An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for regulating the number of write requests in a fixed-size cache that facilitates differentiated treatment of write requests based on an assigned pacing value. The apparatus includes an examination module to examine a pending write request issued by an application. A priority module determines a priority for the write request based on an operating system defined input/output priority value. An assessment module assesses a storage demand level for storing write requests in a fixed-size cache. An assignment module assigns a pacing value to the write request based on the priority and in response to the storage demand level. A permission module permits the application to issue a subsequent write request once the pacing value of the write request is satisfied. The pacing value is satisfied by waiting until the amount of time specified by the pacing value expires.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to caching of write requests and more particularly relates to regulating the number of write requests in a fixed-size cache.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nearly all computer software applications store information. Software applications store information on a volatile or non-volatile storage volume such as a hard disk, tape drive, solid state memory device, or other storage device. In some computer systems, the storage volume is part of the same machine on which the software application is executing. In other computer systems the storage volume is physically separated from the application. In these systems, a bus or network connects the software application and storage volume and enables communication between the software application and the storage volume.
Often, when the storage volume is physically separated from the application, multiple applications have access to a single storage volume and may try to write information to the storage volume at the same time. As a result, an application may try to write information to a storage volume while the storage volume is busy accommodating a write request from another application. Consequently, storage volumes can not always execute write requests immediately after receiving them.
A conventional approach to this problem is to store write requests in a cache until the storage volume can execute the write requests. Typically, the cache stores write requests in the order they are received. Write requests are taken from the cache, typically in the order they were received, and executed as the storage volume becomes available. Conventionally, the cache is physically located on the same machine as the application.
Caching write requests is effective as long as there is room in the cache for write requests. However, conventional caches are typically of a fixed size, these fixed-size caches can fill up with write requests during particularly busy periods of time. Once the write request cache fills up, additional write requests cannot be accepted from applications. Consequently, applications need to wait until the cache has free space and then re-submit write requests.
FIG. 1A is a chart illustrating the contents of an example cache 100. The example cache 100 has ten write request slots 102. Each slot 102 can store one write request. Of course, actual caches typically store hundreds, thousands, or more entries. The example cache 100 illustrated has ten write request slots 102 for simplicity.
Each write request can include information such as the name of the application making the request, the storage volume on which information is to be stored, a pointer to the data to be written or the data itself, and the like. The example cache 100 illustrates the name 104 of the application making the write request and the storage volume 106 on which information is to be written.
The example cache 100 contains three write requests 108,110,112. "Application A" submitted all three write requests 108,110,112. In this example, "Application A" is an application that records critical temperature data every 100 milliseconds. In this example, the operators of the storage volume have a service level agreement with the operators of "Application A" specifying that the storage volume operator will ensure that all write requests issued by "Application A" will be written on the storage volume without requiring "Application A" to wait, commonly referred to as blocking.
The example cache 100 stores write requests in their order of arrival with the oldest write request at bottom of the cache and the most recent write request at the top of the cache. The first write request 108 made by "Application A" is the next write request to be executed. The second write request 110 made by "Application A" will be executed after the first write request 108. Likewise, the third write request 112 will be executed after the second write request 110 has been executed.
FIG. 1B is a chart illustrating the contents of an example write request cache 130 accommodating write requests from two applications. "Application A" sends periodic write requests to record temperature data every 100 milliseconds. In contrast, "Application B" sends bursts of write requests at irregular intervals. In this example, the cache 130 has room for both "Application A" write requests 132 and a small burst of "Application B" write requests 134.
FIG. 1C is a chart illustrating the contents of an example write request cache 160. In this example cache 160, all available write request slots 102 have been filled by periodic "Application A" write requests 132 and two bursts 162,164 of "Application B" write requests. Consequently, the cache is full and there is no room for a subsequent critical "Application A" write request. Consequently, the next "Application A" write request may be dropped or delayed, resulting in a violation of the service level agreement between the operators of "Application A" and the operators of the service volume.
Some conventional systems reduce the likelihood of this overflow problem by implementing write request pacing. Write request pacing slows the rate of write requests entering the cache by forcing applications to delay write requests. However, conventional methods of pacing are very restrictive because they lack granularity. Conventional pacing methods assign the same pacing value to all write requests. Conventional methods of pacing slow the rate of all write requests in the cache and are unable to distinguish between high priority write requests and low priority write requests. In addition, conventional methods of pacing are unable to distinguish the write requests in the cache by their destination storage volume. Instead, when pacing is enabled all write requests in the cache are treated in the same manner.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method for regulating the number of write requests in a fixed-size cache. The apparatus, system, and method should ensure that there is room in the cache for critical write requests by delaying non-critical write requests. Additionally, the apparatus, system, and method should provide a way to pace write requests based on their priority and their destination storage volume.

Apparatus, system, and method for regulating the number of write requests in a fixed-size cache

International Business Machines Corporation


A rotary-type exercise device in which the user jogs, runs, or walks within a cylindrical treadwheel. A safety harness attached to a horizontal stationary beam within the treadwheel above the user prevents the user from falling. A remote control baton controls a braking system for braking and selectively varying the rolling resistance of the treadwheel. Another embodiment provides a harness tied to the hull of a space station to simulate gravity when the exercise device is used in an outer-space, gravity-free environment. Additional embodiments include safety rails. Another embodiment forms the treadwheel in two mating semi-cylindrical sections for facilitating transportation and shipping of the treadwheel. An electronic console continuously apprises the user of his horizontal velocity, time, distance and load factor.

My invention described herein relates to significant improvements for rotary exercise devices. An exemplary prior art rotary exercise device is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,047.
The present invention provides the advantages of the treadwheel or mill wheel type exercise device while enabling novice runners, elderly runners, and anyone with balance problems to use the treadwheel device for promoting overall cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness. The invention also enhances sprint performance.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a safety harness is worn by the user and attached to an overhead horizontal beam. This harness ensures that the user does not fall within or fall out of the rotating exercise wheel should the user lose his balance while exercising. Other embodiments include safety rails for novices and physically challenged users.
The preferred embodiments of the invention further incorporate a wireless handheld controller in the form of a baton. A control button on this baton permits the user to control an electromagnetic brake to provide a selected amount of resistance to the treadwheel to selectively increase or decrease the drag on the treadwheel or to cause it to brake to a stop.
In another embodiment, the safety harness is used to simulate gravity in an outer space environment. In this embodiment, the vest garment is strapped below the bottom of the safety harness to the hull of a space station.
One embodiment of the invention substantially facilitates transporting and shipping by making the exercise wheel in two semi-cylindrical sections. These sections may be easily transported or shipped and quickly and easily assembled on location into a complete treadwheel.


An access point that determines communication boundaries is described. During operation, the access point may receive one or more probe requests associated with the one or more electronic devices, where a given probe request may include an identifier of a given electronic device. Moreover, when the access point receives the given probe request, the access point may determine a signal strength associated with the given probe request and timestamps when the given probe request was received. Then, the access point may exchange probe-request information with one or more additional access points, where the probe-request information corresponds to received probe requests. Next, the access point may compare the probe-request information to determine the communication boundaries. For example, the communication boundaries may be determined by comparing the probe-request information for pairs of access points. Furthermore, the access point may identify neighboring access points based at least in part on the probe-request information.

Many electronic devices are capable of wirelessly communicating with other electronic devices. For example, these electronic devices can include a networking subsystem that implements a network interface for: a cellular network (UMTS, LTE, etc.), a wireless local area network (e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or Bluetooth™ from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash.), and/or another type of wireless network.
In a wireless local area network (WLAN) that is compatible with an IEEE 802.11 standard, management of the WLAN may be facilitated by determining communication boundaries (which are sometimes included in and/or referred to as a 'network topology') in the communication coverage provided by access points in the WLAN. FIG. 1 presents an illustration of a top view of environment 100 with a WLAN and communication boundaries 112 between access points 110.
Communication boundaries 112 are typically determined from a perspective of access points 110. As shown in FIG. 2, which presents a side view of environment 100, electronic devices 114 in the WLAN (such as electronic devices 114 that are associated with access points 110, which are sometimes referred to as 'client') often have a different perspective.
Notably, access points 110 may be mounted or deployed above a hanging ceiling 210 in a building, while electronic devices 114 may be used by users in an office below. When the network topology is determined from the perspective of access points 110 (such as based on communication among access points 110), communication boundaries 112 may not be accurate from the perspective of the users of electronic devices 114. For example, using access point-to-access point communication, a communication boundary 112-1 may be determined to be midway between access points 110-1 and 110-2. However, walls (such as wall 212) and other obstacles may adversely affect the signal strength from access points 110 at electronic devices 114. Consequently, communication boundaries 112 may not accurately reflect the effective communication boundary in the office, and management of the WLAN based on communication boundaries 112 may result in suboptimal communication performance.

Discovery of a network topology from a client perspective


Diacylpiperazines of general structure ##STR1## are tachykinin receptor antagonists useful in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, pain or migraine, and asthma, and calcium channel blockers useful in the treatment of cardiovascular conditions such as angina, hypertension or ischemia.

Analgesia has historically been achieved in the central nervous system by opiates and analogs which are addictive, and peripherally by cyclooxygenase inhibitors that have gastric side effects. Substance P antagonists induce analgesia both centrally and peripherally. In addition, substance P antagonists are inhibitory of neurogenic inflammation.
The neuropeptide receptors for substance P (neurokinin-1; NK-1) are widely distributed throughout the mammalian nervous system (especially brain and spinal ganglia), the circulatory system and peripheral tissues (especially the duodenum and jejunum) and are involved in regulating a number of diverse biological processes. This includes sensory perception of olfaction, vision, audition and pain, movement control, gastric motility, vasodilation, salivation, and micturition (B. Pernow, Pharmacol. Rev., 1983, 35, 85-141>. The NK1 and NK2 receptor subtypes are implicated in synaptic transmission (Laneuville et al., Life Sci. 42:1295-1305 (1988)).
The receptor for substance P is a member of the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors. This superfamily is an extremely diverse group of receptors in terms of activating ligands and biological functions. In addition to the tachykinin receptors, this receptor superfamily includes the opsins, the adrenergic receptors, the muscarinic receptors, the dopamine receptors, the serotonin receptors, a thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor, a luteinizing hormone-choriogonadotropic hormone receptor, the product of the oncogene mas, the yeast mating factor receptors, a Dictyostelium cAMP receptor, and receptors for other hormones and neurotransmitters (see A. D. Hershey, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1991, 226, 4366-4373).
Substance P (also called "SP" herein) is a naturally occurring undecapeptide belonging to the tachykinin family of peptides, the latter being so-named because of their prompt contractile action on extravascular smooth muscle tissue. The tachykinins are distinguished by a conserved carboxyl-terminal sequence Phe-X-Gly-Leu-Met-NH.sub.2. In addition to SP the known mammalian tachykinins include neurokinin A and neurokinin B. The current nonmenclature designates the receptors for SP, neurokinin A, and neurokinin B as NK-1, NK-2, and NK-3, respectively.
More specifically, substance P is a pharmacologically-active neuropeptide that is produced in mammals and possesses a characteristic amino acid sequence that is illustrated below:
Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Gln-Gln-Phe-Phe-Gly-Leu-Met-NH.sub.2 (Chang etal., Nature New Biol. 232, 86 (1971); D. F. Veber etal., U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,283).
Neurokinin A possesses the following amino acid sequence:
His-Lys-Thr-Asp-Ser-Phe-Val-Gly-Leu-Met-NH.sub.2. PA0 Asp-Met-His-Asp-Phe-Phe-Val-Gly-Leu-Met-NH.sub.2. PA0 R.sup.1b is selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.2a and R.sup.2b are independently phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with one or two substitutents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 X.sup.1 is --N, --CH or O, and if X.sup.1 is O, R.sup.1a is absent; PA0 X.sup.2 is --N or --CH; PA0 R.sup.3 is selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.4 is H or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.3 ; PA0 R.sup.5 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl either unsubstituted or substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.6 is --H or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.5 ; or PA0 R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 can be joined together to form with the nitrogen to which they are attached --N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2)L, wherein L is selected from: PA0 R.sup.7 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.8 is H, C.sub.1-6 alkyl or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.7 ; PA0 R.sup.9 is --CH.sub.2 -phenyl, wherein the phenyl is either unsubstituted or substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.10 is --(C.sub.1-6 alkyl)-phenyl, wherein the phenyl is either unsubstituted or substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.11 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl, or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.10. PA0 R.sup.1a and R.sup.1b are independently H, C.sub.1-8 alkyl or phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with --Cl, --Br, --I, --F, C.sub.1-4 alkyl, or C.sub.1-4 alkoxy; PA0 R.sup.2a and R.sup.2b are independently phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with one or two substitutents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.3 is --CONR.sup.7 R.sup.8 ; PA0 R.sup.4 is H or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.3 ; PA0 R.sup.7 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.8 is H, C.sub.1-6 alkyl or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.7 ; PA0 R.sup.10 is --(C.sub.1-6 alkyl)-phenyl wherein the phenyl is either unsubstituted or substituted with one or two substitutents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.11 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl, or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.10. PA0 R.sup.1a and R.sup.1b are independently H, C.sub.1-8 alkyl or phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with --Cl, --Br, --I, --F, C.sub.1-4 alkyl, or C.sub.1-4 alkoxy; PA0 R.sup.2a and R.sup.2b are independently phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.3 is --CO.sub.2 R.sup.9 ; PA0 R.sup.4 is H or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.3 ; PA0 R.sup.9 is --CH.sub.2 -phenyl, wherein the phenyl is either unsubstituted or substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.1a and R.sup.1b are independently H, C.sub.1-8 alkyl or phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with --Cl, --Br, --I, --F, C.sub.1-4 alkyl, or C.sub.1-4 alkoxy; PA0 R.sup.2a and R.sup.2b are independently phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with one or two substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.3 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.5 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl either unsubstituted or substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.6 is --H or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.5 ; or PA0 R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 can be joined together to form with the nitrogen to which they are attached --N(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2)L, wherein L is selected from: PA0 R.sup.4 is H or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.3. PA0 R.sup.1b is selected from the definitions of R.sup.1a ; PA0 R.sup.2a and R.sup.2b are independently phenyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with one substitutent selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.3 is selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.4 is H ; PA0 R.sup.7 is C.sub.2-4 alkyl substituted with one substituent selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.8 is H, C.sub.1-6 alkyl or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.7 ; PA0 R.sup.10 is --(C.sub.1-4 alkyl)-phenyl, wherein the phenyl is either unsubstituted or substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: PA0 R.sup.11 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl, or is independently selected from the definitions of R.sup.10.
Neurokinin B possesses the following amino acid sequence:
Substance P acts as a vasodilator, a depressant, stimulates salivation and produces increased capillary permeability. It is also capable of producing both analgesia and hyperalgesia in animals, depending on dose and pain responsiveness of the animal (see R. C. A. Frederickson et al., Science, 199, 1359 (1978); P. Oehme et al., Science, 208, 305 (1980)) and plays a role in sensory transmission and pain perception (T. M. Jessell, Advan. Biochem. Psychopharmacol. 28, 189 (1981)). For example, substance P is believed inter alia to be involved in the neurotransmission of pain sensations [Otsuka et al, "Role of Substance P as a Sensory Transmitter in Spinal Cord and Sympathetic Ganglia" in 1982 Substance P in the Nervous System, Ciba Foundation Symposium 91, 13-34 <published by Pitman) and Otsuka and Yanagisawa, "Does Substance P Act as a Pain Transmitter?" TIPS (December 1987) 8 506-510]. In particular, substance P has been shown to be involved in the transmission of pain in migraine (see B. E. B. Sandberg et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 25, 1009 (1982)), and in arthritis (Levine et al. Science, (1984) 226 547-549). These peptides have also been implicated in gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and diseases of the GI tract, such as inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, etc. (see Mantyh et al., Neuroscience, 25 (3), 817-37 (1988) and D. Regoli in "Trends in Cluster Headache" Ed. F. Sicuteri et al., Elsevier Scientific Publishers, Amsterdam, 1987, pp. 85-95).
It is also hypothesized that there is a neurogenic mechanism for arthritis in which substance P may play a role (Kidd et al., "A Neurogenic Mechanism for Symmetric Arthritis" in The Lancet, 11 Nov. 1989 and Gronblad et al., "Neuropeptides in Synovium of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis" in J. Rheumatol. (1988) 15(12) 1807-10). Therefore, substance P is believed to be involved in the inflammatory response in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis (O'Byrne et al., in Arthritis and Rheumatism (1990) 33 1023-8). Other disease areas where tachykinin antagonists are believed to be useful are allergic conditions (Hamelet et al., Can. J. Pharmacol. Physiol. (1988) 66 1361-7), immunoregulation (Lotz et al., Science (1988) 241 1218-21, Kimball et al., J. Immunol. (1988) 141 (10) 3564-9 and A. Perianin, et al., Biochem. Biophys, Res. Commun. 161, 520 (1989)) vasodilation, bronchospasm, reflex or neuronal control of the viscera (Mantyh et al., PNAS (1988) 85 3235-9) and, possibly by arresting or slowing .beta.-amyloid-mediated neurodegenerative changes (Yankner et al., Science, (1990) 250, 279-82) in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type, Alzheimer's disease and Downs Syndrome. Substance P may also play a role in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [J. Luber-Narod et. al., poster to be presented at C.I.N.P. XVIIIth Congress, 28th June-2nd July, 1992, in press]. Antagonists selective for the substance P and/or the neurokinin A receptor may be useful in the treatment of asthmatic disease (Frossard et al., Life Sci., 49, 1941-1953 (1991); Advenier, et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 184(3), 1418-1424 (1992)).
In the recent past, some attempts have been made to provide peptide-like substances that are antagonists for substance P and other tachykinin peptides in order to more effectively treat the various disorders and diseases listed above. See for example European patent applications (EPO Publication Nos. 0,347,802, 0,401,177 and 0,412,452) which disclose various peptides as neurokinin A antagonists. Similarly, EPO Publication No. 0,336,230 discloses heptapeptides which are substance P antagonists useful in the treatment of asthma. Merck U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,283 also discloses peptidal analogs of substance P.
Certain inhibitors of tachykinins have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,733, by replacing residues in substance P sequence by Trp residues.
A further class of tachykinin receptor antagonists, comprising a monomeric or dimeric hexa- or heptapeptide unit in linear or cyclic form, is described in GB-A-2216529.
The peptide-like nature of such substances makes them too labile from a metabolic point of view to serve as practical therapeutic agents in the treatment of disease. The non-peptidic antagonists of the present invention, on the other hand, do not possess this drawback, as they are expected to be more stable from a metabolic point of view than the previously-discussed agents.
It is known in the art that baclofen (S-(aminoethyl)-4-chlorobenzenepropanoic acid) in the central nervous system effectively blocks the excitatory activity of substance P, but because in many areas the excitatory responses to other compounds such as acetylcholine and glutamate are inhibited as well, baclofen is not considered a specific substance P antagonist. Pfizer WIPO patent applications (PCT Publication Nos. WO 90/05525, WO 90/05729, WO 91/18899, WO 92/12151 and WO 92/12152) and publications (Science, 251, 435-437 (1991); Science, 251, 437-439 (1991); J. Med Chem,, 35, 2591-2600 (1992)) disclose 2-arylmethyl-3-substituted amino-quinuclidine derivatives which are which are disclosed as being useful as substance P antagonists for treating gastrointestinal disorders, central nervous system disorders, inflammatory diseases and pain or migraine. A Glaxo European patent application (EPO Publication No. 0,360,390) discloses various spirolactam-substituted amino acids and peptides which are antagonists or agonists of substance P. A Pfizer European patent application (EPO Publication No. 0,436,334) discloses certain 3-aminopiperidive derivatives as substance P antagonists. A Pfizer WIPO patent application (PCT Publication No. WO 92/06079) discloses fused-ring analogs of nitrogen-containing nonaromatic heterocycles as useful for the treatment of diseases mediated by an excess of substance P. A Sanofi publication (Life Sci., 50, PL101-PL106 (1992)) discloses a 4-phenyl piperidine derivative as an antagonist of the neurokinin A (NK2) receptor. A Du Pont Merck WIPO patent application (PCT Publication No. WO 92/12128) discloses certain piperidine and pyrrolidine compounds as analgesic agents. A Pfizer WIPO patent application (PCT Publication No. WO 92/15585) discloses 1-azabicyclo-[3.2.2]-nonan-3-amine derivatives as substance P antagonists. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,804,661 and 4,943,578 disclose certain piperazine compounds as analgesics. U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,838 discloses certain 1,4-disubstituted piperidinyl compounds as analgesics. EPO Publication 0,499,313 discloses certain 3-oxy and 3-thio azabicyclic compounds as central nervous system stimulants. PCT Publication No. WO 92/01679 discloses certain 1,4-disubstituted piperazines useful in the treatment of mental disorders in which a dopaminergic deficit is implicated. Certain phenylacetylpiperazines have been disclosed as peripherally selective kappa-opoid receptor antagonists (Birch, et. al., Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Lett., 2(10), 1275-1278(1992)).
Calcium channel blocking agents are a known group of drugs which act to inhibit transfer of calcium ions across the plasma membrane of cells. It is known that the influx of calcium ions into certain cells in the mammalian body, including the vascular smooth muscle cells and myocardial cells, participates in the activity of such cells and that the administration of calcium channel blockers (also known as calcium antagonists or calcium entry blockers), which inhibit such influx, would suppress myocardial contractile force and rate and cause vasodilation. Calcium channel blockers delay or prevent the cardiac contracture which is believed to be caused by an accumulation of intracellular calcium under ischemic conditions. Calcium overload, during ischemia, can have a number of additional adverse effects which would further compromise the ischemic myocardium. These include less efficient use of oxygen for ATP production, activation of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, and possibly, promotion of cell necrosis. Calcium channel blockers are, therefore, useful in the treatment or prevention of a variety of diseases and disorders of the heart and vascular system, such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac hypertrophy, coronary vasospasm, hypertension, cerebrovascular spasm and other ischemic disease. In addition, certain calcium channel blocking agents are capable of lowering elevated intraocular pressure when administered topically to the hypertensive eye in solution in a suitable ophthalmic vehicle.
Also, certain calcium channel blockers sensitize multidrug resistant cells to certain chemotherapeutic agents and are useful in the reversal of multidrug resistance by enhancing the efficacy of various anticancer agents (J. Biol Chem., 262 (5), 2166-2170 (1987); Scientific American, 44-51 (March 1989)). In addition, certain calcium channel blockers are suggested as having activity in blocking calcium channels in insect brain membranes and so are useful as insecticides (EMBO J., 8(8), 2365-2371 (1989)).
A number of compounds having calcium channel blocking activity are known, for example certain dihydropyridine derivatives, such as nifedipine and nicardipine, and other compounds such as verapamil, diltiazem and flunarizine.
Some compounds of chemical structures somewhat similar to those of the compounds of the present invention have been reported in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,089,958 and 4,138,564. However, they are reported as chemical intermediates only.
Some 1,4-bis(diphenylacetyl)piperazines (without substituents on the piperazine ring carbons) have been disclosed as analgesic, antipyretic, and antiinflammatory agents and CNS depressants (U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,795). The preparation of 1,4-bis(diphenylcarbamoyl)piperazine has been reported [D. E. Rivett and J. F. K. Wilshire, Australian J. Chem., 19, 165 (1966)]. Unsymmetrical 1-acyl-4-(diphenylcarbamoyl)piperazines and 1-acyl-4-(dialkylcarbamoyl)piperazines have also been described [L. Korzycka, et al., Pol. J, Pharmacol. Pharm., 38, 545 (1986); L. Toldy, et al Acta Chim. Acad. Sci. Hung., 70, 101 (1971)]. All of these are unsubstituted on the piperazine ring carbons.
Certain 1,4-diacylpiperazine-2-carboxylates and related derivatives in which at least one of the acyl groups is substituted benzoyl have been disclosed as platelet-activating factor antagonists (U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,870 and European Patent Publication 0,368,670). Methyl 4-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-1-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)piperazine-2-carboxylate has been reported as an intermediate (EP 0,368,670), as has methyl 1-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-4-tert)-butoxycarbonyl)piperazine-2-carboxylate and the coresponding acid [C. F. Bigge, et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 30, 5193 (1989).


A display panel includes a substrate, a pixel structure, a receiver antenna structure and a transmitter antenna structure. The pixel structure includes multiple pixels arranged in an array. The receiver antenna structure provides first signals to the pixels, and includes multiple receiver antennas. The transmitter antenna structure transmits wireless signals to the receiver antenna structure such that the receiver antenna structure generates the first signals, and includes multiple transmitter antennas. Each transmitter antenna one-to-one corresponds to one receiver antenna. The transmitter and receiver antenna structures may be disposed on different sides of the substrate, and each receiver antenna may have a corresponding hole formed on the substrate for filling a ferrite structure to enhance transmission efficiency thereof. Alternatively, the transmitter and receiver antenna structures may be disposed on the same side of the substrate, thus reducing the distance between the transmitter and receiver antennas and enhance transmission efficiency thereof.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Generally, a display panel may include a peripheral non-display area, which is reserved for a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs), as the data drivers that provide data signals to the pixels of the display panel. In order to reduce or eliminate the peripheral non-display area, wireless transmission technology may be used to transmit the data signals, thus achieving high speed data transmission. For example, a wireless display device may include a transmitter antenna structure and a receiver antenna structure correspondingly provided, with the transmitter antenna structure having one or more transmitter antennas Tx and the receiver antenna structure having one or more receiver antennas Rx, thus forming one or more wireless data transmission pairs Tx-Rx. However, there is no specific design about the transmitter and receiver antenna structures and the corresponding components in the peripheral area that may enhance the transmission efficiency of the wireless data transmission pairs Tx-Rx in the wireless display device.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.


The present disclosure is directed to a method for managing tasks in a computer system having a plurality of CPUs. Each task in the computer system may be configured to indicate a migration ready indicator of the task. The migration ready indicator for a task may be given when the set of live data for that task reduces or its working set of memory changes. The method may comprise associating a migration readiness queue with each of the plurality of CPUs, the migration readiness queue having a front-end and a back-end; analyzing a task currently executing on a particular CPU, wherein the particular CPU is one of the plurality of CPUs; placing the task in the migration readiness queue of the particular CPU based on status of the task and/or the migration ready indicator of the task; and selecting at least one queued task from the front-end of the migration readiness queue of the particular CPU for migration when the particular CPU receives a task migration command.

Typically, a central processing unit (CPU, hereinafter also referred to as a processor) scheduler in a computer system is responsible for allocating CPU cycles to various tasks. The complexity of the CPU scheduler may increase on systems having more than one CPU. In such systems, the scheduler may need to manage tasks across multiple CPUs. An approach is to provide a global run queue. Each CPU may be configured to pull tasks from the global run queue when the CPU needs to schedule a task. A disadvantage of this approach is that requests from multiple CPUs may result in causing contention on the global run queue.
An alternative approach is to split the global run queue into several run queues, possibly one run queue for each CPU. Each CPU may refer to its own queue when it needs to schedule tasks. A disadvantage of this approach is the increased complexity for the scheduler to ensure that the tasks placed in the run queues are balanced, which may require the scheduler to periodically monitor the load on each run queue and relocate the tasks among the multiple run queues when necessary.
The inventors have recognized a need for an improved means of managing tasks in a computer system having a plurality of CPUs.

Managing migration ready queue associated with each processor based on the migration ready status of the tasks


A cylinder block assembly for an X-engine includes a first block half having two cylinder banks and valley openings between the two cylinder banks; and a second block half fastened to the first block half, the second block half having two cylinder banks and valley openings between the two cylinder banks. The valley openings in the first and second block halves allow an X-engine crank train assembly to be assembled within the cylinder block assembly.

The invention relates generally to internal combustion piston engines, fluid pumps and similar machines and, more particularly to an X-Engine assembly.
The objective of an engine designer is to provide the best function with regards to performance and efficiency, while also minimizing the amount of noise and vibration that emanate from the engine. It is also desirable to provide an engine that is the smallest, lightest-weight while having a design which can be economically manufactured and serviced.
The most widely used engine configurations in use and today are in-line, "V" and horizontally-opposed or 'flat'. Almost all of these engines use conventional connecting rods ("con rods") in the power conversion system whereby each piston in the engine is coupled to the crankshaft such that there is one con rod per piston in the engine. In a typical "V"-engine, each crankpin on the crankshaft is coupled to two piston-and-con rod assemblies with the two cylinder banks being offset to each other along the axis of the crankshaft to allow the two connecting rods coupled to each crankpin to be side-by-side. In this way, there is an engine main bearing on each side of every crankpin bearing, and each crankpin bearing is sufficiently sized to provide adequate bearing area for two the connecting rod "big-end" bearings so that the resultant bearing pressures encountered as the engine runs are within acceptable range. If an engine is designed having more than two con rods are attached to each crankpin there may be a compromise for either the bearing area of the crankpin or main bearings, or the cylinder bore spacing or the structure of the crankshaft and/or cylinder block that must withstand high cyclic loading. Hence, it has been found that the "V"-engine having two con rods per crankpin allows for an engine design which is satisfactory with regards to having sufficiently strong cylinder block structure, crankshaft structure between the main bearings and crankpin bearings, and acceptable bearing pressures at critical bearing interfaces such as the big-end con rod bearings.
The Scotch yoke is a mechanism for converting the linear motion of a slider into rotational motion of a shaft or vice-versa, and has been demonstrated to be suitable for use in internal combustion piston engines. The piston or other reciprocating part is directly coupled to a sliding yoke with a slot that engages a pin on the rotating crankshaft, with a bearing block is fitted in between the crankshaft and the yoke to provide a cylindrical-cylindrical interface at the crankpin and flat-on-flat interface with the yoke so that the contact pressures at both interfaces are at acceptable levels. The shape of the motion of the piston is a pure sine wave over time given a constant rotational speed of the crankshaft.
The scotch yoke mechanism can be used in a double-ended or "double-acting" fashion such that each reciprocating assembly has a piston at either end, hence a benefit of the double-acting scotch yoke is that it can be used in an X-engine configuration having two reciprocating assemblies for a total of four pistons coupled to each crankpin bearing on the crankshaft in a similar way to the conventional con rod as it is used in "V"-configuration engines which have two con rod and piston assemblies coupled to each crankpin bearing on the crankshaft. By doubling the number of cylinders coupled to each crankpin bearing, the Double-Acting Scotch Yoke used in X-configuration can result in a significantly smaller and lower mass engine for a given bore & stroke and number of cylinders when compared with in-line, "V" and flat engine configurations.
Another advantage of the Double-Acting Scotch Yoke ("DASY") X-Engine over conventional "V"-engines is that the fluid motion inside the crankcase is reduced because opposite pistons simply push air in between them, whereas in "V"-type engines and in-line engines there is a larger mass of fluid in motion inside the crankcase (for a given bore/stroke and number of cylinders) which is pushed out of the cylinders and around the engine's bulkheads in a way that causes larger amounts of fluid friction and necessitates having an empty volume in the engine crankcase between the crankshaft and the oil sump to allow this fluid motion to occur.
Furthermore, the DASY is a mechanism that provides true 'harmonic motion' or pure sinusoidal motion. Thus, DASY engine configurations which have first-order balance have perfect balance, whereas engines which have con rods always have imbalances which are unresolved due to the complex nature of the piston motion using the con rod mechanism which results in multiple orders of vibration of the 1st, 2nd and higher orders.
It should also be noted that a radial engine that employs a master con rod with secondary con rods attached to it is an arrangement which allows more than two cylinders of an engine to be coupled to a single crankpin bearing, but the compromise here is that there are at least two different piston motions (piston displacement versus crankshaft angle) occurring in this type of engine, which greatly complicates any efforts to achieve balance of even the 1st-order of vibration. Hence, there is no practical method to have 1st and 2nd order balance for a group of cylinders connected in this way. Furthermore, with the modern fuel injection systems used in engines now, having different piston motions would greatly complicate the calibration and emission-ability of such an engine. Hence, the X-engine configuration using the double-acting scotch yoke has the potential to provide a superior result for many piston engine applications, which today are mostly "V", in-line, and flat engines that employ con rods.


A power control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle (1), the hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine (11), a front motor-generator (12), and a transmission (13) which are connected to front wheels (Wf), and a rear motor-generator (14) which is connected to rear wheels (Wr) via a rear differential gear box (DR). A calculated value, which is obtained by subtracting a front output power F_POWER and an accessory output power DV_POWER from a battery output power limit B_LimPow is set as an rear output power limit R_LimPow. The smaller of a rear drive command R_PowCmd (which is set depending on the running state of the vehicle) and a rear output power limit R_LimPow is set as a new rear drive command R_PowCmd. Accordingly, a demanded motor output power can be obtained without increasing the size of the main battery (15).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power control apparatus for a four-wheel drive hybrid vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a motor as power sources.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a power control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle is known in the art, which, for example, includes an internal combustion engine as a power source for driving front wheels, an AC generator that is driven by the internal combustion engine, an electrical energy storage device for storing electrical energy generated by the AC generator, and a motor that drives rear wheels by being supplied with electrical energy from the electrical energy storage device, and in which the amount of generation by the AC generator is controlled depending on the difference between the rotational speeds of the front wheels and the rear wheels (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 11-318001).
Moreover, conventionally, a hybrid vehicle is known in the art, which, for example, includes an internal combustion engine for driving either the front wheels or the rear wheels, a generator that is driven by the internal combustion engine, and a motor that drives the other of the front and rear wheels by being supplied with electrical energy from the generator, and in which a target torque of the motor is determined depending on the difference between the rotational speeds of the front wheels and the rear wheels, or depending on a depression amount of the accelerator pedal (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-177909).
In the above-mentioned power control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle, because the motor for the rear wheels is driven by merely being supplied with electrical energy from the electrical energy storage device, the capacity of the electrical energy storage device must be increased, or the output voltage of the electrical energy storage device must be made higher in order to increase the output power of the motor. In such a case, problems are encountered in that the electrical energy storage device becomes large, and high tension elements become large.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned hybrid vehicle, because the motor for driving either the front wheels or the rear wheels is driven by merely being supplied with electrical energy from the generator, the output power of the motor is limited by the maximum electrical power of the generator; therefore, a desired output power may not be obtained.

Power control apparatus for hybrid vehicle


The present invention relates to a cosmetic composition containing hydrolysates of icariin, and more particularly, a cosmetic composition containing hydrolysates of icariin including icaritin, icariside I and icariside II. The hydrolysates of icariin is prepared by a method comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining an extract from a plant containing icariin using water or an organic solvent; and (b) hydrolyzing the plant extract with an acid, a base, an enzyme or a microorganism producing the enzyme. The cosmetic composition according to the present invention is employed for anti-oxidant, anti-aging, whitening or anti-wrinkling effects.

Plants of the Epimedium genus belonging to the Berberidaceae family are classified into three species of E. brevicornum, E. sagittatum and E. koreanum, as described in Chinese pharmacopoeia. It has been reported that the plants of the Epimedium genus comprise main components of flavonoid, alkaloid and lignan. Particularly, the herb medicine prepared by drying the whole plant except for the root of Epimedium koreanum Nakai is called Epimeii Herb and has been used for treatment of total paralysis and amnesia, and an aphrodisiac and analeptic agent.
It is known that oxygen free radical generated by various physical, chemical and environmental factors such as enzyme system and reductive metabolism in the body, chemicals, pollutants and photochemical reaction induces various diseases including cell aging or cancers by non-selective, irreversible destruction against lipid, cell constituting materials such as protein, sugar and DNA. Also, the oxygen free radical is a cause of many diseases since various peroxides in the body including lipid peroxides generated by peroxidization of lipid by the oxygen free radical bring about oxidative destruction of cells, leading various functional disorders.
Therefore, anti-oxidants such as free radical scavengers capable of removing free radical or substances inhibiting formation of peroxides such free radical are expected to be inhibitants or therapeutic agents against aging and various diseases caused by these peroxides.
For development of natural anti-oxidants, many materials derived from natural sources were studied. However, most of the materials derived from natural sources were used in a simple extract form and substances, to which the effect of the extract was attributed, were not clearly shown. The materials have been used in the cosmetic composition by experience and information by word of mouth.
Meanwhile, the skin aging is largely classified according to its cause. One is natural aging (Intrinsic aging), in which the structure and physiological functions of the skin are continuously degraded as one becomes older. The other one, that is extrinsic aging is caused by external stress accumulated such as solar rays. Particularly, ultraviolet rays (UV) among the sun beams are the main cause of aging. When the skin is exposed to UV rays for a long period of time, the stratum corneum is thickened and collagen and elastin are denatured, whereby the skin loses its elasticity. These collagen and elastin are controlled by many factors. By the expression of matrix metallo protease such as collagenase and elastase, the synthesized collagen and elastin are decomposed and consequently, the collagen level in the skin is reduced.
In order to inhibit decrease of collagen and elastin which are causes of reduction of elasticity, many substances have been developed and used. Among them, retinoids such as retinol and retinoic acid show improvement of elasticity (Dermatology therapy, 1998, 16, 357 to 364) and a protein fraction obtained from Leguminosae seeds showed increase in elasticity (U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,839).
However, these retinoids have defects that they may cause irritation when they are applied on the skin even in a small amount. They are mainly materials derived from natural materials and thus, it is not clarified that which components of the extract show the effect. Accordingly, it is difficult to maintain and control the activity of the extract.
Meanwhile, many factors participate in determination of the skin color of human bodies. Particularly, activity of melanocyte, where melanin pigment is formed, distribution of blood vessels, skin thickeness and presence of a pigment such as carotenoid and bilirubin in the outside or inside of the body are important.
The most important factor among them is melanin, a black pigment, produced by action of various enzymes such as tyrosinase in melanocyte of the human body. The formation of this melanin pigment is affected by genetic factors, physiological factors associated with hormone secretion and stress and environmental factors such as irradiation of UV rays.
The melanin pigment generated in melanin cells of the human skin is a high-molecular weight phenolic compound having a composite structure of a black pigment and a protein and intercepts UV rays from the sun to protect skin organisms under the dermis while protecting proteins and genes in the skin by capturing free radicals produced in the skin.
As described above, melanin generated by the external stress stimulation is a stable substance which does not disappear, even when the stress is released, until it is discharged through keratinization of the skin. However, when melanin is generated excessively over the needed amount, hyper-pigmentation, cosmetically undesirable conditions, such as discoloration, freckles or speckles may be induced.
Also, as the number of people who enjoy the outer activities is increased due to the increase of leisure population, there is a need to prevent pigmentation of melanin by UV rays.
In order to satisfy the above-described need, ascorbic acid, kojic acid, arbutin, hydroquinone, glutathion or derivatives thereof, or substances having inhibition activity on tyrosinase have been used in cosmetic compositions of pharmaceutical products. However, the use of these substances is limited because of insufficient whitening effect, safety upon use on the skin, formulation and safety problems occurring when added to cosmetic compositions.

Cosmetic composition containing hydrolysates of icariin


An integrated conduit and molding mounting system for use at the intersection of a wall and ceiling is disclosed. The system comprises a conduit receiver and a conduit cover bonded to a molding piece. After installation of the conduit receiver at the wall and ceiling joint, the conduit cover and molding is snapped into place over the conduit receiver. The system also comprises a corner piece to eliminate mitering the joints at a corner and a seam cover to be mounted at the intersection of two straight runs.

The present invention is directed to the field of building construction. In particular it is directed to the field of moldings or trim work used at the top of walls and ceilings. The present invention is also directed to the field of installing cables in buildings for various purposes such as telephone cables, electrical wiring cables, fiber optic cables, cable or satellite television cables and other similar cables and wire.
In general, the utility company provides a main line for service into the building. In an apartment or office complex, the service lines to the individual units must be run separately into the individual units. Consequently, the lines are run through various parts of the buildings. Generally, the cables run through the interior hallways in conduits located in the corner where the side walls meet the ceilings. The conduit covers must be easily removable to service, upgrade and to splice the cables when each customer calls for service.
The presently available conduits for use in these types of buildings generally are mounted at the corner where the walls intersect the ceiling. The available conduits generally are fabricated from plastic with a triangular cross-section. Thus, the currently available conduits provide a plain and inexpensive looking appearance. This inexpensive looking appearance creates a problem in up-scale residences and office buildings because it detracts from the ambiance of the building. In such up-scale buildings, the occupants expect high quality appearing moldings at the corners of walls and ceilings. However, placing a conventional corner molding over the available conduits cannot be easily implemented.
A primary object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problem. The present invention, as explained in detail below, solves this problem by providing a novel corner conduit and molding combination for installing wires and cables therein. The interchangeable architectural face plate also allows for ease of installation for the typical homeowner. Pre-finished moldings can be installed without nails or putty eliminating the need to nail through the pre-finished face plate. The system eliminates mitering, coping and provides an overlapping seam cover to allow for expansion and contraction. The product is also UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring.
There are many techniques currently used for installing and mounting various types of decorative molding at the intersection of walls and ceilings. Most of the techniques are complicated and difficult to accomplish especially at corners and intersections of molding pieces. In addition to these issues, it has been contemplated that moldings can be also utilized to contain a conduit for the installation of various types of cables and wires. In this way, unsightly cables and wires can be easily installed or replaced but also are hidden from view.
Another issue with available extrusion and injection molding manufacturing processes, (due to different screw temperature settings for both processes) is that it will always yield a different color and gloss between the extruded lineal and the injection molded fittings. An object of the present invention is create a molding system whereby the color and gloss of the various components can be matched.
The primary object of the present invention is to solve the problems with the presently available moldings by providing a simple to install system to which a variety of molding designs can be attached. In addition, the present invention incorporates a conduit for the installation of various types of cables.


Machines, systems and methods for deploying one or more virtual machines on a host computing system, the method comprising: receiving mapping information from a data storage system, wherein the mapping information associates a first data chunk stored in the data storage system with a unique identifier; utilizing the mapping information to determine whether any copies of the first data chunk have already been loaded into a memory of the host computing system in association with deployment of a first virtual machine or a second virtual machine on the host computing system; and in response to determining that no copies of the first data chunk have already been loaded into the memory: retrieving the first data chunk from the data storage system; loading the first data chunk into the memory; and utilizing the first data chunk to deploy the first virtual machine on the host computing system.

In a virtualization environment, a host software (i.e., a hypervisor) running on one or more software or hardware infrastructures (i.e., a host machine) may emulate, or virtualize, the host machine for one or more guest software. In other words, a hypervisor may implement one or more virtual machines (VMs).
The hypervisor implements the VMs by loading data utilized to implement the VMs (i.e., images of the VMs) from a data storage system into a memory of the host machine. If the images are derived from the same image (i.e., a master image), the images may have a significant amount of data in common. In existing implementations, the hypervisor retrieves and loads each of the images independently into a separate region of the memory without identifying the data that is common to the multiple VM images. Thus, the hypervisor wastes resources (e.g., processing power, memory space, storage and network bandwidth) by repeatedly retrieving and loading the common data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Efficient loading of data into memory of a computing system


To provide, in observation of a sample that requires a movement between various devices, a charged particle beam device, a method for processing the sample, and an observation method which facilitate the movement between the devices. The charged particle beam device that processes an observation target on the sample using a charged particle beam includes: a sample stage on which the sample is placed; an observation unit configured to observe the observation target; and a writing unit configured to write information of the observation target in a writing position of the sample.

Pretreatment of a sample to be observed with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) or a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) using a focused ion beam (FIB) device or an ion milling device is widely performed in various fields including a semiconductor field. At this time, it is necessary to move the sample from a device that performs the pretreatment to a device that performs the observation, and there is a demand for a method of easily sharing information of an observation target, such as position information on a position where the pretreatment is performed, between the devices. As such a technique, for example, PTL 1 discloses a method of sharing information of an observation target by preparing a sample holder that can be shared between devices, and providing a storage medium for recording the information of the observation target in the sample holder. PTL 2 discloses a sample holding device for a charged particle beam device in which a sample cartridge supporting a sample is provided with a storage medium for storing data related to the sample.

Charged particle beam device, method for processing sample, and observation method


A method and device for the recognition of a trailer (2) of a motor vehicle (1), wherein the trailer (2) is connected to the motor vehicle (1) via a coupling device (3), wherein a control device (4) collects and stores data relating to the currently connected trailer (2) during an operating phase of the motor vehicle, and a device for identification (5) of the trailer (2) is able to ascertain, by means of a test signal, a separation of the connected trailer (2) from the motor vehicle (1) during the shutdown phase of the motor vehicle (1).

Method and apparatus for the recognition of a trailer or semitrailer of a motor vehicle, wherein the trailer is connectable by a coupling device with the motor vehicle and wherein a control device collects and stores data to the currently connected trailer during an operating phase of the motor vehicle.
Such methods and apparatuses are used in motor vehicle construction to collect and store trailer-related information and to make it available for possible further vehicle subsystems. A trailer or semitrailer can be secured with its drawbar to the coupling device of the vehicle. In particular for driving-dynamics control, data are determined by the control device to be able to better evaluate the handling performance of the currently connected trailer.
DE 100 23 326 A1 describes a method and an apparatus for recognizing a trailer or semitrailer of a motor vehicle, wherein a brake light of the trailer or semitrailer is activated independently of the driver. The current flowing in a line assigned to the brake light of the trailer or semitrailer is measured and the presence or absence of a trailer or semitrailer is measured on the basis of the measured result. Disadvantageous is that the disclosed method is able to distinguish only between a presence or an absence of a trailer or semitrailer. Thus, data ascertained for the trailer or semitrailer for the driving dynamics system during an operating phase of the motor vehicle must be discarded after completion of each operating phase, because there is no assurance that the same trailer or semitrailer is still connected to the motor vehicle.

Method and apparatus for the recognition of a trailer of a motor vehicle


A high efficiency rectifier and a wireless power receiver including the rectifier are provided. In one embodiment, a rectifier may be formed of a full bridge diode circuit and may include: a first dual diode, a second dual diode, a third dual diode and a fourth dual diode forming the full bridge diode circuit, the full bridge diode circuit including: a first path configured to output voltage when the phase of an input voltage is positive, via the first dual diode and the fourth dual diode; and a second path configured to output voltage when the phase of the input voltage is negative, via the second dual diode and the third dual diode. In another embodiment, a rectifier may include: at least two full bridge diode circuits connected in parallel.

1 . Field
The following description relates to a rectifier which may be used with a wireless power receiver.
2 . Description of Related Art
Resonance power may include electromagnetic energy. A conventional resonance power transferring system may transmit power wirelessly, and may include a source device that transmits a resonance power and a target device that transmits a resonance power. Resonance power may be transferred from the source device to the target device.
When an amount of current increases due to properties of a diode included in a conventional rectifier in a wireless power receiver (i.e., the target device of the wireless power transmission system), a voltage drop may increase due to resistance of the diode.
Various products, such as, for example, high-power applications that consume more than 100 W power and low-power applications that consume less than 10 W, have been studied. However, it has been found that for a wireless power transmission system that consumes about 10 W, the total efficiency is low, for instance, only about 60%.

High efficiency rectifier, wireless power receiver including the rectifier


In manufacturing packaged modules for computer systems, many modules require sealing a lid to a lower substrate by using solder around the outer edges of the lower substrate. When the solder is heated, it often flows inward towards the chips on the substrates (solder intrusions) and may cause shorts. This invention solves the problem of solder intrusions by using a graphite lid seal fixture during lid seal. The fixture is comprised of lower and upper parts. The substrate, which has a sealband area, rests on and is held in place by the lower part of the fixture. The upper part of the fixture rests on the lower part. The lid, which has solder on its lower surface which is slightly smaller but otherwise generally matches the sealband area of the substrate, fits in a hole in the upper part and rests on the substrate. Thus, graphite substantially surrounds the edges where the lid and substrate meet and the fixture evenly distributes the heat around the sealband during reflow so that the solder can flow out towards the edge of the sealband. By this means, areas where solder flows back into the interior of the module are reduced and hermeticity yields are improved.

A critical element of today's faster, more powerful computers is the silicon semiconductor chip which provides the computer its logic or processing power. Commonly, a number of chips are mounted together on a ceramic or silicon substrate. In this form, they are referred to as modules.
The fabrication of a computer chip is a complex operation requiring skill in both the chip design and chip manufacture. This is no less true for the module. On a very simplistic level, the manufacture of the module is as follows. Once the single chips are diced from wafers, they are soldered (using solder bumps or "C4s") to metal pads on a silicon substrate. The silicon substrate is joined to a ceramic carrier with an adhesive. (The silicon substrate and ceramic carrier will together be referred to as the substrate.) Wire bonds made of fine wire are bonded between the aluminum contact pads on the chips and gold plated pads on the substrate that make contact with external pins (or leads). A cover or lid is then sealed over the chips to the surface of the substrate. FIG. 1 illustrates a specific module, namely a VCOS module, prior to lid sealing. As can be seen from this figure, the wire bonds (4) connect to gold leads (6) which are held in place by a lead frame (8) during the sealing operation in which the cover or lid (14) is sealed into place. The lid 14 is shown twice in FIG. 1, in both inverted and upright orientations, for illustration (e.g., of solder placement) purposes.
Due to the large number of steps in the process and the difficulty of each process step, only a fraction will be fully functional. The yield of a process is the fraction of modules fabricated that do not contain flaws. Higher yields are desirable: as the yield improves, more useful modules are produced from a given amount of resources and profits increase.
One of the more sensitive steps in the process of module packaging--and one which can have significant impact on yield--is the step of sealing the lid over the substrate. One method used in this sealing is to create a sealband (10) on the upper surface of the substrate (12). (The term "upper surface" is used to refer to that surface of the substrate to which the chips are attached). The sealband is formed by impregnating the ceramic surface of the substrate with metal and electroplating a metal band (generally a layer of nickel followed by a layer of gold to prevent oxidation) on top of the impregnated area. As is illustrated in the figure, the sealband (10) is formed outside of the device area, that is, it does not contact the chips (1) or the wire bonds (4).
A solder preform (16) is then joined with flux to the lower surface of the lid in a similar profile to the sealband. That is, the solder is formed on the lid to form a pattern which is slightly smaller but otherwise generally matches the sealband area. (The "lower surface" of the lid refers to the surface which will be jointed to the substrate.) The lid is set into place on the substrate so that the sealband and lid with its solder attached are in contact. The entire package (lid, solder, and substrate with sealband) is heated. This causes the solder to melt and join the lid to the substrate. FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a module with a substrate (2) and a lid (14) held together by solder. In the module illustrated, the substrate sealband is larger than the lid and much of the solder seal is visible (FIGS. 2, 19).
During the sealing process, as the solder is heated, it melts and becomes liquidus, spreading over a larger surface. If the solder spreads into the module, the result is referred to as a solder intrusion.
Solder intrusions are a familiar occurrence, although their exact cause can be difficult to determine. It has been suggested that some intrusions are caused by a pressure differential between the inside and the outside of the package. As the module cools after reflow, the temperature inside the module drops, causing a drop in pressure, which causes the solder to be sucked into the module.
Solder intrusions can cause a number of problems that can significantly impact the yield of a packaging process. First, the solder intrusions are connected to the grounded metal sealband (where the solder was originally placed). If the intrusion bridges between a wire bond area and the sealband, the intrusion can cause a short which will cause the package to fail testing.
The solder intrusions can also cause fine pinholes to form within the seal between the lid and the substrate. This will cause a less than gas-tight seal and the package must be reworked. (The measure of the number of packages which have acceptable seals is referred to as the hermeticity yield).
Finally, for those modules where the substrate sealband is larger than the lid (as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 19), poor flow to the outside of the module can cause an uneven spread of solder over the visible edge of the band. The unevenness cause concern in any visual inspection of the module, resulting a re-X-ray of the module to ensure that the seal was tight.
Solder intrusions have long been a known problem, however, in many types of processes they do not occur with any degree of frequency. It is known, however, that large modules with relatively large sealbands can experience significant solder intrusions. As a result, in VLSI technology, solder intrusions can present a significant problem.
Several techniques were used in the prior art to reduce intrusions.
One such technique was to regulate the temperature of the sealing process. This technique was based on the fact that large intrusions occurred if the temperature during lid seal rose above a specific peak. Thus, at high temperatures, extremely large yield losses on the order of 30% occurred. More specifically, approximately 30 out of each 100 modules would fail functional testing due to solder intrusions bridging to the wire bond pads. In addition, another one to 5 percent of the modules would fail the hermeticity test. Conversely, keeping the peak temperature below 285.degree. C. reduced intrusions and improved overall yields.
Unfortunately, the use of cooler temperatures did not provide a total solution. Intrusions were decreased in the quantity and size but were not eliminated: between 2 and 5 percent of the modules still experienced intrusion problems. In addition, if a temperature below 285.degree. C. was used, the solder did not flow well, causing hermeticity losses of one to two percent. Further, the solder flow to the outside edge was often uneven, resulting in the modules being submitted to additional testing or simply being rejected out of hand.
Another technique to reduce solder intrusions involved sealing the modules in a pressure vessel. Then, during the heating and cooling of the sealing process, the ambient pressure was periodically changed in order to prevent pressure differentials. This solution was expensive, in that it called for additional equipment (the pressure vessel) and additional process steps (namely, a continual monitoring and altering of the pressure). Further, unless the pressure was constantly monitored and altered so that the pressure inside and outside the module was kept approximately equal, solder intrusions would still form.
Still another means of dealing with the solder intrusion problem involves module design. Designs with more chips in the module generally experience fewer intrusions. Modules designed with no metallurgy close to the edges of the sealband experienced solder intrusions but will experience fewer shorts since many of the solder intrusions will not extend to the wire bonds.
Solving the problem with the module design is not, however, always feasible. Modules with a significant amount of complex function may not be able to give up use of the space adjoining the sealband: packaging chips in less space allows more functionality on a card.

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention provide the seating apparatus to be used on the chair of the horizontal sitting base plate in order to avoid the lower back pain. By sitting on the seating base plate tilted forward from 5 to 45 degree, the person can keep the angle between the spine and the thigh from 95 to 135 degree. As the seating apparatus is equipped with the knee front holder connected with the supporting part, which is connected with the seating base plate by the half fixed joint at an another end of the supporting part, the slip down of the body on the seating base plate is stopped by the knee front holder and the steady sitting is available.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seating apparatus used on the chair and to the chair with the said seating apparatus structure.
2. Description of Related Art
The sitting plane of the chair is usually situated parallel to horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 35. FIG. 35 is the schematic diagram of the chair with the person who sits on it. Though the sitting plane of the relaxing use chair is slanted to the backward lower and the chair back is declined backward to be able to sit lying on his back, the office chair used in front of the office desk has the horizontal sitting base plate in order to look at the documents straight.
As the sitting base plate of the chair is situated almost parallel to the horizontal plane, the angle between the spine 1 and the thigh 2 of the sitting person is smaller than about 100 degrees and almost near to 90 degrees in usual case as seen in FIG. 35.
When we sit long hours in this position, it comes the stress around the waist and comes at last the lower back pain. Concerning about an example way to avoid such kinds of the back pain, the posture improving ways to insert the seating pad or cushion under the hips in order to enlarge the angle between the spine and the thigh can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,413,194 and 5,402,545, in which the section shape of the cushion is tapered forward in order to enlarge the angle between the spine and the thigh over 90 degrees. The method to insert the spacers of wedge shape section is presented in Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 2000-79135. The example of the spacer with springs is presented in Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 1999-244099.
On the other hand, a sit knee chair is known as the one which enables the person to sit with the angle from about 110 to 135 degrees between his or her spine and thigh, and which is composed of the seating plane tilted forward about 10 to 30 degrees and the knee supporting plane tilted in the reverse direction against the seating plane. An example of sit knee chair can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,699 and has the feature that several tens of percent of sitting person's body weight fall on the knee supporting plane, and the sitting person's body is prevented to slip down the seating plane and given a steady sitting situation. Another example of sit knee chair is called as balans chair by STOKKE Company or HAG Company and could be seen in Internet URL:http://www.malsyo.co.jp/balans.html on Nov. 5, 2003.
The other type of chair for curing or preventing the lower back pain, in which the sitting plane is tilted or moved automatically, are presented in Japanese Patent of No. 3,106,360 and No.2,524,462.
[Patent Document 1]                U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,194
[Patent Document 2]                U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,545,
[Patent Document 3]                U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,699
[Patent Document 4]                Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 2000-79135.
[Patent Document 5]                Japanese Patent Application Publication Laid-Open No. 1999-244099
[Patent Document 6]                Japanese Patent of No. 3,106,360
[Patent Document 7]                Japanese Patent of No.2,524,462.

Seating apparatus with tilted surface and the chair with the same


The exhaust gas purification system includes a SCR, an NOx sensor which is provided on a downstream side of the SCR, and an NOx purifying controller which controls an amount of urea water being ejected to the SCR and performs an abnormality diagnosis based on a detection value of the NOx sensor, wherein the exhaust gas purification system includes an exhaust gas temperature sensor which acquires temperature of the exhaust gas flowing into the SCR, a temperature increasing rate calculating unit which calculates a temperature increasing rate at which the exhaust gas temperature acquired by the exhaust gas temperature sensor reaches a second temperature from a predetermined first temperature, and a prohibiting unit which prohibits abnormality diagnosis by the NOx purifying controller in a case in which the temperature increasing rate calculated by the temperature increasing rate calculating unit is higher than a predetermined determination threshold value.

In the related art, exhaust gas purification systems including SCRs which selectively reduce and purify NOx in exhaust gas using ammonia (hereinafter, NH3) generated by hydrolysis from urea water as a reducing agent are known. In such exhaust gas purification systems, an amount of urea water being ejected is feedback-controlled so that a value of NOx in the exhaust gas reaches a target value based on a sensor value of an NOx sensor provided on an exhaustion downstream side of the SCR (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2).


A diagnostic imaging apparatus includes a ventricular volume-variation measuring unit that measures sequential variations in a size of a ventricle within at least one heart beat, from images of a heart scanned in each of a plurality of time phases; a scanning-condition setting unit that specifies a time phase of little cardiac motion based on variations in the size of the ventricle measured by the ventricular volume-variation measuring unit, and sets scanning conditions so as to collect data in the specified time phase; and an imaging unit that collects data based on the scanning conditions set by the scanning-condition setting unit, and reconstructs an image from the collected data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diagnostic imaging apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, and an X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) apparatus each of which performs a scan by setting scanning conditions so as to collect data synchronously with a cardiac waveform of a subject. The present invention particularly relates to a technology for determining timing of little cardiac motion automatically without additional special scan or operator's determination.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, among methods of a cardiac scan performed by a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, particularly a scan that requires a high spatial resolution, for example, coronary angiography, there has been a method of selectively collecting data in a time phase of little cardiac beat within a cardiac cycle for suppressing degradation in image quality due to cardiac motion (for example, see Stuber M, et al. "Submillimeter Three-dimensional Coronary MR Angiography with Real-Time Navigator Correction: Comparison of Navigator Locations", Radiology 1999; 212: 579-587). According to the method, a scan is performed by setting a predetermined delay time and a predetermined data-collection period (window), and it is known that such delay time and a period of little cardiac beat depend on beats per minute of a patient.
To ensure image quality of a cardiac scan, particularly coronary angiography, a method of performing a scan is proposed such that, for example, a cine scan for a short time adequate to recognize motion of a subject artery is preliminarily performed, an operator visually determines a period of little cardiac beat, and then the scan is performed by setting such period with respect to each patient (for example, see Plein S, et al. "Three-Dimensional Coronary MR Angiography Performed with Subject-Specific Cardiac Acquisition Window and Motion-adopted Respiratory Gating." AJR 2003; 180: 505-512).
However, according to the conventional methods described above, apart from a series of examinations, an additional cine scan of a cross section on which a coronary artery is to be visualized needs to be performed by newly performing positioning, and furthermore, the operator needs to set timing of a scan visually. For this reason, according to the conventional methods, an examination time may be sometimes extended, so that burdens to an operator and a patient are increased; and image quality may be unstable in some cases due to variations in scan timing performed by an operator.

Diagnostic imaging apparatus, magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, and X-ray CT apparatus


Systems and method for computing in-situ estimates of the overall level and incoming direction of ambient acoustical energy by combining the output signals of at least one differential directional microphone and at least one omnidirectional microphone, or, multiple differential directional microphones, at specified gains, in order to have various polar pattern estimates for acoustical energy arriving from three or more sectors about the user. In one embodiment as many as eight different sectors about the user, including the front, rear, and sides are used. In various embodiments, front, rear and/or side or portions thereof are used. Other numbers of sectors are possible without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.

For hearing loss, a clinically proven method to increase speech intelligibility in ambient noise is to provide the user with directional hearing instruments. In general, directional microphone systems are configured as either endfire or broadside. In (freefield) endfire configurations, the maximum response angle (MRA) can point to either 0° for the case of a unidirectional response, to 180° for the case of an inverted unidirectional, or to both in the case of a bidirectional (figure of eight). It is not possible to shift the MRA of a (freefield) endfire unidirectional to any other angle, regardless of signal processing. When a forward-pointing unidirectional is worn in-situ, the MRA shifts from its freefield value of 0° to a different angle based on head and torso acoustical scattering; it is still not possible to shift its MRA any other forward-pointing angle via signal processing. In (freefield) broadside configurations, the MRA can be shifted to any angle, however, the shiftable frequency range is related to the separation distance of the outer microphones. For in-the-ear (ITE) and behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing instrument applications, this separation distance is too small to provide any substantive directionality. Consequently, broadside directional microphone systems have not been used by manufacturers of hearing instruments, with the exception of some integrated eyeglass devices described in technical research papers. It would be advantageous, therefore, to have the ability to shift and control the MRA of a hearing instrument.
One figure of merit used to benchmark the directional gain of a hearing instrument is the Directivity Index (DI). The DI can be regarded as a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) captured under two different acoustical conditions. In the first condition, the 'signal' is computed from acoustic energy arriving from the front 0° angle (i.e., on-axis target direction); this condition can be simulated only in a perfectly anechoic space. In the second condition, the 'noise' is computed from isotropic energy (i.e., temporally uncorrelated planar wavefronts arriving with equal amplitude from all directions); this condition does not exist physically and can only be simulated in: 1) a sufficiently reverberant field in which case the isotropic noise estimate is the temporal average of a single measurement of incoherent wavefronts, or 2) an anechoic space with a loudspeaker positioning/scanning apparatus in which case the isotropic noise estimate is the spatial average of multiple measurements of coherent wavefronts. It is interesting to note that the DI is computed under conditions that the user will never encounter; these conditions are used simply because they can be reproduced with relative ease in any laboratory setting—thereby providing a level playing field for manufacturers to compute a DI and benchmark the directional performance of their product.
An optimized DI in isotropic noise (sometimes referred to as a spherically 'diffuse' field) is 6 dB. In other words, the highest directional gain that can be achieved in a spherically-diffuse field for a 1st-order differential microphone is 6 dB. The only environments with excessively-reverberant fields (T60≈10 seconds) that remotely approach the statistical properties of a spherically-diffuse field exist in laboratories accredited for standard ASTM C423 or ISO 3741 measurements. Typical indoor environments (T60≈1 second) encountered by a hearing-instrument user have been described as 'cylindrically' diffuse, i.e., the reverberation arrives at the user from all walls of the room while the floor and ceiling reflections are attenuated due to carpet and sound-absorptive suspended ceiling tiles. The highest theoretical directional gain achievable in a cylindrically-diffuse field for a 1st-order differential microphone is 4.8 dB. The DI as measured in a laboratory environment, therefore, yields a biased estimate of the actual directional gain for a user in a typical indoor environment. To recapitulate, an anechoic or spherically-diffuse acoustical environment is unique to a laboratory; a real-world reverberant environment is not spherically-diffuse and has properties ranging somewhere between anechoic and spherically-diffuse. It would, therefore, be advantageous to process the microphone signals of a hearing instrument in order to estimate the type of environment the user is exposed to: Is it cylindrically diffuse, or better yet, what direction does the majority of ambient noise arrive from? Such an estimate could provide a better procedure for controlling the instantaneous directional response of the hearing instrument.
There are a number of additional benchmarks that have been used to characterize the directional performance of microphone systems. Intrinsically, these benchmarks are based on various free-field sound energy ratios and are expressed either as decimals or decibels. One laboratory benchmark is the Unidirectional Index (UI) expressed as the dB ratio of average sound energy arriving from the user's front half sphere to the average sound energy arriving from the user's rear half sphere. Another laboratory benchmark is the Front to Total Random (FTR) ratio expressed as the decimal ratio of average sound energy arriving from the user's front half sphere to the average sound energy arriving from all directions. In addition to the free-field energy ratios, there are a number of 1st-order directional sensitivity patterns typically referenced by manufacturers; these patterns include the hypercardiod which optimizes the DI and the supercardioid which optimizes the FTR. Each optimization is assumed in a spherically-diffuse field. For reference, a table summarizing the properties of these polar patterns is shown in FIG. 1. It is interesting to note that a bidirectional polar pattern has the same DI as a cardioid polar pattern, and the same FTR as an omni, thereby revealing the limitations of a DI or FTR alone to benchmark directional behavior and performance. Only in their entirety and relation are these benchmarks definitive.
In addition to the above-referenced benchmarks related to spherically or cylindrically-diffuse fields, there are benchmarks that are independent of the acoustical environment and capture intrinsic directional performance. For example, the −6 dB point of the primary directional lobe is a performance parameter that is independent of a spherically-diffuse or cylindrically-diffuse environment. Similarly, the sensitivity ratio at 180° to the sensitivity at 0° is independent of the acoustical environment. Such benchmarks do not require a spatial integration of sound energy, they're simply the measured response ratio of wavefronts arriving from certain directions. Thus, a cardioid polar pattern is a cardioid polar pattern, regardless of what environment it is in. The directional gain it provides to the user, however, is a function of the amount of ambient noise and the direction from which it arrives—relative to the spatial orientation of the polar sensitivity pattern. It would be advantageous, therefore, to compare the relative sound energy estimates from a number of (in-situ) fixed, directional polar responses to predict the properties of the user's acoustical environment. The simplest fundamental approach is to estimate the ambient sound energy arriving from the front (−90°→90° in azimuth), the left)(180°→360°, the right)(0°→180°, and the rear)(90°→270°, where 0° is synonymous with 360°.
It was noted previously that real-world acoustic environments are not spherically diffuse. For this reason, it seems rather specious that directivity indices optimized for spherically-diffuse conditions have been used exclusively to predict directional benefit of hearing instruments. A clinical question often asked is: What is the best pattern for the user? The answer should begin with another question: What acoustical environment is the user in? More specifically, where is the target and where is the ambient noise? Certainly, a person driving a car who is trying to hear speech from a passenger in the front seat would benefit more from a right-pointing cardioid than a forward-pointing hypercardioid (except in England, of course). For this reason, it would be advantageous to have a directional processing system that could estimate both the location of the target signal and direction of incoming ambient noise, and adjust the user's audio signal by controlling the MRA and optimizing the SNR with a polar pattern for each particular acoustical environment—regardless as to whether the ambient noise is spherically-diffuse, cylindrically-diffuse, or anything in between. The simplest fundamental approach could assume that the target is always at 0° on-axis, and that the ambient noise is predicted from the energy estimates described previously.
Traditionally, two approaches have been used to adjust the SNR for a hearing instrument. The first approach compares the output signals of both an omnidirectional microphone and a separate differential directional microphone. These two signals alone are used to control an algorithm to switch the audio output from omnidirectional mode (typically used in quiet environments) to directional mode (noisy environments) via a simple linear or logarithmic pan. This approach has been referred to as 'dynamic' directionality. It is robust in that the output signal from the 1st-order differential microphone provides a directional polar pattern that is very stable to electroacoustical drift. It is limited in that only two estimates are used in controlling the switch from omni to directional modes. For this reason, it would be advantageous to use additional sound energy estimates to characterize the user's acoustical environment and adjust the final polar pattern provided to the user.
The second approach uses two omnidirectional mics in an endfire configuration. The output signal of either mic provides the omnidirectional mode and the output signal of the rear mic is inverted, temporally delayed, and summed with the front mic to provide a static, directional mode of operation. With DSP, the temporal delay can be adjusted to shift the null angle of the polar pattern until a certain signal (usually the omni output) to noise (usually the inverted, delayed-and-summed output) ratio is optimized. This approach has been referred to as 'adaptive' directionality. It is robust in that the actual polar pattern provided to the user doesn't need to be known computationally; the algorithm simply adjusts the time delay until a null is steered to some noise source (jammer) and a certain SNR estimate is reached. It is limited in that the target is typically assumed to be 0° on-axis and the electrical mismatch of the front and rear channels (dominated by electroacoustical mismatch of the mics) needs to be tightly controlled. To remedy mic mismatch due to drift, elaborate schemes for in-situ mic matching have been patented; marketing literature for adaptive directionality typically includes references to these proprietary schemes.
In general, mic mismatch manifests itself in a 1st-order endfire configuration as follows: sensitivity mismatch degrades the null and phase mismatch shifts the null angle. If mismatch is not managed properly, the directional algorithm can mistakenly shift the null to the 0° on-axis target or the algorithm can lose its ability to provide any semblance of a null altogether. For a 1 cm spaced endfire hypercardioid in a spherically-diffuse field, FIG. 2 shows the independent sensitivity mismatch (0.6 dB at 500 Hz) that would yield 2 dB degradation in the DI and the independent phase mismatch (constant time delay of 22 μsec) that would shift the null angle to 54° off-axis (i.e., a supercardioid pointing backwards).

System for controlling the primary lobe of a hearing instrument's directional sensitivity pattern


A motion detection radar system comprised of a low power frequency tunable continuous wave transmitter and antenna, a receiver, an FM transmitter and antenna, and a handheld remote FM receiver. The radar system may be adapted to operate at any frequency from 600 MHz to 1.2 GHz. The motion detecting radar system uses a technique for measuring the changes in phase difference and the rate of change of phase differences detected thereby. The receiver captures the total energy reflected from all reflective objects within the antenna field of view and compares that signal with the transmitted signal in a mixer. If all objects are stationary and the radar system is stationary, the total complex phase pattern of the return signal is constant, and a fixed DC output signal is provided from the mixer. Any motion within the field of view changes the fixed phase relationship and causes a phase rate of change at the receiver output. The phase rate of change is converted into a tone which allows an operator to recognize object motion. The tone is transmitted by the FM transmitter to the remote FM receiver used by the operator to monitor monitor object motion. The receiver output is almost inaudible when there are no moving objects, but an alarm tone is provided when object motion is present. The detection process used in the motion detecting radar is unique in that it captures minute changes in the complex signal from all reflectors and converts the moving object differences into the audible alarm.

The present invention relates generally to radars, and more particularly, to a motion detection radar system that is adapted to produce radar warnings signals regarding the presence of moving objects that are located behind structural barriers, and the like.
Law enforcement agencies have an urgent need for a low cost, easily portable, system for detecting the presence of people inside buildings or behind walls where the subjects cannot be seen. The system must have the capability to penetrate most common building materials such as wood, stucco and concrete. It is also necessary for the system to penetrate bushes, shrubs, and other foliage. It must provide a positive indication of people moving at distances of at least 20 feet on the other side of the barrier. It must be able to look through both common floors and ceilings. The system must be battery operated and provide for remote, wire free operation.
A number of different types of radars have been developed that can detect the motion of a person in a clear environment. Most of these radars are doppler radars. A doppler radar measures the motion of a object in terms of the difference in frequency of the received radar signal as compared to the frequency of the transmitted radar signal. The motion of the object causes this change in frequency in the same way that the sound of the whistle of a passing train changes. The doppler frequency difference is equal to two times the speed of the object (toward or away from the radar) times the operating frequency of the radar divided by the speed of transmission (983,57 1,000 feet per second). Thus, as the radar frequency is increased, so does the doppler frequency for the same speed object.
A radar operating at 983.571 MHz, for example, would produce a 2 Hz doppler frequency for a object motion of 1 foot per second, (2.times.1 ft/sec .times.1 Hz/f/sec =2 Hz). Consequently, for motion less than 1 ft/sec, it is necessary to measure phase difference rather than frequency difference because the doppler frequency is so low. Therefore, for slow moving object situations, doppler radar is not the optimally adapted for use in this application.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for a motion detection radar system that is adapted to produce radar warnings signals regarding the presence of moving objects that are located behind structural barriers, and the like.

Handheld obstacle penetrating motion detecting radar