach each other back and forth and from side to side.
The illustrated baby carriage 1 comprises a body 2 mainly constituted by bar-shaped members, and a seat hammock 3 mounted on the body 2 to form a seat. The baby carriage body 2 comprises a pair of front legs 5 having the front wheels 4, a pair of rear legs 7 having the rear wheels 6, a pair of handrail members 8 positioned above both sides of the seating surface, a pair of inverting members 9 turnably mounted on rear legs 7, and a push bar 10 having an inverted U-shaped configuration, connected to rear end portions of the pair of handrail members 8 and extending upward.
The push bar 10 has a pair of side vertical bars 11 linearly extending in the vertical direction so as to be parallel to each other, and an upper portion connecting member 12 connecting upper ends of the pair of side vertical bars 11. The upper portion connecting member 12 has a pair of rotating members 12a provided so as to receive the side vertical bars 11 and rotate around the side vertical bars 11, and a center member 12b connecting the pair of rotating members 12a. The rotating member 12a and the center member 12b are connected so as to be allowed to be bent as shown in FIG. 2.
A lower frame structure positioned above the four wheels 4 and 6 and forming a seating surface portion of a seat is folded so that the four wheels 4 and 6 may approach each other back and forth and from side to side. The inverted U-shaped push bar 10 extending to rise upward from both sides of the seating surface portion is bent forward by protruding the center member 12b forward to reduce the dimension in the width direction, in the folded state shown in FIG. 2.
According to the baby carriage disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-58599, since it is folded while a dimension in the width direction is reduced, the push bar 10 is constituted so as to be allowed to be bent forward. More specifically, each rotating member 12a of the upper portion connecting member 12 is allowed to be rotated around each side vertical bar 11, and the edge of each rotating member 12a is connected to the center member 12b so as to be allowed to be bent.
As described above, when the push bar 10 is constituted by the plural members and those members are connected at joint portions so as to be allowed to be bent, the baby carriage can be folded while its dimension in the width direction is reduced. However, because of the joint portion connecting the adjacent members so as to be allowed to be bent, even in the opened state of the baby carriage, the joint portion of the inverted U-shaped push bar 10 becomes wiggly or flexible. Because the joint portion becomes wiggly or flexible, the push bar 10 is easily twisted or distorted. Since the twist or distortion beginning at the push bar 10 is transmitted to the lower frame structure, the rigidity of the whole baby carriage in the opened state is lowered.


In a spread spectrum digital radiocommunication receiver, a first estimate of a symbol transmitted by a sender is calculated by applying to a radio signal received a processing taking into account a number N of propagation paths from the sender, a parameter of reliability of the first estimate is evaluated, and when the reliability parameter evaluated does not satisfy a confidence criterion, a second estimate of the symbol is calculated by taking into account at least one (N+1)-th propagation path from the sender in the processing applied to the radio signal received.

The present invention relates to the processing of the signal in spread spectrum digital radiocommunication receivers.
The invention finds application in the field of code-division multiple access (CDMA) radiocommunications, such as UMTS ("Universal Mobile Telecommunication System").
In a CDMA system, the symbols transmitted, binary (±1) or quaternary (±1±j), are multiplied by spreading codes composed of samples, called "chips", whose rate (3.84 Mchip/s in the case of UMTS) is greater than that of the symbols transmitted. Orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal spreading codes are allotted to various logical channels sharing the same carrier frequency, so as to allow each receiver to detect the sequence of symbols which is destined therefor, by multiplying the signal received by the corresponding spreading code.
An advantage of the CDMA system is that it makes it possible to utilize radio propagation multipaths, by using what is referred to as a rake receiver.
The rake receiver performs coherent demodulation based on an approximation of the impulse response of the radio propagation channel by a series of spikes, each spike appearing with a delay corresponding to the propagation time along a particular path and having a complex amplitude corresponding to the attenuation and to the phase shift of the signal along this path (instantaneous realization of fading). By analyzing several reception paths, that is to say sampling, several times, the output from a filter matched to the spreading code of the channel, with delays corresponding respectively to these paths, the rake receiver obtains multiple estimates of the symbols transmitted, which are combined to obtain a diversity gain. Combining can be performed in particular according to the so-called MRC (Maximum Ratio Combining) method, which weights the various estimates as a function of the complex amplitudes observed for the various paths.
In order to allow this coherent demodulation, a pilot channel can be provided for the estimation of the impulse response in the form of a succession of spikes. The impulse response is estimated by means of a filter matched to a pilot spreading code with which the sender modulates a sequence of known symbols, for example symbols set to 1. The positions of the maxima of the output from this matched filter give the delays used in the fingers of the rake receiver, and the associated complex amplitudes correspond to the values of these maxima.
The rake receiver comprises a set of fingers making it possible to process one and the same sequence of information symbols that is received along different propagation paths from the sender. These paths are usually defined as delays with respect to a reference time.
In a representation of the CDMA signal received, which representation is utilized in a conventional rake receiver, this signal y(t) may be written:
                              y                                (            t            )                          =                                            ∑              k                                                                  ∑                i                                                                                A                    i                                                                          (                    t                    )                                                  ·                                                      b                    k                                                                          (                                          t                      -                                              τ                        i                                                              )                                                  ·                                                      c                    k                                                                          (                                          t                      -                                              τ                        i                                                              )                                                                                +                      ɛ                                      (              t              )                                                          (        1        )            where k is an index of the CDMA channels superimposed on the relevant carrier, i is an index of the propagation paths existing between the sender or senders and the receiver, bk(t) is the symbol string shaped by the sender or channel k, ck(t) is the spreading code of channel k, τi is the estimated propagation delay for path i, Ai(t) is the complex amplitude of reception along path i at the instant t, and ε(t) is additive noise.
The receiver selects the paths i of greatest energy, that is to say those for which the Ai(t) have on average the largest modulus. It keeps a predetermined number of paths or the entire set of paths whose energy exceeds a predetermined threshold. The conventional rake receiver supplies each of its fingers, assigned to the reception of channel k along a path i, with the parameters τi and Ai(t) so that this finger can perform:                a signal despreading operation, equivalent to the sampling of the filter matched to the spreading code ck(t) for a delay τi, that is to say:
                                          Z            i                                          (            n            )                          =                              ∑            t                                                        y                                            (                t                )                                      ·                                          c                                  k                  *                                                                          (                                  t                  -                                      τ                    i                                                  )                                                                        (        2        )            where the sum over t relates to the chips corresponding to the reception of the n-th symbol of the sequence transmitted over channel k. Owing to the orthogonality properties of the codes ck(t), the operation (2) picks out the contribution of path i to the signal, the other contributions being seen as noise after despreading,                then an MRC weighting of the result by the conjugate of the complex amplitude Ai(t), assumed constant (=Ai(n)) over the duration of the n-th symbol, this producing a contribution of path i to the estimate of the n-th symbol:Xi(n)=Zi(n)·Ai*(n)  (3)
These contributions are ultimately summed at the output of the rake receiver so as to deduce therefrom an estimate X(n) of the n-th symbol:
                              X                                (            n            )                          =                              ∑            i                                                        X              i                                                  (              n              )                                                          (        4        )
In each finger, the despreading operation is that which requires the largest number of elementary operations.
Increasing the number of fingers assigned to a channel, that is to say the number of propagation paths taken into account, improves the reception performance over this channel, by virtue of the multipath diversity. However, this also increases the complexity of the calculations to be performed and hence the use of hardware or software resources in the receiver.
The number of fingers of a rake receiver is generally limited. By way of example, a mobile terminal receiver using CDMA access technology typically possesses from 4 to 8 fingers per channel to be processed.
Good management of the rake seeks to preferably assign these fingers in limited number to the channels which have the greatest need therefor. This makes it possible:                to improve the performance in terms of signal-to-interferers ratio, for a given quantity of calculations; or        to perform a minimum quantity of calculations, for a given performance objective, and hence to make the calculation resources released available for other uses or to reduce the electrical consumption of the receiver (attractive in order to save the battery of a mobile terminal).
However, such management is not carried out in a satisfactory manner in traditional rake receivers. The fixing of a predetermined number of paths or of fingers leads to mediocre estimates when the channel exhibits greater diversity in terms of paths and to unnecessary calculations when a predominant path or a small number of paths is sufficient to produce reliable estimates. When the paths are taken into account as a function of a comparison of their energy levels with a threshold, the determination of the appropriate threshold is also problematic: one and the same value of threshold may turn out to be both too low in the presence of numerous paths and too high when a powerful path is sufficient to obtain satisfactory estimates.
An object of the present invention is to propose a mechanism which effects a good compromise between the reliability of the estimate of the information carried by the signal received and the calculation cost engendered by the operations of processing the signal in the receiver.

Method of processing a signal by a radio receiver and radio receiver for the implementation of the method