Methods and systems for penetration testing of a networked system by a penetration testing system (e.g. that is controlled by a user interface of a computing device) are disclosed herein. In one example, a penetration testing campaign is executed according to a manual and explicit selecting of one or more goals of an attacker of the penetration testing campaign. Alternatively or additionally, a penetration testing campaign is executed according to an automatic selecting of of one or more goals of the attacker (e.g. according to a type of attacker of the penetration testing campaign).

There is currently a proliferation of organizational networked systems. Every type of organization, be it a commercial company, a university, a bank, a government agency or a hospital, heavily relies on one or more networks interconnecting multiple computing nodes. Failures of the networked system of an organization or even of only a portion of it might cause a significant damage, up to completely shutting down all operations. Additionally, much of the data of the organization (and for some organizations even all data) exists somewhere on its networked system, including all confidential data comprising its "crown jewels" such as prices, details of customers, purchase orders, employees' salaries, technical formulas, etc. Loss of such data or leaks of such data to outside unauthorized entities might be disastrous for the organization.
Many organizational networks are connected to the Internet at least through one network node, and consequently they are subject to attacks by computer hackers or by hostile adversaries. Even an organizational network that is not connected to the Internet might be attacked by an employee of the organization. Quite often the newspapers are reporting incidents in which websites crashed, sensitive data was stolen or service to customers was denied, where the failures were the results of hostile penetration into an organization's networked system.
Thus, many organizations invest a lot of efforts and costs in preventive means designed to protect their networked systems against potential threats. There are many defensive products offered in the market claiming to provide protection against one or more known modes of attack, and many organizations arm themselves to the teeth with multiple products of this kind.
However, it is difficult to tell how effective such products really are in achieving their stated goals of blocking hostile attacks, and consequently most CISO's (Computer Information Security Officers) will admit (maybe only off the record), that they don't really know how well they can withstand an attack from a given adversary. The only way to really know how strong and secure a networked system is, is by trying to attack it as a real adversary would. This is known as penetration testing (pen testing, in short), and is a very common approach that is even required by regulation in some developed countries.
Penetration testing requires highly talented people to man the testing team. Those people should be familiar with each and every known security vulnerability and attacking method and should also have a very good familiarity with networking techniques and multiple operating systems implementations. Such people are hard to find and therefore many organizations give up establishing their own penetration testing teams and resort to hiring external expert consultants for carrying out that role (or completely give up penetration testing). But external consultants are expensive and therefore are typically called in only for brief periods separated by long time intervals in which no such testing is done. This makes the penetration testing ineffective as security vulnerabilities caused by new forms of attacks that appear almost daily are discovered only months after becoming serious threats to the organization.
Additionally, even rich organizations that can afford hiring talented experts for in-house penetration testing teams do not achieve good protection. Testing for security vulnerabilities of a large networked system containing many types of computers, operating systems, network routers and other devices is both a very complex and a very tedious process. The process is prone to human errors of missing testing for certain threats or misinterpreting the damages of certain attacks. Also, because a process of full testing of a large networked system against all threats is quite long, the organization might again end with a too long discovery period after a new threat appears.
Because of the above deficiencies automated penetration testing solutions were introduced in recent years by multiple vendors. These automated solutions reduce human involvement in the penetration testing process, or at least in some of its functions.
A penetration testing process involves at least the following main functions: (i) a reconnaissance function, (ii) an attack function, and (ii) a reporting function. The process may also include additional functions, for example a cleanup function that restores the tested networked system to its original state as it was before the test. In an automated penetration testing system, at least one of the above three functions is at least partially automated, and typically two or three of them are at least partially automated.
A reconnaissance function is the function within a penetration testing system that handles the collection of data about the tested networked system. The collected data may include internal data of networks nodes, data about network traffic within the tested networked system, business intelligence data of the organization owning the tested networked system, etc. The functionality of a prior art reconnaissance function can be implemented, for example, by software executing in a server that is not one of the network nodes of the tested networked system, where the server probes the tested networked system for the purpose of collecting data about it.
An attack function is the function within a penetration testing system that handles the determination of whether security vulnerabilities exist in the tested networked system based on data collected by the reconnaissance function. The functionality of a prior art attack function can be implemented, for example, by software executing in a server that is not one of the nodes of the tested networked system, where the server attempts to attack the tested networked system for the purpose of verifying that it can be compromised.
A reporting function is the function within a penetration testing system that handles the reporting of results of the penetration testing system. The functionality of a prior art reporting function may be implemented, for example, by software executing in the same server that executes the functionality of the attack function, where the server reports the findings of the attack function to an administrator or a CISO of the tested networked system.
FIG. 1A (PRIOR ART) is a block diagram of code modules of a typical penetration testing system. FIG. 1B (PRIOR ART) is a related flow-chart.
In FIG. 1A, code for the reconnaissance function, for the attack function, and for the reporting function are respectively labelled as 20, 30 and 40, and are each schematically illustrated as part of a penetration testing system code module (PTSCM) labelled as 10. The term 'code' is intended broadly and may include any combination of computer-executable code and computer-readable data which when read affects the output of execution of the code. The computer-executable code may be provided as any combination of human-readable code (e.g. in a scripting language such as Python), machine language code, assembler code and byte code, or in any form known in the art. Furthermore, the executable code may include any stored data (e.g. structured data) such as configuration files, XML files, and data residing in any type of database (e.g. a relational database, an object-database, etc.).
In one example and as shown in FIG. 1B, the reconnaissance function (performed in step S21 by execution of reconnaissance function code 20), the attack function (performed in step S31 by execution of attack function code 30) and the reporting function (performed in step S41 by execution of reporting function code 40) are executed in strictly sequential order so that first the reconnaissance function is performed by executing code 20 thereof, then the attack function is performed by executing code 30 thereof, and finally the reporting function is performed 40 by executing code thereof. However, the skilled artisan will appreciate that this order is just one example, and is not a requirement. For example, the attack and the reporting functions may be performed in parallel or in an interleaved way, with the reporting function reporting first results obtained by the attack function, while the attack function is working on additional results. Similarly, the reconnaissance and the attack functions may operate in parallel or in an interleaved way, with the attack function detecting a vulnerability based on first data collected by the reconnaissance function, while the reconnaissance function is working on collecting additional data.
FIG. 1A also illustrates code of an optional cleanup function which is labeled as 50. Also illustrated in FIG. 1B is step S51 of performing a cleanup function—e.g. by cleanup function code 50 of FIG. 1A.
"A campaign of penetration testing" is a specific run of a specific test of a specific networked system by the penetration testing system.
A penetration-testing-campaign module may comprise at least part of reconnaissance function code 20, attack function code 30 and optionally cleanup function code 50—for example, in combination with suitable hardware (e.g. one or more computing device 110 and one or more processor(s) 120 thereof) for executing the code.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art computing device 110 which may have any form-factor including but not limited to a laptop, a desktop, a mobile phone, a server, a tablet, or any other form factor. The computing device 110 in FIG. 2 includes (i) computer memory 160 which may store code 180; (ii) one or more processors 120 (e.g. central-processing-unit (CPU)) for executing code 180; (iii) a human-interface device 140 (e.g. mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, gesture-detecting apparatus including a camera, etc.) or an interface (e.g. USB interface) to receive input from a human-interface device; (iv) a display device 130 (e.g. computer screen) or an interface (e.g. HDMI interface, USB interface) for exporting video to a display device and (v) a network interface 150 (e.g. a network card, or a wireless modem).
Memory 160 may include any combination of volatile (e.g. RAM) and non-volatile (e.g. ROM, flash, disk-drive) memory.
Code 180 may include operating-system code—e.g. Windows®, Linux®, Android®, Mac-OS®.
Computing device 110 may include a user-interface for receiving input from a user (e.g. manual input, visual input, audio input, or input in any other form) and for visually displaying output. The user-interface (e.g. graphical user interface (GUI)) of computing device 110 may thus include the combination of HID device 140 or an interface thereof (i.e. in communication with an external HID device 140), display device 130 or an interface thereof (i.e. in communication with an external display device), and user-interface (UI) code stored in memory 160 and executed by one or more processor(s) 120. The user-interface may include one or more GUI widgets such as labels, buttons (e.g. radio buttons or check boxes), sliders, spinners, icons, windows, panels, text boxes, and the like.
In one example, a penetration testing system is the combination of (i) code 10 (e.g. including reconnaissance function code 20, attack function code 30, reporting function code 40, and optionally cleaning function code 50); and (ii) one or more computing devices 110 which execute the code 10. For example, a first computing device may execute a first portion of code 10 and a second computing device (e.g. in networked communication with the first computing device) may execute a second portion of code 10.
FIGS. 3 and 4A-4D relate to a prior art example of penetration testing of a networked system. FIG. 3 shows a timeline—i.e. the penetration test begins at a time labelled as TBegin Pen-Test. Subsequent points in time, during the penetration test, are labelled in FIG. 3 as T1During Pen-Test, T2During Pen-Test and T3During Pen-Test.
FIG. 4A shows an example networked system comprising a plurality of 25 network nodes labelled N101, N102 . . . N125. In the present document, a network node may be referred to simply as 'node'- 'network node' and 'node' are interchangeable
Each network node may be a different computing device 110. Two network nodes are "immediate neighbors" of each other if and only if they have a direct communication link between them that does not pass through any other network node.
In the example of FIG. 4A, this is represented by an edge between the two nodes—thus, in this example nodes N108 and N112 are immediate neighbors while nodes N108 and N115 are not immediate neighbors.
Embodiments of the invention relate to penetration testing of networked systems, such as that illustrated in FIG. 4A.
During penetration testing, a node may become compromised. In the examples of FIGS. 4A-4D compromised nodes are indicated by an "X" in the circle—all other nodes have not yet been compromised.
The term "compromising a network node" is defined as: Successfully causing execution of an operation in the network node that is not allowed for the entity requesting the operation by the rules defined by an administrator of the network node, or successfully causing execution of code in a software module of the network node that was not predicted by the vendor of the software module. Examples for compromising a network node are reading a file without having read permission for it, modifying a file without having write permission for it, deleting a file without having delete permission for it, exporting a file out of the network node without having permission to do so, getting an access right higher than the one originally assigned without having permission to get it, getting a priority higher than the one originally assigned without having permission to get it, changing a configuration of a firewall network node such that it allows access to other network nodes that were previously hidden behind the firewall without having permission to do it, and causing execution of software code by utilizing a buffer overflow. As shown by the firewall example, the effects of compromising a certain network node are not necessarily limited to that certain network node. In addition, executing successful ARP spoofing, denial-of-service, man-in-the-middle or session-hijacking attacks against a network node are also considered compromising that network node, even if not satisfying any of the conditions listed above in this definition.
According to the example illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D, initially, at time TBegin Pen-Test, when the penetration test begins, none of the network-nodes have yet been compromised. Between time TBegin Pen-Test and T1During Pen-Test, network node N122 is compromised—this is indicated in FIG. 4B by the "X.' Between time T1During Pen-Test and T2During Pen-Test, network nodes N116 and N112 are compromised, as indicated by the X's in FIG. 4C. Between time T2During Pen-Test and T3During Pen-Test, network nodes N110 and N111 are compromised, as indicated by the X's in FIG. 4D.
In this particular example, it is assumed that it is easier for an attacker to compromise a node if one or more of its immediate neighbors has been compromised.
The Problem to Solve
When a user desires to operate a prior art penetration testing system for running a test on a specific networked system, the penetration testing system must know what test it should execute. For example, the penetration testing system must know what is the type of attacker against whom the test is making its assessment (a state-sponsored actor, a cyber criminal etc.) and what are his capabilities. As another example, the penetration testing system must know what is the goal of the attacker according to which the attack will be judged as a success or a failure (copying a specific file and exporting it out of the tested networked system, encrypting a specific directory of a specific network node for ransom, etc.).
A specific run of a specific test of a specific networked system by a penetration testing system is called a "campaign" of that penetration testing system and entails performing at least the reconnaissance (step S21 of FIG. 1B), attack (step S31 of FIG. 1B) and reporting (step S41 of FIG. 1B) functions. A collection of values for all information items a penetration testing system must know before executing a campaign is called "specifications of the campaign" or "scenario". For example, the type of the attacker and the goal of the attacker are specific information items of a campaign, and specific values for them are parts of the specifications of any campaign.
The results of the penetration testing campaign may be reported by performing the reporting function (step S41) of FIG. 1B.
All prior art penetration testing systems are not flexible in letting the user define the specifications of a campaign. Typically, those systems are delivered with a library of pre-defined campaign specifications from which the user should choose.
Some prior art penetration testing systems provide slightly better flexibility by allowing the user to select a scenario based on explicit selection of the type of the attacker. The user may be presented with a closed list of alternatives for the type of the attacker—a state-sponsored actor, a cyber criminal, an amateur hacker, etc., and he may choose one of those alternatives. Once the user picks one of the listed alternatives, the system selects a pre-defined scenario whose type of attacker is the same as the picked alternative. All other fields of the specifications of the campaign (goal of the attacker, capabilities of the attacker, etc.) are automatically decided either by the selected pre-defined scenario or by internal algorithms of the penetration testing system, with no explicit input from the user. The internal algorithms may depend on the user-selected type of attacker and/or on pre-defined information items of the selected pre-defined scenario, and/or on a random process. For example, the capabilities of the attacker may be automatically defined based on the type of the attacker, while the lateral movement strategy of the attacker may be picked at random from a pre-defined list of available strategies.
This rigid campaign definition is not satisfactory for many users, who would like to have greater control over the specifications of the campaigns they run for testing their networked systems. Such control will allow them to test specific combinations of features of scenarios, which might be impossible to test with prior art systems.

Setting-up penetration testing campaigns


A method for forming a barrier metal film with conformal step coverage in a semiconductor integrated circuit includes forming a photoresist plug in a barrier metal lined contact or via hole. The barrier metal film has an overhang that narrows the opening to the contact or via hole. The barrier metal film is then etched using a fluorine based plasma etch process to remove the overhang. The photoresist plug is then removed using a oxygen based plasma etch process. The contact or via hole is then filled with tungsten to form a tungsten plug.

In many semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication processes, a contact is formed to electrically connect an active region formed in a semiconductor substrate with a metal interconnect line formed on a dielectric layer disposed between the interconnect line and the substrate. In forming the contact, a contact hole is typically formed in the dielectric layer to expose the active region, with a conductive plug providing the inter-layer conductive path from the active region to the interconnect line. A barrier layer is commonly formed between the active region and the conductive plug formed in the contact hole. The barrier layer helps reduce interdiffusion of metal from the conductive plug and silicon from the active region, which typically occurs through a silicide formed on the upper surface of the active region. Ideally, this barrier layer adheres to both the silicide and the metal, prevents interdiffusion, and covers the contact hole in a uniform conformal manner.
In practice, the stepped character of the contact hole prevents the uniform conformal formation of the barrier layer within the contact hole. One reason for this problem is that the barrier layer is typically formed by noncollimated sputter deposition. As is well known in the art of integrated circuit fabrication, the relatively high aspect ratio of a typical contact hole causes poor step coverage for noncollimated sputter deposition. Generally, as the aspect ratio increases, the step coverage worsens. In addition, the poor step coverage usually results in "overhang" that undesirably narrows the opening of the contact hole (described below in conjunction with FIG. 1). Conventional solutions to this problem include reducing the slope of the step or the thickness of barrier metal film. However, these solutions are not optimal because reducing the slope increases the area the contact occupies and reducing the thickness of the barrier layer also reduces the effectiveness of the barrier layer in preventing interdiffusion.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a stage in the conventional fabrication of a barrier layer in a contact hole. A dielectric layer 14 is formed on top of a substrate 10 having a conductive area 12. The conductive area 12 can be a source/drain region or gate electrode of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor. The term MOS is used herein to also refer to silicon gate technologies. The dielectric layer 14 can be an oxide or a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) that is deposited on the substrate 10 in any suitable manner.
A contact hole 17 is then formed in the dielectric layer 14 using any suitable technique. For example, conventional patterning and etching processes can be performed to pattern the dielectric layer 14 and form the contact hole 17 aligned with the conductive area 12. As a result, a portion of the conductive area 12 is exposed. The contact hole 17 typically has a relatively high aspect ratio of about two or higher.
A barrier metal layer or film 16 is then formed on the dielectric layer 14 and in the contact hole 17. As stated above, the barrier metal layer 16 is typically formed by noncollimated sputter deposition. In this example, the barrier metal is a stack of titanium and titanium nitride (i.e., Ti/TiN). In other embodiments, other metal stack structures can be used such as, for example, W/AlSiCu/TiN. The Ti/TiN barrier layer has a thickness in the range about 300 .ANG.-500 .ANG. for the Ti and about 1300 .ANG.-1500 .ANG. for the TiN.
As shown in FIG. 1, the opening of contact hole 17 has an overhang profile. The overhang 15 undesirably narrows the opening of the contact hole 17, which in effect increases the aspect ratio of the contact hole 17. Then, tungsten 18 is deposited over the barrier layer and into the contact hole 17. Because of the narrow opening and the shape of the contact hole 17, the tungsten does not completely fill the contact hole 17 as shown in FIG. 1A. As a result, the tungsten plug is thin, which causes the tungsten plug to have a relatively high resistance. Of course, high resistance is generally undesirable in a contact.

Method for forming a barrier metal film with conformal step coverage in a semiconductor intergrated circuit

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation


A room temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber composition comprising a polyorganosiloxane terminated with silanol groups, an alkoxysilane of the formula R.sup.1 Si(OR.sup.2).sub.3 or its partially hydrolyzed condensate, colloidal calcium carbonate surface-treated with rosin acid, and a curing catalyst. This composition has excellent workability, and, after curing, becomes a high-strength, high-modulus rubber having excellent adhesion and resistance to humidity and hot water, and is useful as a sealing material for sealed insulating glass.

Silicone rubber compositions which cure at room temperature by a condensation reaction to become rubber-like elastomers are generally referred to as "RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) silicone rubbers". As a result of the ease in carrying out the curing reaction and various other features (i.e., the cured products have excellent heat resistance and cold resistance, do not easily undergo changes in physical properties with the change of temperature, and further do not suffer from substantial deterioration of physical properties from exposure to ozone and ultraviolet rays), the RTV silicone rubbers have been widely employed in various fields and applications including sealants for construction.
RTV silicone rubbers are mainly composed of a polyorganosiloxane as a base material, a crosslinking agent and a filler. The rubbers are classified into various categories according to the type of crosslinking reaction which is based on the crosslinking agent used and which results in different condensation reaction by-products.
The dealcoholization-type RTV silicone rubbers produce an alcohol by-product which is free from odors and corrosive action and further does not easily generate bubbles or undergo cracking on curing. These types of rubbers have been employed as sealed insulating glass sealant materials for in-plant installation types, replacing the previous on-spot installation types, and have been under study as adhesive sealant materials for general industrial uses. However, these rubbers have drawbacks in that their adhesive properties and durability are poor, that is, the strength and modulus are low, and in particular, the strength and modulus are greatly lowered and the sealing properties deteriorated under high temperature and high humidity circumstances.
Dry silica, wet silica, diatomaceous earth, ground quartz, calcium carbonate, alumina etc. are generally employed as fillers in RTV silicone compositions. The silicas are the most frequently employed fillers, and RTV silicone rubbers utilizing these can possess high strength. However the amount of filler added is greatly restricted because of the thickening properties generated when mixed with an organopolysiloxane component. The use of ground quartz and alumina does not result in high thickening properties, but the obtained strength is not as high as expected.
Further, the calcium carbonate is classified as either ground limestone or light limestone depending on whether it is natural or synthetic, and the latter is further classified into colloidal calcium carbonate and light calcium carbonate. These come in various grades according to the particle size and whether and how surface treatment has been conducted, and since the thickening properties and strength vary depending on the grade used as the filler, the calcium carbonates are appropriately selected for use according to the purpose and application.
The use of calcium carbonate as the filler in a dealcoholization-type RTV silicone rubber is known in the art. For example, the retention of the surface light release properties of a tonor-fixed roll of a copying machine is improved by combining calcium carbonate having average particle size of 10 .mu.m or less with powdered iron oxide and powdered titanium oxide (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2439/1977); an adhesion-improved room temperature vulcanizing organopolysiloxane composition for sealing which can control the flowability, and is excellent in deep part curing properties and the cured product of which has such physical properties as high elongation and low modulus is obtained by using calcium carbonate substantially free from surface treatment and having an average particle diameter of 0.3 .mu.m or less and a specific surface area as measured by an air transmission method of 3.0 m.sup.2 /g or more (Japanese Patent Publication No. 18454/1980); and an example which imparts especially excellent heat resistance and greatly improves the change in the physical properties and the heat loss by using light calcium carbonate having a specific surface area as measured by a BET method of 1-30 m.sup.2 /g and an average particle diameter of 0.3-10 .mu.m and of a spindle shape and the surface of which has been treated with an organosilicon compound (Japanese Patent Publication No. 23940/1986).
However, although the use of calcium carbonate, when incorporated in RTV silicone rubbers, resulted in improved workability, surface release properties, adhesion etc., the RTV rubbers had low modulus and high extensibility etc., and rubbers having high strength, high modulus and low extensibility could not be obtained.
It is desirable to provide dealcoholization-type RTV silicone rubbers incorporating calcium carbonate wherein the rubbers are useful as sealants for sealed insulating glass and possess high strength, high modulus, low extensibility, adhesion and durability.

Dealcoholization-type room temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber composition


Carbon dioxide recirculating apparatus (20, 120) is disclosed for use in an arrangement having combination means (115) and a path for the flow of a gas through the combustion means (115). The apparatus (20, 120) comprises extraction means (221) for extracting carbon dioxide from a first region of the path downstream of the combustion means (115). It further includes condensing means (26, 30) for condensing the extracted carbon dioxide, and feed means (36, 136) for feeding the condensed carbon dioxide to a second region of the path upstream of the combustion means.

It is known to inject a water based fog into the compressor region of a gas turbine engine to increase the power of the engine. The water is atomised when it is sprayed into the compressor region and forms a fog. The water droplets forming the fog vaporise and extract latent heat of evaporation from the gases in the compressor, thereby cooling these gases. This has a beneficial affect on the power output of the engine. A disadvantage of such a system is that evaporation of the water droplets is not readily achieved and requires onerous nozzle and spray pressure specifications to achieve the required cooling effect.


The invention relates to a device for the control of fluorescent lamps in a lighting arrangement that comprises at least one such fluorescent lamp, wherein for each fluorescent lamp the device has the following characteristics: a capacitive voltage divider consisting of a first capacitor and a second capacitor that are connected in series to the fluorescent lamp, a switch that is connected in parallel to one of the capacitors, means of measuring the momentary lamp current that flows through the fluorescent lamp and a control circuit to generate an input signal for the semiconductor switch depending on the momentary lamp current.

Fluorescent lamps are used as a backlight in liquid crystal displays (LCDs), as employed, for example, in computer screens. Similar backlights are also found in other types of displays in a wide range of applications, such as in motor vehicles, illuminated advertising panels and suchlike.
Cold cathode fluorescent tubes are generally employed in backlights for LCD screens. They have the advantage of generating a small amount of heat combined with a relatively long useful life and high efficiency. Moreover, the electrode structures are simple making it possible to produce very small cold cathode fluorescent tubes that can also be used in small liquid crystal displays.
A cold cathode fluorescent tube comprises a tube having a high-voltage terminal at a first end of the tube and a low-voltage terminal at the second end of the tube. The high-voltage terminal is supplied with a high-frequency AC voltage, a typical supply voltage having a frequency of approximately 50 to 100 kHz and a voltage amplitude of approximately 500 to 1000 V. The low-voltage terminal is generally connected to ground. However, it is also possible to connect the two cold cathode fluorescent tube terminals to AC voltages that are offset by 180° with respect to each other (non-inverted and inverted), a virtual ground being located at about the center of the tube. This is especially expedient for particularly long tubes.
A key criterion for LCDs is that they illuminate the entire display surface as uniformly as possible. Depending on the size of the screen, two to 16, or even more, cold cathode fluorescent tubes are used for the backlight. The lamps are arranged parallel to each other, vertically above one another and their light is distributed on a liquid crystal plate via a reflector and via a diffuser plate. To achieve the most uniform distribution of brightness that is possible, it is not only necessary for the individual lamps to glow with the same brightness, but each individual lamp in itself must also emit a uniformly bright light along its length. An uneven distribution of brightness between individual lamps due to manufacturing tolerances may occur and can be kept under control to a certain extent by selection during the manufacturing process.
Cold cathode fluorescent tubes in liquid crystal displays are supplied with a high-frequency AC voltage via an inverter, called a backlight inverter. A reflector directs the light emitted by the lamps onto a diffuser plate which guides and distributes the light onto a liquid crystal plate. The liquid crystal plate is generally inserted between two polarization plates. The entire arrangement is held in a frame. Cold cathode fluorescent tubes have negative incremental resistance. Until the starting voltage is reached, a current having only a very low current intensity flows through the lamp. The intensity of the current then rises rapidly and the voltage drops at the same time. In order to compensate the negative incremental resistance of the fluorescent tube, in the prior art the tube is frequently connected in series with a capacitor with the aim of generating an overall positive incremental resistance and stabilizing the circuit. This series capacitor is also referred to as "ballast" and is chosen to match the resistance of each fluorescent lamp. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the various fluorescent lamps that are connected in parallel in a lighting arrangement have different resistances, with the result that the effective lamp current of the fluorescent lamps vary, thus causing a non-uniform distribution of brightness. This problem is intensified in the situation where the brightness of the fluorescent lamp is reduced by analogue dimming.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,781 relates to the control circuit for cold cathode fluorescent tubes for LCDs and deals with the problem that, particularly in the case of analogue dimming, these lamps emit a non-uniform brightness and flicker. To solve this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,781 proposes a new control method for fluorescent lamps that uses a predetermined number of current pulses.
Other fluorescent lamps and particularly cold cathode fluorescent tubes for liquid crystal displays and associated control devices are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,538,373 and 6,108,215.
Japanese Patent Application JP 2002 352974 A and the associated Patent Abstract describe a device for the control of cold cathode fluorescent tubes in a lighting arrangement having a plurality of such cold cathode fluorescent tubes, the current flowing through each cold cathode fluorescent tube being controlled. The current flowing through the tubes is measured and entered into a microcomputer via rectifier circuits. The microcomputer generates PWM control signals as a function of the measured tube currents to drive transistors for the control of the tube current. The cold cathode fluorescent tubes are connected in series with resistors that are bridged by the transistors. The series resistors generate additional losses in the circuit arrangement.
It is an object of the invention to provide a lighting arrangement having a plurality of fluorescent lamps, and particularly cold cathode fluorescent tubes, that emit a uniform brightness in both normal operation as well as over a wide dimming range.

Device for the control of fluorescent lamps in a lighting arrangement


The present invention has an object to provide a vehicle control device which does not require a complicated operation to start an engine even if an idle-stop function has been executed. Thus, the present invention includes a mechanical automatic transmission, an idle-stop device (1) for stopping the engine when the vehicle is stopped, a slope detection device (2) for detecting a slope of a road, and a control unit (10), and is characterized in that the control unit (10) has a function for disengaging a clutch and selecting a gear appropriate for the detected slope, when the slope detected by the slope detection device (2) is at or above a threshold value and an operation of the idle-stop device (1) has been requested.

A vehicle on which a so-called "idle-stop device (ISS)" for the purpose of a fuel consumption-saving traveling has been spreading.
In a prior-art idle-stop device, a transmission is at neutral (N) and also, a clutch is in an engaged state ("engaged" state) while it is operated, that is, when an engine is stopped.
Thus, on a slope or the like, after the idle-stop device is operated, the operation of the idle-stop device is cancelled, and when the vehicle is to be started again, it is necessary that the clutch has to be disengaged once (the clutch is brought into the "disengaged" state) and then, a gear has to be changed and start control has to be performed. Thus, there is a problem that a series of operations take time. In the case of a slope or the like, there is a concern that the vehicle during the above described series of operations (on an uphill slope, for example, the vehicle might retreat).
In order to avoid such movement of the vehicle 1 (a retreat or "sliding down" on an uphill slope), in the case of an operation of the idle-stop device, a parking brake should be applied (a driver should intentionally operate the parking brake) as a condition. Thus, when the operation of the idle-stop device is to be cancelled and the vehicle is to be started, an operation to release the parking brake is also necessary, which makes the operations for vehicle start complicated.
As another prior art, a technology of a transmission device capable of automatic control of a clutch operation and adjustment of a driving force by manual operation of the clutch is proposed (see Patent Literature 1).
However, such prior art (Patent Literature 1) does not solve the above described problem that engine start and vehicle start need complicated operations.


A technique includes (i) receiving a first pilot signal from a base station via a receiver of a client device, or (ii) transmitting a second pilot signal from the client device to the base station via a transmitter of the client device. First time differences and signal quality values for N samples of N respective packets in the first pilot signal are determined. Second time differences and signal quality values are received via the receiver. The second time differences and signal quality values are generated for M samples of M respective packets in the second pilot signal. An offset value is determined based on (i) the first time differences and signal quality values, or (ii) the second time differences and signal quality values. Activation or deactivation times of the receiver or the transmitter or transmission times of the transmitter are adjusted based on the offset value.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
A wireless MIMO network may include one or more base stations and numerous client devices, such as cellular phones, computers, notepads, tablets, personal data assistants and other mobile devices. In a wireless MIMO network, time division multiple access (TDMA) based medium access control is used. TDMA allows multiple client devices to share the same frequency channel by allocating respective time slots to each of the client devices. A base station may control time slot allocation of the client devices. Each of the client devices exchanges data with the base station in the time slots allocated for that client device.
Since the client devices are mobile and thus move between locations, distances between the base station and the client devices changes, as well as characteristics of transmission mediums between the base station and the client devices. The characteristics of the transmission mediums may include, for example, signal attenuation and interference. As a result, signal quality (or signal strength) can be negatively affected due to propagation advances and/or delays of signals transmitted between the base station and the client devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Transmitter and receiver tracking techniques for user devices in a MIMO network


One aspect of the invention is a method for providing protection from data loss on a storage device. An example of the method includes designating a number n, and identifying a plurality of groups of strips on the storage device, wherein a number of strips in a plurality of the groups is equal to the number n. This example also includes reserving a respective parity protection strip on the storage device, for a plurality of the groups of strips identified on the storage device. This example further includes calculating a parity value for a plurality of parity protection strips on the storage device, wherein each calculated parity value is a function of information stored in each of the strips in the corresponding group of strips. This example additionally includes storing the calculated parity protection strip parity values, in corresponding parity protection strips.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to providing protection from data loss on a storage device. More particularly, some examples of the invention concern providing protection from data loss on a storage device by calculating a parity value as a function of information stored on a plurality of strips on the storage device.
2. Description of Related Art
Important data is often stored in storage devices in computing systems. Because storage devices can fail and data in failed storage devices can be lost, techniques have been developed for preventing data loss and for restoring data when one or more storage devices fail.
One technique for preventing data loss comprises storing parity information on a storage device (such as a disk drive), which is a member of a storage array, and storing data on one or more of the other storage devices in the array. (Herein a disk drive may be referred to as a "disk".) With this technique, if a storage device fails, parity information can be used to reconstruct the data that was on the failed storage device. Moreover, if sufficient parity information is added to another storage device, the additional parity information may be used to reconstruct data stored on more than one failed storage device. Another technique for preventing data loss, called data mirroring, comprises making a duplicate copy of data on a separate storage device. With this technique, if a storage device fails, data can be restored from the copy of the data.
A Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks (RAID), may be used to provide a data storage system that has increased performance and capacity. Data mirroring and parity information storage, or a combination of the two, may be implemented on a RAID array to provide data protection. Also, a technique called striping may be utilized, wherein data records and parity information are divided into strips such that the number of strips equals the number of disks in the array. Each strip is written or "striped" to each of the different disks in the RAID array, to balance the load across the disks and to improve performance. A group of strips comprising one pass across all of the drives in a RAID is called a stride. Several RAID protocols have been devised, wherein different mirroring, parity, and striping arrangements are employed. As an example, in a RAID 5 array consisting of six disks, five data strips and one parity strip are striped across the six disks, with the parity information rotated across the disks. The rotation of the parity across the disks ensures that parity updates to the array are shared across the disks. RAID 5 provides a redundancy of one, which means that all data can be recovered if any one and only one of the disks in the array fails.
A type of data loss known as a strip loss can occur during a RAID rebuild after an array has had one or more disk drive failures, when the total number of disk drive failures is equal to the disk drive fault tolerance of the RAID code. For example, with RAID 5, a rebuild of lost data on a spare disk drive may be accomplished as long as no more than 1 disk drive fails. Strip loss occurs during the rebuild of a RAID 5 array if any media error occurs when trying to read the strips in any one of the surviving drives. This is because the rebuild process requires reading each of the strips from the remaining drives and using parity reconstruction to recover the lost data. Because there is no redundancy remaining in a RAID 5 disk array after the first disk drive failure, the media error effectively prevents the full recovery of the original data stride. In higher RAID codes (such as RAID DP and RAID 51), the exposure to a strip loss occurs when 2 or more (e.g. 2 for RAID DP and 3 for RAID 51) disk drive failures have occurred and a media error is encountered during the rebuild on the surviving array disks.
A known solution to this problem is to provide additional RAID fault tolerance by using higher RAID codes. These higher codes require a substantial increase in the number of disk drives, or alternately are achieved at a significant loss in effective capacity. For example, a user may opt to go from a 5 disk RAID 5 array to a 10 disk RAID 51 array wherein the RAID 5 array is mirrored. As another example, the storage efficiency for a RAID 6 array, for the same data storage capacity as a RAID 5 array, is lower than the RAID 5 array because a RAID 6 array requires an additional disk. RAID 6 has an arrangement similar to RAID 5, but requires two parity strips in each stride, to provide a redundancy of two.
Retrieving a strip from a drive that may have a poorly written track or some other localized problem (e.g. excessive off-track disturbance at a particular physical location on the drive), frequently causes the device adapter to resort to a preemptive reconstruct of the data, and often requires an undesirably long period of time. A preemptive reconstruct occurs when the RAID adapter times out the target disk drive for being too slow in its data recovery process (DRP) attempts. The RAID adapter may then reconstruct the target strip using the remaining array members and parity. This reconstruction of the target strip requires reading each strip in the same stride as the target strip, from the other array disk drives, and XORing them to recover the target strip. This reconstruction can take a significant amount of time to complete.
In the extreme case where a drive repeatedly times out in attempting to read from a particular location, the adapter or host may permanently fence the drive from the array and request service to replace it with a spare disk drive. In that situation the array is exposed to strip loss until the spare drive is brought on line and the rebuild is successfully completed.
A known solution to the exposure to possible strip loss is to use a mirror scheme to allow the target strip to be read quickly from the mirror image, in lieu of reconstructing the target strip as described above. However, mirroring is accomplished at the expense of halving the effective capacity of the RAID array, or equivalently, doubling the cost of storage.
In summary, known techniques for recovering or reconstructing unreadable target strips often have significant shortcomings.

Method and system for autonomic protection against data strip loss

International Business Machines Corporation


A configuration is provided which allows users, such as children, who cannot sufficiently read map information to easily perform positional confirmation. An information terminal apparatus carried on a user includes an image data storage block storing actually taken image data of two or more geographical points in an area in which positional information is to be provided and a positional information database storing the correlation data between the identifiers of image data stored in the image data storage block and the positional information. On the basis of the positional information obtained from a positional information capture block, the image data identifier corresponding to the positional information is obtained from the positional information database, the actually taken image data are obtained from the image data storage block based on the obtained image data identifier, and the obtained actually taken image data are displayed on a display block. This novel configuration allows the user to instantly determine the actually taken video which matches the surrounding view for easy positional confirmation.

The present invention relates generally to an information terminal apparatus, a navigation system, an information processing method, and a computer program and, more particularly, to an information terminal apparatus, a navigation system, an information processing method, and a computer program which allow users such as children who do not have enough knowledge for correctly reading maps to instantly understand their current positions, and present, on terminals having limited display capabilities as with mobile terminals, such information essential to users as the directions in which users are heading for example.
Recently, portable personal computers and mobile phones have become widespread, allowing their users to carry these devices on them for outdoor or on-the-way communication through networks. In this so-called mobile computing environment, the number of service modes available for these users through networks is quickly increasing.
One of these service modes is the provision of navigation information. This service started with the provision of mainly the map information for cars; currently, services for presenting the information about users' current locations and the maps leading to destinations are provided for not only in-vehicle navigation systems but also mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs which users carry on them.
The GPS (Global Positioning System) is known as a system for detecting the position of an in-vehicle navigation system or a user-carried mobile terminal for example. A terminal having these position detecting capabilities also allows the detection of a direction in which the user is heading and the selection of map information to be presented on the user terminal as well as the setting of the direction of the presentation.
A system for detecting user positions by the GPS and providing optimum navigation information is disclosed in non-patent document 1 shown below. The system disclosed in this document is called Walk Navi which is constituted by a mobile system for performing positional recognition, voice interaction, information display, and mobile communication and a geographic WWW (World Wide Web) server for relating positional information (latitude/longitude) with URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of WWW.
Non-patent document 1 proposes a position recognition processing configuration in which an area where a user is currently positioned is computed from the latitude/longitude information obtained by the GPS and an electronic map, a voice interaction system configuration which provides high convenience in inputting information while a user is walking, and a geographic WWW server configuration in which latitude/longitude (or address) information is related with URLs.
As described above, a variety of navigation systems have been proposed or commercialized so far, but many of current navigation information providing services are limited to the presentation of two-dimensional map information. Namely, these services display maps represented in two-dimensional vector information or bitmap information onto user terminals. These kinds of two-dimensional map information are often difficult to recognize on portable terminals having limited display capabilities. Besides, for such users who cannot understand how to read maps as children, these kinds of two-dimensional map information avail nothing.
[Non-patent document 1]
Author: Katashi Nagao, Member of Committee, Research Working Group
Title: Agent Augmented Reality; Integration of the Real World with the Cyberspace by Agent
Associated portion (page, column, line, etc.): 184.108.40.206 Walk Navi (pedestrian navigator)
Media type: Online
Date of publishing: March, 1998
Publisher: Advanced Information Technology (AITEC), Japan Information Processing Development Corporation (JIPDEC)
Address: Fourth floor, Shiba Tokyo Kaijo Building, 2-3-3 Shiba, Minatoku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3456-2511
Page of publishing such as place of publishing: Trace the following link from http://www.icot.or.jp-Research
research report:
1997
H9-8: Material, Researches into the intellectual information technology based on human being (March, 1998)
To the table of contents
3 Technological Problems to Be Solved and Research Scenario
3.3 Agent augmented reality—Integration of the Real World with the Cyberspace by Agent
Date of search: Nov. 21, 2002
Source, Address: http://www.icot.or.jp/FTS/REPORTS/H9-reports/H9-HCIS/AITEC 9805R1-ch1-303.htm# anchor-ch3-3-e

Information terminal apparatus, navigation system, information processing method, and computer program


An optical fiber fixing system includes a clamp base and a clamp member. The clamp base has a V-groove on a top surface thereof. The depth of the V-groove is configured such that a ridgeline of an optical fiber projects beyond the top surface of the base when the optical fiber is mounted therein. The clamp member has a protrusion on a bottom surface thereof. The protrusion depresses, from the upside, the optical fiber mounted in the V-groove of the clamp base. Further, the protrusion is configured to extend substantially perpendicularly to the axial direction of the optical fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber butting system for butting two optical fibers against each other and an optical fiber fusion-splicing system for fusion-splicing two optical fibers, and more particularly, to an optical fiber fixing system for fixing each optical fiber before butting or fusion-splicing the two optical fibers.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical fiber fixing system for fixing an optical fiber is used for an optical fiber butting system (an optical fiber alignment system) or an optical fiber fusion-splicing system. As an optical fiber fusion-splicing system according to the related art, known is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Laid-Open No. 6-258541. As shown in FIG. 1, an optical fiber fusion-splicing system 101 includes optical fiber fixing systems 105, 105, an optical fiber butting section 107, discharge electrodes 109, 109, a system main body 111, a windshield cover 113, a hinge portion 114, and a monitor (not shown in the figure). Moreover, in FIG. 1, an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis are set respectively in the lateral, longitudinal and vertical directions of the system main body 111. Further, in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3, an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis are set respectively in the longitudinal, lateral and vertical directions of the optical fiber fixing system 105 (125). The X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis are perpendicular to one another.
The optical fiber fixing systems 105, 105 are disposed respectively along the X-axis at the equal distances from the butting section 107. The optical fiber fixing systems 105, 105 fix the optical fibers 103, 103 respectively. The discharge electrodes 109, 109 are disposed respectively along the Y-axis at the equal distances from the butting section 107. The discharge electrodes 109, 109 are used for fusing the end surfaces of the optical fibers 103, 103. The windshield cover 113 is configured such that it may be opened and shut around the hinge portion 114 attached to the +Y side portion of the system main body 111, and protects the butting section 107. The monitor is disposed on the side of the system main body 111.
Parenthetically, an optical fiber butting system includes the components of the optical fiber fusion-splicing system 101 except for the discharge electrodes 109, 109, and is a system for butting the optical fibers 103, 103 to align them with each other.
The optical fiber fixing system 105 is, as shown in FIG. 2A, includes a clamp base 115 and a clamp member 119. FIG. 2A shows the optical fiber fixing system 105, which has been shown on the −X side in FIG. 1. Further, the optical fiber fixing system 105 shown on the +X side in FIG. 1 has the same configuration as that in FIG. 2A. The clamp base 115 has, on its top surface, a V-groove 117 for mounting the optical fiber 103 and is attached to the system main body 111. The depth of the V-groove 117 is designed so that a ridgeline of the optical fiber 103 may be located within the V-groove 117. The clamp member 119 has a protrusion 123 on the bottom surface of its +X side end portion. Slopes 121, 121 are formed on both sides of the protrusion 123 and are fitted into the V-groove 117. When the optical fiber 103 is fixed using the optical fiber fixing system 105, the optical fiber 103 is arranged along the V-groove 117 and then the optical fiber 103 is depressed against the V-groove 117 using the clamp member 119. The clamp member 119 is usually made of a resin so as not to damage the optical fiber 103.
However, the optical fiber fixing system 105 has the following two problems. The first one is that the clamp member 119 has a poor anti-abrasion characteristic since the clamp member 119 is made of a resin. The second one is that the optical fiber 103 is liable to be off the bottom surface of the protrusion 123 as shown in FIG. 2B since the protrusion 123 of the clamp member 119 is not configured so as to guide the optical fiber 103 to the bottom portion of the V-groove 117.
Alternatively to the optical fiber fixing system 105, an optical fiber fixing system 125 has been developed. The optical fiber fixing system 125 includes, as shown in FIG. 3, a clamp base 127 and a clamp member 133. The clamp base 127 has, on its top surface, a first V-groove 129 and a second V-groove 131 for mounting an optical fiber 103, and is attached to a system main body 111. The depth of the first V-groove 129 is designed so that a ridgeline of the optical fiber 103 may be located above the first V-groove 129. The depth of the second V-groove 131 is designed so that the ridgeline of the optical fiber 103 may be located within the second V-groove 131. A bottom surface 135 of the clamp member 133 has the shape of a plane. When the optical fiber 103 is fixed using the optical fiber fixing system 125, the optical fiber 103 is mounted in along the first V-groove 129 and the second V-groove 131, and then the ridgeline of the optical fiber 103, which projects over the first V-groove, is depressed against the first V-groove 129 using the clamp member 133. At that time, the second V-groove 131 restricts the movement of the optical fiber 103 in the direction of Y-axis. The bottom surface 135 of the clamp member 133 goes down maintaining to be parallel to the X-Y plane and contacts the ridgeline of the optical fiber 103. Usually, the clamp member 133 is made of a ceramic in order to reduce friction with the optical fiber 103.
However, the optical fiber fixing system 125 has the following two problems. The first one is that it is difficult to set easily the optical fiber 103 on the clamp base 127 since the first V-groove is formed to be longer than the second V-groove along the axial direction of the optical fiber 103. The second one is that the clamp member 133 is likely to become expensive and is liable to damage the surface of the optical fiber 103 since the clamp member 133 is made of a ceramic.

Optical fiber fixing system, optical fiber butting system and optical fiber fusion-splicing system


A scroll compressor is provided with a multiple-speed motor. A control selects a speed for operating the motor, along with selecting between several available options for the system capacity adjustment to meet external load demands in a most efficient and reliable manner. The disclosed embodiment includes an economizer circuit, an unloader function, and an optional suction modulation valve. By utilizing each of these features in combination with the multi-speed motor for the compressor, the present invention is better able to tailor provided capacity to desired capacity.

This invention relates to a two-speed scroll compressor that is operable in a refrigerant system with an economizer function and other means of capacity modulation.
Refrigerant systems are utilized in many applications to condition an environment. In particular, air conditioners and heat pumps are employed to cool and/or heat a secondary fluid such as air entering an environment. The cooling or heating load of the environment may vary with ambient conditions, occupancy level, other changes in sensible and latent load demands, and as the temperature and/or humidity set points are adjusted by an occupant of the building.
Thus, refrigerant systems can be provided with sophisticated controls, and a number of optional components and features to adjust cooling and/or heating capacity. Known options include the ability to bypass refrigerant which has been at least partially compressed by a compressor back to a suction line. This function is also known as an unloader bypass function. This additional step in operation is taken to reduce system capacity.
Another option includes a so-called economizer cycle. In an economizer cycle, a main refrigerant flow heading to an evaporator is subcooled in an economizer heat exchanger. The main refrigerant flow is subcooled by a tapped refrigerant that is expanded to some intermediate pressure and temperature levels and then passed through the economizer heat exchanger. This tapped refrigerant is then returned to a compressor at an intermediate point in the compression cycle. Thus, the economizer cycle provides an additional step in operation to vary system capacity by switching between economized and other modes (or steps) of operation.
In the prior art, controls can be programmed to optionally actuate any one of these various control functions. However, the capacity provided by these functions is increased or decreased in relatively large discrete steps. It would be desirable to provide the ability to vary the capacity while the system is running at any of the above described modes of operation, in order to more closely match external load demands.
Motor drives are known for driving compressors at two speeds in a refrigerant system. By driving the compressor at a higher or lower speed, the amount of refrigerant that is compressed and circulated throughout the system changes, and thus the system capacity can be changed accordingly.
One increasingly popular type of compressors is a scroll compressor. In a scroll compressor, a pair of scroll members orbits relative to each other to compress an entrapped refrigerant. One design configuration of a scroll compressor utilizes both economizer and various unloader functions. Further, this scroll compressor may employ a single intermediate port to provide both functions alternatively or simultaneously. This scroll compressor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,364.
However, scroll compressors have not been utilized in combination with a two-speed drive for its motor and an economizer cycle to obtain additional flexibility in system operation and control.

Refrigerant system with multi-speed scroll compressor and economizer circuit


Method and apparatus for measuring true end-to-end latency for calls to Web services are described. In embodiments, a Web service client and a Web service provider may collaborate to collect timing/latency data for calls to the Web service. This data may be collected, stored, and analyzed by a latency measurement service to generate displays and/or reports on true end-to-end latency measurements for Web service calls. Embodiments may collect Internet/network infrastructure latency for Web service calls up to and including the “last mile” to the Web service client and the Web service processing time. Additionally, by analyzing latency data collected from a number of Web services clients and/or Web service providers, embodiments may provide a macro-level view into overall Internet performance. In one embodiment, the latency measurement service may be a Web service.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer networks, and, more particularly, to measuring latency in Web services and on networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Web services may be used to provide Web software developers access to technology platforms and data, such as product catalogs, hosted on Web servers, or "Web sites". Through Web services, developers may be empowered to innovate and build businesses by creating dynamic, interactive Web sites and Web applications that leverage Web services to access services, applications, and data on other Web servers/Web sites.
Generally speaking, a Web service interface may be configured to provide a standard, cross-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for communication between a client requesting some service to be performed and the service provider. In some embodiments, a Web service interface may be configured to support the exchange of documents or messages including information describing the service request and response to that request. Such documents, or messages, may be exchanged using standardized Web protocols, such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), for example, and may be formatted in a platform-independent data format, such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML), for example.
Web services may be used in a variety of applications. One example of an area in which Web services may be used is for product merchandising. A first enterprise may provide a Web site or Web application hosted on one or more Web servers that may access information from a second enterprise's Web server or Web servers through Web services provided by the second enterprise's Web server(s), such as product catalog information, to merchandise products from the product catalog through the first enterprise's Web site or Web application. The second enterprise may earn a commission from the first enterprise for each sale.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system configuration that provides a Web service interface to the logic and/or data of a Web site. In this example, a Web site, such as an e-commerce Web site, may be implemented on one or more servers 102, one or more of which may be coupled to Internet 100. Server(s) 102 may include software and/or hardware that implements enterprise logic 104 through which the functionalities of the Web site may be supported, for example through which items offered by an e-commerce Web site may be ordered.
Servers 102 may be coupled to data storage 110 for storing information in database 112 related to the Web site that may include, but is not limited to, Web pages, data related to the Web site, such as product information for an e-commerce Web site, and customer information. Data storage 110 may be implemented as one or more storage devices configured independently or as a storage system. In general, data storage 110 may be implemented as one or more of any type of storage device and/or storage system suitable for storing data used by the server systems of the Web site including, but not limited to: redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) devices, disk drives or arrays of disk drives such as Just a Bunch Of Disks (JBOD), (used to refer to disks that are not configured according to RAID), optical storage devices, tape drives, RAM disks, Storage Area Network (SAN), Network Access Storage (NAS), or combinations thereof.
Database 112 may be implemented as a single, monolithic database or as a combination of two or more databases and/or data stored in other, non-database formats, such as files stored in any of various file formats. Database 112 may be or may include a relational database, or may be or may include any other type of database, such as an object oriented database, depending on implementation, or combinations thereof.
One or more client systems 122 may be coupled to Internet 100. Each client system 122 may be configured to access the Web site using a Web client application, such as a Web browser, via a Web client interface 108. One or more other servers 120 may be coupled to Internet 100, such as servers that implement the Web sites of other enterprises, institutions, individuals, etc., or even other Web sites of the enterprise that provides server(s) 102. One or more of servers 120 may be configured to access enterprise logic 104 of servers 102 and/or database 112 via a Web service interface 106 provided by one or more of servers 102. Note that Web service interface does not provide a "Web browser" interface to enterprise logic 104 and database 112, but instead provides a programmatic interface via an API through which at least some functionality of enterprise logic 104 and/or at least some data in database 112 may be programmatically accessed by applications hosted on servers 120. An application that accesses enterprise logic 104 and/or database 112 via Web service interface 106 may be referred to as a Web service client. Note that a server 120 including a Web service client may provide Web sites accessible to clients 122 via Web browsers, and the Web service client may be configured to access enterprise logic 104 and/or database 112 of servers 102 via Web service interface 106 to provide access to at least a portion of logic 104 and/or database 112 via the Web site provided by the server 120.
While FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system configuration in which a Web site provides both a Web client interface and an Web service interface for accessing enterprise logic and/or data of the Web site, Web services may be used to provide programmatic access to applications, services and/or data not associated with a conventional Web site accessible to clients via a Web browser. FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system configuration that provides a Web service interface, and shows the interaction between a Web service client and a Web service provider in more detail. In this example, a Web service interface 106 may be implemented on a server 130 coupled to Internet 100. This server 130 may be referred to as a "Web service provider". Server 130, or alternatively one or more other servers coupled to server 130, may include one or more applications or services 108. Server 130 may be coupled to data storage 140 for storing information in database 142. Database 142 may include any type of data.
Server 120 may be coupled to Internet 100. Server 120 may host a Web service client 124. Web service client 124 may be configured to programmatically access application or service 108 of server 130 and/or database 142 via Web service interface 106. Note that Web service interface does not provide a "Web browser" interface, but instead provides a programmatic interface via an API through which at least some functionality of application or service 108 and/or at least some data in database 142 may be programmatically accessed by Web service client 124. Also note that server 120 may provide a Web site accessible to client(s) 122 via Web browsers, and Web service client 124 may be configured to access at least some functionality of application or service 108 and/or at least some data in database 142 of server 130 via Web service interface 106 to provide access to at least some functionality of application or service 108 and/or at least some data in database 142 via the Web site provided by server 120.
To access an application, service or data provided by the Web service provider 130, Web service client 124 may send a request message to Web service interface 106 via Internet 100. This request message goes through the network and Internet infrastructures; through the Web service client 124's local network routers, switches, firewalls, etc., through the Internet backbone, to the Web service provider's local network, to Server 130, and then to Web service interface 106. Web service provider 130 may then process the request, for example by performing an indicated function(s) of application or service 108 or accessing indicated data in database 142. Web service interface 106 may then return results of the processing to the Web service client 124 in a response message via Internet 100, back through the local networks and Internet backbone.

Method and apparatus for measuring latency in web services


Provided a polymerizable compound represented by the following Formula A-1 or Formula A-2: In Formula A-1 or Formula A-2, R1 represents an electron-donating group; n represents an integer from 1 to 5; R2 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, or —ORO, wherein RO represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or a protecting group of a hydroxy group; R3 represents a hydrogen atom or a protecting group of a hydroxy group; and X represents a structure represented by any one of Formula B-1 to Formula B-5.

An antisense molecule having a complementary base sequence to a target nucleic acid forms a duplex with the target nucleic acid and protein production from the target nucleic acid can be inhibited. The antisense molecule receives attention as an effective medicine for gene treatment, since the antisense molecule directly act on a disease related gene, when the disease-related gene is selected as the target nucleic acid.
The antisense molecule (nucleic acid oligomer) is mainly required to have cell membrane permeability, nuclease resistance, chemical stability in the body (for example, under the environment of pH 7.4), and a property of forming stable duplex with a specific base sequence, from the viewpoint of effectively inhibiting production of target protein.
As the antisense molecule, for example, an oligomer having a structure in which at least a portion is substituted by a phosphorothioate bond among phosphodiester structures of nucleic acid oligomers, an oligomer having a structure in which at least a portion is substituted by a boranophosphate structure (hereinafter, referred to as "boranophosphate oligomer") among phosphodiester structures of nucleic acid oligomers, and the like are known, and there have been many extensive research examples so far and the oligomers have been put to practical use even as medicine.
The boranophosphate structure refers to a structure in which one of non-bridging oxygen atoms in a phosphodiester structure is substituted by a borano group (—BH3).
The boranophosphate oligomer has advantages of having high nuclease resistance, high RNA interference (RNAi) activity, higher affinity for RNA than DNA, a low nonspecific interaction with proteins, and applicability to boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT).
A conventional method of producing a boranophosphate oligomer may include methods described in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1990, 112, 9000, Tetrahedron Lett. 1997, 38, 4957, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 9417, Tetrahedron Lett. 1998, 39, 3899, T. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 496-499, T. RSC Adv. 2015, 5, 2392-2395, and Tetrahedron Lett. 2012, 53, 4361-4364.

Polymerizable compound, compound, and method for producing boranophosphate oligomer


A method, apparatus, and computer program product for flattening a warped substrate. The substrate is placed on a planar surface of a clamping apparatus in direct mechanical contact with the planar surface. The substrate comprises surface regions S1, S2, . . . , SN having an average warpage of W1, W2, . . . , WN, respectively, wherein W1≦W2≦ . . . ≦WN and W1≦WN. Zones Z1, Z2, . . . , ZN of the planar surface respectively comprise vacuum port groups G1, G2, . . . , GN. Each group comprises at least one vacuum port. N is at least 2. A vacuum pressure PV1, PV2, . . . , PVN is generated at each vacuum port within group G1, G2, . . . , GN, at a time of T1, T2, . . . , TN to clamp surface region S1, S2, . . . , SN to zone Z1, Z2, . . . , ZN, respectively. The vacuum pressure PV1, PV2, . . . , PVN is maintained at the vacuum ports of group G1, G2, . . . , GN, respectively, until time TN+1. T1<T2< . . . <TN<TN+1.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for flattening a warped substrate.
2. Related Art
During manufacturing processes of semiconductor technology, films of various materials are sequentially deposited and patterned on a silicon substrate. For back-end-of-line (BEOL) processing of semiconductor wafers, these deposited materials include metallization levels for interconnect structures, dielectric levels used for insulation and capping, and barrier layers to prevent diffusion and oxidation of the interconnect structures. A current choice for interconnect metallization is copper, manufactured in a dual-damascene method. Dielectric materials include silicon oxide deposited by the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane (SiH4) or tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) precursors or organosilicate glass or SiCOH or carbon doped oxides deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for high-performance interconnect applications. Barrier layers include tantalum, tungsten and titanium-based alloys. Because the deposition processes can induce intrinsic stresses within these layers, the resulting film/substrate combination can bend or warp the wafer surface from a flat profile to one that bows up or down toward the wafer edge.
In order to reduce production costs associated with manufacture of each wafer, the semiconductor industry has implemented the use of 300 mm diameter silicon substrates over 200 mm substrates. As the extent of warpage increases, the effective clearance in the manufacturing equipment through which the wafer passes decreases. In some cases, the warpage is severe enough so that wafers will either damage equipment within the fabrication machinery or become blocked which stops the manufacturing line. As semiconductor wafers move from 200 mm in diameter to 300 mm in diameter, the amount of deflection observed between the wafer center and edge increases for equivalent values of stress in the microcircuitry, leading to even greater occurrences of problems.
Thus, there is a need for mitigating at least one of the aforementioned problems associated with a warped semiconductor wafer during manufacturing processes of semiconductor technology.

Apparatus and method for flattening a warped substrate


A lawn mower having upper and lower cutter blades in a cutter housing is provided. The blades are disposed with a phase difference such that upper blade edge parts of the upper cutter blade are advanced forward with respect to lower blade edges of the lower cutter blade in the rotation direction, whereby interference of the upper cutter blade with the air-lifting parts of the lower cutter blade is avoided, and the noise produced by the rotation of the upper and lower cutter blades is reduced.

As working modes of a lawn mower, basically there are the three working modes of mulching work, bagging work, and discharge work.
Mulching work is a working mode in which two cutter blades are provided in a cutter housing, grass is cut with these cutter blades, and finely cut grass cuttings are dispersed on the lawn surface after cutting so that they are inconspicuous.
Bagging work is a working mode in which one cutter blade is provided in the cutter housing, grass is cut with this cutter blade, and the cut grass is received in a grass bag attached to the back of the cutter housing.
Discharge work is a working mode in which one cutter blade is provided in the cutter housing, grass is cut with this cutter blade, and the cut grass is discharged onto the mown lawn surface from the rear of the cutter housing.
A lawn mower made to perform mulching work is proposed in for example Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2516509.
The lawn mower disclosed in this Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2516509 will be described below on the basis of FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 hereof.
The lawn mower 240 of related art shown in FIG. 13 has a motive power source 242 mounted on the top of a cutter housing 241. An upper cutter blade 245 for mulching work only and a lower cutter blade 244 for bagging work and discharge work are attached one above the other to the output shaft 243 of the motive power source 242. The lower cutter blade 244 and the upper cutter blade 245 are rotated inside the cutter housing 241 and cut grass.
As shown in FIG. 14, in plan view the upper cutter blade 245 is parallel with and stacked on the lower cutter blade 244. However, the upper cutter blade 245 is positioned close to air-lifting parts 246, 246 of the lower cutter blade 244. Consequently, there has been the shortcoming that as a result of a swirl current and lift current creation function of the air-lifting parts 246, 246, which are for creating a carrying draft in the cutter housing 241, being obstructed, as shown in FIG. 13, the airflows in the vicinities of the air-lifting parts 246, 246 are disrupted and there is a resulting increase in noise.
That is, as shown in FIG. 13, because the air-lifting parts 246, 246 of the lower cutter blade 244 extend above the blade edges of the upper cutter blade 245, the path of the carrying draft is narrowed by the air-lifting parts 246, 246, and the swirl current and lift current creation function is impaired.
Also, as shown in FIG. 14, the phases of the blade edges 247, 247 of the lower cutter blade 244 and the blade edges 248, 248 of the upper cutter blade 245 overlap. Because of this, it sometimes happens that when grass is cut by the upper cutter blade 245, this grass is pushed over (made to lean) in front of the blade edges 248, 248, and this leaned grass is to be cut by the blade edges 247, 247 of the lower cutter blade 244, and the grass cannot be cut with certainty by the lower cutter blade 244.
Accordingly, a lawn mower has been awaited with which it is possible to avoid interference between the lower cutter blade and the upper cutter blade and reduce the noise of these cutter blades.


Using a service server list containing addresses of servers within a service system and an application list containing names of active applications within the service system, addresses of servers on which the active applications are running, and communication source addresses and communication destination addresses of the active applications, the following processes are carried out: specifying applications of a first layer in the service system from among applications lying within the service system; specifying applications of a second or subsequent layer in the service system from the application list and from addresses of servers on which the applications of the first layer are running; and judging applications having the same application name among applications belonging to the same layer as being of the same role for aggregation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an information processing apparatus and a method of operating the same, and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and a method of operating the information processing apparatus, capable of easily and simply grasping the configuration of active applications in an environment where a plurality of applications are running on a plurality of servers.
2. Description of the Related Art
To effectively manage operations of an IT-based service system, it is commonly necessary to correctly grasp the current system configuration. On the other hand, recent service system is getting larger and larger due to introduction of system linkage technique, server virtualization technique, etc. When such a large-scale service system is to be managed, a difficulty may occur to the system administrator to correctly manage the current configuration of the service system. Because of such a difficulty, the system administrator may experience delay in recognizing or may fail to recognize any failure or configurational change of the service system, which may result in enormous damage to the service.
A prior art of Japanese Patent No. 3177999 specification is an example of a method of automatically displaying the configuration information of a service system. Japanese Patent No. 3177999 specification discloses a method of automatically creating a system configuration diagram based on definition information describing the contents of a plurality of processes making up the system.
In accordance with the technique described in the above patent document, the system configuration diagram is automatically created by an output means that displays or prints out names of a plurality of groups obtained by classifying a service system. A specific procedure to automatically create the system configuration diagram is carried out by a means that, through the entry of the system administrator, stores a series of processes of the service system for featuring the groups classified when putting together the service system (e.g., the content of a process is whether the record is to be written when the definition element is a file), a means that analyzes processes of the service system to be classified and compares the results with a series of prestored processes to judge to which group the service system belongs, and the output means that displays or prints out the name of the classified group.
The method of the above patent document necessitates a processing unit that stores a series of processes of the service system for featuring the classified groups and requests the system administrator to enter the series of processes of the service system stored by the processing unit. The system administrator enters know-hows of the processes within the service system. Thus, to deal with a new process, maintenance of the know-hows is needed. If old know-hows are used intactly without any maintenance, the processes beyond the know-hows cannot be dealt with. Therefore, the service system executing such the processes cannot create correct service system configuration diagrams. This means that the system administrator cannot grasp the correct configuration of the current service system.
When displaying definition elements on a display screen of a management computer, if a multiplicity of service systems are to be administered, the definition elements cannot lie on a single screen because their display are not aggregated. This may render it difficult to grasp at a glance how many service systems exist.

Information processing apparatus and method of operating the same


A high-reliability, multi-threshold complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) latch circuit is presented that uses both low and high threshold inverters. The multi-threshold latch circuit includes: a low threshold forward clock inverter inverting an input-terminal logic state and applying the inverted logic state to an output-terminal logic state when a clock is in a first logic state; and a high threshold backward clock inverter forming a circular latch structure together with the forward clock inverter, and inverting an input-terminal logic state and applying the inverted logic state to an output logic state when the clock is in a second logic state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-threshold complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) latch circuit capable of ensuring high reliability and suppressing sub-threshold leakage current.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Semiconductor transistor devices can be classified into low threshold transistors and high threshold transistors according to threshold voltage. A low threshold transistor has a guaranteed high response speed even at low supply voltage, but consumes a large amount of power due to sub-threshold leakage current. In contrast, a high threshold transistor has a small leakage current and thus consumes little power, but shows deteriorated characteristics, such as a low response speed, at low supply voltage. When a latch or flip-flop is implemented by the low threshold transistor, sub-threshold leakage current may cause the loss of internal information of the latch or flip-flop, i.e., stored data.
The present era in the art is referred to as the deep sub-micron (DSM) era because the gate length of a semiconductor transistor has been reduced to less than 0.1 micron. In the DSM era, high power consumption due to sub-threshold leakage current is a major concern. As the gate length of a transistor is shortened and the threshold voltage is lowered, sub-threshold leakage current increases in proportion to the exponential of a voltage difference between a drain and source. Therefore, in the DSM era, a new sequential circuit structure that can prevent loss of power and/or data caused by sub-threshold leakage current is extremely important.
In the DSM era, a multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) structure, MTCMOS being a power gating technique, and a variable threshold CMOS (VTCMOS) structure performing back bias voltage control are widely used as structures reducing sub-threshold leakage current.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional MTCMOS circuit, which comprises a low threshold circuit block consisting of low threshold transistors or gates, and high threshold transistors P1 and N1 connected to a supply voltage terminal VCC and a ground voltage terminal GND. In normal operation, a sleep signal SLEEP is "low." In a sleep mode, the sleep signal SLEEP becomes "high," and the transistors P1 and N1 both are turned off. Thus, the transistors P1 and N1 are floated from the supply voltage terminal VCC and ground voltage terminal GND, and go into a virtual supply voltage state and a virtual ground voltage state.
FIG. 1 shows a structure controlling power supply of the circuit block consisting of low threshold transistor devices by the high threshold transistors to suppress leakage current. In the structure, the power line of the conventional MTCMOS circuit block is floated from normal voltage, and then shifts back to a normal state. Therefore, power line bounce may occur, and the total area increases because of the high threshold transistors for power gating.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a conventional VTCMOS device. A transistor illustrated in FIG. 2 is a low threshold transistor that adjusts a threshold voltage by controlling a back bias voltage and thus can reduce leakage current. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently reduce leakage current by substituting the transistor of FIG. 2 for each low threshold transistor included in a circuit block inside a chip. However, a process of fabricating a structure for applying a back bias voltage in a circuit block is complicated, an additional back bias voltage generator circuit is required, and a body factor makes it hard to control threshold voltage as the structure is scaled down.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An imaging device includes a first communication unit, an imaging control unit, and a recording determination unit that determines whether or not an image data is to be recorded according to an operation instruction. The first communication unit transmits recording permission information to an external communication device when a user operation is a recording permission operation, and transmits recording prohibition information to the communication device when the user operation is a recording prohibition operation. The imaging control unit associates image data with determination result determined by the recording determination unit and either one of the recording permission information and the recording prohibition information and controls a recording unit to record the image data.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an imaging device for imaging a subject, an imaging system including the imaging device, an imaging method to be performed by the imaging device, and a computer-readable recording medium.
2. Related Art
In recent years, there is known a technique of causing an imaging device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera to display, on a display unit, a live view image corresponding to image date generated by imaging, and to sequentially transmit the image data to an external communication device such as a mobile phone by using communication technology (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-14119).
The technique is a technique for a user of a communication device to issue an operation instruction (a shooting instruction for performing still image shooting, a field-of-view change instruction for changing the field of view, and the like) to a user of an imaging device by using communication technology.
Specifically, according to the technique, the communication device sequentially receives pieces of image data transmitted from the imaging device, and sequentially displays live view images corresponding to the pieces of image data on the display unit. The user of the communication device checks the live view image displayed on the display unit of the communication device, and performs a predetermined operation on the communication device in the case of causing the imaging device to perform still image shooting or of changing the field of view for imaging at the imaging device, for example. An operation instruction is transmitted from the communication device to the imaging device by the operation mentioned above, and the imaging device displays information according to the operation instruction on the display unit after receiving the operation instruction. Then, the user of the imaging device checks the information displayed on the display unit of the imaging device, and determines whether or not to perform an operation according to the operation instruction.

Imaging device, imaging system, imaging method, and computer-readable recording medium associating image data with responsibility acceptance or abandonment information


A method comprises the following steps. Entity-generic user records are created for a plurality of users associated with a plurality of entities by analyzing entity-specific user records for the plurality of users, wherein the entity-generic user records comprise respective sets of entitlements for the plurality of users. Entity-generic asset records for assets associated with the plurality of entities are created by analyzing entity-specific asset records for the plurality of assets, wherein the entity-generic asset records comprise respective sets of permissions for accessing the plurality of assets. An entity-generic user record for a given user is utilized to determine whether the given user has access to a given asset by comparing the set of entitlements in the given entity-generic user record with the set of permissions in an entity-generic asset record for the given asset.

Managing access to products and services across a number of entities is a difficult task. For example, various business and other entities may provide products, services and assets to its own employees, to customers and to partners associated with other entities. Managing access to such products, services and assets can be difficult, as various entities may use different attributes, terminology, etc. to define users. In addition, a given business entity may have a number of divisions. Employees associated with each division may be defined using a variety of attributes, terminology, etc.
Often times, a customer service representative or other individual controlling access to a given product, service or asset must spend a significant amount of time and resources to determine whether specific customers, partners or employees should or should not have access to the given product, service or asset. This leads to inefficiencies, waste, reduced productivity, and inconveniences for the customer service representative and the customer, partner or employee.

Utilizing entity-generic records for determining access to assets