Aluminum is used as a material of wiring in various electronic devices such as a solar cell, a semiconductor device, and an electronic display device. Heretofore, it has generally been practiced to form such an aluminum film by a vacuum process such as a sputtering, vacuum deposition or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and to form a pattern by a photoetching method. Since this method requires a large-scale vacuum deposition device, not only is it disadvantageous in terms of energy consumption, but it is also difficult to uniformly form aluminum wiring on a substrate having a large surface area, resulting in poor yield and one of the causes of high costs.
In contrast, there has recently been proposed the technology in which a solution composition containing a complex of an amine compound and an aluminum hydride, and an organic solvent is applied on a substrate and then an aluminum film is formed by heating the solution composition (specification of Japanese Patent No. 3,817,201). This technology is an excellent technology which can form a satisfactory quality aluminum film by a simple method without requiring a massive and heavy apparatus. However, since this technology requires a pretreatment in which an organometallic compound of Ti, Pd or Al is applied on a substrate and then subjected to a heat treatment before application of the solution composition, the technology has such a drawback that a film made of an oxide of the metal is interposed in the space between the thus formed aluminum film and the substrate, thus failing to ensure electrical bonding between the substrate and the aluminum film.


The present invention relates to speech coders and, more particularly, to speech coders for high quality coding of speech signals at low bit rates.
A speech coder is used together with a speech decoder such that the speech is coded by the coder and decoded in the speech decoder. A well known method of high efficiency speech coding is CELP (Code Excited Linear Prediction coding) as disclosed in, for instance, M. Schroeder, B. Atal et al, xe2x80x9cCode-Exited Linear Prediction: High Quality Speech at very low bit ratesxe2x80x9d, IEEE Proc. ICASSP-85, 1985, pp. 937-940 (Reference 1) and Kleijn et al, xe2x80x9cImproved Speech Quality and Efficient Vector Quantizatin in SELPxe2x80x9d, IEEE Proc. ICASSP-88, 1988, pp. 155-158 (Reference 1). In this method, on the transmission side, a spectral parameter, representing a spectral energy distribution of a speech signal, is extracted from the speech signal for each frame (of 20 ms, for instance) by using linear prediction (LPC) analysis. Also, the frame is further divided into a plurality of sub-frames (of 5 ms, for instance), and parameters (i.e., delay parameter corresponding to pitch period and gain parameter) are extracted for each sub-frame on the basis of the past excitation signals. Then, pitch prediction of a pertinent sub-frame speech signal is executed by using an adaptive codebook. For an error signal which is obtained as a result of the pitch prediction, an optimum excitation codevector is selected from an excitation codebook (or vector quantization codebook) constituted by a predetermined kind of noise signal, whereby an optimal gain is calculated for excitation signal quantization. The optimal excitation codevector is selected so as to minimize the error power between a signal synthesized from the selected noise signal and the error signal noted above. Index and gain, representing the kind of the selected codevector, are transmitted together with the spectral parameter and adaptive codebook parameter to a multiplexer. Description of the receiving side is omitted.
In the above prior art speech coder, enormous computational effort is required for the selection of the optimal excitation codevector from the excitation codebook. This is so because in the method according to References 1 and 2, described above the excitation codevector selection is executed by repeatedly performing for each codevector, filtering or convolution a number of times corresponding to the number of the codevectors stored in the codebook. For example, where the bit number of the codebook is B and the dimension number is N, denoting the filter or impulse response length in the filtering or convolution by K, a computational effort of Nxc3x97Kxc3x972Bxc3x978,000/N per second is required. By way of example, assuming B=10, N=40 and K=10, it is necessary to execute the computation 81,920,000 times per second. The computational effort is thus enormous and economically unfeasible.
Heretofore, various methods of reducing the computational effort necessary for the excitation codebook retrieval have been proposed. For example, an ACELP (Algebraic Code-Excited Linear Prediction) system has been proposed. The system is specifically treated in C. Laflamme et al, xe2x80x9c16 kbps Wideband Speech Coding Technique based on Algebraic CELPxe2x80x9d, IEEE Proc. ICASSP-91, 1991, pp. 13-16 (Reference 3). According to Reference 3, the excitation signal is expressed with a plurality of pulses, and transmitted with the position of each pulse represented with a predetermined number of bits. The amplitude of each pulse is limited to +1.0 or xe2x88x921.0, and it is thus possible to greatly reduce the computational effort of the pulse retrieval.
The method according to Reference 3, however, has a problem that the speech quality is insufficient, although great reduction of computational effort is attainable. The problem stems from the fact that each pulse can take only either positive or negative polarity and that its absolute amplitude is always 1.0 irrespective of its position. This results in very coarse amplitude quantization, thus deteriorating the speech quality.
An object of the present invention is to provide a speech coder capable of preventing speech quality deterioration with relatively less computational effort even where the bit rate is low.
According to the present invention, there is provided a speech coder comprising a spectral parameter calculation unit for obtaining a spectral parameter i.e. spectral energy distribution, from an input speech signal and quantizing the obtained spectral parameter, an excitation quantization on unit for quantizing excitation signal of the speech signal by using the spectral parameter and outputting the quantized excitation signal, the excitation being constituted by a plurality of non-zero pulses. The speech coder further comprising a codebook for simultaneously quantizing one of two, i.e., amplitude and position, paramters of the non-zero pulses, the excitation quantization unit having a function of quantizing the non-zero pulses by obtaining the other parameter by retrieval of the codebook.
The excitation quantization unit has at least one specific pulse position for taking a pulse thereat that is, a range within which at least one pulse position is to be determined.
The excitation quantization unit preliminarily selects a plurality of codevectors from the codebook and executes the quantization by obtaining the other parameter by retrieval of the preliminarily selected codevectors.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a speech coder comprising a spectral parameter calculation unit for obtaining a spectral parameter from an input speech signal for every frame and quantizing the obtained spectral parameter, and an excitation quantization unit for quantizing an excitation signal of the speech signal by using the spectral parameter and outputting the quantized excitation signal. The excitation signal is constituted by a plurality of non-zero pulses. The speech coder further comprising a codebook for simultaneously quantizing the amplitude of the non-zero pulses and a mode judgement circuit for executing mode judgement by extracting a feature quantity from the speech signal. The excitation quantization unit providing, when a predetermined mode is determined as a result of the mode judgement in the mode judgement circuit, functions of calculating positions of non-zero pulses for a plurality of sets, executing retrieval of the codebook with respect to the pulse positions in the plurality of sets and executing excitation signal quantization by selecting a combination of a codevector and a pulse position, at which a predetermined equation has a maximum or a minimum value.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a speech coder comprising a spectral parameter calculation unit for obtaining a spectral parameter from an input speech signal for every frame and quantizing the obtained spectral parameter, and an excitation quantization unit for quantizing an excitation signal of the speech signal by using the spectral parameter and outputting the quantized excitation signal. The excitation signal being constituted by a plurality of non-zero pulses. The speech coder further comprising a codebook for simultaneously quantizing the amplitude of the non-zero pulses and a mode judgement circuit for making a mode judgement by extracting a feature quantity from the speech signal. The excitation quantization unit providing, when a predetermined mode is determined as a result of the mode judgement in the mode judgement circuit, functions of calculating positions of non-zero pulses for at least one set, executing retrieval of the codebook with respect to pulse positions of a set having a pulse position, at which a predetermined equation has a maximum or a minimum value, and effecting excitation signal quantization by selecting the optimal combination satisfactory pulse position set and codevector. When a different predetermined mode is determined, the excitation quantization unit provides functions of representing the excitation in the form of linear coupling of a plurality of pulses and excitation codevectors selected from the excitation codebook, and executing excitation signal quantization by making retrieval of the pulses and the excitation codevectors.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a speech coder comprising a frame divider for dividing input speech signal into frames having a predetermined time length, a sub-frame divider for dividing each frame speech signal into sub-frames having a time length shorter than the frame, a spectral parameter calculator which receives a series of frame speech signals outputted from the frame divider, truncates the speech signal by using a window longer than the sub-frame time and does spectral parameter calculation up to a predetermined degree. The speech coder further comprises a spectral parameter quantizer which vector quantizes a LSP parameter of a predetermined sub-frame, calculated in the spectral parameter calculator, by using a linear spectrum pair parameter codebook, a perceptual weight multiplier which receive line prediction coefficients of a plurality of sub-frames, calculated in the spectral parameter calculator, and does perceptual weight multiplication of each sub-frame speech signal to output a perceptual weight multiplied signal. The speech coder also includes a response signal calculator which receives, for each sub-frame, linear prediction coefficients of a plurality of sub-frames calculated in the spectral parameter calculator and linear prediction coefficients restored in the spectral parameter quantizer, calculates a responses signal for one sub-frame and outputs the calculated response signal to a subtracter. The speech coder further includes an impulse response calculator which receives the restored linear prediction coefficients from the spectral parameter quantizer and calculates an impulse response of a perceptual weight multiply filter for a predetermined number of points. An adaptive codebook circuit receives past excitation signal fed back from the output side, the output signal of a subtracter and the perceptual weight multiply filter impulse response, and obtains a delay corresponding to the pitch and outputs index representing the obtained delay. An excitation quantizer does calculation and quantization of one of parameters of a plurality of non-zero pulses constituting an excitation by using an amplitude codebook for collectively quantizing other parameter, i.e., amplitude parameter, of excitation pulses. A gain quantizer reads out gain codevectors from a gain codebook, selects a gain codevector from amplitude codevector/pulse position data and outputs index representing the selected gain codevector to a multiplexer. A weight signal calculator receives the output of the gain quantizer, reads out a codevector corresponding to the index and obtains a drive excitation signal.
Other objects and features will be clarified from the following description with reference to attached drawings.


The circadian clock links our daily cycles of sleep and activity to the external environment. Deregulation of the clock is implicated in a number of human disorders, including depression, seasonal affective disorder, and metabolic disorders. Circadian rhythms are controlled in mammals by the master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (Antle and Silver, Trends Neurosci 28: 145-151). At the cellular level, the molecular events behind clock cycling are described by the regular increase and decrease in mRNAs and proteins that define feedback loops, resulting in approximately 24 hour cycles. The suprachiasmatic nucleus is primarily regulated, or entrained, directly by light via the retinohypothalamic tract. The cycling outputs of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, not fully identified, regulate multiple downstream rhythms, such as those in sleep and awakening, body temperature, and hormone secretion (Ko and Takahashi, Hum Mol Gen 15: R271-R277.). Furthermore, diseases such as depression, seasonal affective disorder, and metabolic disorders, may have a circadian origin (Barnard and Nolan, PLoS Genet. 2008 May; 4(5): e1000040).
Phosphorylation of circadian clock proteins is an essential element in controlling the cyclical rhythm of the clock. CK1ε and CK1δ are closely related Ser-Thr protein kinases that serve as key clock regulators as demonstrated by mammalian mutations in each that dramatically alter the circadian period. (Lowrey et al., Science 288: 483-492). Therefore, inhibitors of CK1δ/ε have utility in treating circadian disorders. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide compounds of Formula I that are inhibitors of CK1δ or CK1ε. This object and other objects of this invention become apparent from the detailed discussion of the invention that follows.


1. Field
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus supporting Wi-Fi direct, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method of activating Wi-Fi direct in an image forming apparatus supporting Wi-Fi direct.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, peer to peer (P2P) communication technology, by which wireless devices may be directly connected to each other without an additional wireless connecting apparatus, have been generalized and widely used. For example, Bluetooth technology makes the P2P communication possible. Although there are limitations in terms of transmission speed and transmission range of Bluetooth, new versions of Bluetooth are being developed to compensate for the limitations.
In addition, Wi-Fi, which is a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard based on IEEE 802.11 regulated by the Wi-Fi alliance, is basically a technology using ultra-high speed Internet by accessing access points (APs) connected to an infrastructured network; however, the Wi-Fi may serve the P2P communication by using an ad-hoc function. However, when the ad-hoc function is used, security is weakened, a transmission speed is lowered, and a setting method is not easily performed. Therefore, the Wi-Fi alliance has suggested a Wi-Fi Direct technology that makes the P2P communication possible. The Wi-Fi Direct allows P2P connection between wireless devices without using the AP, supports a transmission speed of a maximum of 250 Mbps, and performs security settings by using Wi-Fi protected access 2 (WPA2), in order to address problems of the ad-hoc function. In addition, the Wi-Fi Direct supports a transmission range of a maximum of 200 m, and thus, is considered as a substitute for the P2P communication.
As described above, with the appearance of the Wi-Fi Direct, it is considered that utilization of the P2P communication is increased more. In addition, the P2P communication technology may be also applied to image forming apparatuses such as printers, scanners, facsimiles, and multi-function printers. Therefore, technologies for safely and conveniently using an image forming apparatus supporting the P2P connection are necessary.


The present invention relates to lighting devices or illuminating lamps which have special advantage for personal use. That is, the devices may be used in association with the person, such as strapped to a wrist, or hung on a belt, or hung in a convenient place on a bicycle, baby carriage, or the like.
Numerous and varied illuminating devices have been contrived and proposed in the prior art. Some of those devices have limited utility. Other of the prior devices may present undesirable complexities, or manufacturing difficulties, or other undesirable features.


Network nodes forward data. Network nodes may take form in one or more routers, one or more bridges, one or more switches, one or more servers, or any other suitable communications processing device. The data is commonly formatted as packets and forwarded using forwarding tables. A packet is a formatted unit of data that typically contains control information and payload data. Control information may include: information that identifies sources and destinations, such as addresses, error detection codes like checksums, sequencing information, etc. Control information is typically found in packet headers and trailers. Payload data is typically located between the packet headers and trailers.
Forwarding packets involves various processes that, while simple in concept, can be complex. The processes involved in forwarding packets vary, depending on the type of forwarding method used. Multicast is the preferred method of data forwarding for many networks. One reason for this is that multicast is a bandwidth-conserving technology that reduces traffic by simultaneously delivering data to multiple receivers. However, some network environments are not well suited to support multicast. Doing so in such environments often involves discovering and maintaining significant amounts of control, or state, information. Setting up and maintaining this control information has a tendency to become complex and costly in terms of computing resources, and can become a major limiting factor in overall network performance. Another issue with multicast is that due to packet delivery mechanisms used, packets are sometimes forwarded to locations where the packets were not desired. This unnecessary delivery of packets represents an unwelcome burden on network performance. Overcoming this burden by traditional means involves generation and maintenance of even more control information.


Many diagnostic systems require the capturing and analysis of a peak value of an input waveform. In an analog environment, a conventional Sample and Hold circuit (S/H) is commonly used to determine the peak value. However, S/H circuits typically have associated minimum input voltage requirements. In many diagnostic applications, where the input signal has a peak value below the minimum required input voltage, inaccuracies result due to distortion of the S/H circuit. Specifically, below the minimum input voltage, the input signal tends to become distorted by the noise of the S/H circuit, that might be comparable in magnitude to the peak, as shown by FIG. 1. As a result, the S/H circuit is incapable of reliably detecting peak values. Moreover, for waveforms having a first portion having a first rate of change and a second portion having a relatively faster rate of change, (or vice versa) as shown by FIG. 1, the S/H circuit may be incapable of capturing the peak values due to the second portion whose rate of change cannot be detected by the current.
In an analog environment, one solution to overcome the problem is to amplify the signal at a predetermined gain so that the S/H circuit functions reliably. Alternatively, a phase shift circuit may be implemented to detect the falling edge of the input signal, VIN. However, as phase shift circuits are plagued with many of the same problems as S/H circuits, they often tend to fail to function reliably. The remaining corrective measure is amplification of the input signal. In situations where power consumption must be kept to a minimum, such as battery powered diagnostic equipment, amplifying input signals consumes unnecessary amounts of power.
One way to address this problem is by digitally signal sampling the waveform with the use of an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter in order to capture the peak value. As illustrated by FIG. 2, the waveform falls abruptly at a rate faster than the sampling rate. In this regard, a peak value is calculated from the rising edge only. However, as a sample reading does not always capture the peak value, results will tend to be inaccurate. A high sampling rate may be used to overcome this problem, but is undesirable in many diagnostic system applications, as fast A/D converters cost more and require more power to operate. Especially for battery powered diagnostic systems in the field, fast A/D converters are not practical.
Accordingly, a need arises to reliably detect peak voltages of a waveform, especially, an input signal level having high rates of change and/or are low in magnitude.


Various industrial manufacturing processes often require the use of gasses and fluids which are controlled by systems made up of valves, regulators, pressure transducers, mass flow controllers and the like. These components are typically connected together by the use of welded tubing and compression fittings and mounted on a vertical panel. These type of connections may be undesirable in some applications because they add additional time and cost for welding operations, unnecessary space between components and make it difficult to replace a component located between other components. Further, these systems are typically custom designed and manufactured which make the manufacturing costs and procurement of replacement parts quite expensive.
New modular fluid systems have been recently introduced into the semiconductor industry in order to overcome these type of problems. Typical components of these systems such as valves, pressure regulators and other typical fluid components have been reconfigured so that their inlet and outlet ports are co-located in a coplanar configuration. Further, the attachment flow component flange has a standard size and shape in order to permit interchangeability of surface mount components. However, these fluid systems have the disadvantage of being very expensive because they are machined from high purity metal stock. These systems further require the use of metal seals, which are very expensive. Thus it is desired to provide an inexpensive modular manifold system for use for example, in the analytical process industry.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawing and claims, which form a part of the specification.


Relatively recently, researchers observed that double stranded RNA (“dsRNA”) could be used to inhibit protein expression. This ability to silence a gene has broad potential for treating human diseases, and many researchers and commercial entities are currently investing considerable resources in developing therapies based on this technology.
Double stranded RNA induced gene silencing can occur on at least three different levels: (i) transcription inactivation, which refers to RNA guided DNA or histone methylation; (ii) siRNA induced mRNA degradation; and (iii) mRNA induced transcriptional attenuation.
It is generally considered that the major mechanism of RNA induced silencing (RNA interference, or RNAi) in mammalian cells is mRNA degradation. Initial attempts to use RNAi in mammalian cells focused on the use of long strands of dsRNA. However, these attempts to induce RNAi met with limited success, due in part to the induction of the interferon response, which results in a general, as opposed to a target-specific, inhibition of protein synthesis. Thus, long dsRNA is not a viable option for RNAi in mammalian systems.
More recently it has been shown that when short (18-30 bp) RNA duplexes are introduced into mammalian cells in culture, sequence-specific inhibition of target mRNA can be realized without inducing an interferon response. Certain of these short dsRNAs, referred to as small inhibitory RNAs (“siRNAs”), can act catalytically at sub-molar concentrations to cleave greater than 95% of the target mRNA in the cell. A description of the mechanisms for siRNA activity, as well as some of its applications are described in Provost et al. (2002) Ribonuclease Activity and RNA Binding of Recombinant Human Dicer, EMBO J. 21(21): 5864-5874; Tabara et al. (2002) The dsRNA Binding Protein RDE-4 Interacts with RDE-1, DCR-1 and a DexH-box Helicase to Direct RNAi in C. elegans, Cell 109(7):861-71; Ketting et al. (2002) Dicer Functions in RNA Interference and in Synthesis of Small RNA Involved in Developmental Timing in C. elegans; Martinez et al., Single-Stranded Antisense siRNAs Guide Target RNA Cleavage in RNAi, Cell 110(5):563; Hutvagner & Zamore (2002) A microRNA in a multiple-turnover RNAi enzyme complex, Science 297:2056.
From a mechanistic perspective, introduction of long double stranded RNA into plants and invertebrate cells is broken down into siRNA by a Type III endonuclease known as Dicer. Sharp, RNA interference—2001, Genes Dev. 2001, 15:485. Dicer, a ribonuclease-III-like enzyme, processes the dsRNA into 19-23 base pair short interfering RNAs with characteristic two base 3′ overhangs. Bernstein, Caudy, Hammond, & Hannon (2001) Role for a bidentate ribonuclease in the initiation step of RNA interference, Nature 409:363. The siRNAs are then incorporated into an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) where one or more helicases unwind the siRNA duplex, enabling the complementary antisense strand to guide target recognition. Nykanen, Haley, & Zamore (2001) ATP requirements and small interfering RNA structure in the RNA interference pathway, Cell 107:309. Upon binding to the appropriate target mRNA, one or more endonucleases within the RISC cleaves the target to induce silencing. Elbashir, Lendeckel, & Tuschl (2001) RNA interference is mediated by 21- and 22-nucleotide RNAs, Genes Dev. 15:188, FIG. 1.
The interference effect can be long lasting and may be detectable after many cell divisions. Moreover, RNAi exhibits sequence specificity. Kisielow, M. et al. (2002) Isoform-specific knockdown and expression of adaptor protein ShcA using small interfering RNA, J. Biochem. 363:1-5. Thus, the RNAi machinery can specifically knock down one type of transcript, while not affecting closely related mRNA. These properties make siRNA a potentially valuable tool for inhibiting gene expression and studying gene function and drug target validation. Moreover, siRNAs are potentially useful as therapeutic agents against: (1) diseases that are caused by over-expression or misexpression of genes; and (2) diseases brought about by expression of genes that contain mutations.
Successful siRNA-dependent gene silencing depends on a number of factors. One of the most contentious issues in RNAi is the question of the necessity of siRNA design, i.e., considering the sequence of the siRNA used. Early work in C. elegans and plants circumvented the issue of design by introducing long dsRNA (see, for instance, Fire, A. et al. (1998) Nature 391:806-811). In this primitive organism, long dsRNA molecules are cleaved into siRNA by Dicer, thus generating a diverse population of duplexes that can potentially cover the entire transcript. While some fraction of these molecules are non-functional (i.e., induce little or no silencing) one or more have the potential to be highly functional, thereby silencing the gene of interest and alleviating the need for siRNA design. Unfortunately, due to the interferon response, this same approach is unavailable for mammalian systems. While this effect can be circumvented by bypassing the Dicer cleavage step and directly introducing siRNA, this tactic carries with it the risk that the chosen siRNA sequence may be non-functional or semi-functional.
A number of researches have expressed the view that siRNA design is not a crucial element of RNAi. On the other hand, others in the field have begun to explore the possibility that RNAi can be made more efficient by paying attention to the design of the siRNA. Unfortunately, none of the reported methods have provided a satisfactory scheme for reliably selecting siRNA with acceptable levels of functionality. Accordingly, there is a need to develop rational criteria by which to select siRNA with an acceptable level of functionality, and to identify siRNA that have this improved level of functionality, as well as to identify siRNAs that are hyperfunctional.


Data stored on one or more computer systems may be useful for a user. However, the stored data may be too extensive for a user to find the data by direct examination. Additionally, some parts of a data repository may contain information that is not accessible to the user. In many cases, in order to allow the user useful access to the data, a search mechanism is provided. The search mechanism allows a user to issue a search request (also termed a search query). The query is executed and the results are returned for the user.
For example, a web-based search engine is a search mechanism that is used to provide search access to information via a web-based search. The information may be found in a specific data repository, such as a database or other data collection. The information may also be an agglomeration of data found in a number of different data repositories. Such a search engine may provide search access to information available from different information providers over a network, such as the Internet.
In a typical usage of a web search engine, the user enters a query, which is a set of search terms related to what the user is looking for. The query is transmitted to the search engine, which attempts to locate “hits”—i.e., content that is available on the Internet and that relates to the terms contained in the query. Generally, the search engine either has a database of web pages that are known to exist, or communicates with external “providers” who maintain such databases; the query is “scored” against items in these databases to identify the web pages that best match the query. A list of results is then generated, and these results are returned to the user's computer for display by the user's web browser.
Typically, the databases contain information such as: the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) of web pages, the titles of the pages, descriptions of the pages, and possibly other textual information about the web pages. The user then reads the results and attempts to determine, based on the text contained in the results, whether the results correspond to what the user is looking for. Users may then attempt to retrieve the entire page correlating to a search result. In other contexts, search engines present results summarizing the pieces of data that may possibly be useful for a user.
The utility of the search engine is correlated directly to the quality of the results provided. In the best case, the results are presented to the user in order of utility to the user on the result page. Because the quality of the results is subjective, the user's satisfaction must be determined in order to determine whether the quality of the results were satisfactory.
In the prior art, quality of individual web pages has been measured by obtaining explicit feedback from a user. At least one prior art web browser has attempted to obtain such explicit feedback from a user. This browser is described in a paper entitled “Inferring User Interest” by Mark Claypool, David Brown, Phong Le, Makoto Waseda in IEEE Internet Computing 5(6): 32-39 (2001). In that browser, different pages are displayed by the browser. Whenever the page being displayed by the browser is changed, a user evaluation of the page is requested from the user. User evaluations for a given page are collected, to determine whether users find that page valuable. In this browser, some implicit feedback is also maintained regarding each page, including data regarding the time spent on the page, mouse movements, mouse clicks, and scrolling time.
While this technique does gather user feedback, it has limited utility in situations in which users may have different needs for a page. For example, a user who is looking for information about books written by Douglas Adams may evaluate a page on his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and give a high score for utility. However, another user who is looking for information on books about traveling cheaply may evaluate the same page and give it a low score. Thus the technique described will have limited utility in the wide variety of situations in which different users may have different needs, or even where a single user may have different needs for information at different times. In other words, the usefulness of this technique is limited because evaluation of each page is completely independent of the context in which the user arrived at the page.
Thus, this technique is not useful for evaluating the quality of a search engine. In general, this technique is not useful for evaluations that are context-based, but only for evaluating the quality of individual data items, independent of the context in which a user arrived at the data items.
Another drawback of the prior art is that users may respond to explicit requests for feedback by ignoring them or providing inaccurate feedback in order to speed the searches the users are performing. This leads to possibly unreliable data in addition to user dissatisfaction with the search tool.
Additionally, the prior art web browsers do not request feedback on non-standard search results. Many web searches now provide non-standard search results. For example, when searching web pages, for example, for a restaurant of a specified name in a specified town, some web searches simultaneously do a phone book search for the phone number of the restaurant. This result is displayed for the user. This is a non-standard result because it is not the type of result that the user was ostensibly requesting. However, it may be useful to judge the satisfaction of the user with such non-standard results.
An additional problem in judging satisfaction with search results is that they may be used by a user without the user selecting the result (standard or non-standard) and without the user otherwise indicating through other implicit feedback that the user has found a satisfactory result. In the above example, a user who is only looking for a web page regarding the restaurant to find the phone number of the restaurant may find that phone number in a non-standard result and use that information without selecting any result, standard or non-standard.
Another drawback of the prior art is that feedback from each user is considered without reference to the user making the feedback. A user with a different experience level, language, purpose, or technical ability may have different responses to the search mechanism, however there is no way to include such differences in considering user satisfaction according to the prior art systems.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method to overcome these deficits in the prior art. The present invention addresses the aforementioned needs and solves them with additional advantages as expressed herein.


The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Aspects of the present invention relate to equipment and methods used during laboratory testing of bodies moving over surfaces such as but not limited to all types of vehicles traveling on a roadway.
Referring to vehicles such as automobiles by way of example, the use of simulated roadways has become important in the development of vehicle designs. These roadway simulators generally comprise one or more individual endless belts that are mounted below the vehicle, engaging one or more wheels, and/or positioned below other body panels of the vehicle. The belts are driven to simulate driving the vehicle over a road. Commonly, the roadway simulators are disposed in wind tunnels so as to measure aerodynamic characteristics. Generally, roadway simulators improve the realism of flow characteristics leading to improved measurement of aerodynamic characteristics.
The vehicle is typically restrained with respect to the simulated roadways through a linkage that restrains the vehicle from movement in longitudinal direction (fore and aft), in lateral direction (side-to-side) and in yaw (steering motion). Commonly, the vehicle restraints are passive restraints which do not affect the vehicle's dynamics, but which can be used for measuring loads if desired in the different directions of restraint.


The goal of hybrid development is to combine, in a single hybrid, various desirable traits. For field crops, these traits may include resistance to diseases and insects, resistance to heat and drought, reducing the time to crop maturity, greater yield, and better agronomic quality. With mechanical harvesting of many crops, uniformity of plant characteristics such as germination, stand establishment, growth rate, maturity, and plant and ear height is important. Traditional plant breeding is an important tool in developing new and improved commercial crops.


It is known in the art to shrink form containers such as drinking cups from preformed tubular lengths of circumferentially oriented thermoplastic material such as foamed polystyrene.
One particularly desirable method of initially forming a tubular length of such circumferentially oriented material is to provide rectangular-preprinted blanks and wrap these blanks around a mandrel whereon a heat sealed seam is effected longitudinally along the circumference of the formed tubular length. The use of rectangular blanks facilitates pre-printing of patterns, designs, logos, etc., on the blanks such that the ultimate tubular lengths and containers formed therefrom will bear the ultimately desired indicia.
A further advantage of the rectangular blank is that it may be cut from an extruded sheet of thermoplastic or thermoplastic foam which is stretched longitudinally, i.e., in the most logical, natural and facile direction of stretch after extrusion, namely, the machine direction, to achieve the necessary circumferential orientation in a tubular length or cylinder formed from the rectangular blank.
Previous efforts to handle these rectangular blanks and form them into cylinders, however, have required relatively elaborate systems of transfer rollers, turrets with multiple mandrels thereon and vacuum systems to properly index leading and/or trailing edges of the rectangular blanks on the transfer rollers or mandrels.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to floor care appliances and, more specifically, relates to nozzle configurations for nozzles utilized in such floor care appliances.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although attempts at providing constant air velocity and pressure nozzles are broadly old, no one heretofore is known to have utilized the constant pressure, constant velocity structure to also actually direct the air and entrained dirt flow towards the suction connection. Thus, these two concepts are combined in a nozzle so that the structure utilized for the combined functions is one and the same and so that the combined cleaning effect afforded by this structure is additive as to each and not subtractive as to either.
Accordingly, it would seem advantageous to provide such a nozzle structure having the advantages of both substantially uniform air suction and dirt pick up, heightened by a directed air path configuration.
It would be still a further advantage to utilize a single composite nozzle structure in which the unitary configuration of it would provide both of these advantages.
It would be still further advantageous to provide a nozzle with an angled ledge which would yield in conjunction with the agitator, a directed a effect to the air and entrained dirt to move it towards the suction tube connection for the nozzle.
It would, additionally, be advantageous to provide an expanding groove to increase the cross sectional area of the nozzle, as it approached its suction tube, to provide, as much as possible, for a uniform velocity and pressure of suction air across the nozzle mouth to promote uniform cleaning.


High quality tape decks such as the ones used in sound studios require frequent adjustments in order to optimize performance. Two of the most common adjustments are adjusting the azimuth of the recording and playback head and adjusting the recording and playback levels. Although these adjustments are necessary on a very frequent basis, preferably before each recording session in a sound studio, these adjustments have required expensive instruments and a relatively high degree of expertise in adjusting tape decks and operating laboratory instruments.
In order to adjust the playback voltage level, the conventional technique is to play a test tape in the tape player. The test tape will have numerous tones recorded on it at a magnetic flux density that should produce a nominal voltage level output. Most tape players have a nominal output voltage of +4 dbm (1.23 volts), but -8 dbm (0.3 volts) and +2 dbm (1 volt) are also common nominal record and play levels for professional recorders. In order to measure these relatively low voltage readings, expensive volt meters are required when performing this adjustment using a conventional technique.
In some professional tape recorders, the recording head may be switched into a playback mode and the test tape may be played back through the recording head. Thus, the record level may be adjusted in the same manner as the playback level. However, in machines that do not have such feature, the record level may be adjusted by using an oscillator to produce an input signal of a selected frequency and voltage level which is recorded by the recording head on a tape and simultaneously played back through the playback head. Assuming the playback level has previously been adjusted, the output from the playback head will indicate the recording level of the tape deck and the record level may be adjusted to an appropriate level by monitoring the playback level. In order to perform this latter adjustment technique, an accurate oscillator must be available to the operator in order to produce the test signal.
The conventional technique for adjusting the azimuth of a playback head is to play a test tape having a manaural recording on the outermost two tracks of the tape. If the azimuth of the head is not properly aligned, the playback output signals from these two outermost tracks will be out of phase. In order to adjust the azimuth of the playback head, the playback output signal from the two outermost tracks are typically monitored on a single oscilloscope using two probes. The azimuth of the playback head is then adjusted until the output signals are phase synchronized.
The conventional technique for adjusting the azimuth of a record head is to input a manaural signal into the tape recorder, record this test signal on the two outermost tracks of a tape and play back these two outermost tracks through the playback head. Assuming that the azimuth of a playback had been previously adjusted, any phase difference between the two playback signals will be caused by the maladjusted azimuth of the record head. Thus, the azimuth of the record head is adjusted until the output playback signals from the two outermost tracks of the tape are synchronized. Again, conventionally, a two probe oscilloscope was necessary in order to monitor the relative phases of the two playback signals from the outermost tracks of the tape.
The primary drawback with the conventional techniques described above is that expensive laboratory equipment is required in order to perform the various adjustments. Also, considerable expertise in operating the test equipment and the tape deck were required in order to perform the adjustments, and most lab instruments have a visual output so that the technician must constantly watch the instruments while he is attempting to adjust the tape deck. When the tape deck's adjustment mechanisms are difficult to access, it is inconvenient for the operator to constantly view his instruments while attempting to adjust the tape deck.
Thus, a need has arisen for a simple and inexpensive instrument for use in adjusting the record and playback levels of a tape deck and for adjusting the azimuth of the recording and playback heads of a tape deck.


Common pipe fittings for liquid (or steam) have internal threads on the inside surface of the pipe-receiving end of the fitting head, and external threads on the outside surface of the matching end of said pipe. Then, said threaded pipe end is screwed into said pipe fitting with the engagement of said internal thread of the said pipe and the external thread of said pipe. Since any thread has depth, the mechanical strength of said threaded end will be greatly weakened. Since the thread on the end of pipe fittings are typically coarsely finished, screwing a liquid (or steam) pipe into a fitting is met with resistance. A common wrench is not useful to tighten common pipe fittings. Due to the smooth and round pipe body. Therefore, a pipe wrench with specially made chops should be used for biting on the pipe body. In doing so, the pipe can be screwed into the fitting. After assembling, scars and deformations caused by said wrench chops remain on the pipe body.
Furthermore, when the assembled pipe, used for a considerable time is disassembled, the process is generally more difficult than assembling because, both threaded portions of the pipe and of the fitting bind tightly together due to rust, deformation and gluing etc. Therefore, after disassembling, the scars and deformations caused by said wrench chops will be made more serious. At the same time, it is possible the whole pipe will be broken at the threaded portion.
Overtime, different piping materials have been used such as: wrought iron (zinc plated), plastics (hard PVC), brass, brass with plastic coating, wrought iron with inner plastic coating, copper with outer nickel-plating and alloy. Even if the external surface of the pipes is plated or coated, they are still not suitable to be bitten by pipe wrench because none of the plating or coating layers can bear the terrible biting of the wrench chops and any layer will be destroyed after the biting of wrench chops. Even copper pipes or alloy pipes with hardnesses lower than the hardness of wrench chops, will exhibit ugly scars and deformations on the pipe surface after a pipe wrench is used on the pipes.
As a result, many fittings that do not match by threading have been developed. One such pipe is provided with an integral flange on the pipe end. This flange method is only suitable for pipes made of soft materials such as brass. Another such pipe utilizes a plastic pressing ring located on the external surface of the pipe end. This method is usually used on indoor drain systems. Though the above mentioned methods have eliminated threads from pipe ends, the connection between the pipe and the fitting is still achieved by threading. The difference lies in that the external thread is made on the external surface of the fitting, and the internal thread is made on the inner surface of a casing head which sleeved on the pipe. Although these methods can solve the problem of pipe surface being damaged by wrench chops, but they have limited applications since they are not suitable for wrought iron pipes, and because the construction of threaded casing heads is complex. Furthermore, the process for flanging and screwing are troublesome.
Another solution was to replace the internal thread of prior art fittings with an internal teethed lock ring so that pipe without end threads can be directly inserted through the internal teethed lock ring integrated on the fitting and can be kept in position. Once it is in position, it is impossible to disassemble the pipe. But in practice, pipe pre-assembly is absolutely necessary. If an assembled set can not be disassembled, it means there can be no pre-assembly and no repair work is permissible. Therefore, nobody uses this method nowadays.


The present invention relates to external cavity lasers.
An external cavity laser comprises a cavity that provides an optical path so that a laser beam, stimulated by a gain or active medium, can resonate. The optical spectrum of an external cavity laser is limited by the spectral region over which the gain medium yields optical gain. Depending on the geometry of the cavity, the laser radiation has certain allowed spectral modes, also referred to as longitudinal modes. The spectral modes correspond to different distinct wavelengths or frequencies of the light. The allowed radiation spectrum in a laser cavity thus is a discrete distribution of modal frequencies limited by the gain curve. Examples of external cavity lasers can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,651, EP-A-0 552 394 and in EP-A-1 202 409.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,651 discloses a tunable Fabry Perot etalon to be used in an external cavity laser comprising a semiconductor laser chip and adjustable diffraction grating. The adjustable diffraction grating is used for a coarse measurement of the laser output wavelength and the etalon is used for the fine adjustment.


U.S. Pat. No. 488,255 proposes a system for transmitting a complex signal comprising a data transmission signal component and an AM broadcast signal component. The transmitters using the method of Kahn, in particular, that described by patent U.S. Pat. No. 488,255 for the transmission of an AM broadcast signal, comprise separate means of processing of the envelope and of the phase and a multiplier of the envelope signal and of the phase signal at the output.
In digital modulation, the phase channel is not as in AM a pure RF frequency but a phase modulated RF frequency. As the envelope signal and the phase signal are processed by different and independent means, the delay between these two signals, envelope and phase, must be accurately tailored to obtain an RF output signal of high quality.
A loop allows automatic elimination and dynamic adjustment of the delay between the envelope signal and the phase signal.
The technique generally used in loops is to compare in the time domain the initial baseband signal with the demodulated transmitted RF signal. To do this, the delay between the two signals, initial and demodulated transmitted, is evaluated accurately. Then, the envelope and phase parts, in digital mode, of the two signals, initial and demodulated transmitted, are compared to determine the delay between envelope and phase.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of heat barriers or shields for the wall behind free standing heating appliances as well as the floor upon which such heating appliances may restingly be supported.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well-known that energy has been in an abundant supply in this country for the past several decades. Accordingly, during this time, conservation of energy, at least in most modern day residential structures, has been of little or no interest. However, the recent spiraling cost of fuel and the recognized necessities for conserving energy are bringing about changes in the manner in which many homes are heated today. Among these changes is the reintroduction of the old fashioned potbellied stove concept. Of course, many modern modifications to the old type stove have been made, but the presence of the free standing heating appliance or space heater, usually using wood, coal or other materials as a source of fuel, is becoming more and more common throughout the country.
It is well-known that these type heating appliances develop a tremendous amount of heat usually necessitating that the wall adjacent thereto be protected in some form or other and that the floor also be protected from this heat. Therefore, there exists a need for a thremoshield which is, of course, noncombustible. Moreover, the thermoshield should contain no asbestos.
The concept of providing a thermoshield for this purpose was first disclosed many years ago. In fact, applicant is aware of the following U.S. Pat. Nos. pertaining to various shields of this nature: 485,363 granted to Adrianson in 1892; and 1,764,595 granted to Anderson in 1930. Other patents pertaining to similar structure of this nature, as known by the applicant, consist of: U.S. Pat. No. 801,690 granted to Ralls in 1905; U.S. Pat. No. 874,296 granted to Brown in 1907; U.S. Pat. No. 1,970,504 granted to Nordan in 1934; U.S. Pat. No. 2,482,376 granted to Serkland in 1949; U.S. Pat. No. 2,629,370 granted to Janski in 1953; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,302 granted to Patterson in 1979. It is significant to note that none of the above mentioned patents suggests or discloses applicant's device.


The following disclosure relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) devices, and to methods and apparatus for the design and fabrication of IC devices.
As technology progresses and IC devices include smaller dimensions and increased feature density. As technology nodes shrink, challenges are raised for example, mismatch of device performance becomes more critical. However, for relatively larger devices typically required in system-on-a-chip (SOC), analog, digital signal processing (DSP) and radio frequency (RF) applications, it may be difficult to provide adequate matching of large devices in an IC. These device mismatch issues may arise from the replacement or gate-last methodology employed to provide metal gate technology. The gate-last methodology typically requires additional chemical mechanical processing (CMP) steps. These CMP processes can create differences in gate heights due to loading effects. These loading effects are often exacerbated by the use of large devices (e.g., in concert with smaller features). For example, CMP dishing can result which may result in metal work-function shifts and mismatch degradation of the IC.
Thus, what is needed is an improved manner of circuit design, fabrication and implementation for gate last processes of ICs including differently sized devices.


One type of wet cell battery commonly used in automotive vehicles includes a pair of terminals extending from the top or side of the battery case. A threaded stud extends from a relatively large diameter shoulder portion which protrudes a short distance from the case. The prior art terminations have incorporated a large area flat contact surface which rests on the surface of the terminal shoulder when the threaded stud extends through a mounting hole in the flat contact surface of the termination. A nut is threaded onto the stud to press the contact surface tightly against the shoulder.
Unless the contact surface at the bottom of the termination is perfectly flat and parallel to the top surface against which the nut is tightened, an excessive torque is required to prevent rocking of the termination on the terminal and to provide a low ohomic connection between the termination and the battery terminal. The use of too great a torque can strip the threads on the terminal stud or otherwise damage the battery.
Battery cable terminations have included a plastic housing or cover molded over the metallic parts of the termination and such terminations have had associated with them several types of seals for sealing the termination from the battery acid fumes and from the elements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,335 describes a battery cable termination in which the molded cover sealably engages the terminal shoulder to prevent the battery acid fumes from creeping along the terminal and corroding the termination. U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,367 describes a battery cable termination which includes a sealing bead which contacts the battery case throughout an area surrounding the terminal. It would be desirable to provide an improved seal to the battery case and which also prevents the battery acid fumes from reaching the metal parts of the termination.


The rate of chronic and acute wound healing can be delayed or impaired by a number of factors (exogenous and endogenous) and a variety of medical conditions. Examples include infection, ulceration particularly through diabetes, circulation problems associated with vascular disease, malnutrition, stress, cancer radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, compromise of the immune system or simply due to the normal aging process. At present there is a clear need for therapeutic and cosmetic approaches that promote wound healing processes.
The literature describes the PDT use of various photosensitisers in attempts to improve wound healing. For example, Photofrin (a porphyrin, Photofrin is a trade mark of Johnson & Johnson) showed delayed wound healing in rat skin flap reconstruction (Kubler et al Lasers in surgery and Medicine (1996), 18(4), 397-405. Parekh et al concluded in Lasers in surgery and Medicine (1999), 24(5), 375-381 that a benzoporphyrin and a phthalocyanine didn't alter wound healing. Lambrects et al concluded in Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences (2005), 4(7), 503-509 that a porphyrin delayed wound healing. Hamblin concluded in Journal of infectious diseases (2003), 187(11), 1717-25 that for a photosensitiser (Poly-lysine-chlorin e6) topical PDT did not accelerate wound healing, compared with that in untreated wounds. Belmont et al in the Laryngoscope (1999), 109(6), 886-90 using Photofrin concluded that PDT has been shown to delay wound healing. Heckenkamp et al in Journal of vascular surgery, (2000), 31(6), 1168-77 concludes that local photodynamic action of methylene blue exerts a retarding effect on intimal hyperplasia (one of the natural wound healing processes).
Compounds, methods and compositions/medicaments have now been identified which address these problems and provide a basis for promoting the wound healing process.


1. Field
Embodiments relate to a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a highly integrated semiconductor device including a transistor has been considered. The transistor may include a metal gate structure.


The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has promulgated standards—see NFPA 1971 Standard on Protective Ensemble for Structural Firefighting (2000 Edition)—for protective clothing for firefighters fighting structural fires. The National Fire Protection Association has promulgated standards—see NFPA 1977 Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for Wildland Firefighting (1998 Edition)—for protective clothing for firefighters engaged in fighting wildland fires. Presently, the National Fire Protection Association is contemplating standards for protective clothing for firefighters engaging in what are known as technical rescues, such as extracting victims from automobile wrecks.
As contemplated by the aforenoted standards for protective clothing for firefighters fighting structural fires, a protective garment has an outer shell, which provides abrasion resistance and puncture resistance, a liner including a moisture barrier, and a thermal liner. Conventionally, as known heretofore, the liner including the moisture barrier and the thermal liner are sewn together or are bonded together, and the sewn-together or bonded-together liners are attached detachably to and within the outer shell by suitable fasteners, such as zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, and snap fasteners. Thus, if the moisture barrier fails while the thermal liner remains useful, the liner including the moisture barrier cannot be easily replaced, apart from the thermal liner.
Alternatively, as known heretofore, the liner including the moisture barrier is sewn to and within the outer shell and the thermal liner is attached detachably to the outer shell, within the liner including the moisture barrier. Thus, if the moisture barrier fails while the outer shell remains useful, the moisture barrier cannot be easily replaced, apart from the outer shell.
As contemplated by the aforenoted standards for protective clothing for firefighters fighting wildland fires, a protective garment has an outer shell, which provides abrasion resistance and puncture resistance. Although a liner including a moisture barrier and a thermal liner are not needed, a thermal liner may be optionally included, as for wearing under cold winter conditions. If a thermal liner is included, the thermal liner is attached detachably to and within the outer shell by suitable fasteners, such as zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, or snap fasteners.
The aforenoted standards contemplated for protective garments for firefighters engaging in technical rescues are expected to provide that a protective garment has an outer shell, which provides abrasion resistance and puncture resistance, and a liner including a moisture barrier. Furthermore, the contemplated standards are expected to permit the liner including the moisture barrier to be detachably attached to and within the outer shell by suitable fasteners, such as zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, or snap fasteners.
Protective garments conforming to the aforenoted standards for protective clothing for firefighters fighting structural fires and protective garments conforming to the aforenoted standards for protective clothing for firefighters fighting wildland fires are available commercially from Morning Pride Manufacturing, L.L.C. of Dayton, Ohio, and from other sources.


Water may be entrained in petroleum-based liquid fuel as free water suspended in droplet or particulate form, in emulsion, or in solution. Dissolved water in fuel is common and generally presents little difficulties for operation of particulate filters for the fuel, as long as the water remains uniformly distributed in the fuel. The capacity of fuel to hold water in solution changes as a result of temperature changes, and in many cases, the finely-divided water particles will coalesce into larger particles in an undissolved state, which settle out because their density is greater than the fuel. Particulate fuel filters, frequently being formed from paper, degrade as the pores of the paper become clogged with the undissolved water, which can increase the pressure drop across the filter.
It is therefore important to remove the undissolved water particles suspended in the fuel before the fuel passes through any filter medium for removing solid particulate contaminants. The removal of water from the fuel system also prevents filter and fuel line freeze up.
It is also important that a water separator for a fuel supply system for a diesel engine pass solid particles of a larger size than the droplets of the water to be removed. Under some low temperature conditions when the suspended droplets of water are removed from the fuel by freezing, wax components of the diesel fuel coagulate and may form wax particles. It is important that the water separator pass such particles to prevent clogging of the separator and consequently, engine stalling.
One early type of water separator shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,970, where a nylon sock had its open end sealed around the inlet passage to the separator so that the flow of fuel through the sock maintain the sock in an inflated condition. Using a nylon sock, there is an uniform minimal pressure drop across the entire porous surface of the sock. The pores of the sock are expandable to reach a state of equilibrium in which pores are of a size to create the pressure drop required to accommodate the established flow rate of fuel. The expandability of the pores also permits the passage of filterable particulate matter suspended in the fuel so that the water separator is not clogged by large wax particles of fuel under low-temperature operating conditions.
While the water separator shown in the '970 patent has certain satisfactory qualities, the water separator has certain limitations as to structure and application, and was not particularly suited for a spin-on capability with a replaceable transparent collection bowl, to allow the separator to be easily attached to and detached from a manifold head, and to visually inspect the level of water in the separator element. Such spin-on types of elements with collection bowls have received wide-spread acceptance in the marketplace and consumers are generally comfortable and knowledgeable about their use and application.
It is also believed there is a constant demand in the industry for new and improved water separators, particularly water separators which incorporate few components, are easy to assemble, and which provide efficient separation of water from a water/fuel mixture.


The present invention relates to a cutting device for machines for cutting hides and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a cutting device that is adapted to be used in machines for cutting hides, leather, materials in sheets or rolls, etc.
As is known, in the sector of machinery for digitally controlled cutting of materials that are extended flat, sheet-like, natural or synthetic, such as hide, leather, materials in sheets or rolls, etc., the cutting tool generally used is mounted in a tool head and is constituted by a blade that is adapted to oscillate vertically at high frequency and is moved in a substantially horizontal plane by way of digital control, on the material along the path of shapes to be cut which are defined or projected on the material.
So as to be deployed correctly on the material to be cut, in order to pass from the cutting of one shape to the next and furthermore in order to execute cutting paths with sharp corner edges, which require the extraction of the blade from the material, it is necessary to bring the oscillating blade vertically out of the material to be cut, in order to then move it conveniently by way of rapid movements, imposed by the digital controller, through the movement axes.
To such end, the cutting device or cutting head must be provided with a system of vertical movement.
The aim is to be able to raise the cutting blade as quickly as possible, especially when executing cutting paths with sharp corner edges (such as for example jagged sections of the outline of the piece), and this is because it enables a reduction in the times for executing the cutting operation.
Currently, the conventional cutting devices have a vertical rise speed of the blade, by way of movement of an oscillating spindle or of an entire tool head, which is limited by the inertia of the moved assembly, by the characteristics of guide systems along which the assembly is moved, and by the dynamic characteristics of the actuators that are adapted to achieve the above mentioned movement.
Techniques are known of returning pneumatic pistons to the stroke limit position, which are based on a spring inserted in the cylinder which pushes the piston into abutment in the absence of a pneumatic supply to the latter.
One solution for the above mentioned cutting devices which is based on such technique thus involves the insertion of a spring propelling the oscillating piston toward the upper stroke limit position, once the pneumatic supply for oscillation of the piston that supports the cutting blade has been deactivated. Such configuration has however a number of drawbacks including the fact that such spring would produce a constant force on the oscillating piston, thus limiting its power during oscillation and penalizing the dynamic characteristics in terms of the ratio of stroke to oscillation frequency.
Furthermore, such spring would require a high capability to withstand extremely high operating frequencies, which is difficult and costly to obtain.


The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity (e.g., greater bandwidth). In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology. Increasingly, public and private communications networks are being built and expanded using various packet technologies, such as Internet Protocol (IP). Note, nothing described or referenced in this document is admitted as prior art to this application unless explicitly so stated.
Multicast Routing protocols like Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) and Bi-directional PIM achieve multicast forwarding by building a shared distribution tree rooted at Rendezvous Point (RP). In each of the routers (or switches), a single (*, G) entry is used to forward traffic down the shared tree. In Bi-directional, the same entry is used for forwarding traffic upstream towards the Rendezvous point, as well. In such shared tree based forwarding models, source-control is one of the biggest problems. Because traffic forwarding is achieved using a (*, G) entry, any unwanted malicious host can send multicast traffic at very high rates. This at least results in a waste of valuable network bandwidth, and lends itself to denial of service (DOS) attacks (e.g., attacks on a network by flooding it with useless traffic designed to consume the network resources).
In PIM-SM, data traffic from a source is encapsulated within a register message by the first hop router and sent via unicast packets to the Rendezvous Point (RP). Depending on the IP address of the source, the RP can decide to either forward the traffic down the shared tree or ignore the traffic. In either case, the RP sends back a register-stop message instructing the first hop router to stop sending register messages. Thus, traffic from an invalid source is encapsulated and forwarded by a first hop router (consuming its resources), and it is not dropped until it reaches the RP (consuming network and RP resources, and providing an opportunity DOS attacks). In Bi-directional PIM, these problems are even more aggravated by the fact that a common (*, G) forwarding entry is used to forward traffic in both directions (i.e., upstream towards the RP, and downstream away from the RP and towards the receivers). Although there is no protection is available to protect against malicious or unwanted sources, there is protection from unwanted receivers joining a multicast group through admission-control mechanisms that are available.
One approach to limit the problem is to use security Access Control Lists (ACLs) manually maintained by an administrator to limit the hosts which can send multicast traffic, such as by denying all but an explicit list of hosts. Clearly such a solution is not scalable.


The present invention relates to the field of local area networks in general and specifically to improvements in managing network traffic between local area network segments and the network backbone.
Local area networks are communication networks extending from several hundred to several thousand feet within a geographical region. These networks provide efficient and high-speed communications between host computers and other devices for the purposes of sharing resources and communicating in a distributed processing environment. For example, local area print servers connected to a local area network eliminate the need for dedicating a printer to each computer. Local area file and disk servers permit the shared use of large data bases without the cost of maintaining multiple copies of the data bases.
One type of local area network that has gained widespread acceptance is the Ethernet local area network. Ethernet is a carrier sense/multiple access with collision detection system (CSMA/CD) utilizing coaxial cable. This system is described in an article by P. M. Metcalfe and D. R. Boggs in Communications of the ACM, July, 1976, and is further described in IEEE specification 802. The Ethernet network transmits information between devices connected to the network in data packets or frames that contain a destination address corresponding to one or more of the devices.
A local area network such as Ethernet may connect several hundred or even thousands of devices or nodes. As the number of nodes on the local area network increases, and the traffic on the network also increases, the network may be divided into smaller segments in order to manage the network traffic more efficiently. Specifically, one or more local network segments may be created to isolate local message traffic from the rest of the network. This is particularly useful where, for example, the local traffic consists primarily of data packets transferred between the nodes on the local network segment and a disk server or other type of host computer.
The local segments of a network are connected to a network backbone for transferring data packets between other nodes on the network and other local segments. Networks and network segments are typically connected by using bridges. The function of a bridge is to receive data packets from one network or network segment and to forward those data packets to the other network or network segment if the data packet contains a destination address corresponding to a node on that other network or network segment. Thus, bridges must act as perfect filters between the networks.
A network bridge, however, is an expensive and complex device. In order for the bridge to filter all data packets transferred on the networks connected by the bridge perfectly and thus completely isolate the traffic on one network or network segment from the rest of the network and vice versa, the bridge must store large tables of addresses corresponding to the nodes on the networks. Furthermore, if the number of nodes on the overall network is large, it becomes impractical to filter all data packets from the network backbone to the local network segment perfectly.


Not applicable.
The present invention relates to the general field of telephone and face-to-face communications. In more particular, the invention relates to systems to assist telephone and face-to-face communications by those persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or otherwise have impaired capability to receive or understand communications that are transmitted by voice.
Most modem human communications in both social and business environments takes place through sound communications. Yet within modern society there are many persons who have attenuated hearing capability. To assist those persons in making use of our telephonic communication system built for the hearing majority, there has been developed a system of telephone communication which has been principally used by the deaf community. That system makes use of a category of device known variously as a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD), text telephone (TT) or teletype (TTY). Current TDDs are electronic devices consisting of a key board and a display as well as a specific type of modem, to acoustically or directly couple to the telephone line. Modem TDDs permit the user to type characters into their keyboard, with the character strings then encoded and transmitted over the telephone line to be displayed on the display of a communicating or remote TDD device.
Most TDD communication is conducted in an idiosyncratic code specific to the community of TDD users. This code, known as Baudot, evolved historically at a time when many telelecommunication devices for the deaf were based on mechanical or electromechanical devices rather than the current technology based on digital electronic components. Accordingly, the Baudot protocol was constructed for a set of constraints which are no longer relevant to present date devices. The original Baudot protocol was a unidirectional or simplex system of communication conducted at 45.5 Baud. The conventional Baudot character set was a character set consisting of 5 bit characters and the system encodes the bits of those characters in a two-tonal system based on carrier tones of 1400 and 1800 Hertz.
The system of TDD communications is widely used and in fact has become indispensable to the deaf community throughout the industrialized world. Deaf persons extensively communicate with their neighbors and with other deaf and hearing people remotely, using the TDD system. In addition, systems have been developed to facilitate the exchange of communication between the deaf community and hearing users who do not have access to or utilize a TDD device. In the United States, telephone companies have set up a service referred to as a xe2x80x9crelay.xe2x80x9d A relay, as the term is used herein, refers to a system of voice to TDD communication in which an operator, referred to as a xe2x80x9ccall assistant,xe2x80x9d serves as a human intermediary between a hearing user and a deaf person. Normally the call assistant wears a headset that communicates by voice with the hearing user and also has access to a TDD device which can communicate to the deaf user using a TDD appropriate protocol. In normal relay operations in the prior art, the call assistant types at a TDD keyboard the words which are voiced to her by the hearing user and then voices to the hearing user the words that the call assistant sees upon the display of his or her TDD. The call assistant serves, in essence, as an interpreting intermediary between the deaf person and the hearing person to translate from voice to digital electronic forms of communication.
A limitation in the effectiveness of current relay protocols is the necessity for the call assistant simply to type what is said. Typical call assistants can usually type reasonably well, typically in the range of 30 to 50 words per minute. While systems exist which permit the digital encoding of verbal communications at a faster rate, such as court stenography used in the legal system, such systems require extensive special training and are impractical for the numerous call assistants required by the relay systems in operation today. This limitation on the speed of conversion from speech to digital communications hampers the effective flow of communication in a relay call between the hearing person and a deaf person, since most hearing people speak at a rate which is higher than most call assistants can type. In addition, since conventional Baudot communications is unidirectional, the flow of conversation in a relay assisted communication session can be somewhat awkward. For example, first the hearing person must voice a statement or question. Then the call assistant must type that statement or question, which is then transmitted at Baudot speeds, which are slower than normal human voice communication, to the deaf person. The deaf person waits until the entire statement or question is transmitted to him or her, after which he or she composes a response and types it in at his or her TDD. Then the communication flows backward to the call assistant who must voice to the hearing person what the deaf person has typed at his or her terminal. This process enables a degree of two-way communication between a deaf person and a hearing person, but the system tries the patience of the hearing person, since it is typically not conducted at a pace anywhere close to normal human communications.
The present invention is summarized in that a relay system to facilitate the translation of information and communication between deaf and hearing persons includes a call assistant who re-voices the words of the hearing person which are spoken to the call assistant. The words spoken by the call assistant are recognized by a speech recognition computer program which has been trained to the voice pattern of the call assistant, such that the words are promptly translated into a high speed digital communication protocol. That high speed digital communication message is then transmitted electronically promptly by telephone to a visual display accessible to the deaf person.
It is an advantage of the invention described herein that the call assistant does not have to type most, if any, of the words spoken by the hearing person in the communication session so that the overall speed of communications from the hearing person to the deaf person is dramatically increased.
It is an object of the present invention that the design and utilization of a relay operated in accordance with the protocols described herein permits the introduction of small hand-held personal interpreter which will enable on the spot communications between an assisted user and a hearing person wherever the assisted user might be.
Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


1. Field
This is related to a semiconductor device having a function, for limiting (cutting) the power supply of an internal circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inclusion of a function of partially limiting (cutting) the power supply of an internal circuit, namely, a so-called power gating function, in large-scale integrated circuits (LSIs) to decrease the power consumption is becoming the mainstream. On the other hand, LSIs have a plurality of test circuits for use in a test of the LSIs. More specifically, the LSIs have circuits, such as an input/output test circuit that performs fault diagnosis of data writing/reading circuits and an accelerated test circuit that performs an accelerated test on internal circuits of the LSIs.
An input/output test circuit includes a circuit that serially couples, in series like a chain, flip flops related to writing and reading of an LSI and a control circuit that receives control signals and test data from outside of the LSI and controls the state of the test (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-98223). In addition, an accelerated test circuit includes a circuit that applies an accelerated test voltage to an internal circuit and a control circuit that receives control signals from outside of an LSI and controls the state of the test (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-21699).
A test of an LSI having a control circuit that performs a power gating operation and a control circuit that controls the state of the test has to be carried out while allowing the control circuits to operate in cooperation with each other. However, sending a control signal for permitting the cooperation between the control circuits to an LSI from a testing equipment residing outside of the LSI requires an expensive testing equipment having an advanced function, which thus increases the cost for the test.
Nevertheless, when the expensive testing equipment that generates a control signal for permitting the cooperation between control circuits does not employed and the control circuit that performs the power gating operation and the control circuit that controls the state of the test do not operate in cooperation with each other, the following disadvantages may occur. At the time of an accelerated test, application of a sufficient level of stress, which is carried out by applying a predetermined voltage level to an internal circuit, is not achieved because the power gating function is not cancelled. Additionally, at the time of an input/output test, test data is not transferred since an unexpected power gating operation is activated. As a result, the accelerated test or the input/output test may be undesirably prevented.


Known groomer vehicles are normally powered crawler vehicles comprising a frame extending along a first axis; and a snow grooming implement which is normally a rotary snow tiller drawn by the groomer vehicle and comprising a second frame extending predominantly crosswise to and symmetrically with respect to a second axis which, when traveling along a straight path, is aligned with the first axis, and, when traveling along a curved path, forms an angle with the first axis.
Such known hitch devices comprise an arm or so-called boom hinged to the first frame about a third axis perpendicular to the first axis, and about a fourth axis perpendicular to the first and third axis; a first actuator is connected to the first frame and the arm to adjust the position of the arm about the third axis with respect to the first frame; and at least one second actuator is connected to the first frame and the arm to adjust the position of the arm about the fourth axis.
The first actuator is often a hydraulic cylinder for lifting and lowering the arm to selectively lift and lower the rotary snow tiller with respect to the snow covering. The second actuator sets the angle between the first and second axis: when traveling along a straight path, the second actuator keeps the arm aligned with the first and second axis; and, when traveling along a curved path, the second actuator sets the arm to form a given angle with the first axis about the fourth axis.
Known hitch devices have proved highly effective, both in lifting and lowering the rotary snow tiller, and as regards maneuvering around bends and stabilizing the position of the tiller.
In some ski slope grooming conditions, however, it is necessary for the rotary snow tiller to go over an already groomed strip of the snow covering without the groomer vehicle traveling over it.
Known hitch devices allow this to be done, but force the rotary snow tiller to operate in a skew position with respect to the traveling direction, which increases energy consumption and reduces grooming width.
Moreover, when traveling along a curved path, known hitch devices are not always able to position the rotary snow tiller to cover the prints left by the groomer vehicle in the snow covering.


This invention relates generally to the field of child products, and in particular to bibs. More specifically, the invention relates to the use of bibs that are attached to neck pillows.
Bibs have long been used to protect a child from becoming soiled. Bibs are most often used when a child is eating, although they may be used for other applications as well. Bibs are typically constructed of a piece of material that is coupled about the child's neck using a pair of strings or other fasteners, such as snaps of a hook and loop fastener material.
One particularly useful bib is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,200. This invention is related to other types of bibs that may be used with neck pillows.


Several Doppler phantoms have been described in the prior art. These fall into two main categories.
In the first group are phantoms which include a moving target such as a ball bearing or suspended string. The moving target is used to map the location and size of the sensitive Doppler sample volume of the ultrasound device. In this category, for example, Walker et al, "Evaluating Doppler Devices Using a String Target", Journal of Clinical Ultrasound, 10:25, 1982, describe a method in which a pair of moving strings at two different depths is used in a test target to measure Doppler sample volume size, sample location, and amplitude sensitivity to Doppler shift. An alternative method, described by Hoeks et al, "Methods to Evaluate the Sample Volume of Pulsed Doppler Systems", Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 10:427, 1984, is to couple a small target such as a sphere to a vibrating loudspeaker and then map the Doppler sample volume using this moving target.
In the second category of Doppler phantoms, the objective is to simulate blood flow, using a blood-mimicking liquid, through a simulated blood vessel in a tissue-mimicking material. Phantoms of this kind typically consist more or less of a solid block of tissue-mimicking material, such as gelatin or polymer, which contain tubes of varying diameters and bifurcations. Such phantoms seek to simulate blood flow through abdominal and peripheral vessels. Examples of such devices, of varying degrees of sophistication, are taught by Newhouse et al, "A Proposed Standard Target for Ultrasound Doppler Gain Calibration", Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 8, 313--1982; McDicken, "A Versatile Test-Object for the Calibration of Ultrasonic Doppler Flow Instruments", Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 12:245, 1986; and Boote et al, "Performance Tests of Doppler Ultrasound Equipment with a Tissue and Blood Mimicking Phantom", Journal of Ultrasound Medicine, 7, 137-147, 1988. phantoms allow independent measurement of "blood" flow and enable calibration of the fluid velocity estimations of Doppler ultrasound. Commercial versions of these test objects, "Tissue Mimicking Ultrasound Phantom " Model 409, Radiation Measurements, Inc., Middleton, Wis. 53362 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,367); "Ultrasound Doppler Phantom", ATS Laboratories, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn. 06608; and "Ultrasound Doppler Phantom", Interspec, Inc., Lewiston, Pa. 17044, are also available.
The most extensive application of medical Doppler ultrasound, however, is in cardiac diagnosis. Doppler ultrasound is used to measure blood flow through cardiac valves and thus to estimate pressure drops across individual heart valves for detection of valve dysfunctions. In addition, cardiac Doppler ultrasound is used to detect anatomical anomalies such as ventricular septal defects. The field of cardiac ultrasound imaging and Doppler ultrasound has a known and long-standing need for an anthropomorphic cardiac Doppler phantom to assess the performance of Doppler ultrasound under more realistic clinical conditions. Limited attempts to develop a Doppler phantom for cardiac applications include a modified cardiac pulse duplicator, "Cardiac Pulse Duplicator", Model MP1, Dynatek Laboratories, Annandale, N.J. 08801 as described by Cary et al in a private communication. However, this device is fabricated from rigid plastic, which generates strong acoustic reverberations unsuitable for diagnostic ultrasound examinations. In addition, such a modified pulse duplicator shows no similarity to the contracting muscular heart of human anatomy. Other examples include a modified cardiac pulse duplicator, "Valve Visualization Pulse Duplicator", Model MV/T1 Dynatek Laboratories, Annandale, N.J. 08801, as described by Gels et al, "In Vitro Ultrasound Flow Imaging Through Prosthetic Heart Valves", Medical Instrumentation, 21(2), 66-74, 1987, that includes a soft rubber vessel to simulate the aorta downstream of the aortic valve. This system, using microbubbles in tap water as an ultrasound contrast agent, enables flow visualization with diagnostic ultrasound imaging equipment to evaluate, qualitatively, the performance of prosthetic heart valves in vitro but does not permit simulation of the contracting heart of human anatomy.
In addition, Reul, "Cardiovascular Simulation Models", Life Support Systems, 2, 77-98, 1984, has developed hydraulically driven cardiovascular simulation models for the evaluation of prosthetic heart valves, using pressure transducers, flow transducers, and optical video filming of suspended particles in an aqueous-glycerol solution, but the cardiac models themselves are housed in rigid polymethylmethacrylate boxes. There are no viewing ports in the containers for ultrasound imaging or ultrasound Doppler studies. The polymethylmethacrylate containers produce high attenuation and reverberations that are unsuitable for ultrasound imaging or ultrasound Doppler studies. The hydraulic drive unit is mounted below the left ventricle in this device and precludes an apical ultrasound view, one of the most common views in clinical cardiac diagnosis. The hydraulic medium surrounding the left ventricle also is not specified. However, the attenuation scattering and velocity values of this medium are critical to the development of an ultrasound phantom as will be described below. Ordinary or distilled water, for example, is not suitable.
The field of cardiac assist devices, furthermore, includes left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) that typically have pneumatic pumps composed of a rigid plastic shell surrounding the flexible polymer left ventricle, Van Citters et al, "Artificial Heart and Assist Devices: Directions, Needs, Costs, Societal and Ethical Issues, " Artificial Organs, 9(4), 375-415, 1985. The presence of air around the blood sac and the hard plastic shell make this technology unsuitable for a cardiac ultrasound phantom. One hydraulically driven LVAD is known which also consists of a rigid case surrounding the left ventricle, Altieri et al, "Implantable Ventricular Assist Systems", Artificial Organs, 11(3), 237-246, 1987. Again, however, this shell precludes use of the LVAD as an ultrasound phantom.
A need clearly exists in the art of Doppler and ultrasound imaging and the like for medical purposes for an anthropomorphic ultrasound phantom that realistically enables ultrasound analyses of simulated defects in human hearts and provides reverberation free outputs suitable for comparison of different devices and simulation studies.


The present invention relates to adhesively bonded engine component assemblies and more particularly to adhesively bonded intake manifold assemblies. The invention also relates to an intake manifold assembly employing a cure-on-demand adhesive.
Historically, fabrication techniques have involved the fabrication of separate metal components and joining the components using fasteners, with an intermediate disposed gasket. This tends to require many parts and therefore is labor intensive.
Plastic engine intake manifold assemblies (such as for automotive vehicle engines) have been fabricated by near net shape manufacturing processes, such as lost core processes. While these tend to result in desirable near net shape products, the shapes of which may be complex, they typically are expensive.
In another popular process, two or more plastic intake manifold components are made, each with a planar mating surface. The components are joined at each of their respective mating surfaces by vibration welding. This process also tends to be time, energy and labor intensive. Further, there is a potential that any warpage of respective components or other surface irregularities will result in undesirable gaps at the mating surface upon welding. Thus, it is imperative that opposing mating surfaces are planar, which constrains design flexibility.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a method of manufacture and resulting assembly, pursuant to which multiple components of an engine intake manifold assembly are joined together with an adhesive bond. There is a further need for respective components to be attached to each other in the optional absence of fasteners, a gasket or both. There is still a further need for a high integrity joint be achieved opposing mating surfaces that are non-planar, thereby enabling intricate plastic component shapes (with or without additional integrated components) to be molded by conventional molding processes.
The present invention meets the above needs and others by providing an engine intake manifold assembly including a first component having a first mating surface, and a second component having a second mating surface. A layer of adhesive is provided between the first and second components in contact with the respective mating surfaces for joining the first and second components to define an engine intake manifold assembly.


1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electronic devices and, particularly, to an electronic device with a dummy connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a computer system 300 includes a shell 310 and a printed circuit board 320 accommodated therein. The printed circuit board 320 includes a plurality of connectors 322, each fixed on the printed circuit board 320 by inserting pins of the connector 322 into corresponding fixing holes 324 defined in the printed circuit board 320, and welding the pins to the printed circuit board 320 by solder. The shell 310 defines a plurality of through holes 312. The plurality of connectors 322 are exposed respectively through the plurality of through holes 312 to connect to corresponding system elements, enabling communication therewith.
With computer systems available in many different configurations, locations of connectors can change, and in certain cases even removal of some is necessary. If one of the plurality of connectors 322 is not used, a corresponding through hole 312 in the shell 310 should be eliminated as well to avoid electromagnetic leakage therethrough. Accordingly, production process of the shell 310 needs to be adjusted. However, such an adjustment is complicated and costly.


Control is difficult in particle accelerators when bunches with different characteristics have to travel through the same beam pipe and see the same optics. Controlling bunches of different types with the same magnets is a challenge. Optimizing the lattice for one type of bunch typically worsens control for the other types of bunches. Unfortunately, no knobs are available that affect only one type of bunch while leaving the others untouched. As an example, in a recirculator energy recovery linacs (ERL) having a single linac, the accelerated and decelerated beams have the same energy and thus cannot be separated by a spreader/recombiner.
As an example, JLAMP (JLab AMPlifier), a 4th generation light source covering the range 10 eV-100 eV in the fundamental mode with harmonics to 1 keV, includes common recirculation transport of accelerated and recovered beams. The common recirculation transport imposes significant constraints on both performance and operability, as multiple beams must be managed using a common set of accelerator components. Common transport is therefore a significant problem in multi-pass ERL designs having a single linac.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method for achieving independent control over the bunch types in common transport lines. As an example, independent control over the bunch types could be used to increase the power of an extreme ultra violet (EUV) free electron laser (FEL), which would be of interest in lithography systems, or in ERL-based light sources such as JLAMP, eRHIC, LHeC, CERN, and KEK.