A router is configured for dynamically applying an address prefix value, during execution of a router command, based on retrieving the address prefix value for an address prefix identifier specified in the router command. For example, the router may generate au IP address, for use in executing a router command, based on detecting an address prefix identifier specified in the router command, retrieving a prefix value for the address prefix identifier, and adding the prefix value to an address suffix specified in the router command. Hence, the address prefix identifier in the router command enables global reconfiguration and renumbering of all commands specifying the address prefix identifier, merely by changing the prefix value associated with the address prefix identifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to managing router configurations in an Internet Protocol (IP) router. More particularly, the present invention relates to configuration and management of router parameters relying on network address prefixes as router parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Routers are processor-based devices configured for routing Network Layer level (i.e., Layer 3) packets between interfaces attached to the router. An example of a Network Layer level packet is an Internet Protocol (IP) packet. A "link" is a physical medium used to connect the interfaces. Each link needs to be numbered using a globally unique identifier, referred to as a network prefix.
The network prefix is used by the routers to identify how a packet having an IP address should be routed. In particular, each IP address (e.g., IPv4, IPv6) is composed of a network portion (i.e., the network prefix) and a host portion (i.e., a host identifier). In the case of an IPv6 address, the total address size is 128 bits and the host identifier is set at 64 bits, leaving 64 bits for the network prefix.
IP address space is hierarchically allocated: a primary authority, known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), allocates a large block of addresses (e.g., a 16-bit prefix) to a Regional Internet Registry (RIR); the RIR allocates a smaller block of addresses (e.g., a 32-bit prefix) to a local registry such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP then allocates a smaller portion of the available address space (preferably a 48-bit prefix) to its subscriber. Address prefixes use slash notation, i.e. a prefix is described as <address>/<prefix length>. Prefix length is the number of significant bits in the address counting from the left, using the address notation specified by the IETF Request for Comments (RFC) 3513, incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
As an example, the prefixes P1, P2, and P3 can be illustrated as "AAAA:BBBB:/32", "AAAA:BBBB:CCCC::/48" and "AAAA:BBBB:CCCC:DDDD::/64", respectively, where the prefix P1 is a 32-bit prefix assigned by the RIR to an ISP, the prefix P2 is a 48-bit prefix assigned by the ISP to a subscriber, and the prefix P3 is a 64-bit prefix used by the subscriber to identify a subnetwork on a prescribed link. Hence, in this example the subscriber can number 65536 links using the last sixteen (16) bits of the assigned 48-bit prefix.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network 10 having routers 12a and 12b, links 14a and 14b, and host computers 16a and 16b. The router 12a is an ISP router and is configured (by an ISP administrator) to recognize that the prefix P2 is reachable via the router 12b. The router 12b, configured by another administrator for the subscriber, advertises the network address prefix P3 to the subnetwork on the link 14b using router advertisement messages, enabling the host computers 16a and 16b to automatically configure their own respective IP addresses 18a and 18b using the network address prefix P3 and their respective local host identifiers 20a and 20b. Hence, the host computers 16a and 16b can automatically manage themselves with respect to IP address assignment.
However, the routers 12a and 12b are unable to manage their respective address assignments. In particular, the routers 12a and 12b need to be manually configured: such manual configuration is needed to identify the range of IP addresses for a given router, and to enable the routers 12a and 12b to identify the links 14a and 14b according to the prefixes P2 and P3, respectively. Routers 12a and 12b typically are managed by manual configuration using a management application that includes, for example, a web interface, an Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management application, a Command Line Interface (CLI), or the like.
This reliance on manual configuration of routers creates substantial problems in deployment of IPv6 services. In particular, the IPv6 architecture includes stateless address auto-configuration and a mechanism for the advertisement of network address prefixes to automate the renumbing of hosts. However, routers and other network elements require additional configuration changes in response to network renumbering. For example, network addresses appear throughout network element configuration files such as access lists, routing information and host virtualization in content networking products.
FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are diagrams illustrating conventional efforts in performing network renumbering in a router configuration 28a, 28b, and 28c, respectively. Assume that a network needs to be renumbered from an old network prefix (e.g., "AAAA:BBBB:CCCC::/48") to a new network prefix (e.g., "DDDD:EEEE:FFFF::/48"): the renumbering process typically will encounter the additional complication that both the old network prefix and the new network prefix may need to coexist for a period of time while the transition is completed. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the router configuration 28a includes the old network prefix 30a "hard coded" (i.e., stored as a static value) in an address table entry 32a, an access list entry 34a, and a static route configuration entry 36a. Note that the address table entry 32a includes the old network prefix 30a appended with a sixteen-bit subnet identifier having a value "0001", resulting in the 64-bit prefix "AAAA:BBBB:CCCC:1::/64"; the access list 34a includes the old network prefix 30a appended with a sixteen-bit subnet identifier having a zero value, resulting in the 64-bit prefix "AAAA:BBBB:CCCC::/64".
In order to implement the renumbering of the subnetwork to the new prefix "DDDD:EEEE:FFFF::/48" 30b, the router configuration 28a must be modified as illustrated in FIG. 2B by adding the address table entries 32b, modified entries 38, and the access list entry 34b, resulting in the configuration 28b. As shown in FIG. 2B, the address table entries 32b include the new prefix 30b, and the address table also includes modified entries 38 that specify an expiration time for the old prefix 30a. Following the expiration of the expiration time, the router can be reconfigurated to have a router configuration 28c as shown in FIG. 2C, by removing the address table entry 32a, the modified entries 38, the access list entry 34a, and replacing/modifying the static route configuration entry 36a with a new static route configuration entry 36b that specifies the new network prefix 30b.
Hence, substantial manual reconfiguration is required to transition from the router configuration 28a using the old network prefix 30a to the router configuration 28c using the new network prefix 30b.
Another problem is encountered whenever an ISP needs to provide network prefix information to a user. In particular, an ISP typically needs to manage millions of subscribers, each requiring a static network prefix; hence, the ISP needs to either preconfigure the subscriber's router, or send via mail a document to the subscriber with the network prefix information to enable the subscriber to manually configure his router. Hence, this manual configuration by a subscriber is error-prone.

Arrangement in a router for inserting address prefixes based on command line address identifiers


Provided is an electronic device including: a device main body that processes data; a display device arranged in the device main body to display the data; a first operation device arranged in the device main body on a display surface side of the display device within a movable range of fingers of a hand for holding the device main body; a second operation device arranged in the device main body on an opposite side of the display surface within the movable range of the fingers of the hand for holding the device main body; and a control circuit that causes, only when one of the first operation device and the second operation device is being operated, the other to function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing device, a data processing method, and an electronic device. In particular, the invention relates to a data processing device, a data processing method, and an electronic device, such as an electronic book.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recent progress in information technology (IT) has provided a display device such as a high-performance display, and with popularization of Internet, a technology for distributing a large volume of data has been proposed. Among recent electronic devices in widespread use, for example, there is an electronic book proposed to display data of a book, a magazine, a newspaper, or the like that has been provided as a printed matter (refer to JP 2004-145553 A).
Another proposed one of the electronic devices has been a computer input device in which operation keys for performing shift operations and a display device are arranged on a front side of a device main body, and input keys for inputting symbols such as characters or numerals are arranged on a backside of the device main body (refer to paragraph numbers "0022" to "0024" and FIGS. 5 and 6 of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. H08-001670). Yet another proposed one of the electronic devices has been a portable terminal device in which a display device and operation keys are arranged on a front side of a device main body and an operation pad is arranged on a backside of the device main body (refer to paragraph numbers "0014" and "0017" and FIG. 1 of JP 2002-006988 A).
In the computer input device of the Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. H08-001670, the plurality of input keys are arranged on the backside of the device main body. Thus, for example, there is a fear that input keys will be erroneously operated to input wrong characters. In the portable terminal device of JP 2002-006988 A, if certain processing such as magnification or reduction of a display screen can be carried out only by operating the operation pad arranged on the backside of the device main body, there is a fear that the display screen will be magnified or reduced by an erroneous operation of the operation pad.
Furthermore, in the electronic device such as the electronic book of the JP 2004-145553 A, a device main body must be held by hand for a long time in the case of reading a novel. Thus, when an operation device or the like is arranged on a front or backside of the electronic book, as described above, a fear of erroneously operating input keys or an operation pad arranged on the front side or backside of the electronic book will increase.

Data processing device, data processing method, and electronic device


A method for adjusting the amount of doped nitride ions in a dielectric layer so that the nitride ions form bonds with silicon to increase the quality of an oxide layer. The method comprises the step of providing a silicon substrate. Next, a rapid thermal oxidation or furnace oxidation method is used to form an oxide layer over the silicon substrate. Gaseous mixtures having different ratios of nitrogen monoxide, nitrous oxide or ammonia to oxygen are concocted and then allowed to react at different reacting temperatures for controlling the nitride concentration level in the oxide layer. The nitride-doped oxide layer not only can stop the penetration of boron ions, but can also provide a stabilizing effect on the oxide layer/silicon substrate interface without degradation of electrical property, thereby improving the quality of a transistor.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for integrated circuit dielectric layer. More particularly, the present invention relates to the manufacturing of a nitride-doped dielectric layer in integrated circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Following the trend in device miniaturization, thinner and thinner films are now employed in the production of CMOS. One consequent of this is the increase in electric field strength in a gate dielectric layer. Hence, quality of the gate dielectric layer is of growing importance. When boron ions are implanted into a polysilicon gate electrode to form a P.sup.+ doped layer, some of the boron ions will penetrate through the polysilicon gate electrode causing a breakdown of the dielectric layer. As soon as this happens, the boron ions will penetrate through the dielectric layer and end up in the silicon substrate, thereby affecting the quality of the transistor. The situation is bound to get worse because thinner and thinner films are now being designed as a result of device miniaturization. In general, doping nitrogen oxides material into a gate oxide layer is able to increase the quality of the gate oxide layer and prevent boron ions penetrating through the gate oxide layer into the silicon substrate. In addition, the presence of nitride ion in the gate oxide layer is also capable of containing a flatband voltage shift. The most commonly used method for nitrogen oxides doping is to pass a gaseous mixture having a definite ratio of nitrogen monoxide (NO) or nitrous oxide (N.sub.2 O) or ammonia (NH.sub.3) to oxygen into a furnace, and then doping in a furnace using a furnace oxidation method or a rapid thermal process (RTP). However, it is very difficult to obtain a quality nitrogen oxides doping using a conventional production technique.
FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view showing a transistor undergoing a normal boron implant operation. As shown in FIG. 1a, a silicon substrate 100 is provided. The silicon substrate 100 has a pair of source/drain regions 102 and 104, and a gate oxide layer 106a above the substrate 100 located between the source/drain regions. Furthermore, there is a gate electrode 108 above the gate oxide layer 106a. As seen from FIG. 1a, when the gate electrode 108 undergoes a boron penetration implant, quality of the gate oxide layer 106a is of great importance. This is because whether or not the boron ions will end up in the substrate 100 and affect the quality of the transistor depends very much on the ability of boron ions to pass through the gate oxide layer 106a.
FIG. 1b is a cross-sectional view showing the gate terminal of a transistor undergoing a boron implant operation according to a method proposed by E. Hasegawa et al. In an IEEE article published in 1995 with the title "The Impact of Nitrogen Profile Engineering on Ultra-Thin Nitrided Oxide Films for Dual-Gate CMOS ULSI", E. Hasegawa et al has proposed a method for producing a nitride-doped gate oxide layer. First, a substrate 100 is provided. Next, a rapid thermal oxidation is conducted at a temperature of about 700.degree. C. to 1050.degree. C. in an atmosphere of ammonia. Then, a rapid thermal oxidation is again conducted at a temperature of about 950.degree. C. to 1150.degree. C. in an atmosphere of dry oxygen to form a gate oxide layer 106b. A curve a showing the concentration gradient of doped nitride ions is drawn in FIG. 1b. In curve a, concentration of nitride ions is the highest near the oxide layer/gate electrode interface. Thereafter, a gate electrode 108 is formed over the gate oxide layer 106b. Subsequently, conventional techniques are used to form the final transistor structure. According to the above article, the gate oxide layer 106b formed by the proposed method is able to prevent implanted boron ions from diffusing into the dielectric layer finally ending up in the silicon substrate. Moreover, the presence of the charge-carrying ions in the gate oxide layer 106b can provide three-fold increase in the charge-to-breakdown (Qbd) value of the dielectric layer. However, the above method will result in a rather unstable interface between the gate oxide layer and the silicon substrate.
FIG. 1c is a cross-sectional view showing the gate terminal of a transistor undergoing a boron implant operation according to a method proposed by L. K. Han et al. Because a structural transition layer (STL) between an oxide layer and silicon substrate is becoming more unstable as the oxide layer gets thinner, increasing nitride ions in the oxide layer is able to stabilize the structural transition layer. In an IEEE article published in 1994 with the title "Polarity Dependence of Dielectric Breakdown in Scaled SiO.sub.2," by L. K. Han, a method of improving the situation is proposed. First, a silicon substrate 100 is provided. Next, a rapid thermal oxidation is performed at a temperature of about 1050.degree. C. in the presence of pure nitrous oxide. At the same time, a furnace oxidation in the presence of dry oxygen is also performed at a temperature of about 850.degree. C. to form a gate oxide layer 106c. As shown in FIG. 1c, a curve b showing the concentration gradient of doped nitride ions inside the gate oxide layer 106c and the substrate 100 is drawn. As shown in curve b, concentration of nitride ions is the highest near the oxide layer/silicon substrate interface, therefore, the structural transition layer there can be stabilized. Thereafter, a gate electrode 108 is formed over the gate oxide layer 106c. Subsequently, conventional techniques are used to form the final transistor structure.
FIG. 1d is a cross-sectional view showing the gate terminal of a transistor undergoing a boron implant operation according to a method proposed by H. S. Momose et al. In an IEEE article published in 1994 with the title "Electrical Characteristics of Rapid Thermal Nitrided-Oxide Gate n- and p-MOSFET's with Less Than 1 Atom % Nitrogen Concentration", H. S. Momose et al has discovered a similar result as L. K. Han, and proposed that a nitride concentration of about 0.5% at the oxide layer/silicon substrate interface is optimal for the electrical property and quality of the gate oxide/silicon interface. As shown in FIG. 1d, the method is to provide a silicon substrate 100, then a rapid thermal oxidation is performed at a temperature of about 800.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C. in the presence of ammonia and using hydrochloric acid for gate oxidation. Thereafter, a rapid thermal oxidation is again performed at about 800.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C. in the presence of oxygen. Finally, a rapid thermal oxidation is performed at a temperature of about 800.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C. in the presence of ammonia to form an oxide layer 106d. As shown in FIG. 1d, a curve c showing the concentration gradient of doped nitride ions inside the gate oxide layer 106d and the substrate 100 is drawn. As shown in curve c, concentration of nitride ions is the highest at about 0.5% near the oxide layer/silicon substrate interface. Thereafter, a gate electrode 108 is formed over the gate oxide layer 106d. Subsequently, conventional techniques are used to form the final transistor structure.
The conventional method of heavily doping nitride ions in region between the polysilicon layer and the oxide layer as proposed by E. Hasegawa is only able to block the penetration of boron ions into the silicon substrate. With regard to the silicon substrate/oxide layer interface, this method does not offer much assistance. On the other hand, the method proposed by L. K. Han is used to deposit high concentration of nitride ions in the transition layer between the oxide layer and the silicon substrate, only the oxide layer/silicon substrate interface will be stabilized and will degrade electrical property with higher nitrogen concentration. There will be little effect on the problem of boron penetration. The method of doping nitride ions up to 0.5% at the oxide/substrate interface adopted by H. S. Momose also faces the problem of boron penetration.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need to provide an improved method of forming a gate oxide layer.

Manufacturing method for integrated circuit dielectric layer


A method for host-side data classification according to embodiments, includes: writing a data sector directly from a host to a storage device; storing the data sector in the storage device; sending a write completion acknowledgement from the storage device to the host; in the background: classifying the data sector on the host to estimate an expected lifetime of the data sector; assigning a data type index to the data sector based on the expected lifetime of the data sector; and asynchronously sending the data type index for the data sector from the host to the storage device.

Modern solid-state data storage devices, e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs), are built upon NAND flash memory chips. NAND flash memory cells are organized in an array→block→page hierarchy: one NAND flash memory array is partitioned into a large number (e.g., a few thousands) of blocks, and each block contains a number (e.g., a few hundreds) of pages. NAND flash memory cells must be erased prior to writing data to the memory cells. All the NAND flash memory cells within the same block must be erased at the same time. Data are written/read in the unit of a page.
SSDs expose storage space in an array of logical block addresses (LBAs), and a host (e.g., a host computing system) can access SSDs (i.e., read and write data) through the LBAs. Because NAND flash memory does not support in-place data updates, subsequent data being written to the same LBA will be internally written to different physical storage locations in the SSDs. As a result, physical storage space in SSDs will gradually become more and more fragmented, requiring the SSDs to periodically carry out an internal garbage collection (GC) operation to reclaim stale physical storage space and reduce fragmentation. However, the GC operation will cause extra data write operations, which is referred to as write amplification. Larger write amplification will cause more degradation of SSD speed performance (i.e., throughput and latency) and endurance.

Solid-state storage device speed performance and endurance through host-side data classification and embedded write caching


A portable carrier includes a base housing and a cover member secured to the base housing. The base housing is provided with an internal cavity defined by a bottom wall and an enclosing wall extending substantially upwardly from the bottom wall. The cover member is adapted for selectively reconfiguring the portable carrier between a first, closed position preventing access to the internal cavity and a second, open position providing access to the internal cavity. The cover member is dimensioned to closely conform an outer peripheral surface of the base housing so that in the second position the cover member is nested under the base housing over and around the outer peripheral surface thereof. The portable carrier further includes a child-resistant locking device provided for preventing the portable carrier from being open.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable carriers and methods related thereto. More particularly the present invention relates to a portable carrier having a rigid base housing and a cover member, dimensioned to closely conform to an outer peripheral surface of the base that can be used for storing and transporting liquid or chemical supplies safely and conveniently.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, cleaning supplies such as detergents, upholstery cleaners, glass cleaners, paper towels, and the like are commonly used in domestic and institutional cleaning operations, as well as other settings such as the cleaning of cars, trucks, boats, and recreational vehicles. It is quite common for households and businesses to purchase and store a large number of all types of liquids or powdered household chemical cleansers. Various commercial chemical products are used to clean surfaces, mirrors, countertops, toilet bowls, urinals, furniture, appliances, and other structures. In most cases, the consumer will simply store these products in places which are readily accessible to small children, such as unlocked cabinets, counters and the like. Liquids or powdered chemical cleaners pose a potentially serious poison hazard to an unwary child who cannot comprehend the potential danger in ingesting these harmful products.
It is necessary to carry the cleaning supplies around the building, house or to the vehicle to be cleaned. This is particularly true in institutional or commercial cleaning operations. Cleaning supplies are commonly carried in a piecemeal fashion around a building, house or from a common storage location, such as a storage closet or beneath a kitchen sink. This typically involves several trips and is a considerable inconvenience to the user of the cleaning supplies. Also, it is often the case that the cleaning supplies are not stored within a common location, thereby necessitating that the user locate individual cleaning supplies prior to carrying the cleaning supplies to the appliance or room to be cleaned. In addition, paper towels must be located and carried separately during the cleaning operation. Therefore, merely obtaining the necessary supplies can be a time-consuming and bothersome task. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a single device for transporting and storing cleaning chemical products and other cleaning supplies, such as paper towels.
The prior art portable caddies are useful to some degree for their stated purposes and include means for transporting various cleaning supplies. However, although the prior art has recognized to a limited extent the problems of transporting and storing cleaning supplies, the proposed solutions have to date been ineffective in providing a satisfactory remedy, especially making the harmful cleaning chemicals inaccessible to children.


A burst mode CDR detects an edge from a data signal superimposed with a clock, and generates a recovered clock by means of a voltage controlled oscillator whose oscillation operation is reset based on a timing when the edge is detected. A phase adjustment unit adjusts the phase of a data signal so as to coincide with the phase of a recovered clock. A PLL-based CDR adjusts the oscillation frequency of the recovered clock by means of the voltage controlled oscillator, based on a phase difference between a data signal whose phase has been adjusted by the phase adjustment unit and a feedback clock from the voltage controlled oscillator. A determination unit determines the value of the data signal at a timing when the signal level of the recovered clock transitions.

As the performance of information processing apparatuses, such as apparatuses and servers for the communication infrastructure, improves, the data rate of signal transmission/reception inside and outside the apparatuses increases.
As a reception circuit, there is known a reception circuit having a function (CDR: Clock and Data Recovery) to receive a data signal superimposed with a clock, determine the data signal at an appropriate timing, and recover data and the clock.
Because the clock is not yet recovered immediately at start data signal input, the reception circuit may not determine the data at an appropriate timing and thus will generate an error in output data. A time period from the start of data signal input until the output data has no error is called a look time of the CDR. As the performance of the CDR, the shorter the lock time, the more preferable the lock time is. In applications that perform burst transmission, it is particularly important to shorten the lock time.
The examples of the CDR include a burst mode CDR and a PLL (Phase Locked Loop)-based CDR.
The burst mode CDR, upon detection of an edge from a data signal, resets an oscillation of a VCO (Voltage Controller Oscillator) so as to cause the phase of a clock (recovered clock) output from the VCO to coincide with the phase of the data signal (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-85142). In the burst mode CDR, because the recovered clock will synchronize with the data signal immediately after an edge of the data signal is detected, the lock time is short. However, in the burst mode CDR, the jitter of the data signal is applied to the recovered clock. In the burst mode CDR, because there is no correlation between the jitter of the data signal and the jitter of the recovered clock (asynchronous jitter), the effect of the jitter is large and the characteristics of the burst mode CDR will degrade.
On the other hand, the PLL-based CDR detects a phase difference between a data signal and a recovered clock and varies the oscillation frequency of a VCO in response to the phase difference, thereby causing the phase of the recovered clock to coincide with the phase of the data signal (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 03-62730). The PLL-based CDR includes a loop filter for suppressing high frequency noise, and thus has few problems of jitter unlike the burst mode CDR. However, in the PLL-based CDR, frequency synchronization between a data signal that is input during an initial operation and a recovered clock takes a relatively long time, a tracking error is generated, and the lock time is increased.
If the CDR is simply switched to the PLL-based CDR after an initial operation in the burst mode CDR, in order to shorten the lock time while suppressing the effect of the jitter, then the phase of a clock shifts during the transition, a tracking error is generated, and frequency synchronization may not be established.

Reception circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit


Aircraft stringers having carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) material reinforced flanges are disclosed. An example stringer to be coupled to a skin of an aircraft comprises a flange. The flange includes a first portion of a first stiffening segment. The flange further includes a first portion of a second stiffening segment coupled to the first portion of the first stiffening segment. The flange further includes a CFRP reinforcement segment coupled to the first portion of the first stiffening segment and to the first portion of the second stiffening segment. The CFRP reinforcement segment strengthens the first portion of the first stiffening segment and the first portion of the second stiffening segment.

Fuselages and wings of aircraft can include structural stiffeners, such as stringers, to help the fuselage and wings maintain their shape under various stress and strain conditions. The size, shape, and/or configuration of a stringer can impact one or more performance attribute(s) associated with the stringer. For example, the size, shape, and/or configuration of a stringer coupled to a composite structure of an aircraft such as a skin of a fuselage or wing can affect the impact strength, the crippling strength, and/or the buckling strength associated with the stringer. The size, shape, and/or configuration of the stringer can also affect the potential for thermal cracking and/or wrinkle formation within the stringer.

Aircraft stringers having CFRP material reinforced flanges


A plurality of test points are located at predetermined circuit nodes in a processing system. Test code which includes a set of software-controllable interrupts is executed using a multiple input shift register (MISR) to generate a MISR signature. One or more selected software-controllable interrupt types are determined. During execution of the test code, the MISR is used to also accumulate data values from the plurality of test points during exception processing of one or more of the software-controllable interrupts within the set of software-controllable interrupts which are of the one or more selected software-controllable interrupt types to generate the MISR signature. A test control register has a plurality of fields, each for selecting or not selecting a corresponding software-controllable interrupt type.

Testing of data processing systems is important to ensure proper operation. Testing may be performed in a factory following manufacture and prior to using the data processing system in a user application. The factory testing ensures an end user receives a properly functioning product. However, during operation of the data processing system by an end user, it may also be desirable to test the data processing system so that any failures which occur during normal operation of the product can be detected.
Currently, to provide a low cost method of real-time testing of the integrity of a data processor, while maintaining reasonable interrupt latency, on-line testing is performed by sampling a collected set of test points within a data processor and accumulating the sampled signals into one or more compressed results via accumulating the sample signals into one or more compressed results via MISRs. A well known technique to permit integrated circuits to be tested during operation is the use of logic testing registers, called Multiple Input Shift Registers (MISRs). Multiple input shift registers implement any of a variety of polynomials by receiving data from various internal nodes of the integrated circuit and performing signature compression and accumulation. The signature compression and accumulation is a series of logic operations which result in a single output value known as a signature value. The signature value is compared with a desired value to determine whether the integrated circuit being tested is functioning correctly. In order to reduce interrupt latency, processors may be designed such that interrupts may be injected into the pipeline, causing the results of uncompleted instructions to be discarded without compression and accumulation. The results are discarded because if the discarded results were  otherwise accumulated into a compressed signature, a faulty signature value would result.
Since the testing of the integrated circuit is performed on-line or while the integrated circuit is functioning in a real-world application, it is highly desirable to have minimal impact or intrusiveness on system characteristics. A critical component of real-time systems is the interrupt latency or the amount of time required to respond to an interrupt request. Since on-line testing must not adversely affect the responsiveness of a data processing system, known systems typically completely disable the interrupt exception handling of a data processor when testing with a MISR is performed. As a result, known data processing systems also typically strictly limit the length of MISR test sequences.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

Selective MISR data accumulation during exception processing


A scientific information management system is provided. It comprises a server, and at least one content server connected to the registration server to provide networking services to a plurality of users through a network, said at least one content server comprising data comprising scientific information of experimental research projects, wherein said system comprises: —a plurality of user interfaces, at least one of them comprising means for submitting data comprising first scientific information together with a status identifying the degree of accomplishment of said project; —a data processor connected to said plurality of user interfaces, said data processor being capable of processing said data retrieved from said at least one content server to generate at least one representation of the relative position of said first scientific information compared to others scientific information and the status of said first scientific information and display said representation on the user interface.

Experimental research projects are defined by one or several experiments which have to involve one to many time-related measurements in order to yield a consistent set of results, for instance by mere repetition, with or without changing one or several parameters or with different measurement instruments available.
It is customary to compare these experiments with set of experiments from several scientists and/or scientific institutions elaborated towards a similar goal.
Review of these set of experiments from several scientists, or related application reference material is necessary to validate or optimize and settle a definite norm and/or model and/or design from an experimental research project.
However, it is a time consuming step in the experimental research project process.
Consequently, scientists and scientific institutions have developed computer based systems and methods which provide capabilities for accessing a variety of research databases, each of which containing a wide range of information sources, such as scientific publications.
For example, the database may be a database storing the papers published in a Journal, in free or pay access.
With these types of databases, a scientist looking for specific information has to select a Journal for finding the relevant information. It may be sufficient when the information he wants is specific to one field of research. But, it is not always the case.
For example, when a researcher is looking for a solution to a specific problem, similar problems may have found a solution in other fields of research.
One understands that this type of databases gives few chances to access to this information.
Moreover, many fields of research nowadays combine several disciplines.
So, recently, diverse online databases have emerged to disseminate scientific information non-limited to a specific field of research.
Generally, the content of these databases is limited to information ever published such as papers, conferences, thesis and so on.
These types of databases may be in a restricted access, for example when they depend of a research organism, or in open access to any person. For example, we can cite the open archive known to HAL meaning Hyper Articles in Line or the open archive known to arXchive.
With these databases, a user has to enter keywords to find relevant information. These keywords are not inherently limited to a field of research so that the database may return more information than when its content is limited to a Journal.
However, there are a number of drawbacks to these online databases. While these databases serve well in their role as a search engine, they lack many other desirable functions.
For instance, the ability to determine the importance of a particular paper based upon its comparison with the user's project is absent from the current databases.
This creates difficulty in determining which papers not to read and which should receive high priority. The time estimated to read all the published literature in the given field of the user's project is too long.
Moreover, in this explosion of number and divergence of research fields, each field tends to generate its own appropriate terms and then languages.
This highlights some misunderstanding between researchers that makes complex any link between researchers of different fields and tend to their divergence.
Moreover, the industry, but also researchers, based only on published results may have sometimes difficulties to anticipate, sufficiently cadrable, future scientific and technological yet probable.
As the amount of scientific information disseminated grows, scientists need fast and efficient tools to quickly assimilate new information, integrate it with pre-existing information, and judge the relevance of said information relative to their own project.
Scientists also need tools to easily share information about current research. For example, in current computer-based systems or methods, the ability to analyze and discuss about the issues encountered in the formulation of an experimental protocol, the design of the experimental set-up or the relevance of experimental results with other researchers is absent.

Scientific information management method


Provided is a method for implementing skewing in a hybrid homopolar generator comprising. The method includes aligning inductor poles within an axial front segment of a rotor, with corresponding magnets within an axial back segment of the rotor. The method also includes moving, during assembly, the axial front segment and the axial back segment relative to each other such that inductor poles in the axial front segment and the axial back segment form a pattern.

HHP electrical machines, are adaptable for use in avionics generally, and aircraft engines in particular. These generators, which represent an integration of traditional electrical power generation techniques, are typically lighter and more efficient than conventional generators, thus making them suitable for use in the avionics industry.
A HHP generator is an embellishment of a type of machine referred to in the art as a homopolar inductor alternator. In homopolar inductor alternators, a direct current (DC) excitation field coil and alternating current (AC) armature coils are situated in the stator. The armature coils must be linked with alternating flux, obtained by magnetic reluctance variations embodied in the rotor structure.
As a practical matter, a typical HHP stator assembly includes two (split) stator halves aligned axially, corresponding to respective axially aligned rotor sections. The unidirectional field coil is situated between the two stator halves. The reluctance variations embodied in the rotor act upon the unidirectional flux produced by the field coil to produce an alternating flux seen by the armature coils. As understood in the art, the term hybrid implies inclusion of magnets in the rotor. The nature of the magnet approach will also produce an alternating flux seen by the armature coils.
A major challenge of conventional HHP generators is stator tooth flux ripple: an effect causing armature voltage variations that interact with the armature load, the armature winding, and with the rotor. One consequence of this interaction is a creation of flux harmonic losses on the rotor, in particular on the rotor sleeve. These harmonic losses can impose a pulsating force on the rotor, causing the rotor to overheat. These losses are described in greater detail below in terms of ideal voltage and torque waveforms.
Rotor loss reduction, in pursuit of an ideal voltage waveform, and slot-order space harmonic reduction, to achieve an ideal torque waveform, are major technical challenges associated with the design and manufacture of HHP electric machines. The effects of rotor losses and slot-order space harmonics can significantly complicate the HHP electric machine design, resulting in more expensive and more complicated stator stacks, or the need of additional filter elements.
For example, the split stator design of the HHP electric machine, noted above, typically has the two stator halves aligned axially. Rotationally offsetting the two stator halves by one half of a stator slot pitch will decouple the stator slot-order harmonic flux. This approach, however, will still impart a dynamic axial load at the slot-order frequency, in addition to compounding the difficulty of the insertion of the armature winding.

Skewed rotor designs for hybrid homopolar electrical machines


A gas injecting gadget or wafer-mounting susceptor, made of a chemical composition comprising 59.8-69.8% by weight of nickel, 25-35% by weight of copper, a valance weight of aluminum, cobalt, manganese, titanium or the combinations thereof, and E trace amount of inevitable impurities, is produced by a method comprising the steps of: a rough cutting process in which the substance is roughly cut and surface-processed; a precise cutting process in which the roughly processed substance is precisely processed in three stages comprising rough process, finishing process and shaping process; a holing process in which a number of fine holes are formed on the precisely processed substance by a drilling process and chips are removed by a reaming process; an abrasion process in which the substance with holes are abraded by a wet abrading process and a belt polishing process; and a washing and inspecting process. The substance, superior in corrosion and abrasion resistance, along with the method, gives the gas injecting gadget an improved hardness and an extended life.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gas injecting gadgets for producing DRAM semiconductor devices and to a chemical composition therefor. More particularly, the present invention relates to gas injecting gadgets for semiconductor production facilities, endurable to the inferior conditions within the facilities, such as high frequency in high electric field and noxious gas, whereby the production yield of semiconductor memory devices can be improved, and to a chemical composition therefor. Also, the present invention is concerned with a method for producing the gadgets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To produce a semiconductor device, various techniques and processes have been developed and are now usefully applied. For operating such processes, several or many apparatuses or equipments are necessary. For example, a wafer etching process for DRAM semiconductor device requires essential gas injecting gadgets, such as a cathode, a gas distribution plate (GDP) and a uni-lid GDP. Besides, in manufacturing a DRAM semiconductor device, a shower head, a kind of a gas injecting gadget, is used for a chemical vapor deposition process and a wafer-mounting susceptor is also employed.
The above-illustrated apparatuses play pivotal roles in fabricating the memory DRAM and in determining its data. Until recent, they have been made mainly of aluminum. A typically used aluminum is 6061-T6, which shows a tensile strength of 30 kg/mm.sup.2, an yield strength of 25 kg/mm.sup.2, a draw ratio of 10%, a melting point of 582-652.degree. C. and a hardness of 25-40 Hv. Besides such aluminum, other metals, such as iron, silica, copper, manganese, magnesium, chrome and titanium, are added at trace amounts for manufacturing a gas injecting gadget useful for semiconductor production facilities and a susceptor to be amounted on a wafer.
These conventional gas infecting gadget and susceptor, which are made mainly of such aluminum as has the above physical properties, however, has a significant disadvantage of being susceptible to the high frequency resulting from the strong electric field present in semiconductor production facilities and to noxious gas such as chlorine (Cl.sub.2), hydrogen bromide (HBr) and trifluoronitrogen (NF.sub.3). A certain time after the gadget and the susceptor work in the production facilities, they become to corrode or show deteriorated mechanical properties, being unable to exhibit perfect functions.
Conventionally, to solve this problem, an aluminum material is subjected to precise surface processing and the refined surface is coated with an oxide film, thereby conferring durability to the aluminum for a certain period. That is, the aluminum is reacted with oxygen by carrying out electrolysis in a 7-10% sulfuric acid solution, to form a strong oxide film consisting of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 at the aluminum's surface. The oxide film serves to protect the aluminum, constituting the gas injecting gadget and the susceptor, from the bad conditions in the semiconductor production facilities, so as to improve the durability of the gadget and the susceptor. During the oxidation reaction, the number of the aluminum oxide coating increases exponentially. After completion of the reaction, there are a large number of pores in the coating and a barrier layer 2-3 .mu.m thick at the aluminum surface. Indeed, it is the barrier layer which protects the aluminum surface. This protecting layer may be reinforced by sealing the pores, that is, filling the pores with nickel salts or other corrosion-resistant or abrasion-resistant materials.
Such aluminum-based materials are molded and processed into the gas injecting gadgets which are durable to the extremely severe conditions within semiconductor production facilities, conventionally by the following method.
First, for example, 6061 aluminum raw material is subjected to an annealing process, then, to a rough cutting process and finally, a precise cutting process, to give a basic shape of the desired gas injecting gadget. Subsequently, a Jet, the core part of the gas injecting gadget, is formed. For this, more than 1,000 holes with a diameter of 1 mm are formed on the aluminum by using a drill after which the aluminum is abraded with a non-ionic material to remove the impurities present on the surface of the aluminum material. The aluminum material thus ready is provided with an oxide coating at its surface by the oxidative reaction which results from the electrolysis of a sulfuric acid solution. After the pores occurring the coating are sealed with nickel salt and the like, a precise cutting process is carried out again, to produce a whole gas injecting be gadget.
To produce a gas injecting gadget with such conventional materials in the above-mentioned method is easy. However, the gas injecting gadget obtained is inferior in corrosion resistance to such gas as fluorine (F.sub.2) or chlorine (Cl.sub.2) as well as in durability to such physical condition as high frequency. Since the surface states of the gas injecting gadget, for instance, hardness, gloss, crack, chromaticity and roughness, are greatly affected by the conditions upon the surface treatment for forming the oxide coating, such as current, voltage, density, composition of chemical solution and temperature, the conditions should be maintained properly. After the surface treatment, the gas injecting gadget is available only for a short time, for instance, 30-90 hours when being mounted in semiconductor production facilities. Especially, hazardous gas penetrates into the barrier layer of the oxide coating and finally damages the whole coating. As a result, the oxide coating breaks down into pieces which, then, fall down on a wafer, resulting in a significant decrease in wafer quality. In addition, as the chemical reactions produced by the reaction between the gas within the facilities and the coating accumulate inside several thousands fine gas injecting holes, each with a diameter of 1 mm, they are considerably reduced in diameter, lowering the amount of gas injected. Thus, there is difficulty in data control that the gas amount to be introduced into the gas injecting gadget should be controlled again in order to constantly maintain the gas amount to be injected upon a wafer.

Gas injecting gadget for semiconductor production facilities and wafer-mounting susceptor, production method thereof and chemical composition therefor

115-105, Woosung 7-cha, Apartment ilwon-Dong, Kangnam-Ku


A sheath is provided with necessary conditions where inner and outer surfaces thereof are both formed in an uneven helical shape, where the outer surface of a trough is almost flat, where a width W of the trough between inflection points of a curve along the inner surface of the trough and a width w of a top between inflection points of a curve along the top satisfy the relation of W>w, where a thickness T of the trough and a thickness t of the top satisfy the relation of T>t, where a projection of the inner surface of the trough is formed in a gentle arc compared to a recess of the inner surface of the top, and where an inner perimeter of the recess of the inner surface projects circumferentially outward more than an outer-perimeter of the outer surface of the trough. The sheath is entirely formed of polyolefin resin material.

The present invention relates to a protective sheath which houses a prestressed concrete (hereinafter "PC") cable such as PC steel wire, PC twisted steel wire or PC steel rod that is used as tension wire in post-tension techniques or pretension techniques during construction of prestressed concrete structures, and which protects the PC cable by preventing it from coming into direct contact with the concrete.
Conventionally, as means for rust-proofing and preventing deterioration of the PC cables used in the construction of this kind of prestressed concrete structure, a steel sheath is generally used so that the PC cable does not come into direct contact with the concrete. On the other hand, instead of this steel sheath, the use of a synthetic resin sheath has begun to be proposed.
With regard to the former steel sheath which has been generally used heretofore, there is a type in which annular irregularities are formed in the sheath (node application) and a type in which helical irregularities are formed (wave application). In both the types, the entire pipe wall is of uniform thickness. With regard to the latter synthetic resin sheath currently being proposed, its form is the same as that of the steel sheath, its wall thickness is entirely uniform, and its uneven wave shape is formed in simple arc-shaped waves (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. Hei 6-21953).
With respect to the steel sheath, since it comes into direct contact with the concrete, it tends to be corroded by salinity contained in or adhering to sands (fine aggregate) contained in the concrete. In particular, there is a problem that rust and deterioration tend to occur due to acid rain which penetrates through minute cracks in the concrete. Moreover, salt damage tends to occur in structures located in the sea, on the sea, or within 100 m of the coastline, and salt damage countermeasures have become a major issue. On the other hand, with respect to the synthetic resin sheath, there is a problem that countermeasures must be developed for the low compression deformation resistance in the circumferential and axial directions, and low abrasion resistance, which are characteristics of synthetic resin.

PC cable protective sheath for prestressed concrete


A protective D-ring cover for a seat belt anchor for use in the passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle, the seat belt anchor including an anchor bolt secured to an upper portion of a structural pillar on a lateral side of the passenger compartment and a D-ring seat belt support carried by the anchor bolt as part of a three-point attachment to the body structure of the vehicle passenger compartment, the cover including a housing, first and second concentric structural circular ribs within the housing, a first pair of radial ribs between the circular ribs and a second pair of radial ribs between the outermost circular rib and the housing, the ribs being strategically located to absorb high energy impact forces that are offset relative to the anchor bolt.

Active restraint systems for automobile vehicle passengers include three-point seat belt restraints that are integrated with each vehicle passenger seat. One end of the seat belt typically is fastened to a side pillar anchor point on one side of the passenger compartment by means of a belt retraction assembly. The other end of the seat belt typically is secured fast to the vehicle body structure by a permanent anchor bolt. The intermediate portion of the seat belt is trained through a D-ring, which in turn is secured typically to an upper portion of the structural side pillar of the automotive vehicle body. The intermediate portion is adapted to be buckled to a third anchor member on the floor pan of the passenger compartment. This permits the seat belt to be trained over the front torso of a belted passenger as well as over the pelvic region. Examples of such three-point type seat belt restraint systems can be seen by referring to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,645,232, 4,955,639 and 5,529,344. These patents are representative of the existing state of the art.
A three-point seat belt anchorage of this kind makes it necessary for an anchor bolt for the D-ring, through which the seat belt is trained, to be located at an upper location on the structural side pillar of the automotive body in rather close proximity to the head of a belted passenger. Because of this three-point seat belt restraint geometry, it is beneficial to provide enhanced protection for the vehicle occupant against head injuries caused by high-energy impact forces to which the vehicle body may be subjected during accidents on the roadway.
It is known design practice to provide for energy absorption of impact forces that might be applied to the seat belt anchorage at the upper portion of the structural side pillar of an automotive vehicle passenger compartment when the impact force is in the direction of the axis of the anchor bolt for the seat belt D-ring. An example of such an energy-absorbing device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,344 where a metallic bellows is situated between the seat belt D-ring and a structural side member of the vehicle body. When an axial load is applied to the seat belt anchor, the metallic bellows will be crushed, thereby absorbing the kinetic energy of the impact force applied to the head of the bolt.
It is known design practice also to provide a protective cover for an anchor bolt at the upper portion of the structural pillar of an automotive vehicle body wherein the protective cover includes a deformable metal clip having a "W" shaped cross-section. The clip is engageable with the head of the anchor bolt. An impact force applied in the direction of the axis of the bolt will deform the clip, thus reducing the peak impact force applied to the anchor bolt.

Seat belt anchor device for an automobile


The purpose of the present invention is to provide homogeneous plasma in longitudinal direction of a plasma processing apparatus applicable to multiple processes. A microwave waveguide 10 with a plurality of variable couplers 12 is placed in a vacuum chamber 21. The microwave generated in a microwave generator 23 is introduced into the microwave waveguide 10 via a waveguide 24. And a plasma 22 in the chamber 21 is generated by the microwave 25. Intensity distribution of the microwave 25 in the microwave waveguide 10 can be varied by moving a plurality of variable couplers 12 individually upward or downward as shown by two-way arrow.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for generating homogeneous plasma over a wide area through the control of microwaves by using a variable coupler.
2. Background Art
In the semiconductor manufacturing process, various types of plasma processing are performed by use of a plasma processing apparatus using microwave. These processes include thin film formation by plasma chemical vapor deposition, plasma dry etching, etc. To unify and homogenize such plasma processing, microwave is controlled.
The Patent Document 1 describes a microwave processing apparatus, in which microwave generated from a magnetron is introduced into a vacuum process chamber via an isolator, a directional coupler and an impedance control system. In this microwave processing apparatus, length of microwave propagation route from the magnetron to the vacuum processing chamber is adjusted to achieve impedance matching or impedance.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-1997-64611


An electrostatic-shutter image tube (10) has a shutter electrode (17) disposed between an electron source (12) and a focusing and accelerating electrode (13). An electron flow is propagated through a network of equipotential lines to form an image on a target (14). The shutter electrode (17) is annular and conforms with an equipotential line. Deflection electrodes (20a,20b) and an image sequencer (21) make it possible to influence the position of a sequence of small images on the target (14) where they are temporarily stored.

The invention relates to an electrostatic-shutter image tube comprising:
an electron source for emitting a flow of electrons in response to an incident photon image, the flow of electrons being propagated in the tube through a network of equipotential lines, PA1 means for focusing and accelerating said electrons, PA1 shutter means, situated between the electron source and the focusing and accelerating means, for interrupting the electron flow, and PA1 a target on which the electron flow inscribes a final image.
The invention also relates to an image-pick-up device comprising such an image tube.
When picking-up images, it must generally be possible to interrupt or effect the image pick up in a very short time. Such a mode of operation is determined either by a need to form a rapid sequence of pictures or by a characteristic of the target.
This is, for example, the object of United States Patent Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,447 in which a description is given of an electrostatic shutter tube comprising orthogonal pairs of deflection plates. A shutter electrode G1 is manufactured in the form of a cylinder which is provided with a grid. The shutter electrode is disposed between a photocathode and a focusing electrode G2. The photocathode, which receives the incident image to be detected, has a curved surface. The length of the cylindrical shutter electrode G1 is approximately equal to its radius of curvature. Thin, regularly-spaced metal wires assume the shape of a segment of sphere, which is substantially identical to that formed by the concave photocathode, and extend opposite the photocathode.
Such a grid is difficult to manufacture.
When the shutter is "open" during operation, electric fields E.sub.1 and E.sub.2 on both sides of the slits defined by the spaces between the wires must be equal in order not to produce unidirectional microlenses which would have a substantial negative influence on the quality of the final image. The condition E.sub.1 =E.sub.2 can be fulfilled by adjusting the potential V.sub.G1 of the electrode G1 because, in practice, the potential V.sub.G2 of the electrode G2 is determined by the focusing conditions. The potential of G1, which is positive with respect to the photocathode in the open mode of operation, becomes slightly negative to drive back the photoelectrons emitted at a certain initial speed in the closed mode of operation. The electrode G2 is not involved in the shutter operation, because it is situated at a substantial distance from the photocathode and is shielded by the relatively large electrode G1, so that the potential of G2 need not be modulated to improve the shuttering sensitivity.
Moreover, the presence of grid wires may cause problems regarding the manufacture of the photocathode when the latter is manufactured "in situ", because the grid slightly masks the evaporation of the constituents Sn, Cs, K which serve to form the photocathode. Besides, stray emissions may occur at the wires during the operation of the tube.

Electrostatic-shutter tube with field-conforming shutter electrode


An ambulance cot is provided having a wheeled carriage, a frame for mounting the wheels, a horizontally oriented patient litter supported from the wheeled carriage and variable, pneumatically powered height scissors frame. The pneumatic actuator is designed to give a patient air-ride transportation and an adjustable height litter for lifting a patient from the ground. The patient litter has a pivoting hinge for transporting a patient down stairs. This pivot will allow the stretcher to pivot to a horizontal angle while going down stairs, for patient support and ease of transportation for said operator below. One embodiment has tracks attached over the wheels to provide a more stable and smooth ride as the cot is moved down stairs. Another embodiment comprises a translational trolley configuration. A hand brake is mounted on the patient litter for braking the tank-like motion of the tracks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a wheeled cot, and in particular an emergency vehicle cot is provided having a wheeled carriage, a frame for mounting the wheels, a horizontally oriented patient litter supported from the wheeled carriage by a scissors mechanism and a pneumatic ram to vary the height of the litter.
2. Background
Early ambulance cots were cloth stretched between two long poles. Adding four wheels made cots easier to move to ambulances or fire and rescue trucks. Two additional wheels not in contact with the ground were eventually added to the loading end to make it possible to wheel the cot to the vehicle and engage the extra wheels with the floor of the vehicle before taking the weight off of the ground wheels. However, this wheel assembly, although providing for added mobility on flat surfaces, is not well suited for stairs. In addition, as the cot is wheeled down the stairs, the patient is inclined and the vibration of the wheels bouncing down each stair not only causes pain, but may also result in further injury if the patient is inadvertently allowed to slide off of the cot, particularly if not properly restrained.

Pneumatic cot for use with emergency vehicles


An agile optical beam profiler using a two-dimensional small tilt digital micromirror device/chip, a translation stage, and single photodetector or pair of photodetectors. A method of profiling an optical beam includes positioning a programmable spatial light modulator in an incident optical beam and sequentially moving the spatial light modulator to at least one position in a first planar direction in a displacement increment less than a pixel width of the spatial light modulator. The method also includes directing respective portions of the optical beam to a photodetector at each position of the spatial light modulator. The method may also include calibrating the photodetectors by directing a portion of the beam to the photodetector, then directing the entire beam, or a remaining portion of the beam, to the photodetector, and normalizing the detected power of the portion with the detected power of the entire beam, or remaining portion, respectively.

Since the invention of laser in the 1960s, lasers have been used extensively in a variety of applications ranging from laser research, optical communications, and material processing to optical metrology. In these applications, it is very important to know the parameters that can describe the laser beam. Optical beam radius is one of these parameters and it is defined as the distance between the maximum optical power or intensity point of the optical beam and the position where the optical beam intensity is reduced by a factor of 1/exp(2). Another important parameter is the optical beam waist position along the laser beam. Over the past decades, several techniques involving moving mechanical elements have been proposed and experimentally demonstrated to determine, or "profile," the optical beam, including measuring the optical beam radius and the optical beam profile, or shape and position of an optical beam cross section. Such profiling techniques include the use of a one dimensional (1-D) moving knife edge, see J. A. Arnaud and C. Neck, Apparatus for locating and measuring the beam-waist radius of a Gaussian laser beam, U.S. Pat. No. 3,617,755, issued Nov. 2, 1971; J. A. Arnaud, et. al., Technique for Fast Measurement of Gaussian Laser Beam Parameters, APPLIED OPTICS, Vol. 10, No. 12, 2775–2776, (December 1971), a 2-D moving knife edge, see T. F. Johnston and G. H. Williams, Apparatus for Measuring the Mode Quality of a Laser Beam, U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,284, issued Nov. 12, 1991; a translating pinhole, see P. J. Shayler, Laser Beam Distribution in the Focal Region, APPLIED OPTICS, Vol. 17, No. 17, 2673–2674, (September 1978); an encircled energy principle via a variable aperture, see P. J. Brannon, et. al., Laser Focal Spot Measurements, JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, Vol. 46, No. 8, 3576–3579, (August 1975), a scanning slit, see M. K. Giles and E. M. Kim, Linear Systems Approach to Fiber Characterization Using Beam Profile Measurements, SPIE CONFERENCE ON FIBER OPTICS: SHORT-HAUL AND LONG-HAULMEASUREMENTS AND APPLICATIONS, Vol. 500, 67–70, (August 1984), and a rotating mirror to scan the laser beam across a photodetector, see C. P. Wang, Measuring 2-D Laser-beam Phase and Intensity Profiles: A New Technique, APPLIED OPTICS, Vol. 23, No. 9, 1399–1402, (May 1984), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Other optical beam profile measurements were also demonstrated including methods based on multiphoton ionization effect, see E. H. A. Granneman and M. J. van der Wiel, Laser Beam Waist Determination by Means of Multiphoton Ionization, REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, Vol. 46, No. 3, 332–334, (March 1975) fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, see S. M. Sorscher and M. P. Klein, Profile of a Focused Collimated Laser Beam Near the Focal Minimum Characterized by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy, REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, Vol. 51, No. 1, 98-102, (January 1980), 2-D photodiode array, see J. T. Knudtson and K. L. Ratzlaff, Laser Beam Spatial Profile Analysis Using a Two-dimensional Photodiode Array, REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, Vol. 54, No. 7, 856–860, (July 1983), photo-thermal deflection, see A. Rose, Y.-X. Nie, and R. Gupta, Laser Beam Profile Measurement by Photothermal Deflection Technique, APPLIED OPTICS, Vol. 25, No. 11, 1738–1741, (June 1986), and thermographic instrument, see T. Baba, T. Arai, and A. Ono, Laser Beam Profile Measurement by a Thermographic Technique, REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, Vol. 57, No. 11, 2739–2742, (November 1986), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
However, some limiting factors such as wavelength sensitivity in multiphoton ionization method, the need of a dilute solution in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy technique, and the requirement to use high power pulse laser for thermal graphic techniques are the reasons that have propelled the simpler moving mechanical element and the 2-D photodiode array approaches to being commercially dominant. These common mechanical scanning methods use scanning elements that are moved in an analog fashion and therefore require precise analog voltage control that adds cost and complexity to the optical beam profilers. Furthermore, hysteresis and motion sensitivity limits in mechanical elements reduce profiler measurement repeatability.
Hence, it would be highly desirable to digitally control the motion of the scanning elements. This type of new all-digital profiler is proposed in S. Sumriddetchkajorn and N. A. Riza, Micro-electro-mechanical system-based digitally controlled optical beam profiler, APPLIED OPTICS, Vo. 41, No. 18, (June 2002). For this innovative all-digital profiler, it would be highly desirable to reduce the digital motion limitations that limit resolution to the digital physical step of the mechanical element such as knife-edge or slit. Furthermore, it would be useful to introduce new beam profiling methods that take full advantage of the complete micromirror or pixel programmability of the 2-D pixilated device, such as a digital mirror device (DMD), leading to a higher resolution beam profile measurement. In the past, beam profilers have susceptible to optical source power fluctuations that can lead to inaccurate spatial profile measurements. Thus, an optical beam profiler insensitive to optical power fluctuations is desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A corneal punch for cutting a portion of corneal tissue. The corneal punch includes a support stand including a base portion having a recess formed therein. First and second pins extend upwardly from the base portion and are constructed to receive a cutting block in a single rotational orientation relative to the support stand. A piston assembly having a cutting blade mounted thereon is movably mounted on the support stand. The piston assembly is rotationally locked relative to the support stand in order to prevent rotation of the piston assembly relative to the support stand during the cutting of corneal tissue. The cutting block has at least one mark placed thereon such that the orientation of the corneal tissue relative to the corneal punch can be controlled. A method for transplanting corneal tissue is also provided. The method includes the step of marking the corneal tissue to indicate the original rotational orientation of the corneal tissue and to indicate the eye from which the corneal tissue was taken. A corneal button is cut from the marked corneal tissue and then implanted in a recipient's left or right eye in a rotational orientation substantially the same as the original rotational orientation of the corneal tissue.

The cornea, the outer tissue of the eye, is frequently the subject matter of ophthalmic surgery. In a corneal transplant, for example, a central portion of the cornea of a patient's eye is surgically removed. Preferably, the surgical removal is by a cut that is parallel to the axis of the patient's eye. Typically, in the prior art, the surgical removal leaves a hole in the patient's eye that is circularly symmetric about the axis thereof.
The hole is filled by a central portion of a cornea of an eye of a donor. Analogous to the hole, the central portion of the donor's cornea is circularly symmetric about the axis of the donor's cornea. Moreover, when a cut of the donor's cornea is made to provide the control portion thereof, the cut is preferably parallel to the axis of the donor's cornea.
Usually, the cut of the donor's cornea is made by a hollow cylindrical blade that has a cutting edge at one end. The donor's cornea is placed upon a work surface of the fixture and the blade is advanced along its axis towards the donor's cornea.
The desired diameter of the cut of the donor's cornea is usually in the range of six and one-half millimeters to eleven millimeters. And, typically, the desired diameter of the cut of the donor's cornea is in the range of seven to nine millimeters.
The prior art has shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,579, a corneal punch device having a corneal punch and fixture wherein the punch is suitable for use with round blades of various diameters so as to allow for the cutting of various sized donor's cornea.
However, such a corneal punch is not suitable for use wherein it is desirable to maintain the correct rotational orientation of the donor's cornea for transplantation onto a patient's cornea. Further, such a corneal punch is unsuitable for use with blades for cutting non-round or other than round holes in the donor's cornea while maintaining the correct rotational orientation of the donor's cut cornea to the opening or hole cut in the patient's cornea.


A method of operation of a storage control system includes: calculating a throttle threshold; identifying a detection point based on the throttle threshold; and calculating a number of write/erase cycles based on the detection point and the throttle threshold for writing a memory device.

Data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is a core function and fundamental component of consumer and industrial electronics, especially devices such as computers, televisions, cellular phones, mobile devices, and digital video cameras.
Recently, forms of long-term storage other than electromechanical hard disks have become feasible for use in computers. NOT-AND (NAND) flash is one form of non-volatile memory used in solid-state storage devices. The memory cells are arranged in typical row and column fashion with circuitry for accessing individual cells. The memory transistors of those cells are placed to store an analog value that can be interpreted to hold two logical states in the case of Single Level Cell (SLC) or more than two logical states in the case of Multi Level Cell (MLC).
A flash memory cell is light in weight, occupies very little space, and consumes less power than electromechanical disk drives. Construction of a storage system with this type of memory allows for much higher bandwidths and input/output operations per second (IOPS) than typical electromechanical disk drives. More importantly, it is especially rugged and can operate at a much high temperature range. It will withstand without adverse effects repeated drops, each of which would destroy a typical electromechanical hard disk drive. A problem exhibited by flash memory is that it tends to have a limited life in use.
Thus, a need still remains for better data management devices. In view of the increasing demand for data management devices, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Storage control system with data management mechanism and method of operation thereof


Provided is a robot, including: a plurality of sensors; a processor; a tangible, non-transitory, machine readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor effectuates operations including: capturing, with an image sensor, images of a workspace as the robot moves within the workspace; identifying, with the processor, at least one characteristic of at least one object captured in the images of the workspace; determining, with the processor, an object type of the at least one object based on characteristics of different types of objects stored in an object dictionary; and instructing, with the processor, the robot to execute at least one action based on the object type of the at least one object.

Autonomous robots are being used with increasing frequency to carry out routine tasks such as vacuuming, mopping, cutting grass, polishing floors, etc. During operation a robot may encounter objects that may act as an obstruction to the operation of the robot. For example, objects such as cords, wires, clothing, and toys may become stuck in the wheels or other moving parts of the robot as it drives close to or over the objects. Interaction with such objects may cause the robot to malfunction or prevent the robot from completing a task. A method for avoiding entanglement with objects may be useful.

Obstacle recognition method for autonomous robots


A method and an apparatus in a short range wireless communication stores a list of keywords and a type list of information indicative of content and services available at an Access Point. A user terminal creates and stores a similar list of keyword and types. The user requests the keyword and types from the Access Point. This list is transmitted to the user within the service discovery protocol during connection set-up. The user Keyword list and Types are matched to the Access point Keywords and Types list to determine if a session should be established or terminated. The Access point may also connect to the terminal to obtain a list of the terminal Keywords and Types to determine if content is available to push to the terminal.

An ad hoc network is a short-range wireless system composed primarily of mobile wireless devices which associate together for a relatively short time to carry out a common purpose. A temporary network such as this is called a "piconet" in the Bluetooth Standard, an "independent basic service set" (IBSS) in the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard, a "subnet" in the HIPERLAN Standard, and generally a radio cell or a "micro-cell" in other wireless LAN technologies. Ad hoc networks have the common property of being an arbitrary collection of wireless devices which are physically close enough to be able to communicate and which are exchanging information on a regular basis. The networks can be constructed quickly and without much planning. Members of the ad hoc network join and leave as they move into and out of the range of each other. Most ad hoc networks operate over unlicensed radio frequencies at speeds of from one to fifty-four Mbps using carrier sense protocols to share the radio spectrum. The distance over which they can communicate ranges from ten meters for Bluetooth ad hoc networks to over one hundred meters for wireless LAN micro-cells in an open environment. ad hoc networks consist primarily of mobile wireless devices, but can also include one or more access points which are stationary wireless devices, operating as a stand-alone server or connected as gateways to other networks.
Bluetooth is a short-range radio network, originally intended as a cable replacement. It can be used to create ad hoc networks of up to eight devices operating together. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Specification Of The Bluetooth System, Volumes 1 and 2, Core and Profiles: Version 1.1, Feb. 22, 2001, describes the principles of Bluetooth device operation and communication protocols. The devices operate in the 2.4 GHz radio band reserved for general use by Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) applications. Bluetooth devices are designed to find other Bluetooth devices within their ten-meter radio communications range and to discover what services they offer, using a service discovery protocol (SDP). The SDP searching function relies on links being established between the requesting Bluetooth device in a client role and the responding Bluetooth device in a server role. Once a link has been established, it can be used to find out about services in the responding Bluetooth device and how to connect to them.
Other wireless standards support ad hoc networks in addition to the Bluetooth standard, the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standard, and the HIPERLAN standard. Examples include the IEEE 802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) standard, the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standard, the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard, the Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) standard, the Japanese 3rd Generation (3G) wireless standard, and the Multimedia Mobile Access Communication (MMAC) Systems standard of the Japanese Association of Radio Industries and Businesses.
Bluetooth units have general behaviors through which they communicate with other units. These behaviors are called "application profiles". There are 13 application profiles described in Version 1.1 of the specification, including the Generic Access Profile (GAP), Service Discovery Profile (SDP), Generic Object Exchange Profile (GOEP), and Object Push Profile.
The Generic Access Profile (GAP) defines how two Bluetooth units discover and establish a connection with each other. The service discovery protocol (SDP) defines the investigation of services available to a Bluetooth unit from other units. Generic Object Exchange Profile (GOEP) describes defines the set of protocols and procedures used by applications in handling object exchanges, e.g. File Transfer Synchronization using the Object Exchange (OBEX) Standard. The OBEX Standard is specified by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Object Exchange Protocol, Version 1.2. The OBEX Standard was adopted by Bluetooth as a binary HTTP protocol that allows multiple request/response exchanges. The Bluetooth Object Push Profile specification discusses the application of exchanging virtual business cards using the OBEX Standard.
Personal profiles are different from the official set of thirteen Bluetooth application profiles. Personal profiles are data sets intended to be exchanged between wireless mobile devices. Personal profiles provide information describing a user and his/her device to inform other users about the functionality and communication features of the user's device, and to inform about the characteristics and interests of the user. Currently, personal profiles are created by a user and sent to centralized servers operated by service providers for management and access by other users.
Bluetooth Access points provide TCP/IP services to the terminal applying the profile. A user terminal is capable of finding an Access Point service based on the Bluetooth Service Discovery Protocol (SDP). However, the terminal cannot obtain any additional/detailed information for the services content provided by the Access Point. If a user is interested only in some specific services/content, it is not useful to form the initial connection to all provided Access Points. Still the user cannot know the content before forming the connection and browsing the content.
What is needed is a mechanism or technique enabling a user terminal to automatically determine Access Point content and services during connection set-up and also to enable the Access Point to determine whether there is content to "push" to the terminal. Additionally, there is a need for a technique to provide information filtering in connection establishment between devices.
Prior art related to personal profiles includes EP 1 130 869 A1 entitled "Management of User Profile Data" by D. Mandata, published Sep. 5, 2001, filed Mar. 1, 2000. This reference discloses an Instant Message Broker (IMB) System to allow messages to be sent in near real time between users. IMB is a distributed processing system that integrates network technologies, such as IP and Mobil Telecomm networks, allowing users to access functionality, accomplish tasks and deliver process information to called parties. IMB includes a database for storing and managing user profile data, which represents sets of user information/or user preferences concerning the terminal device users have access to within information transmission. The database comprises for each user at least one customizable user profile, which can be created, edited and/deleted by the user. Each customizable user profile is associated with an environment of the user representing a physical location and/or a logical context of the user. The database comprises a plurality of user profiles for one user, wherein only one user profile of a user is active at the same time. Each subscriber can have a plurality of user profiles in a so-called user space which is a subscriber's own data space as provisioned within the user profile database. Users can define different context for different situations and dynamically switch between them. The currently used active context describes how the subscriber can be reached. The description includes an indication whether the user is currently on-line on a preferred terminal device. In addition, a set of alternative terminal devices is provided where the IMB subscriber may be contacted or not reachable at the preferred device. The alternative terminal devices can also be used for receiving additional copies of instant messages.
The prior art does not describe or suggest a wireless, mobile terminal containing personalized user profiles that are installed, edited by and managed by the user on the user's mobile terminal, the profiles containing a list(s) of content and services of interest to the user. Moreover, the prior art does not describe or suggest list(s) transmitted by an access point, the list transmitted to the access point with in the Service Discovery Protocol during connection set up time that enables the user to obtain information regarding content and services offered by the Access Point by matching Keywords and Types in the list with information in the user profile.
Further, the prior art does not describe or suggest an Access Point pushing information to the terminal where the pushed information matches the content and services described in the list contained in the profile.

Automatic determination of access point content and services for short-range wireless terminals


An approach is provided for communicating in a meshed network including a first terminal and a second terminal. A request from the first terminal for obtaining address information of the second terminal is submitted to a hub. The hub generates a response including the address information and the context information that specifies capabilities of the second terminal. This arrangement has particular applicability to a satellite network (e.g., Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network) that provides data communication services.

Modern satellite communication systems provide a pervasive and reliable infrastructure to distribute voice, data, and video signals for global exchange and broadcast of information. These satellite communication systems have emerged as a viable option to terrestrial communication systems for carrying Internet traffic as well as telephony traffic. With the convergence of voice, data, and video services, service providers need to continually adapt their networks to new and evolving technologies, and yet retain interoperability with traditional telecommunication services. Given the maturity of traditional circuit switched services, integration of new technologies and standards pose a particularly significant challenge, particularly with respect to customer premise equipment, such as satellite terminals.
Once satellite terminals are deployed, obsolescence is problematic, particularly given the rapid advancements in communication technology. Thus, upgrade of a system or certain aspects of its services is unavoidable. In fact, it is typical that upgrades are performed several times over the course of the life of a system. The migration path for the upgrade needs to account for the ability to add new protocols, new messages, new information elements, and new code points to the system without adversely affecting the ability of existing STs to receive service. While existing STs may not be able to take advantage of the newer services, these STs should not be prohibited from operating with their existing services or be expected to be upgraded to continue to operate with their existing services.
One conventional approach to upgrading is referred to as "versioning." Versioning conceptually does not distinguish between a major system upgrade (e.g., complete redefinition of system messaging and protocols) and a minor system upgrade (e.g., addition of messages or code points).
This concept of versioning has a number of drawbacks, making it an ineffective solution for minor as well as major upgrades. First, future advancement of ST functionality may be impeded. For instance, since later developed STs will have significantly better hardware capabilities, future versions of a common air interface, for example, may be able to take advantage of capabilities that currently are infeasible or not yet conceived. That is, upgrading versions of the common air interface would either limit future terminals to run software that is limited by current hardware platforms, or require customers to upgrade all of their terminal hardware and/or software to accommodate the latest versions. Neither of these outcomes is desirable, as the former deters implementing advances in hardware/software capabilities, and the later introduces costs that may be unwarranted, especially if customers are content with the functionalities of their existing terminals and services.
Another drawback with the versioning approach concerns management of upgrades, which may involve hundreds of thousands of STs; consequently, scalability presents a concern. For example, in a system in which two versions of STs exist, the implication is that no terminal is more than one version behind the latest version in the system. Thus, all STs at version X−1 need to be upgraded to at least Version X before Version X+1 can be deployed; further, all STs at version X−1 need software upgrades. Ensuring that all existing Version X−1 terminals are upgraded in time such that those terminals are not useless after switchover is a monumental task. Further, the versioning approach may result in an out-of-date terminal supply. Terminals that occupy warehouse shelves may become out-of-date by several version numbers by the time they are deployed.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for improved approaches for addressing system upgrades while maintaining interoperability. There is also a need to enhance scalability. Additionally, there is a need to minimize obsolescence. There is also a need to minimize development and implementation costs. There is also a further need to interoperate with existing standards and protocols. Therefore, an upgrade approach that permits adoption of advances in hardware and software is highly desirable.

Method and system for centrally exchanging terminal information over a meshed network


For transmitting voice between subscriber stations of a radio system, particularly a mobile radio telephone system, whereby an analog voice signal is digitally coded by voice frames (S), the voice frames (S) are first converted into voice-coded voice frames (S1). Subsequently, a plurality of these voice frames (S1) is combined to form a multi-voice frame (MSF1). These multi-voice frames (MSF1) are transmitted with error-protection. At the reception side, the multi-voice frames (MSF4) are in turn divided into voice-coded voice frames (S4) and, subsequently, the digital voice information contained in the transmitted voice frames is in turn converted into an analog voice signal.

The present invention is directed to a method for transmitting voice information between subscriber stations of a radio system. The present invention is also directed to an arrangement for the implementation of the method, as well as, to a subscriber station and a central station of a corresponding transmission system.
Given transmission of voice information between subscriber stations of a radio system, particularly a mobile radio telephone service, it is well known to sample analog voice information at the transmission side and to convert it into digitally coded voice information in a voice encoder and to transmit it, potentially error-protected. At the reception side, the digitally coded voice information is in turn converted into analog voice information and is then output as voice.
In a mobile radio telephone service, an area to be covered is usually divided into a large plurality of cells. Respective base stations are provided in the cells, and the connections between a public telephone network and the mobile radio equipment of the individual subscribers in a respective cell can be set up over these base stations. Such a mobile radio telephone system is, for example, the GSM (global system for mobile communication) standardized by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI). Such a system is known from a publication of Siemens AG, D 900 Mobile Communication System, System Description, 1992 or from a publication by M. Boehm, Schaller, W., Mobilfunksystem CD 900, Funk-Technik 411, No. 4, 1986, pp. 150-153. The system identified as DCS 1800/PCN is a similar system.
In the GSM, the voice at the interface between the base stations and the mobile radio equipment is transmitted with digitally coded signals. A coding algorithm is thereby employed for the voice that implements data compression by a factor of 8 to 13 kbit/s.
In order to protect the data stream against disturbances on the radio channel, an error correction method is applied wherein redundancy is attached by channel encoding of the information to be transmitted. As a result of this channel encoding, the voice data rate is then raised from 13 kbit/s to 22.8 kbit/s.
In order, on the one hand, to be able to correct accidental bit errors and, on the other hand, bundling errors of the transmission channel, the transmitted data is also interleaved. They are divided into subblocks and transmitted. At the reception side, the subblocks are collected and deinterleaved. Thereafter, the data are supplied to an error correction means that implements an error correction of the received data and the redundancy attached at the transmission side is removed. The data obtained in this manner is supplied to the voice decoder that reconstructs the linearly quantized samples. A following digital-to-analog converter converts the digital signals into analog voice.
The time required for the transmission of a voice frame of 20 ms from a mobile radio telephone user to a fixed network subscriber, or vice versa, amounts to approximately 90 ms. Given voice transmission from a mobile radio telephone subscriber to another mobile radio telephone subscriber, this delay time is doubled and amounts to approximately 180 ms. European reference EP 04 44 592 A2 also discloses that voice frames of M subscribers are transmitted in a frame having N channels of a mobile radio telephone system. The quality of the transmitted voice, however, can suffer as a result of echoes due to this long delay time.
In order to improve the quality of the voice transmission, it is important to shorten this delay time. It would be conceivable to transmit the channel-coded voice frame in a smaller plurality of sub-blocks, whereby the plurality of bits in the sub-blocks is then increased. In this method, however, too many bits are lost in case of disturbances on the mobile radio channel, i.e. the error-protection method is not adequate given an unaltered data rate.

Method and arrangement for transmitting voice in a radio system