A massively-parallel computer includes a plurality of processing nodes and at least one control node interconnected by a network. The network faciliates the transfer of data among the processing nodes and of commands from the control node to the processing nodes. Each each processing node includes an interface for transmitting data over, and receiving data and commands from, the network, at least one memory module for storing data, a node processor and an auxiliary processor. The node processor receives commands received by the interface and processes data in response thereto, in the process generating memory access requests for facilitating the retrieval of data from or storage of data in the memory module. The node processor further controlling the transfer of data over the network by the interface. The auxiliary processor is connected to the memory module and the node processor. In response to memory access requests from the node processor, the auxiliary processor performs a memory access operation to store data received from the node processor in the memory module, or to retrieve data from the memory module for transfer to the node processor. In response to auxiliary processing instructions from the node processor, the auxiliary processor performs data processing operations in connection with data in the memory module.

A digital computer system generally comprises three basic elements, namely, a memory element, an input/output element and a processor element. The memory element stores information in addressable storage locations. This information includes data and instructions for processing the data. The processor element fetches information from the memory element, interprets the information as either an instruction or data, processes the data in accordance with the instructions, and returns the processed data to the memory element. The input/output element, under control of the processor element, also communicates with the memory element to transfer information, including instructions and the data to be processed, to the memory, and to obtain processed data from the memory.
Most modern computing systems are considered "von Neumann" machines, since they are generally constructed according to a paradigm attributed to John von Neumann. Von Neumann machines are characterized by having a processing element, a global memory which stores all information in the system, and a program counter that identifies the location in the global memory of the instruction being executed. The processing element executes one instruction at a time, that is, the instruction identified by the program counter. When the instruction is executed, the program counter is advanced to identify the location of the next instruction to be processed. (In many modern systems, the program counter is actually advanced before the processor has finished processing the current instruction.)
Von Neumann systems are conceptually uncomplicated to design and program, since they do only one operation at a time. A number of advancements have been made to the original von Neumann paradigm to permit the various parts of the system, most notably the various components of the processor, to operate relatively independently and achieve a significant increase in processing speed. One such advancement is pipelining of the various steps in executing an instruction, including instruction fetch, operation code decode (a typical instruction includes an operation code which identifies the operation to be performed, and in most cases one or more operand specifiers, which identify the location in memory of the operands, or data, to be used in executing the instruction), operand fetch, execution (that is, performing the operation set forth in the operation code on the fetched operands), and storing of processed data, which steps are performed relatively independently by separate hardware in the processor. In a pipelined processor, the processor's instruction fetch hardware may be fetching one instruction while other hardware is decoding the operation code of another instruction, fetching the operands of still another instruction, executing yet another instruction, and storing the processed data of a fifth instruction. Since the five steps are performed sequentially, pipelining does not speed up processing of an individual instruction. However, since the processor begins processing of additional instructions before it has finished processing a current instruction, it can speed up processing of a series of instructions.
A pipelined processor is obviously much more complicated than a simple processor in a von Neumann system, as it requires not only the various circuits to perform each of the operations (in a simple von Neumann processor, many circuits could be used to perform several operations), but also control circuits to coordinate the activities of the various operational circuits. However, the speed-up of the system can be dramatic.
More recently, some processors have been provided with execution hardware which includes multiple functional units each being optimized to perform a certain type of mathematical operation. For example, some processors have separate functional units for performing integer arithmetic and floating point arithmetic, since they are processed very differently. Some processors have separate hardware functional units each of which performs one or only several types of mathematical operations, including addition, multiplication, and division operations, and other operations such as branch control and logical operations, all of which can be operating concurrently. This can be helpful in speeding up certain computations, most particularly those in which several functional units may be used concurrently for performing parts of a single computation.
In addition, some processors have been organized so as to process operands as "vectors," in which the same operation is applied to a series of sets of operands. The operands to be processed are rapidly sequenced through very fast processing circuits. Many type of problems lend themselves to vector processing, and the vector processors are effective in providing fast processing times, but the processing speed typically requires expensive circuitry.
In a von Neumann processor, including those which incorporate pipelining or multiple functional units (or both, since both may be incorporated into a single processor), a single instruction stream operates on a single data stream. That is, each instruction operates on data to enable one calculation at a time. Such processors have been termed "SISD," for single-instruction/single-data. If a program requires a segment of a program to be used to operate on a number of diverse elements of data to produce a number of calculations, the program causes the processor to loop through that segment for each calculation. In some cases, in which the program segment is short or there are only a few data elements, the time required to perform such a calculation may not be unduly long.
However, for many types of such programs, SISD processors would require a very long time to perform all of the calculations required. Accordingly, processors have been developed which incorporate a large number of processing elements all of which may operate concurrently on the same instruction stream, but with each processing element processing a separate data stream. These processors have been termed "SIMD" processors, for "single-instruction/multiple-data," or generally "SPMD" for "single-program/multiple-data.
SPMD processors are useful in a number of applications, such as image processing, signal processing, artificial intelligence, database operations, and computer simulation of a number of things, such as electronic circuits and fluid dynamics. In image processing, each processing element may be used to perform processing on a pixel ("picture element") of the image to enhance the overall image. In signal processing, the processors concurrently perform a number of the calculations required to perform such computations as the "Fast Fourier transform" of the data defining the signal. In artificial intelligence, the processors perform searches on extensive rule bases representing the stored knowledge of the particular application. Similarly, in database operations, the processors perform searches on the data in the database, and may also perform sorting and other operations. In computer simulation of, for example, electronic circuits, each processor may represent one part of the circuit, and the processor's iterative computations indicate the response of the part to signals from other parts of the circuit. Similarly, in simulating fluid dynamics, which can be useful in a number of applications such as weather predication and airplane design, each processor is associated with one point in space, and the calculations provide information about various factors such as fluid flow, temperature, pressure and so forth.
Typical SPMD systems, such as those described in the aforementioned Hillis, Douglas, et al., and Wells, et al., patent applications include a SPMD array, which includes the array of processing elements and a router network, a control processor and an input/output component. The input/output component, under control of the control processor, enables data to be transferred into the array for processing and receives processed data from the array for storage, display, and so forth. The control processor also controls the SIMD array, iteratively broadcasting instructions to the processing elements for execution in parallel. The router network enables the processing elements to communicate the results of a calculation to other processing elements for use in future calculations.

Massively parallel computer including auxiliary vector processor


The invention relates to a water-dispersible composition for making a water repellent paper with a low permeability for moisture. The composition comprises components (A) to (H), in the following amounts by dry weight (wt): (A) 5 to 89 wt % of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), (B) 1 to 20 wt % of styrene maleic imide (SMI), (C) 5 to 50 wt % of ethylene acrylate, (D) 0 to 20 wt % of polyvinyl alcohol or starch, (E) 0 to 7 wt % of wax, (F) 0 to 6 wt % of styrene maleic anhydride copolymer (SMA), (G) 0 to 70 wt % of styrene butadiene (SB) latex and (H) 0 to 70 wt % of talc. The invention further relates to an easily macerating moisture-proof paper comprising a base paper having coated on at least one surface thereof a layer of an aqueous emulsion comprising a water-dispersible composition, wherein the solid content in the aqueous emulsion is from 30 to 65 % by weight.

Recently, from the standpoint of saving resources, a demand of collecting used papers and regenerating fibres after dissolving the papers in water has been increased. It is required for the papers meeting the demand to have a so-called easily macerating property, that is, when the paper is dissolved in water the paper is easily macerated into fine fibrous forms.
A composition for making an easily macerating moisture proof paper is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,623. Example 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,623 describes aqueous emulsion comprising components (X), (Y) and (Z), wherein component (X) is an ethylene-vinyl chloride series copolymer comprising 20% by weight ethylene, 41% by weight vinyl chloride, and 39% by weight vinyl acetate having a glass transition temperature of from 0° C., component (Y) is an emulsion of a rosin ester having a softening point of 125° C. and component (Z) is an emulsion of a wax having a melting point of 57° C. Applied on a paper having a base weight of 80 g/m2 in an amount of 20 g/m2 the coated paper had a moisture permeability of 19 g/m2, 24 h.


A method for providing an active engine stop of the engine of a hybrid electric vehicle. The method utilizes the electric machine to oppose and rapidly stop the rotation of the engine at a controlled rate. The method includes the calculation of an input speed reduction trajectory using the engine speed when the active engine stop request is made and a predetermined speed reduction interval. The speed reduction interval is less than a time from the active stop request to the shutoff command to the electric machine The method provides rapid deceleration of the engine, particularly through the powertrain resonance speed, reducing the amount of vibration energy dissipated through the powertrain and chassis. The method removes the electric machine torques from the engine prior to achieving zero engine speed in order to avoid imparting a negative engine speed or counter-rotation of the engine.

An HEV is a vehicle that has a propulsion system that consists of at least one electric motor or electric machine in combination with at least one other power source. Typically, the other power source is a gasoline or diesel engine. There are various types of HEVs depending on how the electric motor(s) and other power source(s) are combined with one another in order to provide propulsion for the vehicle, including series, parallel and compound HEVs.
Various hybrid powertrain architectures are known for managing the input and output torques of various propulsion systems in HEVs, most commonly internal combustion engines and electric machines. Series hybrid architectures are generally characterized by an internal combustion engine driving an electric generator which in turn provides electrical power to an electric drivetrain and to an energy storage system, comprising a battery pack. The internal combustion engine in a series HEV is not directly mechanically coupled to the drivetrain. The electric generator may also operate in a motoring mode to provide a starting function to the internal combustion engine, and the electric drivetrain may recapture vehicle braking energy by also operating in a generator mode to recharge the battery pack.
Parallel HEV architectures are generally characterized by an internal combustion engine and an electric motor which both have a direct mechanical coupling to the drivetrain. The drivetrain conventionally includes a shifting transmission to provide the necessary gear ratios for wide range operation.
Electrically variable transmissions (EVT) are known which provide for continuously variable speed ratios by combining features from both series and parallel HEV powertrain architectures. EVTs are operable with a direct mechanical path between an internal combustion engine and a final drive unit thus enabling high transmission efficiency and application of lower cost and less massive motor hardware. EVTs are also operable with engine operation mechanically independent from the final drive or in various mechanical/electrical split contributions (i.e. input split, output split and compound split configurations) thereby enabling high-torque continuously variable speed ratios, electrically dominated launches, regenerative braking, engine off idling, and two-mode operation.
Essentially all transmissions have a spring damper located between the engine and transmission. Although it is commonly just called a "damper," it is actually built with springs that can be designed to dissipate energy. The spring damper decouples the rotating inertia of the engine from the rotating inertia of the transmission, thereby providing some level of isolation from high frequency oscillations (e.g. engine firing pulses are attenuated as they pass through the damper into the transmission). When an engine is "keyed-off", the engine is passively stopped as the rotational energy is dissipated due to frictional losses and the operation of the spring damper.
The design of the spring damper is constrained by the mechanical packaging of the springs themselves. The spring design must meet conflicting criteria. The springs must be stiff enough (large spring constant, K) to accept the maximum torque of the engine within their free travel length. However, long springs can encounter problems in buckling and are very difficult to package. And the natural frequency of the system must be significantly lower than the desired idle speed (e.g., by about 1/√{square root over (2)} for attenuation), but the high stiffness (K) tends to drive the natural frequency higher (e.g., by √{square root over (K/M)}) relationship). A key difference between certain EVT transmissions and other transmissions is that the engine is continuously coupled through a spring damper to the transmission and its large inertias. There is no decoupling starting clutch (as in a manual transmission) or torque converter (as in an automatic transmission). These large inertias produce significant vibrational energy as the engine and transmission pass through a resonant frequency associated with the engine speed (e.g. the resonance speed of an compression engine/spring damper/transmission system is approximately 400 rpm for a six cylinder engine which permits sufficient attenuation by idle speed (i.e., 600 rpm and higher)), thereby affecting operator and passenger feel and perceived vehicle performance. Certain EVTs have the possibility of actively applying an opposing torque to the engine using one or more electric motors.
Therfore, it is desirable to develop operating modes for EVT powertrain systems that may be used to provide an active engine stop and shorten the time required to transition the engine through the powertrain resonant speed.

Method for active engine stop of a hybrid electric vehicle


A start value is x bits in size and is used to provide an initial value to an n-bit security count value. A wireless communications device establishes channels with a compatible device, and releases channels established with the compatible device. For every channel established by the wireless communications device, a corresponding terminal value is obtained. A terminal value for a channel is the highest value reached by the x most significant bits (MSBX) of an n-bit security count value associated with the channel. The security count value is used to encipher data transmitted along the channel. A final value that is obtained that is the greatest value of all the terminal values. Finally, a start value is stored in the memory of the wireless device that is at least as large as the final value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to security count values in a wireless communications system. In particular, the present invention discloses a method for ensuring that security counts generated by a hyper-frame number are re-used as little as possible over the lifetime of a security key.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a prior art wireless communications system. The wireless communications system includes a first station 10 in wireless communications with a second station 20. As an example, the first station 10 could be a mobile unit, such as a cellular telephone, and the second station 20 could be a base station. The first station 10 communicates with the second station 20 over a plurality of channels 12. The second station 20 thus has corresponding channels 22, one for each of the channels 12. Each channel 12 has a receiving buffer 12r for holding protocol data units (PDUs) 11r received from the corresponding channel 22 of the second station 20. Each channel 12 also has a transmitting buffer 12t for holding PDUs 11t that are awaiting transmission to the corresponding channel 22 of the second station 20. A PDU 11t is transmitted by the first station 10 along a channel 12 and received by the second station 20 to generate a corresponding PDU 21r in the receiving buffer 22r of the corresponding channel 22. Similarly, a PDU 21t is transmitted by the second station 20 along a channel 22 and received by the first station 10 to generate a corresponding PDU 11r in the receiving buffer 12r of the corresponding channel 12.
For the sake of consistency, the data structures of each PDU 11r, 11t, 21r and 21t along corresponding channels 12 and 22 are identical. That is, a transmitted PDU 11t generates an identical corresponding received PDU 21r, and vice versa. Furthermore, both the first station 10 and the second station 20 use identical PDU 11t, 21t data structures. Although the data structure of each PDU 11r, 11t, 21r and 21t along corresponding channels 12 and 22 is identical, different channels 12 and 22 may use different PDU data structures according to the type of connection agreed upon along the corresponding channels 12 and 22. In general, though, every PDU 11r, 11t, 21r and 21t will have a sequence number 5r, 5t, 6r, 6t. The sequence number 5r, 5t, 6r, 6t is an m-bit number that is incremented for each PDU 11r, 11t, 21r, 21t. The magnitude of the sequence number 5r, 5t, 6r, 6t thus indicates the sequential ordering of the PDU 11r, 11t, 21r, 21t in its buffer 12r, 12t, 22r, 22t. The sequence number 5t, 6t is often explicitly carried by the PDU 11t, 21t, but may also be implicitly assigned by the station 10, 20. For example, in an acknowledged mode setup for corresponding channels 12 and 22, each transmitted PDU 11t, successful reception of which generates an identical corresponding PDU 21r, is explicitly confirmed by the second station 20. A 12-bit sequence number 5t is explicitly carried by each PDU 11t. The second station 20 scans the sequence numbers 6r embedded within the received PDUs 21r to determine the sequential ordering of the PDUs 21r, and to determine if any PDUs 21r are missing. The second station 20 can then send a message to the first station 10 that indicates which PDUs 21r were received by using the sequence numbers 6r of each received PDU 21r, or may request that a PDU 11t be re-transmitted by specifying the sequence number 5t of the PDU 11t to be re-transmitted. Alternatively, in a so-called transparent transmission mode, data is never confirmed as successfully received. The sequence numbers 5t, 6t are not explicitly carried in the PDUs 11t, 21t. Instead, the first station 10 simply internally assigns a 7 bit sequence number 5t to each PDU 11t. Upon reception, the second station 20 similarly assigns a 7-bit sequence number 6r to each PDU 21r. Ideally, the sequence numbers 5t maintained by the first station 10 for the PDUs 11t are identical to the corresponding sequence numbers 6r for the PDUs 21r that are maintained by the second station 20.
Hyper-frame numbers (HFNs) are also maintained by the first station 10 and the second station 20. Hyper-frame numbers may be thought of as high-order bits of the sequence numbers 5t, 6t that are never physically transmitted with the PDUs 11t, 21t, except in rare cases of special signaling PDUs 11t, 21t that are used for synchronization. And in these cases, the HFNs are not carried as part of the sequence number 11t,21t, but instead are carried in fields of the data payload of the signaling PDU 11t, 21t, and thus are more properly signaling data. As each transmitted PDU 11t, 21t generates a corresponding received PDU 21r, 11r, hyper-frame numbers are also maintained for received PDUs 11r, 21r. Each channel 12 of the first station 10 thus has a receiving hyper-frame number (HFNR) 13r and a transmitting hyper-frame number (HFNT) 13t. Similarly, the corresponding channel 22 on the second station 20 has a HFNR 23r and a HFNT 23t. When the first station 10 detects roll-over of the sequence numbers 5r of PDUs 11r in the receiving buffer 12r, the first station 10 increments the HFNR 13r. On roll-over of sequence numbers 5t of transmitted PDUs 11t, the first station 10 increments the HFNT 13t. A similar process occurs on the second station 20 for the HFNR 23r and HFNT 23t. The HFNR 13r of the first station 10 should thus be synchronized with (i.e., identical to) the HFNT 23t of the second station 20. Similarly, the HFNT 13t of the first station 10 should be synchronized with (i.e., identical to) the HFNR 23r of the second station 20.
The PDUs 11t and 21t are not transmitted xe2x80x9cout in the openxe2x80x9d. A security engine 14 on the first station, and a corresponding security engine 24 on the second station 20, are together used to ensure secure and private exchanges of data exclusively between the first station 10 and the second station 20. The security engine 14, 24 has two primary functions. The first is the obfuscation (i.e., ciphering, or encryption) of data held within a PDU 11t, 21t so that the PDU 11t, 21t presents a meaningless collection of random numbers to an eavesdropper. The second is to verify the integrity of data contained within the PDUs 11r, 21r. This is used to prevent another, improper, station from masquerading as either the first station 10 or the second station 20. By verifying data integrity, the first station 10 can be certain that a PDU 11r was, in fact, transmitted by the second station 20, and vice versa. For a PDU 11t to be transmitted, the security engine 14 uses, amongst other inputs, an n-bit security count 14c and a key 14k to perform the ciphering functions to the PDU 11t. To properly decipher the corresponding PDU 21r, the security engine 24 must use an identical security count 24c and key 24k. Similarly, data integrity checking on the first station 10 uses an n-bit security count that must be synchronized with a corresponding security count on the second station 20. As the data integrity security count is generated in a manner similar to that for the ciphering security count 14c, 24c, and as ciphering is more frequently applied, the ciphering security count 14c, 24c is considered in the following. The keys 14k and 24k remain constant across all PDUs 11t and 21t (and thus corresponding PDUs 21r and 11r), until explicitly changed by both the first station 10 and the second station 20. The security counts 14c and 24c, however, continuously change with each PDU 11t and 21t. This constant changing of the security count 14c, 24c makes decrypting (and spoofing) of PDUs 11t, 21t more difficult, as it reduces statistical consistency of inputs into the security engine 14, 24. The security count 14c for a PDU 11t is generated by using the sequence number 5t of the PDU 11t as the low order bits of the security count 14c, and the HFNT 13t associated with the sequence number 5t as the high order bits of the security count 14c. Similarly, the security count 14c for a PDU 11r is generated from the sequence number 5r of the PDU 11r and the HFNR 13r of the PDU 11r. An identical process occurs on the second station 20, in which the security count 24c is generated using the sequence number 6r, 6t and the appropriate HFNR 23r or HFNT 23t. The security count 14c, 24c has a fixed bit size, say 32 bits. As the sequence numbers 5r, 6r, 5t, 6t may vary in bit size depending upon the transmission mode used, the hyper-frame numbers HFNR 13r, HFNR 23r, HFNT 13t and HFNT 23t must vary in bit size in a corresponding manner to yield the fixed bit size of the security count 14c, 24c. For example, in a transparent transmission mode, the sequence numbers 5r, 6r, 5t, 6t are all 7 bits in size. The hyper-frame numbers HFNR 13r, HFNR23r, HFNT 13t and HFNT 23t are thus 25 bits in size; combining the two together yields a 32 bit security count 14c, 24c. In an acknowledged transmission mode, the sequence numbers 5r, 6r, 5t, 6t are all 12 bits in size. The hyper-frame numbers HFNR 13r, HFNR 23r, HFNT 13t and HFNT 23t are thus 20 bits in size so that combining the two together continues to yield a 32 bit security count 14c, 24c.
Initially, there are no established channels 12 and 22 between the first station 10 and the second station 20. The first station 10 thus establishes a channel 12 with the second station 20. To do this, the first station 10 must determine an initial value for the HFNT 13t and HFNR 13r. The first station 10 references a non-volatile memory 16, such as a flash memory device or a SIM card, for a start value 16s, and uses the start value 16s to generate the initial value for the HFNT 13t and the HFNR 13r. The start value 16s holds the x most significant bits (MSBX) of a hyper-frame number from a previous session along a channel 12. Ideally, x should be at least as large as the bit size of the smallest-sized hyper-frame number (i.e., for the above example, x should be at least 20 bits in size). The MSB of the HFNT 13t and the HFNR 13r are set to the start value 16s, and the remaining low order bits are set to zero. The first station 10 then transmits the start value 16s to the second station 20 (by way of a special signaling PDU 11t) for use as the HFNR23r and the HFNT 23t. In this manner, the HFNT 13t is synchronized with the HFNR 23r, and the HFNT 23t is synchronized with the HFNR 13r.
As noted, the first station 10 may establish a plurality of channels 12 with the second station 20. Each of these channels 12 uses its own sequence numbers 5r and 5t, and hyper-frame numbers 13r and 13t. When establishing a new channel 12, the first station 10 considers the HFNT 13t and HFNR 13r of all currently established channels 12, selecting the HFNT 13t or HFNR 13r with the highest value. The first station 10 then extracts the MSBX of this highest-valued hyper-frame number 13r, 13t, increments the MSBX by one, and uses it as the MSBX for the new HFNT 13t and HFNR 13r for a newly established channel 12. Synchronization is then performed between the first station 10 and the second station 20 to provide the MSBX to the second station 20 for the HFNR 23r and HFNT 23t. In this manner, a constantly incrementing spacing is ensured between the security counts 14c of all established channels 12.
It is noted that, for the sake of security, the keys 14k and 24k should be changed after a predetermined interval. This interval is determined by the security count 14c, 24c. When the security count 14c, 24c exceeds a predetermined value, the first station 10 and second station 20 initiate a security command to change the keys 14k and 24k. For the security count 14c, 24c to reach the predetermined value, a hyper-frame number must be remembered between sessions (that is, remembered between when the first station 10 is turned off and then turned back on again), which is the purpose of the start value 16s. When the very last channel 12 is released (i.e., terminated, so that no more channels 12 are established with the second station 20), the MSBX of the HFNT 13t or HFNR 13r for this channel 12 are extracted (depending on which is the larger, HFNT 13t or HFNR 13r), incremented by one, and then saved in the start value 16s. When the first station 10 is turned back on again, and seeks to establish a channel 12, the first station 10 uses the start value 16s, and the security count 14c is thus ensured to continuously rise.
Unfortunately, using the HFNT 13t or HFNR 13r of the very last released channel 12 to generate the start value 16s can lead to excessive delays in the changing of the security key 14k. As a matter of routine, the first station 10 establishes a signaling channel 12 with the second station 20. This signaling channel 12 is used to carry special signaling PDUs 11t for the communications protocol, and is established quite early on after the first station 10 is turned on. Signaling channels 12 tend to have a long duration, but generally do not carry much data. Thus, both the HFNT 13t and the HFNR 13r of the signaling channel 12 will have relatively small values, as the hyper-frame numbers 13t, 13r are created early on and are infrequently incremented due to low PDU 11t, 11r traffic loads. On the other hand, data channels 12 may be established sporadically and have high PDU 11t, 11r throughput. The HFNT 13t, or HFNR 13r, of such a data channel 12 may thus become quite large in comparison to that of the signaling channel 12. However, once a data channel 12 has fulfilled its function it is released. More likely than not, the signaling channel 12 will continue to exist, and so the hyper-frame numbers 13t, 13r associated with the data channel 12 are lost. Though a data channel 12 may have much larger hyper-frame numbers 13t, 13r than the signaling channel 12, it is the signaling channel 12 that is finally the last channel 12 to be released, and so it is the HFNT 13t, or HFNR 13r, of the signaling channel 12 that is used to generate the start value 16s. This leads to an excessive re-use of hyper-frame number 13t, 13r values, and hence unnecessary delays between the changing of the security key 14k. Security on the channels 12 is consequently weakened.
It is therefore a primary objective of this invention to provide a method for determining a start value to be stored in a memory of a wireless communications device.
Briefly summarized, the preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for storing and managing a start value in a wireless communications device. The start value is x bits in size and is used to provide an initial value to an n-bit security count value. The wireless communications device is capable of establishing a plurality of channels and capable of releasing established channels. For every channel established by the wireless communications device, a corresponding terminal value is obtained. A terminal value for a channel is the highest value reached by the x most significant bits (MSBX) of an n-bit security count value associated with the channel. A final value is obtained that is the greatest value of all the terminal values. Finally, a start value is stored in the memory of the wireless device that is at least as large as the final value.
It is an advantage of the present invention that by saving the largest MSBX of all the n-bit security count values associated with all the established channels, the present invention method reduces re-use of security count values, and encourages a more rapid changing of security keys. A minimum re-use of security count values is obtained, while maintaining a maximum security key usage. Overall transmission security is enhanced by avoiding unnecessary delays to the changing of the security key.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

Preventing excessive use of security keys in a wireless communications security system


A dispensing container having a neck with a throat opening closed by a cap having a pierceable membrane adjacent atop of the cap, the cap having a dispensing nozzle with a lumen therethrough and an overcap for enclosing the dispensing nozzle having a moveable plunger pin extending into the lumen of the nozzle and moveable therein to pierce the membrane.

Product dispensers consisting of containers closed by a pierceable membrane are well known and are commonly employed, for example, in adhesive containers where the sealing of the container by the membrane at one end of the container protects the contents against the adverse consequences of exposure to the environment during shipment and storage. It has been known to provide such containers with dispensing nozzles extending from the membrane area which carry overcaps having moveable plungers or pins that project through the lumen of the nozzle and which can be activated to pierce the membrane. Upon piercing the membrane and removal of the overcap, the contents of the container can be dispensed through the nozzle to a desired location. Upon recapping the nozzle with the overcap with the pin in its piercing position, the pin will reenter the pierced opening in the membrane to partially or substantially reseal the container.
Such moveable pin membrane piercing containers are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,726,060 and 5,799,829. Such known containers are formed as metal tubes having an open end opposite the membrane-closed end. The open end is used for filling the container and it may then be closed by a securely fastened plug. While such containers are particularly applicable for use with cyanoacrylates, they are not preferred for other adhesives, such as anaerobics, particularly where chemical interaction may occur with a metal container. In such instances a plastic container may be preferred.
Since plastic containers are often formed by a blow molding process, it is necessary to mold the container with an opening, however for a number of reasons, including the difficulties associated with properly securing a closure plug, such containers are most frequently blow molded from the end of the container forming the dispense opening.
A common form of such a container may, for example, employ a projecting neck which defines a throat opening which may also be used to fill the container and which may thereafter be closed by a cap or, in some instances, by a combination of a sealing foil and cap. The use of peelable sealing foils adhesively or otherwise secured at the neck end closing the throat opening is also a well known way of protecting the contents, after filling, from environmental degradation. Such foils may be constructed of various materials and may be cut, stripped, peeled or pierced to gain access to the contents of the container.
Where it is desired to provide such a container with a foil that is to be pierced to provide an opening, it is generally preferred to form such foils of materials that are relatively susceptible to piercing, such as paper, thin metal foils or the like. Because most plastics have a relatively high degree of elasticity, they are generally not suitable for closure foils where it is intended that the foil be pierced. Such plastics have a tendency to stretch, dimple and then tear when subjected to a piercing operation and would therefore be contraindicated for a pierceable container closure, even though a plastic material closure may have other advantages depending on the contents of the container.
A further disadvantage arises with the use of foil-like closures at the throat opening. Because such closures must be affixed to the open end of the neck, particularly where a cap is to be placed over the neck, the available surface for attachment is limited to the annulus formed at the neck top, which annulus defines the throat opening. Not only does this limit the security of the attachment of the sealing foil to the container, it adversely interferes with obtaining a good seal at the throat when the initial cap structure carried at the throat is a dispensing nozzle, having a lumen opening through it. Where the dispensing nozzle cap is to be attachable to the container prior to removal or piercing of the foil, the dispensing nozzle cannot be provided with any portion thereof projecting into the throat opening as that would interfere with the closure foil. Upon removal or piercing of the closure foil, then the seal formed between the dispensing nozzle cap and the container is limited to the annulus area which can provide a leakage path to the outside surface of the neck.
While the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,060 avoids the leakage path problem at the intersection of the throat opening and the dispensing nozzle cap, it does so by positioning the closure membrane axially spaced from the throat opening and providing a frustoconical extension on the undersurface of the nozzle cap which extension extends into the throat opening as a plug and which provides an edge seal at the i.d. of the open end of the throat. Such a seal cannot be provided in connection with a throat covering foil seal.
It would therefore be an advance in the art to provide a dispensing container and cap assembly having a pierceable membrane sealing a throat opening of the container, where the container is initially formed with an open throat and where the membrane is positioned to allow an edge seal to be created at the i.d. at the open end of the throat. It would be a further advance in the art to provide a plastics material membrane in such an assembly.

Pierceable dispenser container and closure


A self-contained ocular surgery instrument, including a power module having a body presenting a mating coupler and including a compressed gas supply; a fluid reservoir; an aspiration pump; an aspirated material reservoir and a control panel. The mating coupler is structured to receive and couple to at least one module that facilitates performance of an eye surgery task. The compressed gas supply is coupled to the aspiration pump and the aspirated material reservoir is in fluid communication with the aspiration pump to receive aspirated material from the mating coupler. The fluid reservoir is in fluid communication with the mating coupler such that fluid is supplied under pressure to the mating coupler and thus to the at least one module that facilitates performance of an eye surgery task. The control panel is in controlling communication with the compressed gas supply, the aspiration pump and the aspirated material reservoir.

Cataracts, a leading cause of vision loss and even blindness worldwide, occur when the natural crystalline lens of the eye becomes cloudy or opacified. Cataract surgery is commonly performed by the method of phacoemulsification. Phacoemulsification is a commonly practiced ocular surgical procedure for removing cataracts.
Cataracts are caused by protein aggregation and accumulation in the natural crystalline lens, causing light scattering. The interference with the passage of light through the natural crystalline lens causes images to become cloudy and distorted, thereby diminishing visual acuity. Severe diminishment of visual acuity from cataracts can lead to an increase in auto accidents, falls, and other social problems. Generally, in the United States, cataract surgery is performed well prior to severe reduction in vision as a consequence of the cataract.
Therefore, several surgical procedures, including phacoemulsification, have been developed to treat cataracts to restore lost vision. Generally, cataract surgical procedures are performed to remove the clouded natural crystalline lens and implant an artificial intraocular lens to replace the focusing power of the removed natural lens.
Phacoemulsification is performed with a hand-held instrument that includes an ultrasonically vibrating needle like tip, an aspiration tube and a conduit to supply a balanced salt solution to replace fluid that is removed from the eye by aspiration. The phacoemulsification instrument is coupled to a console by various tubing as well as an electrical supply. The console provides power for the ultrasonic vibrating mechanism, a source of suction to accomplish aspiration and a source of fluid under pressure to replace fluid removed from the eye by aspiration and to maintain the anterior chamber during the procedure.
New developments in cataract surgery have made the need for ultrasonic power supply less necessary as instruments utilizing femtosecond laser are being used to section the crystalline lens of the eye into small pieces to facilitate removal of the lens.
The conventional phacoemulsification procedure emulsifies the affected lens with the use of an ultrasonic hand-held device. Typically, the ultrasonic device includes a needle like tip, which is through an incision made near the outer edge of the cornea of the eye. Once inserted, the needle tip vibrates ultrasonically to fragment the lens for removal by aspiration. After the natural lens is fragmented and substantially removed, an artificial intraocular lens is implanted through the incision to replace the natural lens and its focusing power.
In addition to the needle tip, the hand-held device generally includes an irrigation sleeve and an aspiration channel. The aspiration channel is housed within a hollow cross sectional area of the needle tip and is coupled to a source of suction to aspirate fluid and fragmented tissue during the procedure. The irrigation sleeve surrounds the needle tip and introduces liquid, typically a balanced salt solution to aid in flushing and aspirating lens fragments and to replace fluid withdrawn or lost from the eye chamber. Phacoemulsification procedures have proven highly effective, however, the requirement that the handheld phacoemulsification instrument be tethered to a console can limit the surgeon's mobility and may increase the difficulty of the procedure.
Vitrectomy is another ophthalmic surgical procedure that is performed. Vitrectomy involves the partial or complete removal of the vitreous body which occupies the largest cavity of the eye. There are a large number of reasons why vitrectomy may be necessary or desirable. These reasons include the presence of a diabetic vitreous hemorrhage, the existence of a retinal detachment, the presence of an epiretinal membrane, the existence of a macular hole, the presence of proliferative vitreoretinopathy, endophthalmitis, the presence of an intraocular foreign body and the necessity to retrieve a lens nucleus following complicated cataract surgery. Generally, the vitreous body is removed to provide a better access to the retina for repairers of the retina. However, as apparent from the above list other reasons exist as well.
Typically in vitrectomy the dilated eye is entered through an incision made through the pars plana and through the sclera. The sclera is the white structural wall of the eye. The pars plana is a part of the far peripheral retina and choroid within the eye. While viewing the interior of the eye through a surgical microscope and a specialized lens the surgeon makes use of a vitrectomy probe, called a vitrector, to section and remove the gel-like vitreous body. During the procedure, additional openings in the wall of the eye are made to provide illumination within the eye into place various other instruments in the eye to assist in surgery. Thus the surgeon may utilize a light pipe for illumination, forceps to peel membranes or scar tissue, silicone tripped drainage needles to drain fluid from within the eye or an intraocular laser probe to assist in sealing around retinal tears or to treat abnormal blood vessels found in the eye. Conventional vitrectomy probes are typically tethered to a console which provides vacuum and fluid replacement and a source of energy to operate the cutter of the vitrectomy probe.
Following cataract surgery an intraocular lens implant (IOL) is typically inserted into the eye to substitute for the focusing power of the natural lens which has been removed to provide focused vision for the patient. Many IOLs that are used are foldable. That is the IOL can be folded or rolled and inserted into the eye through a cannula like injector. Typically these IOL injectors require the surgeon to use both hands to place the foldable IOL. A first hand is used to hold the injector in position so that the cannula is within the eye and the lens capsule. A secondhand is then used to manipulate a plunger or slide that pushes the foldable IOL through the cannula. The need to use both hands to operate the IOL injector can be limiting to the surgeon.
In view of the above, there is still room for improvement in the ophthalmic surgery arts related to cataract extraction.

Self-contained ocular surgery instrument


A propagation resistivity measurement-while-drilling device is used to measure borehole environmental parameters along with electromagnetic properties of the formation. Multiple transmitter-receiver pairs operating at one or more transmitter frequencies are used to obtain a set of amplitude and phase measurements. A model of the response of the borehole instrument in varying formation and borehole conditions is also utilized. Formation and borehole parameters of interest are selected by the analyst. The measured amplitude and phase data set is then combined with the model of the tool response to obtain the selected parameters of interest.

This invention relates to the measurement of geophysical parameters of earth formations penetrated by a borehole and more particularly to propagation resistivity measurements at multiple transmitter frequencies and multiple transmitter receiver spacing. In addition the invention is directed toward the measurement of physical parameters of the borehole in addition to resistivity properties of the formation penetrated by the borehole. Measurements are made using an array of four transmitters and two receivers. Elements of the transmitter receiver array are longitudinally and symmetrically spaced along an elongated borehole instrument. Each transmitter induces an alternating voltage into the borehole and the earth formation in the vicinity of the borehole. The amplitudes and phase shifts of the signals produced by these induced alternating electromagnetic fields are measured by the receivers. These signals are effected by numerous formation, near borehole and borehole parameters. The measurements are combined to yield resistivity of the formation, parameters relating to the invasion of drilling fluids into the formation in the near borehole region, and physical characteristics of the borehole itself. The invention is directed toward, but not limited to, measurement while drilling (MWD) applications.
Multiple transmitter and receiver arrays have been employed in prior borehole induction measurements. The primary parameters of interest is the resistivity of the virgin or uninvaded formation from which the hydrocarbon saturation of the formation is determined. Symmetric pairs of transmitters and receivers have been employed to minimize or "cancel" the effects on the resistivity measurements of rapidly changing borehole parameters such as borehole diameter, eccentricity and rugosity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,112 to Brian Clark et al teaches a well logging technique in which electromagnetic propagation waves are used to measure formation resistivity at different radial depths of investigation. In addition, the cited patent teaches methods for determining the existence, location and properties of beds and caves, and also teaches a method for determining changes in the size of the borehole. The measurements are based upon the observation that phase and amplitude apparent resistivity measurements, made at a given transmitter frequency and a given transmitter-receiver spacing, exhibit different depths of investigation. The teachings of Clark do not provide a method for the user to select from a "menu" the parameters of interest as does the present invention. There are other advantages of the present invention that will be emphasized in the following discussions. Multiple transmitter-receiver spacing have also been employed in the prior art to obtain measurements into the formation of varying radial depths of investigation. Combining such measurements tends to minimize borehole effects as well as yield information concerning the radial extent of the invasion of drilling fluid into the virgin formation. Invasion measurements can be related to the permeability of the formation which, in turn, is related to the producibility of fluids contained within the formation rock matrix. Again, no attempts have been made in the prior art to obtain quantitative measures of physical characteristics of the borehole in conjunction with measures of electromagnetic properties of the formation. Multiple transmitter frequencies have also been applied in the prior art to enhance and separate electromagnetic properties of the formation such as resitivity and dielectric constant, obtaining varying effecting radial depths of investigation and to a lesser extent to minimize borehole effects. Once again, contributions from the borehole effects have not been quantified and related to the physical condition of the borehole.

Use of raw amplitude and phase in propagation resistivity measurements to measure borehole environmental parameters


A memory chip and embedded microprocessor (‘smart memory card’) with a sputtered memory ring for additional memory capacity. The card configuration allows use with ISO 7816 compliant readers. The smart memory card has a spring bolt-hole which allows use of the smart memory card on an adaptor with compact disc and digital video disc drives. The memory chip and sputtered memory ring have sufficient capacity for high-density memory applications such as high-level encrypted security systems, biometric identification systems, and combination access systems. The processor configuration may include a wireless transceiver for 802.11 series, Bluetooth™ and other wireless systems.

Portable memory systems currently include high priced magnetic discs, flash memory cards, magnetic strip cards, digital discs and to a degree, magnetic drives, and cards combining flash memory and microprocessors.
The former group of memory cards suffers from limitations in memory density. Each style requires a specifically configured reader that lacks the user into a proprietary system. Magnetic drives have achieved portability, but are still subject to handling damage, and require a computer system to access the information stored on the drive. Furthermore, each system lacks sophisticated security without a secondary security access system.
Flash memory and micro processor combination are referred to smart memory cards. These cards are available in a limited variety of configurations requiring configuration specific readers. The current state of the art suffers from the limitation of low memory density to hold down the cost, or exorbitant cost to achieve higher density memory. The current state of the art also suffers from a lack of embedded security secondary security system.
There is a need for a portable high-density memory system with high security at a consumer-oriented price. Furthermore, with the proliferation of competing memory and security access systems, there is a need for an adaptive memory system that can be used across several popularly available memory and security access systems.


Display positions are arranged along a multidimensional path. Images and blurred versions of the images are displayed in one or more of the of the display positions. An opacity value of one or more of the blurred versions of the images is adjusted based the display positions in which the one or more blurred versions of the images are displayed.

This disclosure is related to media processing systems and methods.
Media devices, such as digital video and audio players, can include multiple functions and capabilities, such as playing stored content, browsing and selecting from recorded content, storing and/or receiving content selected by a user, and the like. These various functions can often be grouped according to content types, e.g., movies, music, television programs, photos, etc. The functions can then be accessed through various user interfaces that are typically arranged in a hierarchal manner, having a "root" or "home" user interface at the top of the hierarchy, from which the various context-dependent user interfaces are accessible. The user interfaces can include both graphical and textual features. It is desirable that the user interface conveys information to the user in an intuitive manner.
Graphical processing, however, can consume processing resources. If a media system does not have adequate processing resources, such as may occur when multiple system processes are being handled by the media system, the graphical features within the user interface may not be rendered adequately. For example, the graphical features may not transition smoothly across the user interface, or may display noticeable color variations, or other processing artifacts. Accordingly, it is desirable to render graphical images and effects while minimizing the processing resources for such rendering and effects.

Image rendering with image artifact along a multidimensional path


Disclosed herein is a multipurpose rotation structure which is installed indoors or outdoors to be utilized for multiple purposes such as experience teaching tools by using repelling force between magnets disposed in an outer ring frame having the shape of a ring and in a weight body rotating in an inner space of the outer ring frame, by particularly using repelling force between magnets disposed in a weight body and a second weight body placed on the same guide ring, or by using repelling force between magnets disposed in an outer ring frame and an inner ring frame that are opposite to each other with respect to a weight body, or by using attractive force and repulsive force between magnets while sequentially changing the polarity of electromagnets disposed in an outer ring frame and an inner ring frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multipurpose rotation structures and, more particularly, to a multipurpose rotation structure which is installed indoors or outdoors to be utilized for multiple purposes such as experience teaching tools by using repelling force between magnets disposed in an outer ring frame having the shape of a ring and in a weight body rotating in an inner space of the outer ring frame, and which particularly uses repelling force between magnets disposed in a weight body and a second weight body placed on the same guide ring, or uses repelling force between magnets disposed in an outer ring frame and an inner ring frame that are opposite to each other with respect to a weight body, or uses attractive force and repulsive force between magnets by sequentially changing the polarity of electromagnets disposed in an outer ring frame and an inner ring frame, and which can be utilized as a teaching tool for experiencing green energy to allow a user to experience an amount of green energy and the magnitude of power generated therefrom or utilized as a teaching tool for experiencing power generation using kinetic energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, various facilities using a track or trajectory are used in real life. However, these facilities are limited in installation space as well as available field, such as large-scale transport facilities or rides. Further, existing rotation structures, for example, a rotation structure disclosed in the following patent literature are problematic in that they are complicated in operating structure, so that their operation and maintenance are inefficient.


A scan converter control circuit includes first and second memories, each having a data write mode and a data read mode which are selected in response to a switching signal so that the first memory is in the data write mode when the second memory is in the data read mode and the first memory is in the data read mode when the second memory is in the data write mode. A write address counter generates a write address which is to be alternately supplied to the first and second memories and generates a write completion signal when the write address becomes equal to a predetermined count value. A read address counter generates a read address which is to be alternately supplied to the first and second memories and generates a read completion signal when the read address becomes equal to a predetermined count value. A data input controller enables the write address counter in response to a data input signal supplied from an external circuit and disables the write address counter when receiving the write completion signal. A memory switching controller generates the switching signal having a logic value which is changed in response to the write completion signal. A data output controller enables the read address counter in response to the write completion signal and disables the read address counter in response to the read completion signal.

The present invention generally relates to a scan converter control circuit having memories, and more particularly to a circuit for controlling a scan converter directed to reducing the bit rate of an image signal. Further, the present invention is concerned with an address generator which generates a zigzag address supplied to memories of the scan converter.
As is well known, an image signal has a wide frequency range. In order to transmit such an image signal in digital form, it is necessary to reduce the bit rate of the image signal. For this requirement, a bandwidth compression coding is proposed which utilizes the correlation between the spatial axis and the time axis.
The power of an image signal concentrates on the low frequency components thereof. From this point of view, the bandwidth of the image signal is compressed by an orthogonal transform coding in which the image data is converted into frequency components. Examples of the orthogonal transform coding are a discrete cosine transform (DCT) coding, Hadamard transform (H) coding and Fourier transform (FT) coding.
In the discrete cosine transform, output data Y is obtained by the formula, Y=CXC.sup.t, where X is input data, C is a predetermined square matrix based on the transform type and C.sup.t is the transposed matrix of the square matrix C. In order to realize the above-mentioned formula by using hardware, the following procedures are required. Matrix data (8.times.8 pixel data) must be rearranged on the input and output sides of an operation unit. Matrix data which is transferred in synchronism with a data input clock must be input to the operation unit in synchronism with an operation clock. Matrix data which is output from the operation unit in synchronism with the operation clock must be output in synchronism with a data output clock.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a DCT coding circuit which implements the above-mentioned procedures required to realize the aforementioned formula by hardware. Input data applied to the DCT coding circuit is sent to an operation unit 82 via a scan converter 81. The operation unit 82 executes a predetermined operation procedure using coefficient data read out from a memory 83. The calculation results output by the operation unit 82 are sent to an external circuit of the next stage via a scan converter 84.
Each of the scan converters 81 and 84 has two memory planes (areas) and a controller (software). The controller alternatively switches the two memory planes and controls read and write addresses supplied to the two memory planes.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a memory plane switching operation, a write operation and a read operation. One of the two memory planes is input to 64 pixel data DT-IN in synchronism with a data input signal XDIN (FIG. 2(A)). The 64 data DT-IN are written into the memory plane in a writing order shown in FIG. 2(B), that is, a receiving sequence in a vertical scan. After the 64 data DT-IN are completely written into the memory plane, the 64 data DT-IN are read out from the plane in a read order shown in FIG. 2(C), that is, an output order in a zigzag scan. The readout data are indicated by DT-OUT in FIG. 2(A). On the other hand, 64 data are input to the other memory plane in synchronism with the next data input signal XDIN. Then, the write and read operations are carried out in the same way as described above. With the above-mentioned arrangement, it becomes possible to rearrange successive input data.
The procedure for alternately writing input data into the two memory planes of each of the scan converters 81 and 84 is alternately switched in accordance with the data input signal XDIN. The procedure for reading out data from the memory planes is carried out subsequently after the writing of input data is completed. In this manner, the memory plane switching procedure is independently carried out for each of the two memory planes. Conventionally, the memory plane switching procedure is realized by software (program). In this case, a huge number of steps are necessary to implement the memory plane switching procedure. Thus, it is very difficult to execute the memory plane switching procedure in real time. As a result, it is very difficult to process consecutive image data in real time.

Scan converter control circuit having memories and address generator for generating zigzag address signal supplied to the memories


A semiconductor structure is provided that includes a Vt stabilization layer between a gate dielectric and a gate electrode. The Vt stabilization layer is capable of stabilizing the structure's threshold voltage and flatband voltage to a targeted value and comprises a nitrided metal oxide, or a nitrogen-free metal oxide, with the proviso that when the Vt stabilization layer comprises a nitrogen-free metal oxide, at least one of the semiconductor substrate or the gate dielectric includes nitrogen. The present invention also provides a method of fabricating such a structure.

In standard silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, p-type field effect transistors (pFETs) use a boron (or other acceptor) doped p-type polysilicon layer as a gate electrode that is deposited on top of a silicon dioxide or silicon oxynitride gate dielectric layer. The gate voltage is applied through this polysilicon layer to create an inversion channel in the n-type silicon underneath the gate dielectric layer.
For a pFET to work properly, the inversion should begin occurring at slightly negative voltages applied to the polysilicon (poly-Si) gate electrode. This occurs as a consequence of the band alignment for the gate stack structure as depicted in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows the approximate band alignment across a poly-Si/gate oxide gate stack in a typical pFET at zero gate bias. In FIG. 1, Ec, Ev and Ef are the conduction band edge, valence band edge and the Fermi level in the silicon, respectively. The poly-Si/gate oxide/n-type silicon stack forms a capacitor that swings into inversion at around 0 V and into accumulation around +1 V (depending on the substrate doping). The threshold voltage Vt, which can be interpreted as the voltage at which the inversion starts occurring, is therefore approximately 0 V and the flatband voltage, which is the voltage just beyond which the capacitor starts to swing into accumulation, is approximately +1 V. The exact values of the threshold and flatband voltages have a dependence on the doping level in the silicon substrate, and can be varied somewhat by choosing an appropriate substrate doping level.
In future technology, silicon dioxide or silicon oxynitride dielectrics will be replaced with a gate material that has a higher dielectric constant. These materials are known as "high k" materials with the term "high k" denoting an insulating material whose dielectric constant is greater than 4.0, preferably greater than about 7.0. The dielectric constants mentioned herein are relative to a vacuum unless otherwise specified. Of the various possibilities, hafnium oxide, hafnium silicate, or hafnium silicon oxynitride may be the most suitable replacement candidates for conventional gate dielectrics due to their excellent thermal stability at high temperatures.
Unfortunately, when p-type field effect transistors are fabricated using a dielectric such as hafnium oxide or hafnium silicate, it is a well known problem that the flatband voltage of the device is shifted from its ideal position of close to about +1 V, to about 0 +/−300 mV. This shift in flatband voltage is published in C. Hobbs et al., entitled "Fermi Level Pinning at the Poly-Si/Metal Oxide Interface", 2003 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technical Papers. Consequently, the threshold voltage of the device is shifted to approximately −1 V. This threshold voltage shift is believed to be a consequence of an intimate interaction between the Hf-based gate oxide layer and the polysilicon layer. One model (See, for example, C. Hobbs, et al., ibid.) speculates that such an interaction causes an increase in the density of states in the silicon band gap at the polysilicon-gate oxide interface, leading to "Fermi level pinning". The threshold voltage therefore is not in the "right" place, i.e., it is too high for a useable CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology.
One possible solution to the above problem of threshold voltage shifting is by substrate engineering in which channel implants can be used to shift thresholds. Although substrate engineering is one possible means to stabilize threshold voltage shift, it can do so to a limited extent, which is inadequate for FETs that include a gate stack comprising a poly-Si gate electrode and a hafnium-containing high dielectric constant gate dielectric.
Another possible solution to the above problem of threshold voltage control in MOSFET has been disclosed in co-pending and co-assigned U.S. applicant Ser. Nos. 10/854,719, filed May 14, 2004 and 10/863,830, filed Jun. 4, 2004. In these two applications, a metal nitride containing material that may optionally include oxygen, such as Al(O)N, is used and it is positioned between a high k gate dielectric and a gate electrode.
In view of the above mentioned problem in threshold voltage and flatband voltage shift, it has been nearly impossible to develop a CMOS technology that is capable of stabilizing the threshold voltage and flatband voltage for such FETs. As such, a method and structure that is capable of stabilizing the threshold voltage and flatband voltage of FETs containing a gate stack is needed.

Nitrogen-containing field effect transistor gate stack containing a threshold voltage control layer formed via deposition of a metal oxide

International Business Machines Corporation


An endoscope device of the invention includes: an insertion portion disposed with an observation optical system; an operation portion continuously provided to a proximal end side of the insertion portion; a display device main body provided to a proximal end side of the operation portion and disposed with a monitor portion for displaying a subject image; a rotational movement shaft for rotationally movably journaling the display device main body with respect to the operation portion; and a finger-hooking portion provided to the display device main body and for operation of rotationally moving the display device main body about a rotational movement shaft, and thus it is possible for an operator to easily orient the monitor of the display device in an easily viewable direction when operatably grasping the operation portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope device which is integrated with a small display device and is suitable for portable use.
2. Description of Related Art
Endoscope devices widely used in the medical and industrial fields include an endoscope device having a display screen so that an operator can view an observation object image at hand while holding and operating the device.
For example, Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2005-237513 discloses an endoscope device having a display screen for displaying an observation image based on an image-capturing signal from image-capturing means, and including a display device rotatable about an axis intersecting with a longitudinal direction of a grasp portion of an operation portion.


A composite contact wheel, grinding assemblies comprising the same, and methods of abrading cylindrical workpieces using coated abrasive belts.

Grinding and polishing of cylindrical surfaces (e.g., roll grinding, centerless grinding) has traditionally been accomplished by using vitrified or resin bonded grinding wheels mounted on a centered or centerless grinding machine. The use of bonded grinding wheels for cylindrical grinding requires constant attention to the grinding process, including maintenance of the wheel surface in order to maintain consistent grinding performance and to true the grinding surface to the cylindrical workpiece.
Coated abrasive belts provide an alternative to bonded wheel grinding system. Such coated abrasive belts are typically supported by a contact wheel. Contact wheels typically consist of a metallic hub and a circumferential coating of an elastomer (e.g., rubber or polyurethane). When bonded wheel grinding systems are retrofitted to accept abrasive belts, the contact wheel is frequently used to both drive the abrasive belt and to urge the coated abrasive belt surface against the workpiece. While the elastomeric coating provides increased friction (compared to metal), such coatings result in less precise control of the interference of the abrasive belt to the cylindrical workpiece surface, which compromises dimensioning tolerances. Metal contact wheels generally provide more precise control than elastomeric coated contact wheels but can be difficult to dress (i.e., true). Metal contact wheels are also known to create unwanted vibration and harmonics during the grinding process.
There is a continuing need for new contact wheels with improved operating performance, as well as methods for using the same.


A plurality of connection patterns is determined based on connectivity data collected by a plurality of agents. Each agent of the plurality of agents is installed on a respective compute node of a plurality of compute nodes. The connectivity data collected by each agent of the plurality of agents includes node-local connectivity data indicating node-local connections for the respective compute node on which the agent is installed. The node-local connections include communications with at least one application entity hosted by the respective compute node. A graph representation that is organized with respect to the at least one application entity hosted by each of the plurality of compute nodes is generated based on the plurality of connection patterns.

Cloud native technology provides techniques for building and running applications using the benefits of the cloud computing delivery model. With the increasing use of cloud computing, more organizations have adopted cloud native applications that are designed to take advantage of cloud computing frameworks. Specifically, cloud native applications are designed to break down tasks into separate services that can be run on different servers which may be in different geographical locations. Cloud native applications allow for rapidly scaling as demand changes by utilizing modular services in place of some locally hosted functions.
Cloud native environments utilize technologies such as containers, microservices, and declarative application program interfaces (APIs) to provide scalable functionality. The containers provide all information needed to run an application in a self-contained bundle. Each microservice provides a single function for the application. A microservice is independent of the applications such that, for example, it can be used by different applications and its underlying software can be updated separately from any applications.
Common multi-cloud environments are composed of a large number of assets providing compute and/or storage services. These assets may be of different types such as, for example, serverless applications, Kubernetes clusters, software containers, virtual machines, registries, serverless functions, and the like.
A challenge in securing such environments is adapting to changes within the environments. Unlike traditional infrastructure in which resources are typically allocated by human operators and assigned long-lived, persistent identifiers such as IP addresses and DNS names, cloud native environment infrastructures are ever-changing as automated systems allocate resources.
As resources are allocated, a cloud administrator must manually manage the posture of assets in the cloud native environment and ensure that all assets are deployed are protected. To this end, an operator may create a diagram to document and understand the data flows across servers. However, this task becomes infeasible as the number of different services interacting among servers increases. In particular, for cloud native environments, applications may run using dozens of microservices spread across different servers. Further, it is impractical to manually observe data flows across multiple servers to identify new microservices and connections.
Moreover, as noted above, cloud native environment infrastructures are subject to frequent changes over time that also result in using temporary or otherwise non-persistent identifiers. Human operators can no longer reasonably create rules that rely on an application maintaining the same IP address throughout its life or use monitoring tools expecting only occasional changes.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.

Radar visualization of cloud native environments


A battlefield debris clearing apparatus for attachment to a vehicle comprising a horizontal beam for lateral attachment to a vehicle; a plurality of baskets pivotally attached to the beam, each basket having an opening to lift and collect battlefield debris from the ground surface; and a mechanism for the rotation of the baskets about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the beam. Apparatus is provided for the delivery of a high velocity gas stream to the ground surface proximate the baskets. A magnetic sensor array positioned behind the baskets detects objects deeply buried below the ground surface.

In a village in southeastern Turkey recently, a vehicle transporting individuals to work struck a land mine. Five people were killed and another ten were injured. A few weeks before, in Azerbaijan, a bus ran over a mine killing fourteen. Before that, in Croatia, two nurses suffered severe injury when their truck rolled over a mine while evacuating the wounded from a battle.
International statistics on deaths caused by land mines are not kept. It has been estimated, however, that sixty Cambodians per month die or lose limbs. In the fourteen-year Afghanistan war approximately two hundred thousand people, primarily civilians, died as a result of mine explosions. An additional four hundred thousand were injured. Mines laid more than a quarter of a century ago by U.S. soldiers still injure Vietnamese and Laotians periodically.
In addition to U.S. firms, thirty-five countries around the world host companies which produce explosive land mines. Spain, Italy, and Greece produce the SB-33 antipersonnel mine, a light-weight explosive that can be strewn from the air or individually buried. The former Soviet Union produced a somewhat larger mine that when activated by the foot, or other pressure, jumps five to eight feet above the ground surface and sends shrapnel into people's bodies. Those in the trade refer to these mines as "Bouncing Bettys."
A decade ago, the United States signed a United Nations protocol prohibiting or restricting the use of certain conventional weapons including land mines. Unfortunately, the Senate has failed to ratify the protocol and the Executive Branch has not pressed the matter. Land mines continue to be manufactured in the U.S. and elsewhere.
It can be argued that land mines serve an essential military purpose during times of war. Such mines neutralize an opponent's ground support capabilities. These devices, buried below the ground's surface avoiding ready detection, explode violently when triggered. The explosive force of some mines is so great that a heavily armored and fortified tank may be destroyed. In this way enemy movement is hampered or altogether halted.
It is essential once wartime activities cease, that mines be cleared from the field to prevent civilian casualties. Various systems have been developed to detect and remove land mines, most are directed toward shunting aside mines to permit troop and vehicular movement during time of war. One such system utilizes a plow mounted on the front of a tank and driven through the soil to expose and sweep aside mines. These mine plows have been effective when combined with powerful, heavy tanks since their power and tractive ability easily propel the plow through roots, clay, or uneven terrain.
The standard mine plow has two separate blades for cutting the earth and exposing mines. These blades are generally oriented in V-shaped fashion at the front of a tank or other vehicle. When driven forward through the ground surface, two earthen berms are formed of spoil material pushed tangentially along the blades away from the path of the vehicle. The spoil material often contains mines and other unexploded ordinance which did not detonate upon contact with the plow.
While V-shaped blades provide adequate protection for a single vehicle so equipped, they are impractical for clearing large areas of mines and jagged metal shrapnel. In clearing large areas, the plow is usually systematically moved in parallel paths across the entirety of the target area. Without overlapping the paths by a minimum of one half of the V-shaped blades' overall width, one can not be assured that the area being cleared is indeed free of mines. Such an overlap prevents previously exposed berm material from being plowed back into the previously cleared area. Due to the inefficiency of the currently available mine clearing devices in eliminating mines from large areas, a need has arisen for a more efficient device.


In a data processing system which defines and processes objects and defines a plurality of virtual screens of display data with which views of objects can be associated, the system defines distinct anterior and posterior display layers for display, with the anterior layer having a background such that the content of the posterior display layer can be viewed therethrough and with one of the layers being assignable for the display of a selected virtual screen and the other display layer being dedicated for the display of an additional screen. The system also provides for the transfer of objects between the anterior and posterior display layers such that the dedicated layer can be used for transporting objects between virtual screens.

Data processing systems which permit the processing of data in a windowing environment have been known for some years and have made the interaction between users and the system more user-friendly. However, even with the use of windows, the management of all the information that users wish to place on the display screens of data processing systems may not be easy. For example, where a number of tasks are to be performed and there are possibly many overlapping windows on a screen, it is often difficult to arrange related windows in a meaningful way.
One approach to the structuring of data has been described by Henderson and Card in "Rooms: The Use of Multiple Workspaces to Reduce Space Contention in a Window-Based Graphical User Interface" --ACM Transactions on Graphics, Vol. 5, No. 3, July 1986, Pages 211-243. This article describes a system in which a plurality of virtual screens, or "rooms" are defined in each of which different tasks may be performed.
In order to change the room which is displayed this prior system makes use of the concept of a "door". A door is basically a icon which can be selected and causes the workspace to be changed. It will be appreciated that when one wants to change rooms, one might well want to take some of the items being processed from one room to another. The article refers to these items as "baggage". Despite the many advantages of the concept of "rooms", the selection and transfer of baggage from one room to another are rather cumbersome and time consuming processes.
The management of information is a problem particularly in multi-user systems. It has bene proposed to use workstations in a system which permits real time dynamic interaction between a plurality of users on what can be described as a "what you see is what I see" (WYSIWIS) basis. An example of such a system is described by Stefik et. al. in "Beyond the Chalkboard: Computer Support for Collaboration and Problem Solving in Meetings" --Communications of the ACM Vol. 30. No. 1, Jan. 1987, pages 32 to 47.
Stefik et. al. describe a data processing system comprising a plurality of workstations each having a display device. The aim of the system is to support a meeting between a number of users of the workstations. The system defines and processes objects in a windowing environment in response to operations performed by the users of the workstations for permitting concurrent real time communication between the users. A differentiation is made between public interactive windows and private windows accessible to only one user. The private windows violate the concept of strict WYSIWIS, but are necessary to enable effective communication. Thus, objects can be manipulated by a user in windows personal to that user on his or her workstation display device and then presented to a group of users in a window which can be viewed on the workstation display device of each of the group of users.
In the environment described by Stefik et. al, there is also the problem of the management of a large number of objects. In this case there is the specific problem of how to determine which of an individual users' objects are to be made available to the other users of the system.

Data processing system for defining and processing objects in response to system user operations

International Business Machines Corporation


An electrostatic chuck member includes a metal substrate, an undercoat of a metallic spray-coated layer and a topcoat of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 TiO.sub.2 based spray-coated layer containing a Ti.sub.n O.sub.2n-1, where n=1-9, compound. The electrostatic chuck member has a large volume resistivity, a small scattering, and the quality is stable. A method for making the electrostatic chuck member includes subjecting a metal substrate to a blast treatment, spray-coating a metallic undercoat on a surface of the metal substrate, and spray-coating Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 TiO.sub.2 on to the metallic undercoat to form a Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -TiO.sub.2 based layer in which at least a portion of the TiO.sub.2 is changed into Ti.sub.n O.sub.2, where n=1-9.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrostatic chuck members and a method of producing the same. The electrostatic chuck members are used when a conductive member, semi-conductive member, insulative member or the like is held at adsorption state by static electricity and particularly incorporated into a dry etching device, an ion implantation device, a CVD device or a PVD device used in the production process of large size integrations or liquid crystals display.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, treatments such as dry etching, ion implantation, CVD, PVD and the like constituting a part of a production process for the large size integrations or liquid crystals display, e.g. a production device of semiconductors changes from a wet process into a dry process from viewpoints of automation and anti-pollution. A greater part of the treatment through the dry process is usually carried out under vacuum.
In the dry treatment, it becomes recently important to improve a positioning accuracy in the formation of pattern on silicon wafer, glass plate or the like, for example, used as a substrate from viewpoints of high integration of circuits and fine work.
In order to satisfy such a demand, vacuum chuck or mechanical chuck has hitherto been adopted in the transportation, adsorption and fixation of the substrate. However, since the vacuum chuck is used under vacuum, the pressure difference is small and the adsorption effect is less. Even if the substrate can be adsorbed, an adsorbing portion becomes local and strain is caused in the substrate. Furthermore, the gas cooling can not be carried out with the temperature rising in the treatment of the wafer, so that the vacuum chuck can not be applied to the recent production process of high-performance semiconductor devices. On the other hand, the mechanical chuck becomes complicated in the structure and takes a long time in the maintenance and inspection thereof.
In order to avoid the above drawbacks of the conventional technique, electrostatic chuck utilizing static electricity is recently developed and widely adopted. However, this technique is indicated to have the following problems.
When the substrate is adsorbed and held by such an electrostatic chuck, charge retains between the substrate and the electrostatic chuck (through the action of adsorption force) even after the applied voltage is stopped, so that the detaching of the substrate can not be carried out unless the charge is completely removed.
For this end, it has been attempted to improve the insulating dielectric material used in the electrostatic chuck. For example, there are proposed 1 JP-A-6-8089 . . . a sintered body of a mixture of aluminum nitride powder and titanium nitride powder or a spray-coated layer thereof is used as a high insulative material; 2 JP-A-6-302677 . . . titanium oxide is applied onto the high insulative material and aluminum is applied thereto to contact with Si+SiC plate; 3 JP-Y-6-36583 . . . use of high insulative substance (aluminum oxide); 4 JP-A-4-304942, JP-A-5-235152, JP-A-6-8089 . . . use of aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, zinc oxide, quartz, boron nitride, sialon and the like; 5 JP-A-62-94953, JP-A-2-206147, JP-A-3-147843, JP-A-3-204924 and the like . . . volume resistivity is lowered to improve static electricity by adding TiO.sub.2 (titania) having a high dielectric constant to the high insulative material in case of further requiring a higher static electricity.
However, the conventional Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 .multidot.TiO.sub.2 based (alumina-titania) spray-coated layer has the following problems to be solved.
(1) When Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 mixed with TiO.sub.2 is used as a spray-coated layer having an electrostatic adsorption performance, the volume resistivity is small and a slight current flows, so that it can be expected to improve the static electricity through Johonson-Larbec effect. However, TiO.sub.2 (titania) is a semiconductive substance, so that the moving rate of electrical charge is slow and the responsibility (arrival time of saturated adsorption, adsorption disappearing time ) when the application of voltage is stopped is poor. This responsibility becomes more remarkable under low-temperature environment.
In order to render the value of volume resistivity into, for example, a practical state of 1.times.10.sup.9 .OMEGA..multidot.cm, it is necessary to add 25% by weight of titania. In the production process of semiconductors, the addition of a great amount of titania means the incorporation of impurity, which brings about the degradation of quality and results in the contamination of working environment.
Furthermore, when the temperature of the semiconductor wafer to be adsorbed is higher than room temperature, there is a high possibility that a large leak current is passed to break wafer circuit because the volume resistivity is too low.
(2) The Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 .multidot.TiO.sub.2 based spray-coated layer is formed by a spraying process. In the resulting layer, however, the volume resistivity and adsorption force are largely scattered and also the productivity is low to bring about the rise of the cost.
(3) The Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 .multidot.TiO.sub.2 based spray-coated layer is porous, so that the high surface finishing can not be conducted and the remaining adhesion of foreign matter is frequently caused. Furthermore, the adhesion property to the substrate is low, so that the coated layer is peeled off from the substrate under service condition, particularly thermal change.

Electrostatic chuck member having an alumina-titania spray coated layer and a method of producing the same


An aircraft is provided and includes an airframe, first and second main rotors rotatably supported on the airframe to rotate about a rotational axis in opposite directions, first and second emitters disposed on an emitter blade of the second main rotor, each of the first and second emitters being configured to emit an emission toward a detector blade of the first main rotor, a detector disposed on the detector blade of the first main rotor, the detector being configured to detect the emissions of the first and second emitters and a flight computer which determines a clearance between the first and second main rotors in accordance with detections of the emissions by the detector.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to tip clearance measurement and, more particularly, to optical tip clearance measurement in a coaxial counter-rotating helicopter rotor.
A helicopter with coaxial counter-rotating rotors generally has a pair of helicopter rotors mounted one above the other on concentric shafts. The rotors have the same axis of rotation but turn in opposite directions. Conventional coaxial helicopters, have articulated rotors and utilize large spacing between the blades. This large spacing causes increased drag and degraded performance in forward flight. Coaxial helicopters can be designed for high speed flight, however, and in these cases they may have rigid rotors and much closer spacing to reduce drag. The close proximity of the blades requires that a tip clearance measuring system be deployed so that pilots are alerted if they have trimmed or maneuvered the aircraft in such a way that clearance margins are unacceptable.
In similar applications, laser trackers for production blade whirlstand tracking have been developed and can be similar to tip clearance measuring systems for helicopters. A laser tracker typically has 3 laser beams and each laser beam has a dedicated lens and photodiode. The lasers bounce their light of off a reflector strip, which is suspended above the path of the blade. When the blade blocks the laser beam, the photodiode shows a loss of signal and the signal is conditioned so each time a beam is just cut a pulse is generated. The first two laser beams are parallel and the difference in time between the first pulse and the second pulse is inversely proportional to the speed of the blade. The third laser beam is mounted on an angle and the higher the blade is flying, the longer the distance between the second and third laser beams. With the accurate speed calculation from the cutting of the first two laser beams, the time between the second and third beams can be used as a means to calculate the distance between the beams. Knowing the angle and the distance between the second and third beams, the height of the blade can be calculated.
For a flying aircraft, such as a helicopter, it is impractical to recreate the laser tracking system in order to deploy the same as a tip clearance measuring system. The reflector strip cannot be suspended above the blades and the track of the blades above a fixed surface is less important to know that the clearance between the blades themselves.


A system is for mapping an interior of a building. The system may include a mobile device having a PDR circuit configured to generate PDR positions as a user moves within the interior of the building, and a ranging circuit configured to generate ranging mapping data of the interior of the building as the user moves within the interior of the building. The system also may include a server configured to map the interior of the building and generate a location of the mobile device within the interior of the building based upon the PDR positions and the ranging mapping data from the mobile device.

A position of a person or object may be determined using a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, for example. However, to use a GPS receiver, a GPS antenna coupled to the GPS receiver needs a line of sight to GPS satellites. For increased accuracy, the number of GPS satellites having a line of sight to the GPS antenna increases. In other words, position determining using a GPS receiver may not work indoors, for example, or other location where the GPS antenna does not have a line of sight to the sky.
In such GPS denied locations, a person or object may be tracked using an inertial measurement unit (IMU). An inertial measurement unit may cooperate with an accelerometer to calculate displacement, for example. More particularly, a determined acceleration may be first integrated over a time period to determine a velocity. The velocity may be integrated over the time period to determine the displacement. In other words, a double integration is performed on the acceleration to arrive at the displacement.
Velocity drift due to accumulation of errors or noise may contribute to inaccuracies in determining the displacement over the time period. Additionally, gyroscope drift and bias in systems that include a gyroscope, for direction, for example, may also contribute to displacement inaccuracies over the time period. Moreover, performing the double integration of the determined acceleration over the time period, especially if the time period is relatively long or includes a relatively large amount of data samples from the accelerometer, typically introduces a relatively large error over the time period.
When the IMU is measured via a mobile device carried by a user, the process for location determining is known as pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR). In essence, the mobile device connects the dots from the last known position to attempt to determine the current location.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System for mapping building interior with PDR and ranging and related methods