A method and system are provided for determining a relation between stimulation settings for a brain stimulation probe and a corresponding V-field. The brain stimulation probe comprises multiple stimulation electrodes. The V-field is an electrical field in brain tissue surrounding the stimulation electrodes. The method comprises sequentially applying a test current to n stimulation electrodes, n being a number between 2 and the number of stimulation electrodes of the brain stimulation probe, for each test current at one of the n stimulation electrodes, measuring a resulting excitation voltage at m stimulation electrodes, m being a number between 2 and the number of stimulation electrodes of the brain stimulation probe, from the stimulation settings and the measured excitation voltages, deriving a coupling matrix, an element in the coupling matrix reflecting an amount of electrical impedance between two of the stimulation electrodes, and using the coupling matrix for determining the relation between the stimulation settings and the corresponding V-field.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device, which sends electrical pulses to specific parts of the brain. A preferred DBS probe comprises a plurality of electrodes for providing stimulating electrical pulses at different positions in the target region. For example, the probe may comprise an array of 64 or 128 electrodes. DBS in selected brain regions has provided remarkable therapeutic benefits for otherwise treatment-resistant movement and affective disorders such as chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, tremor and dystonia. DBS surgery aims to electrically stimulate a target structure, while minimizing detrimental side-effects caused by stimulation of particular nearby neuronal structures. To make that possible, it is important to know the effect of particular stimulation settings on the electrical field that is generated in the brain tissue. Likewise, it is desirable to know what stimulation settings to apply in order to obtain an optimal stimulation volume.
In 'Electric field and stimulating influence generated by deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus' by McIntyre et al. (2004b), Clin Neurophys 115, 589-595, a method is disclosed for developing a quantitative understanding of the volume of axonal tissue directly activated by DBS of the subthalamic nucleus. The method uses finite element computer models (FEM) to address the effects of DBS in a medium with tissue conductivity properties derived from human diffusion tensor magnetic resonance data (MRI/DTI).
It is a disadvantage of the method of McIntyre et al. that an MRI/DTI system is needed for obtaining a conductivity map of the patient's brain. Additionally, DTI does not measure electrical conductivity directly but instead estimates one by assuming a theoretical relationship between water diffusion (measured by DTI) and electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the resolution of DTI for practical scanning times is limited to about 2 mm, i.e. 4 times the typical electrode pitch of high resolution DBS probes. It is also a problem that tissue conductivity changes over time, e.g. due to encapsulation of the probe, and that the known method requires a regular update of the conductivity map. Performing regular DTI scans is unpractical for that purpose.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for determining settings for deep brain stimulation


A support for photographic photosensitive materials which consists essentially of a magnetic recording layer, a cellulose ester layer and an intermediate layer provided between the magnetic recording layer and the cellulose ester layer consisting essentially of a polymer of which the solubility in a solvent for separation is different from the cellulose ester of the cellulose ester layer. According to the support of the invention, the magnetic recording layer is very easily separated from the cellulose ester layer, and they can easily be recycled. Moreover, magnetic properties of the support are improved.

This invention relates to a support for photographic photosensitive materials and a process for producing the same, and more particularly, relates to a support for photographic photosensitive materials and a process for producing the same wherein magnetic recording characteristics and/or separability are improved.
Recently, as disclosed in International Publication Nos. WO 90/04205, WO 90/04212 of PCT applications, etc., silver halide photographic photosensitive material (hereinafter simply referred to as photosensitive material) has been provided with a magnetic recording layer. Photographic conditions, such as photographed date, weather and contraction/enlargement ratio, developing and printing conditions, such as the number of reprints, zooming portion and messages can be inputted into the photosensitive material by inputting magnetic recording signals into the magnetic recording layer in a camera or a processing laboratory. Besides, output to image apparatuses such as television and video tape recorder has been possible.
It is also known to a photosensitive material provided with a magnetic recording layer as to automation in manufacturing or finishing processes of the photosensitive material. Yet example, Japanese Patent KOKAI No. 59-203670 discloses a method of inputting photographic emulsion coating conditions into a transparent magnetic recording layer provided into a support of a photographic material and conducting the attachment, detachment or the like of a coater head automatically by reading the coating conditions in a photographic emulsion coating process. Japanese Patent KOKAI No. 60-45248 discloses a method of adding a transparent magnetic recording layer to a COVET sheet and a photosensitive sheet of a mona-sheet type instant photographic photosensitive material and automating to make a suitable combination of the cover sheet with the photosensitive sheet in a collating process. An example of the support for photographic photosensitive materials provided with the magnetic recording layer in, as shown in FIG. 4, composed of a cellulose ester layer 30 onto which a magnetic recording layer 10 is coated.
As the method of adding a magnetic recording layer to a photosensitive material, it is known a method of forming a transparent magnetic recording layer over the whole surface of the photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as whole surface coating method) which is disclosed in Japanese Patent KOKAI Nos. 50-16161 and 53-10960, Japanese Patent KOKOKU No. 57-6576 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,947 and a method of forming a stripe-formed magnetic recording layer on the outside of photographing portions (hereinafter referred to as stripe coating method) which is disclosed in Japanese Patent KOKAI Nos. 50-138037 and 49-42343.
The whole surface laminating method is simpler than the stripe laminating method in the laminating process. However, since the magnetic recording layer is also formed in photographing portions, it induces adverse affects, such as decrease of photosensitivity due to The absorption by the magnetic recording material and degradation of photographic properties by haze. Accordingly, in order to inhibit these adverse affects, it is necessary to render the content of the magnetic recording material as small as possible. However, when The content of the magnetic recording material is reduced, magnetic output properties are degraded.
On the other hand, in the stripe laminating method, since the magnetic recording layer is provided on the outside of photographing portions, there is only a small space for placing the magnetic recording layer because perforations are formed on both outsides of the photographing portion according to the present format of 135 type photographic film. Thereupon, the aforementioned PCT applications propose to form perforations on one side alone, but, even in this case, the space capable of placing the magnetic recording layer is still small. In order to impart a maxiumum record density to the very narrow space, it is necessary to form a magnetic recording layer uniform in the width direction. This is particularly necessary in the case that a homogeneous multichannel head is used to obtain an input/output capacity without dispersion through each head with utilizing the magnetic recording layer from one end to the other in the width direction. The stripe formed magnetic recording layer is usually formed by coating, and there are problems that the thickness of the stripe layer varies at both end portions, that it is difficult to form in rectangle to set the width and the thickness independently and that the coating width is broadened. As a results, a uniform input/output capacity cannot be obtained in the case of using a multichannel head. This matter is caused not only by the difference in the amount of the magnetic recording material in the track of each head but also by the influence of space loss due to the formation of gap between the head and the magnetic recording layer. Particularly, the space loss sharply increases by increasing magnetic record density.
Besides, when a film with a stripe coating is wound into a big roll or in a film cartridges problems occur, such as adhesion of the stripe layer to the emulsion layer, weaving or loosening or collapse of the corner of the stripe layer.
Incidentally, in view of global environment, i.e. to reduce wastes as little as possible, and moreover, in view of the reduction in the manufacturing cost of photosensitive materials, the importance of the utilization of the photosensitive materials as regenerated raw materials has been increasing remarkably. Examples of the photosensitive materials are cut wastes produced by edge trim in the support production process and cut wastes produced by perforation in a finishing process after coating photographic emulsion. In the case of the wastes coated with photographic emulsion, emulsion layer is separated from support, and useful materials such as silver halide are separated therefrom. They are purified and then used again. It is common that the support is also purified and used again as a raw material.
However, it is very difficult to recycle the photosensitive materials containing a magnetic recording layer. That is, in the case of the magnetic recording layers laminated by coating disclosed in Japanese Patent KOKAI Nos. 50-16161 and 60-45248, since they are firmly adhered to cellulose acetate layer, it is not easy to separate the magnetic recording layer from the cellulose acetate layer. Furthermore, in the case of the magnetic recording layer formed by co-casting as disclosed in Japanese Patent KOKAI No. 57-6576, since it is strongly joined to the cellulose acetate layer which is the main body of the support, it is not easy to separate the magnetic recording layer from the cellulose acetate layer.
As mentioned above, conventional supports for photosensitive materials have a problem that it is not easy to separate the magnetic recording layer from the cellulose acetate layer, irrespective of providing the magnetic recording layer by coating or co-casting, and regeneration of the support portion is difficult. This matter also induces a problem of increasing wastes and of increasing manufacturing cost of the photosensitive material.

Support for photographic photosensitive materials having a magnetic recording layer, a first cellulose acetate layer and a second cellulose acetate layer intermediate the magnetic layer and first cellulose acetate layer


Systems and methods are described for facilitating payments and transactions using social background checks. Such systems and methods may use social networks with both individual members communicating over a network to a social authentication computing system. The authentication of transactions associated financial institutions are determined through the use of relationship measures based on social media interactions. Transactions and services available to a user are determined based on a measure of social identity through the use of social media platforms. Available contact and interaction data from one or more social media platforms is leveraged to analyze a level of trust that a transaction is not a consequence of fraudulent activity. Transactions that have a low level of risk of being a consequence of fraudulent activity are benefited through faster transaction times and other improvements.

The proliferation of the internet has fundamentally changed various aspects of individuals' lives, such as communication, work, education, finance, social and personal relationships, etc. For example, the internet has remarkably increased the amount of information available and decreased the transaction cost of obtaining such information. In addition, the internet has enabled a wider range of individuals to meet and interact and form social groups online with extensions to offline groups and activities. Such social networks can be formed for a variety of reasons and can be based on a shared interest, characteristic, or identification of the members of the social network. Interactions between members of social networks can take many forms and include private communication, public communication, sharing of content, tagging of members to content, and the like. Members develop one or more social identities that are associated with various factors related to use of and interaction with the social networks.

Systems and methods for preferring payments using a social background check


A procedure for the production of sheets or tiles (10) in agglomerate material consisting of products comprising marble and/or granite and/or sand and/or quartz powders and binding resins, also comprising possible inclusions of elements made from metal, glass, ceramic, wood, precious stones, comprising the following processing stages: a) crushing of the components of the sheets or tiles (10); b) mixing of these components with the aforesaid binding resins; c) pressing and compacting of these components inside a pressing die, and hardening at a predetermined pressure and temperature, in order to obtain a predetermined shape, advantageously quadrangular, and predetermined dimensions of these sheets or tiles (10); and according to which before stage c) is carried out a metal plate (11) is positioned inside the pressing die and presents an irregular structure designed to accommodate the mixture of the components which, during the polymerisation and hardening stages, bond to the plate (11) thus forming the base of the sheet or tile (10).

Sheets or tiles in agglomerate material presenting an internal reinforcement structure are frequently used for laying so-called raised or floating floors in which the sheets or tiles are positioned on top of an appropriate wire grid which is raised with respect to the ground thus making it possible to obtain a hollow space with a predetermined height, allowing the laying of large quantities of electrical and/or hydraulic ducting and their easy maintenance or modification.
While on one hand raised or floating floors present considerable advantages, including those described above, on the other they involve a series of drawbacks which limit their construction and use or make them difficult.
A first drawback presented by raised or floating floors made from composite material is due to the fact that these floors are usually electrically ground-insulated.
This implies an unfavourable accumulation of electrostatic charges on objects which are present on or which move on this floor, an effect which is unacceptable for numerous precision electronic devices but which may be even more simply disadvantageous if these electrostatic discharges involve the people who walk across the floor.
A further limitation usually involved in the construction of raised or floating floors consists of the fact that the sheets must directly support the weight of considerable loads and must therefore be fairly thick in order to withstand maximum breaking loads in compliance with safety regulations.
All this inevitably means not only great structural and working limitations but also high costs and lengthy and difficult laying times for these floors.
The Italian document VR94A000068 describes a procedure for the production of sheets made from agglomerate material comprising a series of processing stages, specifically:                an initial stage consisting of the crushing of the various materials making up the agglomerate;        a second stage consisting of the mixing of the crushed materials in order to obtain a product which is as homogeneous as possible, during which the binding resins are added;        a third stage consisting of the pressing and compacting of the agglomerate during which the required shape is obtained and in which a wire or fibre mesh is buried, this being formed by a plurality of wires arranged according to a predetermined layout and whose ends are situated at the same level as or protrude beyond the lower surface of the sheet;        a fourth stage in which the sheet is hardened at a predetermined temperature;        a fifth stage in which at least one side of the sheet is smoothed and polished;        a sixth stage in which the sheet is cut to size, chamfered, gauged and flared, followed by unloading of the end products.
A procedure such as the one described above makes it possible to obtain sheets made from agglomerate material, with precisely predetermined lengths, widths and thicknesses, and which is performed in a continuous process on a specially designed plant.
In spite of the presence of the wire-mesh consisting of wires as described above, the previously mentioned disadvantages are still present, particularly as regards the electrostatic charge.
In fact, during the hardening stage the resin envelops the metal surface of the wires forming the reinforcement mesh, creating an insulation film which does not permit effective discharge of the accumulated electrostatic charge.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,854 discloses a composite plate for double floors comprising a pan-shaped wrapper for receiving therein a flowable and hardenable filler material. The wrapper comprises a plurality of downwardly extending projecting blocks containing the filler material.
Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,833,845 and 5,057,355 disclose a metallic shallow pan serving for the production of a self-supporting composite plate, wherein the pan forms the outside wrapper for a filler with high compression resistance such as anhydrite.

Process for manufacturing reinforced tiles or panels of agglomerated material with a metallic plate as well as product obtained through said process


Methods and apparatus are disclosed for producing gypsum board having at least one facing sheet, a core of cementitious material such as low density gypsum, and an intermediate layer of bond promoting material, such as higher density gypsum located therebetween. The apparatus includes a forming table having a transverse gap. The facing sheet travels along the forming table over the gap. A spreader roller has an outer surface extending partially into the gap to depress the facing sheet. The bond promoting material is deposited on the facing sheet upstream of the spreader roller and the spreader roller outer surface rotates in the same direction as the facing sheet to coat the facing sheet with the bond promoting material. The core layer material is deposited on the facing sheet downstream of the spreader roller on top of the bond promoting coating. The speed of the spreader roller, the tension in the facing sheet, and the viscosity of the bond promoting material are varied within predetermined limits to adjust the thickness of the bond promoting material layer and prevent build up of said material on the spreader roller.

In the manufacturer of gypsum board, whether it be wall board or ceiling board or used for some other purpose, it is desirable to use a low density gypsum to reduce the overall weight of the resulting board. The density of the gypsum can be reduced by introducing a foaming agent into the slurry that ultimately results in the core of the gypsum board. A problem with doing this, however, is that the low density gypsum does not adhere as well to the paper cover sheets that are typically used to produce the gypsum board.
One method of overcoming this adhesion problem apart from adding expensive adhesive or bond promoting agents to the gypsum slurry, is to coat the cover sheets with normal or higher density gypsum to form a bonding layer between the low density core and the paper cover sheets. Various methods have been tried to apply the higher density gypsum bonding layer to the cover sheets. One method is to spray the high density gypsum onto the cover sheets before applying the core gypsum. A difficulty with this approach, however, is that it is very difficult to get an even high density layer. The spraying apparatus is also prone to plugging problems.
Another approach is shown in the U.S. Camp Pat. No. 1,953,589. This patent shows the use of an oscillating and rotating roller that rubs the slurry into the cover sheet to make the slurry penetrate the cover sheet. The cover sheet must be backed up under the coating roller by a forming table or by a pressure roller in order for the coating roller to be able to apply sufficient pressure to rub the slurry into the cover sheet. A difficulty with this approach, however, is the high pressure required between the coating roller and the forming table or pressure roller. This creates paper break problems if foreign objects or lumps pass under the coating roller.
Another approach is to use multiple coating rollers to spread the high density gypsum over the cover sheet. An example of this is shown in the U.S. Brothers Pat. No. 2,940,505. In this patent, coating rollers bear against the cover sheets which are supported on flat table surfaces located beneath the coating rollers. A difficulty with this method, however, is that the high density gypsum tends to build up on the coating rollers. This can cause uneven coating thicknesses, or worse, lumps of partially set gypsum can form which get jammed beneath the coating rollers and cause paper breaks.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,797 issued to John L. Phillips et al., the cover sheet passes beneath a counter-rotating coating roller, and a pressure roller located below the cover sheet and located upstream of the coating roller presses the cover sheet into engagement with the coating roller. The cover sheet so pressed against the coating roller causes the cover sheet to wipe the coating roller clean. While this may alleviate the problem of gypsum build up on the coating roller, there is still the problem of running the cover sheet through a high pressure nip between the coating and pressure rollers, which could cause paper breaks or other difficulties.
In the present invention, the high density layer is achieved by using a spreader roller without a backing or pressure roller. The spreader roller depresses the paper sheet below the forming table, and a combination of the roller speed and the tension in the paper sheet keeps the coating roller clean.

Gypsum board manufacture with co-rotating spreader roller


A method for producing a Schottky barrier gate type field effect transistor includes producing a low concentration active region at a desired position of a semi-insulating compound semiconductor substrate and producing a gate electrode comprising refractory metal on the active region, producing a first insulating film and etching the same thereby to produce first side wall assist films comprising the first insulating film at both side walls of the gate electrode, removing one of the first side wall assist films at the side where a source electrode is to be produced, depositing a second insulating film to the thickness less than that of the first insulating film, etching the second insulating film thereby to produce a second side wall assist film having narrower width than that of the first side wall assist film at the side wall of the gate electrode where the source electrode is to be produced, and conducting ion implantation using the first and second side wall assist films and the gate electrode as a mask thereby to produce high concentration active regions in asymmetrical configurations at sides of the gate electrode.

FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are cross-sectional side views showing major process steps for producing a semiconductor device according to the prior art. In the figures, reference numeral 1 designates a semi-insulating GaAs substrate. An n type active layer 2 is disposed in the semi-insulating GaAs substrate 1. A gate electrode 3 comprising refractory metal is disposed on the active layer 2. N' type intermediate dopant concentration active layers (hereinafter referred to as "n' layer") 4a (4a') and 4b are disposed adjacent the n type active layer 2. N.sup.+ type high dopant concentration active layers n(hereinafter referred to as "n.sup.+ layer") 8a and 8b are disposed adjacent the n' layer 4a' and the n type active layer 2, respectively. A source electrode 9 and a drain electrode 10 are disposed on the n.sup.+ layers 8a and 8b, respectively. Reference numeral 6 designates photoresist.
The production method will be described.
First of all, as shown in FIG. 4(a), an n type active layer 2 is produced in a semi-insulating GaAs substrate 1 by ion implantation or epitaxial growth. Thereafter, a refractory metal is plated on the entire surface of wafer and patterned by reactive ion etching using photoresist as a mask, thereby to produce a refractory metal gate electrode 3.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4(b), dopant ions are implanted using the refractory metal gate electrode 3 as a mask, whereby n' layers 4a and 4b are produced at both sides of the gate electrode 3.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4(c), photoresist is deposited on the entire surface of substrate and patterned in an asymmetrical configuration with respect to the refractory metal gate electrode 3, and dopant ions are implanted using the patterned photoresist 6 as a mask, whereby n.sup.+ layers 8a and 8b are produced at asymmetrical positions with respect to the gate electrode 3.
After, an annealing process, as shown in FIG. 4(d), a drain electrode 10 is deposited on the n.sup.+ layer 8a at the side where the n' layer 4a' remain and a source electrode 9 is deposited on the n.sup.+ layer 8b at the opposite side of the gate electrode 3 by vapor deposition and lift-off, thereby completing a field effect transistor.
In the above-described production method, however, the ion implantation for producing the n.sup.+ layers 8a and 8b to use the photoresist 6 as a mask, and the distance between the gate electrode 3 and the n.sup.+ layer 8a is determined by the precision of patterning the photoresist. Therefore, in the field effect transistor obtained by the above-described production method, there is a large variation in the gate-drain breakdown voltage and variation in the performance of the transistor. Furthermore, since the distance between the gate electrode 3 and the n.sup.+ layer 8b at the side of source electrode 9 is zero, a sufficient breakdown voltage cannot be obtained.
Another prior art production method will be described.
FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e) are cross-sectional side views showing major process steps for producing a semiconductor device disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application 63-107071. In the figures reference numeral 21 designates a semiconductor substrate. An active region 22 is disposed on the semiconductor substrate 21. A gate electrode 23 is disposed on the active region 22. A first insulating film 24 (24', 24") is disposed on the active region 22. Reference numeral 25 designates photoresist. Reference numeral 26 (26') designates a second insulating film. Reference numeral 27 designates a contact region.
The production method will be described.
First of all, as shown in FIG. 5(a), an active region 22 and a gate 23 are produced on the GaAs substrate 21, and thereafter, a first insulating film 24 having a thickness t.sub.1 is deposited thereon. Thereafter, photoresist is deposited on the entire surface, exposed, and developed thereby to obtain a photoresist 25 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 5(b). Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5(c), a portion of the oxide film 24 is removed by a dilute solution of hydro-fluoric acid using the photoresist 25 as a mask. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5(d), after removing the photoresist 25, a second insulating film 26 having thickness t.sub.2 is deposited on the entire surface. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(e), the entire surface is selectively etched to produce asymmetric configuration side walls 24" and 26' at respective sides of the gate 23', contact regions 27 are produced by ion beam implantation with using the side walls 24', 26' and the gate 23 as a mask. The contact regions 27 are asymmetric with respect to the gate 23 yet self-aligning due to the difference between the thickness of the side wall 24" and that of the side wall 26'.
In such field effect transistor, a predetermined distances are provided between the gate 23 and the respective contact layers 27, and therefore, high gate-drain breakdown voltage can be obtained and current leakage between the gate and the source side contact layer 27 is prevented.
In the prior art production method of a semiconductor device, however, the following problems arise in the actual production steps.
There is no anisotropicity in the wet etching of removing the insulating film 24 at the gate side using the photoresist 25 as a mask, as shown in FIG. 6. The photoresist 25 is attached at the side, removing some of the first insulating film 24' below the photoresist 25. Even if this etching is dry etching, the etching selectivity of the first insulating film 24 relative to the gate 23 and GaAs substrate 2 is about 1:10, and it is difficult to remove only the first insulating film 24 by the etching. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the surface of substrate and the side wall of gate 23 are also etched and damaged at the same time, causing arising variations in the gate length and reductions in the thickness of the active layer 22 in the substrate 21. This results in variations and deteriorations in the FET performance.
Secondly, in the process of producing side wall insulating films 24" and 26' which are asymmetrical with respect to the gate 23 by reactive ion etching (RIE), the film thicknesses, and t.sub.2 of the insulating films are different to the left and right of the gate 23 as shown in FIG. 8(a), and the time is required for equal etching is differentiate. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8(b), when the insulating film 26' is produced at the side wall of the gate 23, the first insulating film 24' still remains on the active layer 22 and on a portion of the gate 23. Accordingly, if the insulating film 24' is further etched until a side wall insulating film 24" comprising the first insulating film 24' of a desired configuration is produced, the side wall insulating film 26' comprising the second insulating film which has already been produced is almost totally removed. Thus, a desired side wall insulating film having an asymmetrical configuration will not be obtained, thereby increasing the variation of the gate-drain breakdown voltage. Furthermore, there are current leakages between the gate and source region, thereby deteriorating the FET performance. Furthermore, in this process, the active layer 22 and the gate 23 at the side where the side wall insulating film 26' is produced are damaged by etching, thereby deteriorating the FET performance to a great extent.


A technique for implementing SRCU with reduced OS jitter may include: (1) providing a pair of critical section counters for each CPU; (2) when entering an SRCU read-side critical section, incrementing one of the critical section counters associated with a first grace period; (3) when exiting an SRCU read-side critical section, decrementing one of the critical section counters associated with the first grace period; (4) when performing a data update, initiating the second grace period and performing a counter summation operation that sums the critical section counters associated with the first grace period to generate a critical section counter sum; (5) storing a snapshot value for each critical section counter during the summing; and (6) if the critical section counter sum indicates there are no active SRCU read-side critical sections for the first grace period, rechecking by comparing the snapshot values to current values of the critical section counters.

1. Field
The present invention relates to computer systems and methods in which data resources are shared among concurrent data consumers while preserving data integrity and consistency relative to each consumer. More particularly, the invention concerns improvements to a "read-copy update" (RCU) variant known as sleepable RCU or SRCU.
2. Description of the Prior Art
By way of background, read-copy update is a mutual exclusion technique that permits shared data to be accessed for reading without the use of locks, writes to shared memory, memory barriers, atomic instructions, or other computationally expensive synchronization mechanisms, while still permitting the data to be updated (modify, delete, insert, etc.) concurrently. The technique is well suited to multiprocessor computing environments in which the number of read operations (readers) accessing a shared data set is large in comparison to the number of update operations (updaters), and wherein the overhead cost of employing other mutual exclusion techniques (such as locks) for each read operation would be high. For example, a network routing table that is updated at most once every few minutes but searched many thousands of times per second is a case where read-side lock acquisition would be quite burdensome.
The read-copy update technique implements data updates in two phases. In the first (initial update) phase, the actual data update is carried out in a manner that temporarily preserves two views of the data being updated. One view is the old (pre-update) data state that is maintained for the benefit of read operations that may have been referencing the data concurrently with the update. The other view is the new (post-update) data state that is available for the benefit of other read operations that access the data following the update. These other read operations will never see the stale data and so the updater does not need to be concerned with them. However, the updater does need to avoid prematurely removing the stale data being referenced by the first group of read operations. Thus, in the second (deferred update) phase, the old data state is only removed following a "grace period" that is long enough to ensure that the first group of read operations will no longer maintain references to the pre-update data.
FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate the use of read-copy update to modify a data element B in a group of data elements A, B and C. The data elements A, B, and C are arranged in a singly-linked list that is traversed in acyclic fashion, with each element containing a pointer to a next element in the list (or a NULL pointer for the last element) in addition to storing some item of data. A global pointer (not shown) is assumed to point to data element A, the first member of the list. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the data elements A, B and C can be implemented using any of a variety of conventional programming constructs, including but not limited to, data structures defined by C-language "struct" variables.
It is assumed that the data element list of FIGS. 1A-1D is traversed (without locking) by multiple concurrent readers and occasionally updated by updaters that delete, insert or modify data elements in the list. In FIG. 1A, the data element B is being referenced by a reader r1, as shown by the vertical arrow below the data element. In FIG. 1B, an updater u1 wishes to update the linked list by modifying data element B. Instead of simply updating this data element without regard to the fact that r1 is referencing it (which might crash r1), u1 preserves B while generating an updated version thereof (shown in FIG. 1C as data element B′) and inserting it into the linked list. This may be done by u1 acquiring an appropriate lock, allocating new memory for B′, copying the contents of B to B′, modifying B′ as needed, updating the pointer from A to B so that it points to B′, and releasing the lock. As an alternative to locking, other techniques such as non-blocking synchronization (NBS) or a designated update thread could be used to serialize data updates. Data element B is partially maintained in the linked list by preserving its pointer to element C. All subsequent (post update) readers that traverse the linked list, such as the reader r2, will see the effect of the update operation by encountering B′. On the other hand, the old reader r1 will be unaffected because the original version of B and its pointer to C are retained. Although r1 will now be reading stale data, there are many cases where this can be tolerated, such as when data elements track the state of components external to the computer system (e.g., network connectivity) and must tolerate old data because of communication delays.
At some subsequent time following the update, r1 will have continued its traversal of the linked list and moved its reference off of B. In addition, there will be a time at which no other reader process is entitled to access B. It is at this point, representing expiration of the grace period referred to above, that u1 can free B, as shown in FIG. 1D.
FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate the use of read-copy update to delete a data element B in a singly-linked list of data elements A, B and C. As shown in FIG. 2A, a reader r1 is assumed be currently referencing B and an updater u1 wishes to delete B. As shown in FIG. 2B, the updater u1 updates the pointer from A to B so that A now points to C. The pointer from B to C is retained. In this way, r1 is not disturbed but a subsequent reader r2 sees the effect of the deletion. As shown in FIG. 2C, r1 will subsequently move its reference off of B, allowing B to be freed following expiration of the grace period.
In the context of the read-copy update mechanism, a grace period represents the point at which all running processes (or threads within a process) having access to a data element guarded by read-copy update have passed through a "quiescent state" in which they can no longer maintain references to the data element, assert locks thereon, or make any assumptions about data element state. By convention, for operating system kernel code paths, a context (process) switch, an idle loop, and user mode execution all represent quiescent states for any given CPU running non-preemptible code (as can other operations that will not be listed here). In some read-copy update implementations adapted for preemptible readers, all read operations that are outside of an RCU read-side critical section are quiescent states.
In FIG. 3, four processes 0, 1, 2, and 3 running on four separate CPUs are shown to pass periodically through quiescent states (represented by the double vertical bars). The grace period (shown by the dotted vertical lines) encompasses the time frame in which all four processes have passed through one quiescent state. If the four processes 0, 1, 2, and 3 were reader processes traversing the linked lists of FIGS. 1A-1D or FIGS. 2A-2C, none of these processes having reference to the old data element B prior to the grace period could maintain a reference thereto following the grace period. All post grace period searches conducted by these processes would bypass B by following the links inserted by the updater.
Grace periods may asynchronous or synchronous. According to the asynchronous technique, an updater performs the first phase update operation, specifies the second phase update operation as a callback, then resumes other processing with the knowledge that the callback will eventually be processed at the end of a grace period. The call_rcu( ) primitive represents one interface that RCU provides for use with asynchronous grace period detection. According to the synchronous technique, an updater performs the first phase update operation, blocks (waits) until a grace period has completed, and then implements the second phase update operation, such as by removing stale data. A primitive known as "synchronize_rcu( )" represents one interface that RCU provides for use with synchronous grace period detection. A related primitive known as "synchronize_rcu_expedited( )" speeds up grace period detection by approximately an order of magnitude, but at the expense of significant CPU overhead.
One variant of read-copy update known as sleepable read-copy update (SRCU) allows RCU readers to momentarily sleep while executing within their RCU read-side critical sections. This is accomplished by refusing to provide asynchronous grace-period interfaces, relying instead on synchronous grace period detection via calls to a pair of primitives known as "synchronize_srcu( )" and "synchronize_srcu_expedited( )" These primitives are the SRCU counterparts to the synchronize_rcu( ) and synchronize_rcu_expedited( ) primitives mentioned above. Unfortunately, these primitives (and especially the latter) can result in significant OS jitter due to the need to coordinate synchronous grace detection with the operations of readers as they enter and leave their SRCU read-side critical sections.
OS jitter represents undesirable variation in the latency of operating system kernel operations that should otherwise be determinative and predictable, particularly where real-time response is desired. A solution that improves SRCU's grace period detection operations would therefore be advantageous. What is needed in particular is an SRCU grace period detection solution that reduces OS jitter without significantly increasing read-side overhead and without significantly limiting scalability.

In-kernel SRCU implementation with reduced OS jitter

International Business Machines Corporation


A computer-implemented method for power grid anomaly detection using a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained to detect anomalies in electricity demand data and electricity supply data includes receiving (i) electricity demand data comprising time series measurements of consumption of electricity by a plurality of consumers, and (ii) electricity supply data comprising time series measurements of availability of electricity by one or more producers. An input matrix is generated that comprises the electricity demand data and the electricity supply data. The CNN is applied to the input matrix to yield a probability of anomaly in the electricity demand data and the electricity supply data. If the probability of anomaly is above a threshold value, an alert message is generated for one or more system operators.

With the advent of microgrids and newer Smart Grid technologies in recent years, there has been a significant change in the way power system is operated. The increased use of flexible distributed energy resources has led to the need to address the economics and control system implications to ensure grid reliability. This has resulted in a new framework for power system operation and control called Transactive Energy. Transactive Energy (TE) refers to the use of a combination of economic and control techniques to improve grid reliability and efficiency. This framework demands an extensive information exchange among demand response resources, local generation sources, storage devices, grid monitoring and control devices, and microgrids. It also requires information exchange among markets, utility operations, customers, and service providers. These information exchanges happen through communication channels, such as the public Internet. This puts the TE System (TES) under potential cyber intrusions and attacks.
Typically, data collected in the TES are interrelated. For example, decreasing demand will have negative impact on the price in the energy market and the output of the power generators; meanwhile, increasing the bidding price will reduce the demand but increase the output from power generation stations. Therefore, simply monitoring data from different sources independently might avoid attacks that violate the interrelation between them. Moreover, to understand the physical relationship between different data sources and thus construct useful features for the anomaly detection purpose requires domain expert and assumption-based modeling. This process is not generic and thus cannot be applied to a different system and configuring such a model for a unique system could be time consuming and expensive.
Most of the anomaly detection methods related to TES are directly migrated from the Information Technology (IT) world. They are useful if the attacks are only targeting the cyber layer of the TES. However IT solutions fail to address attacks where the cyber layer is breached and the attackers gain access to and are able to manipulate the physical level information. Several recent studies proposed anomaly detection methods based on physical layer information and most of them are designed for a certain component or subsystem of smart grids, such as substation, or smart meters. Those previous methods might suffer from several major issues when monitoring the TES.
First, subsystems or components within a TES are dynamically linked to each other and changes in one subsystem might lead to the fluctuation in another system. Monitoring a single subsystem may lack the ability to discover the inconsistency between different subsystems. For example, if a power generator doesn't change its output according to the electricity price in the market, an anomaly detection model learned solely from the data from the generator may fail to detect the scenario.
Second, to implement an anomaly detection method requires a set of finely designed features and requires domain expert to construct the physical mode which is expensive and time consuming. Also, the feature constructed for one subsystem might be only useful for another system with the same configuration and environment, which is rarely the case. The difficulties of building such a physical model may even increase if we incorporate the interaction between different subsystems.

Deep convolutional neural network based anomaly detection for transactive energy systems


A computer comprising a circuit for writing a group of ordered data elements onto the main storage; a circuit for reading said group of data from the main storage; and a circuit which is connected to the writing circuit and to the reading circuit, and which ensures the sequence of main storage references between said writing circuit and said reading circuit such that said reading circuit will not read the data elements that have not yet been written by said writing circuit among said group of data elements.

The present invention is related to a computer for processing vector data.
In a conventional parallel computer sharing a main storage which is constituted by a plurality of vector processors, provision is made of a semaphore register that is shared by vector processors in the configuration. When a vector data written onto the main storage by a given vector processor in the configuration is to be read out by other vector processor, the semaphore register is used and the sequence of main storage references is ensured by effecting the exclusive control for the whole region where vector data of the main storage are stored. Apparatuses of this kind have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,942 and S. Fernbach, "Supercomputers Class IV Systems, Hardware and Software", Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Horth holland, 1986, pp. 69-81.
FIG. 5 illustrates how to use the abovementioned prior technology, wherein a VST instruction works to store the vector data in the main storage, a POST instruction works to finish the execution of the instruction after the main storage reference for all preceding instructions has been finished, a WAIT instruction works to finish the execution of the instruction after the execution of the POST instruction has been finished, and a VLD instruction works to load the vector data from the main storage. FIG. 5 is a time chart illustrating the operation in which two vector processors hand the vector data over via the main storage, and wherein an instruction sequence executed by a vector processor 1 (hereinafter referred to as VP1) is given by
VST
POST
and an instruction sequence executed by a vector processor 2 (hereinafter referred to as VP2) is given by
WAIT
VLD
It is now presumed that the main storage region which is used by the VST instruction executed by VP1 for storing the vector data is the same as the main storage region which is used by the VLD instruction executed by VP2 for loading the vector data, and that the arrangements of elements of vector data in this, region are in agreement with each other. When the above-mentioned prior technology is used as shown in FIG. 5, execution of VLD instruction is started by the VP2 after the execution of VST instruction by the VP1 has been completely finished.
If attention is given to the individual elements of vector data, on the other hand, the load of zero-th element of vector data on the main storage executed by the VLD instruction of VP2 needs not wait for the complete completion of the execution of VST instruction of VP1 but needs simply wait for the completion of the store of zero-th element in the VST instruction of VP1. This also holds true for the elements other than the zero-th element.
According to the above-mentioned prior art, however, no attention has been given to this fact, and the execution of the VLD instruction by VP2 is started being delayed by roughly the time for executing the VST instruction. The delay increases with the increase in the length of vector in the vector data that are to be handled.

Computer for synchronized read and write of vector data


An assembly structure is formed of generally rigid layers of material bonded to generally flexible layers so as to form apparatus including hinges, bearings, and other translating and rotating subunits along with embedded functional devices.

The ability to manufacture goods efficiently and with superior functionality has long been a key determinant of economic success for individuals, enterprises and societies. Contrary to popular perception, most innovation takes place through an evolutionary process in which pre-existing elements are recombined in surprisingly useful ways, rather than as a radical departure from the status quo. This is true of innovations in apparatus and methods and also in manufacturing techniques.
The history of manufactured goods spans a long series of transitions across materials (from wood, stone and leather to gold, copper, bronze, iron and steel and on to various synthetic materials including among others man-made polymers. Likewise, the techniques of manufacturing have evolved from the preparation of individual items through the development of interchangeable parts, moving assembly lines and various photolithographic techniques for the preparation of circuit boards, integrated circuits and micro-electromechanical (MEMS) systems.
MEMS systems predominate among mechanical devices at the micron scale and typically involve the bulk addition and removal of materials in serial fashion from a single substantially planar substrate. Traditional machining and fabrication practices are readily applicable to devices from centimeter scale up to meters (e.g. large machine tools and dynamos).
While these developments have led to a remarkable abundance and variety of products, one that would astound the most prescient individual of a century ago, there remain apparatus and systems that are persistently difficult, time-consuming and consequently expensive to manufacture. In particular, manufacturing at the millimeter scale, remains challenging for a variety of reasons.


A panoramic image is to be easily generated.

Conventionally, in order to obtain a panoramic image using an image capturing apparatus, for example, image capturing is performed while shifting an image capturing region little by little, and frame (or field) images are sequentially recorded from an image capturing start point, as in PTL 1. Then, an overlap portion of the captured images that are positionally adjacent to each other is extracted from the recorded captured images, and a certain calculation is performed on this overlap portion, so that the individual captured images are seamlessly combined and a panoramic image is generated.
For example, a user performs image capturing while shifting an image capturing direction in a horizontal direction, and records a plurality of captured images. By seamlessly combining the captured images while performing an appropriate process on an overlap portion of the captured images, a horizontally long panoramic image can be obtained.
Also, during image capturing, an optical axis variable element is changed in a direction opposite to a shift direction of an image capturing direction, and an operation of opening a shutter while an optical axis is linearly moving and quickly returning the optical axis to an original position while the shutter is closed is repeated, whereby a plurality of captured images are recorded. In this way, the resolution does not degrade even if the image capturing apparatus is quickly moved, and a favorable panoramic image can be generated even if a shutter speed is not high.

Image capturing apparatus and image capturing method

Abstract: A driver 12 displaces at least one of a lens unit 11a and an image capturing element 21 with respect to an optical axis. A control unit 50 displaces, using the driver 12, at least one of the lens unit 11a and the image capturing element 21 in accordance with a motion of an image capturing apparatus 10. When generating a plurality of captured images while shifting an image capturing direction in order to generate a panoramic image from the plurality of captured images, the control unit 50 changes a position of the lens unit 11a and/or the image capturing element 21, the position being a position at the start of exposure of each of the captured images, in a direction set according to a direction in which the image capturing direction shifts, thereby performing correction of deviation caused by a motion of the image capturing apparatus.


Handle is formed with the metal portion of a dental prosthesis so that the handle can be used for supporting and handling the metal structure from the mold to the final finishing, when the handle is cut off. The handle preferably has both a ring for supporting the structure on a post and a ball for grasping of the metal structure.

This invention is directed to a handling system, and particularly a system for handling the metallic portion of a dental prosthesis from the molding of the metal portion, through to intermediate and finishing work on the metal structure, until the cutting off of the handle as the last step.
Dental prostheses are often partially or completely cast of metal in an investment casting lost wax molding process. These prostheses must be handled through the intermediate and finishing processes subsequent to the molding. In some cases, a metallic substructure is cast of metal, and subsequent thereto a ceramic is selectively placed thereon. When suitably positioned and configured, the ceramic is baked on the substructure. In order for the ceramic to properly adhere to the substructure, the metallic substructure must be absolutely clean. Handling such a substructure with the fingers places skin oils thereon, which prevents proper ceramic adhesion. The handling of such a substructure even with gloves can cause contamination of the surface and subsequent poor adhesion. The ideal clean surface is the untouched surface as it comes from the investment casting mold. Cleanliness and convenience in handling are also necessary or helpful in the handling of other dental prosthetic devices. In the past, there has been no handling system by which such can be accomplished.


A machining apparatus including a rotating shaft disposed rotatably about an axis thereof, an eccentric rotating member supported by the rotating shaft rotatably about an axis thereof which is offset from the axis of the rotating shaft, at least one cutting tool which is supported by the eccentric rotating member such that each cutting tool is rotated with the eccentric rotating member and such that the cutting edge of each cutting tool is offset from the axis of the eccentric rotating member, and a rotating device supported by the rotating shaft, for rotating the eccentric rotating member relative to the rotating shaft, and thereby changing the cutting edge position of each cutting tool in the radial direction of the rotating shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machining apparatus capable of changing the radial position of cutting edges of cutting tools, and more particularly to a technique for improving the rigidity or strength of a structure for supporting the cutting tools.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
An example of a machining apparatus wherein the radial position of cutting tool bits or inserts can be changed is disclosed in laid-open Publication No. 62-92112 of unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application. This machining apparatus includes (a) a rotating shaft rotatable about an axis thereof, (b) an eccentric sleeve which is concentrically and rotatably supported by the rotating shaft, and which has an inner circumferential surface which is eccentric with the rotating shaft, (c) a tool holder which rotatably engages the inner circumferential surface of the eccentric sleeve and which is prevented from being rotated relative to the rotating shaft, (d) cutting tool bits carried by the tool holder such that the cutting edges of the tool bits are offset from the axis of the rotating shaft, and (e) a rotating device supported by the rotating shaft, for rotating the eccentric sleeve relative to the rotating shaft. In this machining apparatus, the tool holder engaging the eccentric sleeve is moved in the radial direction of the rotating shaft, when the eccentric sleeve is rotated by the rotating device relative to the rotating shaft. As a result, the position of the tool bits is changed in the radial direction of the rotating shaft.
However, the eccentric sleeve through which the tool holder is supported by the rotating shaft tends to reduce the strength or rigidity of the support structure for the tool bits, resulting in easy occurrence of strains or vibrations due to a cutting resistance during a machining operation. Thus, the conventional machining apparatus is limited in the machining accuracy and is not sufficiently capable of performing a heavy-duty machining operation.

Machining apparatus having means for changing radial position of cutting tools


For example, in a radio communication system using an OFDMA method, frequency bandwidth allocated to each sector is modified according to, for example, the number of terminals existing in each sector, and the effective utilization of radio sources is promoted. A radio base station device includes unit to determine the amount allocated to each sector from the amount of radio resources in the base station and unit to switch over the connection states of a plurality of radio resources obtained by dividing the entire radio resources that can be allocated to each sector in the base station according to the determined amount of allocation.

The use of an OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplex) method, an OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiplex access) method or the like as the latest technique of a radio broadband mobile communication method is studied. The OFDM method divides transmitting information using a plurality of sub carriers of different center frequencies, modulates it for each sub carrier and transmits it in parallel. Thus, symbol transfer speed per carrier can be made slower than that in the case of serial transfer by dividing information and the influence of fading can be reduced.
The OFDMA method realizes multi-access by dividing the sub carriers of the OFDM method into several groups, extracting sub carriers from each group and using each of the extracted sub carriers as a group of sub carriers for each user. Thus, the high use efficiency of frequency can be obtained compared with a conventional FDMA method.
FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a conventional example of a radio base station device using, for example, such an OFDM method. This radio base station device divides a radio communication area, that is, an area where terminals accommodated in one base station into a plurality of sectors and conducts radio communications with its terminals.
In FIG. 1, a radio base station device 100 can accommodate a frequency band of 10 MHz for each of three sectors and includes three process units of a sector 1 process unit 1011 through a sector 3 process unit 1013 for each of the sectors. Each process unit, for example, the sector 1 process unit 1011. includes two basic process blocks, such as basic process blocks 1021 and 1022 of 5 MHz per carrier. In a down process, that is, at the time of transmitting to the terminal side, this basic process block performs a baseband process, such as encoding user data from an entrance line connected to an exchange or the like and outputs its result to, for example, inverse fast Fourier transfer (IFFT) process unit. In up process, that is, at the time of receiving from the terminal side, this basic process block performs a baseband process, such as decoding data from an FFT (fast Fourier transfer) process unit or the like and outputs its result to the entrance line side.
FIG. 2 explains the problem of the conventional device illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, many user terminals are concentrated to the sector 2 area and few user terminals exist in the sector 1 and 3 areas. As explained in FIG. 1, inside the radio base station device 100, two basic process blocks are fixedly allocated to each sector process unit. Therefore, even when the amount of hardware resources of the entire base station device is sufficient, the amount of radio hardware resources becomes insufficient for the sector 2 and there is a possibility that a non-connectable call or an incomplete call in which a call is disconnected while not completed occurs.
As a conventional art for improving the frequency use efficiency of such a radio base station device, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-27189 "Control Station, Radio Communication System and Frequency Allocation Method" discloses a technique for improving the frequency band use efficiency of the entire system by regularly modifying frequency (channel) allocation in such a way as to maintain an interference level constant, without fixedly allocating a frequency to each cell in an FDMA system.
However, for example, in an OFDMA system, that is, a radio communication system capable of changing frequency bandwidth, which is the subject of the present application, the technique of this patent document is unsuitable for application.

Radio base station device and radio resource connection switching method


A transaxle for a small utility vehicle or implement, including a casing, at least one rotatable shaft disposed in and extending from the casing, at least one brake disc rotatably fixed to the rotatable shaft for rotation therewith, and at least one braking mechanism with at least a portion of the braking mechanism being externally mounted on the casing proximate the rotatable shaft. The braking mechanism includes at least one friction puck disposed proximate the brake disc, and a brake shaft including a cam surface having a longitudinal edge, wherein the brake shaft has an engaged position in which the longitudinal edge is in operative engagement with the friction puck and the friction puck is in pressing engagement with the brake disc and a disengaged position in which the longitudinal edge is out of operative engagement with the friction puck.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to braking systems for use with small utility vehicles such as riding lawn mowers, lawn tractors and the like, specifically, disc braking systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, small utility vehicles and implements, such as riding lawn mowers, lawn tractors, and snow throwers, contain an internal combustion engine that supplies drive power in the form of rotary mechanical motion to the input of a transaxle. In some cases the transaxle then transfers this mechanical motion through a gearbox and then to a differential, which splits the rotary mechanical motion between two axles at the output of the transaxle. The axles each terminate with connections to wheels that engage the ground to drive the vehicle or implement. Braking systems are utilized with such vehicles to allow an operator to slow or stop motion of the vehicle, and to prevent runaway implements and resultant injuries.
Some previous braking systems have employed braking mechanisms that are mounted completely within the transaxle casings. A problem with such braking mechanisms is that the braking mechanisms must be assembled contemporaneously within the transaxle casings, and therefore any design changes in such braking mechanisms necessarily require additional complementary design changes in the transaxle casings. A further problem with these braking mechanisms is that the transaxle casings must be separated and the transaxle partially disassembled in order to access the braking mechanisms for servicing. In addition, locating the braking mechanisms within the transaxle casings increases the likelihood that the brake disc will be contaminated by oil, grease or other lubricants used to lubricate the gears and shafts within the transaxle, and may adversely affect brake performance.
Another previous braking mechanism utilizes a brake housing, which is mounted on the exterior of the transmission and includes a brake disc and brake pucks located externally of the transmission, and a brake lever, located on the exterior of a brake housing, which rotates to move a friction puck into braking engagement with the brake disc (U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,386). Such a braking mechanism structure allows the brake to be located externally of the transmission, but requires the use of several components for actuation of the brake, thereby raising the cost and complexity of the braking mechanism. Furthermore, such a structure requires additional assembly steps, thereby limiting the capability of the braking system being shipped with the transaxle and limiting the possibility of installation of the transaxle into a vehicle without requiring the vehicle manufacturer to conduct additional assembly of the transaxle, or the possibility of xe2x80x9cdrop-inxe2x80x9d installation of a transaxle including the brake mechanism to a vehicle.
What is needed is a braking system for a small utility vehicle or implement that effectively stops, slows, or prevents motion of the vehicle. A further need is for a braking system that contains braking mechanisms mounted such that the braking mechanisms are readily accessible for servicing by not being internally disposed within the transaxle casing, cannot be contaminated by oil, grease, or other lubricants from within the transaxle casings, and can be shipped with the transaxle as a single unit to a final vehicle assembly location for xe2x80x9cdrop-inxe2x80x9d installation to the vehicle.
The above-mentioned and described shortcomings are overcome by providing a braking mechanism which is mounted externally of the transaxle casing and which includes a removable cover, thereby providing access for servicing and preventing contamination by oil, grease, or other lubricants. Furthermore, the braking mechanism may include a portion formed with the transaxle casing such that the braking mechanism may be combined with the transmission into a single unit.
The present invention provides a transaxle for a small utility vehicle or implement, including a casing, at least one rotatable shaft disposed in and extending from the casing, at least one brake disc rotatably fixed to the rotatable shaft for rotation therewith, and at least one braking mechanism with at least a portion of the braking mechanism being externally mounted on the casing proximate the rotatable shaft. The braking mechanism includes at least one friction puck disposed proximate the brake disc, and a brake shaft including a cam surface having a longitudinal edge, wherein the brake shaft has an engaged position in which the longitudinal edge is in operative engagement with the friction puck and the friction puck is in pressing engagement with the brake disc and a disengaged position in which the longitudinal edge is out of operative engagement with the friction puck.
The present invention further provides a braking mechanism for a transaxle in a small utility vehicle with at least a portion of the braking mechanism being externally mounted to the transaxle. The braking mechanism includes a brake disc, at least one friction puck disposed proximate the brake disc, and a brake shaft including a cam surface having a longitudinal edge, wherein the brake shaft has an engaged position in which the longitudinal edge is in operative engagement with the friction puck and the friction puck is in pressing engagement with the brake disc and a disengaged position in which the longitudinal edge is out of operative engagement with the friction puck.
The present invention further provides a transmission for a vehicle including a casing, at least one rotating shaft extending from the casing, a brake disc rotatably fixed to the rotating shaft for rotation therewith, and at least one braking mechanism. The braking mechanism includes a brake housing with at least a portion of the brake housing being externally mounted on the casing, at least one friction puck disposed proximate the brake disc, and a brake shaft including a cam surface having a longitudinal edge. The brake shaft has a first, rotated position in which the longitudinal edge is in operative engagement with the friction puck such that the friction puck is in pressing engagement with the brake disc, and a second position wherein the longitudinal edge is not in operative engagement with the friction puck and the cam surface is disposed parallel to the friction puck.


An optical switching and delay system for optical encryption and/or optical decryption may comprise a switch bank, a set of optical delay lines, a combiner, and a processor. The switch bank may be configured to receive an optical signal in a first arrangement and route the optical signal to the set of optical delay lines according to a switching arrangement key. The set of optical delay lines may be configured to provide delays to the optical signal. The combiner may be configured to receive the optical signal with delays from the set of optical delay lines and combine the optical signal into a second arrangement. The processor may be configured to receive the switching arrangement key and control the switch bank according to the switching arrangement key. The switching arrangement key may comprise a set of instructions for routing the optical signal.

Because radio frequency (RF) signals are received in the analog domain, wireless communication systems often use Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) to convert the received RF signals to digital information. Analog signals, such as RF signals, modulated on an optical carrier are difficult to encrypt without digitizing the information. To encrypt an analog signal, the analog signal is generally first digitized using an ADC and then the information is remodulated on an optical carrier. However, this requires moving the information from the optical domain to the electrical domain, and then back to the optical domain, adding complexity to the overall system and increasing its size, weight, and power (SWaP). Furthermore, decrypting digitally encrypted information having a large number of samples requires a computer with significant processing power.

Optical switching and delay systems and methods for optical encryption and/or optical decryption


A new miniature rose plant which has abundant flowers with a red-purple center and light pink outer petals and attractive glossy dark foliage. The variety successfully propagates from softwood cuttings and is suitable for year round production in commercial glasshouses as a flowering pot plant.

The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of miniature rose plant named xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 which was developed by artificially pollinating an unnamed seedling (unpatented) with an unnamed seedling (unpatented).
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety for commercial greenhouse culture was to create a new and distinct variety with:
1. Uniform and abundant flowers with good keepability;
2. Attractive long lasting foliage and compact growth;
3. Year round flowering under glasshouse conditions;
4. Suitability for production from softwood cuttings in pots; and
5. Durable flowers and foliage which make the variety suitable for distribution in the floral industry.
This combination of qualities was not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 from other varieties.
The two parents were crossed in the summer of 1999 and the resulting seed was sown in December 1999 in a controlled glasshouse environment. The seeds from hybridization were planted in a controlled environment in Klein Offenseth, Sparrieshoop, Germany and evaluations were conducted on the resulting plants. The instant cultivar originated as a single plant from the stated cross.
Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 by softwood cuttings was first done in Denmark and later in California in controlled greenhouse environments. The characteristics of the new variety remain true to type through successive propagations.
The new rose variety may be distinguished from its seed parent, an unnamed breeding seedling, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 has big double flowers, while the seed parent has small double flowers.
2. xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 has flowers with a red-purple center and light pink outer petals, while the seed parent has dark purple petals.
The new variety may be distinguished from its pollen parent, an unnamed breeding seedling by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 has bigger flowers and foliage as compared to the pollen parent.
2. xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99 has flowers with a red-purple center and light pink outer petals, while the pollen parent has dark red petals.
The new variety differs from xe2x80x98KORmissoxe2x80x99, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,264, as set forth in Table 1:

Miniature rose plant named xe2x80x98KORbltypxe2x80x99

W. Kordes Sohne Rosenschulen GmbH and Co. KG


A shunt current regulator can be used to maintain current levels at downhole device on a tubing encapsulated cable and improve communication speed between the surface and downhole devices. The shunt current regulator reduces the current noise on the tubing encapsulated cable allowing for higher bitrate transfer. In some aspects, a sensing element monitors the current drawn and generates a sense signal. In other aspects, a compensation signal is generated from the sense signal. The compensation signal may be used as input to control a transistor to regulate the current drawn from the tubing encapsulated cable. The transistor can dissipate power to stabilize the current drawn or provide compensation current to increase the current drawn.

In drilling or operating wells for hydrocarbon extraction, understanding the structure and properties of the associated geological formation provides information to aid in drilling and operating the well more efficiently. The physical conditions inside the wellbore can be monitored to ensure proper operation of the well. A wellbore is a challenging environment, with temperatures that can approach 150 degrees C. (302 degrees F.), 175 degrees C. (347 degrees F.), or even 200 degrees C. (392 degrees F.), and pressures that can approach 25 kpsi (172 MPa, or about 1700 atmospheres), or even 30 kpsi (207 MPa, or about 2000 atmospheres). There is ongoing effort to develop systems and methods that can allow for more flexibility in making measurements and collecting data downhole, without significant loss of precision in systems and techniques to communicate efficiently downhole at a well site.

Shunt current regulator for downhole devices


A chip including a processor for performing a predetermined operation, a provider for providing a clock signal, with which the processor is clocked, a counter for decrementing or incrementing a count based on the clock signal, a monitor for signaling the predetermined operation to be prevented, depending on the count, and a non-volatile storage for non-volatily storing the count.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chips, and more particularly to protection of chips to prevent unlimited access to the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The protection concepts of current chips are designed such that they determine only the number of authentification attempts and authentifications, respectively. In the present application, chips mean a semiconductor apparatus with integrated circuitry, while chip cards consist of the chip and a carrier, such as a plastic carrier. In a current GSM SIM card, for example, the number of potential authentification attempts is limited to three. A program in a processing unit in a GSM SIM card determines the number of authentification attempts via a counter and compares whether the count exceeds the maximum value. If this is the case, the card is locked.
FIG. 6 shows such a GSM SIM card. It comprises a clock terminal 1, a supply voltage terminal 2, a data bus terminal 6, a processing unit 16, a memory 26, a counter 11 and a non-volatile memory 36. The clock terminal 1 and the data bus terminal 6 are connected to the processing unit 16 and the memory 26. An output of the processing unit 16 is connected to the input of the counter 11, an output of the counter 11 is connected to an input of the processing unit 16. Thus, there is a bidirectional connection between the processing unit 16 and the counter 11. A further output of the counter is connected to the input of a non-volatile memory 36 and an output of the non-volatile memory 36 to an input of the counter 11. Thus, there is again a bidirectional connection between the counter 11 and the non-volatile memory 36. The processing unit 16 is suitable for performing operations. These operations can be reading out contents of the memory 26, processing these contents and the subsequent writing of contents into the memory 26. Depending on a certain instruction or certain instructions for instructing an authentification attempt, the processing unit signals the counter to increment its count by one. The counter 11 stores its current count in the non-volatile memory 36. If the supply voltage is switched off at the supply voltage terminal 2, the non-volatile memory 36 retains the last state of the counter 11. If a supply voltage is applied again to the supply voltage terminal 2, the counter 11 reads its output count from the non-volatile memory 36 before it can receive further signals from the processing unit 16. If the counter 11 reaches a certain value, such as 3, a certain access method to the chip, which means further authentification attempts via the input of a four digit identification number (PIN number), is prevented. Thus, the GSM SIM card allows no further authentification attempts this way. The chip can then only be unlocked via the input of a very long identification number, which the customer receives from the mobile radio operator when signing a contract.
However, this method does not prevent a potential attacker from performing current analysis, spike attacks and similar attacks to the chip across an unlimited time or across an unlimited number of clock cycles. By these methods, the potential attacker can obtain valuable information about the construction, the structure and content of the memory elements on the chip and thus acquire secret data. For these attacks, an authentification is not required, which is why the protection mechanism fails.
The problem with trying to prevent further attacks, which require no authentification, is that current chip testers with microcontrollers and security memories such as a smart card, have no clock, so that the operation cannot be limited in time. There is no time reference for detecting the time period within which an attacker tries to obtain information via the chip.
So far, the time coupling was only implemented in security models, typically in remote access applications, such as access authorization modules for firm means such as for secure token with a real time clock, which requires battery buffering and a quartz clock generation. Due to their thickness, these elements cannot be used in the chip cards widely spread today.


Provided is a technique for generating a tagging model for attaching a tag in consideration of a phrase based on dependency between words. A tagging model generation apparatus includes a learning section 2 which generates, by using inputted learning data, a tagging model including probability-related information serving as information related to the probability that each tag is associated with each word-related information, and joint probability-related information serving as information related to a joint probability which serves as the probability of appearance of each tag in which appearance frequencies of a plurality of consecutive tags associated with pieces of word-related information of a plurality of consecutive words in each text are taken into consideration, and a storage section 3 which stores the generated tagging model.

As a technique for attaching a tag of a location or the like to each word in text, there is known a named entity extraction technique described in NPL 1.
In the technique in NPL 1, a named entity is extracted by using a CRF (Conditional Random Field). In the technique in NPL 1, a proper noun or the like is assumed to be the named entity to be extracted. In addition, in the technique in NPL 1, Chinese characters/hiragana letters/katakana letters/English letters are used as feature values used in learning of a model for attaching a tag, and a change point of a letter type (from a Chinese character to a hiragana letter) serves as a basic break of a tag.
Consequently, by using the technique in NPL 1, for example, it is possible to extract named entities of locations "NIPPON" and "FUJISANN" from text "NIPPON NIWA FUJISANN GA ARU.". In other words, by using the technique in NPL 1, it is possible to attach a tag "location name" to each of "NIPPON" and "FUJISANN".
In addition, by using the technique in NPL 1, for example, it is possible to extract a named entity "TOUKYOU TAWA" from text "TOUKYOU TAWA NI NOBOTTA.". In other words, by using the technique in NPL 1, it is possible to attach the tag "location name" to "TOUKYOU TAWA".
Further, by using the technique in NPL 1, for example, it is possible to extract a named entity "TOUKYOU" from text "TOUKYOU NI ARU TAWA NI NOBOTTA.". In other words, by using the technique in NPL 1, it is possible to attach the tag "location name" to "TOUKYOU".

Tag assignment model generation apparatus, tag assignment apparatus, methods and programs therefor using probability of a plurality of consecutive tags in predetermined order

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


Displaying categorized messages includes categorizing at least one message into at least one category among a plurality of categories, displaying a number of messages in a dedicated portion of a display, the number of messages displayed being based on a current size of the dedicated portion of the display, wherein a specific message is selected for display based on a priority measure corresponding to the at least one category into which that specific message is categorized, and in response to a resizing of the dedicated portion of the display, selecting again a new number of messages to display in the dedicated portion based on a new size of the dedicated portion, and displaying the new number of messages, wherein a specific message is selected for display based on a priority measure corresponding to the at least one category into which that specific message is categorized.

The present invention relates to displaying at least one categorized message, and more specifically, to displaying at least one categorized message in a dedicated portion of a display.
Messages such as electronic mail (email), instant messages (IM), and text messages may be used to allow a number of users to communicate with each other. The messages may include text, images, and audio. Further, the messages may be displayed via a display of a device. The display may display the messages and information associated with the messages. The information associated with the messages may include subjects of the messages, senders of the messages, other information associated with the messages, or a combination thereof.

Displaying at least one categorized message

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A device for articulating a tire-pressure sensor to a motor vehicle rim includes: a tire-inflation valve having a base designed to come into contact with a corresponding part of a tire-pressure sensor electronic unit, the valve having a threaded shank designed to be introduced through an orifice in a wheel rim and protrude outward therefrom, the valve base being situated in the continuation of the shank, and a tire-pressure electronic unit housing the valve base, and being pressed against the bottom of the rim by tightening a securing nut onto the threaded part of the shank of the valve. The valve base has a roughly spherical part collaborating with a region of corresponding shape formed on the electronic unit.

The present invention relates to a device for articulating a tire-pressure sensor on the rim of a motor vehicle. More specifically, this articulation is between a valve base and an electronic unit processing the signals delivered by the tire-pressure sensor.
It is already known practice for a motor vehicle to be fitted with tire-pressure sensors. In general, each wheel of the vehicle has a pressure sensor placed on its rim inside the tire. These sensors are designed in particular to measure the pressure inside the tire and are, for this purpose, placed in an electronic unit also comprising means for processing the measured signal and for emitting this signal to a receiver placed inside the vehicle. If the pressure in one of the tires varies abnormally, a warning (an audible message, a visual message, etc.) alerts the driver to the detected anomaly. The driver is also informed of the position of the defective wheel. As these methods of processing the signal and of determining anomalies are known per se, they will not be detailed hereinafter.
It is already known practice for the tire-pressure sensor electronic unit to be fixed at the valve used for inflating the tires. Advantageously, by tightening a nut that secures this valve to the rim, the entire electronic unit can be fixed to the rim.
For this, the unit is designed to accommodate the valve base and to tilt toward the rim (so as to be pressed against the bottom of the rim) while the valve is being screwed onto the rim. Such an example of securing is described, for example, in patent applications FR 0110843 and FR 0111539 in the name of the Applicant Company.
The valve base is therefore articulated with respect to the electronic unit either through a set of two off-axis stops, or by the folding of a bellows. These solutions are satisfactory and allow the unit to be pressed against the bottom of the rim whatever the size of this rim (different radii of curvature). However, these solutions are relatively expensive to implement and involve a valve base equipped with extensions that are relatively difficult to produce.
The purpose of the present invention is to create an articulation between a valve base and a unit able to press the unit against the bottom of the rim regardless of the diameter of this rim. This articulation needs to remain simple to manufacture and inexpensive.
To this end, the present invention relates to a device for articulating a tire-pressure sensor to a motor vehicle rim, said device consisting of:
a tire-inflation valve having a base designed to come into contact with a corresponding part of a tire-pressure sensor electronic unit, said valve further having a threaded shank designed to be introduced through an orifice in a wheel rim and to protrude outward from this rim, said valve base being situated in the continuation of the shank inside the rim, and
a tire-pressure electronic unit housing the valve base, said unit being pressed against the bottom of the rim by tightening a securing nut onto the threaded part of the shank of the valve,
said articulating device being characterized in that the valve base has a roughly spherical part collaborating with a region of corresponding shape formed on the electronic unit.
Advantageously, the valve base and the part of the unit in contact with this valve base are equipped with a plurality of facets. The collaboration between a facet belonging to the valve base and one of the facets belonging to the unit allows the angle of inclination between the valve and the unit to be set. As a result, the unit nestles perfectly (according to the radius of curvature of the rim) in the bottom of the rim.
Depending on the number of facets made on the valve base and on the unit, there are a certain number of possible angles of inclination between the valve and the unit. All that is required is to choose a suitable pair of facets (one on the valve base and one on the unit) in order to press the unit against the rim according to the radius of curvature of this rim.
As an alternative, the spherical part of the valve base is in direct contact with a spherical part of the unit. These two parts have no facets. They do, however, have means of slip-free clamping of one with respect to the other (studs and grooves for example). In this case, as the valve securing nut is tightened onto the shank, all that is required is for the unit to be pushed against the rim in order to adjust the angle of inclination of the unit with respect to the rim. The tilting of the unit in the bottom of the rim during tightening is therefore done by hand.
Advantageously, a reinforcing piece is placed between the unit and the rim so as to avoid any problem of these two elements hammering together.

Device for articulating a tire-pressure sensor on a motor vehicle rim


Communication devices may utilize services of multiple communication networks to obtain service for the various applications that the communication device provides. The communication device and/or one or more communication networks may determine which network is best suited to each application based on dynamic information regarding the service provided by each communication network. The application may be associated with a network at various times, such as upon the communication device encountering a network that supports a service needed by the application and/or upon initial invocation of the application. The communication device may be communicating with several communication networks simultaneously so that a single application may make use of multiple communication networks and/or so that multiple applications may each utilize different networks.

Communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like provide one or more applications that may be implemented on behalf of the user. For example, communication devices may employ a voice call application that allows the user to place a voice telephone call to remote parties. As other examples, communication devices may employ text messaging applications, web browsing applications, gaming applications, virtual private networking, terminal services, and so forth.
Each of these various applications being provided may have constraints that dictate how well the application will function and whether it will function at all. For example, a voice call application may be considered to perform best when transmission errors are minimized at the expense of data throughput so that re-tries of data transmissions are seldom necessary. As another example, text messaging may be considered to perform best when the connection is the least expensive, at the expense of data throughput and transmission errors. As another example, web browsing may be considered to perform best when data throughput is at its highest, at the expense of cost for the connection.
Communication devices that implement these applications make use of whatever service quality is available at a given time from the communication network to which the communication device is currently registered. This current communication network is typically the native communication network for the device, i.e., the network operated by the entity through which the user has purchased communication service. However, where the native communication network is unavailable due to a lack of signal strength, then the current communication network through which the communication device attempts to communicate for the application may be a roaming network operated by an entity that has a roaming agreement in place with the entity that operates the native network. In either case, the communication device is limited by what level of service that current network provides.

Communication devices that utilize various communication networks to satisfy communication needs of device applications