Author: claimsbot

1. A coaxial cable connector having an axial conduit coextensive with a length thereof, the connector being operable for coupling an electrically conductive pin attached to a center conductor of a coaxial cable to a receiving port to provide an electrical connection between the center conductor and the receiving port, said connector consisting essentially of: (a) a cylindrical body portion having a leading end and a trailing end and a central conduit dimensioned to receive the coaxial cable; (b) an adapter nut rotatable attached to said leading end of said body portion, said adapter nut having an axial conduit adapted to receive a leading end of the conductive pin therewithin, said adapter nut being operable for matingly engaging the receiving port; and (c) a cylindrical compression sleeve slidably attached to said trailing end of said body portion.
2. The coaxial cable connector of claim 1 wherein said body portion has at least one slot in a trailing end thereof.
3. The coaxial cable connector of claim 2 wherein an inner diameter of said compression sleeve adjacent a trailing end thereof is less than said inner diameter at a leading end of said compression sleeve.
4. The coaxial cable connector of claim 3 wherein said compression sleeve has an annular ridge on an inner surface thereof and wherein said body portion has a forward annular locking groove and a rearward annular locking groove on an outer surface thereof and wherein said annular ridge engages said rearward annular locking groove on said outer surface of said slotted body portion to slidably attach said compression sleeve to said body portion.
5. The coaxial cable connector of claim 4 wherein when said compression sleeve is advanced toward said leading end of said body portion, said trailing end of said body portion is forced radially inwardly and said annular ridge on said inner surface of said compression sleeve lockingly engages said forward locking groove on said outer surface of said body portion.
6. A coaxial cable connector having an axial conduit coextensive with a trailing portion thereof, the connector being operable for coupling an end of a coaxial cable having a center conductor to a receiving port to provide an electrical connection between the center conductor of the coaxial cable and the receiving port, said connector consisting essentially of: (a) a cylindrical body portion having a leading end and a trailing end; (b) an adapter nut rotatable attached to said leading end of said body portion, said adapter nut being operable for matingly engaging the receiving port; (c) a seizing pin rigidly mounted within said adapter nut, said seizing pin being electrically insulated from said adapter nut and having a leading end projecting forwardly from a leading end of said adapter nut and a hollow trailing end, said hollow trailing end being adapted to receive and lockingly engage the center conductor; and (d) a cylindrical compression sleeve having a cylindrical axial conduit with an inner diameter therewithin slidably attached to said trailing end of said body portion.
7. The coaxial cable connector of claim 6 wherein said body portion has at least one slot in a trailing end thereof.
8. The coaxial cable connector of claim 7 wherein said inner diameter of said axial conduit within said compression sleeve adjacent a trailing end thereof is less than said inner diameter at a leading end of said axial conduit within said compression sleeve.
9. The coaxial cable connector of claim 8 wherein said compression sleeve has an annular ridge on an inner surface thereof and wherein said body portion has a forward annular locking groove and a rearward annular locking groove on an outer surface thereof and wherein said annular ridge engages said rearward annular locking groove on said outer surface of said slotted body portion to slidably attach said compression sleeve to said body portion.
10. The coaxial cable connector of claim 9 wherein when said compression sleeve is advanced toward said leading end of said body portion, said trailing end of said body portion is forced radially inwardly and said annular ridge on said inner surface of said compression sleeve lockingly engages said forward locking groove on said outer surface of said body portion.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A method for determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) required for decoding a desired radio channel, comprising the steps of:
1) obtaining a target resolution (TARGET_N) for decoding the desired radio channel assuming that potentially interfering radio channels are filtered out;
2) measuring the received signal strength (RSSI) of the radio channel;
3) determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) based upon the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL) of an analog-to-digital converter, the target resolution and the received signal strength;
4) remeasuring RSSI;
5) determining if the new RSSI value is within certain threshold limits specified for that measurement; and
6) if step 5 is true, repeating steps 4 and 5; otherwise repeating steps 3, 4 and 5.
2. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 1, wherein step 3 is defined by:
ADCNADCFULLRSSITARGETN.
3. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 2, wherein the determination of whether RSSI is within certain threshold limits specified for that measurement is performed by:
7) setting an RSSI target level (RSSI_TARGET) to the value of RSSI prior to the current measurement of RSSI;
8) measuring the current value of RSSI;
9) determining if RSSI_TARGET(RSSI_TH)<RSSI<RSSI_TARGETRSSI_TH is true;
9) if step 8 is true repeating steps 7 and 8; and
10) if step 8 is false, repeating steps 3, 6, 7 and 8;
wherein RSSI_TH is a threshold value used to determine the threshold limits; and wherein step 7 replaces step 4 and steps 9 and 10 replace step 5.
4. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 2, further comprising the step of:
determining the gain (Apre_Av) that will provide a desired input level for the desired radio channel to be presented to the ADC.
5. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 4, further comprising the step of:
measuring the signal level (ADC_OUT) at the output of the ADC; and adjusting the value of the gain (Apre_Av) if
a) ADC resolution is set to be at maximum or if ADC resolution remains within limits RSSI_TARGETRSSI_TH<RSSI<RSSI_TARGETRSSI_TH is true and if
b) ADC_OUT<ADC_HIGH is false or, if true, if
c) ADC_OUT>ADC_LOW is false;
where ADC_HIGH and ADC_LOW are the upper and lower signal threshold levels at the input of the ADC, respectively, that will indicate the need to change gain and where RSSI_TH is a threshold value used to determine the threshold limits.
6. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 4, further comprising the steps of:
measuring the signal level (ADC_OUT) at the output of the ADC;
determining a fading margin (FADE_M) associated with the mode of operation of the desired radio channel; and
adjusting the value of the gain (Apre_Av) if
a) ADC resolution is set to be at maximum or if ADC resolution remains within limits RSSI_TARGETRSSI_TH<RSSI<RSSI_TARGET RSSI_TH is true and if
b) ADC_OUT<ADC_FULL_FADE_M is false or, if true, if
c) ADC_OUT>ADC_FULLFADE_M2*Apre_step is false;
where Apre_step is the gain step of an amplifier that is used to provide the gain (Apre_Av) to the radio channel prior to analog-to-digital conversion and where RSSI_TH is a threshold value used to determine the threshold limits.
7. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 5, wherein the gain adjustment if substep a) is true and substep b) is false is:
ApreAv(n)ApreAv(n1)Aprestep
and wherein the gain adjustment if substeps a) and b) are true and substep c) is false is:
ApreAv(n)ApreAv(n1)Aprestep;
where n is the sequence samples in time.
8. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 3, wherein the step of measuring received signal strength (RSSI) is based upon an average value of the received signal strength.
9. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of measuring received signal strength (RSSI) is based upon an average value of the received signal strength.
10. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 4, further comprising the step of amplifying the desired radio channel in the radio frequency domain, and
adjusting the gain of said radio frequency amplification step if the output of the ADC over time indicates that an adjustment in the RF gain will provide for reduction in the value of ADC_N.
11. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 7, further comprising the step of amplifying the desired radio channel in the radio frequency domain, and
adjusting the gain of said radio frequency amplification step if the output of the ADC over time indicates that an adjustment in the RF gain will provide for reduction in the value of ADC_N.
12. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 7, further comprising the step of amplifying the desired radio channel at an intermediate frequency, and
adjusting the gain of said radio frequency amplification step if the output of the ADC over time indicates that an adjustment in the intermediate frequency gain will provide for reduction in the value of ADC_N.
13. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 1, further comprises the step of determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time and if true, generating an alert signal (ALERT_N) and adjusting ADC_N as a function of the previous value of ADC_N and ALERT_N.
14. A method of determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 13, wherein the alert signal adjusts the execution speed of steps 4 and 5 so as to reduce latency in the determination of the amount of resolution.
15. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 2, further comprises the step of determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time and if true, reducing the latency in the determination of the amount of resolution by immediately adjusting the resolution of ADC in a predetermined manner.
16. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 4, further comprises the step of determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time and if true, reducing the latency in the determination of the amount of resolution by immediately adjusting the resolution of ADC in a predetermined manner.
17. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 16, wherein an alert signal (ALERT_N) is generated if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time, and wherein the alert signal is used to redetermine the gain for the ADC.
18. A method for determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) required for converting a received desired radio channel from the analog domain to the digital domain (AD conversion), comprising the steps of:
1) obtaining a target resolution (TARGET_N) for converting the received radio channel from the analog domain to the digital domain assuming that potentially interfering radio channels are filtered out;
2) measuring the received signal strength (RSSI) of the radio channel;
3) determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) based upon the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL) of an analog-to-digital converter used for the AD conversion, the target resolution and the received signal strength;
4) remeasuring RSSI;
5) checking if the new RSSI value is within certain limits specified for that measurement; and
6) if step 5 is true, repeating steps 4 and 5; otherwise repeating steps 3, 4 and 5.
19. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 18, wherein step 3 is defined by:
ADCNADCFULLRSSITARGETN.
20. A method for determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) required for decoding a desired radio channel, comprising the steps of:
1) obtaining a target resolution (TARGET_N) for decoding the desired radio channel assuming that potentially interfering radio channels are filtered out;
2) measuring the received signal strength (RSSI) of the radio channel;
3) determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) based upon the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL) of an analog-to-digital converter, the target resolution and the received signal strength;
4) remeasuring RSSI; and
5) repeating steps 3 and 4.
21. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 20, wherein step 3 is defined by:
ADCNADCFULLRSSITARGETN.
22. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 21, further comprising the step of:
determining the gain (Apre_Av) that will provide a desired input level for the desired radio channel to be presented to the ADC.
23. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 22, further comprising the steps of:
measuring the signal level (ADC_OUT) at the output of the ADC;
and adjusting the value of the gain (Apre_Av) if
a) ADC_OUT<ADC_HIGH is false or , if true, if
b) ADC_OUT>ADC_LOW is false;
where ADC_HIGH and ADC_LOW are the upper and lower signal threshold levels at the input of the ADC, respectively, that will indicate the need to change gain.
24. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 22, further comprising the steps of:
measuring the signal level (ADC_OUT) at the output of the ADC;
determining a fading margin (FADE_M) associated with the mode of operation of the desired radio channel; and
adjusting the value of the gain (Apre_Av) if
a) ADC_OUT<ADC_FULLFADE_M is false or, if true, if
b) ADC_OUT>ADC_FULLFADE_M2*Apre_step is false;
where Apre_step is the gain step of an amplifier that is used to provide the gain (Apre_Av) to the radio channel prior to analog-to-digital conversion.
25. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 24, wherein the gain adjustment if substep a) is true and substep b) is false is:
ApreAv(n)ApreAv(n1)Aprestep,
and wherein the gain adjustment if substeps a) and b) are true and substep c) is false is:
ApreAv(n)ApreAv(n1)Aprestep;
where n is the sequence samples in time.
26. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 20, wherein the step of measuring received signal strength (RSSI) is based upon an average value of the received signal strength.
27. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 22, further comprising the step of amplifying the desired radio channel in the radio frequency domain, and
adjusting the gain of said radio frequency amplification step if the output of the ADC over time indicates that an adjustment in the RF gain will provide for reduction in the value of ADC_N.
28. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 25, further comprising the step of amplifying the desired radio channel in the radio frequency domain, and
adjusting the gain of said radio frequency amplification step if the output of the ADC over time indicates that an adjustment in the RF gain will provide for reduction in the value of ADC_N.
29. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 25, further comprising the step of amplifying the desired radio channel at an intermediate frequency, and
adjusting the gain of said radio frequency amplification step if the output of the ADC over time indicates that an adjustment in the intermediate frequency gain will provide for reduction in the value of ADC_N.
30. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 20, further comprises the step of determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time and if true, generating an alert signal (ALERT_N) and adjusting ADC_N as a function of the previous value of ADC_N and ALERT_N.
31. A method of determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 30, wherein the alert signal adjusts the execution speed of steps 3 and 4 so as to reduce latency in the determination of the amount of resolution.
32. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 20, further comprises the step of determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time and if true, reducing the latency in the determination of the amount of resolution by immediately adjusting the resolution of ADC in a predetermined manner.
33. A method for determining the amount of resolution as defined in claim 32, wherein an alert signal (ALERT_N) is generated if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time, and wherein the alert signal is used to redetermine the gain for the ADC.
34. An apparatus for determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N) required for decoding a desired radio channel, comprising:
A) an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) having a full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL), the ADC operable at a resolution (ADC_N) that can be less than the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL), the ADC converting an analog input signal received at an input into a digitized radio channel;
B) a power detector having an input in communication with the digital output of the analog-to-digital converter so as to measure the received signal strength (RSSI) of the radio channel;
C) control logic that has an input in communication with the output of the power detector so as to determine the amount of resolution (ADC_N) based upon the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL) of the analog-to-digital converter, a target resolution (TARGET_N) and the received signal strength, where the target resolution is the resolution necessary to decode the desired radio channel assuming that potentially interfering radio channels are filtered out; and
D) means for communicating the determined amount of resolution (ADC_N) to the analog-to-digital converter so that the ADC operates at said resolution.
35. An apparatus as defined in claim 34, wherein the control logic has means for repetitively determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N).
36. An apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the control logic determines the amount of resolution with the relationship:
ADCNADCFULLRSSITARGETN.
37. An apparatus as defined in claim 36, further having means for causing the control logic to repetitively determine the amount of resolution (ADC_N) if the received signal strength (RSSI) is outside of limits specified for the measurement of RSSI.
38. An apparatus as defined in claim 37, further comprising a first amplifier to amplify the signal prior to presenting the signal to the ADC, wherein the control logic has means for adjusting the gain of the first amplifier responsive to the digital output of the ADC.
39. An apparatus as defined in claim 38, wherein a second power detector measures the value of the digital output of the analog-to-digital converter by determining the digital output resolution of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC_OUT).
40. An apparatus as defined in claim 39, further comprising an RF amplifier for amplifying the radio channel while in the radio frequency domain, and further comprising:
an additional power detector to measure the output power of the RF amplifier; and
wherein the control logic has means for repetitively determining the gain of the RF amplifier based upon the output of the additional power detector.
41. An apparatus as defined in claim 40, wherein the control logic further has means for determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time so as to reduce the latency of the repetitive determination of the amount of resolution (ADC_N) if said condition is true.
42. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range, comprising: an antenna;
means for amplifying a desired radio channel;
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) having a full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL), the ADC operable at a resolution (ADC_N) that can be less than the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL), the ADC for converting the desired radio channel to a digital signal; and
means for decoding the digital signal to obtain the desired radio channel;
wherein the radio receiver further comprises:
a power detector having an input in communication with the digital output of the analog-to-digital converter so as to measure the received signal strength (RSSI) of the radio channel;
control logic that has an input in communication with the output of the power detector so as to determine the amount of resolution (ADC_N) based upon the full-scale resolution (ADC_FULL) of the analog-to-digital converter, a target resolution (TARGET_N) and the received signal strength, where the target resolution is the resolution necessary to decode the desired radio channel assuming that potentially interfering radio channels are filtered out; and
means for communicating the determined amount of resolution (ADC_N) to the analog-to-digital converter so that the ADC operates at said resolution.
43. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range as defined in claim 42, wherein the control logic has means for repetitively determining the amount of resolution (ADC_N).
44. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range as defined in claim 43, wherein the control logic determines the amount of resolution (ADC_N) with the relationship:
ADCNADCFULLRSSITARGETN.
45. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range as defined in claim 44, further having means for causing the control logic to repetitively determine the amount of resolution (ADC_N) if the received signal strength (RSSI) is outside of limits specified for the measurement of RSSI.
46. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range as defined in claim 45, further comprising a first amplifier to amplify the signal prior to presenting the signal to the ADC, wherein the control logic has means for adjusting the gain of the first amplifier responsive to the digital output of the analog-to-digital converter.
47. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range as defined in claim 46, further comprising an RF amplifier for amplifying the radio channel while in the radio frequency domain, and further comprising:
an additional power detector to measure the output power of the RF amplifier; and
wherein the control logic has means for repetitively determining the gain of the RF amplifier based upon the output of the additional power detector.
48. A radio receiver having adjustable dynamic range as defined in claim 42, wherein the control logic further has means for determining if the radio channel signal level is changing faster than a predetermined amount over a period of time so as to reduce the latency of the repetitive determination of the amount of resolution (ADC_N) if said condition is true.

1. Black magnetic iron oxide particles which comprise core particles and a surface layer formed on the respective core particles and which have an average particle diameter of 0.05 to 2.0 \u03bcm and an electric resistance value RM100 at an applied voltage of 100 V of not less than 1\xd7108 \u03a9\xb7cm.
2. Black magnetic iron oxide particles according to claim 1, wherein the black magnetic iron oxide particles comprise core particles and a surface layer formed on the respective core particles the surface layer comprises one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Al, Mg, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cu, Ti and Si, and the elements are present in an amount of 0.3 to 4.5% by weight in the surface layer.
3. Black magnetic iron oxide particles according to claim 1, wherein the black magnetic iron oxide particles have a water absorption Ma0.9 of not more than 15 mgg.
4. Black magnetic iron oxide particles according to claim 1, wherein the black magnetic iron oxide particles have an electric resistance value RM10 at an applied voltage of 10 V which satisfies the relationship represented by the formula:
0.5\u2266RM100RM10\u22661.
5. A magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer comprising spherical magnetic composite particles obtained by dispersing black magnetic iron oxide particles as defined in claim 1 in a binder resin, wherein the magnetic carrier has an electric resistance value R100 at an applied voltage of 100 V of 1\xd7108 to 1\xd71014 \u03a9\xb7cm, and an electric resistance value R300 at an applied voltage of 300 V which satisfies the relationship represented by the formula:
0.1\u2266R300R100\u22661,

wherein the total content of the magnetic iron oxide particles in the spherical magnetic composite particles is 80 to 99% by weight based on the weight of the spherical magnetic composite particles.
6. A magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer according to claim 5, wherein the binder resin is a phenol resin.
7. A magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer according to claim 5, wherein a surface coating layer mainly comprising a resin is formed on a surface of the respective spherical magnetic composite particles.
8. A two-component electrophotographic developer comprising the magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer as defined in claim 5.
9. A magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer according to claim 5, having a saturation magnetization value of 40 to 100 Am2kg when applying an external magnetic field of 795.8 kAm (10 kOe).
10. A magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer according to claim 5, having a saturation magnetization value of 71.3 to 100 Am2kg when applying an external magnetic field of 795.8 kAm (10 kOe).
11. A magnetic carrier for electrophotographic developer according to claim 5, wherein a total content of the magnetic iron oxide particles in the spherical magnetic composite particles is 85 to 99% by weight based on the weight of the spherical magnetic composite particles.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A disk drive assembly for mounting in an enclosure, the enclosure having a bar arranged therein, the disk drive assembly comprising:
a disk drive having a top surface, opposite side surfaces and a back surface perpendicular to the top surface, the disk drive having a first output connecter provided on the back surface;
a mounting bracket having a pair of side flanges and a mounting board attached to the back surface of the disk drive, a guiding rail formed on each side flange, a foot extending from each of the guiding rails to attach to a corresponding one of the side surfaces of the disk drive, and a resilient arm with a protrusion formed thereon for engaging with the bar; and
a converter card received between the guiding rails of the mounting bracket, the converter card having a circuit board parallel to the top surface of the disk drive, an input connecter formed on the circuit board and connected to the first output connecter, and a second output connecter formed on the circuit board for connecting to a data signal cable, wherein the mounting bracket with the converter card is absolutely positioned at a back side of the disk drive adjacent to the back surface of the disk drive.
2. The disk drive assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the resilient arm has a flat portion with the protrusion formed thereon, the protrusion has a first side surface substantially perpendicular to the flat portion and a second side surface slopes down in a direction away from the disk drive; the first side surface faces toward the disk drive for engagement with the bar.
3. The disk drive assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the mounting bracket has a flat body parallel to the top surface of the disk drive for mounting the converter card thereto.
4. The disk drive assembly as described in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the mounting bracket is not larger than a thickness of the disk drive.
5. An electronic device comprising:
an enclosure having a bar;
a disk drive mounted in the enclosure, the disk drive having a top surface, a back surface perpendicular to the top surface, and a first output connecter on the back surface;
a mounting bracket attached to the disk drive adjacent to the back surface thereof, the mounting bracket comprising a flat body, and a resilient arm attached to the body, the resilient arm being engaged with the bar such that the disk drive is blocked from moving toward the bar in the enclosure, the resilient arm being manually bendable so as to disengage from the bar, a height of the mounting bracket is not greater than a thickness of the disk drive; and
a converter card having an input connecter connected to the first output connecter, and a second output connecter for connecting to a motherboard in the enclosure.
6. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 5, wherein the resilient arm has a flat portion with the protrusion formed thereon, a protrusion is formed on the resilient arm, the protrusion has a first side surface substantially perpendicular to the flat portion and a second side surface slopes down in a direction away from the disk drive; the first side surface faces toward the disk drive for engagement with the bar.
7. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 5, wherein the mounting bracket has a pair of side flanges formed on opposite edges of the flat body, and each side flange has a guiding rail for receiving the converter card therein.
8. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 5, wherein the mounting bracket has a pair of feet attached to opposite sides of the disk drive.