A robotic bending apparatus for bending archwires and other types of elongate, bendable medical devices into a desired configuration includes a first gripping tool and a moveable gripping tool. The first gripping tool can be either fixed with respect to a base or table for the robot or positioned at the end of robot am. The moveable gripping tool is mounted to the end of a moveable robot arm having a proximal portion also mounted to the base. The robot preferably comprises a six axis bending robot, in which the distal end of the moveable arm can move relative to the fixed gripping tool about three translational axes and three rotational axes. The gripping tools preferably incorporate force sensors which are used to determine overbends needed to get the desired final shape of the archwire. The robot may also include a resistive heating system in which current flows through the wire while the wire is held in a bent condition to heat the wire and thereby retain the bent shape of the wire. A magazine for holding a plurality of straight archwires needing to be bent and a conveyor system for receiving the wires after the bending process is complete are also described. The robot bending system is able to form archwires with any required second and third order bends quickly and with high precision. As such, it is highly suitable for use in a precision appliance-manufacturing center manufacturing a large number of archwires (or other medical devices or appliances) for a distributed base of clinics.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a robot and method for automatically bending orthodontic archwires, retainers, or other orthodontic or medical devices into a particular shape.
B. Description of Related Art
In orthodontics, a patient suffering from a malocclusion is treated by affixing brackets to the surface of the teeth and installing an archwire in the slots of the brackets. The archwire and brackets are designed to generated a customized force system that applies forces to teeth, by which individual teeth are moved relative to surrounding anatomical structures into a desired occlusion. There are two approaches to designing an appropriate force system for a patient. One is based on a flat archwire and customized brackets, e.g., Andreiko et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,432. The other is based on off-the shelf brackets and designing a customized archwire that has complex bends designed to move or rotate the teeth in the desired direction. Traditionally, the latter approach has required manual bending of the archwire by the orthodontist.
Machines for bending orthodontic archwires have been proposed in the prior art. Andreiko et al. describes an apparatus that takes a straight archwire and imparts a simple planar arcuate curvature to the wire. The wire is customized in the sense that the shape of the arc is designed for a particular patient, but the wire bending apparatus described in Andreiko et al. is limited to a customized bracket approach to orthodontics. In particular, the Andreiko et al. wire bending apparatus cannot produce any complex and twists bends in the wire, e.g., bends requiring a combination of translation and rotational motion.
The patent to Orthuber et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,860 describes a bending robot for bending archwires. A robot as described in the ""860 patent was developed by the predecessor of the assignee of the present invention and used experimentally for several years, but never widely commercialized. The robot consisted of two characteristic design features: a bending cone that could move forwards and backwards to bend the wire, and a rotating cone that could twist the wire. As such, it could only apply torque or bends over the two main axes of a cross section of a rectangular shaped wire. Since the portion of the wire extending beyond the cone is free and unconstrained, the robot had no control as to the effective deformation of the wire. Additionally, a series of three twists and two bends were typically required by a robot in accordance with the ""860 patent to shape an archwire so that it would fit in the slots of two adjacent brackets. This series of twists and bends required as much as 5 mm of wire length between adjacent brackets. This length of wire is greater than that available for closely spaced teeth, such as the lower front teeth. To avoid this situation, the robot bent a twisted portion of the wire, which provoked uncontrolled rotational motion in the wire.
The design of the ""860 patent also has other shortcomings: it provides no means for measuring forces imparted by the wire since one end of the wire is free and the wire is gripped immediately below the bending point. The robot had no effective feedback mechanism for detecting how the wire in fact was bent after a particular bending or twisting operation was performed. As the free end of the wire is not constrained or held in any manner, there is no ready way to heat the wire as it is being bent in order to fix the shape of the bend in a wire made from a shape memory material. Consequently, shape memory alloy wires made with the ""860 patent were subject to a separate heating treatment in a separate thermal device.
The present invention presents a substantial improvement to the robot of the ""860 patent. The invention also provides for much greater flexibility in the design and manufacture of archwires than that disclosed by the Andreiko et al. patent. In particular, the present invention enables the manufacture of custom, highly accurate orthodontic archwires. Such wires are ideally suited to an archwire-based orthodontic treatment regime based on standard, off-the-shelf brackets. The invention is also readily adaptable to bending other medical devices, including implants such bone fixation plates, prostheses, orthotic devices, and even surgical tools.
In a first aspect, a bending apparatus or machine is provided for bending an orthodontic appliance, such as a retainer or archwire, into a desired configuration. While the orthodontic device is described as being an archwire in the illustrated embodiment, other types of medical devices are contemplated as the type of article capable of being bent by the robot. Examples of such medical devices are prostheses, orthotic devices, implants, fixation plates, spectacle frames, and surgical devices such as a reamer for root canals.
The bending apparatus or machine may take the form of a robot mounted to a base or table support surface. A first gripper tool is provided. This tool can either be fixed with respect to the base or may be incorporated into a moveable arm. The first gripping tool has a first gripping structure for holding the archwire or other medical device. The bending apparatus includes a moveable arm having a proximal portion mounted to the base a distance away from the first gripper tool and a free distal end portion. The moveable arm is constructed such that the free distal portion of the moveable arm is capable of independent movement relative to the first gripper tool along at least one translation axis and about at least one rotation axis. In an illustrated embodiment, the moveable arm has a set of joints which allows the distal end of the arm to move in 6 degrees of freedom xe2x88x923 orthogonal translational axes and 3 orthogonal rotational axes. However, depending on the nature of the medical device and the required bends to form in the device, a lesser number of degrees of freedom may be appropriate, reducing the cost and complexity of the bending apparatus.
A second gripping tool is mounted to the distal portion of the moveable arm. The second gripping tool has a gripping structure for gripping the archwire. Thus, the archwire is gripped by the first and second gripping tools, with the second, moveable gripping tool capable of motion relative to the first gripping tool along at least one translational axis and at least one rotational axis.
The robot further includes a control system operative of the moveable arm and the first and second gripping tools so as to cause the first and second gripping tools to grip the archwire while the gripping tools are separated from each other and to cause the second gripping tool to move about at least one of the rotational axis and translation axis to thereby bend the archwire a desired amount. Preferably, the control system reads an input file containing information as to the shape of the archwire (or location of bending points along the wire) and responsively operates the moveable arm and first and second gripping tools to form a series of bends and/or twists in the archwire.
The nature of the bends in the archwire will be dictated by the orthodontic prescription and the type of force system that the orthodontist has chosen for the patient. Complex bends involving a combination of bends and twists are possible with the robot. For such complex bends, it has been found that a six-axis robot, in which the second gripping tool is capable of movement relative to the first gripping tool about three translation axes and three rotation axes, is a preferred embodiment.
Orthodontic archwires and other medical devices may have elastic properties such that when a certain amount of force is applied to the workpiece, it returns to its original configuration at least to some degree. What this means is that when a certain bend is formed in the wire, say a 10 degree bend, the wire may take a shape of an 8 degree bend due to this elastic property. Hence, some overbending of the archwire may be needed to account for this elastic deformation. Solutions for overbending wire are provided. One method is a force-based approach. In this approach, the robot comprises a force sensor system for detecting forces generated by the wire after the wire has been bent by the first and second gripping tools. Depending on the direction and magnitude of the detected forces, additional bends are formed in the wire. The proper bend in the wire is deemed to exist when the wire, at its designed shape, exhibits zero or substantially zero forces.
An alternative approach to overbending is based on deformation. In this approach, the wire is bent, the wire is released from the moveable gripping tool and a measurement is made of the wire""s shape, the wire is bent some more (assuming more bending is required), the wire is released again, and the process continues until the resulting configuration is the one specified by the input file. In this embodiment, a camera or other optical technique can be used to measure the shape of the wire. Alternatively, force sensors can be used to determine the actual bend in the wire (by moving the moveable gripper holding the wire to the position where no forces are measured), and a measurement is taken to indicate what additional bends, if any, are needed to result in the desired configuration.
It is further contemplated that a database of overbending information can be acquired as the robot bends wires. This database of overbending information can be used by artificial intelligence programs to derive a relationship between overbending and desired bends, for a particular archwire material. It may be possible to overbend wires in a single step, that is without requiring a lot of intermediate bending steps, based on this database of information, or based on a derived relationship between overbending and resulting wire shape.
In another aspect, the robot includes a heating system to apply heat to the archwire or other workpiece while it is in the bent condition and/or during bending. A current-based resistive heating system and heated grippers are used in the illustrated embodiment. This system allows shape memory alloys to be bent by the robot and the acquired bends retained in the wire material. Other heating systems are possible depending on the nature of the device being bent.
In another aspect, the robot is part of an archwire manufacturing system including a magazine containing a plurality of straight archwires. The magazine holds the archwires such that they are spaced from each other so as to enable the robot to grip an individual one of the archwires. Several different magazine designs are proposed. After the robot has formed the archwire, the archwire is placed at a finish location. A conveyor system carries the finished archwire from the finish location to a labeling and packaging station. The wires are individually labeled and packaged. Alternatively, pairs of wires could be labeled as corresponding to a single patient and packaged together.
In still another aspect, a gripping tool for a bending robot is provided. The gripping tool includes a pair of opposing gripping fingers moveable between open and closed positions, and a force system coupled to the gripping fingers for detecting forces imparted by a workpiece such as an archwire or other medical device after a bend has been placed in the workpiece. As noted above, the force system can be used to measure resulting forces after a certain bend has been placed in the wire, and the measurements used to indicate additional bending steps to yield the required configuration taking into account the need for overbending.
In still another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for bending an orthodontic archwire in a bending robot. The method includes the steps of
a) gripping the archwire with a first gripping tool such that a portion of the archwire projects beyond the first gripping tool;
b) gripping the portion of the archwire extending beyond the first gripping tool with a moveable gripping tool;
c) releasing the gripping of the archwire by the first gripping tool;
d) moving the moveable gripping tool while gripping the archwire so as to draw the archwire through the first gripping tool a predetermined amount;
e) the first gripping tool again gripping said archwire after the step of moving is performed, and
f) moving the moveable gripping tool relative to the first gripping tool so as to place a bend in the archwire having a desired configuration.
In the above method, the moveable gripping tool and first gripping tool can cooperate to place a series of bends in the archwire. It has been found that the movement called for by step f) should be performed such that a constant distance, equal to the length of archwire pulled through the fixed gripping tool in step d) is maintained between the fixed gripping tool and the moveable gripping tool. This distance should be maintained in order to avoid applying tension or compression to the wire. Since the moveable gripping tool is moving potential in three dimensions during the bending, the distance that needs to be maintained is measured along the length of the archwire. The same principle holds true for bending other types of devices.
These and still other aspects of the invention will be more apparent in view of the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment.

Robot and method for bending orthodontic archwires and other medical devices


A controller for a camera crane has a rocker button pivotally supported in or on a controller housing about a first pivot axis. A shaft of an electrical component, such as a variable resistor, is on a second pivot axis spaced apart from the first pivot axis. An arm is attached to the shaft. A spring urges the arm to a center position. Movement of the rocker button moves the arm. Due to the offset of the first and second pivot axes, movement of the rocker button results in proportionally reduced movement of the shaft of the electronic component. Smooth crane arm movements are readily achieved as the controller is less sensitive to the operators hand or finger movements.

Camera cranes are often used in motion picture and television production. The motion picture or television camera is typically mounted on a crane arm supported on a mobile base, dolly, or truck. Camera cranes generally have a crane arm supported on a base, with a camera platform at one end of the arm, and a counter weight at the other end. The crane arm can be pivoted by hand to raise and lower the camera, and also to pan to the left or right side.
Telescoping camera cranes have a telescoping arm that can extend and retract, providing far more capability than fixed length crane arms. The telescoping movement of the arm may be driven electrically or hydraulically. Generally, the crane operator uses a hand held controller to control the crane movement. The hand held controller is linked via a cable or wirelessly to the electrical or hydraulic drive system. Smooth movements reduce unwanted noise and stress on crane components. However, achieving smooth movements can be difficult to achieve, especially for less experienced crane operators. Accordingly, engineering challenges remain in designing an improved controller for a camera crane.


A game apparatus 10 for forming initial couplets for use in a game wherein players associate names of individuals with such initial couplets. Apparatus 10 provides for set selection disks 23 in connection with indicator 24 to distinguish sets of individuals from the larger set or pool of all individuals whose names satisfy the criteria of the initial couplets. The initial couplet strips 20 are slideably inserted into channels 21 formed in game board 11. Disks 23 are concentrically mounted with one another and are rotatably mounted on game board 11. Game board 11 further includes a hinged prop 12 and score card holder channel 31. Additionally, slots 17 are provided to hold strips 20 not currently in use, with scalloped edges 17 providing for easy insertion and removal of strips 20 into slots 21 and 17.

Fundamental associative skills are the subject of numerous games and game devices. For example, the card game often referred to as "concentration" typically employs recalling information on one side of an object; the information being normally covered and being only briefly disclosed to a player. The player must then recall and associate the information with a particular object so as to form pairs of objects having similar information.
Another game of this type employs combinations of letters which serves to form initials of individual's names. Typically, the game is played by arranging the alphabet in a first column and then writing a random phrase in a second column next to the alphabet column. In this manner, first and last initials are associated in couplets with one another. Players then attempt to associate names of individuals with the initial couplets. The player who is able to associate the greatest number of names is the winner of that round of the game. The game is fun and entertaining as well as being quite challenging and educational.
A drawback of this letter game, however, is that as the game is played repeatedly, players develop a certain familiarity with particular initial couplets and corresponding name associations. This causes a certain degree of repetitiveness to the game as players develop a rote-type association, rather than a creative association to initial couplets. Therefore, there exists a need for an apparatus for selectively arbitrarily creating couplets of initials and dividing the overall set or pool comprised of names of individuals into sets and/or subsets of names which may be utilized in the game.
There have been several devices in which a user manipulates slides so as to selectively and/or randomly choose letters, however most did so to form words. Examples of these devices are U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,286,157, issued to Vizcarra; 2,974,433, issued to Litzinger; 3,947,036, issued to Kupec; and 4,227,697, issued to Castanis. In each of these devices the object, to some degree, was to form words, rather than initial couplets. Further, the letters of .these devices are typically arranged on slides, wherein the user views an individual letter on a slide through an aperture. Therefore, these devices are overly complex and not suited to display, as a column, an entire series of initial couplets.
Another device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,231, issued to Cammarata, illustrates the use of sets of letters which, in combination with dice and marker means, forms a plurality of letters from which words are formed. The drawback of using such an apparatus for forming columns of initial couplets, however, is that the letter sets are fixed, and that the means for choosing the sets of letters are overly complex.
Therefore, there arises a need for an apparatus which selectively and effectively forms columns of initial couplets for use in a game wherein players associate names of individuals with such initial couplets. Further, such apparatus should provide means for distinguishing sets and/or subsets of individuals from the larger set or pool of all individuals whose names may satisfy the criteria of the initial couplet.


A hanger comprising a base having a supported surface adapted to be positioned along a generally vertical surface, and an elongate peg having one end mounted on the base with a portion of the peg projecting from an outer surface of the base opposite its supported surface generally at a right angle with respect to the supported surface of the base. The peg has an axially extending surface portion adapted to be positioned uppermost when the supported surface of the base is positioned along a generally vertical surface, which axially extending surface portion restricts free movement axially of the peg of sheets of paper around and hanging on the peg. That axially extending surface portion can be defined by a layer of adhesive on the peg or by closely spaced sharp edges on the peg. Such sharp edges could be on screw threads around the peg, ridges extending transversely across the peg, serrations formed on the peg, or by abrasive granules adhered along the peg.

The art is replete with hangers of the type including a base having a supported surface adapted to be positioned and attached along a generally vertical surface, and a projection from an opposite outer surface of the base on which objects such as a calendar or a poster can be hung. Typically the projection on such a hanger is curved and projects generally upwardly, and while it provides good support for such objects, an object must be manipulated through a variety of different positions to cause it to pass along the length of the projection to a position adjacent the base of the hanger at which the object is supported on the projection. This is not particularly troublesome when all of the sheets of a multi-sheet object, such as a calendar, to be supported on the hanger are moved together over the hanger's projection. It can be more troublesome, however, when that multi sheet object or calendar is already supported on the hanger, and it is desired to move only one or less than all of the sheets of the object or calendar onto or off of the projection (e.g., when the sheet for a new month is to be displayed, or when it is desired to look at month following or preceding the month currently being displayed). The entire multi-sheet object or calendar may be lifted by a single sheet moving onto or off of the projection, and if care is not taken, the weight of the calendar can tear a single sheet being moved along the projection so that it can no longer be retained on the projection.


A real image type finder is provided comprising an objective optical system, an eye piece optical system, and an aperture which is arranged in the objective optical system and that is substantially conjugate with an exit pupil. The finder permits a user to adjust the aperture diameter and its position simply by manipulating the aperture for adjustment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates mainly to a real image type finder for use in cameras.
2. Description of Related Art
Among cameras having a finder optical system provided on the camera body separately from an imaging optical system, a finder such as the Galilean finder has found widespread popularity in various fields of application hereinbefore. However, with the improved imaging systems being put on the market, the market preference trend has been switched to real image type finders which can form an image of an object with a relatively high magnification power and a bright frame of the view field. Additionally, with the market trend moving toward more compact cameras, a need has arisen for an image type finder which may form an image with high magnification power and a reduced overall length.
However, the prior art camera finder suffered from the disadvantage that the finder frequently caused a flare around an eye point with the increase of the magnification power in each of the lenses which constitute the optical system; this resulted in the image being quickly impaired by the presence of such flares etc., when a viewer's pupil moved while looking in through the finder.
Recently, a zoom lens with a highly variable magnification power has become a popular item for use in the imaging system, and it has also generated demand for real image finder with a highly variable magnification power ratio and high magnification power.
However, in a prior art zoom finder, the eye point diameter is subject to substantial variation due to its variable power. That is, the eye point diameter is subject to excessive increase at the end of the wide-angle position, and thereby causes a substantial flare to be created around the eye point.
There was also a problem with the eye point diameter being reduced excessively at the end of the telephoto position; this kept the viewer from seeing the object, when the user manipulate the camera to reduce the eye point diameter at the end of the wide-angle position in order to solve the problem.
When the aperture is apart from the object optical system, quality of image-forming in the object optical system deteriorates, and diameter of the front lens of the object optical system has to be increased, since light at the periphery of the field-of-view passes through the periphery of the object optical system.


The invention relates to a system (1) for image based guidance of treatment delivery to a patient. The system is adapted to determine spatial parameters defining a position and orientation of an ultrasound probe (8) on the basis of a reference image which has been used for preparing a treatment plan. This can provide a certain degree of automation in arranging the ultrasound probe, in order to decrease user dependence and improve the usability for relatively untrained operators. Moreover, since the reference image is also used for generating the treatment plan, i.e. since the same image is used for generating the treatment plan and for determining the position and orientation of the ultrasound probe, it is not necessarily required to acquire an additional image. This can allow for a reduced radiation dose applied to the parts of the patient not being the target to be treated.

US 2006/0241443 A1 discloses a system of targeting therapy such as radiation treatment to a patient. The system is adapted to identify a target lesion inside the patient by using a first image obtained from an imaging modality like a computed tomography imaging system. The system is further adapted to provide a static ultrasound image and to identify an anatomical feature inside the patient on the static ultrasound image. Moreover, the system is adapted to register the first image with the static ultrasound image and to track a movement of the anatomical feature during respiration in real time using ultrasound so that therapy delivery to the target lesion is triggered based on the movement of the anatomical feature and the registered images.
US 2005/0182316 A1 discloses a system for localizing a medical imaging probe. An image of a reference target is generated with a camera that is attached to the medical imaging probe, wherein the reference target is remote from the probe and located in a room at a known position relative to a coordinate system. The position of the medical imaging probe is determined relative to the coordinate system at least partly on the basis of the generated image of the reference target.
US 2012/0035462 A1 discloses a system for tracking an anatomy of interest. The system comprises an ultrasound probe configured to obtain ultrasound images of the anatomy of interest, a non-ultrasound imaging modality configured to obtain an image of the anatomy of interest, and a controller in operable communication with the ultrasound probe and the non-ultrasound imaging modality, wherein the controller comprises a processor and a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium stores a pre-acquired three-dimensional image of the anatomy of interest in a first reference frame and instructions for causing the processor to perform following functions: a) instructing the non-ultrasound imaging modality to obtain a non-ultrasound image of the anatomy of interest in a second reference frame, b) instructing the ultrasound probe to obtain a set-up ultrasound image of the anatomy of interest substantially simultaneously as the non-ultrasound image is obtained, c) establishing a transformation between the first and second reference frames by registering the pre-acquired three-dimensional image and the non-ultrasound image, d) instructing the ultrasound probe to obtain an intrafraction ultrasound image of the anatomy of interest, e) registering the intrafraction ultrasound image with the set-up ultrasound image, and f) tracking the anatomy of interest motion based on the registered intrafraction ultrasound image.
US 2014/0039314 A1 discloses a system for providing navigation during surgery. The system comprises a robotic apparatus for manipulating an ultrasound imaging transducer in tandem with a medical instrument suitable as a fiducial marker. A region of interest is scanned and a parameter of an anatomical feature therein is measured by using the ultrasound imaging transducer. A position of the ultrasound imaging transducer is tracked during surgery using a programmable computer link to the robotic apparatus, wherein this tracking leads to tracking information. The tracking information is applied to construct a three-dimensional model of the region of interest in which the medical instrument can be visualized during the surgery, wherein the medical instrument is manipulated about the region of interest by using information derived from the three-dimensional model.
US 2016/0000409 A1 discloses a system for estimating ultrasound image quality at a variety of positions to determine a desired ultrasound transducer position. The system comprises an input module configured to receive anatomical image data from a first imaging modality, wherein the anatomical image data include a target. The system further comprises an image quality estimation module coupled with the input module, wherein the image quality estimation module is configured to estimate ultrasound image quality when imaging the target at a position relative to the target by analyzing the anatomical image data to estimate ultrasound velocity along a route from the position to the target, wherein the route passes through one or more tissue types. Moreover, the system comprises a display module coupled with the image quality estimation module, wherein the display module is configured to output an indication of the ultrasound image quality at positions relative to the target.
It is known to use, for instance, a radiotherapy system for treatment delivery to a patient. A radiotherapy system can comprise a radiation source for treating a target by using ionizing radiation and an x-ray imaging system like a computed tomography imaging system for generating an image of the patient, wherein this image is used for determining the position, the orientation and dimensions of the target within the patient immediately before the radiotherapy is carried out. This spatial information can be used to, for instance, arrange the patient correctly or to adapt a given treatment plan such that the target is accurately met by the ionizing radiation.
This determination of the position, orientation and dimensions of the target within the patient by using x-rays leads to a relatively high radiation dose applied to parts of the patient not being the actual target, whereas ideally only the target should receive a high radiation dose.


Algorithms and concepts for maintaining uniform random samples of streaming data and stream joins. These algorithms and concepts are used in systems and methods, such as wireless sensor networks and methods for implementing such networks, that generate and handle such streaming data and/or stream joins. The algorithms and concepts directed to streaming data allow one or more sample reservoirs to change size during sampling. When multiple reservoirs are maintained, some of the algorithms and concepts periodically reallocate memory among the multiple reservoirs to effectively utilize limited memory. The algorithms and concepts directed to stream joins allow reservoir sampling to proceed as a function of the probability of a join sampling operation. In memory limited situations wherein memory contains the sample reservoir and a join buffer, some of the stream join algorithms and concepts progressively increase the size of the sampling reservoir and reallocate memory from the join buffer to the reservoir.

Uniform random sampling has been known for its usefulness and efficiency for generating consistent and unbiased estimates of an underlying population. In this sampling scheme, every possible sample of a given size has the same chance to be selected. Uniform random sampling has been heavily used in a wide range of application domains such as statistical analysis, computational geometry, graph optimization, knowledge discovery, approximate query processing, and data stream processing.
When data subject to sampling come in the form of a data stream (e.g. stock price analysis, and sensor networks monitoring), sampling encounters two major challenges. First, the size of the stream is usually unknown a priori and, therefore, it is not possible to predetermine the sampling fraction (i.e., sampling probability) by the time sampling starts. Second, in most cases the data arriving in a stream cannot be stored and, therefore, have to be processed sequentially in a single pass. A technique commonly used in this scenario is reservoir sampling, which selects a uniform random sample of a given size from an input stream of an unknown size. Reservoir sampling has been used in many database applications including clustering, data warehousing, spatial data management, and approximate query processing.
Conventional reservoir sampling selects a uniform random sample of a fixed size, without replacement, from an input stream of an unknown size (see Algorithm 1, below). Initially, the algorithm places all tuples in the reservoir until the reservoir (of the size of r tuples) becomes full. After that, each kth tuple is sampled with the probability r/k. A sampled tuple replaces a randomly selected tuple in the reservoir. It is easy to verify that the reservoir always holds a uniform random sample of the k tuples seen so far. Conventional reservoir sampling assumes a fixed size reservoir (i.e., the size of a sample is fixed).
Algorithm 1: Conventional Reservoir SamplingInputs: r {reservoir size}1: k = 02: for each tuple arriving from the input stream do3:  k = k + 14:  if k ≦ r then5:   add the tuple to the reservoir6:  else7:   sample the tuple with the probability r/k and replace a     randomly selected tuple in the reservoir with the     sampled tuple8:  end if9: end for
In addition to its usefulness in sampling in the context of data streams, uniform random sampling has been extensively used in the database community for evaluating queries approximately. This approximate query evaluation may be necessary due to limited system resources like memory space or computation power. Two types of queries have been mainly considered: 1) aggregation queries and 2) join queries. As between the two types, it is far more challenging for join queries because uniform random sampling of join inputs does not guarantee a uniform random sample of the join output.
In the context of data stream processing, others have addressed that challenge with a focus on streaming out (without retaining) a uniform random sample of the result of a sliding-window join query with limited memory. There are, however, many data stream applications for which such a continuous streaming out is not practical. One example is applications that need a block of tuples (instead of a stream of tuples) to perform some statistical analysis like median, variance, etc. For these applications, there should be a way of retaining a uniform random sample of the join output stream.
Another example comes from the applications that collect results of join queries from wireless sensor networks using a mobile sink. Data collection applications have been extensively addressed in research literature. In these applications, a mobile sink traverses the network and collects data from sensors. Thus, each sensor needs to retain a uniform random sample of the join output, instead of streaming out the sample tuples toward the sink.
A natural solution to keep a uniform random sample of the join output stream is to use reservoir sampling. However, keeping a reservoir sample over stream joins is not trivial since streaming applications can be limited in memory size.

Systems and methods for reservoir sampling of streaming data and stream joins

The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College


This invention relates to compounds of the general formula:

The protein kinases are a large family of proteins which play a central role in the regulation of a wide variety of cellular processes. A partial, non limiting, list of such kinases includes abl, Akt, bcr-abl, Blk, Brk, c-kit, c-met, c-src, CDK1, CDK2, CDK3, CDK4, CDK5, CDK6, CDK7, CDK8, CDK9, CDK10, cRaf1, CSK, EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3, ErbB4, Erk, Pak, fes, FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, FGFR4, FGFR5, Fgr, flt-1, Fps, Frk, Fyn, Hck, IGF-1R, INS-R, Jak, KDR, Lck, Lyn, MEK, p38, PDGFR, PIK, PKC, PYK2, ros, tie, tie2, TRK and Zap70. Abnormal protein kinase activity has been related to several disorders, ranging from non-life threatening diseases such as psoriasis to extremely serious diseases such as cancers.
In view of the large number of protein kinases and associated diseases, there is an ever-existing need for new inhibitors selective for various protein kinases which might be useful in the treatment of related diseases.
This invention concerns a new family of acetylenic heteroaryl compounds and their use in treating cancers, bone disorders, metabolic disorders, inflammatory disorders and other diseases.

Substituted acetylenic imidazo[1,2-A]pyrazine compounds as kinase inhibitors

Abstract: in which the variable groups are as defined herein, and to their preparation and use.


A system balances computational loads, for example in a virtual machine environment, taking into account the physical characteristics of the physical machines that the virtual machines are running on. A framework is provided for developing and implementing policies whereby computational loads are distributed in a beneficial manner. Examples of policies include policies that improve loads based on environmental and security concerns.

Virtualization in the data center decouples the application being run on a server from the actual server. Typically, virtualization management tools provide visibility of the application being run on a particular logical server via an IP address. This is demonstrated by a screenshot 10 from the industry leading virtualization software vendor VMWare seen in FIG. 1.
The left hand side of the screen shown in FIG. 1 lists hosts by IP address and the applications running on those hosts. This view is a logical view. It is an incomplete view because it does not show the physical view of the hosts and applications.
A view that supplements the logical view is shown in FIG. 2.
The view in FIG. 2 shows two virtual hosts 12 within a rack 14. The numbers within the boxes 16 shown on the virtual hosts 12 represent the number of virtual machines that are residing on that host. By clicking on the box or referring to the location tree, the details of the virtual hosts can be determined. This physical virtualization view enables better informed decisions about virtual machine placement to be made.
Typically, there is a load balancing function within virtualization management tools. Functional clusters of hosts are formed as a framework for load balancing decisions. This allows workload to be evenly distributed among functional hosts. This function does not extend to physical balancing.
An example of a logically unbalanced cluster is shown in FIG. 3. In this figure, each rectangle 18 within a cluster 20 represents a physical server (or host) in that cluster. Each virtual machine 22 within a physical server 20 runs one or more apps 24 on an operating system (OS) 26.
The same clusters as in FIG. 3 are shown in FIG. 4 as logically balanced. All virtual machines 22 (assumed to be of equal workload) are now, in FIG. 4, evenly spread across all virtual hosts 18 of the same function (for example, finance, marketing, and engineering).
FIG. 5 shows a hypothetical physical view 30 of a logically balanced workload. The hosts 18 are shown within cabinets 32. Since the virtual hosts of common cluster functions are interspersed within physical cabinets 32, the result is considered to be, according to one policy, a physically unbalanced load. For example, the physically unbalanced load shown in FIG. 5 may result in a less efficient use of physical infrastructure resources than a physically balanced load would. It requires more cold air to cool a physically unbalanced load, as shown in FIG. 5, than to cool a physically balanced load in which all virtual machines 22 are assigned to hosts 18 that are as close as possible to the bottom of the rack. Also, if three-phase power is being used, power distribution is inefficient when not balanced across three phases.
Without a view of the system that indicates the physical locations of the devices upon which virtual machines are running, there is no way to know if this logical balancing, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, has had a negative effect on physical balancing. There is a need for a virtualization visualization and distribution system that takes into account physical aspects of the hosts upon which virtual machines are running.

System and method for assignment of virtual machines based on physical information


A method for switching between low- and high-dilution combustion modes in an internal combustion engine having an intake passage with an exhaust-driven turbocharger, a crankshaft-driven positive displacement supercharger downstream of the turbocharger and having variable boost controllable with a supercharger bypass valve, and a throttle valve downstream of the supercharger. The current combustion mode and mass air flow are determined. A switch to the target combustion mode is commanded when an operating condition falls within a range of predetermined operating conditions. A target mass air flow to achieve a target air-fuel ratio corresponding to the current operating condition and the target combustion mode is determined. The degree of opening of the supercharger bypass valve and the throttle valve are controlled to achieve the target mass air flow. The amount of residual exhaust gas is manipulated.

The present invention relates to internal combustion engines operable in multiple combustion modes, including a spark-ignition (SI) mode and a low-temperature lean auto-ignition (e.g., homogeneous charge compression ignition—HCCI) mode. Engines operable in multiple modes are known to those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit that the engine can be operated in SI mode during times of high load and/or high engine speed, and when cruising at low load and low engine speed substantial fuel efficiency gains can be realized by operated in HCCI mode. However, transitioning between the different combustion modes with acceptable predictability and precision in real-world driving conditions remains to be a barrier to widespread use of this technology.

Combustion mode switching with a turbocharged/supercharged engine


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates deferring execution of instructions with unresolved data dependencies as they are issued for execution in program order. During a normal execution mode, the system issues instructions for execution in program order. Upon encountering an unresolved data dependency during execution of an instruction, the system generates a checkpoint that can subsequently be used to return execution of the program to the point of the instruction. Next, the system executes the instruction and subsequent instructions in an execute-ahead mode, wherein instructions that cannot be executed because of an unresolved data dependency are deferred, and wherein other non-deferred instructions are executed in program order. Upon encountering a store during the execute-ahead mode, the system determines if the store buffer is full. If so, the system prefetches a cache line for the store, and defers execution of the store.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for improving the performance of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for deferring loads and stores when a load buffer or a store buffer becomes full during execute-ahead mode.
2. Related Art
Advances in semiconductor fabrication technology have given rise to dramatic increases in microprocessor clock speeds. This increase in microprocessor clock speeds has not been matched by a corresponding increase in memory access speeds. Hence, the disparity between microprocessor clock speeds and memory access speeds continues to grow, and is beginning to create significant performance problems. Execution profiles for fast microprocessor systems show that a large fraction of execution time is spent not within the microprocessor core, but within memory structures outside of the microprocessor core. This means that the microprocessor systems spend a large fraction of time waiting for memory references to complete instead of performing computational operations.
Efficient caching schemes can help reduce the number of memory accesses that are performed. However, when a memory reference, such as a load operation generates a cache miss, the subsequent access to level-two (L2) cache or memory can require dozens or hundreds of clock cycles to complete, during which time the processor is typically idle, performing no useful work.
A number of techniques are presently used (or have been proposed) to hide this cache-miss latency. Some processors support out-of-order execution, in which instructions are kept in an issue queue, and are issued "out-of-order" when operands become available. Unfortunately, existing out-of-order designs have a hardware complexity that grows quadratically with the size of the issue queue. Practically speaking, this constraint limits the number of entries in the issue queue to one or two hundred, which is not sufficient to hide memory latencies as processors continue to get faster. Moreover, constraints on the number of physical registers that are available for register renaming purposes during out-of-order execution also limits the effective size of the issue queue.
Some processor designers have proposed entering a "scout mode" during processor stall conditions. In this scout mode, instructions are speculatively executed to prefetch future loads, but results are not committed to the architectural state of the processor. For example, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/741,944, filed 19 Dec. 2003, entitled, "Generating Prefetches by Speculatively Executing Code through Hardware Scout Threading," by inventors Shailender Chaudhry and Marc Tremblay. This solution to the latency problem eliminates the complexity of the issue queue and the rename unit, and also achieves memory-level parallelism. However, it suffers from the disadvantage of having to re-compute any computational operations that are performed while in scout mode.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus for hiding memory latency without the above-described drawbacks of existing processor designs.

Deferring loads and stores when a load buffer or store buffer fills during execute-ahead mode


The present disclosure relates to cryoprotection of plants. The compositions and methods disclosed herein provide a means for protecting plants from frost or freeze damage or death due to sudden exposure to low temperature conditions. The present disclosure further relates to methods for providing cryoprotection to plants.

Mankind's ability to control the earth's vegetation has been a key focus of civilization. Agriculturalists and horticulturalists have not only devoted their time and energy to the study of increasing plant yields and vitality, providing drought and insect resistance, but also to providing plants with resistance to the periodic exposure to unusually cold temperature conditions—conditions that are outside the control of man.
Plants have evolved to be compatible with their native environment. However, people have always sought to adapt and enjoy plants outside of their native areas, for example, as ornamental decoration, as landscaping, or a food source. Man has therefore developed methods and techniques that allow plants to thrive in locations that are well outside the climatic zones where a plant naturally occurs. For example, greenhouses allow for controlled germination and protected early growth of plants therefore increasing their chances of long term survival. But once outside the control of these special conditions, the plant becomes susceptible to conditions that can be unnatural to the species or to conditions to which the species is ill adapted. This is especially true for ornamental plants such as palms that have become popular both as additions to décor, but that are also cultivated by a growing number of people as house plants, patio plants, and as landscape additions. Therefore, once transplanted or otherwise outside the protection of a green house, for example, in a storage area before being sold to a consumer, the sudden onset of cold temperatures beyond those to which the plant has naturally adapted, can cause injury or death to the plant.
As a guide to horticulturists, the United States Department of Agriculture has developed Plant Hardiness Zone maps for plants based on the average annual minimum temperature a given area experiences. Although these Zones do not take soil, rainfall, and other variables into consideration, they are extremely useful because winter low temperatures are the most significant environmental factor governing plant hardiness. Although developed for use in the United States, these same Zone designations are now used worldwide to classify areas into Hardiness Zones and to classify plant species on the basis of their Zone Hardiness.
USDA ZoneAverage Annual Minimum Temperature (° C.)1−45.6 and colder2−40.0 to −45.53−34.5 to −39.94−28.9 to −34.45−23.4 to −28.86−17.8 to −23.37−12.3 to −17.78 −6.7 to −12.29−1.2 to −6.610 4.4 to −1.11110.0 to 5.5 Most of the continental United States and Eurasia are included in Zones 2 through 10. For example, if a plant is classified as hardy from Zone 5 through Zone 7, it means that it will likely grow well in Zones 5, 6, and 7, and that winter minimum temperatures much colder than the norm in Zone 5 could cause damage and for mortality. Importantly, winter care practices and technologies can extend the effective USDA range of plant species.
Although some plants can slowly adapt to low temperature conditions, the risk of losing large established plants due to frost/freeze conditions is of concern to both those who cultivate and sell plants, as well as to those who grow and nurture plants for their own personal use. In addition, fruit trees are especially susceptible to sudden frost/freeze events. The loss of a fruit crop or a major part of the foliage of fruit trees has a far reaching economic impact.
There is therefore a need for methods and compositions for protecting plants across all species against the sudden and damaging effects of cold weather conditions. The present disclosure meets these, as well as other, needs.

Plant cryoprotectant compositions and methods of use

Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama


In a mobile communication system, a method and circuit for symbol estimation is described. According to the method, a soft output decision for a symbol is estimated and is fed back to modify decisions made for a subsequent set of received samples. This has the advantage of conveying not only information about the most likely symbol, but also information about the noise environment.

The present invention relates to symbol estimation in a mobile communication system.
In high data rate mobile communication, system performance is degraded heavily by intersymbol interference ISI. The equalisation technique is one of the main issues for a receiver to combat ISI. It is well established that maximum likelihood sequence estimation MLSE, implemented by the Viterbi algorithm can provide optimum performance in terms of sequential error event probability. This technique however has great computational complexity which hinders it from use for channels with a long delay spread. In particular, when the technique is implemented using a trellis structure, the complexity of the trellis structure increases exponentially with channel length. Channel length is a time period which is defined as the influence depth (time duration) of each symbol. With a symbol transmitted at time t0, the symbol will be heard most significantly between times t1 to t2 (subsequent to t0). The channel length is considered to be t2xe2x88x92t1.
It is an aim of the present invention to reduce the complexity of symbol estimation, particularly but not exclusively for implementing symbol estimation in channels with a long delay spread using a trellis structure.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of estimating symbols transmitted between a mobile station and a base station in a communication system comprising:
receiving via a communication channel a set of received signal samples which have travelled via different transmission paths, each signal sample conveying a symbol component;
estimating from the set of received signal samples a soft-output decision for the symbol which combines over a number of symbol components an estimated value for each symbol component with a likelihood parameter which indicates a level of reliability associated with that estimated value; and
using the soft-output decision as a feedback element to modify a subsequent set of received signal samples prior to estimating a soft output decision for the subsequent set of received samples.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a symbol estimation circuit for use in a mobile communication system for estimating symbols, the circuit comprising:
a receiver arranged to receive via a communication channel a set of signal samples which have travelled via different transmission paths, each signal sample conveying a symbol component;
a estimator for estimating from the set of received signal samples a soft-output decision for the symbol which combines over a number of symbol components an estimated value for each symbol component with a likelihood parameter which indicates a level of reliability associated with that estimated value; and
a feedback path for feeding back the soft-output decision to modify a subsequent set of received signal samples prior to estimating a soft-output decision for the subsequent set of received samples.
The symbol estimation technique can be used recursively either within signal bursts or between signal bursts. That is, in a communication system wherein a sequence of signal bursts are received by the communication channel, a soft-output decision for each symbol in the signal burst may be estimated and used as a feedback element prior to estimation of a subsequent symbol in the same signal burst. Alternatively, a soft-output decision for a preceding signal burst can be used for a subsequent signal burst. The former is more likely to be reliable.
Estimation of the soft-output decision for the symbol can be carried out in a trellis equaliser in which state transitions are effected via a set of transition branches. The states for the trellis equaliser can initially be defined by channel taps of a channel impulse response estimated from the receive signal samples.
In the described embodiment, a first set of the channel taps is utilised for setting the initial states in a trellis equaliser and a second set of the channel taps are treated as interference and used to modify the input signal prior to estimating a subsequent soft-output decision.
A minimum phase channel impulse response can be generated using an all path prefilter.
In the technique according to the following described embodiments of the invention, a suboptimum soft-output algorithm SSA is used as a feedback decision as a tradeoff between optimality and implementation reality. The algorithm can be implemented using a trellis structure. The computational power needed for the described suboptimum soft-output algorithm is in the same range as that of using a Viterbi algorithm, but the memory needed is much less. Moreover, the algorithm generates a soft-output decision rather than a hard decision and the inventors have noted that soft decision feedback can give better performance than hard decision feedback for a low signal to noise ratio domain.
For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings.

Symbol estimation using soft-output algorithm and feedback


A fully articulated suspension of tandem wheels of a transport vehicle having a frame (1) with axles (2) has torque reaction rods (17, 18, 19, 20) linked with the axles, at least one pair of double-arm levers (3), each linked mechanically with the frame (1) and, by one of its arms (4), with the corresponding axle (2) by an assembly (8) for the transmission of static and dynamic loads. Articulated to the other arm (5) of the corresponding double-arm lever (3) are stirrup-shaped plate springs (22, 23) of the corresponding spring assembly (21) for the absorption of dynamic loads.

Nowadays a widespread development of transport facilities, their diversity and functional capabilities has imposed new requirements for the design of shock-absorbing suspensions, particularly articulated arm suspensions.
Known in the prior art is a fully articulated suspension of tandem wheels of a transport vehicle (GB, B, 1374548) having a frame with axles, said suspension comprising at least one pair of double-arm levers, each mechanically linked with the frame and the corresponding axle of the transport vehicle, means for absorption of dynamic loads, each articulated to one the arms of the corresponding double-arm lever, and torque reaction rods, each linked by one end with the frame and by the other end with the corresponding axle of the transport vehicle.
In this suspension the means for absorption of dynamic loads comprises a compression coil spring whose ends are mechanically linked with the corresponding arms of double-arm levers.
However, owing to the fact that the arms of the double-arm lever in this suspension are considerably stiff, the compression coil spring should absorb all the dynamic loads arising in the ascending axle which causes the linearity of the flexible characteristic of the suspension.
Besides, the compression coil spring in this suspension provides for absorption of the dynamic loads arising only during the working stroke of the suspension which impairs absorption of the dynamic loads originated during the rebound stroke.

Fully articulated suspension of tandem wheels of a transport vehicle


This display device is provided with: a light source unit having a light source and a light source substrate; a display panel; a light receiving face that is disposed on the back side of the display panel, and upon which light is incident; a light guide plate having a light exiting surface that emits light toward the back side of the display panel; a wall that faces the light receiving face in such a manner that a gap is formed between the light receiving face and the wall; a light source support member that supports the light source unit, and is inserted with the light source unit in the gap etc. from the back side of the light guide plate; and an elastic member that is disposed on the light source support member, protrudes farther toward the light receiving surface than the light source, is inserted in the gap before the light source unit, and is formed of an elastic material.

Liquid crystal panels are used in display devices for televisions, mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, and the like. A liquid crystal panel needs to use external light to display an image. Thus, as shown in Patent Document 1, this type of display device is provided with an illumination device (a so-called backlight device) to supply light to the liquid crystal panel. This illumination device is disposed on the rear surface side of the liquid crystal panel and illuminates the rear surface of the liquid crystal panel with planar light.
As the illumination device, a so-called edge lit type (or side lit type) that has a light guide plate made of a transparent plate-shaped member and a light source unit facing an edge face of this light guide plate is known as shown in Patent Document 1. Among illumination devices of this type, in recent years, a type of light source unit with a plurality of LEDs mounted on an LED substrate (hereinafter, LED unit) has been in general use.
Furthermore, as shown in Patent Document 1, the LED unit is provided within the illumination device so as to face the edge face of the light guide plate while being supported by a light source support member made of a heat dissipating member that has an L-shape in a cross-sectional view. The light source support member (heat dissipating member) has an upright portion (first heat dissipating section) that is attached to the LED unit (light-emitting module), and has a portion (second heat dissipating section) that extends from the upright portion towards the light guide plate and makes contact with the rear surface of the light guide plate. Also, this light source support member is in contact with the case portion of the illumination device. When such a light source support member is attached to the LED unit, the heat generated from the LED unit can be effectively dissipated outside using the light source support member.
However, in recent years, due to the demand for a reduction in thickness and the like, display devices without a frame-shaped member to support the periphery of the liquid crystal panel from the rear surface side have been proposed. With this type of display device, the liquid crystal panel is provided so as to be mounted on the surface in the front side of the light guide plate. Furthermore, a frame-shaped bezel covers the periphery of the liquid crystal panel from the front side of the liquid crystal panel. A display device with this kind of configuration is assembled by stacking a liquid crystal panel, a light guide plate, and the like in that order on the bezel that is upside down. The LED unit is disposed on the prescribed location on the bezel in advance before the liquid crystal panel and the like are stacked on the bezel.
However, if an LED unit is attached to a light source support member provided with a portion in contact with the rear surface of the light guide plate, the liquid crystal panel, the light guide plate, and the like cannot be stacked on the bezel after the LED unit is disposed on the prescribed location of the upside down bezel. This is because, if the light source support member is disposed on the prescribed location of the bezel in advance, a portion of the light source support member (the portion in contact with the rear surface of the light guide plate) would be protruding towards the inner side of the bezel, and the protruding portion would be caught on the liquid crystal panel, the light guide plate, and the like. In this case, the LED unit would be provided together with the light source support member on the bezel after the liquid crystal panel, the light guide plate, and the like are disposed on the bezel. The LED unit will be disposed in a gap between an edge face of the light guide plate and a wall-shaped portion of the bezel and the like facing the edge face by inserting the LED unit from the rear side of the light guide plate.


A method, includes: providing at least one set of data; composing a data stream including compressed data from the at least one set of data, the at least one set of data having embedded therein a respective counter indicative of the at least one set of data, the respective counter being losslessly encoded into the compressed data; transmitting the data stream over a transmission channel; receiving the data stream; and recovering, from the data stream, the respective counter.

Functional safety of electric/electronic systems in the automotive field is regulated by standards such as e.g. the ISO26262 standard, which defines four Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs) and associated methods, metrics, processes and documents. Similar standards exist in other mission-critical domains (e.g. industrial, aerospace, other transportation).
Functional safety is an important factor for Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) applications and, in the longer term, for fully autonomous driving.
The "frozen image" hazard is a major functional safety concerns for systems dealing with video acquisition, processing and display. It is relevant for Systems on Chip (SoCs) and systems including enough storage (memory) for enabling uncompressed and compressed full frame buffering.
For instance, compressed full frame buffering is applicable in systems using H.264 and H.265 video codecs; these are accepted video compression standards when an Ethernet-based video transmission system is used between video acquisition and video processing or between video processing and video display.
More generally, the "frozen data" hazard may be of concern for any system involving the production and consumption of data with buffer access synchronization.
A "frozen image" event can be defined as the unexpected re-use (processing or display) of obsolete image content in the place of a properly updated version which is notionally available. For systems involving the storage of full frames, images can get frozen inside memory buffers, when they are not properly refreshed before being read (either they are not refreshed at all or they are refreshed with an obsolete content).
When video encoders and decoders couples are present between video acquisition and display or video acquisition and processing, images can get frozen inside memory buffers storing the compressed full frames. Images can get frozen in memory buffers storing compressed full frames at the video encoder output, before its usage to compose the video stream for transmission. Also, images can get frozen in memory buffers storing compressed full frames at the video decoder input, after its extraction from the video stream.
Most commercially available image-processing IPs are based on full-frame storage (production towards addressable memory and/or consumption from addressable memory) and are inherently exposed to the frozen image hazard. A majority of them, for expected use in consumer market applications not targeting functional safety, do not provide any autonomous protection against that hazard.
The automotive sector is now moving towards automotive Ethernet cabling e.g. for facilitating the use of cameras (driver assist) and video (infotainment) connections. Measures countering the frozen image hazard e.g. in compressed full frame buffers may thus play an important role.
Improved solutions are thus desirable in order to address various issues as outlined above.

Functional safety method, system, and corresponding computer program product


Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a MEM viscosity sensor that is configured to be operated submerged in a liquid. The MEMS viscosity sensor comprises a MEMS variable capacitor comprising a plurality of capacitor plates capable of being submerged in a liquid. An actuator places a driving force on the variable capacitor which causes relative movement between the plates, where the movement creates a shear force between each moving plate and the liquid, which damps the movement of the plate and increases the capacitor's response time to the applied force in accordance with the liquid's viscosity. To determine the actual viscosity of the liquid, a sensor is coupled to the variable capacitor for sensing the response time of the plates as an indicator of the liquid's viscosity.

Many mechanical systems, such as vehicles, require liquids for their operation. To extend the life of the equipment, such liquids must be maintained, including the replacement of spent and degraded liquids.
Most systems are maintained on a scheduled basis, which is not dependent upon the actual condition of the liquid, but rather, is based upon the general understanding of the liquid's life. For example, most drivers change the oil in their vehicles at predefined mileage intervals, such as every 3000 miles. Although this is beneficial, it fails to account for other factors that may affect the condition of the liquid. For example, a failure in the equipment could cause the liquid to degrade at a faster rate than that anticipated by the normal replacement schedule. Similarly, the condition of the equipment might be such that the liquid's useful life is extended. Thus, costs can be increased due to poorly operating equipment or due to unnecessary liquid replacement. If the equipment requiring maintenance is a fleet, the expense could be quite large.
Currently, electrochemical sensor systems exist that allow the monitoring and measurement of the condition, or health, of such liquids. Indeed, many monitoring systems exist which measure a variety of liquid parameters, including, dielectric constant, conductivity, pH and the amount of water in the liquid. Although such measurements are useful, taken in isolation they do not necessarily identify the health of the liquid unless the user is also aware of the measurement's history. For example, if the value of a particular parameter rises or falls as the liquid degrades, the liquid's health would be unclear from a single measurement. Rather, the parameter's history would be required to accurately assess the liquid condition.
One solution to the problems presented by electrochemical measurements is to measure liquid viscosity that, by itself, can be a good indicator of liquid health. The measurement of viscosity does not suffer from the historical problems associated with electrochemically measured parameters of the liquid. Indeed, if viscosity increases monotonically with operating time and, if a liquid's viscosity degradation profile is known in advance, then its health can be determined by a single measurement regardless of when the measurement is taken.
As viscosity is not directly measured by electrochemical sensors, but rather, is measured by the application of mechanical forces, including compressive forces and shear forces, a separate measuring sensor must be used. One approach uses a vibrating quartz or piezoelectric element that measures the shift in a device's resonant frequencies in response to applied vibrations, which in turn is a measurement of the damping value Q and thus of viscosity. The measurement of Q, however, is not a linear measurement, and thus will not be useful for a wide viscosity range. Further, this manner of measuring viscosity introduces complexities because it applies both compressive and shear forces. The contributions of both components to the net response can complicate data interpretation and limit operating range.
A more desirable and accurate viscosity measurement is obtained with a shear force measurement. One shear force measurement technique involves the dropping of large balls through cylinders filled with the liquid to be measured. As the ball moves through the liquid, the shear force resulting between the moving balls and the liquid can be measured. Although this technique is accurate, it is riot useful for smaller systems or equipment, and thus, is limited in its applications.
As seen from above, although viscosity measurements are desirable, current liquid monitoring systems require separate electrochemical and viscosity sensors to monitor both liquid health, and also the other liquid characteristics available from an electrochemical sensor. Indeed, most users will not simply replace their electrochemical sensors and rely solely on a viscosity measurement.
A need in the industry exists for a measurement system that provides the ability to measure the health of a liquid in a system, wherein the measuring system resides within the system. A further need in the industry exists for a viscosity sensor that utilizes a shear force measurement technique that can be used in small or confined environments, and can be combined with other sensors.

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) viscosity sensor for fluid health monitoring


Compositions and methods related to transgenic AHAS-inhibiting herbicide resistant soybean plants are provided. Event 127 soybean plants having a mutated AHAS coding sequence which imparts tolerance to an AHAS-inhibiting herbicide are provided. The event 127 soybean plants having the event 127 nucleic acid molecule at the identified chromosomal location comprises genomic/transgene junctions having at least the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:5 and/or 6. The characterization of the genomic insertion site of the event 127 provides for an enhanced breeding efficiency and enables the use of molecular markers to track the transgene insert in the breeding populations and progeny thereof. Various methods and compositions for the identification, detection, and use of the event 127 soybean plants are provided.

Soybean (Glycine max) is an important crop in many areas of the world. Biotechnological methods have been applied to soybean for improvement of the agronomic traits and the quality of the product. One such agronomic trait important in soybean production is herbicide tolerance, in particular, tolerance to glyphosate herbicide. As use of glyphosate tolerant soybeans has grown, weeds that are tolerant to glyphosate have emerged. Thus, there is a need for soybean plants that have tolerance to herbicides other than glyphosate for managing weeds.
The phenotypic expression of a transgene (such as those providing herbicide tolerance) in a plant, such as soybean, is affected by both the structure of the gene itself and by its location of integration in the plant genome. At the same time the presence of the transgene (in a foreign DNA) at different locations in the genome will influence the overall phenotype of the plant in different ways. The agronomically or industrially successful introduction of a commercially interesting trait in a plant by genetic manipulation can be a lengthy procedure dependent on different factors. The actual transformation and regeneration of genetically transformed plants are only the first in a series of selection steps, which include extensive genetic characterization, breeding, and evaluation in field trials, eventually leading to the selection of an elite event. The ability to clearly detect and/or identify particular transgenic events is becoming increasingly important because of the increased use of genetic modification in crop improvement, to improve introgression of transgenes into commercial varieties, for segregation of GMO and non-GMO products, and the identification of proprietary material. There remains a need for the development of methods that are both quick and simple, without the need for an extensive laboratory set-up, for the detection of particular transgenic events. In addition, methods for detecting a particular event would be helpful for complying with regulations requiring the pre-market approval and labeling of foods derived from recombinant crop plants, or for use in environmental monitoring, monitoring traits in crops in the field, or monitoring products derived from a crop harvest, as well as, for use in ensuring compliance of parties subject to regulatory or contractual terms.

Soybean event 127 and methods related thereto

Empresa Brasileira De Pesquisa Agropecuaria-Embrapa


A method for identifying a storage location for a requested storage address. The method includes receiving a request to view data at a storage address and determining the requested storage address corresponding to a plurality of storage locations. The method includes determining whether the requested storage address identifies memory related to a dump file being analyzed by a dump formatter. Then, in response to determining the requested storage address identifies memory related to the dump file being analyzed by the dump formatter, the method includes identifying one of the plurality of storage locations. The method includes directing the request to the identified storage location.

In software support, a customer will often provide evidence of a software problem in the form of output provided by the computer program itself, called "dump files." Dump files contain the recorded state of the working memory of a computer program at a specific time, generally when the program has crashed, and are used to assist in diagnosing errors in computer programs. Dump files can include reports of the problem, recent activity, and the current state of the computer at the time the problem occurred. Dump files allow a computer program to be analyzed without monopolizing the operating system and can be used to retrieve information from a no longer running program. Dump files are written in machine code, which can be converted into a readable form by dump formatters to allow service engineers to determine a cause of, and potentially a solution to, the customer's problem.
In addition to reviewing dump files, service engineers and software developers also use debugging software to study the computer program's behavior in detail. One example of debugging software is a source level debugger (SLD), which allows the service engineer or software developer to analyze line by line the problem source code. Debugging software can be used to debug dump formatters, either in the case of a customer problem or during the debugging of new code. When a dump formatter converts a dump file into readable form, the dump file itself is loaded into the dump formatter's memory. As a dump formatter is executed, the service engineer or software developer may want to browse specific memory locations or modify stored values. The dump file contains storage addresses, which are used to locate specific parts of memory. However, the dump formatter's memory locations are different to the memory locations where the contents were originally held for use by the computer program.

Identifying a storage location for a storage address requested during debugging

International Business Machines Corporation


User-generated content that is associated with a geographic location is uploaded to existing networked services or directly to a digital map updating service. Distinct digital map updating services can be assigned to defined geographic areas, such that they are only notified of, or poll for, new user-generated content within their defined geographic areas. Utilizing the geographic location associated with such user-generated content, the digital map updating service identifies one or more digital map “tiles”, which are updated to include new user-generated content and capable applications on client devices can be notified directly of such new user-generated content if they are accessing the relevant tiles. Additionally, data mining can be performed and deductions of events from data mining can be indicated in the digital map in the same manner.

In many instances, the content available from computing devices that are communicationally coupled to one another via network communications can be content that is associated with a geographic location. For example, photographs, descriptions, and information regarding geographic locations such as, for example, famous landmarks, commonly visited areas, retail establishments, and other like locations are often made available to users of computing devices via network communications. Because such content is associated with geographic locations, it can be helpful to users to present such content within the context of a map that can enable users to quickly identify the geographic locations with which such content is associated. As a result, digital mapping services, which provide digital maps to users' computing devices via network communications, are often utilized as a bedrock for the presentation of content that is associated with geographic locations.
Content available from computing devices via network communications often includes user-generated content, such as pictures taken by users, descriptions or reviews written by users, and other like user-generated content. As with any other content, such user-generated content is often associated with geographic locations. For example, many modern digital image capture devices, such as digital cameras, smart phones, tablet computing devices, and other like digital image capture devices comprise the capability to accurately determine their geographic location and can append such information to digital images captured by those devices. Alternatively, for user-generated content that does not have geographic location associated with it, once such user-generated content has been made available to other computing devices via network communications, geographic information associated with such user-generated content can be retroactively appended to it.
Unfortunately, because of the manner in which user-generated content is uploaded, stored and distributed via network communications and the manner in which digital maps are provided via the network communications, it can take hours, or even days, for user-generated content to be provided within the context of a digital map. Thus, current digital maps can be provided with indicia of user-generated content, but such user-generated content was generated a long time ago and does not reflect a current representation of the geographic area where such content is indicated as having been generated. For example, user-generated photographs taken in the downtown area of a small town can be made available within the context of the digital map, such that another user viewing a region of such a digital map that includes that downtown can be presented with the opportunity to view the user-generated photographs. However, those user-generated photographs are likely months, or even years, old and could, for example, include businesses or stores that have since closed or, alternatively, could include empty lots or dilapidated buildings where now new buildings stand.

Real-time markup of maps with user-generated content


The present application discloses methods and apparatus for detecting a complex including an analyte that include contacting a sample in a solution with a population of functionalized beads of a first type, which are magnetic functionalized beads and are functionalized to include a first moiety that associates with an analyte under suitable conditions, contacting the sample solution with a population of functionalized beads of a second type, which are functionalized to include a second moiety that associates with the analyte under suitable conditions, contact resulting in formation of a complex including one of the first type of functionalized bead, the analyte, and one of the second type of functionalized bead, and detecting the complex including the analyte by detecting magnetic fields produced by the magnetic functionalized bead and by detecting the functionalized bead of the second type associated with the analyte in the complex.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been an industry wide standard research technique used for measuring protein analytes from biological matrices since its introduction in the 1960s. In its basic conception, two antibodies (immunoglobulins) are used to capture a single protein analyte. The resulting immunocomplex is identified and measured using an enzyme and reporter buffer. The enzyme is typically bound to one of the antibodies through covalent binding. The enzyme, when incubated in the presence of the reporter buffer, converts the substrate to a functional reporter which can be measured analytically by spectrophotometric means.
Current state of the art ELISA-related technologies are replacing the plate-based format with a single-bead-based format. Single-bead-based ELISAs have one antibody that is bound to a solid surface, typically a bead, and the second antibody is labeled with biotin. The capture bead contains material that allows it to be easily manipulated by an applied magnetic field, including separating the bead and any analytes bound to the bead from a sample suspension. This process, called magnetic separation, is well known in the art and may be used to concentrate the target analyte and to remove unbound material such as unwanted proteins that may contribute to signal background. Compared to traditional ELISAs, single-bead-based ELISAs can provide improved sensitivity to target analytes with lower background and in a shorter amount of time.
Nevertheless, there is a need for continuing improvement in sensitivity and specificity to target analytes.

Methods and apparatus for magnetic multi-bead assays


An elevator car has a brake system with braking devices engaging braking webs integrated into guide rails to brake the car. The braking devices include a brake housing, a first brake body movable by contact with the braking web and relative movement between the braking web and the brake housing to clamp the brake web, and a pusher arranged on the brake housing with the braking web arranged between the first brake body and the pusher with a required passage clearance. The pusher can be advanced toward the first brake body and pressed against the braking web to forcibly bring the first brake body into contact with the braking web. A pressing lever pivotally mounted on the brake housing acts to press the pusher against the braking web.

The elevator installation is installed in a building. It substantially consists of a car, which is connected by way of support means with a counterweight or with a second car. The car is moved along substantially vertical guide rails by means of a drive which selectably acts on the support means or directly on the car or the counterweight. The elevator installation is used in order to convey persons and goods within the building over individual or several floors.
The elevator installation includes devices in order to safeguard the elevator car in the case of failure of the drive or of the support means. For that purpose, use is usually made of safety brakes which when required can brake the elevator car on the guide rails.
A safety brake of that kind is known from European Application EP 2112116, which can be triggered by way of an electromechanical device. In that case, an electromagnet holds a brake counterplate in a normal position against the action of a spring force. The electromagnet requires a large amount of energy, since it has to constantly operate with a high retention energy against the spring force.


A loading dock having a sensing device to determine proximity of a vehicle to the loading dock is disclosed. The loading dock includes a loading bay. The loading dock also includes a driving platform that receives a vehicle approaching the loading dock. The driving platform is positioned beneath the loading bay. The loading dock include a loading platform extending from the loading bay. The loading dock is equipped with a sensing device attached to the loading platform. The sensing device determines and monitors a distance between the vehicle and the loading platform. The loading dock also includes an indicating device that generates a signal when the distance between the vehicle and the loading platform is less than a threshold distance.

Vehicles such as semi-trailers or trailers are used to move a wide range of items from one place to another for a variety of reasons. Such items may include foodstuffs, beverages, manufacturing supplies, materials, packages for delivery, machinery, or other consumer or industrial goods. Moving these items requires sophisticated loading and unloading operations. In some loading and unloading operations, the vehicles are positioned at loading docks to allow persons or vehicles to transfer items on to and/or off from the vehicles. The items may be sorted and sent to processing centers for delivery, or the items may be unloaded from one vehicle to be loaded on to another vehicle.
Loading and unloading operations typically involve the use of many different types of vehicles, including semi-trailers, trailers, trucks, box trucks, and/or vehicles built to transport items. Different types of vehicles may have different structures surrounding a trailer, a trailer bed, a truck bed, or a box truck bed, for example, to support different trailer bed widths or heights. In some loading and unloading operations, loading docks may be configured so that many different types of vehicles can be positioned at the loading docks without modification to the loading docks.
Many loading docks include a bay positioned at a predetermined height above a driving platform. When a vehicle is parked at a loading dock, the height of the bay is substantially at the height of, for example, a trailer bed associated with the vehicle. In some loading docks, the vehicle may be positioned at a distance from the bay. Other loading docks may include a loading platform to bridge the distance and/or a change in height between the bay and the vehicle. Because the bay and the trailer bed are located at a height above the driving platform, any distance or gap between the bay and the trailer bed may allow items to fall through the gap, cause loading and unloading vehicles to be stuck in the gap, cause damage to the loading and unloading vehicles, and/or may create a significant risk of injury to persons associated with the loading and unloading operations.
The vehicles may also move after being parked at the loading dock, due to settling of the vehicle structure, a brake system fault, or other reasons. Such movement, also known as creep, may allow the distance or gap between the bay and the trailer bed to increase, creating a hazardous condition for the loading and unloading vehicles or for the persons associated with the loading and unloading operations. Loading platforms are also susceptible to creep issues.
Typically, persons are employed to watch a vehicle's approach, exit, or loading procedure. If the vehicle's approach is spotted, the persons may direct the vehicle to back up to a loading dock. Persons may further alert the driver of when the vehicle has reached a position for loading and/or unloading items. Additionally, persons may measure a distance or gap between the bay and the vehicle to ensure that the distance is less than two inches to protect persons associated with loading and/or unloading the vehicle from injury when moving from the loading dock to the vehicle. Persons may also check the distance between the bay and the vehicle after the vehicle has been parked at the loading dock for a period of time to ensure that the distance or gap does not increase beyond two inches.
These and similar methods are inefficient and costly, and changes in the size of the distance or gap between the bay and the vehicle may go undetected. Many vehicles may remain parked at a loading dock facility for a period of time, and it may be necessary to check the distance multiple times at a single loading dock. Due to the high frequency of vehicles approaching one or more loading docks, significant losses of production may result because of the time required to manually inspect the distance between the bay and the vehicle one or more times. Furthermore, errors in measuring the distance or in detecting the presence of the distance may result in the presence of an excessively large distance between the bay and the vehicle, which in turn may result in injury to personnel, or damage to or loss of property (e.g. to one or more items).
Given the time, expense, and loss of production associated with manually checking distances or gaps between vehicles and loading docks, it is desirable to have an improved system and method for detecting and/or monitoring the distances or gaps and indicating that vehicles are correctly positioned at one or more loading docks.

Vehicle proximity sensor for positioning a vehicle at a loading dock


Mechanisms are provided for extending cache for an external storage system into individual servers. Certain servers may have cards with cache in the form of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and non-volatile storage, such as flash memory or solid-state drives (SSDs), which may be viewed as actual extensions of the external storage system. In this way, the storage system is distributed across the storage area network (SAN) into various servers. Several new semantics are used in communication between the cards and the storage system to keep the read caches coherent.

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for extending cache for an external storage system into individual servers.
A storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated storage network that provides access to consolidated, block level storage. SANs primarily make storage devices accessible to servers so that the devices appear as locally attached to the operating system. A SAN may have its own network of storage devices that are generally not accessible through the regular network by regular devices.
In a typical configuration, external storage systems connect by a SAN. Inside the storage system is a cache, which typically comprises dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The cache reduces latency seen by the server; however, this cache stores most recently used data by all servers attached to the external storage system. SAN delays and delay in the storage system due to cache misses affect latency.

Extending cache for an external storage system into individual servers


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that attempts to satisfy routing rules during routing of an integrated circuit (IC) chip design. During operation, the system receives a routing solution for the IC chip design and a set of routing rules to be satisfied by the routing solution. The system then assigns weights to the set of routing rules, wherein a higher weight for a routing rule indicates a higher importance of the routing rule. The system additionally assigns effort levels to the set of routing rules, wherein a higher effort level for a routing rule indicates that a higher amount of resources are available to satisfy the routing rule. The system then modifies the routing solution to satisfy the routing rules based at least on the weights and the effort levels associated with the routing rules.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to electronic design automation (EDA). More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and a system for satisfying routing rules during routing of an integrated circuit (IC) chip design.
2. Related Art
Advances in semiconductor technology presently make it possible to integrate large-scale systems, including hundreds of millions of transistors, onto a single semiconductor chip. This dramatic increase in semiconductor integration densities has made it considerably more challenging to efficiently perform routing in such a large-scale IC chip.
Routing an integrated circuit (IC) chip involves determining routes for metal wires which electrically connect integrated circuit devices to produce circuits that perform desired functions. Large scale IC chips are typically routed using routing software, which is typically referred to as a "routing system" or "router."
The routes generated by a router usually need to satisfy a set of foundry design rules. For example, a foundry may specify spacing rules that a design must meet to ensure that the design can be successfully manufactured, e.g., the foundry may specify the minimum distance between two shapes in the circuit design. A circuit design usually cannot be signed-off until all of the foundry design rules are met.
In addition to the foundry rules, a user may also want to satisfy design rules for improving manufacturing yield. For example, moving routing shapes further apart can usually improve the manufacturing yield.
Conventional routing techniques typically treat all rules with equal importance, and will attempt to satisfy all routing rules. Unfortunately, if the system tries to simultaneously satisfy multiple sets of rules (e.g., foundry rules and design-for-manufacturing rules, etc.), the system may never be able to sign-off a circuit design because the rules may conflict with one another (e.g., some of the foundry rules may conflict with some of the design-for-manufacturing rules).

Satisfying routing rules during circuit design