A method and system of assigning media access control (MAC) addresses across teamed communication ports. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods comprising teaming a plurality of communication ports in a computer system to appear as a single virtual port to an application program (each communication port transmits message packets with any of a number M possible MAC addresses, wherein the number communication ports is greater than M), assigning a set of size M of MAC addresses to each of the plurality communication ports such that each MAC address appears in the set for a communication port for which the MAC address is the primary address (and such that each MAC address appears in M−1 other sets for other communication ports), and receiving a message packet from a client device across a network, the message packet directed to a primary MAC address of the first of the plurality communication ports.

In order to implement communication fault tolerance, and in some cases increase data throughput, a computer system may couple to a network by way of a plurality of communication ports (hereinafter just ports), with the ports either implemented on a single network interface card (NIC) or the ports implemented on multiple NICs. The communication ports are "teamed" such that, regardless of the actual number of ports, the ports appear as a single port to an application level program.
In some cases distribution of inbound client-sourced message packets is by virtue of a software driver intercepting computer system responses to address resolution protocol (ARP) request messages from the clients, and selectively assigning media access control (MAC) addresses such that each client is given a particular port with which to communicate, however, MAC address assignments (and therefore port assignments) to each client by a software driver intercepting the ARP request messages causes the client to lose connection to the computer system if the assigned port has a communication fault. In order to regain communication to the client the computer system sends a gratuitous ARP reply directing all clients to communicate with a single port. As ARP timeouts occur and each individual client sends an ARP request message, the computer system again performs ARP intercept and load balances the remaining active ports across the clients.

Method and system of assigning media access control (MAC) addresses across teamed communication ports

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A semiconductor device and its fabrication method are provided in the present disclosure. The method includes providing a substrate; forming a plurality of fins spaced apart on the substrate; forming a dummy gate structure across the plurality of fins and on the substrate; forming a first sidewall spacer on a sidewall of the dummy gate structure; forming an interlayer dielectric layer on the substrate and the fins, and on a portion of a sidewall of the first sidewall spacer, where a top of the interlayer dielectric layer is lower than a top of the first sidewall spacer; and forming a second sidewall spacer on the interlayer dielectric layer and on a sidewall of the first sidewall spacer.

With the rapid development of semiconductor technology, semiconductor devices present a development trend of high element density and high integration level and are widely used as the most basic devices. Conventional planar devices have weak control on channel current, which may cause short-channel effect and leakage current, thereby affecting the electrical performance of the semiconductor devices.
In order to overcome the short-channel effect and control the leakage current, a fin field effect transistor (FinFET), which is a common multi-gate device, has been used in the conventional technology. The structure of the FinFET may include fins and an isolation structure on a semiconductor substrate surface where the isolation structure may cover a portion of the fin sidewalls, a gate structure across the fins and on the substrate, and a source region and a drain region in the fins on two sides of the gate structure.
However, with the size reduction of the semiconductor device and the device density improvement, the formed fin field effect transistor may have unstable performance.

Semiconductor device and fabrication method thereof

SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (SHANGHAI) CORPORATION

SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (BEIJING) CORPORATION


Vaporization devices and methods of operating them. In particular, described herein are methods for controlling the power applied to a resistive heater of a vaporization device by measuring the resistance of the resistive heater at discrete intervals. Changes in the resistance during heating may be used to control the power applied to heat the resistive heater during operation. Also described herein are vaporization devices that are configured to measure the resistance of the resistive heater during heating and to control the application of power to the resistive heater based on the resistance values.

Eelectronic inhalable aerosol devices (e.g., vaporization devices, electronic vaping devices, etc.) and particularly electronic aerosol devices, typically utilize a vaporizable material that is vaporized to create an aerosol vapor capable of delivering an active ingredient to a user. Control of the temperature of the resistive heater must be maintained (e.g., as part of a control loop), and this control may be based on the resistance of the resistive heating element.


Provided is a method of inhibiting the formation of coke in an ethylene dichloride to vinyl chloride monomer pyrolysis cracker. The coke formation, which occurs during an ethylene dichloride pyrolysis reaction, is inhibited by contacting a heat-transfer surface of the cracker and a boron compound. The amount of coke generated when a coke formation-inhibiting material is used is 50% or less of that when a coke formation-inhibiting material is not used. In this case, however, the ethylene chloride conversion and the selectivity to a vinyl chloride monomer during the pyrolysis reaction are not affected. Accordingly, the efficiency of the pyrolysis cracker can be maximized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of inhibiting the formation of coke in a pyrolysis cracker, and more particularly, to a method of inhibiting the formation of coke in an ethylene dichloride to vinyl chloride monomer pyrolysis cracker.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pyrolysis crackers are typically operated at temperatures of from about 400° C. to about 600° C., at gauge pressures of from about 1.4 Mpa to about 3.0 Mpa and with a residence time from about 2 seconds to about 60 seconds. Ethylene dichloride (EDC) conversion per pass through a pyrolysis cracker is normally maintained around 50–70% with a selectivity of 96–99% to a vinyl chloride product. In this case, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and HCl are produced. By-products from the pyrolysis process range from the very lights, such as methane, acetylene, ethylene, and methyl chloride, to the heavies, such as carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane and solid carbonaceous material. Solid carbonaceous material is usually referred to as coke, and coke brings about problems.
Higher conversion in the pyrolysis process is, in most cases, desired. However, increasing cracking temperature, pressure, and other conditions beyond conventional operating conditions generally lead to only a small increase in the EDC conversion at the expense of the selectivity to a vinyl chloride product. Furthermore, any outstanding increase in cracking temperature and pressure causes a drastic increase in coke formation.
Such coke formation in the pyrolysis cracker results in many problems. For example, coke formation inhibits the heat transfer to reactants in the pyrolysis cracker such that combustion energy is only partially transferred to reactants and the rest of the combustion energy is lost to the surroundings. Therefore, the pyrolysis cracker is required to be heated at a higher temperature to maintain the energy in the cracker at a sufficient level. Such heating requires more fuel and the lifetime of the alloy of the cracker is reduced. Conventionally, high temperatures cause erosion or corrosion of the walls of a cracker.
Meanwhile, the coke formed in the cracker reduces the width of the reaction path of EDC, thereby causing the pressure to drop with more depth when EDC passes through the cracker. As a result, more energy is required to compress the stream of a product, such as VC, in a downstream of the process. In addition, the coke reduces the effective inner volume of the cracker, which decreases the yield of the product and affects the selectivity of the reaction. Accordingly, more EDC is required to attain VC having a desired amount.
The coke formation also causes fouling of a heat exchanger and a transfer line exchanger (TLE.) A heat exchanger and a TLE remove as much thermal energy as possible from high-temperature products to stop any product degradation. However, when coke is formed in the heat exchanger and the TLE, heat transfer is inhibited. As a result, in the TLE, an increase of the pressure of gas existing in other transfer lines decreases, and in the heat exchanger, a decrease of pressure of a product stream more increases.
Accordingly, coke is periodically removed. Known methods for the removal of coke from pyrolysis crackers include controlled combustion or mechanical cleaning, or a combination of both methods. In the combustion process, a mixture of steam air of various steam/air ratios is admitted in the pyrolysis furnace at an elevated temperature, and the coke in the cracker is burnt out under a controlled condition. This process is conventionally referred to as hot decoke. For the mechanical cleaning, coke is physically chipped off the pyrolysis cracker inner surface and removed from the cracker. Both cracking and the hot decoke operations expose the pyrolysis cracker to a cycle between a HCl and chlorinated hydrocarbon-rich reducing environment and an oxygen-rich oxidizing environment at elevated temperatures, which causes corrosion and degradation of the pyrolysis cracker and shortens the cracker time.
The pyrolysis cracker is periodically decoked every 6 to 12 months, according to purity of reactant EDC and operating conditions, such as reaction temperature, reaction pressure, a feed speed of EDC, and a cracking depth. In particular, when a heat exchanger is installed in a high-temperature EDC pyrolysis cracker to efficiently use the energy at a cracker outlet, formation of a coke precursor results in a dramatic drop of a temperature in the cracker and thus coke is more quickly deposited on the inner walls of the heat exchanger, thereby shortening the removal cycle.
Conventional methods of inhibiting coke formation will now be described.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,253 teaches a method of coating Groups 1A and 2A metal salts on the inner walls of a cracker tube to inhibit coke formation. This method is advantageous in that there is no need to stop the process to remove the coke. However, this method can only be used for a conventional hydrocarbon pyrolysis reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,182 teaches a method of inhibiting coke formation by lowering the oxygen content in the EDC feed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,995 teaches a method of applying a phosphine-based compound (tributyl phosphine, triphenyl phosphine, or the like) to an EDC pyrolysis cracker. This method is not so effective on inhibiting coke formation and low reproducibility. In addition, since phoshpine-based compounds are expensive, the method is not cost effective.
Coke formation in pylolysis crackers continues to be undesirable and thus effective alternative methods to more efficiently inhibit the formation of coke during a pyrolysis process are always required.

Method of inhibiting coke formation in ethylene dichloride pyrolysis cracker


Disclosed is a baby monitor which includes a base unit having a microphone for receiving sound and a transmitter for conveying the sound to a remote unit, and a remote unit including a receiver for receiving the sound from the transmitter and a speaker for reproducing the sound. A timed mute system is provided for muting the speaker upon engagement of an engagement device, and for automatically unmuting the speaker after a period of time has elapsed.

Baby monitors are well known and have been around for years. Generally, a baby monitor consists of a base unit and a remote unit. The base unit contains a microphone for receiving ambient sounds near where the unit is located and a way to send those received sounds to the remote unit. The remote unit of the baby monitor generally has a way to obtain the sounds received by the microphone of the remote unit, and a speaker for playing the sounds back.
While baby monitors could use wired technology, in recent years wireless technology has proved sufficiently reliable and inexpensive so as to permit the base unit to contain a transmitter for transmitting the received sounds and the remote unit to contain a receiver to receive the sounds. These transmitters and receivers may operate at any frequency, and commonly use the well known 900 Mhz or 2.4 Ghz bands.
Generally the base unit is plugged in, and in the better models also has battery backup. Also, generally, the remote unit has a plug and in the better models a rechargeable battery to permit mobile use within the limits of the radio range.
A number of variations have recently been on the market. For example, many baby monitors have included lights to indicate the sound level and/or the radio reception. Better models of baby monitors provide a second channel so that the caretaker can select the one with better reception. At least one baby monitor now comes with two remote units permitting two caretakers to monitor them in different locations.
Often baby monitors are used in the caretaker's bedroom to listen for the baby awakening in the nursery. When this happens, the baby monitor may magnify the sounds from the nursery prohibiting the caretaker from sleeping because the baby is making short or small noises. While the caretaker can turn down the volume on the monitor, he or she must be very careful not to put the volume of the monitor too low to hear the baby cry. Inevitably, the volume is left higher than necessary to make sure that the caretaker is awakened by real crying, thus preventing the caretaker from getting sleep when the short or small noises occur. What my wife and I found is that our little Alexa, who at the writing of this document is just three months old, make all kinds of squeaks and peeps that broadcast loudly through the remote unit, often keeping us awake.
Many parents believe that babies, at a fairly young age, should be conditioned to sleep. One theory on such conditioning is by a Dr. Robert Ferber. The process of conditioning a baby to sleep following Dr. Ferber's method is referred to as "Ferberizing." My mother-in-law, on the other hand, said that she used to do something just like that, but called it "letting the baby cry it out." Regardless of the name one assigns to it, the process involves some intentional delay in attending to the baby once cry has started.
For example, Dr. Ferber recommends, depending on a number of factors including how aggressive the caretaker wants to be and how many nights the conditioning has already taken place, that, until the baby falls asleep, a first period is waited before comforting the crying baby a first time, a second, longer period is waited before comforting the crying baby a second time, and a third, even longer period is waited before comforting the crying baby the third and subsequent times. In addition to varying the duration of the first, second and third periods, it is also desirable to vary the duration of all three periods on successive nights. Dr. Ferber, proposes that the first, second and third periods are each longer on the second night, and even longer on the third and subsequent nights. Eventually, according to Dr. Ferber, the baby will learn to stop crying and sleep better quite quickly—often in just a few days.
But these few days are a tough few days for the caregiver. What my wife and I found extremely difficult with our first child, Jonathan, was waiting for the interval to elapse while listening to his crying go un-consoled. In practice, each time my wife and I conditioned the sleep of my first child, Jonathan, we found ourselves going back into our room where we kept the baby monitor to listen to him and watch the clock. Although conditioning Jonathan's sleep took only 3 or 4 days, unfortunately, we found ourselves having to do it more than once as a result of breaking Jonathan's sleep conditioning. And it is all too easy to break the sleep conditioning. For example, when Jonathan would get sick, my wife and I would spend the night consoling him. When Jonathan got better, his sleep conditioning no longer existed, and he needed to be reconditioned.
What is needed is a monitor that can assist in resolving these problems and difficulties, and that can potentially lead to better sleep for the caretakers.

Method and apparatus for sleep conditioning


The invention provides methods and systems for micro-machined tunable delay lines. Particularly, the micro-machined tunable delay lines of the present invention utilize adjustable micro-machined micro-mirrors to alter the path length traversed by an optical signal.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to methods and systems that tunably delay an optical signal.
2. Description of Related Art
As optical fibers are becoming more and more ubiquitous in the optical communications community, the effects of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) caused by subtle defects of these optical fibers become increasingly important. Generally, PMD occurs when an optical signal propagates through a birefringent optical fiber causing various components of the optical signal to travel at varying velocities, thus causing a dispersion of an optical signal into multiple xe2x80x9cimagesxe2x80x9d.
It is well known that PMD can be compensated for by splitting the multiple images and re-aligning the images into a single coherent optical signal. Generally, such compensation devices are formed by combining a polarization controller with an appropriately designed delay line. Unfortunately, both polarization controllers and delay lines are often unwieldly in size, difficult to tune and may be very expensive to manufacture or maintain. Therefore, there is a need to provide new methods and systems to compensate for PMD.
The invention provides methods and systems for tunable delay lines suitable for larger PMD compensation devices. Particularly, the invention provides compact and inexpensive micro-machined tunable delay lines using adjustable micro-mirrors to tunably alter a path length traversed by an optical signal.
The combination of a polarization-state controller and the tunable delay line enables the components of a PMD-affected optical signal to be appropriately manipulated to compensate for PMD effects. For example, a dispersed optical signal, after having its polarization-state suitably altered, can be split into its fast and slow components. The fast component can then be delayed relative to the slow component, by controllably manipulating its path length via one or more adjustable micro-machined micro-mirrors. After appropriately delaying the fast component, the delayed fast component is combined with the slow component to provide an optical signal whose slow and fast components are substantially re-aligned with each other. Thus, the dispersing effects of PMD can be significantly compensated for.
Other features and advantages of the present invention are described below and are apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.


An aluminum alloy wire rod has a composition consisting of Mg: 0.10 to 1.00 mass %, Si: 0.10 to 1.00 mass %, Fe: 0.01 to 2.50 mass %, Ti: 0.000 to 0.100 mass %, B: 0.000 to 0.030 mass %, Cu: 0.00 to 1.00 mass %, Ag: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, Au: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, Mn: 0.00 to 1.00 mass %, Cr: 0.00 to 1.00 mass %, Zr: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, Hf: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, V: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, Sc: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, Co: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, Ni: 0.00 to 0.50 mass %, and the balance: Al and incidental impurities. The aluminum alloy wire rod has an average grain size of 1 μm to 35 μm at an outer peripheral portion thereof, and an average grain size at an inner portion thereof is greater than or equal to 1.1 times the average grain size at the outer peripheral portion.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an aluminum alloy conductor used as a conductor of an electric wiring structure, and particularly relates to an aluminum alloy conductor that provides high conductivity, high bending fatigue resistance, appropriate proof stress, and also high elongation, even as an extra fine wire.
2. Background
In the related art, a so-called wire harness has been used as an electric wiring structure for transportation vehicles such as automobiles, trains, and aircrafts, or an electric wiring structure for industrial robots. The wire harness is a member including electric wires each having a conductor made of copper or copper alloy and fitted with terminals (connectors) made of copper or copper alloy (e.g., brass). With recent rapid advancements in performances and functions of automobiles, various electrical devices and control devices installed in vehicles tend to increase in number and electric wiring structures used for devices also tends to increase in number. On the other hand, for environmental friendliness, lightweighting is strongly desired for improving fuel efficiency of transportation vehicles such as automobiles.
As one of the measures for achieving recent lightweighting of transportation vehicles, there have been, for example, continuous efforts in the studies of changing a conductor of an electric wiring structure to aluminum or aluminum alloys, which is more lightweight than conventionally used copper or copper alloys. Since aluminum has a specific gravity of about one-third of a specific gravity of copper and has a conductivity of about two-thirds of a conductivity of copper (in a case where pure copper is a standard for 100% IACS, pure aluminum has approximately 66% IACS), a pure aluminum conductor wire rod needs to have a cross sectional area of approximately 1.5 times greater than that of a pure copper conductor wire rod to allow the same electric current as the electric current flowing through the pure copper conductor wire rod to flow through the pure aluminum conductor wire rod. Even an aluminum conductor wire rod having an increased cross section as described above is used, using an aluminum conductor wire rod is advantageous from the viewpoint of lightweighting, since an aluminum conductor wire rod has a mass of about half the mass of a pure copper conductor wire rod. Note that, "% IACS" represents a conductivity when a resistivity 1.7241×10−8 Ωm of International Annealed Copper Standard is taken as 100% IACS.
However, it is known that pure aluminum, typically an aluminum alloy conductor for transmission lines (JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) A1060 and A1070), is generally poor in its durability to tension, resistance to impact, and bending characteristics. Therefore, for example, it cannot withstand a load abruptly applied by an operator or an industrial device while being installed to a car body, a tension at a crimp portion of a connecting portion between an electric wire and a terminal, and a cyclic stress loaded at a bending portion such as a door portion. On the other hand, an alloyed material containing various additive elements added thereto is capable of achieving an increased tensile strength, but a conductivity may decrease due to a solution phenomenon of the additive elements into aluminum, and because of excessive intermetallic compounds formed in aluminum, a wire break due to the intermetallic compounds may occur during wire drawing. Therefore, it is essential to limit or select additive elements to provide sufficient elongation characteristics to prevent a wire break, and it is further necessary to improve impact resistance and bending characteristics while ensuring a conductivity and a tensile strength equivalent to those in the related art.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-229485 discloses a typical aluminum conductor used for an electric wiring structure of the transportation vehicle. Disclosed therein is an extra fine wire that can provide an aluminum alloy conductor and an aluminum alloy stranded wire having a high strength and a high conductivity, as well as an improved elongation. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-229485 discloses that sufficient elongation results in improved bending characteristics. However, for example, it is neither disclosed nor suggested to use an aluminum alloy wire as a wire harness attached to a door portion, and there is no disclosure or suggestion about bending fatigue resistance under an operating environment in which high cycle fatigue fracture is likely to occur due to repeated bending stresses exerted by opening and closing of the door.
Recently, it is recognized that the following three problems arise when manufacturing an aluminum alloy conductor used for automobiles, particularly an aluminum alloy conductor of around φ0.1 mm to φ1.5 mm. The first problem is that, as has been described above, a high bending fatigue resistance is required when used at a repeatedly bent portion such as a door portion of an automobile. Aluminum has a poor bending fatigue characteristics as compared to currently used copper, and thus locations where it can be used is limited. The second problem is that since it has a high proof stress, installation of a wire harness requires a large force, and a work efficiency is low. The third problem is that since it has a low elongation, it cannot withstand an impact during the installation of a wire harness or after installation, and thus wire breaks and cracks could occur. In order to solve all of these problems, an aluminum alloy wire is required that has a high conductivity as a prerequisite, as well as a high bending fatigue resistance, an appropriate proof stress and a high elongation.
As high strength-high conductivity aluminum alloys, those alloys with Mg, Si, Cu, and Mn added therein are known. For example, Japanese Patent No. 5155464 discloses that adding such elements gives a tensile strength of greater than or equal to 150 MPa and a conductivity of greater than or equal to 40%. Also, Japanese Patent No. 5155464 discloses that an elongation of greater than or equal to 5% is achieved simultaneously by manufacturing a wire rod having a maximum grain size of less than or equal to 50 μm.
However, the aluminum alloy conductor disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5155464 cannot provide a high bending fatigue resistance and an appropriate proof stress in addition to a high conductivity and high elongation, and thus the three problems described above cannot be solved simultaneously.
The present disclosure is related to providing an aluminum alloy conductor, an aluminum alloy stranded wire, a coated wire, and a wire harness and to provide a method of manufacturing aluminum alloy conductor that provide both an appropriate proof stress and a high bending fatigue resistance while maintaining an elongation and a conductivity equivalent or higher than those of the related art.
The present inventors have found that when an aluminum alloy conductor is bent, a stress occurring at an outer peripheral portion of the conductor is greater than a stress occurring at a central portion, and cracks are likely to occur in an outer peripheral surface. Thus, the present inventors have focused on the fact that, for an aluminum alloy having a smaller grain size, a crack collides with grain boundaries for a greater number of times and thus advances at a reduced advancement rate. The present inventors carried out assiduous studies and found that when an average grain size at an outer peripheral portion of an aluminum alloy conductor takes a value within a predetermined range, an improved bending fatigue resistance is obtained and an appropriate proof stress and a high elongation are further achieved, while ensuring a high conductivity, and contrived the present disclosure.

Aluminum alloy wire rod, aluminum alloy stranded wire, coated wire, wire harness and manufacturing method of aluminum alloy wire rod


The invention is related to an instrument for endoscopic surgery. The instrument comprises a casing 10, further comprises a sliding tube 16 which extends into the casing with its proximal end 20 and which is disposed longitudinally slidable with respect to the casing by means of an actuating mechanism 38, further comprises an electrode tube 18 which extends through the sliding tube 16, which extends into the casing with its proximal end and is axially lockable therein, and further comprises two isolated wire pieces 32 which extend through the inside of the electrode tube 18. The wire pieces 32 which are adapted to be subjected to a high frequency current comprise branches 30 which protrude over the electrode tube 18 and the sliding tube 16 at their distal end, which are spread apart from one another slanted in opposite directions, which are elastically bendable with respect to each other in a radial direction against a spring force acting in the direction of spreading during a movement of the sliding tube 16, and which carry isolated bending sections 48 and, at their free ends, metallic electrodes 56. In order to be able to mechanically cut as well as coagulate, in a bipolar manner, biological tissue with the instrument, it is proposed according to the invention that the electrodes 56 are formed to be cutting blades having cutting edges 54, which are adapted to be moved with respect to each other in a scissor-like fashion under the action of the sliding tube 16 on the bending sections 48.

The invention is related to an instrument for endoscopic surgery, comprising a casing, further comprising a sliding tube which extends into the casing with its proximal end and which is disposed longitudinally slidable with respect to the casing by means of an actuating mechanism, further comprising an electrode tube which extends through the sliding tube, which extends into the casing with its proximal end and is axially lockable therein, and further comprising two isolated wire pieces which extend through the inside of the electrode tube, the wire pieces comprising branches which protrude over the electrode tube and the sliding tube at their distal end, which are spread apart from one another slanted in opposite directions, which are elastically bendable with respect to each other in a radial direction against a spring force acting in the direction of spreading during a movement of the sliding tube, and which carry isolated bending sections and, at their free ends, metallic electrodes, and which wire pieces comprise contact elements which are electrically connected to the electrodes at the proximal end and which are adapted to be connected to a high frequency power supply.
Instruments for endoscopic surgery of this type are known (DE-A-43 37 590), which are suited to coagulate and dissect tissue, and which to this end have an exchangeable electrode tube which is rotatable within the casing, the branches of which electrode tube are fit ted, for example, with hook-shaped, parallel electrodes. This makes it possible to first load the biological tissue onto the concave side of the hooks and to lift it up, and to then coagulate or dissect the tissue. With the convex side of the hook-shaped electrodes it is possible to run along a portion of tissue in a curve and to thereby coagulate or dissect the tissue by evaporation. In the course of this process, the distance between the two electrodes may be adjusted as seen necessary. By opening and closing the hook-shaped electrodes it is possible to dissect bluntly with or without current.
In minimal invasive surgery it often occurs that tissue has to be dissected. When using the bipolar coagulation pliers, the dissection is effected by a heating process which leads to an evaporation of tissue. In this, it is found to be disadvantageous that smoke is created by the heating and that the tissue is cauterized. Scissors are therefore often used for the dissection, which cut the tissue mechanically. In this, there is the danger of bleeding, though. In order to stop the bleeding bi-polarly the instrument has to be changed or a further instrument for coagulation has to be introduced.


An exercise apparatus for wearing about an upper portion of a user's body and for securing weights having a centrally-located hole extending therethrough to the body. The apparatus generally includes a frame backpack and an exercise sled to which one or more weights may be attached. The exercise sled is removably mounted to the frame backpack to operate in a first mode of operation and may be used separately from the frame backpack in a second mode of operation. In certain embodiments, the apparatus may include a connection strap for connecting the exercise sled to the frame backpack in the second mode of operation such that a user may pull the exercise sled while wearing the frame backpack.

Weighted vests have traditionally been used in strength training to increase the resistance level for a variety of exercises. The additional resistance increases the demand on the user's muscles and cardiovascular system, providing a more rigorous workout that results in improved strength and cardio function. The weighted vest is not only useful for traditional strength training exercises such as pushups, pull ups or squats, but may also be used during exercises that are not typically considered strength training exercises, such as walking or running.
One problem with traditional weighted vests, however, is that they often utilize several small weights that are secured at various locations around the vest. Placing the weights around the user's body in this manner may be uncomfortable or might cause the user to become unbalanced, which could lead to injury. Additionally, these weights are often non-standard weights, such as sandbags, that may only be used for the weighted vest and not for other exercises.
An alternative to pushups is the bench press. However, one problem with traditional weight lifting exercises, such as the bench press, is that the bench restricts the range of motion and may also cause injury. For example, while performing a bench press exercise, the natural movement of the user's shoulders and back are restricted by the bench itself, which could cause injury to the user.
Another exercise device that is often used to improve strength and cardiovascular health is the weighted sled. The weighted sled is typically loaded with one or more weighted plates and is designed to slide over the ground on skid surfaces. By pushing or pulling the sled, a user may build muscular and cardio strength and endurance. However, one problem with the weighted sled is that it is difficult to transport from one location to another and is difficult to store. Additionally, the type of exercises that may be performed with a weighted sled is often limited.
What is needed, therefore, is an exercise device that may be easily transported and safely used for a variety of strength and cardio exercises and that may use standardized weight plates to provide a range of resistance levels.


In a multi-carrier system, the pilot carrier which is transmitted between two stations for synchronisation purposes, is re-allocated to a new frequency whenever it is disturbed by noise or a single frequency disturber in the vicinity thereof. A less noisy frequency is selected by means of a specific criterion to be fulfilled, for instance based on signal to noise ratio measurements performed for all carriers in the multi-carrier system.

Such a method and equipment wherein such a method is applied are already known in the art, e.g. from the Standard on ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), entitled `Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL ) Metallic Interface Specification`, published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in Apr. 1994. More particularly, paragraphs 18.104.22.168 and 184.108.40.206 on pages 44 and 54 respectively describe the use of a pilot carrier, called pilot tone, in upstream and downstream direction to allow tuning of sample timing between transmitter and receiver. In the known method, in the upstream direction as well as in the downstream direction, the pilot tone is a fixed carrier with a frequency of 276 kHz downstream and 69 kHz upstream. The presence of noise or a single frequency disturber in the vicinity of these pilot tone frequencies leads to a reduction of the pilot tone quality and possibly to loss of synchronisation between the transmitter and receiver. As a result, the system will fail or at least degrade in performance.

Method and modem for adaptive allocation of the pilot carrier in a multi-carrier system

Alcatel Alsthom Compagnie Generale D'Electricite


An integrated calibration apparatus operates in multiple calibration modes of a multi-mode information storage system such as an optical disk drive to calibrate the drive in the multiple write modes. An event processing and measurement circuit is configurable in multiple configurations that each correspond to a different calibration measurement. Each configuration concurrently measures one or more parameters of readback data written to an optical disk by the optical disk drive operating in a particular write mode. A qualification circuit selects valid measurements for two different parameters or for two different qualification of the same parameter. A summation circuit sums valid measurements of each parameter measured and counts the number of measurements summed for each parameter. The calibration apparatus calculates average values for the measured parameters from the sums and counts, and then calibrates the multi-mode optical disk drive for its current write mode based on the average values.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a calibration apparatus for information storage systems, and in particular to a calibration apparatus for an information storage system that writes in multiple modes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical disk drives must be calibrated in order to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the optical disk drive, among other specifications. Typically, the calibration system will set the laser write power and methodology to an optimum level for a given read head and optical disk media to maximize the SNR. Since this optimal level or operating point may vary with different optical drives and disk media, the write conditions of the optical disk must be optimized for each drive/media combination.
Because many drives can write data in multiple modes (a multi-mode drive) and because different types of information media can be loaded into the disk drive, the calibration cannot be fixed on the manufacturing line since the final drive/media combination is unknown. For example, a multi-mode drive may write to an optical disk using either Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) or Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) records, and either one of these writing modes may be used with any type of optical disk media, including rewritable media types such as Phase Change (PC) or, Magneto-Optical (MO), and Write Once Read Many (WORM). Therefore, in order to set the optical disk drive to the optimal write operating level and methodology, a calibration device is built into each optical disk drive that performs measurements on the disk drive readback signal to determine the performance of the disk drive once the configuration has been set. These measurements are then processed by the controlling microprocessor to adjust the write power and methodology, to achieve optimum performance of the optical disk drive. This calibration can be performed by the hardware every time a new disk is inserted in the drive or a new write mode is selected. Alternately, calibration can be performed as part of write Error Recovery Procedures (ERPs). Because there are multiple drive/media combinations and multiple write modes, different calibration parameters typically must be measured for each mode of operation and combination of the optical disk drive.
In order to support calibration in any of the various modes of operation, an optical disk drive may require a number of calibration devices that each measure a different parameter of the readback data. Each calibration device goes through a cycle of reading a test pattern or data that is first written to the disk and then measuring the average value of a particular parameter. If a given calibration mode requires measurement of multiple parameters, a number of these calibration cycles are required to complete the calibration measurements.
As will be appreciated, including many calibration devices in a single disk drive to support each of the multiple calibrations adds a significant amount of circuitry, consumes large amounts of power, and increases the cost of the optical disk or other type of drive. Moreover, a calibration requiring the measurement of multiple parameters typically will require multiple calibration cycles. What is needed is a calibration apparatus for an multi-mode drive that doesn't have substantially increased calibration hardware, but that can perform the various measurements required for all calibration modes of a multi-mode drive. Further, it would be desirable for such a calibration device to perform all calibration measurements for at least some calibration modes in a single calibration cycle. Such an apparatus would substantially reduce the cost and increase the speed of calibration for a multi-mode drive.

Integrated calibration apparatus for a multi-mode information storage system


The present invention relates to methods and kits for predicting the outcome of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia and methods for treating a cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia. More particularly, the methods comprise the determination of the presence of the HLA-DRB1*13 allele and the absence of a high risk human papillomavirus (HPV).

Most neoplasias of the uterine cervix are associated with specific types of human papillomaviruses (HPV). The current concept is that invasive carcinoma are preceded by a long-standing stage of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN), an heterogeneous group of disease classified as CIN1, CIN2, or CIN3 according to the severity of their histological abnormalities (Richart R. Obstetrics & Gynecology 1990;75:131–132).
CIN1 are the most frequent lesions, particularly in young women, and may follow different courses without treatment: a spontaneous regression occurs in 50–60% of patients whereas persistence or progression toward CIN2/3 is observed in the remaining cases (Östor A. International Journal of Gynecological Pathology 1993;12:186–192). The oncogenicity of associated-HPV type may influence the disease outcome (Schlecht N F, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95(17):1336–43.), but little is known concerning the role of host-linked parameters, such as immunological factors, also likely to be implied in the natural history of these lesions.
Cellular-mediated immunity has been found to be involved in the host response against specific HPV types (Kadish A S, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 1997;89(17):1285–93.) and may thus account, at least in part, for the regression of CIN. Experimental and clinical studies have also suggested that immunogenetic determinants related to HLA-class II genotype could play a part in tumour progression. In the model of tumours induced in rabbit by the Shope papillomavirus, the regression and malignant conversion of papillomas were found to be linked to the MHC class II genes (Han R, et al. Nature 1992;356:66–68.). In human, positive associations were reported between invasive cervical cancer and DQB1*301 (Madeleine M M, et al. J Infect Dis 2002;186(11):1565–74.; Wank R, Thomssen C. Nature 1991;352:723–725.), DQB1*1501 (Apple R J, et al. Nat Genet 1994;6(2):157–62.) or DQB1*1101 (Madeleine M M, et al. J Infect Dis 2002; Lin P, et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2001;10(10):1037–45.) HLA class II alleles. However, no significant associations were found in other groups of patients (Glew S S, et al. Hum Immunol 1993;37(3):157–64.). In contrast, a negative association of the DRB1*13 allele with cervical cancer developed in patients from different geographic areas has been reported, namely Europe (Apple R J, et al. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1995;87:427–435.; Sastre-Garau X, et al. Int J Cancer 1996;69(3):159–64.), Africa (Lin P, et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2001;10(10):1037–45.) or North America (Madeleine M M, et al. J Infect Dis 2002;186(11):1565–74.). These data suggest that DRB1*13 alleles may be linked to a protective effect against HPV-associated lesion.
There is a strong need of objective biological criteria which would differentiate CIN corresponding to potential precursors of invasive cancer requiring immediate ablative therapy from those in which the treatment could be withheld for a while. The identification of such a criteria could allow a substantial benefit in terms of cost and morbidity in the care of high grade CIN, especially in young women.

Methods and compositions for predicting the outcome of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia


A system for measuring electric field strength of radio waves transmitted from cell station and arriving at an arbitrary measuring location is provided that includes a tuner unit, cell station ID (CS-ID) demodulator unit, signal level (or electric field strength) detector (RSSI detector), memory unit, display unit, and controller (CPU). CS-ID codes included in radio waves from cell stations and transmitted to an arbitrary measuring location are detected by the demodulator unit, and electric field strength (RSSI) data of the received radio waves are detected by the RSSI detector. All sets of the CS-ID and RSSI data are stored at addresses in the memory unit corresponding to each of the measuring locations, and the stored sets of the CS-ID data and RSSI data are read from the memory unit and displayed on the display unit in association with information indicative of the measuring location.

The invention is directed to a system and method of measuring electric field strength of radio waves arriving at an arbitrary point. In particular, to a system and method of measuring and collecting electric field strength data of radio waves at an arbitrary point, which are transmitted from cell stations (CSs) of a personal handy phone system (PHS) is described.
In recent years, personal handy phone systems that improve the functionality of a digital cordless telephone system to extend its applicable area to be usable even outdoors have been put to practical use.
In the PHS, cell stations must be installed on public telephone boxes, poles, roofs of buildings, and so on, such that PHS terminals or personal stations (PSs) can be used as a simple portable telephone outdoors. In addition, such cell stations must be installed on ceilings and in underground streets to allow use of personal stations even in an underground environment. The installation of these cell station enables the personal stations to be used in radio zones, of associated cell stations, thus allowing continuous communication.
A radio zone covered by a cell station, i.e., a micro cell zone has a radius of, for example, approximately 300 meters. It is well known, however, that a range in which a call can be initiated and received is generally limited by insensitive zones due to obstructions such as buildings, and thus all micro cell zones do not generally have a uniform radius. Also, a cell station is generally allocated a limited number of channels, for example, four, so that a multiplicity of cell stations must be installed in highly frequently accessed areas such as downtown, where many PHS terminals may be used simultaneously. By doing this, the number of available channels is increased and thereby communications can be made with the PHS terminals through the channels.
In installing cell stations, detecting coverage of each cell station to reveal the state of a service area for the PHS is necessary. Conventionally, to reveal the state of a service area, an operator manually marks each measuring point on a map, writes measured electric field strength values of signals received at the measuring point, near the marked point, and analyzes the measured values to reveal the state of a service area. Consequently, the conventional measuring method entails extremely low working efficiency.

System and method of measuring electric field strength


A female urethroscope includes a detachable, disposable semi-flexible sheath for insertion into a female's urethra. The sheath is provided with plurality of channels. One of the channels may receive an endoscope for optical examination of an operative site within the urethra. The remaining channels may be used for suction, drainage, or irrigation of the operative site. The disposable sheath provides a significant improvement in the efficiency and sterility of internal surgical procedures, and is specifically sized and configured for comfortable use in the female's urethra. Further, the urethroscope includes an inflation medium for applying pressure to, and relieving such pressure from, the interior walls of the female's urethra. In a particular embodiment for use as a female urethroscope, the urethroscope has a tube-shaped member having an insertion portion dimensioned for comfortable insertion into a female patient's urethra. The overall diameter of the distal end of the instrument preferably is less than about 7 mm, and most preferably is less than about 4 mm. The length of an insertion portion preferably is less than about 150 mm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical medical devices for use in surgical procedures. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical surgical device, configured for use as a female urethroscope, that may be used to remove tissue, blood, or other liquid and particulate matter.
2. Description of Related Art
Certain gynecological procedures require a physician to examine, diagnose and often remove or extract tissue, blood, or other matter from an operative site within the patient. For example, in one relatively common procedure, the physician must accurately locate uterine tissue to be removed, scraped, and/or aspirated. In other procedures, the physician may want to examine the patient's fallopian tubes or other internal areas to diagnose or biopsy other medical problems or difficulties, or simply to insure that the desired results have been achieved.
Different forms of endoscopes have been used to access and examine such operative sites within the patient's body. Typically, such endoscopes comprise bundles of long optic fibers which extend into the body cavity being examined. Some conventional endoscopes include multiple channels, or lumens, extending alongside or concentric with the optic fiber bundles. These channels may be used to introduce a flushing fluid into the operative site or to provide a conduit for other instruments to reach the desired area.
Conventional disposable endoscopes, however, generally do not allow a continuous flow of irrigation fluid into the operative site to clean both the operative site as well as the endoscope, while simultaneously removing the fluid and other particulate matter from the area. Instead, in some conventional devices, a single lumen is designated for both suction and irrigation functions. As a result, suction and irrigation cannot occur simultaneously. The suction and irrigation functions must operate in an alternating fashion. In other devices in which separate channels are provided for inlet and outlet fluids, the corresponding openings typically operate so that a stream of fluid that is inlet through one port is later outlet through another port in an alternating fashion. Such an endoscopic device still does not operate, however, as a continuous flow system in which irrigation and suction can occur simultaneously and continuously.
Another drawback of some conventional endoscopic tools is that they are often uncomfortably large or wide in diameter. For example, many traditional endoscopes use glass rods and lenses to deliver light and display images. However, due to the materials and methods used, such relatively large devices have been known to cause significant discomfort during insertion and manipulation after being inserted. Often, due to the physical size limitations of the endoscope device, the physician may perform the surgery without visually examining the operative area.
One device that includes some of the drawbacks described above is shown in FIGS. 1-3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,527 to Meyer (issued Mar. 12, 1991). Meyer discloses a complicated network of tubes combined in a metal sleeve. Each tube is designated for a specific function. For example, one of the tubes carries a resecting mechanism which breaks down large pieces of tissue into smaller pieces to be suctioned into another tube. As a consequence, however, the metal outer sleeve must be sufficiently large to retain the network of tubes, channels, etc.
Furthermore, conventional endoscopes are typically designed with rigid outer sleeves or sheaths made of a rigid plastic or metal material, such as that described above in the Meyer device. Such construction, however, is often difficult to manipulate within a patient's body, and generally requires extensive cleaning and sterilization after each use. Although some endoscopes incorporate both rigid and flexible materials for greater maneuverability during insertion and examination, such construction often requires substantial cleaning and sterilization to remove all contaminants trapped within the various crevices and openings of the different materials.
Moreover, it is particularly problematic to properly clean and sterilize tubes and conduits that form the lumens contained within conventional endoscopes. Because of the universal desire to maximize the patient's comfort during the examination, the lumens are typically designed to be as small as possible. Nevertheless, such small openings tend to exacerbate the difficulty in properly cleaning and sterilizing the endoscope.
Finally, conventional endoscopes do not conform comfortably to the female anatomy. The dimensions of the female urethra require that an endoscope be specially sized in order to reduce the patient's discomfort as much as is possible. Conventional endoscopes have not been so designed. Further, conventional endoscopes have failed to provide a comfortable means by which to dilate the urethra, let alone combined such means with lumens for passage of an endoscope and/or for irrigation, drainage, and biopsy.
Therefore, a need exists for an endoscope, sized and configured for the female urethra, that has means for dilating the urethra and at least one lumen.

Method of using an optical female urethroscope


A preamplifier includes cascade-connected amplifying circuits, and at least one of the cascade-connected amplifying circuits includes a differential switch pair circuit, a comparator and energy storing elements. The differential switch pair circuit has a pair of differential inputs and a pair of differential outputs. The comparator outputs a comparison signal by comparing the differential outputs. The energy storing elements are respectively and selectively coupled to one of the differential outputs based on the comparison signal to adjust potential of the differential outputs. A method for calibrating offsets in a preamplifier is also disclosed herein.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an amplifying circuit in a receiver. More particularly, the present invention relates to a preamplifier and method for calibrating offsets therein in a receiver.
2. Description of Related Art
For a conventional preamplifier in a receiver, there are usually a number of stages of cascade-connected amplifying circuits in the preamplifier. Small differential signals are input into the preamplifier and sequentially amplified by the cascade-connected amplifying circuits to be the large differential signals. However, each of the amplifying circuits in the preamplifier often has more or less offsets in itself, such that the amplified differential signals output by the amplifying circuit may have different common voltage levels therebetween.
As a result, the large differential signals output from the preamplifier may have the problem of duty cycle distortion, and the skew tolerance of the receiver could be thus decreased.

Preamplifier and method for calibrating offsets therein


A method and apparatus are disclosed for multicasting through a single physical port in a switch, i.e., logical multicasting. An incoming cell is logically multicast by providing a first copy of the cell to the desired output port and providing a second copy of the cell to a loop-back element which includes standard input and output ports dedicated to loop-back operation. The cell provided to the loop-back element is subsequently provided to the desired output port such that the first and second copies of the cell are serially transmitted from the single desired output port. Further, the cell provided to the loop-back element may be repeatedly copied, provided to the loop-back element, and provided to the desired output port. Thus, the incoming cell may be transmitted through a single output port as many times as is desired. When utilized in conjunction with a switch configured for unicast operation, multicast type capability can be provided in the unicasting switch by logically multicasting from the multicasting switch to the unicasting switch.

Telecommunications networks deliver data by routing data units, such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode ("ATM") cells, from source to destination through switches. Each switch includes input/output ("I/O") ports through which the ATM cells are received and transmitted. The switch determines the appropriate port for output transmission of the cell based on the cell header, which contains destination indicating information.
Depending on the destination indicated in the cell header, it may be desirable to transmit the cell from multiple ports on the switch. Cells which enter a switch through one port and exit through one port are referred to as unicast cells. Cells which enter the switch through a single port and exit through multiple ports are known as multicast cells. While most existing switches are configured to handle unicast cells, not all switches are capable of multicast operation. Further, while most if not all multicast switches are capable of "spatial" multicast operation (transmission of single copies of a cell through multiple output ports), not all multicast switches are capable of "logical" multicast operation (transmission of multiple copies of a cell through a single output port), Logical multicast switches are known, but are more complex and costly than typical spatial-only multicast switches. Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to handle logical multicast operation without significantly adding to the cost or complexity of the switch. Additionally, it would be useful to provide multicast type capability in switches which do not support multicast operation by design.

Logical multicast from a switch configured for spatial multicast


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for invoking execution of web based applications. In one aspect, a method includes receiving user input at a computing device, displaying a contact hovercard on a display of the computing device in response to the user input, the contact hovercard including first contact data and second contact data, the first contact data corresponding to a first web application and the second contact data corresponding to a second web application, the first web application and the second web application being executed on one or more servers, receiving user input selecting the first contact data, generating a user interface and accessing the first web application over a network in response to receiving the user input selecting the first contact data, and providing the first contact data as input to the first web application.

This specification generally relates to mobile devices, and more particularly to a contact hovercard that provides a bridge to and between web applications executed using a mobile device.
A user of a mobile computing device can interact with multiple productivity and communications web based applications. The web based applications can include, for example, an email application, a calendar application, a social networking application, an instant messaging application, a telecommunications service application and a video and/or voice over internet protocol (VOIP) application. Each application can present to the user a unique user interface and experience.


An electrical connector disposed between a store and an aircraft or dispenser comprises a first store-side part mechanically connected to the store and a second aircraft-side complementary part connected to an electrical cable attached to the aircraft or dispenser at a forward end, the aircraft-side part comprising a core containing electrical contacts and an outer shell engagable with the store-side part to securely retain the aircraft-side part in mating engagement with the store-side part while the store is being carried by the aircraft, the outer shell being adapted to be pulled off the store-side part as the store is separated from the aircraft, the outer shell being formed as a separate component or assembly, removably attached to the aircraft-side part core.

This invention concerns electrical connectors for stores to be released or ejected from an aircraft. The electrical connector must be positively and safely disconnected to avoid damage to the electrical circuit and its anchoring points on the store and aircraft or dispensing system, as the store separates from the aircraft, often at considerable relative speed. This function is normally achieved by firmly securing a first half of the connector to the store and fitting a second half of the connector at the end of a flexible cable extending from the aircraft or dispensing system. A lanyard is secured between a fixed strong point on the aircraft or dispensing system and the connector second half, so that as the store separates from the aircraft, the lanyard is tensioned and releases a spring-loaded coupling sleeve on the connector, thereby allowing the two halves to separate. The length of the lanyard is shorter than the cable, which is therefore not subjected to excessive strain as the connector halves are pulled apart.
Whilst the store remains attached to the aircraft, the connector halves must be maintained together securely to resist premature separation by vibration and aerodynamic and inertial loads. In its rest position, the coupling sleeve keeps locking balls or dogs engaged in a co-operating groove in a retaining ring which is screwed onto the connector first half, to make up the electrical connection. The known connector therefore has a screw-on, pull-off action. Under certain conditions, for example very high separation speeds, this connector can fail to separate correctly. The aircraft side (second) connector half, including the electrical contacts, conductors and insulator blocks within it, can be damaged, requiring replacement before the store can be replenished. This is a lengthy operation, needing specialist tools and facilities.


Printing cylinder supporting unit for a printing machine, with a supporting frame (27) aid supporting means mounted on said supporting frame for rotatably supporting one of several printing cylinders (1), which are designed so that in the operating state they make contact along a contact line (6) with a substrate (3) that is to be printed, which printing cylinders (1) can have different diameters, the supporting means comprising at least three supporting bearings (11.1, 12.1, 13.1), each of which interacts at the position of a bearing point with the hearing surface (5) of a bearing ring fixed concentrically on the printing cylinder (1). The bearing points lie on a common circle with variable diameter. The supporting bearings are movable in such a way that the bearing points move along lines that have a fixed position relative to the supporting frame (27), which lines intersect each other at a fixed reference point lying on the same common circle and in the operating state lying in a plane that is defined by the contact line (6) and the center point of the common circle.

A printing cylinder supporting unit is known from EP-0864421-A1. This publication discloses a printing machine with exchangeable ink application means. Such a printing machine comprises several printing units, in the case of which each printing unit fulfils a separate function in the overall printing process. Such printing units can be suitable for several different types of printing, with different pattern repeat lengths and suitable for various printing techniques such as rotary silk-screen printing, intaglio printing, letterpress printing and flexographic printing. A printing unit generally comprises a printing cylinder and ink application means. In the operating state the printing cylinder makes contact along a describing line on the surface of the cylinder—the contact line—with a substrate that is to be printed. Ink is applied by way of the ink application means to the inside, or directly to the outside, of the printing cylinder.
The printing cylinder rests rotatably in a circumferential bearing system, consisting of three rollers radially enclosing a round bearing ring. Said bearing ring is fixed concentrically on the axial end of the printing cylinder. Such a bearing ring, supported by three rollers, is also situated on the other end of the printing cylinder. One of the three rollers is situated at the position of the contact line. The other two rollers are situated on the other side of the printing cylinder.
In the prior art it is possible to exchange printing cylinders. The reason for changing a printing cylinder may be that a different pattern repeat length has to be printed, and it is advantageous to use a printing cylinder with a different diameter for this purpose. A printing cylinder can also be changed in order to change the printing technique. In order to exchange a printing cylinder, two rollers can move outwards along a track indicated diagrammatically by arrows A in FIG. 11 of the abovementioned patent specification. It is known from practice that such tracks A are produced, for example, by the fact that the rollers are rotatably fixed on swivelling arms, in the case of which the swivel pin of the swivelling arms can, if necessary, undergo a rectilinear translation in its entirety.
This known printing cylinder supporting unit has a major disadvantage. One of the bearing rollers for the radial enclosure is situated in a fixed position, where in the operating state at a reference point it makes contact with the bearing ring. This reference point is situated at a fixed position relative to the contact line. Owing to the position of this fixed roller, printing cylinders having different diameters still make contact with the substrate along the same contact line. The presence of a fixed roller at the position of the reference point proves in practice to be a serious limitation on the usability of the known printing cylinder supporting unit in printing machines in which no account has been taken of this necessary fixed roller, and in which sufficient space is not present for such a fixed bearing roller. The known printing cylinder supporting unit cannot be used in that case. This problem cannot be solved without further ado by placing the fixed bearing roller in a different position, since the contactline would then get a different position related to the reference point, and thus the frame, for each possible diameter of a printing cylinder. This would imply that the substrate to be printed should run along another track related to the frame for each cylinder diameter, which is more complex and thus more experience.

Printing cylinder supporting unit, use of printing cylinder supporting unit, and printing machine provided with printing cylinder supporting unit


A method of molding a semiconductor package includes coating liquid molding resin or disposing solid molding resin on a top surface of a semiconductor chip arranged on a substrate. The solid molding resin may include powdered molding resin or sheet-type molding resin. In a case where liquid molding resin is coated on the top surface of the semiconductor chip, the substrate is mounted between a lower molding and an upper molding, and then melted molding resin is filled in a space between the lower molding and the upper molding. In a case where the solid molding resin is disposed on the top surface of the semiconductor chip, the substrate is mounted on a lower mold and then the solid molding resin is heated and melts into liquid molding resin having flowability. An upper mold is mounted on the lower mold, and melted molding resin is filled in a space between the lower molding and the upper molding.

The inventive concept relates to a method of molding a semiconductor package, and more particularly, to a method of molding a semiconductor package by which molding resin may be smoothly filled in a narrow gap between semiconductor chips and a mold.
Portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones, PDAs, portable music players, and the like, have been developed to have various and increasingly numerous functions. As a result, they have also been increasingly miniaturized. Semiconductor packages used in the portable electronic devices have also been developed to have various functions, to be small, and to be thin. For example, the number of semiconductor chips arrayed in a semiconductor package has increased, while the height of the semiconductor package has decreased.
During molding of the semiconductor package, a gap between top surfaces of the semiconductor chips and the mold becomes narrow. When the gap between the top surfaces of the semiconductor chips and the mold becomes narrow, for example, when the gap is equal to or less than 150 μm, molding resin may not fill in the narrow gap in a smooth manner.


A gaming system is provided that includes a gaming device which has at least one input device to receive an input from a player and at least one display device to relay gaming information to the player. The gaming system further includes a holographic image system configured to project a holographic image into a space outside of the gaming device. The holographic image system may be associated with a single gaming device, or which a plurality of gaming devices, such as a bank of gaming machines.

Over the past decade there has been a push to engage the millennial generation to the gaming floors. This effort has been undertaken by the leading gaming manufacturers with little success. Gaming revenues and gaming machine counts have been reduced over the past several years as the gaming machines are not earning at the levels that gaming operations expect.
Gaming manufacturers are primarily focused on the gaming machines and signage. This has been their focus for many decades. In the past several years, this has become clear with the introduction of many new styles of slot machine boxes that utilize the new modern curved screens such as those being offered by television manufacturers. This in the box thinking has worked for decades and is responsible for the slow/no growth of gaming revenues for casinos around the world.
Traditional gaming machine have a single slot machine or group of machines that may be linked together to give away prizes with winning events. These prizes are given away on the display of the machine and may be linked to signage connected to the gaming machines. These displays are stagnant, meaning they are set to fixed positions and are incapable of moving outside of the designated areas or boxes that they are inside of. The traditional use of space fails to maximize the space available in a casino to engage and entertain gaming patrons.
For example, traditional gaming machine banks may feature a traditional gaming machine and/or banks of gaming machines that may have an "attract mode" to draw the attention of potential players. Accordingly, the machines may be standalone machines or may be placed together in a bank of machines to form shapes.
In some instances, machines may be standalone machines or may be linked together in a bank of machines to give away awards (typically progressive or jackpot awards). Such machines may use video screens that are in the gaming machines and/or in the overhead signage.
When a gaming machine is in attract mode, its only feature is essentially to flash or blink its lights and to show the prizes that can be won on the video screen. The gaming attract mode is limited to the physical gaming machine box or sign that displays the game and award.
Similarly during game play, when a gaming player has won a prize, their award with fanfare is displayed on either the gaming machine or the gaming signage video screens. The gaming award presentation is limited to the physical gaming machine box or sign that displays the game and award.

Gaming system and gaming devices with holographic projection feature


A telephone switching network having a plurality of nodes interconnected through the network through channels having dynamically changeable capacity. The telephone switching network includes a plurality of switching nodes and a network manager responsive to each one of the nodes for allocating traffic capacity of the network among the nodes dynamically in accordance with the traffic requested at the plurality of nodes. Each one of the nodes is coupled to the network through an ATM ADM. Each one of the ATM ADMs is coupled to a narrowband switch through an ATM switch. The nodes are interconnected through an ATM SONET.

This invention relates generally to telephone switching networks.
As is known in the art, narrowband metropolitan and regional public telephone switching networks are typically based on the interconnection of local end office switches via tandems in a hierarchical arrangement, or when required by the volume of traffic, via direct trunk groups. National telephone switching networks usually use a mesh topology to interconnect regionally located tandems in a non-hierarchal, or mesh switching network. One such mesh switching network suggested is an ATM mesh switching network used with a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) ring, as shown in FIG. 1. Here, for example, nodes A through E serve a plurality of narrowband (NB) switches, the NB switches at each node being here arranged in a hierarchial architecture. Each hierarchial structure of NB switches terminates in an ATM switch at the node, as shown. It is noted that with N nodes, there are N(N−1)/2 paths which are possible between the nodes. For example, with the 5 node arrangement shown in FIG. 1, there are 10 possible paths between the various nodes (i.e., paths between nodes A and B, A and C, A and D, A and D, A and E, B and C, B and D, B and E, C and D, and D and E). It is noted that there may be up to 16 nodes on the ring, resulting in 120 paths.
Each ATM switch is coupled to the SONET ring through an add-drop multiplexer (ADM). Each ADM takes traffic on the ring and drops it off to the ATM switch coupled thereto (i.e., its associated ATM switch) or takes traffic from the associated ATM switch and couples it onto the ring.
The total capacity of the SONET ring is fixed, for example, 2.5 gigabits/second (Gb/s). The total ring capacity must be distributed among the paths, here among the 10 paths. This distribution is established by traffic engineering (i.e., estimating the expected traffic distribution among the paths) and once established, implemented by pre-setting, or pre-conditioning, the ADMs. For example, if the ADM at node B were pre-set at 480 channels between nodes A and B and all 480 channels are in use, a new call being made at node A for node B, would not be able to be routed directly from node A to node B. Rather, assuming in this example that the capacity between nodes A and C where not totally used and the capacity between channel B and C were not totally used, the new call may be routed from the ATM switch and the ADM at node A, then to the ADM at node B, then to the ADM and ATM switch at node C, and finally to the ADM and ATM switch at node B. Thus, the traffic flows on the ring twice, i.e., between nodes B and C and then from Node C to node B, thereby reducing the efficiency switching network, as indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 1.
As is also known in the art, an ADM can operate in the Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) mode or the ATM mode. While ADMs today operate in a TDM mode, the use of an ATM ADM has been suggested to increase SONET utilization efficiency by using virtual paths as the traffic entities which are added or dropped to or from the SONET ring instead of using fixed bandwidth virtual tributaries. With such suggested arrangement, a virtual path may have any bandwidth up to the SONET ring line rate limit. Such an arrangement is described in Bellcore GR-2837-CORE Issue 2, "ATM Virtual Path Functionality in SONET Rings" published December 1995, the entire subject matter thereof being incorporated herein by reference.
As is also known in the art, two distinct methods can be used for interworking narrowband traffic into an ATM network: network interworking, which is also known as landline interworking; and, service interworking. Service interworking envisions the ATM network as a full-service B-ISDN while network interworking simply uses the ATM network as a more bandwidth-efficient transport network. Service interworking involves mapping of narrowband services and signalling into a native ATM environment (e.g., B-ISUP signalling). Network interworking, as used herein, provides transparent transport of narrowband services and signaling between narrowband switches through an ATM network.

Flexible software architecture for a call processing system


The present invention provides a hollow cathode discharging apparatus including a hollow anode electrode, a hollow cathode electrode insulatedly fixed in the hollow anode electrode, a gas distribution pipe fixed in the hollow cathode electrode. The hollow anode electrode and the hollow cathode electrode are formed with anode openings and cathode openings respectively. Defined by the gas distribution pipe and the hollow cathode electrode and along the axis thereof is a spiral pathway winding through the cathode openings, so as to form a plurality of continuous and communicated reaction chambers. The gas distribution pipe is disposed with gas separation apertures communicated and adapted to introduce a reactive gas into the reaction chambers. The communicated reaction chambers enable uniform distribution of the reactive gas and thereby facilitate scale-up of the apparatus in axial. Accordingly, the present invention overcomes drawbacks of the prior art.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cathode discharging apparatus, and more particularly, to a hollow cathode discharging apparatus for generating low temperature slender plasma jets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hollow Cathode Discharge (HCD) is a common technique for generating low temperature plasma. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional hollow cathode discharging apparatus 1 comprises a hollow anode electrode 11 and a hollow cathode electrode 13 enclosed by the hollow anode electrode 11. The hollow cathode electrode 13 is connected to a high frequency power generator 15 (for example, a high frequency power generator operable at a frequency of 13.56 MHz) and insulatedly spaced apart from the hollow anode electrode 11 by an insulated pipe 17 made of aluminum oxide ceramic. A reactive gas (for example, argon, helium, and nitrogen) required to generate plasma is introduced into the hollow cathode electrode 13 through an insulated gas pipe 18 penetrating the hollow anode electrode 11. Then, the reactive gas in the hollow cathode electrode 13 is ionized under high-frequency power supplied by the high frequency power generator 15. In the hollow cathode electrode 13, the free electrons collided with the reactive gas and bring high-density plasma. Then, the high-density plasma is ejected from a jet hole 19 to form a plasma jet. The plasma jet can be applied to various processes, such as surface modification and film deposition.
To be useful for a large area film coating process, the aforesaid single plasma jet may be expanded to multi-plasma jet for large area deposition application. Normally, generation of multiple, separate plasma jets is achieved by a conventional hollow cathode discharging apparatus lying horizontally and equipped with many separate reaction chambers each having a nozzle to enable ejection of the plasma, as disclosed in European Patent No. EP0881865.
Patent No. EP0881865 discloses an apparatus for generating a plurality of low temperature slender plasma jets. Referring to FIG. 2, an apparatus 2 comprises a hollow anode electrode 21 and a hollow cathode electrode 22 insulatedly enclosed by and yet spaced apart from the hollow anode electrode 21. The hollow cathode electrode 22 is connected to a high frequency power generator for generating a high-frequency power source, partitioned into a plurality of separate circular reaction chambers 24 by a plurality of partitions 23, and coaxially penetrated by a gas transfer pipe 25 insulated from the hollow anode electrode 21. A reactive gas required to generate plasma is introduced into the circular reaction chambers 24 through the gas inlet pipe 252. The gas transfer pipe 25 is disposed with gas apertures 251 corresponding in position to the circular reaction chambers 24 respectively. The hollow cathode electrode 22 and the hollow anode electrode 21 are disposed with cathode openings 221 and anode jet holes 211 respectively. The cathode openings 221 and the anode jet holes 211 correspond in position to one another. Confined to the circular reaction chambers 24, free electrons vibrate in such a way as to generate high-density plasma. The high-density plasma was ejected from the anode jet holes 211 to form a plurality of separate plasma jets 26. The separate plasma jets 26 are used in film deposition.
The separate circular reaction chambers 24 are separated from one another by the partitions 23 and adapted to provide a plurality of successive plasma jets 26. Given the extremely high density of the individual plasma jets 26, film deposition is performed fast but slowly in between any two. The speed varies greatly. To achieve uniform film thickness, a substrate 27 is kept away from the anode jet holes 211 by a distance d as great as possible. In so doing, the density of plasma decreases undesirably, thus slowing down the film deposition.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the circular reaction chambers 24 correspond in position to the gas apertures 251 of the gas transfer pipe 25. Inasmuch as plasma is flew to the vacuum chambers by vacuum suction, poor alignment of the gas apertures 251 prevents uniform distribution of the reactive gas inside the circular reaction chambers 24.
With the gas transfer pipe 25 penetrating the hollow cathode electrode 22 axially, an increase in the diameter of the gas transfer pipe 25 is always accompanied by a decrease in the capacity of the circular reaction chambers 24, thus aggravating non-uniform distribution of the reactive gas. For this reason, the diameter of the gas transfer pipe 25 is necessarily small. Scale up the apparatus 2 in axial, coupled with the small diameter of the gas transfer pipe 25 therefore prevents uniform distribution of the reactive gas inside the slender gas transfer pipe 25. Upon its entry into the separate circular reaction chambers 24 individually, the different reactive gas rate has immediately bearing on different plasma density. The longer the apparatus 2 is, the less is uniformity of plasma density in its axial direction. The disadvantage poses hindrance to large-area film deposition.
Accordingly, an issue facing the industrial sector and calling for urgent solution is to develop a hollow cathode discharging apparatus that facilitates scale-up of a HCD apparatus in axial, high density and uniform plasma distribution was induced by uniform distribution of a reactive gas.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The subject of the present invention is a method for processing alerts by an avionic system FWS that makes it possible to optimize the processing of these alerts without unnecessarily consuming “processor time”. The method according to the invention is characterized in that it consists in having processed, on each processing cycle of the processor of the FWS, only the operations relating to alerts for which the result has been modified since the preceding processing cycle.

In the current avionics systems for managing alerts and procedures, commonly called FWS, the consumption of "processor time" (processor occupancy time in processing these alerts) is the same whatever the number of alerts detected. The worst case (presence of a large number of alerts that are unchanged, but processed "without any data" by the processor) is repeated each time, and at the present time there is no solution to this problem.

Optimized task processing method and device for an FWS


The present invention relates to a method of controlling a driver assistance system which can identify a danger situation with reference to a comparison of measured data with predetermined limit values and which can output a warning signal when it has identified a danger situation of this type. An additional control module is provided which determines an activity state of the driver in dependence on at least one input value which permits a conclusion on actions carried out by a driver and can suppress the outputting of the warning signal in dependence on this activity state.

Driver assistance systems and associated control methods and apparatus for the carrying out of methods of this type are known from the prior art. Driver assistance systems exist, for example, which measure the distance to a preceding vehicle or to an obstacle and compare this distance with a stored minimum distance. If the stored minimum distance is fallen below, a warning signal is output by the driver assistance system. So-called "lane departure warning" systems are likewise known which warn the driver if he unintentionally departs from the lane. Driver assistance systems of this type known from the prior art therefore identify a danger situation with reference to a comparison of specific measured values such as the distance to the preceding vehicle with limit values generally already stored ex works.
It is a disadvantage of these driver assistance systems that the pre-set limit values do not lead to a satisfactory result for every driver and for every style of driving. In particular, a warning signal is also output when the driver deliberately changes lane, drives closely to the vehicle traveling in front of him or proceeds in another way into a situation identified as a danger situation by the driver assistance system. In this case, a warning by the driver assistance system is not wanted by the driver and, contrary to the original intention, the output warning signal can even result in a dangerous incorrect reaction of the driver. In any case, many drivers feel irritated when a warning signal is output regularly even though they are driving with concentration and so there is no need for a warning from their point of view. The described insufficiencies of conventional driver assistance systems have the result that many drivers as a rule completely deactivate the driver assistance system. The driver assistance system can thereby naturally also no longer output a warning signal in a real danger situation.

Method of controlling a driver assistance system and an associated apparatus


A thrust washer structure for dissipating axial frictional forces caused by a forward thrust of a pinion gear in a fishing reel having a deck plate with an axial bore through the deck plate and a bushing having a rearwardly facing surface and an axial cylindrical bore therein disposed within the bore deck plate. The reel further includes a center shaft having a pinion gear thereon disposed within the axial cylindrical bore of the bushing, the pinion gear extending rearwardly from the bushing. The thrust washer structure includes at least one thrust washer having two radial surfaces. One radial surface is in contact with a bushing. The coefficient of friction of the radial surface in contact with a bushing is such that when the thrust washer is subjected to a forward thrust and the center shaft is rotated, slippage does not occur between the bushing and the radial surface in contact therewith.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward fishing reels and more particularly toward a thrust washer system for fishing reels.
2. Background Art
In one type of closed-faced spin cast fishing reel, a reel frame or deck plate has an axial bore for receiving a center shaft. Formed integral with the center shaft or splined thereon is a pinion gear having helical teeth. When the center shaft is disposed within the bore of the deck plate the pinion gear extends rearwardly from the deck plate. The reel further includes a face gear cooperatively interengaging the pinion gear. Attached to the drive gear is a drive shaft which in turn is attached to a crank handle. When the crank handle is rotated in a line retrieving direction the drive gear is rotated which in turn causes rotation of the pinion gear and the center shaft associated therewith. Because of the helical angle of the pinion gear teeth, the pinion gear is axially thrust forward against the deck plate when the pinion gear is caused to rotate in a line retrieving direction. In addition, the drive gear causes a radial loading on the center shaft when the drive gear rotates the center shaft.
Many reels seat a conventional ball bearing at the rearward portion of the deck plate to dissipate the frictional resistance to rotation of the center shaft caused by the forward thrust (or axial load) of the pinion gear and the radial load of the drive gear discussed above. However, such ball bearings are expensive, not readily available in small sizes required by fishing reels and hard to turn if grease used on the reel gears seeps into the ball area. Moreover, while these ball bearings are effective in alleviating radial frictional forces opposing rotation of the center shaft, they are not very effective in dissipating axial frictional forces caused by the forward thrust of the pinion gear, as for example when the center shaft is caused to turn in a line retrieving direction. In particular, conventional ball bearings do not hold up for long periods of time under the repeated forward thrust of the pinion gear.
As an alternative to conventional ball bearings, some reels used an angular contact bearing. Angular contact bearings are designed to stand up to the axial forward thrust of the pinion gear. However, angular contact bearings are more expensive than conventional ball bearings and are inferior to conventional ball bearings for facilitating rotation of the center shaft under radial loads.
Another device used in the art for facilitating rotation of the center shaft under axial and radial loads is an OILITE.TM. bushing inserted into the bore in the deck plate, the OILITE.TM. bushing having a center shaft receiving bore therein. As is readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, OILITE.TM. bushings are typically made of a porous brass or bronze alloy with a lubricant such as oil permeated into the pores of the bushing. When heat is generated such as by rotation of the center shaft within the busing, lubrication is released from the pores of the bushing. Use of an OILITE.TM. bushing to facilitate rotation of the center shaft in the deck plate is often preferred over conventional ball bearings and angular contact bearings because it is less expensive and often times more durable.
When a pinion gear having helical teeth is rotated in a line retrieving direction, thereby subjecting the OILITE.TM. bushing to a forward thrust, lubrication seeps from the pores of the rearward facing edge of the OILITE.TM. bushing to facilitate easy rotation of the pinion gear and associated center shaft. However, under heavy and sustained forward thrusts, such as when a large fish is being reeled in, excessive heat and friction can cause the surface of the OILITE.TM. bushing contacting pinion gear to be depleted of lubrication, thus increasing the coefficient of friction between the OILITE.TM. bushing and the pinion gear and causing binding between the OILITE.TM. bushing and the pinion gear. Besides making line retrieval more difficult, this binding increases the wear on the reel drive system, in particular, the wear between the pinion gear and drive gear.

Thrust washer structure for fishing reels


A vehicle body mounting configuration is obtained which can properly mount an exhaust system heat exchanger on a vehicle body. The configuration includes an exhaust system heat exchanger which extends in a vehicle front-rear direction, a floor tunnel which opens downwards in a vehicle vertical direction, a body cross member which bridges wall portions of the floor tunnel, and a support portion which supports in a suspending fashion the exhaust system heat exchanger relative to the body cross member. The body cross member overlaps at an upper side in the vehicle vertical direction relative to a partition wall pipe which lies outside of a range where a cooling medium flow path is placed in a longitudinal direction, and the support portion is fixed, respectively, to the exhaust gas exhaust portion of the partition wall pipe and the body cross member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body mounting configuration including an exhaust system heat exchanger for mounting an exhaust system heat exchanger for allowing heat exchange to take place between exhaust gas and a cooling medium of, for example, a motor vehicle on a vehicle body.
2. Description of Related Art
As is shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2006-105464, a structure is known in which an exhaust system heat exchanger for allowing heat exchange to take place between exhaust gas and engine cooling water is provided between a catalytic converter and a muffler in an exhaust system for discharging exhaust gas of an engine.
In the related art described above, however, nothing was taken into consideration on a vehicle body mounting configuration including the exhaust system heat exchanger.

Vehicle body mounting configuration including exhaust system heat exchanger