A method of operating a digital computer to provide instrumentation data for a shared library running in an environment in which programs are loaded and unloaded by a loader. The environment supports the operation of at least one program in addition to the shared library, the program utilizing at least one function provided by the shared library. The operating environment includes storage for a predetermined environment variable that may be read by any program running in the environment. The method includes the steps of causing the loader to examine the environment to determine if the predetermined environment variable has been set; and storing profile based optimization data stored in the shared library code in a location specified by the predetermined environmental variable if the predetermined environmental variable was present in response to a command being sent to the loader. The profile based optimization data is normally stored when the shared library is unloaded from the operating environment by the loader.

Most computer systems utilize cache memories and the like to improve the performance of these systems while reducing the cost of the memory components. For example, when a program accesses a particular word of memory, the cache subsystem checks to see if the contents of that word are already stored in the cache. If the contents are stored in the cache, they are delivered to the processor. If not, the contents of that word as well as neighboring words are transferred to the cache subsystem. Since the cache subsystem has a much faster access time than the main memory of the computer this strategy substantially improves the run-time performance of the program. Other forms of hierarchical memory structures that operate in a manner analogous to cache memories are known to those skilled in the art, and hence, will not be discussed in detail here.
The degree of improvement provided by hierarchical storage systems depends on the degree of correlation of memory accesses. If there is a high probability that the next instruction to be executed after the currently executing instruction is stored close to the currently executing instruction in memory, the cache memory strategy will be more effective than if the next instruction is far from the current instruction. If computer code is always executed in a predetermined sequence, the compiler and linker sub-systems of the operating system could arrange the code such that the cache system operates at the optimum efficiency. Unfortunately, the vast majority of computer programs include branches and subroutine calls that interrupt the sequential nature of the code, and make it impossible for the compiler and linker to predict the instruction sequence from the code without additional information.
One method of obtaining the information needed to optimize the layout of the program is to use profile based optimization. In profile based optimization systems, the program code is run using representative test data and the sequence in which the code executes its instructions is determined. The operating sequence is determined by inserting instructions at key points in the code. These "instrumentation" instructions report data that may be used to determine the execution sequence of the program. This information is then used to rearrange the code so as to increase the correlation between memory accesses.
A computer program may be viewed as being separated into a plurality of basic blocks. A basic block is a sequence of instructions which contains no branches within the sequence. The basic block is entered from a branch and ends with a branch. Since the sequence of instructions within a basic block already operates with the maximum correlation in memory accesses, the profile based optimization system need only know the sequence with which the basic blocks are executed. This substantially reduces the number of instrumentation instructions that are needed to determine the sequence in which instructions actually execute when the program runs with real data. In addition to instrumenting the basic blocks, profile based optimization systems also typically instrument procedure calls.
In profile based optimization systems, the program is first compiled with options that lead to the insertion of the instrumentation code. The resulting executable code is run with sample data. The reports from the instrumentation instructions are stored in a data base which keeps track of the transfer of control among the basic blocks. After the execution of the instrumented program is complete, the data is used by an optimizer to rearrange the order in which the basic blocks are stored in memory. The rearrangement assures that when a first basic block often calls a second basic block, the two basic blocks are stored close to one another in memory.
While profile based optimization systems have been successfully utilized with conventional programs, the use of these techniques with shared libraries, or dynamic load libraries, has been hampered by the differences in which these two classes of programs are used. For the purposes of this discussion, a shared library will be defined to be one or more program libraries that may be accessed from a number of different programs in multi-tasking systems. These libraries are sometimes referred to as dynamic load libraries (DLLs). These libraries may be part of the operating system. Other service programs that are designed to be called by programs in a particular operating environment will also be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, a spread sheet or word processing program may be setup as a shared library so that it may be launched by a client program to provide a function required by the client program. For example, the client program may call the word processing program to generate a printout of a document in that word processing program's format.
Shared libraries differ from simple client programs in that the library may not be loaded at the time the client program is loaded. Similarly, the library may not be unloaded when the client program is finished. Instrumentation of the shared library is also complicated by the fact that the library may be needed to service other programs while its instrumented version is being run with profiling data. If the instrumented library does not support multiple instances of the library operating simultaneously, the system may need to be shut down to load the instrumented version.
Broadly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved method for operating a computer to provide profile based optimization data for a shared library.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for obtaining profile based optimization data that allows the instrumentation functions to be externally controlled.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Profile based optimization of shared libraries


This application provides a cell measurement method and terminal device. The cell measurement method includes: first determining, by a terminal device, whether a cell meets a first preset condition; and when the terminal device determines that the cell meets the first preset condition, measuring or evaluating, by the terminal device, the cell by using a first period; or when the terminal device determines that the cell does not meet the first preset condition, measuring or evaluating, by the terminal device, the cell by using a second period, where the cell being a serving cell or a neighboring cell of the terminal device corresponds to different first preset conditions, and the first period is different from the second period.

In a long term evolution (LTE) system, after being powered on, a terminal device first selects a public land mobile network (PLMN). Once the terminal device selects one PLMN, the terminal device selects, according to a cell selection criterion, an appropriate cell belonging to the PLMN to camp on. When the terminal device camps on one cell, the terminal device periodically searches for a cell to select a better cell according to a cell reselection criterion to camp on. A cell on which the terminal device camps is a serving cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device camps on one cell, the terminal device measures or evaluates the serving cell and a neighboring cell.
Currently, a known method for measuring or evaluating the cell by the terminal device is that the terminal device measures and evaluates the serving cell or the neighboring cell of the terminal device by using a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle. The terminal device does not flexibly configure a period for measuring or evaluating the serving cell or the neighboring cell based on an actual situation of the serving cell or the neighboring cell. Therefore, how to flexibly select, based on different situations of the serving cell or the neighboring cell, a period for measuring or evaluating the serving cell or the neighboring cell becomes an urgent problem to be resolved.

Cell measurement method and terminal device


A surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder is produced continuously with high productivity in a state where the particle diameter distribution is narrow and where the properties are high by a process comprising a polymerizing step, a drying step, a pulverizing step, a classifying step, and a surface-modifying step, and further, conveying steps of connecting them, wherein the conveying steps include at least two hoppers for storing the water-absorbent resin powder. A powder surface detector used favorably for this process includes a float hung down by a hanging line.

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a continuous production process for a water-absorbent resin powder and a powder surface detector used therefor. More specifically, the invention relates to a continuous production process for a surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder and a powder surface detector used therefor wherein the production process is a process for continuously producing a surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder comprising a polymerizing step, a drying step, a pulverizing step, a classifying step, and a surface-modifying step, and further, conveying steps of connecting these steps, and enhances the surface-modifying effect on the water-absorbent resin to give the surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder exhibiting a high absorption capacity, both without load and under a load, and a high saline flow conductivity.
B. Background Art
In recent years, water-absorbent resins are widely used as constituent materials of sanitary materials, such as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and so-called incontinent pads, for the purpose of causing the water-absorbent resins to absorb body fluids. Examples of the water-absorbent resins include: crosslinked products of partially neutralized polyacrylic acids; hydrolyzed products of starch-acrylic acid graft polymers; saponified products of vinyl acetate-acrylic acid ester copolymers; hydrolyzed products of acrylonitrile- or acrylamide copolymers, or crosslinked products of these hydrolyzed products; and crosslinked polymers of cationic monomers.
As properties which the above water-absorbent resins should have, there are generally cited such as excellent water absorption quantity, water absorption rate, gel strength, gel liquid permeability, and suction force to suck up water from base materials containing aqueous liquids such as body fluids, when the water-absorbent resins contacts the aqueous liquids.
Various water-absorbent resins, combing these properties and displaying excellent performance when they are used for sanitary materials (e.g. disposable diapers and sanitary napkins), have been proposed hitherto.
As to a method for improving absorption properties (e.g. absorption capacity without load and absorption capacity under a load) of a water-absorbent resin with good balance, there are known arts in which surfaces of water-absorbent resin powder are modified, for example, arts for modification in which: surfaces of water-absorbent resin particles are crosslinked, or a water-insoluble powder is attached to surfaces of water-absorbent resin particles, or deodorants, antibacterial agents, durability-enhancing agents, or other additives are attached to water-absorbent resin powder.
As to the surface-crosslinking art, it is known from such as JP-A-180233/1983, JP-A-016903/1986, JP-A-189103/1984, JP-A-117393/1977, JP-A-136588/1976, JP-A-257235/1986, JP-A-007745/1987, JP-A-211305/1986, JP-A-252212/1986, JP-A-264006/1986, DE 4020780, and JP-A-315216/1999. As to the water-insoluble-powder-attaching art, for example, JP-A-012367/1999 discloses a process in which fine silica powder or fine organic powder is added to water-absorbent resin powder. As to the art for modification in which deodorants, antibacterial agents, durability-enhancing agents, or other additives are added to water-absorbent resin powder, it is for example disclosed in JP-A-005847/1999, JP-A-267500/1999, and JP-A-315148/1999.
By the way, in recent years, as the production output of water-absorbent resins increases, each step of their production is more and more made continuous. However, the tendency is toward that, as water-absorbent resins having higher properties are demanded, such as surface-modifying step or fine-powder-recovering step is more and more added, therefore the number of steps increases and the production line becomes longer. Also in terms of properties, there is demanded a water-absorbent resin powder having a very narrow particle diameter distribution or a water-absorbent resin powder having a high water absorption capacity and a low water-extractable content, and further in recent years, it is being demanded that such as absorption capacity under a load or liquid permeability under a load should need to be high.
However, when attempts are made to obtain water-absorbent resins having such high properties with high productivity, it is very difficult to stabilize the production with high properties, and generally, the high properties and the high productivity conflict with each other in continuous production. Generally, the properties have hitherto tended to be deteriorated if the production output (scale) is raised. That is to say, in a process for continuously producing a surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder comprising a polymerizing step, a drying step, a pulverizing step, a classifying step, and a surface-modifying step, and further, conveying steps of connecting these steps, it has hitherto been very difficult to continuously produce a water-absorbent resin having a narrow particle diameter distribution and high properties with high productivity.
A. Object of the Invention
Considering the present circumstances as mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide:
a process for continuously producing a water-absorbent resin having a narrow particle diameter distribution and high properties with high productivity in a process for continuously producing a surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder comprising a polymerizing step, a drying step, a pulverizing step, a classifying step, and a surface-modifying step, and further, conveying steps of connecting these steps; and
a powder surface detector used for the above objective process.
B. Disclosure of the Invention
As a result of various study to solve the above problems and of repeated trials and errors, the present inventors have found out that: for the purpose of continuously producing a water-absorbent resin powder of high quality with high productivity by a process comprising a polymerizing step, a drying step, a pulverizing step, a classifying step, and a surface-modifying step, and further, conveying steps of connecting these steps, it is the most important to control a flow rate of the water-absorbent resin powder, and it is enough to supply a constant quantity of water-absorbent resin powder after adroitly making such control.
In addition, the present inventors have made arrangements such that: the above conveying steps include at least two hoppers, and the above quantifying-and-supplying hopper include: a supplying part which is placed in an upper portion of a tank for storing a water-absorbent resin powder and serves for supplying the powder into the tank; a discharging part which is placed in a lower portion of the tank and serves for quantifying the water-absorbent resin powder in the tank and discharging it therefrom; and a detector for detecting the quantity of the powder in the tank. In this way, the present inventors have succeeded in connecting the above findings to practical technique, and have completed the process according to the present invention and further a powder surface detector which is convenient to carry out this process.
That is to say, a continuous production process for a water-absorbent resin powder, according to the present invention, is a process for continuously producing a surface-modified water-absorbent resin powder comprising a polymerizing step, a drying step, a pulverizing step, a classifying step, and a surface-modifying step, and further, conveying steps of connecting these steps, and is characterized in that:
the water-absorbent resin powder is obtained by a process including the step of polymerizing an unsaturated monomer and has a crosslinked structure, and has a mass-average particle diameter of 300 to 600 xcexcm, and includes particles having particle diameters of 850 to 150 xcexcm in a ratio of not less than 90 mass % in particle diameter distribution, and has a property of displaying an absorption capacity of not less than 25 g/g without load, and has a water-extractable content of not more than 25 mass %; and
the conveying steps include at least two hoppers for storing and discharging the water-absorbent resin powder after the pulverizing step wherein at least one of the hoppers includes:
a tank for storing the water-absorbent resin powder;
a supplying part which is placed in an upper portion of the tank and serves for supplying the water-absorbent resin powder into the tank;
a discharging part which is placed in a lower portion of the tank and serves for discharging the water-absorbent resin powder from the tank; and
a detector for detecting the quantity of the powder in the tank.
The aforementioned at least two hoppers are usually a buffering hopper for storing and discharging the water-absorbent resin powder and a constant-quantity-supplying hopper which is placed downstream of the above buffering hopper and serves for quantifying and discharging the water-absorbent resin powder.
The above process according to the present invention can further comprise a second conveying step for conveying an additive powder for modifying the aforementioned water-absorbent resin powder, wherein the aforementioned second conveying step includes a constant-quantity-supplying hopper for quantifying and discharging at least the aforementioned additive powder as a hopper for storing the additive powder, wherein the aforementioned constant-quantity-supplying hopper includes:
a tank for storing the additive powder;
a supplying part which is placed in an upper portion of the tank and serves for supplying the additive powder into the tank;
a discharging part which is placed in a lower portion of the tank and serves for discharging the additive powder from the tank; and
a detector for detecting the quantity of the powder in the tank.
In addition, a powder surface detector, according to the present invention, is a detector provided to a tank for storing an additive powder as a superfine powder in order to detect a powder surface rising when accumulating the powder in the tank, and comprises:
a float which is supported movably up and down above the powder surface and of which the bottom contacts the powder surface when the powder surface has risen;
a hanging line for hanging down the float to support it movably up and down; and
a limit switch having a mover which serves for supporting the hanging line and is moved by a change of the weight, as applied through the hanging line, of the float.

Continuous production process for water-absorbent resin powder and powder surface detector used therefor


A production configuration is determined for controlling a product processing plant that comprises a collecting system having a conveyor and a plurality of feeders for preparing product collections from products supplied by the feeders. The production configuration defines a production of a plurality of production sequences for a plurality of delivery routes, wherein each delivery route is assigned one or more production sequences, each of which define a production of a plurality of production collections of a collection type comprising a plurality of products. For each feeder an occupancy with products, which are to be conveyed by the feeder to the conveyor for preparation for the product collections, is determined. A production optimization parameter determines whether a defined production order is to be maintained for the delivery routes or whether the production order of the delivery routes can be altered. If the production order can be altered, the production sequences of a plurality of delivery routes for the production of production collections of the same collection type are combined to a cohesive production sequence and the occupancy of the feeders is determined for the production order with combined production sequences.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computerized control device and a computer-implemented method for controlling a product processing plant. The present invention relates in particular to a computerized control device and a computer-implemented method for controlling a product processing plant, in particular a print product processing plant, which comprises a collecting plant with a conveyor and a plurality of feeders for preparing product collections of flat products, in particular print products, supplied by the feeders.
Background Art
With the known collecting plants for collecting (in the broader sense) product collections of multiple products by combining, inserting or collecting (in the narrower sense), the various products from multiple feeders arranged serially are supplied sequentially to a conveyor, where they are combined, inserted or collected on respective collection carriers such as grippers, for example. In print product processing plants, the products comprise flat print products of differing thicknesses in particular, but also other flat products, such as data media or other newspaper inserts, for example. The product collections prepared from the products are supplied sequentially by the conveyor to one or more further processing plants, for example, for inserting, stretch wrapping, stapling, gluing, cutting and/or stacking. Typically a collecting plant equipped for collating products is designed with a rotating conveyor. A rotating conveyor permits the conveyance of products, product collections and/or collection carriers along a closed curve and/or path cyclically past the product supplying feeders. Certain products and/or product collections may thus run through several cycles on the revolving conveyor, so that they are fed several times into the process of collating before being transferred to a further processing plant. For shipment by truck or other transport vehicles, for example, the product collections are stacked to form packages at stacking stations and then are banded. Usually multiple production sequences are necessary for one type of collection for a delivery route. The feeders must be loaded manually with the products to be fed before and during production by operating personnel of the product processing plant. To do so, the products are typically brought to the feeders on pallets and are supplied in stacks or bundles from the pallet to the respective feeder by the operating personnel. In product processing plants having a larger number of feeders, for example, several dozen or more than a hundred, and production to be carried out on these feeders to prepare several different types of product collections from optionally an even larger number of different products to be supplied, for example, more than a hundred or several hundred different newspaper inserts, for multiple shipping routes, each having multiple product collections of different types of collection, the production time is lengthened substantially when new occupancy of feeders during production leads to production interruptions. These setup times for the feeders may contribute toward substantial delays in the intended shipment times.

Computerised control device and computer-implemented method for controlling a product processing plant, and computer program product


A method and system for intelligent control of read-ahead cache for a client application is provided. The method receives an application profile of the client application, the application profile indicating thresholds for determining a plurality of access patterns of the client application. The method also determines a current access pattern of the client application based on the thresholds and a historical access pattern of the client application. The current access pattern and the historical access pattern are one of the plurality of access patterns. The method further dynamically enables and disables read-ahead cache for the client application based on a transition between the historical access pattern and the current access pattern.

Many systems do not provide intelligent control of read-ahead cache, which may cause that more data are read than needed or required. For example, in many systems, the disabling and enabling of read-ahead cache may not be driven by any threshold or access pattern detection, which may result in an aggressive enablement of read-ahead cache that may lower the efficiency of utilizing read-ahead cache. In other words, read-ahead cache may be enabled when it is not needed. The aggressive enablement of read-ahead cache may also cause random reading operations being treated as sequential reading operations and may override all optimizations for random reading operations.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.


Disclosed is a light system. In certain disclosed embodiments, the light system is disposed on a stroller, but the system can be disposed on any object. The system comprises one or more LED lights, one or more battery packs, cables connecting the battery backs to the LED lights. Certain embodiments also comprise a stroller, having an upper storage area, a lower storage area, and LED lights disposed on the front and rear of the frame of the stroller.

Strollers, and other wheeled products on the market today, are commonly used. Although such products typically include numerous safety features, lighting systems are often lacking. Having adequate light can enhance safety and enable users to exercise or walk at night with a stroller or other wheeled device.
Another challenge presented to lighting systems for strollers is the cost and technical difficult associated with the installation of a light system.
The disclosed system can be disposed on a stroller with minimal cost, time, and effort. Certain embodiments allow for components to be easily installed, such as a front LED light. A front LED light may be installed onto a stroller with an adhesive backing or with plastic ties (commonly known as "zip ties"). Cables for the system are designed to be easily secured with plastic ties as well. Cables and battery packs of the disclosed system are designed to be water resistant to allow for use in all weather conditions.


Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method and apparatus for determining image quality. The method comprises: acquiring a to-be-recognized image and facial region information used for indicating a facial region in the to-be-recognized image; extracting a face image from the to-be-recognized image on the basis of the facial region information; inputting the face image into a pre-trained convolutional neural network to obtain probabilities of each pixel comprised in the face image belonging to a category indicated by each category identifier in a preset category identifier set; inputting the face image into a pre-trained key face point positioning model to obtain coordinates of each key face point comprised in the face image; determining a probability of the face image being obscured on the basis of the probabilities and the coordinates; and determining whether the quality of the face image is up to standard on the basis of the probability.

Facial recognition has been used in many application scenarios, such as face payment, face authentication and face beautification. If the quality of an image containing a face is not up to standard (for example, many parts of the face are obscured) in the process of facial recognition, a recognition error may occur, or abnormal situations such as system crash may happen. If the quality of the image containing face is checked before the facial recognition, the subsequent facial recognition on an image with quality not up to standard may be avoided, thereby improving the facial recognition efficiency. Therefore, it is significantly important to determine the quality of an image containing a face.

Method and apparatus for determining image quality

Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.


A method of modeling a structure comprises the steps of initializing a parametric component of a hybrid model from a volumetric image, the volumetric image comprising image planes, creating starting points for two dimensional segmentations at intersections between the parametric component and the image planes, segmenting a boundary of the structure by applying active contours, sampling the active contours to create a dataset and parametrically and locally fitting the hybrid model to the dataset to represent the structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer modeling and more particularly to an implementation of a three dimensional hybrid model to aid in initiating and fitting the hybrid model to two dimensional segmentations to form an improved three dimensional model fit.
2. Description of Related Art
Branching cylindrical structures appear in as diverse embodiments as plant roots, industrial pipelines and coral reefs. However, by far the most studied instances are those in the human body. Vascular or bronchial complexes may be imaged by volumetric techniques such as CT and magnetic resonance (MR). Recovery of these structures facilitates surgical path planning, quantification of prosthetic stent dimensions, and the detection of aneurysms, stenoses and tumors.
A proposed method segments objects from 3D images using a 3D deformable surface which was made up of a series of 2D planar curves. However, the model proposed was not cohesive in terms of being "global" or "parametric". In addition, the 2D planar curves were not recovered via optimal active contours ("optimal" meaning that the energy function describing the contour had been globally minimized). Instead the proposed method employed snakes and relied on balloon forces to explore crevices. The problem with balloon forces is that the snake might leak where the image boundaries are not well defined. 2D deformable surfaces have also been applied to segmentation but the approaches have not been "optimal". For 1D contours, optimality is a well understood concept. How this concept might be extended to 2D surfaces still presents difficulty.
Direct application of 3D hybrid models to 3D image volumes has also met with mixed success since the model's overall topology is constrained by the underlying parametric component. Again, describing deep crevices becomes a problem. Some proposed methods fit parallel sets of 2D contours to recover a 3D object. Once the fit is settled they repeat the process from an orthogonal direction using the results of the previous iteration as a starting point. However, they employ balloon forces to fit the 2D contours and their result is not a coherent parametric model. In addition, they demonstrate their method on relatively simple synthetic shapes. Region growing techniques may be used for segmentation. However, while they are often effective they suffer from bleeding in areas where the object boundary is not well defined. In addition, they do not result in a geometric description of the object, rather a collection of voxels.
Segmentation via the propagation of 2D active contours (i.e., using the result from a previous slice as the starting point for a segmentation of the current slice) may be problematic. A change in object's circumference in a slice might be due to a change in the radius of the object under recovery, or it might be a change in direction of the path taken by the object in space. Determining if a change in circumference or direction has occurred is essential for selecting an appropriate starting point for segmentation in the slices to follow. A change in circumference may indicate the initiation of a change in the topology of the object such as a bifurcation. For example, an aortic arch includes all three which occur simultaneously. Two dimensional active contours lack the global properties to account for these instances.
Active contours were first proposed under the name of snakes. Snakes are defined as contours that are pushed or pulled towards image features by constraining forces. A typical energy function for a snake is expressed as: EQU E=.intg.{.alpha..vertline.u.sub.s (s).vertline..sup.2 +.beta..vertline.u.sub.s s(s).vertline..sup.2 -.lambda..vertline..gradient.I.vertline..sup.2 }ds
where the first two terms measure the smoothness of the contour (in terms of the first and second derivatives of the contour) and the third term measures the amount of edge strength in the image along the contour. It is desirable to minimize this energy function to find a contour which is both smooth and which coincides with high gradient magnitude points in the image. This energy is often minimized using Euler equations and gradient descent. The disadvantage of this technique and many of the subsequently proposed algorithms is that, since the minimization is based on gradient descent, it is not guaranteed to locate the global minimum of the energy function. As a result, neighboring edges can be very distracting to the process and depending on the initial configuration, different local minima of the energy function might be reached.
Graph search algorithms have been used in the past to look for the global minimum of the active contour's energy function. An image is represented as a graph by defining a node for each pixel and creating an arc between two nodes if the two corresponding pixels are connected. The energy function of the discrete contour is defined as: ##EQU1##
where the P.sub.k 's are the points on the contour, EQU .vertline..gradient.I.vertline.
is the gradient magnitude and EQU .gradient.I
denotes the gradient direction. The energy function combines gradient magnitude and curvature information. The coefficient .mu. balances the importance between the two components.
An important result of graph theory states that a dynamic programming approach for finding shortest paths in a graph can be replaced by Dijkstra's algorithm under the condition that all the edge costs are positive. To apply Dijkstra's algorithm to images, an image should be viewed as a graph where the nodes correspond to pixels and an edge is defined as a bridge between two neighboring pixels. At initialization, the cost for all nodes is set to be infinite and all the nodes are marked as unvisited. In addition, the cost at a finite set of source points is set to 0. A heap containing all the finite cost nodes which is ordered in terms of increasing cost is constructed and is maintained throughout the procedure. At each iteration, the node (i,j) with the best cost is retrieved from the heap. The cost at the neighboring pixels (k,l) is then updated by determining if there is now a shorter path from the source to (k,l) going through (i,j): EQU E(k,l)=min {E(k,l), E(i,j)+e(i,j,k,l)}
where ##EQU2##
These steps are repeated until the heap is empty and all the nodes have been explored. In addition, at every node, the algorithm keeps track of the previous node on the shortest path. This way, the algorithm can simply backtrack down the list from the sink points to recover the optimal contour.
A physically-motivated recovery can be analogized to physical systems, independent coefficients for scaling data forces and material forces (e.g., smoothing) are used. Scaling data forces without regard to the material forces may cause instability in fitting, however. Tractable convergence requires an appropriate scaling of the forces, or alternatively an appropriate selection of time step or euler coefficient. Many methods do not address how to choose these values. An intuitive, practical implementation of quantities such as force coefficients which guarantee quick recovery with stability have been lacking in other proposed methods. This approach would advantageously lead to the assignment of unit values to time step and euler coefficients, thus increasing the generality of the physically-motivated scheme.
Hybrid models are powerful tools. They simultaneously provide a gross parametric as well as a detailed description of an object. It is difficult, however, to directly employ hybrid models in the segmentation process since they are not guaranteed to locate the optimal boundaries in cross-sectional slices. Propagating 2D active contours from slice to slice, on the other hand, to delineate an object's boundaries, is often effective, but may run into problems when the objects topology changes, such as at bifurcations or even in areas of high curvature.
A cooperative framework to exploit the positive aspects of both 3D hybrid model and 2D active contour approaches for segmentation and recovery may be advantageous. In this framework, the user-defined parametric component of a 3D hybrid model would provide constraints for a set of 2D segmentations performed by active contours. The same hybrid model may then fit both parametrically and locally to this segmentation. For the hybrid model fit, several new variations on the physically-motivated paradigm which seek to speed recovery while guaranteeing stability may be employed. A by-product of these variations may be an increased generality of the method via the elimination of some of its ad hoc parameters. A cooperative framework may be applied to the recovery of branching cylindrical structures from 3D image volumes. An advantage of this framework may permit a parametric component for fusion of individual cylinders.
Therefore, a need exists for a general cooperative approach for segmenting objects from 3D image volumes which exploits the positive aspects of both 2D and 3D traditional approaches. Advantageously, the cooperative approach may include new variations on the physically-motivated paradigm for fitting hybrid models which seek to accelerate the process while ensuring stability and decreasing reliance on the ad hoc parameters. A need also exists for the recovery of branching cylindrical structures using a unique and flexible model formulation.

Framework for segmentation of cylindrical structures using two dimensional hybrid models


Signal distribution systems, such as interactive cable television systems, have a central server that communicates with remote terminals wherein the server assigns a specific address to each newly-connected terminal for control messages and polls. In the case of an interactive cable television system, such terminal is the set-top box or converter connected between the cable system and the television receiver. Periodically, the server broadcasts a control message containing a tentative address, and polls the tentative address. Upon receiving such a message, a newly-connected converter stores the tentative address and responds to the poll with an uplink message. After receiving the uplink message, the server inserts the tentative address in its polling list in accordance with the transmission delay measured from sending the poll to receiving the uplink message and selects a new tentative address to use in subsequent broadcast control messages. Uplink messages are echoed by the server and verified by the converter. If the converter cannot verify an echoed uplink message, which can occur if more than one newly-connected converter responds to the same broadcast control message, the converter repeats its initialization procedure to acquire a new address. After the initialization is complete, system software can be downloaded from the server to the converter and the converter placed in service.

Cable television systems have made possible the transmission of many channels of television programs to the homes of subscribers. Instead of being limited to the number of VHF and UHF channels that can be transmitted and received in a given area, the number of channels in cable systems is limited only by the transmission characteristics of the cable itself and the ability to compress the information in television programs into narrower-bandwidth channels. The advent of fiber-optic transmission systems for use in cable television networks has also vastly increased the number of channels available.
Such increase in channels has also given rise to proposals for interactive television systems wherein a subscriber can transmit information or requests back into the system, which information or requests may subsequently affect programs or information directed to such subscriber. There are a wide variety of applications for interactive television systems, such as video games, video catalog shopping, teaching systems, movies on demand and audio programs. Each application can be tailored for an individual subscriber, for example, a subscriber may be able to select the language of the soundtrack in a movie. However, such systems typically require the ability (i) to control specific programs or information sent to each subscriber and (ii) to receive input messages or requests from the subscriber.
In many cable television systems, a special converter is used at the subscriber location to allow the subscriber to select among the various available channels, and possibly to "unscramble" premium channels for which extra tees are payable. Such converters usually provide an output on one of the channels that a standard television receiver can receive, such as Channel 3. More recently, television receivers and video recorders have been made available that are "cable ready," that is, with the ability to receive and select among all the channels transmitted over the cable system, but without the ability to unscramble premium channels. A converter is still needed for the premium channels.
In order to implement many of the features of interactive television systems, it is necessary for messages containing information or requests from subscribers to be transmitted to a central control location. It is desirable for these "uplink" messages to be transmitted from subscribers over the same facility used to distribute programs. Conventional cable systems use frequencies above 50 MHz, allocated in 6 MHz distribution channels, for programs and frequencies in the 5-30 MHz band for such uplink messages. However, because many subscribers will be sending messages over the same uplink frequencies, some means is needed to coordinate such messages to prevent interference and to identify the source of each message.
When a subscriber is first connected to a cable television system with converters at subscriber locations, it is typically necessary for a service technician to install and initialize a converter for such subscriber in the field. Also, a visit by a technician may be needed to re-initialize a converter after a service interruption or a power failure. Such visits can be costly. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a converter that can be initialized remotely over the cable system so that such a converter can be furnished to a subscriber for self-installation and for remote initialization or re-initialization.

Initializing terminals in a signal distribution system


An antenna system includes an antenna having an aperture, and a polarizer array. The polarizer array includes a support structure, at least two polarizer elements arranged relative to the support structure, each of the at least two polarizer elements rotatable about a separate axis, and an actuator coupled to the at least two polarizer elements, the actuator operative to effect common rotation of the at least two polarizer elements. The polarizer array is arranged to at least partially cover the antenna aperture.

To support full-duplex, 2-way communication, many satellite communications applications require that a particular satellite link use a specific combination of frequency band and polarization for the transmit portion of the link and a different combination of frequency band and polarization for the receive portion of the link. Additionally, satellite communications applications may require that the polarizations for each distinct band be periodically changed or switched to support oppositely polarized satellite transponders, or to counteract ("track-out") relative changes in polarization that may occur as a result of antenna orientation or geo-location. Earth station antennas used in airborne operations that operate in the Ka communications band, for instance, typically need to be capable of switching from Right Hand Circular polarization to Left Hand Circular polarization with little or no input from the operator.
A typical method for switching the circular polarization of a Ka-band antenna is to bring the circularly polarized transmit and receive signals to the back of the array, and then switch the polarization to the opposite sense using a polarization switch (which tends to be expensive and bulky). Another method of switching polarization is to physically "flip" a polarizer mounted on the face of the planar array antenna. However, a substantial increase in package volume is required to support such approach.
A common practice for altering the polarization of linear polarized reflector antennas is to physically rotate a dual linear polarized horn antenna that is used to feed such reflector antennas, rotating polarization in the process. However these types of antennas are bulky and exhibit poor efficiency when required to fit in limited volumes such as under radomes mounted on ground vehicles or aircraft. Planar antennas on the other hand, can be made with more extreme aspect ratios (length vs. height) to support such packaging challenges. A common practice of rotating the linear polarization of this type of antenna is achieved via the use of an Orthomode Transducer (OMT). In the case of circularly polarized antennas and some linear polarized antennas, a separate polarization switch is often employed to rotate one sense of circular to the other (e.g., left hand circular to right hand circular). Both approaches, however, have their drawbacks since OMT's and polarization switches tend to be large in size, heavy, expensive, and in many cases, suffer from high ohmic losses.
Another method of switching circular polarization (CP) is to physically "flip" a low-loss linear-to-CP polarizer mounted on the face of the planar array antenna. However, a substantial increase in package volume is required to support such an approach.

Inscribed polarizer array for polarization diverse application


3D Images may be encoded into reduced resolution image data in a base layer and enhancement layer (EL) image data in one or more enhancement layers. Different types of data compositions may be used in the EL image data. The different types of data compositions may include unfiltered full resolution image data for one or both of left eye and right eye perspectives, or unfiltered full resolution image data for a color channel, e.g., luminance channel, or unfiltered full resolution image data for selected portions of image frames, or fallback data compositions. Based on deciding factors including bitrate requirements and bandwidth constraints, different types of data compositions may be alternatively used by an upstream device to deliver the best possible 3D image data to a wide variety of downstream devices. The upstream device may inform a downstream device of specific types of data compositions with EL image data descriptors.

Frame-compatible half resolution (FCHR) solutions for 3D content delivery suffer from degraded spatial resolution because the half resolution 3D content only contains half resolution image frames subsampled from full resolution 3D image frames.
Frame-compatible full resolution (FCFR) solutions may be used to produce full resolution 3D image frames by sending half resolution 3D image frames through a base layer and sending complementary half resolution 3D image frames through an enhancement layer. The half resolution 3D image frames and the complementary half resolution 3D image frames may be combined by a recipient device into 3D image frames at full resolution.
However, the dual-layer FCFR solutions implement low-pass filtering to reduce/remove aliasing in the half resolution image frames. As high frequency content in the image frames is removed by low-pass filtering, it is not possible for a downstream device to recover all the fine details and textures that were in the high spatial frequency content. While full resolution 3D image frames might still be constructed, the pixels in the 3D image frames would have been irreversibly altered by low-pass filtering and could not be used to reproduce the original resolution and sharpness in original 3D content that gives rise to the 3D image frames.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section. Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.

Dual-layer frame-compatible full-resolution stereoscopic 3D video delivery

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


Systems and methods for modifying multiple element request datalink messages in avionics system are provided. A method includes generating a plurality of downlink message element information at a verify screen displayed by a display. The method further allows for the changing of at least one downlink message element information of the plurality of downlink message element information within the verify screen. Moreover, the method concatenates the plurality of downlink message element information after the changing of the at least one element information in preparation of generating a concatenating downlink message element information message to be downlinked.

During the course of a flight, a lot of messages are exchanged between the crew and Air Traffic Control (ATC). One system used to exchange messages through digital media a Processor-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) system. Messages generated may be related to clearance/clearance requests due to traffic avoidance, weather avoidance, aircraft performance, etc. enhanced route information or a multitude of other types of information relating to a flight. Moreover, there may be cases where the crew will request multiple ATC message elements within a particular downlink message to an ATC center. Based on availability, the requests may get approved and a communication will be uplinked to the crew in response to the requests. In a typical system, ATC downlink requests are entered on one or more request pages and then verified on a verify page to review the combined message element downlink before the message is downlinked to ATC.

System and method for modifying multiple request datalink messages in avionics system


The invention relates to a thermally reversible hot melt adhesive that is isocyanate-free, moisture independent, crosslinkable and thermally reversible. The thermally reversible hot melt adhesive may be repeatedly heated and cooled without negatively affecting the performance of the adhesive. The thermally reversible composition may also be used as a primer layer. The thermally reversible hot melt adhesive and primer are particularly well suited for end use applications such as packaging, graphic arts, construction, footwear, textiles, general assembly, automotive and consumer goods.

Hot melt adhesives are solid at room temperature but, upon application of heat, melt to a liquid or fluid state. The hot melt adhesive is applied onto substrates during this liquid or fluid state. On cooling, the adhesive regains its solid form. The hard phase(s) formed upon cooling the adhesive imparts all of the cohesion (strength, toughness, creep and heat resistance) to the final adhesive. "Reactive" or crosslinkable hot melt adhesives, which are also applied in molten form, cool to solidify and subsequently cure by a chemical crosslinking reaction. An advantage of hot melt curable adhesives over traditional liquid curing adhesives is their ability to provide "green strength" upon cooling prior to cure. Advantages of hot melt curable adhesives over non-curing hot melt adhesives include improved temperature and chemical resistance.
The majority of "reactive" or crosslinkable hot melts are based on moisture-curing urethane adhesives. These adhesives consist primarily of isocyanate terminated polyurethane prepolymers that react with surface or ambient moisture in order to chain-extend, forming a new polyurethane/urea polymer. Polyurethane prepolymers are conventionally obtained by reacting polyols with isocyanates. Cure is obtained through the diffusion of moisture from the atmosphere or the substrates into the adhesive, and subsequent reaction. The reaction of moisture with residual isocyanate forms carbamic acid. This acid is unstable, decomposing into an amine and carbon dioxide. The amine reacts rapidly with isocyanate to form a urea. The final adhesive product is an irreversible material polymerized primarily through urea and urethane groups.
There are several drawbacks to these "reactive" hot melt compositions. The materials are typically made by reacting excess diisocyanate with polyols. The compositions usually contain two to five percent of unreacted diisocyanates such as MDI (methylene bisphenyl diisocyanate), which are respiratory and skin sensitizers. Also, moisture curable reactive hot melt compositions must be stored in the absence of moisture to prevent premature curing, typically stored under nitrogen, or under inert gas blankets in expensive packaging such as polyolefin coated aluminium bags, to prevent moisture ingress. Moreover, moisture curable reactive hot melt adhesives require costly specialized application equipment for processing to keep moisture out. Furthermore, cure rates of such reactive hot melt composition are variable and highly dependent upon moisture permeating through the adhesive. Hence, atmospheric humidity, moisture content of the substrates, moisture vapor transmission rate of the adhesive and the thickness of the bond line all contribute to the cure rate of reactive hot melt compositions. In addition, polyurethane moisture cure produces CO2, which can cause bubbles in the bond line, weakening the bond strength, and which can cause aesthetic problems, particularly on plastic substrates. Additionally, reactive hot melts cure irreversibly and hence reworkability or remendability is not feasible. Such adhesives cannot be used if premature curing occurs or they cannot be repositioned and/or removed after cure has taken place.
There remains a need for improvements in reactive hot melt technology to expand the application of such adhesives and their effectiveness in such applications. The present invention addresses this need.

Thermally reversible hot melt adhesive composition containing multifunctional diene and dienophile compounds


Hybrid caching techniques and garbage collection using hybrid caching techniques are provided. A determination of a measure of a characteristic of a data object is performed, the characteristic being indicative of an access pattern associated with the data object. A selection of one caching structure, from a plurality of caching structures, is performed in which to store the data object based on the measure of the characteristic. Each individual caching structure in the plurality of caching structures stores data objects has a similar measure of the characteristic with regard to each of the other data objects in that individual caching structure. The data object is stored in the selected caching structure and at least one processing operation is performed on the data object stored in the selected caching structure.

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to hybrid caching techniques and a garbage collection accelerator that uses hybrid caching techniques for explicitly managing memory hierarchies.
When computer programs execute, they allocate memory for data buffers. When the computer program continues to allocate such memory, it may eventually exceed the physical memory capacity. In such a situation, the operating system must place portions of the program in virtual memory, i.e. on disk, in order to continue executing, which slows down execution of the computer program. Manually de-allocating memory after a routine no longer needs that portion of memory is a tedious task which programmers often forget to do, or do not do properly.
As an alternative to manual de-allocation of memory, garbage collection was developed. Garbage collection is the use of a software routine that searches memory for areas of inactive data and instructions in order to reclaim that space for the general memory pool, i.e. the heap. A garbage collector basically works by determining what data objects in a program will not be accessed in the future execution of the program, and reclaiming storage used by those objects.
Garbage collection automates the freeing up of memory so that the programmer no longer has to worry about releasing objects that are no longer needed. As a result, this source of considerable program design effort may be avoided. Moreover, garbage collection aids in making programming languages safer due to the reduction in several classes of runtime errors, e.g., dangling pointer errors where a reference to a de-allocated object is used.
Many computer programming languages, referred to as garbage-collected languages, now require garbage collection either as part of the language specification (e.g., Java, C#, and most scripting languages) or as part of practical implementation (e.g., formal languages like lambda calculus). Other computer programming languages are designed for use with manual memory management, but have garbage collected implementations (e.g., C, C++). Still other computer programming languages, such as Modula-3, allow both garbage collection and manual memory management to co-exist in the same application by using separate heaps for collected and manually managed objects.
Tracing garbage collectors are the most common type of garbage collector. Tracing garbage collectors focus on determining which objects are reachable, or potentially reachable, and then discarding all remaining objects. A reachable object may be defined as a data object for which there exists some name, e.g., a variable or the like, in the program environment that leads to it, either directly or through references from other reachable data objects. More precisely, data objects, hereafter referred to as simply "objects," can be reachable in only two ways. First, a distinguished set of objects are assumed to be reachable, these are known as the roots. Typically, these include all the objects referenced from anywhere in the call stack, i.e. all local variables and parameters in the functions currently being invoked, and any global variables. Second, anything referenced from a reachable object is itself reachable. This is referred to as transitivity.
Tracing garbage collectors use an algorithm in which they perform garbage collection cycles. A cycle is started when the collector decides, or is notified, that it needs to reclaim storage, which in particular happens when the system is low on memory. All tracing garbage collectors implement some variant of the tri-color marking abstraction, but simple collectors, such as the mark-and-sweep collector, often do not make this abstraction explicit. Tri-color marking works as follows.
First, initial white, grey and black sets are created that will be used to maintain progress during the cycle. Initially, the white set, or condemned set, is the set of objects that are candidates for having their memory recycled. The black set is the set of objects that can be easily proven to have no references to objects in the white set. In many implementations the black set starts off empty. The grey set is all the remaining objects that may or may not have references to objects in the white set. These sets partition memory such that every object in the system, including the root set, is in precisely one set.
Thereafter, an object in the grey set is selected. This object is blackened, i.e. moved to the black set, by "greying" all the white objects it references directly, i.e. blackening all the white objects that the object references and objects that they reference. This step is repeated until the grey set is empty. When there are no more objects in the grey set, then all the objects remaining in the white set are provably not reachable and the storage occupied by them can be reclaimed.
With the tri-color marking algorithm, no black object points directly to a white object. This ensures that the white objects can be safely deallocated once the grey set is empty.
Once the unreachable set, i.e. the resulting white set when the grey set is empty, has been determined, the garbage collector may simply release the unreachable objects and leave everything else as it is. Alternatively, the garbage collector may copy some or all of the reachable objects into a new area of memory, updating all references to those objects as needed. These are called "non-moving" and "moving" garbage collectors, respectively.
Tracing collectors may also be categorized by considering how the three sets of objects (white, grey, and black) are maintained during a collection cycle. The most straightforward approach is the semi-space collector, which is a moving garbage collection scheme in which memory is partitioned into a "from space" and "to space". Initially, objects are allocated into "to space", until it becomes full and a garbage collection cycle is triggered. At the start of the garbage collection, the "to space" becomes the "from space", and vice versa. The objects reachable from the root set are copied from the "from space" to the "to space". These objects are scanned in turn, and all objects that they point to are copied to "to space" until all reachable objects have been copied to "to space". Once the program continues execution, new objects are once again allocated from the "to space" until it is once again full and the process is repeated. This approach has the advantage of conceptual simplicity, since the three object color sets are implicitly constructed during the copying process, but the disadvantage that a very large contiguous region of free memory may possibly be needed on every collection cycle.
In general, a mark-and-sweep garbage collector maintains one or two bits with each object to record whether it is white or black. The grey set is either maintained as a separate list or is identified using another bit. As the reference tree is traversed during a collection cycle, these bits are manipulated by the collector to reflect the current state, i.e. white, black, or grey. The mark and sweep strategy has the advantage that, once the unreachable set is determined, i.e., the resulting white set after the grey set is empty, either a moving or non-moving collection strategy can be pursued. This choice of strategy can even be made at runtime, as available memory permits.
In some implementations of garbage collectors, the mark and sweep garbage collector uses an explicit stack to store objects which are known to be reachable, but whose contents have not yet been examined (i.e. the "grey" objects). Each entry in the stack contains a base address and a mark descriptor, indicating the location of possible pointers relative to that starting address. Mark descriptors typically take the form of either a simple length specification, or a bit vector describing pointer locations.
In addition to the above, garbage collectors may also be of various types with regard to how they interrupt other operations of the system in which they operate. For example, "stop-the-world" garbage collectors completely halt execution of the program to run a collection cycle, thus guaranteeing that new objects are not allocated and objects do not suddenly become unreachable while the collector is running. This has the obvious disadvantage that the program can perform no useful work while a collection cycle is running.
"Incremental" garbage collectors are designed to reduce this disruption by interleaving their work with activity from the main program. Careful design is necessary to ensure that the main program does not interfere with the garbage collector and vice versa. For example, when the program needs to allocate a new object, the runtime system may either need to suspend it until the collection cycle is complete or somehow notify the garbage collector that there exists a new, reachable object.
Finally, a concurrent garbage collector can run concurrently in real time with the main program on a symmetric multiprocessing machine. Complex locking regimes may be necessary in order to guarantee correctness. Moreover, cache issues also make this less helpful than one might imagine. Nonetheless, concurrent garbage collection may be desirable for symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) applications with high performance requirements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A system for aquatic plant processing includes a harvester, which includes a nozzle assembly and optionally a pump assembly; and a transport subsystem. Additionally or alternatively, the system can include and/or interface with any or all of: a conduit, a collection assembly, a control subsystem, a sensor subsystem, a pond, and/or any other suitable components. A method for harvesting includes operating the harvesting system in a set of one or more operation modes.

Many types of aquatic plants are highly nutrient-dense, and therefore can be very valuable for use in different applications, such as providing a protein-rich food source for animals (e.g., livestock) and/or humans. Growing, harvesting, and properly maintaining aquatic plants is often very challenging, however. Many aquatic plants, for instance, are sensitive to their environment and therefore require a highly controlled growing environment. Further, the nature of their aquatic growing environment makes it difficult to remove and harvest the plants, as aquatic environments are conventionally less accessible, more subject to variation, and often more sensitive than land-based growing environments. The cultivation of aquatic plants is thus underserved by conventional agricultural technologies and as such, requires highly manual processes which are costly and suboptimal.
The inventors have discovered a new and useful system and method for the harvesting of aquatic plants.

System and method for aquatic plant harvesting


A technical adapter system operates to wirelessly, remotely control a conventional thermostat and/or components of an HVAC system, HVAC/R system or both, to which the conventional thermostat is connected, and optimizing energy efficiency of the HVAC system components. This effectively heats and/or cools a space or volume that the HVAC and/or HVAC/R system is configured to heat and/or cool. An adapter device includes a processor, a memory and an adapter application program component, the adapter device configured to connect to the conventional thermostat, the HVAC system or both. A hand-held electronic device including a smart device application program component that operates to enable a hand-held electronic device user to wirelessly connect to the adapter device, and remotely control and command the adapter device.

The invention broadly relates to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and, relates more particularly to a technical support system including a technical support device that is connected to wires of a conventional thermostat of an HVAC and/or HVAC/R system, and a hand-held electronic device, for monitoring and testing components of the HVAC and/or HVAC/R system normally controlled by the conventional thermostat, a technical adapter system including a technical adapter device that connects to a conventional thermostat of an HVAC and/or HVAC/R system, a hand-held electronic device, and monitoring devices, for controlling and/or, where necessary, overriding the conventional thermostat, thereby managing operation and energy efficiency of the HVAC and/or HVAC/R system components, and the heated and/or cooled space, in reliance upon monitoring data, a thermostat control system including a thermostat device, a hand-held electronic device, and monitoring devices, for controlling the HVAC and/or HVAC/R system components, thereby managing operation and energy efficiency of the HVAC and/or HVAC/R system components, and the heated and/or cooled space, in reliance upon monitoring data received from the monitoring devices, or other data available data; and an application program including a software component for operation in a hand-held electronic device, such as a smartphone, and/or a software component for operation in the technical support device and/or the adapter device and/or the thermostat device, and/or a software component for operation in server operating as a remote control center, where the components operate to allow a user to wirelessly control the respective technical support, technical adapter system and thermostat control systems, via respective hand-held electronic devices.

Energy management system controller and method


A transfer device capable of performing switching between a two-wheel drive mode or a standby four-wheel drive mode and a full-time four-wheel drive mode is provided with: a center differential which comprises a differential mechanism including one side gear coupled to rear wheels and the other side gear capable of transmitting power to a spline piece coupled to front wheels, and a differential case coupled to an engine; a switching sleeve which is movable between a first position at which the differential case and a hub are engaged and a second position at which the hub and the spline piece are engaged; and a control clutch which engages and disengages a rear wheel output shaft coupled to the one side gear and the spline piece.

Conventionally, there has been known a four-wheel drive vehicle constituted by an FR (front engine rear drive) of a vertically installed engine type as one of four-wheel engine vehicles which can be switched between a two-wheel drive state and a four-wheel drive state. The four-wheel drive vehicle as previously mentioned is generally constructed to include a center differential for absorbing the rotational difference between front wheels and rear wheels while travelling in the four-wheel drive state, and a switching mechanism capable of switching the two-wheel drive state and the four-wheel drive state.
As one of transfer devices of this kind, there has been known a transfer device which comprises a center differential having a deferential case connected with an output shaft of a transmission, one side gear connected with a rear drive shaft, and the other side gear connected with an output member forming part of a front wheel drive system, and a switching mechanism juxtaposed with the center differential (see for example Patent Document 1).
The switching mechanism disclosed in the Patent Document 1 has a sleeve which is spline-engageable with splines respectively formed on the outer peripheral portion of the differential case, on the outer peripheral portion of an output member and on the outer peripheral portion of a drive member capable of transmitting power to a front wheel drive shaft, and which is axially movable. The above sleeves can axially be moved by the operation of a driver, thereby making it possible to selectively switch the engagement states with the splines, and thus can take three positions as follows. The positions include a first position where the sleeve is in the engagement state with the spline of the differential case and the spline of the output member, a second position where the sleeve is in the engagement with the spline of the output member and the spline of the drive member by the movement of the sleeve toward the drive member from the first position, and a third position where the sleeve is in the engagement state with the above three splines by the further movement of the sleeve toward the drive member from the second position.
At the first position, the rotation of the differential case is not transmitted to the drive member, so that the transfer device takes the two-wheel drive state in which the front wheel is not driven while only the rear wheel is driven. At the second position, the rotation of the other side gear is transmitted to the drive member, so that the transfer device takes the four-wheel drive state in which the front wheel and the rear wheel are driven. At this time, the differential case and the output member are not fixed through the sleeve, so that the transfer device takes a differential free state in which the center differential can absorb the rotational difference between the front and rear wheels. At the third position, the rotation of the differential case is transmitted to the drive member, so that the transfer device takes the four-wheel drive state in which the front wheels and the rear wheels are driven. At this time, the differential case is fixed to the output member, so that the power inputted from the transmission is directly transmitted to the drive member through the differential case but not through the other side gear. This means that at the third position, the rotational difference between the front and rear wheels is not absorbed by the center differential, viz., the transfer device takes a differential lock state.


A write bit line and a read bit line are provided separately for a memory cell. A source line connecting to the memory cell is formed of a source impurity region the same in conductivity type as a substrate region. A memory cell transistor and the source impurity region are connected by a metal interconnection line of a low resistance. A rise in the source line potential can be prevented, and a memory cell current can reliably be generated according to storage data. Further, fast data reading can be achieved. Additionally, by performing precharging and data amplification in a unit of read bit line, the load of the read bit line can be alleviated to achieve fast reading. An accessing time of a non-volatile semiconductor memory device that uses a variable resistance element as a storage element is reduced without increasing the current consumption.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-volatile semiconductor memory device, and particularly, to a configuration for reducing a time required for data writing/reading in a non-volatile semiconductor memory device. Specifically, the present invention relates to an array configuration for and an accessing scheme for fast accessing of a non-volatile semiconductor memory device containing a variable resistance element, such as a magneto-resistance element or a phase change element, as a storage element.
2. Description of the Background Art
Among semiconductor memory devices that store data in a non-volatile manner, there is included a magnetic semiconductor memory device (MRAM: Magnetic Random Access Memory) that utilizes a tunnel junction (MTJ: Magnetic Tunnel Junction) structure exhibiting a tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) effect as a storage element.
In a TMR element (or an MTJ element), a storage element is structured by two magnetic layers with an insulating layer (a tunneling barrier layer) interposed in between. Normally, one of the two magnetic layers is formed with an antiferromagnetic layer having its magnetization direction fixed, and the other magnetic layer has its magnetization direction changed in accordance with write data. Depending on the relationship between the magnetization directions of the fixed layer having the fixed magnetization direction and of the free layer having the magnetization direction changed in accordance with write data, the tunneling resistance of the tunneling barrier film changes due to magneto-resistance effect. Specifically, the magneto-resistance becomes the lowest when the magnetization directions of the free layer and the fixed layer are parallel, and the magneto-resistance becomes the highest when the magnetization directions of the free layer and the fixed layer are anti-parallel or opposite. These magneto-resistance values are correlated with "1" and "0" of storage data. As data is stored by the magnetization direction and the magnetization direction is retained until a magnetic field is newly applied externally, data can be stored in a non-volatile manner.
As an amount of current flowing through the TMR element changes in accordance with a magneto-resistance value, data reading is performed by determining storage data in accordance with the magnitude of the current value.
An exemplary configuration of such a magnetic semiconductor memory device is shown in Prior Art Reference 1 (Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-249629).
In the configuration shown in Prior Art Reference 1, storage elements formed of magneto-resistance elements such as TMR elements are arranged in rows and columns, and one read block is constructed by a prescribed number of memory cells. In the read block, first ends of the TMR elements are individually connected to respective bit lines, and the opposite second ends of the TMR elements are coupled to a source line via a common read select switch. Prior Art Reference 1 intends to reduce the occupying area of the memory cells by connecting one read select switch to a plurality of TMR elements, as compared to the configuration where a select transistor is arranged for each memory cell. Additionally, in data reading, it is intended to achieve fast data reading, by selectively driving a bit line and a read select switch so that a read current is caused to flow through only one memory cell.
In the configuration shown in Prior Art Reference 1, in one read block, TMR elements are respectively connected to different read bit lines, and a source line is commonly connected to the read blocks aligned in a direction perpendicular to the read bit lines. To one read block, one read select gate is connected, and a plurality of TMR elements in one read block are connected commonly to a source line. With this configuration, it is intended to read storage data of TMR elements in the read block in parallel simultaneously.
However, when a source line is provided commonly to a plurality of read blocks and the interconnection resistance of the source line is large, such a problem occurs that a read current (memory cell current) from a selected memory cell (TMR element) flows to raise the source line potential (in data reading, the source line is coupled to the ground potential), the read current cannot be sufficiently supplied, and fast data reading cannot be achieved. Further, due to the raised source line potential, the memory cell current may be limited and correct data reading may not be performed.
In order to reduce the resistance of the source line, the following approach may be considered. That is, a source line is formed of, for example, an N type impurity layer and a low resistance layer such as cobalt silicide (CoSi) layer is formed on the surface of the source impurity layer, to achieve the reduction in the resistance of the source line contact and the interconnection resistance of the source line. However, with such a configuration, it is still inadequate to obtain a correct read current, due to the interconnection resistance and the distribution of the source potential (floating-up) over the entire source line as the source line is arranged extending along a plurality of read blocks and thus the interconnection length is large.
Further, in the configuration shown in Prior Art Reference 1, a write word line driven to a selected state in data writing and a read bit line driving a memory cell current in data reading are formed of a common interconnection line. With the common configuration of the write word line and read bit line, it is intended to simplify the array configuration. Accordingly, a read bit line cannot be used in data writing, and conversely, a write word line cannot be used in data reading. Thus, it is allowed to alternatively perform data writing and data reading, and it is not allowed to implement an operation mode performing writing and reading in parallel, such as read-modify-write mode in which write data is changed by read data.
Still further, in the configuration shown in Prior Art Reference 1, a read bit line is connected to an internal data line that is connected to a read sense amplifier. From a read circuit including the read sense amplifier, a read current is supplied to a selected read bit line. As the write word line and the read bit line are formed into a common line, a write word line driver and the read sense amplifier are both connected to the internal data line. Accordingly, there are problems that the load of the internal data line is large, the read current cannot be driven fast in data reading, and fast accessing cannot be achieved. Particularly, in data reading, the internal data line, to which the sense amplifier is connected, is directly driven by a memory cell current, and the memory cell current is required to drive the internal data line with a large load. Therefore, there is a problem that fast reading cannot be achieved.

Non-volatile semiconductor memory device allowing concurrent data writing and data reading


Systems and methods for use in an in vitro diagnostics setting may include an automation track, a plurality of carriers configured to carry a plurality of sample vessels along the automation track, and a characterization station including a plurality of optical devices. A processor, in communication with the characterization station, can be configured to analyze images to automatically characterize physical attributes related to each carrier and/or sample vessel. A method may include receiving a plurality of images from a plurality of optical devices of a characterization station, wherein the plurality of images comprise images from a plurality of perspectives of a sample vessel being transported by a carrier, automatically analyzing the plurality of images, using a processor, to determine certain characteristics of the sample vessel, and automatically associating the characteristics of the sample vessel with the carrier in a database.

In vitro diagnostics (IVD) allows labs to assist in the diagnosis of disease based on assays performed on patient fluid samples. IVD includes various types of analytical tests and assays related to patient diagnosis and therapy that can be performed by analysis of a liquid sample taken from a patient's bodily fluids, or abscesses. These assays are typically conducted with automated clinical chemistry analyzers (analyzers) onto which fluid containers, such as tubes or vials containing patient samples have been loaded. The analyzer extracts a liquid sample from sample vessels and combines the sample with various reagents in special reaction cuvettes or tubes (referred to generally as reaction vessels). In some conventional systems, a modular approach is used for analyzers. A lab automation system can shuttle samples between one sample processing module (module) and another module. Modules may include one or more stations, including sample handling stations and testing stations (e.g., a unit that can specialize in certain types of assays or can otherwise provide testing services to the larger analyzer, which may include immunoassay (IA) and clinical chemistry (CC) stations.
An automation system for use with analyzers in an IVD environment moves tubes containing sample specimens between different stations within an analyzer or between analyzers. One common way to move these samples is by using passive carriers, such as pucks, along a friction track. Commonly, these automation tracks do not provide a large degree of precision when positioning samples. For example, passive pucks may be singulated and positioned mechanically using hard stops within the track. Singulation prongs may hold a puck in place once the puck has traversed the automation track to approximately the needed location. However, these prongs may not be adjustable for each puck and positioning a puck at a hard stop may not necessarily cause samples carried by the pucks to be repeatedly positioned relative to instruments, such as pipettes, along the automation track.
While hard stops may be used to position a puck with relative repeatability, devices that interact with the sample, such as pipettes, may require precise orientation and positioning of the sample at a given location on the track. The position and orientation of each sample may vary relative to the hard stops from puck to puck. For example, the manufacturing tolerances between two pucks may prevent a repeatable location of the bottom of the tube relative to a given singulation point. In addition, tubes may shift within the grasp of a puck, such as by tilting, or moving off center from a holding location within the puck as the puck traverses the automation or at the time an operator places the tube into the puck.
One common way to provide somewhat repeatable positioning of a sample tube employs a holder on a puck with self-centering springs. A self-centering spring mechanism can include three or more springs that provide horizontal forces relative to one another to engage the walls of a sample tube to hold the tube approximately in the center of the mechanism. Self-centering springs may be expensive to manufacture with the tolerances necessary to provide self-centering action. For example, in designs where self-centering springs include multiple springs that push relative to one another, the self-centering action requires the relative forces of the springs to be approximately equal. Furthermore, self-centering springs may only be designed to allow tubes with a relative range of sizes that may be narrower than desired. Self-centering springs may also be poorly suited for maintaining the position of a tube while undergoing large forces as the puck travels around an automation track.
Different hospitals or laboratories may also use different size sample tubes. Within the IVD industry, there may be several standard sizes of available sample tubes. Different laboratories may use a variety of sample tubes or a subset of those available, according to their needs and available inventory. Conventional automation systems have a difficult time using a wide range of available sample tubes. While self-centering springs may allow a range of sample tubes to be used, the effective range of self-centering springs may be limited. In addition, when a range of tubes is used, a typical automation system does not know which size tube is used for each sample. This information can be manually associated with each sample, but requires additional operator steps which may be undesirable.
To determine various properties of samples in sample tubes, various sensors may be used throughout the IVD environment to allow assessment of characteristics important to each instrument. This information is typically sensed in an on-demand basis. For example, a pipette may utilize a liquid level sensor that measures the capacitance or other electrical properties of a pipette tip as it is inserted into a liquid sample during aspiration. A robot arm used in a sample handling unit may include tips that are designed to accept a range of tube diameters. These tips may include sensors or feelers to assist the robot arm in capturing a tube without breaking it. A barcode scanner can be placed at different decision points throughout the IVD environment, allowing a laser-based barcode reader to read information about the identity of each tube once the tube is stopped and rotated to bring a barcode into view of the reader. While the stop-and-check approach to barcode scanning can ensure that each sample is appropriately handled at each decision point, this process may be slow and result in long queues at each decision point.
Accordingly, current methods for handling ranges of sample tube types and for sensing the properties of samples in tubes may be slow or cumbersome, creating a potential bottleneck for increasing throughput or decreasing turn-around-times of samples that are processed by an automation system and related instruments.


A Potter-Bucky device for a radiation image recording apparatus in which an image recording medium is exposed to radiation which has passed through an object in order to record a radiation image of the object on the recording medium includes a grid which is supported by a support member between the object and the recording medium and is reciprocated parallel to the recording medium. A balancer is also connected to the support member and is reciprocated in synchronization with said grid but in the opposite direction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a Potter-Bucky device for use in a radiation image recording apparatus, and more particularly to a Potter-Bucky device which cannot transmit adverse vibrations to other parts of an apparatus in which it is employed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been in wide use a radiation image recording apparatus in which a radiation image of an object is recorded on an X-ray film by exposing the X-ray film to radiation such as X-rays which have passed through the object.
Further, there has been known a radiation image recording and reproducing system in which a radiation image is recorded and reproduced by the use of a stimulable phosphor instead of the X-ray film. When certain kinds of phosphors are exposed to radiation such as X-rays, .alpha.-rays, .beta.-rays, .gamma.-rays, cathode rays or ultra-violet rays, they store part of the energy of the radiation. Then when the phosphor which has been exposed to radiation is exposed to a stimulating ray, such as a laser beam, light is emitted from the phosphor in proportion to the amount of radiation energy which was stored by the phosphor. A phosphor exhibiting such properties is referred to as a stimulable phosphor. In a radiation image recording and reproducing system, a radiation image of an object such as the human body is recorded and reproduced by the use of such a stimulable phosphor. Specifically, as disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,264 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56(1981)-11395, a recording medium bearing thereon a stimulable phosphor layer is first exposed to radiation which has passed through an object in order to store a radiation image of the object in the stimulable phosphor layer, and then the stimulable phosphor layer is two-dimensionally scanned with a stimulating ray which causes it to emit light in a pattern corresponding to the stored radiation image. The light emitted from the stimulable phosphor layer upon stimulation thereof is photoelectrically detected and converted into an electric image signal, which is processed to reproduce the radiation image as a visible image on a recording medium such as a photosensitive material, a display system such as a CRT, or the like.
This system is advantageous over conventional radiography which uses X-ray film in that a radiation image can be recorded over a much wider radiation energy exposure range. That is, it has been found that the intensity of light emitted from the stimulable phosphor upon stimulation thereof after it is exposed to radiation remains proportional to the energy of the radiation to which it was exposed for a very wide radiation energy intensity range. Accordingly, even if the energy intensity range of the radiation to which the stimulable phosphor is exposed varies substantially due to changes in the recording conditions, a visible radiation image independent of variations in the radiation energy intensity range can be obtained by choosing an appropriate gain when converting the light emitted from the phosphor into an electric signal.
In radiation image recording systems in which X-ray film or a stimulable phosphor layer (both generically referred to as an image recording medium) is exposed to radiation which has passed through an object so as to record a radiation image of the object, a grid is sometimes disposed between the object and the image recording medium. That is, when a relatively thick part of an object, such as the chest of a human body, is radiographed, diffused radiation emitted from the object upon radiographing can deteriorate the quality of the radiation image obtained. In such cases, a grid device for absorbing the diffused radiation should be provided between the object and the recording medium. As is well known, a grid device comprises lead foils or the like arranged in parallel or in a grid and is disposed so as to overlap with the whole image recording area of the image recording medium.
When such a grid device is kept stationary during the recording of a radiation image, fine stripes corresponding to the foils of the grid are projected onto the recording medium together with the radiation image of the object. Since the stripes are very fine, the stripes are almost invisible when the radiation image is recorded on X-ray film. However, when the stimulable phosphor layer is used to record the radiation image, the stripes are visible as moire fringes since the stimulable phosphor is more sensitive than the X-ray film and the radiation image stored in the stimulable phosphor layer is read out by scanning the stimulable phosphor layer with a light beam at very fine pitches. Particularly, in radiation image recording systems in which a stimulable phosphor layer is utilized and subtraction processing of image signals is involved, such as the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,710,875, 4,590,517 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58(1983)-163339, and the like, the stimulable phosphor layers storing therein different radiation images such as ones recorded before and after the infusion of a contrast medium, or digital image signal tapes bearing thereon image signals read out from the stimulable phosphor layers are subjected to translation processing and/or rotation processing in order to correct fluctuation in the position of the radiation images recorded on the stimulable phosphor layers. The fine stripes recorded on the stimulable phosphor layers interfere with each other during translation and rotation processing in such a way that they produce moire fringes in the finally reproduced image, thereby very adversely affecting diagnoses based on the reproduced image.
As disclosed in EP-0114978, there has been proposed a Potter-Bucky device having a driving means for driving the grid back and forth at a high speed in parallel to the stimulable phosphor layer. This arrangement prevents part of the recording medium from being shielded by the foils of the grid during image recording, thereby preventing the formation of stripes on the recording medium and the production of moire fringes in the radiation image which has been read out, even if the recording medium uses a stimulable phosphor layer.
However there is a problem in that, though the Potter-Bucky device can prevent production of the moire fringes, it is apt to transmit vibrations to other parts of the system due to the movement of the grid. Particularly, in the case of a so-called built-in type radiation image recording and reproducing system, in which an image recording device, an image read-out device and an erasing device are incorporated into a single unit and the recording medium having the stimulable phosphor layer is conveyed or circulated through the system, when vibrations are transmitted from the Potter-Bucky device in the image recording device to the image read-out device, if the image read-out device is carrying out the image read-out operation, the accuracy of the read-out operation deteriorates.