A run-flat tire (12) comprising: a crown; two sidewalls (40); two beads (50) each one comprising at least one annular reinforcing structure (60); a carcass reinforcement (71, 72) anchored in each of the beads by wrapping it around the annular reinforcing structure so as to form an incoming portion (711) extending from the crown through the sidewalls towards the bead and a wrapped-around portion (712); and at least one sidewall insert (80); at least one sidewall of the tire further comprising at least one additional sidewall reinforcement (90) positioned axially on the inside of the carcass reinforcement and extending radially at least between a radial height H1 of 30 mm, H1 being measured from the radially innermost point of the annular reinforcing structure; and a radial height H2 equal to 30% of the height H of the tire; and a layer (110) of polymeric composition positioned between the additional sidewall reinforcement and the carcass reinforcement.

For a number of years, tire manufacturers have been devoting significant effort to developing novel solutions to a problem that dates back to the very start of the use of wheels fitted with tires of the inflated type, i.e. how to allow the vehicle to continue on its journey in spite of a substantial or complete loss of pressure from one or more tires. For decades, the spare wheel was considered to be the only and universal solution.
Then, more recently, the considerable advantages associated with omitting the spare wheel appeared. The idea of "extended mobility" was developed. The associated techniques allow a vehicle to continue to drive along on the same tire, even after a puncture or significant loss of pressure, provided that certain instructions are observed. This, for example, means that a service area can be reached without the need to stop, under circumstances which are often dangerous, in order to fit the spare wheel.
Today, there are two major types of run-flat technology. On the one hand, there are wheels fitted with supports capable of supporting the inside of the tread of a tire when the sidewalls collapse following a loss of pressure. This solution is advantageously combined with a tire that has a bottom region capable of minimizing the risks of the tire slipping off the rim. This solution has the advantage that the tire performance under normal conditions is very close to the performance of a conventional tire. By contrast, it does have the disadvantage of entailing the use of an additional component, namely the support, for each of the wheels of the vehicle.
On the other hand, there are tires of the self-supporting type (often known by their English-language abbreviation "ZP" which stands for "zero pressure"). These self-supporting tires are able to support a significant load at a reduced pressure, or even with no pressure, because they have sidewalls which are reinforced, usually by means of rubber inserts provided in the sidewalls. For the sake of simplicity, these tires will hereinafter be referred to as "run-flat tires".
Tires such as this are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,067,347, 4,779,658, 5,511,599, 5,769,980, 5,795,416, 6,022,434 and 7,093,633.
The most widespread design of run-flat tires involves anchoring the carcass reinforcement by wrapping it around the annular reinforcing structure of the bead, so as to form, within each bead, an incoming portion extending from the crown through the sidewalls towards the bead and a wrapped-around portion, the radially outer end of the wrapped-around portion being radially close to the "equator" of the tire, that is to say radially close to the radial height at which the carcass reinforcement, when the tire is mounted on the rim, is at its largest axial width. The space formed between the incoming portion and the wrapped-around portion of the carcass reinforcement is filled with a layer of rubber mix known as the apex rubber, as is depicted in FIG. 1.
These tires, particularly when greatly flexed may, both in "normal running mode" (that is to say when inflated to a pressure close to their service pressure) and in "run-flat mode" (that is to say when the inflation pressure of the tire is significantly reduced with respect to the service pressure, or even when there is no inflation pressure at all), give rise to endurance problems in the "bottom region" that is to say in the beads and in the radially inner part of the sidewalls, the cause for this generally being attributed to the fact that the wrapped-around portion of the carcass reinforcement may find itself under compression when the bead, which is bearing against the rim hook, bends about the hook (as depicted in FIG. 10). As a matter of fact, because of the great thickness of the rubber mix between the incoming portion and the wrapped-around portion of the carcass reinforcement, the wrapped-around portion may find itself under significant compressive stress resulting from the bending of the radially inner part of the sidewall, (which can be likened to a beam) about the rim hook.
In order to address this problem, it has been proposed that the thickness of the rubber mix between the incoming portion and the wrapped-around portion of the carcass reinforcement be reduced significantly (giving rise to a tire "with close-fitting wrapped-around portion") and/or to reduce significantly the radial height of the wrapped-around portion (this giving a "tire with shortened wrapped-around portion"). While a wrapped-around portion configuration such as this has proven advantageous from a number of standpoints (better endurance in "normal running mode", reduction in the length of the carcass reinforcement, and therefore in the weight and cost of manufacture, option to use reinforcing elements with lower compressive strength, etc.), it has not yielded entirely satisfactory results particularly under run-flat conditions.

Run-flat tire having an additional sidewall reinforcement

Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin


A method, system, and apparatus for covering padded home décor insert forms by means of securing fabric or other pliable materials around or to said inserts using magnets to clasp the fabric or other pliable material around a padded insert.

This description relates to pillow inserts, seat cushions, or other padded inserts in need of covers, and more particularly to a frame for decorating home furnishings that consist of padded inserts.
Traditional home décor padded inserts such as pillows, cushions, and mattress pads are covered with a decorative fabric case in which the two pieces of fabric are sewn or adhered with thread, elastic, or adhesive. Many coverings are created without a zipper preventing easy removal of the case for sanitizing, removing stains, or changing the room décor.


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for facilitating failover between network adapters. A failure of a first network adapter is detected in a device driver layer. In response to detecting the failure, the transmission of data is changed by the device driver layer to a second network adapter.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for managing components in a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and computer program product for a failover process for network adapters.
2. Description of Related Art
In many computer systems, such as server data processing systems, the availability of network connections is crucial. These network connections also are referred to as links. In these types of systems, a backup network adapter is often present in addition to the primary or master network adapter. If the master network adapter fails, the server may switch over and use the backup network adapter. This switching of adapters is also called a failover action.
In some customer environments, the ability to rapidly switch to a backup network adapter interface in the event of a link failure is an absolute requirement. These customers are typically running highly specialized applications, such as real-time data gathering, and require failover times to be in the sub-millisecond range. In the past, certain network solutions, such as dual-ring fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), facilitated this rapid failover capability at the network adapter hardware layer. As these customers migrate from FDDI technology to other network technologies such as Gigabit Ethernet, their failover requirements remain constant. However, other network technologies do not currently define or implement a similar rapid failover capability such as dual rings.
Current software-based solutions to this problem include: the Advance Interactive Executive (AIX), Etherchannel Failover technology, and High Availability Cluster Multi-Processing (HACMP) network address takeover. Both of these solutions fall far short of the millisecond failover time required by certain customers because of inherent design limitations in the solutions.
One available hardware-based solution is a two-port Gigabit Ethernet network adapter solution. This solution consists of a two-port Gigabit Ethernet adapter with specialized adapter firmware that implements rapid port failover in the sub-millisecond range. However, this system is a highly specialized and relatively expensive solution.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing a high-speed failover network adapter system without requiring specialized and expensive hardware.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for high-speed network adapter failover

International Business Machines Corporation


A configuration adaptation layer (CAL) for I/O devices such as I/O adapters is provided. This configuration adaptation layer (CAL) explicitly provides a mapping between adapter functions and adapter resources in a way such that it is senseable in-band by the computer system using the adapter, e.g., by a virtual machine monitor.

As shown in FIG. 1, a modern computer system 1 includes a virtual machine manager (VMM) 10 that allows partitioning the computer system resources into multiple virtual machines (VM) 20, 30, 40 and to share resources between such VMs. Media 50 comprises separate drivers for the different operating systems executed in the VMs 20, 30, 40. The VMM 10 is controlled via a management console 15, which is connected to the VMM 10 via a network 90. The assignment of resources to VMs is defined by the system administrator on the management console 15, which results to the configuration 55 of the VMM 10. An adapter 60 adds resources 70 and 80 to the computer system 1. Whether it is supported to share or partition those resources 70 and 80 depends on the capabilities of the adapter 60 and corresponding firmware.
Resources of Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Express compliant adapters are made accessible to VMs via PCI Express functions (in the following called functions). PCI Express is described in the PCI Express Base Specification, Revision 2.1, Mar. 4, 2009. Each function can be assigned to no more than one VM by the VMM. This is shown in FIG. 2 for the computer system 1 from FIG. 1. The functions 100 and 110 of the adapter 60 are assigned to VM 20. The function 120 is assigned to the VM 40. No functions of the adapter 60 are assigned to the VM 30.
The PCI Express specification defines methods for the VMM to discover the functions provided by a PCI Express adapter. The mapping between adapter resources and adapter functions is established by the vendor of the respective PCI Express adapter. Partitioning of adapter resources is enabled by mapping distinct resources to distinct functions. Sharing of adapter resources is enabled by mapping the same resources to multiple functions. For the adapter 60 in FIG. 2, the functions 100, 110, and 120 can be discovered by the VMM 10. The resource 70 is mapped to the function 100, and the resource 80 is mapped to the functions 110 and 120.
The PCI Express specification does not define methods to discover adapter resources and their respective mapping to functions. For the adapter 60 in FIG. 2, the resources 70 and 80 cannot be discovered by the VMM 10. Thus, in order for the system administrator to be able to assign resources to VMs in the system configuration, the mapping between adapter resources and adapter functions has to be made available by means that are outside the scope of the PCI Express specification. As of today it is state of the art to provide this adapter type specific information via one of the following two methods.
In the first method, this adapter type specific information is provided in human readable form in the adapter reference manual (reference manual 130 in FIG. 2). When creating the configuration 55 for the VMM 10 via the management console 15, the system administrator has to consult the reference manual 130 to select one of the possibly multiple provided functions that correspond to the resource(s) he attempts to assign to a VM. This has the following shortcomings:                The administrator has to express the configuration not in terms of resources, but rather in terms of functions.        New engineering change levels or adapter firmware levels of a supported adapter might change the number of functions and/or their respective mapping to resources, while resources are neither changed in number nor type. In this case, the system administrator has to modify the configuration despite the fact that the adapter is externally equivalent to previous level adapters.
In the second method, the adapter type specific information is provided in a machine comprehendible firmware component that is adapter type specific and has to be installed on a management console; e.g., from a media 140. In this case, the management console 15 will do the mapping from resources to functions; e.g., via a plug-in, which allows for the system administrator to create the system configuration in terms of resources. This has the following shortcomings:                For each new type of adapter a firmware component has to be installed on the management console. Especially in the context of enterprise server systems, which for sake of quality have a very strict distribution process to deliver such firmware components, this is a major concern.        There are two deliverables per adapter, namely the adapter itself and the respective firmware component, resulting in administration complexity due to; e.g., co-requirements between change levels of those deliverables.

Configuration adaptation layer for mapping I/O device resources


A system and method of initializing a core processing circuit are disclosed. The core processing circuit is held in a reset state while a reset vector is loaded to one or more registers at a boot address associated with the core processing circuit. The reset vector is loaded from a system memory through a host bridge. The reset vector comprises one or more instructions to initialize the core processing system upon release from a reset state.

1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to processing systems. In particular, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to initializing a processing system on a core processing circuit from instructions fetched from a memory.
2. Information
A processing system may be initialized on a processor or core processing circuit through a procedure commencing in response to powering up the processor. Upon being powered up, the processor may enter a reset state. Upon release from the reset state, the processor may commence a boot procedure to initialize a processing system. Such a boot procedure typically includes, for example, executing a power-on self test (POST) procedure, allocating processing resources to enable communication with input/output (I/O) devices and launching an operating system. A boot procedure is typically controlled by machine readable instructions which are stored in a local memory array. In response to being released from a reset state, a processor or core processing circuit may commence fetching and executing instructions from a predetermined address in the local memory array to execute the boot procedure.

System and method of remotely initializing a local processor


An optical transmission system including a transmitting unit to transmit an optical main signal, a receiving unit to receive the optical main signal, and a transmission line through which the optical main signal is transmitted, the optical transmission system includes: an optical transmitter unit configured to be activated or inactivated based on a control signal so as to transmit the control signal, the optical transmitter being included in the transmitting; and an optical receiver configured to receive light with the activate state or the inactivate state of the optical transmitter the optical receiver being included in the receiving unit, wherein the receiving unit regenerates the control signal, based on a power of the received light.

In a transmission system to which an optical signal is applied, it is preferable that information can be transmitted and received in addition to a main signal between a transmitter and a receiver in a simple configuration. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-271440 discloses a technique in which a transmitter transmits a low frequency ON/OFF signal, in addition to a main signal, to a receiver. Japanese Examined Utility Model Application Publication No. 8-4760 discloses a technique in which transmission/non-transmission to an optical fiber is performed by specifying drive/non-drive of a modulation unit according to a signal.

Optical transmission system, control signal transmission method, and optical module


The present invention provides a method for depositing a dielectric stack comprising forming a dielectric layer atop a substrate, the dielectric layer comprising at least oxygen and silicon atoms; forming a layer of metal atoms atop the dielectric layer within a non-oxidizing atmosphere, wherein the layer of metal atoms has a thickness of less than about 15 Å; forming an oxygen diffusion barrier atop the layer of metal atoms, wherein the non-oxidizing atmosphere is maintained; forming a gate conductor atop the oxygen diffusion barrier; and annealing the layer of metal atoms and the dielectric layer, wherein the layer of metal atoms reacts with the dielectric layer to provide a continuous metal oxide layer having a dielectric constant ranging from about 25 to about 30 and a thickness less than about 15 Å.

With decreasing gate lengths in metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET), thin dielectrics are necessary to increase drive current and improve short channel behavior.
Conventional methods for forming high-k dielectrics include chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), or physical vapor deposition (PVD). For ultra-thin high-k gate dielectric formation, physical vapor deposition methods have fallen into disfavor, as they typically damage the deposition surface during sputtering. Alternatively, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are substantially damage free processes, in which good step coverage is provided with less particle generation than physical vapor deposition (PVD).
Prior forming methods have been unsuccessful in providing continuous and uniform ultra-thin high-k gate dielectric layers. The term "ultra-thin" denotes a high-k gate dielectric layer having a thickness on the order of about 15 Å or less. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fail to provide uniform gate dielectric layers, since atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition typically result in non-uniform nucleation when utilized to deposit ultra-thin dielectric layers. Non-uniform nucleation results from the complex bonding of metal organic or metal halide precursors, which are utilized in CVD and ALD processes. The complex bonding of metal organic or metal halide precursors acts as an obstruction to full saturation of the deposition surface. For example, hafnium chloride precursors comprise hafnium bonded with four chlorides, and when the hafnium of the precursor bonds to a silicon-containing surface of a substrate the bonded chlorides can block up to 10 bonding sites of the substrate, resulting in non-uniform nucleation. In ultra-thin film deposition, non-uniform nucleation produces a non-continuous layer resulting in islands of deposited dielectric material. Non-continuous dielectric layers incorporated within gate dielectrics typically result in leakage effects, which reduce device performance.
Gate dielectric and gate electrode material and structure should posses a number of properties to be useful for state-of-the-art MOSFET devices. First, the gate dielectric should be "electrically thin" when the gate is biased in inversion creating a large surface density of mobile inversion charge in the transistor channel. The term "electrically thin" denotes a high capacitance per unit area. In turn, the gate dielectric capacitance in inversion consists of several parts including the capacitance of the dielectric material itself and the so-called depletion capacitance of the adjacent gate electrode. In order to make the gate dielectric electrically thinner, one would (1) physically thin down gate dielectrics, (2) select gate dielectric materials with higher dielectric permittivity ("high k" materials), and (3) choose gate electrodes adjacent to the gate dielectric with a smaller depletion region.
Second, the entire gate structure including FET channel region, gate dielectric, and gate electrode should be able to support a FET with a low threshold voltage from about 0.1V to about 0.4V. While a desired threshold voltage can be achieved by varying channel doping and selecting the optimum work-function for the gate electrode, the threshold voltage can be inadvertently altered by the presence of a large fixed and/or trapped charge at both the gate dielectric interface and within the dielectric itself. Further, the density of trapped and/or fixed charge can be inadvertently altered by exposure to a high-temperature (e.g., a 1000° C. junction activation anneal) or during FET operation. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to minimize the total surface density of such fixed and/or trapped charge to prevent any undesirable shifts in threshold voltage. Typically, the total surface density of fixed and/or trapped charge is kept below 8×10−7 C·cm−2 or, equivalently, the surface number density of charged sites is kept below about 5×1012 cm−2 for a single charged site. A charge density of 8×10−7 C·cm−2 shifts the threshold voltage by about 0.4 V for a gate dielectric with capacitance per unit area in inversion of about 2×10−6 F·cm−2.
Third, the gate electrode structure should not impede charging/discharging of the layer directly adjacent to the gate dielectric, for the speed of such charging/discharging is directly related to the speed of FET switching. Presence of multiple layers in the gate electrode can adversely affect the speed of the gate electrode charging due to the presence of a large interface or contact resistance between the adjacent conductive layers.
Accordingly, it is desirable to keep the interface or contact resistance between the layers in the gate electrode below about 1×10−6 Ω·cm2, more preferably to below 3×10−7 Ω·cm2. Indeed, it would take an extra 2 picoseconds to charge a gate dielectric capacitance of about 2×10−6 F·cm−2 through an additional interface resistance of 1×10−6 Ω·cm2. In addition, the extra charging time associated with the interface resistance can further increase due to an extra parasitic capacitance present at the gate corners below the resistive interface. The gate-to-drain parasitic capacitance can be further multiplied by about a factor of two due to a Miller feedback effect. For short channel transistors with the physical gate length of less than about 40 nm, such extra capacitance can be as large as the gate capacitance itself, effectively doubling extra charging time. The fastest state-of-the-art CMOS circuit (a ring oscillator) has switching time per stage of about several picoseconds enabling more complex circuits operating with electrical pulses as short as 30-100 picoseconds. Therefore, a resistive interface in the gate electrode with interface/contact resistance of more than of 1×10−6 Ω·cm2 may introduce a substantial extra delay and/or undesirably change the shape of electrical pulse.
High-k based gate dielectrics are competing with conventional silicon oxynitride based dielectrics. Silicon oxide or oxynitride has been a gate dielectric material of choice for more than 30 years. Prior oxynitride based gate dielectrics have (a) a physical thickness of about 1 nm, (b) a capacitance per unit area in inversion of about 2×10−6 F·cm−2 for a doped polysilicon gate electrode and about 2.2×10−6 F·cm2 for a metallic gate electrode, (c) gate tunneling or leakage current of about 200 A/cm2 at 0.8V gate bias, and (d) a fixed or trapped charge of less than 2×10−7 C·cm−2. It is desirable that a high-k gate dielectric provides a similar or higher capacitance per unit area at a lower gate tunneling or leakage current with an acceptable amount of fixed or trapped charge as alluded above. In addition, a highly preferred high-k gate dielectric provides greater than approximately a 10% increase in the gate capacitance in inversion in comparison to similar oxynitride-based gate dielectrics.
Typical high-k based dielectrics known in the art are comprised of insulating metal oxides such as hafnium oxide (HfO2) and zirconium oxide (ZrO2). In these compounds, a metal-oxygen bond is easily polarizable under an external electric filed yielding a high dielectric constant (high-k). The very same high polarizability of these bonds results in highly undesirable scattering of channel mobile charges by remote phonons present in the high-k material. As the result, the transistor drive current can be substantially reduced by the presence of high-k materials in the gate insulator. Several existing solutions are directed to the reduction of the scattering problem. In one known solution, a silicon material is added to the metal oxide creating a ternary insulating compound known as metal silicate. While a metal silicate creates less scattering by remote phonons, the dielectric constant of metal silicates is typically substantially lower than that of a pure metal oxide. Consequently, a layer of metal silicate should be substantially thinner than that of a pure metal oxide.
In an alternative solution, a layer of silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride is disposed between the channel and the high-k layer. The remote phonon scattering is then reduced because the high-k layer is positioned further away from the channel. It is desirable that the silicon oxynitride layer be thinner than current state-of-the-art silicon-oxynitride-base gate dielectrics in order for such high-k stack to have acceptable gate capacitance as alluded above.
While there are multiple ways of forming metal-oxide-based high-k layers, all of them employ oxidation of metal atoms at the wafer surface by exposing the surface to an oxygen-containing precursor. In one set of methods, the high-k layer is simply deposited from metal and oxygen containing precursors. In another set of methods, the metal layer is first formed on the surface and then oxidized by an oxygen precursor.
One major drawback of prior forming methods for producing metal-oxide-based high-k layers, in which the metal layer is first formed on the surface and then oxidized by an oxygen precursor, is that oxidation of metal competes with the oxidation of semiconductor (silicon) yielding thick insulating film adjacent to the semiconductor with a dielectric constant of below 10. Alternatively, at much reduced overall oxidation rate (e.g., at a low partial pressure of oxidation precursor and/or at a low oxidation temperature), partial oxidation of metal occurs leading to highly undesirable spatial variation of gate dielectric properties such as its' tunneling current, fixed or trapped charge, etc.
In view of the prior art mentioned, there is a need for providing an improved gate stack, which contains a metallic electrode and a high-k dielectric.

High-temperature stable gate structure with metallic electrode


A privacy stamp for preventing the automatic display of private data items stored in a memory of a mobile telecommunications apparatus. The telecommunications apparatus is provided with user operable means to selectively associate a privacy stamp with the stored data items such that a processor prevents the data items associated with the privacy stamp from being automatically displayed on a user interface.

A well-known feature of mobile telephones is so called caller-identification, or caller-ID, whereby the caller's telephone number is displayed on the user interface (UI) of a telephone receiving a call. In order to do this, the receiving telephone decodes a signal, which is associated with the call, containing the caller's number. If the caller's details are stored in the memory of the receiving phone, the UI may also display the caller's name. Caller-ID enables the user of a telephone receiving a call to check as to who is calling them, before they decide to answer.
The UI of a mobile telephone also commonly displays prompts to events stored in the telephone's memory, such as events entered in the telephone's calendar.
The disadvantage of a telephone's UI displaying such information is that the information can be read, not only by the telephone's owner, but also by any other person in the telephone's near vicinity. Hence the telephone's owner is not provided with the privacy he or she may desire. In attempting to protect their privacy, the owner may be constrained into not using some of the features offered by their telephone, such as alerts to private events recorded in the calendar. Alternatively, the user may decide to leave the telephone hidden from view, thus potentially missing calls and other types of alert altogether.


A system to provide health and wellness data, comprising a platform for placement; at least one imaging sensor associated with the platform for capturing images; and a processor adapted to analyze the images to determine health and wellness data is disclosed. A toilet for assessing health and wellness of a user, comprising a bowl supported by a base; a platform for placement of a user's feet; at least one imaging sensor mounted on the base; and a processor adapted to analyze the images to determine health and wellness is disclosed. A method for assessing health and wellness comprising acquiring one or more images of the foot a user; using a processor to analyze the one or more images for health and wellness factors; and making the results of the health and wellness analysis available to the user on one or more digital platforms is disclosed.

The ability to track an individual's health and wellness is currently limited to the lack of available data related to personal health. Digital long wave infrared (LWIR) imaging, thermal imaging, near infrared (NIR) imaging, visual imaging, and 3D imaging, have the capacity to uncover important health indicators and trends related to many conditions. While these or other diagnostic tools are available for these conditions, the high cost of frequent doctor's visits and/or scans make these options available only on a very limited and infrequent basis. Thus, they are not widely available to people interested in tracking their own personal wellbeing. Foot and ankle health, particularly inflammation and temperature, which can be measured with infrared sensors, can provide valuable information that would otherwise be unavailable.
Toilets present a fertile environment for locating a variety of useful sensors to detect, analyze, and track trends for multiple health conditions. Locating sensors in such a location allows for passive observation and tracking on a regular basis of daily visits without the necessity of visiting a medical clinic for collection of samples and data. Monitoring trends over time of health conditions supports continual wellness monitoring and maintenance rather than waiting for symptoms to appear and become severe enough to motivate a person to seek care. At that point, preventative care may be eliminated as an option leaving only more intrusive and potentially less effective curative treatments. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Leg and foot health are affected by multiple conditions, including many originating in or affecting other parts of the body. Therefore, monitoring trends in leg and foot health is an effective method of achieving overall wellness care. The following is a non-exclusive list of some of the conditions that may be detected by imaging the feet.
A diabetic foot ulcer is an open sore or wound that occurs in approximately 15 percent of patients with diabetes and is commonly located on the bottom of the foot. Of those who develop a foot ulcer, 6 percent will be hospitalized due to infection or other ulcer-related complications. Diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic lower extremity amputations in the United States, and approximately 14-24 percent of patients with diabetes who develop a foot ulcer will require an amputation. Foot ulceration precedes 85 percent of diabetes-related amputations. Research has shown, however, that development of a foot ulcer is preventable.
A bunion is a painful bony bump that develops on the inside of the foot at the big toe joint. Bunions are often referred to as hallux valgus. Bunions develop slowly. Pressure on the big toe joint causes the big toe to lean toward the second toe. Over time, the normal structure of the bone changes, resulting in the bunion bump. This deformity will gradually increase and may make it painful to wear shoes or walk.
Ingrown toenails are a common condition in which the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh. The result is pain, redness, swelling and, sometimes, an infection. Ingrown toenails usually affect the big toe.
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia). Plantar fasciitis commonly causes stabbing pain that usually occurs with your first steps in the morning. As you get up and move more, the pain normally decreases, but it might return after long periods of standing or after rising from sitting.
Hammertoe and mallet toe are foot deformities that occur due to an imbalance in the muscles, tendons or ligaments that normally hold the toe straight. The type of shoes you wear, foot structure, trauma and certain disease processes can contribute to the development of these deformities. A hammertoe has an abnormal bend in the middle joint of a toe. Mallet toe affects the joint nearest the toenail. Hammertoe and mallet toe usually occur in your second, third and fourth toes.
Athlete's foot (tinea pedis) is a fungal infection that usually begins between the toes. It commonly occurs in people whose feet have become very sweaty while confined within tightfitting shoes. Signs and symptoms of athlete's foot include a scaly rash that usually causes itching, stinging and burning. Athlete's foot is contagious and can be spread via contaminated floors, towels or clothing.
Gout is an illness that tends to affect the joints. It is accompanied by rather obvious pain and swelling and generally results from the presence of purine. Purine is found in a number of meats and contributes to high levels of uric acid, which in turn leads to gout when too much uric acid begins to stockpile in the joints and damage the body.
Thin, reddish-brown lines under the toenails are generally splinter hemorrhages. The appearance of splinter hemorrhages is not always an indicator of a serious problem, because they can, in fact, appear if the nails have been injured, but sometimes they are. Splinter hemorrhages are potentially the result of damaged blood vessels, generally from clots, and can reveal serious problems with the heart. Specifically, they can indicate endocarditis, which is an infection of the heart's lining; generally, endocarditis results from other heart conditions, or other heart-related issues.
Clubbed digits start out thin and then balloon into large spherical shapes. While this condition can appear somewhat comical, it could also reveal the presence of a serious illness, namely lung cancer or other lung problems. Problems with the lungs affect the digits because when the lungs are unwell, vascular resistance is decreased, which leads to a massive increase in blood flow to the extremities. this results in the swelling of tissue.
Irregular depressions or discoloration in the toenails may be a sign of psoriasis. Psoriasis may affect the skin or the nails although it affects the skin primarily. But it is possible to have a nail specific infection. Patches of white on your nails may be another indication. This is also true if your nails become tender and painful.
Koilonychia causes spoon-like depressions in the toenails. Koilonychia describes a nail that is concave, such that the entire nail is rounded and bent upward, much like a spoon. The most common cause for the formation of such nails is iron deficiency. However, there are other causes as well, including a surplus of iron in the body, as well as lupus.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can be characterized by a long dark streak under the nail stretching from the base to the very tip. Generally, it will be both longer and thicker than splinter hemorrhage lines, and will be solitary, as compared to numerous thinner, shorter lines of splinter hemorrhages. While melanoma is relatively rare, it is the most serious form of skin cancer, tends to affect people of color more, and warrants seeking immediate treatment.
An increase in the height of foot arches may be the result of nerve damage. One possibility is a neurological condition known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). It's a hereditary disorder that can result in damage to the peripheral nerves. Since the nerves connect to every part of the body, this can lead to problems in the feet, including numbness, muscle loss, and trouble with balance. These problems tend not to be limited to just the feet, however. Victims of CMT have been known to eventually experience similar issues in their arms and hands as well.
You have flatfeet when the arches on the inside of your feet are flattened, allowing the entire soles of your feet to touch the floor when you stand up. A common and usually painless condition, flatfeet can occur when the arches don't develop during childhood. In other cases, flatfeet develop after an injury or from the simple wear-and-tear stresses of age. If pain develops, custom orthotics may be needed.
Computer Vision ("CV") is a field of artificial intelligence that involves computers learning to view, interpret, and understand the visual world. It uses images from digital cameras and learning algorithms, computers use image processing to view multiple images and learn how to accurately recognize, identify, and classify object. CV is used in a variety of fields to identify things such as manufacturing defects, counterfeit currency, and early signs of disease in plants. Computer vision can be used to extract information from digital images to make decisions and take actions.
The use of imaging and temperature sensors to examine feet for health and wellness indicators is documented in the scientific literature. Examples include: Infrared Thermal Imaging for Automated Detection of Diabetic Foot Complications, Jaap J. van Netten et al., J. DIABETES SCI. TECHNOL., September 2013, 7(5): 1122-1129; Using Noncontact Infrared Thermography for Long-term Monitoring of Foot Temperatures in a Patient with Diabetes Mellitus, Erik Staffa et al., OSTOMY WOUND MANAGE., 2016; 62(4):54-61; Correlation between Plantar Foot Temperature and Diabetic Neuropathy: A Case Study by Using an Infrared Thermal Imaging Technique, Subramnaiam Bagavathiappan et al., J DIABETES SCI TECHNOL., 2010 November; 4(6): 1386-1392; and An exploration of the relationship between foot skin temperature and blood flow in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: a cross-sectional study, Uraiwan Chatchawan et al., J PHYS THER SCI., 2018 November; 30(11): 1359-1363; Diabetic Wound Imaging Using a Noncontact Near-Infrared Scanner; Anuradha Godavarty et al., J DIABETES SCI TECHNOL., 2015 September; 9(5): 1158-1159; Critical Review of Noninvasive Optical Technologies for Wound Imaging Critical Review of Noninvasive Optical Technologies for Wound Imaging, Maanasa Jayachandran et al., ADV WOUND CARE (New Rochelle), 2016 Aug. 1; 5(8): 349-359; Towards Commoditised Near Infrared Spectroscopy, Simon Klakegg et al., available at www.nielsvanberkel.com/files/publications/dis17a.pdf; Three-dimensional Imaging and Scanning: Current and Future Applications for Pathology, Navid Farahani et al., J PATHOL INFORM., 2017; 8: 36. These publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Just a few examples of smart toilets and other bathroom devices can be seen in the following U.S. patents and Published applications: U.S. Pat. No. 9,867,513, entitled "MEDICAL TOILET WITH USER AUTHENTICATION"; U.S. Pat. No. 10,123,784, entitled "IN SITU SPECIMEN COLLECTION RECEPTACLE IN A TOILET AND BEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH A SPECTRAL ANALYZER"; U.S. Pat. No. 10,273,674, entitled "TOILET BOWL FOR SEPARATING FECAL MATTER AND URINE FOR COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS"; US 2016/0000378, entitled "HUMAN HEALTH PROPERTY MONITORING SYSTEM"; US 2018/0020984, entitled "METHOD OF MONITORING HEALTH WHILE USING A TOILET"; US 2018/0055488, entitled "TOILET VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND ANALYSIS SYSTEM FOR URINE"; US 2018/0078191, entitled "MEDICAL TOILET FOR COLLECTING AND ANALYZING MULTIPLE METRICS"; US 2018/0140284, entitled "MEDICAL TOILET WITH USER CUSTOMIZED HEALTH METRIC VALIDATION SYSTEM"; US 2018/0165417, entitled "BATHROOM TELEMEDICINE STATION"; U.S. Ser. No. 15/222,267, entitled "THIN WEIGHT SCALE." The disclosures of all of these patents and applications are incorporated by reference in their entireties.

Device for providing health and wellness data through foot imaging


A method of enforcing the ordering of read and write transactions for an adapter unit connected to a strongly-ordered bus. The adapter unit has a set of read buffers and write buffers. Initiator write transactions and target read completion transactions are performed on the bus in the original order in which the transactions are received. An initiator read transaction request is enqueued in the read buffer but selectively awaits the performance of one or more pending initiator write transactions in the write buffer before the read transaction request is presented to the bus. In this way, initiator write transactions on which the read transaction request depends and pending in the write buffer are retired to the bus before the initiator read transaction request is performed, thus assuring that the initiator read transaction request is not performed ahead of the initiator write transaction on which the read transaction request depends.

The present invention relates generally to transactions on a computer interconnect and, more specifically, to the ordering of read and write transactions on a computer bus.
FIG. 1 shows the architecture of a typical computer system 8 in which a high-speed bus, such as the PCI bus 10, interconnects several I/O device adapters 12, 14. Each I/O device adapter 12, 14 is either an initiator or a target and the PCI bus (or PCI-X bus) serves to carry read and write transactions between the I/O device to which the adapter is connected. The CPU 16 for the computer system is connected to the bus 10 by means of a bridge device 18 which also provides a path between the CPU 16 and main memory 20. Another bridge device 22 connects a slower bus 24 to which devices, such as a printer adapter 26, and keyboard and mouse interfaces 28, are connected.
In one version of the PCI bus 10, an initiator (master) connects to a target (slave) via the bus to perform a transaction. FIG. 2 shows a typical PCI read transaction 40, a write transaction 42, and a retry request 44. Read transactions include an address phase 46, a command phase 48, one or more data phases 50a-d and attribute phases 52a-d. Each of the data phases 50a-d can be delayed by the target or initiator for a specific number of clocks in order to match the data transfer speed of the target to the initiator. Write transactions are similar, having an address phase 54, a command phase 56, one or more data phases 58a-d, and attribute phases 60a-d. The initiator or target can stall a data phase (via wait states) for up to seven clocks. (The target can stall the start of the first data phase for up to 15 clocks). Before the initiator can connect to a target to perform a data transaction, the initiator must become the owner of the bus. This implies that the initiator must be the winner of an arbitration process.
In addition to data transactions, the PCI bus supports Delayed Transactions for reads and writes. A Delayed Transaction has two parts, the request part and the completion part. In the first part 44 in FIG. 2, the initiator performs an address phase 62 and command phase 64, and before the first data phase 66, the target responds with a disconnect 68, as shown in FIG. 2. The initiator interprets the target disconnect to be a retry request 44, which the initiator honors by ending the current transaction (FIG. 2), returning the bus to the idle state, re-arbitrating for ownership and re-initiating the transaction. If the initiator again receives a retry indication from the target, the initiator repeats the above sequence 44. Thus, the address phase 62, may be repeated several times (causing multiple re-arbitrations as well), until the target is ready to transfer data. In the completion part of the Delayed Transaction, the initiator performs an address phase and the target replies with a data transfer rather than a disconnect 68.
It is easily appreciated by one skilled in the art that the above-described operation of the PCI bus is exceedingly inefficient. Throughput on the PCI bus is lost for two reasons, the insertion of wait states and the use of the retry protocol.
Wait states cause a direct loss in throughput. Just one wait state inserted in each data phase is a 50% loss in throughput during the data burst. This means that for a 32 bit PCI bus clocked at 33 MHz, the throughput during the data phase is reduced to 66 Megabytes per second from 132 Megabytes per second. If the bus were clocked at 66 MHz, the throughput loss is even greater—a full 132 Megabytes per second of loss. For devices that can sustain transfer rates of about 1 Gigabyte per second, the bus is simply unworkable.
The Delayed Transaction protocol also causes a significant loss in throughput because bus cycles that could be used for data transfers are used to support a high-overhead protocol. Bus cycles are wasted when the target replies with a disconnect, when the initiator ends the current transaction, lets the bus go idle, re-arbitrates for the bus, and initiator then re-performs the address phase of the disconnected transaction. Thus, the cost of each retry is at least 6 clocks, 4 clocks to return the bus to the idle state, at least one clock for arbitration, and at least one more clock for an address phase. During these 6 clocks an entire 4 dword burst could have occurred.
In both of these cases throughput was lost because the target was not ready to respond. Clocking the bus faster to improve the throughput only causes more clock cycles to be lost due to wait states and the inefficient Delayed Transaction protocol.
An updated version of the PCI bus, PCI-X, was developed to address these and other deficiencies. In the PCI-X specification, wait states are not permitted once data transfers have begun. A data burst, once started, must proceed at full speed on the bus. The read, write and split request transactions for PCI-X are shown for reference in FIG. 3. Each transaction type has an Address/Cmd phase, followed by an attribute phase and a response phase. After the response phase a data transfer ensues. Only the response and first data phase are extensible by adding a limited number of wait states. After the first data phase, the remaining data phases must proceed at one bus clock per data phase.
Additionally, in the PCI-X specification, the inefficient Delayed Transactions have been replaced by Split Transactions, as shown in FIG. 3.
In a Split Transaction, a Requester initiates a transfer 75 by performing an address/cmd phase 86, an attribute phase 88, a response phase 90, an unused data phase 92 and a surrender phase 94. Upon receiving a Split Response Request 96 from a Completer at the appropriate time in the transaction, the Requester removes itself from the bus, commits resources to the transaction and suspends the transaction until the Completer responds. This makes the bus available for use to other Requesters and Completers in the interim. When the data transfer is ready to occur at the Completer, the Completer acts as an Initiator, obtaining the bus and performing a Split Completion transaction 71, which includes an address phase 70, an attribute phase 72, a response phase 74 and one or more data phases 76a-d during which the requested data is transferred to the Requester.
To make it easier to conform to the newer PCI-X specification and to improve the performance of the older PCI protocol, it is best that both the Requester and Completer are implemented with read and write storage buffers so that when a write or read data burst is ready to occur, it can proceed at full bus speeds. Additionally, both the Requester and Completer are likely, in most implementations, to have Initiator and Target interfaces to carry out the Split Transaction protocol and each interface is required to be registered on both inputs and outputs.
However, the use of read and write buffers and Initiator and Target interfaces on the adapter increases the chances that PCI and PCI-X read/write ordering and deadlock avoidance rules may not be met.
PCI bus ordering rules require that if write data is posted to a write buffer (such as a posted-write buffer in a PCI-to-PCI or host/PCI bridge) the data must be flushed to its final destination (memory) before a read of that same data is allowed by the same or different bus master. Also, a bridge must perform all posted writes in the same order in which they were originally posted and is only permitted to post writes to regular memory targets.
On the PCI-X bus, there are more extensive read-write ordering rules when buffers are involved because of Split Transactions. For example, for bridges between a PCI-X bus and a host bus or between two PCI-X busses, there are three sets of rules, as set forth, in summary, below. The rules are set forth in more detail on pages 573-577 of PCI-X System Architecture, Tom Shanley, ISBN 0-201-72682-3, which is incorporated by reference into the present application.
Case I. A posted memory write transaction (PMW) is received in a bridge.                (i) a subsequent split read request (SRR) or split write request (SWR) cannot be reordered to avoid returning incorrect read data (SRR) and to maintain write ordering (SWR);        (ii) a subsequent split read completion (SRC) generally cannot be reordered to avoid returning incorrect read data;        (iii) a subsequent split write completion may be permitted because the writes are in different directions; and        (iv) a subsequent PMW generally cannot be performed until the first PMW is completed and PMWs must complete in the order received to maintain write ordering;
Case II—A split read request (SRR) or split write request (SWR) occurs at a bridge.                (i) a subsequent split read request or split write request can be reordered;        (ii) a subsequent split read completion, or split write completion or posted memory write must be allowed ahead of the SRR or SWR to avoid a deadlock;
Case III—A split read completion (SRC) or a split write completion (SWC) occurs at a bridge.                (i) a subsequent split read request (SRR), split write request (SWR), split read completion (SRC) or split write completion (SWC) can be reordered;        (ii) a posted memory write must go ahead of the SRC or SWC to avoid a deadlock.
Though there are some exceptions to these rules if a relaxed ordering (RO) bit is set in a transaction, the rules set forth the ordering of reads and writes so as to guarantee the proper operation of system software (Case I) and the avoidance of deadlocks (Cases II and III) for a bridge between the host bus and a PCI-X bus or between two PCI-X busses.
The use of read and write buffers and both an Initiator and Target interface on adapter units connected to the PCI bus along with the split transaction protocol creates a need to maintain certain ordering of read and write transactions on the adapter units.
Currently, one method of dealing with the ordering problem is to control all of the read-write transaction activity from a single thread, thereby serializing all of the transactions from a single point of control. While this may assure that the ordering problem is correctly addressed, the single thread approach is performance limiting both to the adapter and the system.
Therefore, there is a need to address the ordering problem on an adapter that has read and write buffers, Initiator and Target interfaces that connect to a strongly-ordered bus, such as the PCI or PCI-X bus, and a split transaction protocol, without using a single thread to serialize all of the activity of the adapter. The present invention is directed towards such a need.

Method and apparatus to allow dynamic variation of ordering enforcement between transactions in a strongly ordered computer interconnect

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Disclosed is a computer program stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by one or more processors of a computing device, the computer program performs operations for generating a facial animation, and the operations may include: inputting two or more training input data to a facial animation generation model; training the facial animation generation model with a common feature of the two or more training input data by using a first network function included in the facial animation generation model; and training the facial animation generation model with an independent feature of each of the two or more training input data by using a second network function to cause the facial animation generation model to generate the facial animation according to the input data.

Recently, with the rapid development of animation-related technology, the movement of applying an animation to the whole industry is increasing. An animation is used not only in a cartoon-related industry but also in various industry fields. In the meantime, in order to generate an animation, it takes a lot of time and cost.
In the case of a game industry, a voice actor records a voice based on a game story, an animation for the voice based on that voice is generated, and the generated animation is provided to game players. The volume of game stories recorded by the voice actor is huge, and time and cost required to generate an animation based on the huge volume of game stories are considerable.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to decrease time and cost for generating an animation based on voice data.
Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2019-0008137 discloses an apparatus and a method of synthesizing voices based on deep learning by using multiple speaker data.


A device is part of an optical system (1) that works with an intermediate image and comprises stop(5) with associated aperture (6). The device comprises a light-reducing or light-absorbing arrangement (12) located at the side of the aperture. The arrangement is arranged to reduce considerably or eliminate completely light (11) incident to the side of the aperture, and thereby considerably reduce beam reflections. In this way, there is less likelihood of the optical system being detected when this is in use.

This disclosure relates to a device for an optical system that works with an intermediate image and comprises a stop with an associated aperture.
In various advanced applications, for example military applications, where sights, telescopes, electro-optical TV cameras, etc are used, the use of optical systems of this type is already known. The optical system can work, for example, within the visual range and the infrared range, that is with wavelengths within the range 0.45-14 micrometres. In connection with this, reference is made to the patent literature and the known systems on the market. By light is meant in this application at least a wavelength range 0.3-30 μm, comprising visible light and such wavelengths within the ultraviolet and infrared range that can be handled by optical technology used for the visible range.
With this type of optical system there is a pronounced desire to be able to design the system in such a way that it does not reveal itself during use. The problem is here that there are difficulties in avoiding stray light and reflections that can be detected by detection equipment, for example laser radar. The invention intends to solve this problem and proposes in this respect that the stray light and reflections in question should at least be reduced considerably. In connection with this, beam-reflecting surfaces (mirror surfaces) are used in one embodiment, and there is a desire to be able to arrange these surfaces in such a way that an optical system is obtained that is exceptionally difficult to detect. The invention also intends to solve this problem.

Stray-light reducing device for an optical system


An image forming apparatus includes a cleaning unit to cover/uncover and/or clean a transparent window of a light scanning unit in linkage with operation of a drive device that causes a photoconductor and a developing roller to come into contact with each other or to be spaced apart from each other, thereby assuring enhanced reliability in cleaning operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept generally relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a light scanning unit provided with a member to clean a transparent window through which light is transmitted.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus is an apparatus designed to form an image on a printing medium based on an input image signal. Examples of image forming apparatuses include printers, copiers, fax machines, and devices combining functions thereof.
In an image forming apparatus, a laser beam is irradiated to a uniformly charged photoconductor, based on a predetermined control signal, to form an electrostatic latent image. A visible image obtained by developing the electrostatic latent image is transferred to a printing medium, completing formation of an image.
A light scanning unit to irradiate a laser beam is hermetically sealed to prevent invasion of impurities that are likely present on a path between a light source and a photoconductor. The laser beam irradiated from the light source received in the light scanning unit is transmitted to the photoconductor through a transparent window.
The image forming apparatus contains various impurities within a main body thereof. Therefore, the transparent window can become stained with such impurities, causing errors in the image forming operation.

Image forming apparatus with drive device to move cleaning unit


Pre-stressed, strip-type tension members are applied to supporting structures, especially concrete supporting structures. To this end, a clamping device is used to pre-stress the tension member at least at one end, at a distance from the surface of the supporting structure, by a temporary clamping element which is fixed to the tension member, and the tension member is then pressed onto the surface by at least one permanent brace. The two temporary clamping elements are removed from the surface once the tension member has been pressed onto the surface.

The invention relates to a method for installing tensioned strip-shaped tension members on supporting structures, particularly concrete supporting structures, wherein the tension member is tensioned at least at one end by means of a tensioning device clamped via a temporary clamping anchor fastened to the tension member, and is then anchored to the supporting structure by means of a permanent anchoring device.
To increase the load-carrying capacity (strengthening) or for recovery of the original load-bearing capacity (rehabilitation) of supporting structures, particularly supporting structures of steel and reinforced concrete, it is known to subsequently install strip-shaped tension members on the surface of the supporting structure, preferably plate-like tension members of plastic with fibers, particularly carbon fibers, embedded for reinforcing. If these tension members are anchored in the pre-stressed state, the load-bearing capacity and the use capability are additionally considerably improved. It is known (DE 198 49 605 A1) to anchor for this purpose the strip-shaped tension members arranged flush with the surface on steel baseplates which are let into the concrete surface.
Supporting structures of steel or wooden components can be rehabilitated or strengthened in a corresponding manner.
The production of the recess, necessary for this purpose, in the concrete surface in the region of the anchoring devices is expensive and can lead to damage to the reinforcement embedded in the concrete. What makes matters worse is that this necessary recess at the clamping end of the tension member depends not only on the size of the baseplate provided for permanent anchoring, but also on the clamping path of the clamping device arranged there. These recesses are therefore of considerable size in the case of long tension members which require a large clamping path. The baseplate remaining in the concrete supporting structure also increases the costs of anchoring the tension member.
The invention therefore has as its object to provide a method, of the category named at the beginning, such that the anchoring of tension members flush with the surface is substantially simplified.
This object is attained according to the invention in that the tension member is tensioned by means of the temporary clamping anchor at a distance from the surface of the supporting structure, and that the tension member is then pressed onto the surface by means of at least one permanent anchoring clamp.
Since the tension member is located during the tensioning process at a distance from the surface of the supporting structure, the ends of the tension member can be fastened by clamping to temporary clamping anchors on a clamping plate of the temporary clamping anchor, located under the tension member, without a recess having to be produced for this clamping plate in the surface of the supporting structure. By means of the subsequent pressing of the tension member onto the surface by means of a permanent anchoring clamp, the frictional connection is produced between the tension member and the supporting structure, the strip-shaped tension member now being arranged flush to the surface. The introduction of the tensioning force takes place using the pressing force of the anchoring clamp, so that the temporary clamping anchor arranged between the anchoring clamp and the end of the tension member can be removed.
It is thus no longer necessary to provide a baseplate remaining on the supporting structure and to produce a recess for sinking this baseplate. New fields of application in which recesses for the baseplate and the clamping path are not actually possible are thus opened up for the method, so that even carrying the method over to steel supporting structures or wooden supporting structures is made possible.
A further particular advantage of the method according to the invention consists in that it can also be used with arched supporting structures, particularly concrete supporting structures, for example floor slabs in bridge building, wherein the tensioning force of the tension elements can be introduced directly at the edge of the arch. This is not possible with the conventional way of installing clamped strip-shaped tension members on concrete supporting structures. The tensioning force cannot be directly introduced to the arch, at least on the clamping anchor side, since the recess required for the clamping device would penetrate too far into the arch region and possibly the arch reinforcement would be penetrated.
As a development of the invention, it is provided that the tension member is clamped between two temporary clamping anchors fastened at the two ends of the tension member, at a distance from the surface of the supporting structure, and that the tension member is subsequently pressed onto the surface near its two ends, each by means of a respective permanent anchor clamp.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method. Starting from a known apparatus (DE 198 49 605 A1) with a strip-shaped tension member, which is connected at least at one end to a temporary clamping anchor, with a tensioning device engaging on the temporary clamping anchor during the tensioning process, and with a permanent anchoring device, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that a baseplate of the temporary clamping anchor is arranged between the tension member and the surface of the supporting structure, and in that at least one permanent anchoring clamp engages over the tension member near the temporary clamping anchor and can be pressed against the surface.
In comparison with the known apparatus, the apparatus according to the invention is substantially more cost-effective, since no permanent clamping plates remain on the supporting structure, and since no recesses have to be provided for these in the surface.
The strip-shaped tension member can be pressed directly onto the surface. In embodying the concept of the invention, it is also possible to arrange between the tension member and the surface of the supporting structure and/or the anchoring clamp, an adhesive layer which hardens after the tension member has been pressed onto the surface.
The adhesive layer enhances or takes over the force-transmitting connection between the tension member and the surface or the anchor clamp respectively.
It is also possible to adhere an intermediate layer which increases friction and/or distributes load in the region of the anchoring clamp.

Method of installing tension members on supporting structures, and apparatus for performing the method

Leonhardt, Andra und Partner Beratende Ingenieure VBI GmbH


There is disclosed an album type image display device. The image display device reads out album data, including image data and album manager data for arranging images in a style of an album, from a memory card and displays an electronic album page by page on the basis of the album data. When a second set of electronic images are read out from a second memory card while successive two pages of the electronic album are displayed, additional pages having the second set of electronic images pasted thereon are interposed between the displayed two pages. Upon pressing an automatic play button, the image display device starts displaying respective pages of the electronic album turn by turn in a predetermined sequence. A respective page is displayed for a time that is determined based on a data volume of that page.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates an album type electronic image display device that displays images in an album style wherein the images look like pictures mounted on pages of an album. The present invention also relates to a printing system for the album type electronic image display device.
2. Background Arts
Such an album type electronic image display device has been disclosed for example in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2000-148976. Since the images are displayed as pasted on respective pages of an album, the user can enjoy observing the images while changing the pages turn by turn. The album type electronic image display device is handy for observing images recorded on a memory card by an electronic still camera.
However, the conventional album type electronic image display device still has some inconveniences. The conventional image display device is incapable of inserting other images into an electronic album once the album has been produced by the image display device from images read out from a memory card. Therefore, it is impossible to unite those images into an album which are stored in different memory cards. The conventional image display device cannot copy data of one memory card onto another memory card, so it is inconvenient for regulating image data.
Furthermore, the conventional image display device requires a manual operation every time to turn the page. This is inconvenient when the user is observing all pages of an album having a large volume, or when a group of persons will observe an album on the image display device.
On the other hand, a printing system has been disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 11-167594. In the printing system, a customer having a terminal apparatus, such as a personal computer with a display device, selects images to print, and edits or synthesizes the images on the terminal apparatus. Thereafter, the customer produces a print data file from processed image data and print order data such as the frame serial numbers of these images, the number of copies to print, and the like. In response to the print data file being forwarded to a photofinisher, the photofinisher prints out the images in accordance with the processed image data and the print order data.
This printing system is advantageous both for the customer and for the photofinisher because the customer can designate printing conditions of each image while checking the finish on the terminal apparatus, so the subsequent prints mostly satisfy the customer""s expect. The photofinisher need not asking the details of the expected finish, but just have to make prints according to the print data file from the customer.
It is desirable to provide such a printing system for the above mentioned album type image display device, that can print the images on recording sheets in the same manner as displayed on the album type image display device, so that a hard copy of the electronic album may be produced just by filing the printed recording sheets.
For this purpose, however, the images should be printed page by page on opposite sides of the recording sheets, and also a gutter margin should be provided on each page such that the gutter margins are located alternately on the left or the right of the pages between the odd pages and the even pages. In the conventional album type image display device, the users have manually to designate both-side printing and gutter margin locations all by themselves. When ordering printing through the above described conventional printing system, the customers have to inform the photofinisher of the gutter margin locations of the respective pages.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, that permits inserting or adding images from an external memory into an electronic album as displayed on the image display device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, that facilitates uniting a plurality of electronic albums into an electronic album.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an album type image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, that can display an electronic album while turning pages automatically.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an album type image display device that can display or reproduce captions previously assigned to selected images of an electronic album while displaying the selected images.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system for an album type image display device that permits printing designated pages of an electronic album on recording sheets while providing binding margins automatically in appropriate locations.
To achieve the above objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, an electronic image display device comprises:
an image input device for reading out electronic images from an external memory; an image processing device for pasting the electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; an internal memory for storing the electronic album containing the electronic images; and a mode selection device for setting the image display device to a data holding mode wherein the internal memory holds previously stored electronic images even while a second set of electronic images are read out from a second external memory and are written on the internal memory, so the image processing device may insert the second set of electronic images into the electronic album in the data holding mode.
According to a preferred embodiment, the image processing device pastes the electronic images on the respective pages in accordance with album manager data, and a combination of the electronic images and the album manager data constitute the electronic album. If electronic images are read out from an external memory without album manager data, the image processing device pastes the electronic images on the respective pages in accordance with a predetermined format for an electronic album, and produces album manager data according to the predetermined format, the image display device revises the album manager data on the internal memory each time the electronic album is modified. If the second set of electronic images are accompanied by second album manager data when being read out from the second external memory, the album manager data of the previously stored electronic album is revised on the basis of the second album manager data.
According to another preferred embodiment, the display section is able to display successive two pages of the electronic album at a time, and the second set of electronic images are interposed as additional pages between successive two pages which are displayed on the display section when the second set of electronic images are read out from the second external memory in the data holding mode.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an electronic image display device comprises:
an image processing device for pasting electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; and a manually operated mode selection device for setting the image display device at an automatic play mode wherein the pages displayed on the display section are automatically turned over in a predetermined sequence.
According to a preferred embodiment, the electronic image display device further comprises a device for calculating an individual page display time for a respective page of the electronic album on the basis of a data volume of the respective page, and making the respective page displayed for a time determined based on the individual page display time in the automatic play mode. Where the electronic images include still images and movies, a respective one of the movies is automatically played while the page containing the movie is displayed in the automatic play mode, and wherein play times for those movies contained in the respective page are taken into account as the data volume.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, an electronic image display device comprises:
an image processing device for pasting electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; a device for causing the display section to display characters in addition to selected ones of the electronic images, the characters being previously assigned to the selected electronic images; a reproduction device for reproducing sounds that are previously recorded in association with selected ones of the electronic images; and a discrimination device for discriminating one electronic image from others among those displayed concurrently on the display section, while characters or sounds relating to the one electronic image are being displayed or reproduced.
According to a preferred embodiment, the display section doubles as a touch panel for permitting designating an appropriate electronic image among those displayed on the display section by touching the appropriate electronic image, and wherein characters or sounds relating to the designated electronic image are displayed or reproduced while the designated electronic image is discriminated by the discrimination device.
A printing system according to the present invention consists of an electronic image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, and a printer for making hard copies of images as displayed on the image display device, wherein the image display device comprises:
an image processing device for pasting electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; a manual operation device for designating printing conditions for the electronic images, the printing conditions including at least a page serial number of a designated page, a print area to print from the designated page, and the requisite number of copies to make from the print area; a print data setup device that automatically sets up margin conditions for the designated page when an entire area of the designated page is selected as the print area, such that a binding margin is located on an appropriate side of the designated page, and produces print data representative of the printing conditions and the margin conditions; and a data output device for outputting the print data and album data of the electronic album; and
wherein the printer prints an individual image frame or the entire area of the designated page on a recording sheet in accordance with the print data, while providing a binding margin in the case where the entire area of the designated page is printed.
According to a preferred embodiment of the printing system, both-side printing to print two successive pages on opposite sides of a respective recording sheet may be designated as one of the printing conditions through the manual operation device, and if the both-side printing is designated, the print data setup device sets up the margin conditions such that a binding margin of a first page is located back to back with a binding margin of a second page that is to be printed on the opposite side to the first page, and wherein the printer prints the respective pages on the opposite sides of respective recording sheets in accordance with the print data.
It is preferable to distribute the print data and the album data to appropriate one of a plurality of printers in accordance with the printing conditions designated by the print data.

Electronic image display device and printing system therefor


A power-on test system for testing a storage device, the power-on test system includes a computer, a signal microcontroller, a switch unit, and a power source. The computer includes a counter capable of recording the number of power-on times of the storage device. The computer prompts the signal microcontroller to turn on or off the switch unit according to a preset frequency, the power source electrically connects to or disconnects from the storage device through the switch unit, the storage device outputs corresponding power-on status signals and power-off status signals to the computer, and the counter increases by one after each power-on testing.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to test devices, and more particularly to a power-on test system for testing a storage device and a test method employing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Storage devices, such as disks, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID), need repeated power-on tests during predetermined power-on times of the storage devices, to meet performance requirements. A power-on test system often includes a computer, a storage device, and a power source for powering the storage device, the computer being electrically connected to the storage device. The power source alternately connects with or disconnects from the storage device, thereby the storage device is powered on or off according to a predetermined frequency. The computer receives power-on signals from the storage device and records the total number of power-on signals from the storage device.
However, during testing, both the computer and the storage device independently record the number of times the device is powered-on. Thus, the number of times powered-on recorded by the computer may be inconsistent with the number of times powered-on recorded by the storage device due to transmission delays and counting errors, resulting in inaccurate test results.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Power-on test system for testing storage device and test method employing the same


Disclosed is a secure communication method of an IMS system based on a key file. The method includes obtaining an IMS account before sending the account and authentication information to a background server by a UE; generating an electronic work order by the background sever according to the received authentication information to enable customer service personnel to manually audit the authentication information and the IMS account according to a preset rule and the electronic work order; generating an encrypted key file and sending the file to the UE when determining the correctness of the authentication information and the IMS account; and activating the IMS account according to the key file and performing network communication according to the IMS account. The disclosure improves the communication security of the IMS system by using the activated IMS account for network communication.

IMS is the next generation communication network convergence scheme proposed by Lucent. As of 2003, international authoritative organizations generally regard IMS as the core standard for NGN network convergence and service and technology innovation. However, IMS-based communication systems directly establish communication connections when communicating without network access authentication and identity authentication on IMS, making the communication of the IMS systems less secure.

Secure communication method of IMS system based on key file