The present invention provides a method for producing laser used directly as a frequency standard of optical frequency, comprising: a collimated atomic beam used as laser gain medium; the laser gain medium being put in vacuum; before the particles of the laser gain medium entering a laser resonant cavity, a laser device controlled independently providing pump laser irradiation to produce an inversion of atomic population number between energy levels of the particles of the laser gain medium for achieving cavity mode frequency line width Γcavity of longitudinal mode of the laser resonant cavity larger than frequency line width Γgain of gain of the used laser gain medium. And the frequency line width of the laser outputted used by the laser device contracted by the present invention can attain less than 1 Hz and the outputting laser frequency is very steady. So the laser produced by the present invention can be used directly as a quantum frequency standard of optical frequency.

Up to present, all of high accuracy and high stability frequency standards of optical frequency belong to passiveness mode, namely the frequency of laser output to user is passively locked at a quantum transition line of atom by using frequency discrimination and phase discrimination technology. Although there are many known quantum transition lines with quite narrow line width, the best frequency line width of the laser sources for frequency discrimination is around one Hz. Thus, the possibility realizing more precise resolution in the frequency domain is limited. Additionally, the most serious disadvantage of this laser sources is using the optical frequency resonant cavity as reference. So all kinds of outside noises which affect the line width of the Optical Frequency resonant cavity, such as seismic noise, air sound wave noise etc., decide that the realized line width is around one Hz.
At present, all the frequency standards of optical frequency are consist of two parts on the concrete structure. One is atoms, ions and molecules which provides quantum absorption line, and the other is the laser device with stable cavity used as local oscillator. While the disadvantages of the lasers with stable cavity are that its outputting frequency is fluctuating and drifting closely following with the change of the length of the cavity.

Method and device for producing laser used directly as a frequency standard of optical frequency


Disclosed is a loading gear supporting apparatus of a video cassette recorder which can assemble a loading gear supporting member which supports a pole base loading gear, a first loading gear, and a second loading gear to a deck more simply. To this end, a locking protrusion and a locking groove are respectively formed at the deck and the loading gear supporting member to elastically engage the locking protrusion to the locking groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loading gear supporting apparatus of video cassette recorder and particularly, to a loading gear supporting apparatus of a video cassette recorder which can easily assemble a loading gear supporting member which supports a pole base loading gear, a first loading gear, and a second loading gear to a deck.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a video cassette recorder (VCR) includes a tape deck mechanism having a tape loading device, a cassette tape loading device, a tape driving device, a brake operating device, a brake device, a driving force shielding device, and a system control unit for controlling an operation of the tape deck mechanism.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a driving mechanism of a general VCR, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view showing unloading and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing loading. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a loading gear supporting member in a loading gear supporting apparatus of a conventional VCR and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section view of FIG. 1.
As shown, a cam gear 3 rotated by a cam gear driving motor 2 is installed on a deck (or chassis) of the VCR.
A rotation force of the cam gear 3 is transmitted with a straight-line power on the deck 1, so that a main plate (or a function plate) 4 rotates the pole base loading gear 5.
The pole base loading gear 5 is engaged to a first loading gear so as to rotate it again, and the first loading gear 6 is engaged to a second loading gear 7 so as to rotate it.
A guide roller assembly 8 loads a tape to a head drum 10 along a guide slot(or chassis rail) 9 by the rotation of the first and second loading gears 6 and 7.
Three engaging holes 11, 12, and 13 are formed at a predetermined position of the deck 1, and a bolt hole 14 is formed among the engaging holes 11, 12, and 13.
Three bosses 21, 22, and 23 for fixing (or supporting) the pole base loading gear 5 and first loading gears 6 and second loading gears 7 are formed at a predetermined position of a lower surface of a base 20a corresponding to a body of the loading gear supporting member 20, and the respective bosses 21, 22, and 23 are fitted to the engaging holes 11, 12, and 13.
A guide 24 for guiding a cassette tape to be loaded at the time of loading the cassette tape is formed at a predetermined position of an upper surface of the base 20a, and another bolt hole 25 corresponding to the bolt hole 14 is formed at a middle position of the base 20a.
According to this, the loading gear supporting member 20 is fixed to the deck 1 by engaging the bolt 26 to said two bolt holes 14 and 25.
In the conventional art, the loading gear supporting member was bolt-engaged to the deck, thereby having a difficult assembly process and long assembly time.
Also, in the conventional art, expensive loading gear supporting member made with glass fiber was used to enhance an engaging force with the deck, which caused increase of fabrication cost.
Also, in the conventional art, a thick boss was used to enhance an engaging force with the deck, which caused deformation of the boss.

Loading gear supporting apparatus of video cassette recorder


A device for the subcutaneous implantation of a pharmaceutical dosage form is presented. The device includes a cannula which houses the pharmaceutical dosage form and push member, all of which are prepackaged and may be sterilized. The device further includes an actuator comprising a flexible stylet, a trigger and a handle.

Subcutaneous implantation of a pharmaceutical dosage forms is recognized as a potentially advantageous approach to drug delivery. Contraceptive implants may currently be introduced subcutaneously which provide effective protection for several months. These dosage forms are rapidly gaining in popularity among the medical community since treatment problems arising from poor patient compliance are eliminated. Further, depending upon the design of the pharmaceutical dosage form, treatment may be localized to that portion of the body where greater concentrations of the pharmaceutical compound is required, or treatment may result in systemic delivery of the pharmaceutical compound throughout the patient.
Although several devices have been designed to aid in implanting pharmaceutical dosage forms, these generally require application of force directly to a plunger or they may suffer from a loss of tactile sensitivity. Those devices which provide a mechanical advantage, such as a lever, to assist in delivery of the dosage form are generally unwieldy due to their size and shape. Applicant presents herein, a device for implanting pharmaceutical dosage forms which provide for mechanical leveraging to implant a pharmaceutical dosage form while maintaining a high level of tactile sensitivity and compact, ergonomically designed size.
One method for the insertion of subcutaneous pharmaceutical dosage forms involves surgical implantation. In this procedure, an incision is made at the area where the implant is desired. The implant is placed within the area using forceps or a trocar. Since the size of the incision may be large enough to require suturing, experienced medical personal are generally required to implant the dosage form.
In an effort to avoid such surgical techniques, injection system have been developed to provide a means for implantation. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,152, a syringe shaped cylinder containing an injection nozzle is disclosed for the implantation of bone cement. The nozzle element has a nozzle tube of reduced cross-sectional area through which a ram passes to provide high pressure injection. The system requires direct pressure to be applied to the piston. That is, no mechanical leverage is used to assist in delivery of the pharmaceutical dosage form.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,914, an implant injector is disclosed for the implantation of spaced implants using a plunger system contained within a sliding member. As pressure is applied to the sliding member, the plunger moves an implant out of a cannula and into position. Again, no mechanical advantage is achieved with this system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,103 discloses a magazine type implant injector which uses a slotted barrel element which is slidably mounted to an integral magazine element and cannula. Each implant advances a previously loaded implant through the cannula for implantation. Although this device allows for direct contact between the finger of the operator and the implant, no mechanical advantage is realized.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,659,326, 4,784,640 and 4,799,921 disclose an injector and new process of delivering an implant to cattle, wherein a double acting trigger mechanism of the injector loads a retainer and implant into a needle and then injects the retainer and implant into the animal. The injector is effectively a gun having a plunger member which moves through a bore. The plunger rod is moved by the hand trigger which is mounted centrally in the gun. Because lateral movement of the implant and plunger rod is desired, the trigger mechanism is pivoted to a yoke element which is in turn pivoted to a slider and yoked to an intermediate location on a pin which extends across the gun housing. Although mechanical advantage is realized through the use of pivot points, tactile sense may be reduced due to the loss of contiguousness between the operator and the implant due to the use of the yokes.
A gun type injector capable of dispensing pellets from a magazine rotatably supported in the injector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,387. This device utilizes an injector rod which passes through the magazine and moves a pellet to be injected. The injector rod moves along a generally linear path and is operatively associated with the trigger by means of two links which provide for lateral movement of the injector rod as the trigger is depressed. Once again, some loss of tactile sense may be lost due to the links between the trigger and the device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,846,793 and 4,994,028 describe a device for subcutaneous implantation of a plurality of solid, elongated medicinal pellets. The device includes a needle-like, hollow cannula within which are located a plurality of medicinal implants. The cannula is attached to a hub which slides forward and backward within a barrel. The hub has a manually engagable knob thereon so that the hub and cannula may be moved easily with respect to the barrel. The thumb of one hand is used to actuate the device. An obturator, capable of telescoping during operation, extends from the rear of the barrel into the proximal end of the cannula. Once the cannula is inserted through the skin, it is moved backward by means of the thumb knob while the barrel is maintained in a fixed position so that the operator causes the implant to remain in place under the skin as the cannula is withdrawn from around the implant. Again, no mechanical advantage is achievable with this device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,636, a presterilized, packaged, subcutaneous contraception kit which comprises a cutter device for incising skin and a subcutaneous deposit mechanism in the shape of a tapered hollow body is presented. The device is placed within an incision and used for blunt dissecting prior to implantation of the contraceptive device. As the tool is retracted, a plunger is depressed and a contraceptive device is delivered to the site.
The present invention has improved the implantation techniques needed to deliver implantable pharmaceutical dosage forms to their desired location. This unique device provides an unexpectedly high degree of tactile sense such that the operator can more accurately position the pharmaceutical dosage form subcutaneously or within bone or other biological tissue without excessive damage to surrounding tissue. Further, this device allows for various levels of mechanical advantage to be used to deliver the pharmaceutical dosage form. Due to the unique design of the device, a safety mechanism is provided which assures that excessive pressure, which might inadvertently damage the patient, is avoided. The design further provides for a smaller size device than the above mentioned hand held units, resulting in greater control over pharmaceutical dosage form implantation.


An LED light fixture having a light-emitting region and a perimetrical structure therearound. The light-emitting region includes at least one LED-array module supported by an LED heat sink open for air/water-flow. The perimetrical structure has first and second opposite substantially-aligned edge-adjacent portions each extending along the light-emitting region and meeting each other at a perimetrical edge. The first and second edge-adjacent portions converge toward each other at positions progressively closer to the perimetrical edge to form aerodynamic-drag-reducing cross-sectional profiles transverse to the fixture plane and extending in substantially all fixture-plane directions from the intersection of its two major principal axes.

In recent years, the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for various common lighting purposes has increased, and this trend has accelerated as advances have been made in LEDs and in LED arrays, often referred to as "LED modules." Indeed, lighting applications which previously had been served by fixtures using what are known as high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are now beginning to be served by fixtures using LED-array-bearing modules. Such lighting applications include, among a good many others, roadway lighting, factory lighting, parking lot lighting and commercial building lighting.
Work continues in the field of LED module development, and also in the field of using LED modules for various lighting fixtures in various applications. It is the latter field to which this invention relates.
Floodlights using LED modules as light source for various applications present particularly challenging problems in fixture development, particularly when floodlight mounting locations and structures will vary. Lighting-fixture adaptability is an important goal for LED floodlights that are often presented and mounted in different ways.
Heat dissipation is another problem for LED floodlights. And, the goals of dealing with heat dissipation and protection of electronic LED drivers can often be conflicting, contrary goals.
Wind load is another problem for LED floodlights and floodlights that are mounted on poles in general. Calculating wind loads is an important factor in the design of a wind force-resisting system for use in floodlights. This includes the design of fixture structural members and components against wind problems such as overturning and uplift actions.
Streamlined lighting fixtures provide several advantages given their traditional "slim" design. Lighting fixtures that are designed in an aerodynamic fashion not only decrease the wind load that is placed on the fixture but also decrease rattling and other wind-generated disturbances. Some LED floodlights of the prior art are bulky in size. Given their bulky nature these floodlights are very susceptible to wind load damage.
In short, there is a significant need in the lighting industry for improved floodlight fixtures using modular LED units—fixtures that are adaptable for a wide variety of mountings and situations, and that satisfy the problems associated with wind load in all directions. Finally, there is a need for an improved LED-module-based floodlight which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.


There is provided a multilayer ceramic electronic component including: a ceramic main body; a plurality of internal electrodes; and external electrodes formed on outer surfaces of the ceramic main body and electrically connected to the internal electrodes, wherein an average thickness of the external electrodes is 10 μm or less, and when a thickness of the external electrodes in a central portion of the ceramic main body in a thickness direction is Tc and a thickness of the external electrodes at a point spaced apart from a central portion of a capacitance formation region in a thickness direction by a distance equal to 25% of a thickness (S) of the capacitance formation region is T1, 0.8≦|T1/Tc|≦1.0 is satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high capacitance multilayer ceramic electronic component having excellent reliability, while having thinner external electrodes, by reducing thickness deviations in the external electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as electronic products have been reduced in size, multilayer ceramic electronic components have also been required to be reduced in size, yet have a large capacity.
Thus, various methods have been attempted to make dielectric layers and internal electrodes thinner and increasingly multilayered, and recently, multilayer ceramic electronic components in which an increased amount of thinned dielectric layers are laminated have been fabricated.
In addition, since external electrodes have also been required to become thinner, potentially causing a defect in which a plating solution infiltrates into a chip therethrough, it is difficult to reduce the size of the multilayered ceramic element.
In particular, when the shape of the external electrodes is not uniform, the possibility of the plating solution infiltrating a thinner portion thereof is further increased, resulting in a failure to secure reliability.
Thus, when a high capacitance product is relatively small, the shape of external electrodes thereof is a critical factor.

Multilayer ceramic electronic component and fabrication method thereof


Disclosed is a method of controlling the densification behavior of a metallic feature in a ceramic material, the method including the steps of:. obtaining an unsintered ceramic material having at least one metallic feature therein; PA0 providing at least the metallic feature with a predetermined amount of carbonaceous material; PA0 heating the ceramic material and metallic feature to a predetermined temperature sufficient to cause sintering of the ceramic material, the metallic feature being at least partially inhibited from densifying at the predetermined temperature by the presence of the carbonaceous material.. key aspect of the invention is subsequently removing with an oxidizing ambient some or, all of the carbonaceous residue at a predetermined temperature for the optimization of the physical characterization of the fired metallic component in ceramic material without adversely affecting distortion and alignment of the metallic feature.

The present invention generally relates to metallic features in bulk ceramic materials and, more particularly, to a method of controlling the densification behavior of the metallic feature in the ceramic material by incorporating in the metallic feature an amount of carbonaceous material which inhibits the sintering of the metallic feature.
While the present invention has applicability to, in general, metallic features in ceramic materials, it has particular application to metallic screened lines or vias in ceramic substrates for electronic applications. Therefore, for the sake of clarity only, the remainder of the discussion of the invention will be concentrated on metallic vias in ceramic substrates.
The use of metal-filled vias and/or screened lines in ceramic substrates and sintering processes for producing them are well known in the semiconductor packaging art as taught, for example, in Herron et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,367, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Recently, more interest has been focused on the associated problems of the disparity in shrinkage rates between the metal and ceramic as well as the onset of via "opens", particularly as via diameters are reduced below 100 microns in high circuit density applications. A discussion of such problems is given in Herron et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,978, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
As set forth in the cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,978, metal particles, such as copper, in the via paste undergo sintering with attendant shrinkage of the thick film pattern (also consisting of the paste) during the initial phase of the sintering cycle whereas the ceramic and glass particles (of the ceramic substrate containing the vias) undergo sintering during the intermediate and final phases of the sintering cycle along with their characteristic shrinkage. One method of delaying the onset of sintering of the metal particles until at least the intermediate phase of the sintering cycle is to intersperse the metal particles in the thick film with a high melting point material such as aluminum oxide.
Although the foregoing generalized considerations have been known in the art for some time and have provided the basis for techniques for overcoming previous shrinkage and related problems, more refined and detailed approaches are required to meet the needs of metal-filled vias and/or screened lines in ceramic substrates with increasing circuit densities and the concomitant via diameters in the range of about 85 to 100 microns. It is also desirable to provide a metallic-based paste mixture which can be adapted for use with the next generation of ceramic packages which may exhibit reduced shrinkage or no shrinkage with sintering wherein the fired metallic conductive features would maintain acceptable electrical conductivity to meet product specifications.
The following references illustrate previous techniques attempting to overcome shrinkage and other problems.
Herron et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,928 teaches the coating of copper particles with an organic material. The coated copper particles are incorporated in a paste and cofired with the ceramic bulk material. The coating on the copper particles is pyrolyzed to a carbonaceous residue during the pyrolysis stage of the sintering cycle. The carbonaceous residue retards the sintering of the copper particles so that they do not begin to densify until the binder burnoff stage of the sintering cycle when an oxidizing ambient is introduced which removes the carbonaceous residue. Once the carbonaceous residue is removed, the copper particles can easily densify. In fact, the copper particles will have densified before the ceramic material sinters.
Siuta U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,181 teaches the dispersal of copper particles in a solution of an organometallic compound in an anhydrous volatile organic solvent towards obtaining a better shrinkage match of copper to ceramic substrates during sintering.
Beil U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,206 discloses a thick film paste for vias which consists of gold particles, glass binder and refractory particles. Among the refractory particles are metallic carbides such as silicon carbide. The purpose of the refractory particles is that since they do not melt at the sintering temperature of the gold paste, they serve to reduce the volumetric shrinkage of the vias to less than 5%
Reed U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,948 discloses generally a conductive ink consisting of silver flakes, carbon black and fumed silica.
A purpose of the present invention is to have a method of sintering a composite structure comprising metallic features in a ceramic material wherein the metallic features have reduced shrinkage during the sintering of the ceramic material.
Another purpose of the present invention is to have a method of sintering a composite structure comprising metallic features in a porous ceramic material wherein the metallic features have reduced shrinkage (or no shrinkage) during the sintering of the low shrinkage (or no shrinkage) porous ceramic material, and where metallic shrinkage can subsequently be promoted post stabilization of the porous ceramic material for optimization of electrical conductivity of the metallic component.
These and other purposes of the present invention will become more apparent after considering the following description of the invention.

Method of controlling the densification behavior of a metallic feature in a ceramic material

International Business Machines Corporation


A digital signal processing system for obtaining accurate time delay of arrival (TDOA) and frequency delay of arrival (FDOA) measuremets of a signal of interest in a dense interfering signal environment is provided. A time series of cross-spectra (called a waterfall in the art) are computed from transforms applied to overlapping data sets comprising two received digital data streams, which include the signal from an emitter of interest and one or more partially overlapping interfering signals. For each cross-spectra frequency, a transform is calculated in the time direction to create a frequency difference of arrival dimension. Regions within the transformed cross-spectrum that are associated with individual emitters are then identified based on the fact that a given emitter's transformed cross-spectrum phase changes linearly with frequency near the peak FDOA for the emitter. The frequency region(s) associated with the emitter of interest are selected based on the approximate frequency and bandwidth information provided. Applying an inverse transform for the frequencies, identified as associated with the emitter of interest, creates a time difference of arrival dimension corresponding to each frequency difference of arrival value.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved signal processing system for determining the relative time delay and frequency shift of a signal from an emitter of interest received at two spaced apart locations, and more particularly to a digital signal processing system to identify components of the signal of interest quickly and accurately in the presence of noise and partially overlapping interfering signals.
Signals received by two or more spaced apart receivers (e.g. antennas for electromagnetic signals and microphones for acoustic signals) are commonly used in the art in order to determine the location of the signal emitter. Accurately determining the relative time delay and frequency shift between two received signals is a key step in obtaining accurate emitter position estimates.
Cross-correlation of the signal received at two locations is a well known and commonly used signal processing technique for measuring the relative time delay and frequency shift of a signal. The relative time delay is referred to herein as the time difference of arrival (TDOA) and the frequency shift is referred to as the frequency difference of arrival (FDOA), also known in the art as Differential Doppler. The presence of one or more interfering signals received along with the signal of interest may distort the cross-correlation result degrading the accuracy of the TDOA and FDOA measurements for the signal of interest.
There are several different ways in which another signal can interfere with the signal of interest. These include, signals nominally in adjacent channels in the spectrum with parts overlapping the signal of interest or narrow bandwidth interference superimposed on the signal of interest. The interfering signal can also completely overlay the signal of interest, but this complete overlap case is not the subject of this invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the prior art recognizes that digital signal processing systems can realize improved performance in terms of processing time and in terms of accuracy in TDOA and FDOA measurements by eliminating any interfering signals prior to the correlation process step. But, in the prior art, specific information about the signal of interest, including its spectral shape and modulation, is typically used to distinguish it from interfering signals. In an environment dense with interfering signals with many different signal modulations, this and other prior art techniques to separate the signal of interest from interfering signals are complex and not reliable.

Frequency selective TDOA/FDOA cross-correlation


The method of pre-configuring the optical protect paths in an agile photonic network establishes a protection trail for each optical working path that may be set-up in the network. The pre-configuration is based on building an electrical layer (EXC) graph that takes into account all the connection demands in the network, and finding on this EXC graph a plurality of cycles. Next, the EXC cycles are validated at the optical layer, and are further validated against constraints. The method attempts to find an optimal cycles solution, without exhausting all possible variants.

A linear topology can only protect against single fiber link failures. Thus, a "1:1" linear system has an equal number of working and protection links; a "1:N" linear system has N working channels and one shared protection channel.
Lately, rings have become the topology of choice in fiber deployment. The prime motivator for rings versus linear transport is higher survivability. A ring protects against simultaneous failure of the protection and working fibers (i.e. cable cuts) and saves the intra-ring and inter-ring passthrough traffic during node failure/isolation. Rings offer cost effective transport solutions while delivering enhanced network survivability.
Currently, two types of rings are used, namely, unidirectional path switched rings (UPSR), and bidirectional line switched rings (BLSR). The UPSRs are currently used in access networks and therefore they are built for lower rates, which are sufficient for access link demands. UPSR protection switching is done at the SONET path level. The operation of UPSRs is standardized by the BellCore GR-1400-CORE standard, and there are OC-3/12 rate products available. The BLSR are currently used in the backbone networks and therefore they are built for higher rates. Switching is done at the SONET line layer. The operation of BLSRs is standardized by the BellCore GR-1230-CORE standard, and there are OC-12/48 rate products available.
The paper "Cycle-oriented Distributed Preconfiguration: Ring-like Speed with Mesh-like Capacity for Self-planning Network Restoration" by W. Grover et al, 1998 IEEE, pg. 537–543 describes a strategy of pre-failure cross-connection between the protection links of a mesh network, which achieves restoration of connections with little additional spare capacity. While the protection links are connected into p-Cycles, the method is different than self-healing rings because each pre-configured cycle contributes to the restoration of more failure scenarios than can a ring. If a span 'on' the p-Cycle fails, the cycle contributes with one restoration path. If a span off the cycle, but straddling it fails, two restoration paths may be obtained from a cycle.
The next step in evolution of communications is the agile photonic network APN, where the current point-to-point linear/ring architecture characterized by fixed channel allocation is replaced by an agile architecture characterized by a flexible end-to-end channel allocation. Agile photonic networks combine a few basic concepts to deliver cost reduction and scalability of the network, while enabling rapid set-up of bandwidth.
Transparency leverages all-optical switching to facilitate cost-effective connection set-up across multiple segments of the network, without having to undergo optical-electrical-optical conversions. Transparent photonic switching enables cost savings, space and power reduction, and also the ability to rapidly turn up new wavelengths across a network. Full range tunability provides the mechanism to deploy generic capacity pools, reducing over-provisioning and risk of stranded capital, and making transparency and agile reach manageable. In addition, operational viability of the APN requires that these concepts be automated and simplified. Such a network is described in the U.S. patent application "Architecture For A Photonic Transport Network", (Roorda et al.), Ser. No. 09/876,391, filed Jun. 7, 2001 and assigned to Innovance Inc.
The APN allows activation of wavelengths from any point to any other point across the network. This function is automated to accommodate the addition or reconfiguration of wavelength patterns to manage changes of connection patterns and incremental network growth. The APN is able to automatically provision the routes in an efficient manner to allow revenue collection based on the class of service of each individual connection. The route provisioning mechanism is based on wavelengths becoming resources deployable and manageable across the network.
Since the operation of the agile network differs from that of pt—pt networks, traditional traffic protection schemes (electrical) are not directly applicable to optical switching. On the other hand, agility offers more flexibility in designing protections schemes based on various opportunities and perspectives.
There is a need to optimize wavelength utilization for the protection traffic in a mesh connected agile photonic network.

Method of preconfiguring optical protection trails in a mesh-connected agile photonic network


A computer architecture allows for simplified recovery after mis-speculation during speculative execution by controlling speculation to occur within idempotent regions that may be recovered by re-execution of the region without the need for restoring complex state information from checkpoints. A compiler for increasing the size of idempotent regions is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a computer architecture and in particular to an architecture that may recover from faults or errors during the execution of program instructions, for example from speculative execution, and having reduced circuit complexity.
The effective execution speed of computer processors may be increased by "speculative execution" in which computer instructions are executed before the data necessary for that execution is available. An example of speculative execution is branch prediction. In branch prediction, the processor predicts which path of a program branch to take before the data necessary to resolve the branch direction has been fetched or computed. Other types of speculation include value prediction (predicting the value of a variable used by an arithmetic operation before it has been fetched or computed) and load-store dependence prediction (predicting that a variable value will not change from the execution of earlier instructions).
Provided that the prediction inherent in speculative execution is reasonably accurate, idle time of the processor is reduced, and an increased instruction execution rate obtained. Speculation is particularly useful in pipeline architectures which largely require that later instructions be inserted into the pipeline before earlier instructions have exited, even though the later instructions depend on the earlier instructions.
In the event that the speculation is in error (mis-speculation), the speculatively executed instructions must be undone or "squashed" and the execution "recovered". This process is done by returning the processor to the same state it had before execution of the speculative instructions so that the correct instructions can be executed. This squashing process is facilitated by buffering all stores or writes performed by the speculatively executed instructions (which may then be erased in the event of mis-speculation) and flushing the mis-speculated executions from the pipeline. The squashing process relies upon a "checkpoint" created at the beginning of the speculation which accurately records state of the processor in terms of its registers, load store queue, rename table, etc. so that in the event of mis-speculation the speculatively executed instructions may be re-executed as if for the first time.
The circuitry necessary to create and maintain these checkpoints at points of speculation is complex and consumes substantial energy. Some processors having a large number of cores, such as graphic processor units, do not employ speculation at all because of the circuitry overhead.

Computer processor providing error recovery with idempotent regions


Provided are heat exchangers that have a plurality of integrally formed contiguous unit cells defining a three-dimensional lattice of repeating unit cells, and methods of forming a baffle in a three-dimensional lattice structure of a heat exchanger. The plurality of integrally formed contiguous unit cells include a plurality of pathway cells and a plurality of baffle cells integrally formed among the plurality of pathway cells. The plurality of pathway cells have a solid domain that includes interior and exterior pathway-cell surfaces that respectively contiguously define first and second furcated fluid domains for a first fluid and a second fluid to respectively flow across the plurality of pathway cells. The plurality of baffle cells have a solid domain that includes one or more furcated-pathway blinds that together provide one or more furcated-pathway baffles that contiguously define a boundary to a furcated fluid domain.

Heat exchangers sometimes utilize baffles to direct or regulate fluid flow. A typical shell and tube heat exchanger may include baffles on the shell side of the heat exchanger which direct shell-side fluid through a flow passage defined by the baffles. The baffles may also serve to support a tube bundle within the heat exchanger shell. Such baffles are typically fabricated from panels that have numerous holes corresponding to each tube in the tube bundle. The holes of a panel are fitted over the heat exchanger tubes, and the panel is welded in place.
The fabrication process for baffles of this nature can be complicated and time consuming, and consequently heat exchangers typically have fairly simple baffle configurations. Additionally, heat exchanger tubes are prone to damage when fitting and welding the baffles to the tubes, and leaks or stress points may arise from fabrication errors such as faulty welds and the like, leading to suboptimum performance, cross-contamination of fluids, or structural failures. Further, the tube-side of a heat exchanger typically lacks baffles due to the complexity of fabrication, especially for heat exchangers with numerous tubes. Three-dimensional lattice structures provide an alternative to a tube bundle. However, the above-mentioned shortcomings may become even more pronounced when adding baffles to a three-dimensional lattice structure because a lattice structure may have a far more complicated configuration relative to a typical tube bundle.
A heat exchanger may be coupled to a fluid flow at an inlet manifold that defines an inlet plenum where fluid enters the heat exchanger. A typical shell and tube heat exchanger includes a tube sheet, which is a panel at the interface between the inlet plenum and the tube bundle that directs fluid into the tubes of the heat exchanger. The fluid pathway from the inlet plenum into the tube bundle typically exhibits a relatively abrupt transition. This abrupt transition may cause significant shear stress and corresponding pressure drop which may impact process design considerations. A similar abrupt transition may exist with previous heat exchangers that employ a three-dimensional lattice structure rather than a tube bundle.
Accordingly, there exists a need for heat exchangers with improved baffles and improved inlet plenum. Additionally, there exists a need for improved methods of forming baffles in a heat exchanger, and methods of reducing the pressure drop of fluid entering the three-dimensional lattice of a heat exchanger.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Heat exchangers having a three-dimensional lattice structure with baffle cells and methods of forming baffles in a three-dimensional lattice structure of a heat exchanger


A multimedia processor contains a general purpose RISC and video processors which operate in parallel to execute software for combined video and audio bit stream coding and decoding. The RISC processor controls operation of the multimedia processor and performs bit stream parsing and coding, audio compression and decompression, and general processing for embedded applications. The video processor performs video encoding and decoding functions such as scaling, filtering, decimation, and DCT transforms. The RISC processor and the video processor each have separate data buses which are interconnected through a portal circuit and a Huffman codec. Each data bus has a DMA controller which transfers data to and from a memory interface to an external memory. DMA channels serve I/O interface resources coupled to the data buses and can form buffers in the external memory. This reduces the need for on-chip FIFO buffers and separate buffers between the multimedia processor and attached devices.

Integrated circuits which process video signals are available for use in multi-media applications. For Ad example, an integrated circuit such as a conventional video decoder converts a video signal complying with a particular video protocol to data for a computer or a signal for a monitor. However, many different systems process both video and audio signals and use a variety of different standards and protocols. Each system typically requires one or more integrated circuits (signal processors) designed for coding or decoding of the particular standard or standards handled by the system. In particular, prior art integrated circuits are typically custom manufactured to implement standards such as MPEG, MPEG2, JPEG, H.320 or H.32P. Additionally, video and audio are conventionally processed by separate integrated circuits because video and audio use different protocols which present different processing problems. Having a special digital processors designed and fabricated for video and audio and each of the different protocol increases design, manufacturing and stocking costs and decreases the flexibility of the digital processors.

Integrated multimedia communications processor and codec


An optical recording medium player reproduces a signal with lower intermodulation even in case of a reading laser beam for an optical recording medium is used having a wavelength different from a standard wavelength. The player comprises photoelectric converting means having a light receiving surface divided into central and peripheral regions, amplifying means for amplifying the output signals from the divided receiving surfaces, adding means for adding the outputs of each amplifying means, discriminating means for discriminating the type of a recording medium being played, and adjusting means for adjusting the sensitivities of signal processing systems including photoelectric converting means in accordance with the result of discrimination. Even in case the wavelength of reading laser beam of optical recording medium is different from the wavelength of reading laser beam as defined for a standard recording medium, it is possible to obtain a reproduction signal with less intermodulation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a player of a recording medium for playing optical recording medium such as an optical disk where an information signal, e.g. an image signal, is recorded and for reproducing the information signal, and in particular to a player of optical recording medium, which can play both media carrying information at a high recording density and at a low recording density, respectively
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the light source for the optical recording medium player, a semiconductor laser is often used. At present, a semiconductor laser emitting near infrared light with wavelength of 780 nm is practically used as the light source for such optical recording medium player.
With the rapid development in a laser light source in recent years such as short wavelength semiconductor laser or laser source utilizing optical non-linearity, it is now becoming possible to use a laser light source, which emits a red light with wavelength of 670 nm, a green light with wavelength of 532 nm or a blue light with wavelength of 430 nm. If the information signal is recorded on an optical recording medium while using laser light source with such a short wavelength, it is possible to record an ultra-fine image signal or to miniaturize the optical recording medium. In this connection, new standards have been proposed using these types of laser.
In general, when a laser beam is irradiated on an optical recording medium, the spot diameter of the light on the recording medium is given by EQU s=.lambda./NA,
where .lambda. represents a wavelength, and NA is a numerical aperture of an objective lens. That is, the shorter the wavelength is, the smaller the spot diameter can be. As a result, the pit length d1 of the medium formed by the light source with a short wavelength of .lambda. 1 can be reduced down to about s1 (=.lambda. 1/NA), and it can be approximated as follows: EQU dl=.lambda. 1/NA
The pit width is also approximately equalized to s1, and the gap between the adjacent tracks can be narrowed down. Thus, it is possible to manufacture an optical recording medium of a high recording density.
If a recording medium with a low recording density recorded by light source with near infrared laser wavelength .lambda. 0 can be read by the light source with short wavelength .lambda. 1 (.lambda. 0>.lambda. 1), it is preferable because this can be used for playing the media of both high and low recording densities. The pit length d0 of the medium of low recording density is approximatly equal to the irradiation spot diameter s0 of the laser beam with wavelength .lambda. 0, and it can be approximated as follows: EQU d0=0/NA
On the other hand, the spot diameter s1 of the laser beam to read this is based on the relation d0>s1 from the relation of .lambda. 0>.lambda. 1. Thus, the irradiation light spot diameter of high recording density is smaller than the pit length of the disk of low recording density. However, even in this case, it is possible to read the recorded signal on the medium, and the pit of the medium is of such structure, in the combination of a numerical aperture NA of an objective lens and the wavelength .lambda., as to minimize the generation of noise beam, which is the so-called intermodulation. When, as a result, the medium carrying information recorded to be read by means of a light beam with a wavelength .lambda. 0 is read by a different light beam with a short wavelength .lambda. 1, intermodulation occurs during the reading operation.

Apparatus for playing optical recording media of different recording densities


A pneumatic tool having a radio frequency transmitting monitor as part of a system for monitoring operation of the pneumatic tool is disclosed. A pneumatic pressure valve including a sensor that generates a signal in response to sensing a predetermined condition occurring in the cycle of the pneumatic tool. The sensor provides an input to a transmitter integrated circuit that generates a radio frequency signal. A remote radio frequency receiver receives the signal and upon receipt of the radio frequency signal a processor manifests receipt of the signal and records or generates an output indicating that the predetermined condition has occurred.

Pneumatic power tools are commonly used in factories due to their durability and dependability. Examples of such power tools include nut runners and screw drivers used to tighten threaded fasteners.
There has long been a need for a dependable system to validate fastener tightening on pneumatic tools without adding wires to the air supply hose. One of the advantages of pneumatic tools is that they require only a simple connection to an air line to be operational. There is no need to provide electrical connections that may be interrupted if wires break or connectors become loose or corroded. If wires are inserted either inside an air supply hose or are attached to the outside of the air supply hose, the simplicity of the pneumatic tool is compromised. Adding wires to an air hose reduces flexibility and increases the complexity of setting up the tool for operation.
In the prior art, electronic strain gauges have been hard-wired to either pneumatic or electric tools in an attempt to provide fastener tightening validation. Generally strain gauges are used to measure dynamic torque. Such strain gauges are calibrated in a laboratory and can provide an alarm if the strain gauge is not within preset strain measurement limits. This type of system is not easily adapted to pneumatic tools due to the above-noted problems associated with running a wire to the strain gauge. Electronically monitoring operation of a pneumatic tool compromises the objectives of simplicity and durability and unreasonably adds to the cost of such systems and the cost of tool operation.
It has been found that complicated or unreliable electronic systems added to pneumatic tools may be disconnected or overridden. For a system to be utilized it should be automatic and must not complicate or unduly interfere with use of pneumatic tools in production.
One example of a prior art system for monitoring and controlling fluid-driven tools is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,396. The '396 patent discloses a flow sensor that is connected by wires through a preamplifier to a data collection computer. The flow sensor or flow meter disclosed in the '396 patent is a Venturi-type differential pressure flow meter that is coupled with a semiconductor pressure sensor transducer. This system is inaccurate because it relies upon the measurement of pressure. This system also suffers from the disadvantages noted above relating to adding wires to pneumatic tools.
These and other problems encountered by prior art monitoring systems for pneumatic tools are addressed by the wireless monitoring system for pneumatic tools of the present invention.

Wireless cycle monitoring system for power tools


The invention provides a macro inspection apparatus including: a stage on which an inspection object is placed; a light source that irradiates light on an upper surface of the inspection object from an angular direction arbitrarily selected relative to the upper surface of the inspection object; and a line sensor which is placed in an angular direction selected relative to the upper surface of the inspection object so that an optical axis thereof corresponds with an edge of the upper surface area irradiated by the light source and which receives reflected light from the edge of the upper surface area of the inspection object.

Inspections conducted in the process of fabricating semiconductor, liquid crystals or the like include a macro inspection. In the macro inspection, typically, a human visually spots a defect (flatness, the presence/absence of a scratch, or the like) on the surface of a fabricated film or the like. The macro inspection is an effective inspection because a defect can be spotted over a wide area all at once under the limitations of visual inspection.
As a macro inspection for inspecting the flatness of a film, i.e., a variation (non-uniformity) in film thickness, there has hitherto been conducted an inspection using interference light. In the inspection using interference light, narrow-wavelength light is irradiated to a film and then interference light from the film is detected. However, this method cannot be used for a film in which no interference occurs or a film through which no light is transmitted. That is, the conventional method using interference light has a limitation that only a light transmitting film can be inspected.
A related art surface defect macro inspection apparatus has been described, for example, in Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-28621. This document discloses a surface defect inspection apparatus which arranges a photo-detecting unit at a position which does not receive specular reflection light of inspection illumination light and at the same time efficiently receives scattering light thereof.

Macro inspection apparatus and microscopic inspection method

International Business Machines Corporation


A shank 11 on a tool bit for percussion drilling or chiseling has at least two rotary entrainment grooves (13, 14, 16), however, they are not arranged in diametrically opposed relation. In addition, the shank has at least one locking groove (12). The rotary entrainment grooves (13, 14, 16) are open at the end face (17) of the shank inserted into the chuck, so that rotary entrainment members in a tool bit chuck can be inserted into the rotary entrainment grooves (13, 14, 16). Locking groove (12) is closed at its end adjacent the end (17) of the tool bit inserted into the chuck, so that a locking member of the chuck can fit into the locking groove to prevent axial displacement of the tool bit out of the chuck. To reduce significantly the wear of the shank and the chuck, the shank has an additional rotary entrainment groove (15) located diametrically opposite the locking groove (12). Further, an additional rotary entrainment member is provided opposite the locking member in the chuck.

The present invention is directed to tool bit having a shank to be inserted into a chuck of a hand-held tool used in chiseling or chipping and/or drilling and/or percussion drilling. The shank has at least two rotary entrainment grooves not located diametrically opposite one another and the grooves extend to the end of the tool bit shank inserted into the chuck, so that rotary entrainment members in the chuck can engage in the rotary entrainment grooves. At least one locking groove, closed at its end closer to the end of the shank inserted into the chuck, is arranged to receive at least one locking member of the chuck for limiting axial movement of the tool bit.
Tool bits of this type are disclosed in DE-PS 2551125 and DE-PS 3717915. These tool bits are shaped so that they can be introduced into the chuck only in a very specific angular position. Tool bits according to DE-PS 3716915 have two diametrically opposed locking grooves closed at both ends. This arrangement is important, because tool bits in this patent publication must also fit into the tool bit chuck of the most widely sold heavy hammer-drill. In this hammer-drill, the transmission of torque as well as the locking action is provided by the two locking grooves disposed diametrically opposite one another.
In the short time since the introduction of hammer-drills and tool bits according to DE-PS 3716915 the disadvantage has been noted that wear, especially in the two rotary entrainment grooves, both lying between the two locking grooves, is very considerable. Considerable wear also takes place at the corresponding parts of the tool bit chuck. Due to such wear, the locking members and the locking grooves must transmit a considerable part of the torque. Again this leads, however, to premature damage to the tool bit chuck. Tool bit chuck damage not only results in considerable costs to the user, but also involves considerable work delays, since the repairs must be performed in a work shop. In addition, the largest possible working diameter of the drilling tool bit and the hand-held tool is limited in the upward direction, due to this wear susceptibility.

Tool bit and chuck for use in percussion drilling and chiseling


A system and method for servicing restrooms on the upper floors of a high rise building. The system is comprised of sections of hoses that are interconnected by valves, each valve configured to provide a user with the ability to selectively shut off the flow of material in a vertical or horizontal direction. These vacuum hoses are then connected to a liquid cooled pump, which is connected to a vacuum tank. The system operates by selectively opening and closing the vertical and horizontal valves to focus vacuum force in areas to be cleaned and prevent vacuum in non-desired areas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to portable restrooms, and more particularly to a system for servicing portable restrooms located upon various levels in a multistory building.
2. Background Information
Portable restrooms are a convenience of the modern world. They provide individuals the ability to have a contained and sanitary location for urinating and defecating and provide a health benefit in that these restrooms contain and treat this waste with a liquid that prevents potentially pathogenic bacteria from proliferating. These devices are used at sporting events, weddings, construction sites, and in other locations where traditional permanent plumbing has not been made available. Sometimes these devices are provided simply for convenience, while in other circumstances they are mandated by law to provide sanitation.
A typical portable restroom is made up of four walls: a roof, a door, a seat, and a holding container. This holding container is configured to hold a quantity of waste that is deposited within the restroom by those persons utilizing the portable restroom. Over time these holding containers fill and must be emptied or serviced. This servicing is typically done by a pair of service personnel who drive a tank truck to the location where the portable restrooms are located. These trucks have tanks that are configured to hold a quantity of waste and a vacuum pump that is configured to draw the liquid out of the holding containers in the portable restrooms. They then pump this waste into the tank on the trucks. To perform this feat, the two persons servicing the restrooms typically drive the tank truck to a location and connect a hose or conduit to the pump. Additional hoses are then interconnected by T-valve combinations until sufficient length has been achieved so as to allow the hoses to reach from the tank to the portable restroom to be serviced.
Once the hose has been connected to achieve this length, one operator places one end of the hose into the holding container in the portable restroom and then signals the other operator at the truck to engage the vacuum pump. The pump then engages and pumps the material out of the holding container connected to the portable restroom, through the conduit, and into the holding tank. Once all of the material has been pumped out of the holding container, the operator at the end of the hose signals the operator at the vacuum pump that the portable restroom has been emptied, and after the conduit has been emptied, the pump is shut off. The two individuals operating the device then go to another location and repeat this process. Through this process, the individuals work to empty the various portable restrooms in a single location.
Portable restrooms may be utilized in situations and circumstances where the access to these portable restrooms by a service team is more difficult. One of those situations occurs when the portable restroom is located in an elevated position as compared to the position of the vacuum truck. In the prior art, this same system is utilized wherein one person drags the hose up to a higher level, places one end of the hose within the container to be emptied, signals his companion to engage the pump, and empties out the holding container.
In using such systems on buildings having multiple floors, a variety of problems arise. One of these problems is that the vacuum truck has insufficient suction capabilities to pump waste from high elevations and in distant locations to the pump truck. As a result of these flow problems, sludge and waste can clog and plug the device thus making the tank emptying process difficult. In addition, in some instances these devices are simply unable to pull material out of the holding tanks and into the trucks themselves. Another problem that arises is that the pumps overheat and must be turned off frequently in order to prevent damage to the pumps themselves and to prolong the life of these pumps. Most pumps in the industry will simply burn up if left running for prolonged periods of time. To do this, typically two individuals must be utilized to service a building. One individual sits in the vacuum truck and operates the vacuum tank motor by alternatively turning the motor off and on to effectuate the removal of the waste from the containers, while at the same time preventing the vacuum pump from overheating. He does this while the other individual services the various floors. This incurs substantial cost.
What is needed is a system or device for servicing portable restrooms, particularly those on multiple levels, which also provides increased pumping capabilities. What is also needed is a tower service system that prevents clogging or obstruction of the system by waste in the line. What is also needed is a device for servicing of portable restrooms that has increased functional capabilities as compared to the devices in the prior art. Another necessity is a system that allows a single user to both operate the truck and service the various floors without the requirement of two employees. Another needed item is to provide a device with increased suctioning capabilities for performing these services.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a system or device for servicing portable restrooms, particularly those on multiple levels, which provides increased pumping capabilities. It is another object of the invention to provide a tower service system that prevents clogging or obstruction of the system by waste in the line. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for servicing of portable restrooms that has increased functional capabilities as compared to the devices in the prior art. Another object of the invention is to provide a system with the aforementioned capabilities that further allows a single user to both operate the truck and service the various floors without the requirement of two employees.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


A method and apparatus for tracking at least one Layer-2 (L2) resource of a network device is provided. The method includes monitoring software operations on the L2 resource. The method further includes monitoring the state of the L2 resource in a corresponding hardware device (e.g., the network device). The L2 resource may be at least one of a Media Access Control (MAC) address, a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier, a MAC address, and a VLAN identifier pair.

1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of this invention relate in general to layer-2 (L2) resources of network devices. More specifically, embodiments of this invention relate to methods and systems for tracking L2 resources of network devices.
2. Description of the Background Art
In computer networks, data is transferred through a series of hardware and software levels or layers. These layers may be broadly classified into a network interface layer, an inter-network layer, a transport layer, and application layer. The network interface layer includes a physical layer and a data-link layer. The physical layer relates to the electrical and mechanical connections between the network devices. The data-link layer is layer-2 (L2) in an Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model and controls the transfer of data across the physical layer in the computer network. The data-link layer (hereinafter referred to as the L2 layer) is further divided into a Logical Link Control (LLC) layer and a Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer controls the access of network components to the data that is being transferred. In order to control the access of the network components, the MAC layer defines an L2 resource for each network device. The L2 resource can be defined by using a unique hardware/data-link/MAC address for each network device. The data is transferred within the computer network, based on the destination MAC address.
Network devices such as switches maintain a MAC-address-table in which the MAC address of each computer connected to the respective network devices is stored.
In conventional switches, the state of the MAC addresses in the MAC-address-table may be determined by using an Internetworking Operating System (IOS) Command Line Interface (CLI) entry such as a 'show MAC-address-table'. Further, the changes in the state of the MAC address are logged in conventional switches.
However, conventional switches do not monitor L2 features that direct a change in the state of the MAC address. The L2 features that may direct the change in the state of the MAC address may be, for example, distributed forwarding, distributed learning and MAC limiting. Further, conventional switches do not monitor other L2 resources such as a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier.

Method and apparatus for tracking layer-2 (L2) resource of a switch


A storage control apparatus includes a memory configured to store access management information concerning access from a host to each of a plurality of logical volumes, and a controller configured to refer to the access management information read from the memory, when receiving an entirety of updated data from the host, to set a write mode for data transfer from each of the plurality of logical volumes to the corresponding physical volume on the basis of the access management information to one of a difference data write mode in which difference data indicating a difference between an entirety of data stored in a storage apparatus and the entirety of updated data is written into a storage apparatus and an entire data write mode in which the entirety of updated data is written into the storage apparatus.

FIG. 21 is a conceptual drawing illustrating a storage system using a library apparatus as a storage apparatus. In a general storage system, a host (host computer) 1 is directly connected to a real library apparatus 2. Accordingly, the host 1 controls a transfer mechanism 3 to mount/unmount physical volumes 4 onto/from physical drives 5. The host 1 then reads/writes data from/into the physical volumes 4 mounted on the physical drives 5.
FIG. 22 is a conceptual drawing illustrating a storage system using a virtual library apparatus 11. The virtual library apparatus 11 is disposed between a host 10 and a real library apparatus 12 and provides logical drives 13 and logical volumes 14 to the host 10. The real library apparatus 12 is, for example, a tape library apparatus, and each of physical volumes 17 is assigned with, for example, each tape housed in tape cartridge. The logical drives 13 are, for example, a cache disk 16, and each of the logical volumes 14 is assigned with, for example, each of a plurality of recording regions of the cache disk 16.
Although the host 10 is directly connected to the virtual library apparatus 11, the host 10 may treat the real library apparatus 12 as equivalent to the real library apparatus directly connected to the host 10. Accordingly, as in the storage system illustrated in FIG. 21, the host 10 is able to access the logical volumes 14 via the logical drives 13 within the virtual library apparatus 11 without being aware of the presence of the virtual library apparatus 11.
A controller 15 provided for the virtual library apparatus 11 stores data (logical volume data) to be recorded on recording regions of the cache disk 16 corresponding to the logical volumes 14. The cache disk 16 is disposed within the virtual library apparatus 11. Then, the controller 15 transfers data from the cache disk 16 to the physical drives 18 disposed within the real library apparatus 12 by performing migration processing asynchronously with access from the host 10.
The logical volume data stored in tapes corresponding to the physical volumes 17 within the real library apparatus 12 are transferred to the cache disk 16 and are stored therein as far as the storage capacity of the cache disk 16 permits. Accordingly, in response to a request from the host 10 to access the same logical volume 14 once again as that storing the data before, it is possible to promptly return a ready state response.
In contrast, if there is a shortage of the storage capacity of the cache disk 16, the controller 15 drives out the logical volume data stored in the cache disk 16 and transfers the driven data to a tape corresponding to a physical volume 17, by performing migration processing. This is performed on the basis of logic by considering, for example, the frequency of the usage of the logical volumes 14. With this operation, the storage capacity of the cache disk 16 for storing other logical volume data may be reserved in the cache disk 16.
The logical volume data driven out of the cache disk 16 of the virtual library apparatus 11 is transferred to the real library apparatus 12 by migration processing. Then, the real library apparatus 12 controls a transport mechanism 19 and a physical drive 18 to write the logical volume data into a tape corresponding to a physical volume 17.
If there is a request from the host 10 to mount the logical volume data on a logical drive 13, the logical volume data is read from the tape. Then, the read logical volume data is stored in recording regions of the cache disk 16 corresponding to the logical volumes 14 (RECALL processing). To complete such RECALL processing, it takes several tens of seconds to several minutes from a time at which the host 10 makes a request to mount the logical volume data until a time at which the mounting operation is finished.
FIG. 23A through FIG. 23C are conceptual drawings illustrating the state in which logical volume data is written in a recording region of a cache disk corresponding to a logical volume. A description is given below, assuming that a tape library apparatus is used as a backend by way of example.
In the virtual library apparatus 11, tape drives do not exist. However, from a viewpoint of the host 10, it appears as if there were tape drives in the virtual library apparatus 11. Thus, access from the host 10 to the logical drives 13 is the same as that to tape drives.
In a tape drive, data may be written into a tape while the tape is being transferred, which implements the sequential writing of data, thereby achieving fast access. However, because of the structure of media (tape), it is not possible to partially overwrite data stored in the tape.
FIG. 23A illustrates logical volume data stored in a recording region of a cache disk corresponding to a logical volume. Updating of the logical volume data having block ID 1 through block ID 3 stored in a recording region 941 may be performed by either of the incremental (additional) write system or the overwrite system.
In the incremental write system illustrated in FIG. 23B, additional new logical volume data 4 and 5 are written into a recording region 942 positioned after the recording region 941 in which the logical volume data 1 through 3 are stored. In the overwrite system illustrated in FIG. 23C, overwriting of data is started from the head (data having block ID 1) of the logical volume, and the entirety of the data including updated data, i.e., the updated logical volume data having block ID 1 through block ID 3, which is a series of the data reflecting the updated content, is written into a recording region 943.
FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B are conceptual drawings illustrating the state in which data is written in a tape corresponding to a physical volume. In updating processing on stored data, because of the structure of a tape, as described above, partial overwriting of data stored in the tape is not possible. Accordingly, the conceptual drawings of the physical volume illustrated in FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B are different from those of the logical volume illustrated in FIG. 23B and FIG. 23C.
More specifically, in the incremental write system, as illustrated in FIG. 24A, after a recording region 950 in which logical volume data having block ID 1 through block ID 3 are stored, updated logical volume data including the stored logical volume data having block ID 1 through block ID 3 and additional data having block ID 4 and block ID 5 is written into a recording region 951. Accordingly, in the incremental write system, the same data having block ID 1 through block ID 3 are recorded on the tape plural times, which demands an extra storage capacity.
In the overwrite system, as illustrated in FIG. 24B, updated logical volume data having block ID 1 through block ID 3 are written into a recording region 953 positioned after a recording region 952 in which existing logical volume data having block ID 1 through block ID 3 are already stored. Accordingly, in the overwrite system, the entirety of the logical volume data reflecting the updated content is written in the state in which the existing data remains in the physical volume, which also demands an extra storage capacity.
The following are reference documents.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-190139
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-122611

Storage control apparatus, storage system and method


An antitheft device for attachment to a steering wheel of an automobile comprising an elongated body member having two parallel passageways extending in a longitudinal direction. A first hook is secured to the body member for engagement with a portion of the steering wheel. The first hook engages the wheel from the inside of the rim, with the body member extending outward beyond the periphery of the steering wheel, an elongated rod member, adapted to move in telescopic fashion in one of two passageways formed in the body member, and extending longitudinally therein. A second hook, secured to the rod member, engages the inside portion of the steering wheel at a point diametrically opposed to that of the first hook. A second elongated rod member is adapted to extend in telescopic fashion in a direction opposite to that of the other rod member. A lock assembly is disposed within the body member for engaging the rods within passageways of the body member, allowing the rod members to extend with respect to the body member, and to be locked at any of a plurality of positions.

Antitheft devices which attach to an automobile steering wheel are known, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,127 to Johnson. Such antitheft devices for attachment to a steering wheel of an automobile include an elongated body member having a passage extending therethrough. An elongated rod member is adapted to move in telescopic fashion within the passageway of the body member, and opposed hooks are provided for engaging the inside portion of the steering wheel. A lock assembly is associated with the body member, engaging the elongated rod within the passage for locking the rod member in a stationary position with respect to the body member, at any of a plurality of positions. While the antitheft device described above is functional, it includes several defects. For example, the telescopic movements of the rod member need a key to unlock the lock assembly. Another problem with such devices are that they present pry points wherein a rigid pin or arcuate ruler-like thin object can be inserted through a gap formed between the passageway and periphery of the rod member. The pin is inserted to reach a spherical bearing of the lock assembly and displace it by overcoming the bias force of a spring member, thereby releasing it from engagement with the rod member and defeating the lock.


An ESI sprayer 211 configured to be used by being attached to a first hole 51 made in a housing 50 of an ionizer and a second hole 52 made at an end of the first hole 51, and the second hole 52 having an inner diameter smaller than that of the first hole 51, the second hole 52 having an end communicating with an ionization chamber 210, the ESI sprayer 211 includes: a first pipe 11 having an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the first hole 51; a second pipe 12 having an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the second hole 52; a pipe connecting jig 14 made of a conductive material and connecting end faces of the first pipe 11 and the second pipe 12 separated from each other; and a pipe protecting member 16 configured to be an extendable tubular body made of a conductive material and having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the first hole 51 and larger than the inner diameter of the second hole 52, the pipe protecting member 16 having one end fixed to the pipe connecting jig and being disposed so as to cover at least the end of the second pipe 52.

A liquid chromatograph is widely used as an apparatus that analyzes a component contained in a liquid sample. In the liquid chromatograph, the liquid sample is introduced into a column on a flow of a mobile phase, and various components contained in the liquid sample are temporally separated, and measured with a detector. The liquid chromatograph having a mass spectrometer as the detector is called a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer. In the liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer, various components sequentially eluted from a column of a liquid chromatograph are ionized by introducing the various components into the ion source of the mass spectrometer, and the generated ions are measured in each mass-to-charge ratio. In the ion source, for example, an eluate from the column is introduced into a pipe of an ESI sprayer to which a predetermined ionization voltage (ESI voltage) is applied and charged, finely charged droplets are formed and nebulized in the ionization chamber by blowing a nebulizer gas such as a nitrogen gas to the eluate, and desolvation and ionization are performed in the ionization chamber.
In the liquid chromatograph mass spectrometers, so-called nano-ESI or micro-ESI is widely used in recent years to measure a very small amount of components contained in a sample with high sensitivity. In the nano-ESI or the micro-ESI, a small-diameter column is used, and the amount of eluate per unit time introduced into the ESI sprayer is reduced to control a flow rate of the mobile phase from a nL/min level to a μL/min level. This increases charging efficiency and facilitates the solvent removal, and thus increases the ionization efficiency.
In the nano-ESI or the micro-ESI, a capillary having an outer diameter of several hundreds of micrometers and an inner diameter of several tens of micrometers is used to introduce a small amount of eluate into the ESI sprayer as described above. These capillaries are fragile and easily damaged when a user inadvertently brings an end of the capillary into contact with another member in attaching or removes the ESI sprayer to or from the mass spectrometer. Patent Literature 1 proposes an ESI sprayer including a sheath member which is a tube attached to an outer circumference of the capillary of the ESI sprayer so as to freely move over the capillary. The sheath member protects the end of the capillary when the capillary is removed from the mass spectrometer (during non-use). When the capillary is inserted into a hole made in the housing of the mass spectrometer (during use), the sheath member abuts the protrusion protruding from the inner wall of the hole, and retreats to expose the end of the capillary. The ESI sprayer is used not only in the liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer but also as the ion source that ionizes the liquid sample in various ion analyzers.


A betavoltaic power source for transportation devices and applications is disclosed, wherein the device having a stacked configuration of isotope layers and energy conversion layers. The isotope layers have a half-life of between about 0.5 years and about 5 years and generate radiation with energy in the range from about 15 keV to about 200 keV. The betavoltaic power source is configured to provide sufficient power to operate the transportation device over its useful lifetime.

The electric car offers society an opportunity to use less fossil fuel for transportation. A significant impediment to the acceptance of electric car transportation is the range of travel available and the charging time required to charge the battery. Ultimately, the driving range is limited by the capacity of the battery stored within the car. The capacity of the battery defines the amount of energy stored, which determines the driving range for most applications.
An example of a typical electric car battery is the lithium-based battery system for the Roadster electric car made by and sold by Tesla Motors. At the time of its development, it was one of the largest and technically most advanced Li-ion battery packs in the world. It had the capability to store sufficient energy to propel the Roadster more than 200 miles without recharging. The battery pack stored about 53 kilowatt hours of electric energy. However, the Roadster is a small vehicle. A replacement to this Li-ion battery would need to store at least as much energy and possibly more.
What is needed is a battery that can generate sufficient power to drive an electric car without charging, or after an extended period of time (such as a year or multiple years), offer simple battery replacement with another long-use battery.

Betavoltaic power sources for transportation applications


The present invention discloses a capacitive touch panel, which comprises: an insulation substrate; an electrically-conductive layer, installed on the insulation substrate; and multiple electrically-conductive segments, installed on the perimeter of the electrically-conductive layer. The present invention improves the distribution characteristics of the electric field neighboring the frame of a touch panel via providing at least one chamfer for one end of each electrically-conductive segment. Thereby, the distribution of the electric field lines neighboring the frame can be smooth and uniform. Thus, the accuracy and the usable area of the touch panel are promoted.

Recently, owing to the emergence of IA (Information Appliance) products, touch panels have gradually replaced the traditional human-machine interfaces, such as keyboards and mice. As users can operate the touch panel easily and conveniently, the application of touch panels has expanded to the various fields, such as portable communication products and information products (e.g. PDA), banking/business systems, medical registry systems, factory-monitoring systems, public information-guide systems, and computer-aided instruction systems.
According to sensing methods, touch panels may be divided into capacitive types, sonic types, infrared types, resistive types, and magnetism-induction types. Among them, the capacitive types are applied to large-size touch panels. A capacitive touch panel comprises: an insulation substrate; an electrically-conductive layer, coated on the insulation substrate; and multiple electrically-conductive segments, printed on the electrically-conductive layer, and creating X-direction and Y-direction electrical fields. The contact of a finger or a pen point on a capacitive touch panel will create a capacitance change, which will further induce a current. According to the induced current, the X-coordinate and the Y-coordinate of the contact point can be calculated. Then, the instruction corresponding to the contact point is sent out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,957 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,746 disclosed a touch panel; however, the electrical-field linearity thereof is unsatisfactory. The quality of the electrical-field linearity will influence the correctness of the coordinate identification of a touch panel. To solve the abovementioned problem, a U.S. Pat. No. 6,781,579 discloses a touch panel, wherein multiple rows of electrically-conductive segments are installed, and the number of the electrically-conductive segments is uneven and inward-decreases gradually. Thereby, the electrical-field linearity becomes better, and the area occupied by the electrically-conductive segments is reduced, and the usable area of the touch panel is increased.
The charge distribution of a conductor correlates with the curvature of its surface. The larger the curvature, the higher the charge density; the smaller the curvature, the lower the charge density. The abovementioned invention may improve the electrical-field linearity. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the ends of its electrically-conductive segments are rectangular, which causes the charge distribution neighboring the segment terminals to be uneven. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4B, the configuration of the electric field lines neighboring the frame will change drastically, and the electrical-field linearity neighboring the frame becomes lower, and the usable area of the touch panel is reduced.


A lock manager running on a machine may write a first entry for a first process to a queue associated with a resource. If the first entry is not at a front of the queue, the lock manager identifies a second entry that is at the front of the queue, and determines whether a second process associated with the second entry is operational. If the second process is not operational, the lock manager removes the second entry from the queue. Additionally, if the queue becomes unavailable, the lock manager may initiate failover to a backup copy of the queue.

In distributed computing systems, it is beneficial to provide software applications with synchronized access to shared resources. To provide such synchronized access to shared resources, some distributed computing systems include a locking mechanism. However, conventional locking mechanisms typically lack fault tolerance. Accordingly, in such locking mechanisms, if a process that holds a lock to a resource crashes or if a lock order is lost, then the system may stall. One example of a distributed locking mechanism is a locking mechanism that implements the Lamport's Bakery Algorithm, which is described in "A New Solution of Dijkstra's Concurrent Programming Problem," by Leslie Lamport in Communications of the ACM, August 1974, Volume 17, Number 8, pages 453-455. However, as with other conventional locking mechanisms, the bakery algorithm lacks fault tolerance.


A catheter assembly for measuring a fluid pressure in a body cavity includes an optical converter responsive to an electrical power source for energizing a light-emitting diode which has drift characteristics which vary in response to temperature. An optical sensor is adapted to receive the light from the light-emitting diode and to provide a measurement signal indicative of the fluid pressure in the cavity. This measurement signal has undesirable characteristics related to the thermal drift characteristics of the diode. A detection circuit detects the measurement signal and provides an output signal indicative of fluid pressure in the cavity. A special filter is included in this detection circuit which has optical characteristics that substantially offset the undesirable characteristics of the measurement signal, so that the output signal is substantially independent of the temperature of the diode. A power conversion circuit enables the assembly to be energized by an excitation voltage which is provided in several different forms by various monitors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a catheter assembly for measuring fluid pressures in body cavities and more specifically to a fiber optic catheter assembly adapted for use with a variety of monitors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Systems for measuring fluid pressure in body cavities have typically included liquid filled catheters which have communicated a fluid pressure inside the body to a pressure sensor outside the body. The accuracy of this system has suffered due to variations in hydrostatic pressure and other inconsistencies associated with the fluid column.
The sensors used with these systems have typically consisted of a pressure responsive diaphragm in fluid communication, via the fluid-filled catheter, with the body cavity. Pressure induced deflections of these diaphragms are mechanically coupled to piezo-resistive strain gauges which alter their resistance in accordance with well known principals. These strain gauges are usually configured in a Wheatstone bridge arrangement. The amount of induced strain, hence applied pressure, is determined by applying an excitation voltage to the bridge and then monitoring the bridge output voltage.
Typically the sensors are provided in a device separate from the monitor or display instrument, and are connected to the monitor via an electrical cable and a connector which may be disconnected for service, patient transfer, or disposal in the case of single patient use. Patient monitors on the other hand are often permanently installed within the operating room or intensive care unit of a hospital. These monitors often include inputs for other devices such as electrocardiogram leads.
With these systems of the past, a standard has been adopted wherein the patient monitor supplies an excitation voltage to the sensor, and the sensor provides an output voltage to the monitor. In accordance with the principles under which Wheatstone bridge sensors operate, the output voltage is proportional to the excitation voltage and also proportional to the applied voltage. Over time a proportionality constant has been standardized so that five microvolts of signal per volt of excitation is equivalent to one millimeter of mercury applied pressure. Using this standard, any sensor could be readily adapted for use with any patient monitor which also adhered to this standard.
The proportionality standard enabled users to realize a significant advantage in using these systems . . . many different types of sensors and patient monitors from various manufacturers could be readily interchanged. As a consequence, systems based on this standard, have achieved almost universal acceptance despite the difficulties associated with pressure measurements through a fluid filled catheter.
The adoption of this proportionality standard admits the possibility that the excitation voltage can be of almost any magnitude and may even be time varying. Furthermore, since the technology dictates the use of piezo-resistors having a certain minimum resistance, these sensors generally consume very little power. As a result, the monitors have been freed to supply excitation power having varying voltage levels and formats, both time-varying (sinusoidal and pulsed) and time independent (DC). This enabled excitation voltages to be supplied and configured in accordance with the requirements and desires of the individual monitor manufacturers.
The Wheatstone bridge circuits also have very low power requirements. As a result, the excitation power supplies of the monitors have been designed to provide only limited amounts of power.
Recently, applicant has disclosed an optical sensor and assembly that may be placed directly within the body cavity to be monitored. This eliminates many of the deficiencies associated with using external sensors. It is now desirable to adapt this optical catheter assembly so that it too can function with substantially all of the patient monitors presently available.


An optical communication unit has a pair of cable-side communication units provided for a full duplex communication system connected to each other with a pair of optical fiber cables, has apparatus-side communication units provided for full duplex communication system directly connected to the cable-side communication units respectively each to form a closest contact state therebetween, and provides controls for a speed to double speed in full duplex system by using an infrared ray IR between the closely contacted units.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an optical communication unit according to, for instance, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-161089. The optical communication unit shown in FIG. 16 comprises a first communication unit 71 connected to a personal computer and functioning as an optical interface, and a second communication unit 81 connected to a printer and functioning as an optical interface.
These first communication unit 71 and second communication unit 81 are arbitrarily spaced therebetween according to each place where a personal computer and a printer are installed respectively, so that a distance of the space therebetween is a distance for spatial transmission of the infrared ray.
At first, the first communication unit 71 comprises a signal converting circuit 72 for converting electric signal data outputted from a personal computer to data for transmission with an infrared ray, an LED driver 73 for driving a light emitting diode (LED) 74 emitting an infrared ray, an LED 74 emitting an infrared ray, a photodiode (PD) 75 for receiving an infrared ray emitted by the LED 84 of the second communication unit 81, a detecting circuit 76 for detecting the infrared ray received by the PD 75 and obtaining data for the infrared ray, and a signal converting circuit 77 for converting the data for the infrared ray to electric signal data and transferring the electric signal data to the personal computer.
On the other hand, the second communication unit 81 comprises a signal converting circuit 82 for converting electric signal data outputted from a printer to data for transmission with an infrared ray, an LED driver 83 for driving an LED 84 emitting an infrared ray, an LED 84 emitting an infrared ray, a photodiode 85 for receiving an infrared ray emitted by the LED 74 of the first communication unit 71, a detecting circuit 86 for detecting the infrared ray received by the PD 85 and obtaining data for the infrared ray, and a signal converting circuit 87 for converting the data for the infrared ray to electric signal data and transferring the electric signal data to the printer.
Next description is made for the operations of the optical communication unit having the configuration as described above. In the optical communication unit shown in FIG. 16, when data is printed by a printer, an output signal processed by a personal computer is received by the signal converting circuit 72, and is converted to a serial signal for optical communication. When the converted serial signal is sent to the LED driver 73, the LED driver 73 blinks the LED 74 according to the converted serial signal and emits an infrared ray.
The outputted infrared ray by means of emission by the LED 74 is received by the PD 85 in the printer. The received infrared ray is further converted, when having been detected by the detecting circuit 86, to a signal for controlling the printer in the signal converting circuit 87 provided in the following stage. The signal for controlling the printer is outputted to the printer and processing for controlling the printer is started.
It should be noted that the same processing as that from the personal computer to the printer is executed also to an infrared communication from the printer to the personal computer but in the reverse order thereof.
The conventional type of optical communication unit, however, assumes spatial transmission as a communication mode, so that optical power is adjusted for a distance of spatial transmission by about 1 m. For this reason, when communication for a short distance (e.g. 0 m), namely so-called the contact communication is executed, the light in the light receiving side is much stronger than required, so that energy loss is large in the light emitting side. Further, a transmission speed of 4 Mbps is appropriate, from a view point of efficiency of using light energy, for the spatial transmission for 1 m, but the transmission speed is too slow in the contact communication even if a balance with the optical power is taken into considerations.