A method and composition for treating a patient suffering from a disease, disorder or condition and associated pain include the administration to the patient of a therapeutically effective amount of a neurotoxin selected from a group consisting of Botulinum toxin types A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

Heretofore, Botulinum toxins, in particular Botulinum toxin type A, has been used in the treatment of a number of neuromuscular disorders and conditions involving muscular spasm; for example, strabismus, blepharospasm, spasmodic torticollis (cervical dystonia), oromandibular dystonia and spasmodic dysphonia (laryngeal dystonia). The toxin binds rapidly and strongly to presynaptic cholinergic nerve terminals and inhibits the exocytosis of acetylcholine by decreasing the frequency of acetylcholine release. This results in local paralysis and hence relaxation of the muscles afflicted by spasm.
For one example of treating neuromuscular disorders, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,005 to Borodic, which suggests treating curvature of the juvenile spine, i.e., scoliosis, with an acetylcholine release inhibitor, preferably Botulinum toxin A.
For the treatment of strabismus with Botulinum toxin type A, see Elston, J. S., et al., British Journal of Ophthalmology, 1985, 69, 718-724 and 891-896. For the treatment of blepharospasm with Botulinum toxin type A, see Adenis, J. P., et al., J. Fr. Ophthalmol., 1990, 13 (5) at pages 259-264. For treating squint, see Elston, J. S., Eye, 1990, 4(4):VII. For treating spasmodic and oromandibular dystonia torticollis, see Jankovic et al., Neurology, 1987, 37, 616-623.
Spasmodic dysphonia has been treated with Botulinum toxin type A. See Blitzer et al., Ann. Otol. Rhino. Laryngol, 1985, 94, 591-594. Lingual dystonia was treated with Botulinum toxin type A according to Brin et al., Adv. Neurol. (1987) 50, 599-608. Finally, Cohen et al., Neurology (1987) 37 (Suppl. 1), 123-4, discloses the treatment of writer's cramp with Botulinum toxin type A.
The term Botulinum toxin is a generic term embracing the family of toxins produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum and, to date, seven immunologically distinct neurotoxins have been identified. These have been given the designations A, B, C, D, E, F and G. For further information concerning the properties of the various Botulinum toxins, reference is made to the article by Jankovic and Brin, The New England Journal of Medicine, No. 17, 1990, pp. 1186-1194, and to the review by Charles L. Hatheway in Chapter 1 of the book entitled Botulinum Neurotoxin and Tetanus Toxin, L. L. Simpson, Ed., published by Academic Press Inc. of San Diego, Calif., 1989, the disclosures in which are incorporated herein by reference.
The neurotoxic component of Botulinum toxin has a molecular weight of about 150 kilodaltons and is thought to comprise a short polypeptide chain of about 50 kD which is considered to be responsible for the toxic properties of the toxin, i.e., by interfering with the exocytosis of acetylcholine, by decreasing the frequency of acetylcholine release, and a larger polypeptide chain of about 100 kD which is believed to be necessary to enable the toxin to bind to the presynaptic membrane.
The "short" and "long" chains are linked together by means of a simple disulfide bridge. (It is noted that certain serotypes of Botulinum toxin, e.g., type E, may exist in the form of a single chain un-nicked protein, as opposed to a dichain. The single chain form is less active but may be converted to the corresponding dichain by nicking with a protease, e.g., trypsin. Both the single and the dichain are useful in the method of the present invention.)
In general, four physiologic groups of C. botulinum are recognized (I, II, III, IV). The organisms capable of producing a serologically distinct toxin may come from more than one physiological group. For example, Type B and F toxins can be produced by strains from Group I or II. In addition, other strains of clostridial species (C. baratii, type F; C. butyricum, type E; C. novyi, type C1 or D) have been identified which can produce botulinum neurotoxins.
Immunotoxin conjugates of ricin and antibodies, which are characterized as having enhanced cytotoxicity through improving cell surface affinity, are disclosed in European Patent Specification 0 129 434. The inventors note that botulinum toxin may be utilized in place of ricin.
Botulinum toxin is obtained commercially by establishing and growing cultures of C. botulinum in a fermenter and then harvesting and purifying the fermented mixture in accordance with known techniques.
Botulinum toxin type A, the toxin type generally utilized in treating neuromuscular conditions, is currently available commercially from several sources; for example, from Porton Products Ltd. UK, under the trade name "DYSPORT," and from Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif., under the trade name BOTOX®.
It is one object of the invention to provide novel treatments of neuromuscular disorders and conditions with various Botulinum toxin types. It is another object of the present invention to relieve pain with various Botulinum toxin types.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for treating pain associated with arthritis


A method and system for call initiation and the establishment of a communication session in a video relay service are described. A called party number of a voice phone is entered into a video phone and a first segment of a communication session is established between the video phone and a Video Relay Service (VRS) system according to a network address of the VRS system stored within the video phone. The called party number is forwarded to the VRS system over the first segment of the communication session. A second segment of the communication session is established between the VRS system and the voice phone without any additional interaction by a user of the video phone using the called party number of the voice phone.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to call initiation in a communication system, and, more particularly, to a method and system for efficiently initiating calls in a Video Relay Service (VRS).
2. State of the Art
Connection-based or point-to-point calls, such as conventional telephone calls, for example, over a public switched telephone network, are generally established in a real time or near real time manner. As such, the establishment of communication sessions generally does not require the formation of a queue or waiting list for the establishment of connection-based calls. Additionally, the establishment of a communication session in conventional point-to-point telephone call generally consists of direct dialing of the called party by the calling party.
However, when a communication session requires, for example, an intermediary service, such as interpretive services for the deaf or hearing-impaired, the formation of a queue or waiting list is commonplace as call-initiating parties await the availability of interpretive services. The formation of a communication session between a calling party and a called party may involve multiple dialing strings or multiple numbers to be dialed for establishing the various segments of the communication session.
A channel formed between a calling party and an interpretive service provider may frequently be established over a connectionless network. Such alternative network configurations between a called party and an interpretive service may be required due to the enhanced bandwidth nature of such a connection, particularly if such a connection employs a broadband device, such as a video phone for communicating between the called party and the interpretive service. As such, a broadband network for facilitating the transfer of an enhanced bandwidth data may employ connectionless channels such as one employing Internet Protocol (IP) or other packetized connectionless technologies. It is appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that establishment of such communication sessions that involve an intermediary service, such as translation services, typically requires a more complex and unintuitive call connection methodology.
Therefore, in order to provide an enhanced experience for a user in a communication system where a calling party needs the assistance of an intermediary service, a need exists for streamlining the establishment of the various segments of the communication session.

Method and system for call initiation in a video relay service


A display device, comprising: an insulating substrate; a light sensor which includes a semiconductor layer disposed in a first region and a sensor input terminal and a sensor output terminal electrically connected with the semiconductor layer, and is formed on the insulating substrate; a first electrode, an organic light emitting layer and a second electrode which are sequentially formed on the light sensor; a color filter which is disposed between the insulating substrate and the first electrode, and is formed in a second region that is different from the first region; and a controller which controls a data voltage supplied to one of the first electrode and the second electrode based on an output of the light sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatus and methods consistent with the present invention relate to a display device and, more particularly, to a display device which provides a stable display quality by using a light sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays have been popular because they require lower voltage; are light and small; have a wide viewing angle; and respond with high speed.
The OLED has a plurality of thin film transistors per pixel. Generally, each pixel includes at least two thin film transistors, i.e., a switching thin film transistor connected with a data line, and a driving thin film transistor connected with a voltage supply line.
The thin film transistors typically employ amorphous silicon for the semiconductor layer. However, when the semiconductor layer made of amorphous silicon is used for a long time, the quality of the semiconductor layer becomes unstable. Also, the organic light-generating layer becomes degraded if used for a long time, thereby lowering the quality of emitted light.


An imager in which a column line bias current control signal is pulsed at some time during and/or after the pulsing of the reset control and the transfer control signals to increase a bias current in a pixel column line during reset and transfer operations. The bias current is then decreased by removing the pulse before the sampling and storing of reset and image signals. Pulsing the bias control voltage signal and thus, the bias current, decreases the settling time of the column line, while maintaining the required low current during sampling and storage of the reset and image signals.

A CMOS imager circuit includes a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photosensor, for example, a photogate, photoconductor or a photodiode for accumulating photo-generated charge in a portion of the substrate. Each pixel cell has a readout circuit that includes at least an output field effect transistor formed on the substrate and a charge storage region formed on the substrate connected to the gate of an output transistor. The charge storage region may be constructed as a floating diffusion region. Each pixel may include at least one electronic device such as a transistor for transferring charge from the photosensor to the storage region and one device, also typically a transistor, for resetting the storage region to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transference.
In a CMOS imager, the active elements of a pixel cell perform the functions of: (1) photon to charge conversion; (2) accumulation of image charge; (3) selection of a pixel for readout; (4) resetting the storage region to a known state before the transfer of charge to it and output of an amplification of a signal representing the reset state; (5) transfer of charge to the storage region; and (6) output and amplification of a signal representing image charge. Photo charge may be amplified when it moves from the initial charge accumulation region to the storage region. The reset and image charge at the storage region is typically converted to a reset Vrst and image Vsig pixel output voltage by a source follower output transistor.
CMOS imagers of the type discussed above are generally known as discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205, assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a conventional CMOS imager 10 employing a four transistor (4T) pixel 20. The illustrated imager 10 includes a pixel 20, one of many that are in a pixel array, connected to a column sample and hold circuit 40 by a column line 32. The imager 10 also includes a readout programmable gain amplifier (PGA) 70 and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 80.
The illustrated pixel 20 includes a photosensor 22 (e.g., a pinned photodiode, photogate, etc.), transfer transistor 24, floating diffusion region FD, reset transistor 26, source follower transistor 28 and row select transistor 30. The photosensor 22 is connected to the floating diffusion region FD by the transfer transistor 24 when the transfer transistor 24 is activated by a transfer control signal TX. The reset transistor 26 is connected between the floating diffusion region FD and an array pixel supply voltage Vaa-pix. A reset control signal RST is used to activate the reset transistor 26, which resets the floating diffusion region FD prior to transfer of charge from the photosensor 22.
The source follower transistor 28 has its gate connected to the floating diffusion region FD and is connected between the array pixel supply voltage Vaa-pix and the row select transistor 30. The source follower transistor 28 converts the stored charge at the floating diffusion region FD into an electrical output voltage signal. The row select transistor 30 is controllable by a row select signal ROW_SELECT for selectively connecting the source follower transistor 28 and its output voltage signal to the column line 32.
The column sample and hold circuit 40 includes a current bias transistor 56, controlled by a control voltage signal VLN, that is used to bias the column line 32. The column line 32 is also connected to a first capacitor 44 thru a sample and hold reset signal switch 42. The sample and hold reset signal switch 42 is controlled by the sample and hold reset control signal S/H_RESET. The column line 32 is also connected to a second capacitor 54 thru a sample and hold pixel signal switch 52. The sample and hold pixel signal switch 52 is controlled by the sample and hold pixel control signal S/H_SIGNAL. The switches 42, 52 are typically MOSFET transistors.
A second terminal of the first capacitor 44 is connected to the amplifier 70 via a first column select switch 50, which is controlled by a column select signal COLUMN_SELECT. The second terminal of the first capacitor 44 is also connected to a clamping voltage VCL via a first clamping switch 46. Similarly, the second terminal of the second capacitor 54 is connected to the amplifier 70 by a second column select switch 60, which is controlled by the column select signal COLUMN_SELECT. The second terminal of the second capacitor 54 is also connected to the clamping voltage VCL by a second clamping switch 48. An equalizing switch 58 may also be optionally connected across the output sides of capacitors 44 and 54 to equalize the clamp voltage VCL applied to the two capacitors.
The clamping switches 46, 48 are controlled by a clamping control signal CLAMP. As is known in the art, the clamping voltage VCL is used to place a charge on the two capacitors 44, 54 before the reset and image output signals are stored on the capacitors 44, 54, respectively in response to sample and hold control signals S/H_RESET, S/H_SIGNAL.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in operation, the row select signal ROW_SELECT is driven high, which activates the row select transistor 30. When activated, the row select transistor 30 connects the source follower transistor 28 to the column line 32. The reset signal RST is then pulsed to activate the reset transistor 26, which resets the floating diffusion region FD. The signal on the floating diffusion region FD provides a reset output signal Vrst which is sampled when the sample and hold reset control signal S/H_RESET is pulsed. At this point, the first capacitor 44 stores the pixel reset signal Vrst.
Afterwards, the transfer transistor control signal TX is pulsed, causing charge from the photosensor 22 to be transferred to the floating diffusion region FD. The signal on the floating diffusion region FD provides an image signal Vsig which is sampled when the sample and hold pixel control signal S/H_SIGNAL is pulsed. At this point, the second capacitor 54 stores a pixel image signal Vsig. A differential signal (Vrst-Vsig) is produced by the differential amplifier 70. The differential signal is digitized by the analog-to-digital converter 80. The analog-to-digital converter 80 supplies the digitized pixel signals to an image processor (not shown), which forms a digital image output. Throughout the operation, the control voltage signal VLN, used to bias the column line 32, is maintained at a constant low level, causing a constant low current to flow through bias transistor 56.
A low current (iVLN) through bias transistor 56 is desired in order to increase the gain and uniformity in response of the source follower transistor 28. However, the capacitive time constant (τ) of the column line 32 depends on the capacity (CLN) of the column line 32 times the resistance (R) from the bias transistor 56, as expressed below in equation (1). The capacitive time constant (τ) is the exponential time constant for the circuit to reach a stable mode of operation. The resistance (R) is calculated as the voltage (v) divided by the current (iVLN). Lowering the current iVLN to maintain the desired effect on the source follower transistor 28, however, will increase the settling time, as shown below:
                    (                  τ          =                                                    C                                  L                                                                                N                                                          R                        =                                          C                                  L                                                                                N                                                                                Δ                                                                                v                                                  i                  VLN                                                                    )                            (        1        )
Accordingly, it is desired to decrease the capacitive time constant (τ) of the column line 32 while still maintaining a low current (iVLN) across the bias transistor 56 during charge sampling to maintain the desired gain and uniformity in the response of the source follower transistor 28. A decreased capacitive time constant (τ) will result in an improved row readout time, which is also desirable.

Imaging device with reduced row readout time and method of operating the same


A data partitioning plan is automatically generated that—given a data-parallel program and a large input dataset, and without having to first run the program on the input dataset—substantially optimizes performance of the distributed execution system that explicitly measures and infers various properties of both data and computation to perform cost estimation and optimization. Estimation may comprise inferring the cost of a candidate data partitioning plan, and optimization may comprise generating an optimal partitioning plan based on the estimated costs of computation and input/output.

Distributed computing is a form of computing—generally by operation of application programs or "code"—in which many calculations are carried out simultaneously, often on a large body of "data," on the premise that large problems can often be divided into smaller problems which can be solved concurrently ("in parallel") for efficiency. To accomplish this parallelism, distributed computing makes use of multiple autonomous computers (or processors) to solve computational problems by dividing the problem into many sub-problems that are then solved by one or more of the autonomous computers (or nodes) in a cluster of computers. To perform computations on very large problems or datasets, distributed computing clusters (comprising tens, hundreds, or even thousands of autonomous computers) may be utilized.
Modern distributed execution engines (such as MapReduce, Hadoop, and Dryad) and their corresponding high-level programming languages (Pig, HIVE, and DryadLINQ) have done much to simplify the development of large-scale, distributed data-intensive applications. In all of these systems, execution parallelism is controlled through data partitioning which in turn provides the means necessary to achieve high-level scalability of distributed execution across large computer clusters. Thus, efficient performance of data-parallel computing heavily depends on the effectiveness of data partitioning.
However, current data partitioning techniques are often simplistic and can lead to unintended performance degradations or job failures. Many of the known techniques—originally developed for database applications—are ill-suited for complex user-defined functions and data models common to data-parallel computing. When partitioning data to enable parallel computations on multiple computers, the initial challenge is determining which partition function to use and how many data partitions to generate, and the wrong choices—or even the best choices from among limited options—can result in highly skewed workloads leading to poor performance with some machines completing in minutes while others running for hours. Consequently, the efficiency of the entire distributed processing system is constrained by the least efficient partition from among all of the partitions created. As distributed execution systems become increasingly used for more complex applications—such as large-scale graphing applications to detect botnets or analyze large-scale scientific data—the lack of effective and efficient partitioning schemes for distributed execution engines have become a major performance liability.

Optimizing data partitioning for data-parallel computing


A schedule is generated by which physical items to be manufactured are assigned into production slots. The physical items have constraints governing manufacture of the physical items. The method generates coefficient matrix clusters from a mathematical programming problem based on an actual scheduling problem. Each coefficient matrix cluster defines a variable cluster-constraint cluster pair. A variable cluster of each coefficient matrix cluster defines production slot-physical item pairs. A constraint cluster of each coefficient matrix cluster defines a group of constraints. Each coefficient matrix cluster includes coefficient-binary variable pairs, each pair having a binary variable multiplied by a coefficient. For each coefficient matrix cluster, the method reduces non-zero factors within the cluster. Each non-zero factor within the coefficient matrix cluster is defined as a coefficient-binary variable pair such that the binary variable of the pair multiplied by the coefficient of the pair is non-zero. The schedule is then generated.

Physical items are commonly manufactured by manufacturing systems within production slots. This ensures that physical items having similar constraints that govern their manufacture are appropriately assigned to the same production slot, such that the manufacturing system in question is optimally employed to manufacture the largest number of physical items in the least amount of time at the least amount of cost, while ensuring quality, among other factors. Examples of physical items that are manufactured within production slots in this manner include steel slabs and semiconductor devices, among other types of physical items.
Assigning physical items to be manufactured into production slots can be a difficult problem, however. As such, this problem has been represented as an integer programming (IP) problem that when solved optimally assigns the physical items into the production slots. An IP problem may be defined as the maximization or minimization of a linear objective function under constraints provided by multiple linear inequalities or linear equalities, where the variables expressed within the problem are integers.
Solving IP problems, however, has proven problematic using existing computer hardware where the IP problems are relatively large. For example, the data structure needed to represent such IP problems can require one or more gigabytes of memory. Such memory requirements often exceed the physical memory capacities of common 32-bit computer hardware, and sometimes even exceed the address space of such hardware. As such, more sophisticated and thus more expensive hardware may be required to solve these IP problems, which is disadvantageous.
For these and other reasons, therefore, there is a need for the present invention.

Generation of schedule by which physical items to be manufactured are assigned into production slots via reducing non-zero factors within coefficient matrix clusters

International Business Machines Corporation


A single-piece fibre-reinforced plastics shin component for a lower limb prosthesis for a below-knee amputee has an elongate resilient energy-storing blade and, integrally formed at a proximal end of the blade, an alignment plate extending generally anteriorly and perpendicularly with respect to the blade to form at least part of an alignment device for adjusting the position of the blade relative to an upper limb component. The blade is straight and of constant cross-section at least over its distal end portion to allow it to be cut to length to suit the amputee.

This invention relates to a lower limb prosthesis, and to an energy-storing shin component for the prosthesis.
An energy-storing lower limb prosthesis is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,913 (Phillips). This device provides an integral shin member and forefoot in the form of a single blade of fibre-reinforced material, the shin member extending generally axially of the prosthesis with the forefoot cantilevered in the anterior direction and with a curved connection between shin member and forefoot in an ankle region of the prosthesis. The major surfaces of the blade forming the shin member extend in the medial-lateral direction. A second blade, also with its major surfaces extending in a medial-lateral direction, is rigidly connected to the shin member in the ankle region and extends in the posterior direction to form a resilient heel member. Since the shin member is substantially planar and extends substantially vertically with a cross-section having a high area moment of inertia about an axis generally aligned in the anterior-posterior direction and a relatively low area moment of inertia about a horizontal axis generally aligned in the medial-lateral direction, it acts as a leaf spring storing and releasing energy during the stance phase, by anterior-posterior bending whilst being comparatively rigid with respect to transverse bending moments. This prosthesis is particularly useful for active amputees, including those wishing to take part in sports activities.
A disadvantage of this known device is that the energy-storing capabilities are achieved at the expense of versatility, in the sense that a wide range of sizes and stiffnesses must be produced to suit different amputees, particularly with regard to foot size. Although in the case of below-knee lower limb prostheses, the device may be connected to a stump socket by means of a clamp or flange attached to the proximal end of the shin member, in some situation the length of the shin member becomes comparatively short with consequent loss of energy-storing capacity. This is particularly the case with prostheses for amputees having long below-knee stumps.
It is an object of this invention to provide a versatile shin component for a below-knee prosthesis.

Lower limb prosthesis and a shin component for the prosthesis


A scrapbook, in which multiple fragrances associated with memorable events can be stored for extended periods of time, includes scented pages enclosed in perforated see-through protector sleeves, diffusion barrier sheets bound between adjacent pages having dissimilar fragrances, a diffusion barrier sheet bound between a front cover of the scrapbook and the first scented page, and a diffusion barrier sheet bound between a back cover of the scrapbook and the last scented page. The protector sleeves, which control the release of fragrance from paper sheets to which a fragrance has been applied, are fabricated from polymeric films, such as polypropylene, which have excellent resistance to oils and gases. Barrier sheets may be metalized for enhancement of diffusion barrier qualities. Fragrances may be applied to scrapbook paper by spraying, rolling, painting, stamping, printing or immersion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to scrapbooks, fragrance impregnated paper, and diffusion barriers for volatile aromatic compounds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paper has long been used as a substrate for fragrances. Many examples of paper-based air fresheners are readily available in commerce. Because fragrances, by their very nature, are volatile compounds. Without some type of containment, they evaporate rapidly into the atmosphere. In addition, multiple fragrances in close proximity tend to mix and lose their individuality.
During the past several decades, the hobby of scrapbooking has become increasingly popular. The popularity has spawned an entire industry dedicated to fulfilling the needs of scrapbooking hobbyists. Scrapbooks are typically glorified photo albums dedicated to recording and preserving events of interest, as well as personal and family histories. The detail, complexity and ornateness of scrapbooks is limited only by the hobbyist's imagination. The compilation of a single ornate scrapbook can represent the expenditure of many hundreds of hours of time and many hundreds of dollars.
Memories of a particular event or a particular series of related events generally involve all of the senses: sights, sounds and smells. There is a trend in scrapbooking that attempts to memorialize events in ways that they will be well remembered. The manipulative creativity that accompanies digital photography has certainly enhanced the sight aspect of the recorded memory. Low-power sound chips, such as the multi-level analog sound storage of Winbond Electronics Corporation of America, provide an opportunity to store sound aspects of particular events. Such chips are small enough that they could be incorporated in a playable module stored in a pocket on the pages of a scrapbook and removed for playing. The smells associated with particular events pose certain problems related to storage within a scrapbook. Fragrances, by their very nature, must be volatile compounds so that they can either sublimate or evaporate into the air. Clearly, unless a the compound emanating the fragrance is stored in a sealed container, it will eventually be lost to the atmosphere. In addition, volatile compounds readily diffuse through materials that are porous or have a molecular structure that allows the volatile compound to be absorbed and pass through the material. The diffusion of volatile compounds through materials, such as paper, makes it impossible to store volatile compounds for any length of time, as well as to maintain multiple fragrances stored in close proximity as discrete and separate compounds.


Apparatus for operating and controlling a free-piston Stirling engine with a displacement piston in a cylinder, said piston separating a hot cylinder space from a cold cylinder space, an annular space being formed between the cylinder and a sleeve section surrounding the cylinder, characterized in that the annular space extends right through from an annular gap in the region of the hot cylinder space to an annular gap in the region of the cold cylinder space, plates being inserted all the way along in the longitudinal direction into this annular space.

The invention relates to an apparatus for operating and controlling a free-piston Stirling engine with a displacement piston in a cylinder, said piston separating a hot cylinder space from a cold cylinder space, and a method therefor.
Depending on the type of energy supplied, Stirling engines can be operated as heat engines or refrigerating machines or heat pumps. A comprehensive overview of the prior art as regards Stirling engines is provided by the dissertation of Martin Werdich, which was published in 1990 as a book with the title "Stirling-Maschinen" Stirling engines! by Okobuch Verlag, Staufen bei Freiburg, with the ISBN No. 3-922964-35-4.
All Stirling engines have an enclosed working medium, generally consisting of air, hydrogen or helium. The Stirling engine operates on the following principle: the working medium is pushed backwards and forwards cyclically by a displacement piston from a space at low temperature, via a cooler, regenerator and heater, into a space at a higher temperature level. The pressure differences which arise in this process serve to drive the working piston, which is normally moved with a phase shift of 90.degree. relative to the displacement piston. Driving the displacement piston requires little energy since the pressure on both sides of the piston is virtually the same. The work of the displacement piston here corresponds merely to that required to overcome the gas friction during cyclic flows of the working medium through the heat exchanger and the regenerator. The displacement piston is generally driven by a crankshaft driven by the working piston. In the case of the free-piston engines, the mechanical elements which lead to the outside, such as the connecting rod, pushrod and crankshaft are replaced by internal spring-mass oscillatory systems.
The known free-piston Stirling engines do not have a mechanical connection between the working piston and the displacement piston. The two pistons can move freely.
The springs are often designed as gas-filled springs. From a state of unstable equilibrium, the pistons begin to oscillate and excite one another even in the presence of small temperature changes and the resulting change in pressure.
The main advantages of free-piston engines lie, on the one hand, in their very simple construction--they comprise just two moving parts--and, on the other hand, in the absence of any lateral guiding forces on the piston, and the avoidance of all sealing problems.
The converted energy can, for example, be transmitted to the outside via an electric linear generator.
Despite these undisputed advantages of the free-piston engine, it has not established itself in practice so far.
The reason for this is the difficulty of regulating the oscillation pattern. Specifically in the case of a fluctuating energy supply or variable loading of the working piston, the amplitude of oscillation and frequency varies and cannot be controlled satisfactorily.
The object on which the present invention is based is to manufacture, operate and control a free-piston engine in a simple and cost-effective manner.

Apparatus for operating and controlling a free-piston stirling engine


A method and apparatus for additive range reduction are disclosed. A constant may be pre-stored in a look-up table (LUT), and at least one section of the constant may be retrieved from the LUT for generating a product of an input argument and the constant such that a precision of the product may be controlled in any granularity. For a trigonometric function, 2/π is stored in the LUT, and at least one section of 2/π may be retrieved from the LUT. The argument is multiplied with the retrieved sections of 2/π. The retrieved sections are determined to correctly generate the two least significant bits (LSBs) of an integer portion and a scalable number of most significant bits of the multiplication result. An output of the trigonometric function is generated for the argument with a fractional portion of the multiplication result based on two LSBs of the integer portion of the multiplication result.

A certain imprecision exists in an operation performed in a computer due to the characteristics of the hardware used to represent real numbers in the computer. Due to the finite size of memory storage in a computer, non-terminating real numbers are represented with a certain number of significant digits after either truncation or rounding. These numbers are referred to as floating-point numbers. Once the real numbers are represented as floating-point numbers, further imprecision arises because arithmetic operations performed by a computer generally involve further truncation or rounding.
For periodic functions such as trigonometric functions, the large input argument can be reduced in magnitude to a smaller reduced argument that allows more manageable evaluations of the function. The smaller reduced arguments are obtained from identities for periodic functions. For example, the sine and cosine functions satisfy the following relations:sin(x)=sin(x+2πN), and  Equation (1)cos(x)=cos(x+2πN),  Equation (2)where N is an integer.
In evaluation of the trigonometric functions on a computer having a specific machine precision, the performance of argument reductions may be problematic when the argument x is large since the period 2π is an irrational real number. Since the period is irrational, the argument reduction is, in itself, approximate when performed in a computer. In a computer, only an approximation to π may be represented. As the magnitude of the input argument increases, more and more digits of π, (more commonly π/2 or 2/π if the argument x is reduced to a range
            [                        -                      π            4                          ,                  π          4                    ]        )    ,will be involved in the argument reduction, and it may not result in an accurate outcome.

Method and apparatus for additive range reduction


The position of a Wireless Transceiver (WT) is estimated using the Time Of Arrival (TOA) at several Monitoring Sites (MS) of the signal transmitted by the WT. Several sites are used to solve for the coordinates of the WT using hyperbolic trilateration. A time reference is used to synchronize the Monitoring Sites (MS). Super-Resolution (SR) techniques are applied to increase the resolution of the TOA estimate obtained via correlation of the received signal at each MS. SR techniques can improve the TOA resolution substantially.

Wireless telephones include cellular, cordless, mobile and PCS (Personal Communication Systems) telephones while radio tags include passive and active RF identification tags.
The need for wireless location finding and tracking of wireless telephones and radio tags is ever increasing. Some of the possible services for locating radio tags are for monitoring children, herds, valuable goods, toxic waste, fleet management, etc. Some of the possible services for locating wireless telephones are:
Enhanced Emergency Services:
In recent years pressure has been mounting for the development of technology to position cellular telephones. The primary driving force has been enhanced 911 (E911) services for wireless telephone subscribers. E911 services provide the 911 operator with information such as calling number, address, and the primary subscriber's name. This enables the operator to dispatch emergency response teams without waiting for the caller to provide their position verbally. Due to the nature of wireless services, the location of the caller is currently only available via verbal communication. The only positional information that may be derived from the current cellular infrastructure is the cell site with which the cellular caller is communicating. For cell sizes in the order of kilometers, this is not sufficient.
A notice of proposed rule making concerning E911 emergency calling systems was released by the FCC on Oct. 19, 1994 (CC Docket No. 94-102). In the document the FCC proposes to require that within five years of the rules being adopted, a wireless 911 caller be located in a three-dimensional environment within a radius of no more than 125 m with probability of 100%. Since this accuracy requirement is somewhat unreasonable, on Dec. 19, 1995 a technology working group composed of representatives of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and the National Association of State Nine-One-One Administrators (NASNA), reached an agreement to recommend an alternative. The recommendation is to require a wireless location technology capable of a horizontal accuracy of 125 m RMS within five years of the rule making. A vertical component is not required at this time. A horizontal accuracy of 125 m DRMS (Distance Root Mean Squared) equates to a 63% probability circle of radius 125 m.
Any location technology adopted should be capable of the above accuracy at the lowest possible cost and with minimal impact on the network and subscriber equipment. The use of GPS to determine position at the cellular telephone has been proposed in Grimes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,482 issued Dec. 26, 1995 and as in Bird, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,537 issued May 23, 1995. However, a positioning system based on GPS equipped telephones would make all current telephones obsolete and would require a change to the signal standards in order to accommodate the positional information such as Sood, U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,645 issued Mar. 8, 1994. In addition, such a system would suffer the same line of sight availability limitations as GPS. It would suffer tremendously wherever the GPS signals are blocked such as in buildings, vehicles, tunnels etc., areas considered critical from an emergency point of view.
Smith, W. W. Jr.,"Passive Location of Mobile Cellular Telephone Terminals," Proceedings 25th annual IEEE International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, Oct 1-3, 1991, describes techniques for locating AMPs-based cellular telephones.
Tracking of Fraudulent Calls:
There is a general agreement that fraudulent calls cause a major revenue loss to the cellular service providers due to congestion and increased blockage of cellular calls, particularly during peak hours.
Tracking of Stolen Vehicles:
Conventionally, to track stolen vehicles requires installing an RF tag such as in Bird, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,537 issued May, 23, 1995, leaving it permanently on in each vehicle to be tracked and a new infrastructure for the MSs throughout the desired service area.
Fleet Management for Courier and Transportation Businesses:
To manage fleet one may instal an RF tag such as in Song, U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,756 issued May, 4, 1993, and Sheffer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,367 issued Jun. 8, 1993, but this requires additional equipment to be added to the fleet.
Location Finding of Wireless Telephones:
This is envisioned to be a 1-900 service where the person dialing pays for the service. Basically, to know the location of any wireless telephone, one dials 1-900-TELFIND and gets prompted for a password which is provided to subscribers to the service (for security purposes). Upon validation of the telephone number and password, in about 20 seconds the telephone could be located. The coordinates could be given in one of many formats:
5.1 Longitude and latitude; PA1 5.2 Street address; PA1 5.3 Location on maps provided when subscribing to the service (e.g. page 54 G-4) which then pinpoints to a certain box on a map; and PA1 5.4 Electronic for inputting into other databases. PA1 1) the bandwidth (BW) of the transmitted radio signal, and PA1 2) the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the received radio signal. PA1 1) multipath, PA1 2) clock error, PA1 3) frequency offsets, PA1 4) time synchronization and PA1 5) geographical geometry of the location acquisition stations. PA1 1) the time to post-process the correlation lobe, and PA1 2) the type of signal monitored. PA1 (1) AMPs, the North American analog standard for cellular telephones, is widely used in North America with about 26 million subscribers; PA1 (2) The environment where AMPs-based cellular telephones exist makes a horizontal accuracy of 125 m DRMS extremely difficult to attain without use of the current invention. The inventors have implemented a system based on the current invention to locate AMPs-based cellular telephone with a horizontal accuracy approaching 115 m. PA1 1) the Reverse Analog Control Channel (RECC), and PA1 2) the Reverse Analog Voice Channel (RVC). PA1 1. Alert (forces the phone to ring); PA1 2. Release (forces the phone to drop the call); PA1 3. Stop Alert; PA1 4. Audit (confirms the message sent to the mobile); PA1 5. Send Called-address; PA1 6. Intercept; PA1 7. Maintenance; PA1 8. Change Power to Power level 0-to-7; PA1 9. Directed Retry; PA1 10. Registration (forces another registration on the RECC). PA1 Step 1) the time required for monitoring the transmitted radio signal on either the RECC channel or the RVC channel, followed by the time for processing the received signal in order to estimate its TOA relative to a time reference; (an appropriate time reference could be the GPS Time); PA1 Step 2) the time required for downloading each TOA estimate from its corresponding Monitoring Station (MS) to a central site, followed by the time for processing all TOA estimates through hyperbolic (differential) trilateration in order to estimate the location of the mobile terminal; (an appropriate central site could be the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and an appropriate trilateration method could be least squares-based); PA1 Step 3) the time required for overlaying the mobile subscriber's geographical location with individual Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) coverage regions for determining appropriate PSAP routing.
Pursuit of Criminals:
To allow law enforcement agencies to find and track wanted criminals who use wireless telephones.
It is clear therefore that there are many applications for a wireless location system. The wireless location system, however, faces technological challenges. Two of these challenges are location accuracy, and processing time (to provide a location reading).
Location Accuracy:
Theoretically, the location accuracy performance for a wireless location technology is lower-bounded by the Cramer-Rao lower bound on the rms location error which depends directly on two factors:
Practically, in a wireless location system, many other factors affect the performance depending on the technology used:
4) interference (co-channel and adjacent),
In AMPs for example, the radio frequency (RF) channels are spaced by 30 KHz which is a relatively small BW compared to systems designed primarily for location such as GPS with a BW of 1 MHz over C/A (Coarse Acquisition) channels and ISM-based location systems with a typical bandwidth of 10 MHz. In GPS, the location system uses initially a conventional sliding correlator to obtain a set of pseudo-ranges (one pseudo-range per satellite). The pseudo-ranges are then used in trilateration to obtain a position fix of the GPS receiver. A typical accuracy for a commercial one point (i.e. no differential reception) GPS receiver with C/A code is around 30 m rms without Selective Availability (SA). In direct proportions, an AMPs land-based location system which uses initially a conventional sliding correlator at each location acquisition station to obtain a TOA estimate of the transmitted radio signal followed by a hyperbolic (differential) trilateration of all the TOA estimates (at some central site) should offer a location accuracy of around an unacceptable 900 m rms assuming no multipath.
When multipath is considered, the accuracy of the AMPs land-based TDOA location system could potentially degrade even further. The cellular frequency band is between 800 and 900 MHz and the propagation characteristics at these UHF frequencies will have a significant impact on positioning by trilateration as shown in Parsons D., "The Mobile Radio Propagation Channel," John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1992. That the ranges measured correspond to Line Of Sight (LOS) distances is a major assumption made when estimating position by trilateration. Although the dominant transmission mode in this band is LOS, reflections from natural and man-made objects as well as diffraction around said objects are also possibilities. Multipath and diffraction allow the cellular signal to propagate in heavily built up areas as well as indoors. However, they also cause the measured ranges to be longer than the true LOS distance which introduces error into the trilateration process. In addition, the propagation distance at UHF is relatively short. This allows frequency reuse in the cellular system but limits the number of observables in the trilateration process. For instance, in a dense urban environment with a delay spread of 3 microseconds (as shown in Hata, M., "Empirical Formula for Radio Propagation Loss in Land Mobile Radio Services," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. VT-29, No. 3, August 1980) multipath causes the location accuracy to degrade to more than 1400 m rms.
From the above one might conclude that a GPS system offers a much better accuracy of the TOA estimate than a land-based AMPs system using a conventional correlator. Correlation is an effective method of estimating TOA when the signal is known. The resolution of TOA estimation by correlation is a function of the bit rate and hence the bandwidth. In GPS receivers, correlators are an integral part of the delay lock loop (DLL) mechanism used to track satellite signals as shown in Spilker, J. J., "GPS Signal Structure and Performance Characteristics," Global Positioning System, Volume I, The Institute of Navigation, Washington D.C., 1980. Spread spectrum codes used to spread the satellite signals serve two primary purposes:
The first purpose is to enable multiple access to the L1 and L2 carrier frequencies. This allows each satellite to transmit data over a common frequency channel.
The second purpose is to allow for pseudoranging. The time delay between the received satellite code and the code replica within the receiver is a measure of the range between the satellite and receiver. Since the satellite signal is continuous a delay lock loop is able to track the signal. This enables the signal to be despread and the data demodulated.
GPS, however, requires additional equipment to be installed with the wireless transceivers.
In terms of time for the location information to be available, GPS receivers require several minutes from a cold start to attain an acceptable reading. By contrast, in an AMPs land-based location system, for example, the time for the location information to be available depends on two factors:
In Lo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,642 issued Mar. 8, 1994 and in Kennedy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,323 issued May 31, 1994, the post-processing time is relatively long due to its complexity. For example, in Kennedy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,323 issued May 31, 1994, the patent improves the location accuracy of a WT using a beam-former to reject multipath. Such an algorithm requires a number of antennas (typically eigth), a receiver following each antenna and an extremely powerful processor to combine all received signals in such a way to be able to form a beam in a desired direction.
One alternative to GPS is to use the cellular signals themselves. There are essentially two types of cellular signals to monitor: the signal on the reverse control channel and the signal on the reverse voice channel. Although treated as a spread spectrum code for the purpose of pseudoranging, both signals are not continuous and do not consist entirely of Pseudo Random Noise (PRN) codes. Therefore, it is not necessary to employ a DLL to track them for the purpose of despreading. Instead, one can use convolution to estimate TOA. Convolution of the received signal with a stored replica of the transmitted signal results in a correlation peak at the delay between the two signals. Rather than convolve in the time domain, it is sometimes more convenient to multiply in the frequency domain. Both the received signal and its replica are first transformed to the frequency domain where they are multiplied and the result inverse transformed to the time domain. Although the result of this process will give a correlation function from which a TOA may be derived, the resolution is limited to that of the Fourier transform. The traditional resolution bound on Fourier-based methods is the Rayleigh resolution criterion as shown in Haykin, S., "Adaptive Filter Theory," 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1991, wherein the Rayleigh resolution is the inverse of the sampling period. Thus, conventionally, the resolution of a system based on the TOA of cellular signals does not approach the resolution of GPS based wireless location systems.


This invention provides methods and pharmaceutical compositions for preventing or treating physical dependence and/or withdrawal associated with narcotic use, in particular by modulating a 5-HT3 receptor. Using a computational genetic approach in mice, a gene conserved between mice and humans was identified as candidate as a modulator of physical dependence to morphine. Administration of compounds that modulate 5-HT3 receptors was found to control withdrawal from morphine in mice and humans.

Addiction to illicit and prescription opioid narcotic drugs (heroin, morphine, codeine, oxycodone and related agents) is a significant public health issue. Each month in the US, 4.9% of persons aged 12 or older (>11 million) use prescription pain relievers for non-medical purposes. Young adults (age 18 to 25) are particularly hard hit by this problem, and they have the highest rate of abuse of prescription pain relievers (Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Opioid addiction has adverse consequences for personal health and society (Birnbaum, H. G., et al., Clin J Pain, 2006. 22(8): p. 667-676; Gruber, S. A. et al. Neuropsychol Rev, 2007. 17(3): p. 299-315; Manchikanti, L., Pain Physician, 2006. 9(4): p. 287-321). As many as 90% of patients in chronic pain management settings receive opioid pain relievers, and the prevalence of drug abuse is 9-41% among these patients (Manchikanti, L., supra). Anxiety, increased pain sensitivity, poor concentration, tachycardia and flu-like symptoms develop during opioid withdrawal, a syndrome reflecting physical dependence on these drugs (Handelsman, L., et al., Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 1987. 13(3): p. 293-308). The severity of the dependence and resulting withdrawal symptoms is a major contributor to the addictive potential of opioid narcotics. Current strategies for treatment of opioid withdrawal are suboptimal; they rely on the administration of controlled substances (methadone and buprenorphine), or medications with significant hemodynamic side effects (clonidine).
The misuse of and addiction to opioid drugs can be initiated after exposure to prescribed medications in a clinic (or involve a medical source). Thus, clinical interventions that reduce the risk for misuse and addiction could have a substantial impact on this public health problem. A prevention model has not been previously pursued in which physicians co-prescribe medications in combination with addicting agents to reduce the risk of subsequent misuse, dependence, or addiction. This is due to most of the addicting agents (cocaine, heroin, marijuana) were illicit drugs obtained from non medical sources. However, opioid narcotics are commonly obtained from legitimate medical sources. Therefore, this raises the probability that co-administration a medication that alleviates the iatrogenic influences that contribute to and sustain the misuse and abuse of prescription opiate medications would be of substantial benefit.
Since it could lead to new approaches for prevention or treatment of addiction, identification of novel genetic factors affecting dependence on opioids is also of great public health significance. Susceptibility to opioid addiction is heritable in humans (Kendler, K. S., et al. Am J Psychiatry, 2003. 160(4): p. 687-695). One dimension of addiction is physical dependence which can be modeled in rodents. The jumping behavior displayed by morphine-dependent mice after administration of naloxone, a potent opioid receptor antagonist, is a commonly used measure of physical dependence. Naloxone-precipitated jumping is a highly heritable trait amongst inbred mouse strains (Kest, B., et al., Mamm Genome, 2004. 15(8): p. 610-617), and the inter-strain differences are largely independent of differences in the method of drug administration or the duration of treatment (Kest, B., et al. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2002. 73(4): p. 821-828; Liang, D. Y., et al. Pain, 2006. 121(3): p. 232-240). Furthermore, naloxone-precipitated withdrawal has been used to quantify opioid dependence in human volunteers (Bickel, W. K., et al., NIDA Res Monogr, 1986. 67: p. 349-54). Despite these facts, no specific genes linked to physical dependence have been identified.
Computational genetic mapping (Wang, J., et al., Trends Genet. 2005. 21(9): p. 526-532; Liao, G., et al., Science, 2004. 306(5696): p. 690-695) can be used to identify several genetic factors underlying the variability in morphine-induced alterations in pain sensitivity (hyperalgesia) and responsiveness to analgesic medications in mice (Liang, D. Y., et al., Pharmacogenet Genomics 2006. 16(11): p. 825-835; Liang, D. Y., et al. Anesthesiology, 2006. 104(5): p. 1054-1062; Smith, S. B., et al., Pharmacogenet Genomics, 2008. 18(3): p. 231-241). Haplotype-based computational genetic mapping can be used to identify genes affecting susceptibility to opioid dependence in mice, and a pharmacologic agent targeting the human homologue of the computationally identified murine gene can alleviate the signs and symptoms of withdrawal in humans.

Methods and compositions for treating or preventing narcotic withdrawal symptoms

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


A display device has a plurality of display units (D.sub.1, D.sub.2 . . . D.sub.n), each display unit consisting of a number of multiplex-operated display sections, each of which has a plurality of display elements which can be simultaneously but independently switched and each of which has a respective display driver (for example, T.sub.1), and a circuit arrangement for controlling the display device. The circuit arrangement includes a memory (M) in which the information to be output via the display device is stored, a microcontroller (MC) which has at least one synchronous serial interface (2) and a DMA controller (3) for transferring data intended for each time the same display section of the display units (D.sub.1, D.sub.2 . . . D.sub.n) from the memory to the interface, a shift register arrangement (S.sub.1, S.sub.2 . . . S.sub.n) which is connected to the serial interface (2) and which has a parallel output, and storage members (L.sub.1, L.sub.2 . . . L.sub.n) which are connected to the parallel output of the shift register arrangement for periodically taking up the contents of the shift register arrangement and for controlling the display drivers (T.sub.1, T.sub.2 . . . T.sub.n).

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a display device, comprising a plurality of display units, each display unit consisting of a number of multiplex-operated display sections, each of which comprises a plurality of display elements which can be simultaneously but independently switched and each of which comprises a respective display driver, and a circuit arrangement for controlling the display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices of this kind can be used, for example in an X-ray generator for the display of an alphanumeric text of limited length. Suitable display units are notably vacuum fluorescent displays with, for example 20 display sections each. The display sections of a display unit are operated in multiplex. Each display section consists of a matrix of usually 5.times.7 dot-shaped display elements which are arranged in the form of a matrix.

Display device comprising a plurality of display units and a control circuit


A power supply device to electroconductively connect a power-fed terminal included in a power-fed unit and a power supply terminal of a power supply board. The power supply device includes a unit contact portion to contact the power-fed terminal; a board contact portion to contact the power supply board; a connector to connect the unit contact portion and the board contact portion; and a support member to support the unit contact portion, the board contact portion, and the connector. The unit contact portion is held on an inner face of the support member opposed to the power-fed unit; the board contact portion is held on an outer face of the support member opposed to the power supply board; and the connector connects the unit contact portion and the board contact portion through the support member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power supply device conductively connecting a power-fed unit to a power supply board, the power-fed unit, and an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
In a copier, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or a multifunctional apparatus including the capabilities of the above devices, a power supply board in an image forming apparatus supplies electricity to various electric/electronic parts and components, such as a developing device and a transfer device.
Japanese Patent No. 4360141 (JP-2005-037652-A) discloses a structure to conductively connect a power supply board to a charging roller via a contact portion and necessary wiring including a first frame disposed at the power supply board and a second frame disposed at the charging roller. In particular, the power-fed contact portion is implemented as a terminal with a bar-shaped protrusion and a coil spring to press the terminal toward the charge roller side to facilitate positional alignment of the power-fed side contact portion.
However, the above patent literature discloses wiring between the power feeding-side contact portion and the power-fed side contact portion that is installed between the first frame and the second frame so as to be sandwiched therebetween, thereby complicating assembly.

Power supply device and image forming apparatus


A storage subsystem, method of testing storage media in the storage subsystem and program product therefor. The storage media, e.g., magnetic tape in a physical volume, is inserted into an input area in the storage subsystem, but not loaded into the subsystem library. The media input area on the physical volume is scanned and a test command is queued. The test storage media is moved to a drive for testing. After testing, the storage media is returned to the input area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a mass storage device and more particularly to a mass storage device with removable storage media and methods of testing the removable storage media.
2. Background Description
Data storage systems administering data stored on removable storage media, such as an automated storage media (e.g., tape cartridges) and retrieval library for storing and accessing removable storage media, are well known in the art. Typically, there was no efficient way to test storage media for such storage systems to find out if the media is viable. Testing storage media in a tape library required inserting the media into the library database, performing the test, and ejecting the media. Testing was not possible when the library is full. Normally, hosts systems administered physical volumes in connected data storage subsystems. The hosts loaded volume information into a tape configuration database, a tape management systems database and, perhaps, into a virtual media server database and library manger database in the storage subsystem as well. This time and resource consuming process was necessary to test media for viability. Also, media could not be tested if the library were full.
Thus, there is a need for a storage media device capable of testing whether storage media is viable and in particular, even when a storage library in the storage media device testing the media is full.

Method for testing media in a library without inserting media into the library database


Technology for milling selected portions of a workpiece by a cutting tool of a numerical control machine is described. The described technology provides methods and apparatuses for milling areas of a part so that more aggressive machining parameters can be used in the toolpath, thereby resulting in reduced machining time and load. The described technology additionally determines directions of the tool axis vector at points along a toolpath in order to achieve a desired part shape while optionally maintaining high material removal rates.

Numerically controlled (NC) milling involves various techniques for removing material ("milling" or "cutting") from a workpiece to create an object of a particular shape and with defined dimensions. In NC milling, a milling machine or machine tool generally drives one or more cutting tools along a programmed path, known as a toolpath. By driving the cutting tool or tools along the toolpath, the workpiece is transformed from some initial state (the "initial workpiece") to a final state (the "final workpiece").
Machine tools are often classified according to the number of degrees of freedom, or axes, along which a cutting tool can be driven. FIG. 1 is an angled-view schematic diagram illustrating an example of a machine tool 100. The machine tool 100 may be able to move a cutting tool 108 up and down along a vertical axis 106, and at the same time move a table 110 holding a workpiece (not illustrated) along two horizontal axes 102 and 104, making it a 3-axis machine tool. A 3-axis toolpath intended for such a machine might include a series of x, y, and z coordinates which instruct the machine tool to move accordingly along the horizontal and vertical axes.
More advanced machine tools include not only linear axes such as the horizontal and vertical axes just described, but also rotational axes which control the orientation of the tool with respect to the workpiece. FIG. 2 is an angled-view schematic diagram illustrating an example of a 5-axis milling machine tool 200. In addition to the two horizontal linear axes 202 and 204 (the x-axis and the y-axis, respectively), and a single vertical linear axis 206 (the z-axis), the machine 200 might enable a workpiece (not illustrated) to rotate 208 around the z-axis and the cutting tool 212 to rotate 210 around the x-axis. Adding the two rotary axes 208 and 210 to the three linear axes 202, 204, and 206 makes it a 5-axis machine tool. A 5-axis toolpath running on such a machine tool may vary both the cutter position and the angle of the cutter with respect to the workpiece.
Different machine tools may have more linear or rotational axes, and the axes may be configured in different ways. For example, instead of rotating 208 the workpiece on a table as in FIG. 2, the cutting tool 212 might be held in a robot arm that can rotate around two different axes. However, in general, when there are both linear and rotational degrees of freedom present in a toolpath, it is referred to by the industry as a multi-axis toolpath. Driving a cutting tool along a multi-axis toolpath is known as multi-axis milling. Regardless of the actual kinematics of the machine tool, it is often easier to think of the workpiece as being fixed and the cutter moving and tilting around the workpiece. FIG. 3 is a side-view schematic diagram illustrating a milling cutter tool 300 tilted at an angle with respect to the vertical. The location of the cutter tip 302 is specified by (x, y, z) coordinates, and the direction of the cutter axis 304 is defined by a unit vector (i, j, k). This convention is adopted herein.
Multi-axis milling is widely used in industry, but it is often time-consuming to create multi-axis toolpaths, and difficult to create multi-axis toolpaths that remove large amounts of material efficiently. As a result, much of the material is commonly removed from a workpiece using 3-axis motion (in which the rotational axes are kept fixed) and afterwards a sequence of multi-axis toolpaths can be used to remove the material that the 3-axis motion could not reach. Unfortunately, creating this sequence of toolpaths is often time-consuming, and the multi-axis toolpaths themselves are often inefficient, largely because the 3-axis motion that removes the bulk of the material leaves behind material that does not closely represent the net shape of the part, which leaves uneven amounts of material to be removed with the multi-axis toolpaths.
Much of the difficulty in creating multi-axis toolpaths is due to the challenging problem of determining the tool axis vectors (i, j, k) at each point along the toolpath. One possible choice is to make the tool axis direction parallel to the surface normal as the cutter moves along the workpiece. This is sometimes referred to as "end-cutting." FIG. 4 is a side-view diagram illustrating a milling cutter performing a multi-axis end-cutting operation by keeping the tool axis normal to the curved surface of the workpiece 402 at positions 404a and 404b. A variation on this scheme is to set the tool axis vector at a fixed lead or lag angle to the normal as it moves along a toolpath. Another choice is to set the tool axis direction so that the side of the tool is parallel to a wall of the workpiece. Such an operation is referred to as "flank milling" or "swarf milling." FIG. 5 is an angled-view diagram illustrating a milling cutter performing a multi-axis flank milling operation by keeping the tool axis in the tangent plane of the curved wall 502 of the workpiece. Flank milling can be effective in forming the final shape of the part walls, as a large portion of the cutter is actively engaged in the material, but the tilt of the cutter may change suddenly as the cutter moves along the wall, since the tilt of the tool parallel to the wall is often strongly influenced by preceding and subsequent wall surfaces. These sudden changes in rotation lead to undesirable machining conditions. In the common case where tool motion to remove material away from the walls is generated by duplicating and offsetting the motion along the walls, these undesirable machining conditions can be replicated and even magnified.
Many previous inventions have considered the problem of removing material efficiently using 3-axis motion (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,451,013 and 8,295,972), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. This type of motion can be converted to multi-axis motion by, for example, projecting it onto a curved surface and setting the tool axis vectors normal to the surface. However, what is missing is the ability to set the tool axis vectors based on other criteria, e.g., the tilt of the workpiece walls. Such a solution offers the ability to remove material rapidly and efficiently, saving machining time and part programming time.


Circuits and methods of suppressing signal glitches in an integrated circuit (IC). A glitch on a signal entering a clock buffer, for example, is prevented from propagating through the clock buffer. In some embodiments, a latch is added to an input clock path that detects a transition on the input signal, and then ignores any subsequent transitions for a time delta that is determined by a delay circuit. In some embodiments, a multiplexer circuit is used to select between the input clock signal and the output clock signal, with changes on the input clock signal not being passed through the multiplexer circuit unless the time delta has already elapsed. In some embodiments, the delay is programmable, pin-selectable, or self-adapting.

Integrated circuits (ICs) are typically clocked devices. In other words, an input clock signal is typically provided to an IC and is distributed throughout the IC, where it controls the timing of signal interactions throughout the circuitry. Therefore, a clock signal is arguably one of the most important signals in the entire IC.
Clock integrity is very important for reliable system operation. Data signals tend to be fairly non-critical, e.g., timing jitter and amplitude spikes on a data signal typically do not matter except at the moment when the data is being clocked into a storage cell or flip-flop. However, an input clock signal can come from any of several sources, e.g., internal to the IC, external to the IC, an external microprocessor, and so forth. Some of these signal sources might provide clock signals that are small and weak. For example, the configuration process in a programmable logic device (PLD) is often controlled by a configuration clock signal generated by a microprocessor external to the PLD. In these circumstances, it is not uncommon for the configuration clock signal to be a weak signal with slow transitions. Further, some clock signals, such as configuration clock signals for PLDs, are typically routed in a chain to many ICs, precluding simple serial termination.
The situation is exacerbated by the shrinking transistor geometries and reduced operating voltages evinced by modern ICs. As transistors get faster, for example, a clock input may become vulnerable to sporadic fast transients caused by Simultaneously Switching Outputs (SSOs) or by PC-board reflections. A sub-nanosecond perturbation in an input clock signal can cause on-chip double-triggering if the glitch propagates into the clock structure of the IC. In other words, a signal intended to be a single clock pulse might appear at the input clock terminal as two clock pulses, with undesirable effects. In a typical synchronous system, most signal inputs are inherently insensitive to perturbations that occur shortly after the clock edge, but the clock signal itself is always very sensitive to such perturbations.
Transient noise on an input clock signal can be difficult to detect directly, even with a high-quality oscilloscope. However, it must be corrected to ensure correct operation of the IC. Therefore, attempts are often made to correct clock signal integrity using, for example, low-pass filtering and Schmitt triggers. However, such solutions cause delay and have proven inadequate under some circumstances.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide simple and effective solutions that will suppress noise on input signals, particularly input clock signals.


A microprocessor for improving out-of-order superscalar execution unit utilization with a relatively small in-order instruction retirement buffer. A plurality of execution units each calculate an instruction result. The instruction is either an excepting type instruction or a non-excepting type instruction. The excepting type instruction is capable of causing the microprocessor to take an exception after being issued to the execution unit, wherein the non-excepting type instruction is incapable of causing the microprocessor to take an exception after being issued. A retire unit makes a determination that an instruction is the oldest instruction in the microprocessor and that the instruction is ready to update the architectural state of the microprocessor with its result. The retire unit makes the determination before the execution unit outputs the result of the non-excepting type instruction, wherein the retire unit makes the determination after the execution unit outputs the result of the excepting type instruction.

Superscalar microprocessors have a plurality of execution units that execute the microinstruction set of the microprocessor. Superscalar microprocessors attempt to improve performance by including multiple execution units so they can execute multiple instructions per clock in parallel. A key to realizing the potential performance gain is to keep the execution units supplied with instructions to execute; otherwise, superscalar performance is no better than scalar, yet it incurs a much greater hardware cost. The execution units load and store microinstruction operands, calculate addresses, perform logical and arithmetic operations, and resolve branch instructions, for example. The larger the number and type of execution units, the farther back into the program instruction stream the processor must be able to look to find an instruction for each execution unit to execute each clock cycle. This is commonly referred to as the lookahead capability of the processor.
In a superscalar microprocessor with out-of-order execution, although instructions can execute out-of-order, they must retire in program order. Microprocessors that perform out-of-order execution require a buffer to retire microinstructions in program order, following execution. In some microprocessors, the buffer is called a reorder buffer, or ROB. The ROB has a fixed number of entries, and provides temporary storage for microinstructions and status information associated with each microinstruction. Retiring a microinstruction that is in the ROB includes storing the result of the microinstruction to architectural registers of the microprocessor and freeing (i.e., invalidating) the ROB entry occupied by the microinstruction so that a new microinstruction may be allocated an entry in the ROB.
The size, i.e., number of entries, of the ROB limits the lookahead capability of the processor. In particular, the size of the ROB limits the number of instructions that can be ready to be issued for execution, since an instruction must have a ROB entry allocated to it before it can be ready to issue. When all entries of the ROB are full, the oldest instruction must retire, i.e., update architectural state with its result, so that the ROB entry for the oldest instruction can be freed for re-allocation to a new instruction. One approach to increasing the lookahead capability of a microprocessor is to increase the number of entries in the ROB. However, each ROB entry takes a relatively large amount of space and power in the microprocessor to store its information, e.g., the instruction itself, temporary space for storing its result, and other information about the instruction. Therefore, making the size of a ROB large is a relatively costly way to increase the lookahead capability of a microprocessor.
Therefore, what is needed is a way to use the ROB in as efficient a manner as possible to improve performance through good execution unit utilization, while keeping the size of the ROB as small as possible.

Out-of-order execution microprocessor that selectively initiates instruction retirement early


A seller, having previously sold a product to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provision condition, determines if the buyout-provision condition is satisfied. If the buy-out provision condition is satisfied, the seller retakes the product from the original purchaser and resells the product to a subsequent purchaser.

In general, markets efficiently "clear" a seller's supply of a given product at a price reflective of buyer demand at a particular point in time. When demand is high, the seller can charge a high price for the product. When demand is low, on the other hand, the seller must accept a lower price for the product.
Demand for the product, however, may increase after the seller's supply has been cleared at a low price, resulting in a missed opportunity for profit. Consider, by way of example, the case of an airline selling airline tickets. All of the tickets for a particular flight may have been sold months in advance for $100 each. At the last minute, however, a surge in demand may result in potential customers offering $200 for a ticket on that flight. At this point, the seller can do nothing to profit from the increased demand.
This consequence is caused by the seller's inability to take back a previously sold product and then resell it at the higher price. That is, after the product has been sold, the seller is not typically able to rescind the transaction simply because demand for the product increases.
Because sales are generally not rescindable, the seller is forced to make pricing and inventory decisions that are, at best, speculative. In the airline industry, two practices have been employed to make optimal decisions for the seller. The first practice, called "revenue management," involves the dynamic adjustment of price according to real-time readings of supply, demand, competitive factors and historical purchase trends. The second practice, called "demand forecasting," involves analysis of historical and projected factors that effect sales, including prior sales, weather patterns and the like. Even when both of these concepts are used so that price is a demand forecast factor and demand forecast data effects price, the predictions still have an inherent margin of error, resulting in lost revenue opportunities.
Another problem with known methods of selling products is that purchasers cannot take advantage of an increase in demand. The ticket holder discussed above is not likely to be aware that potential customers are willing to pay $200 for the ticket he or she has already purchased for $100. A potential customer who is willing to pay more for a product that is no longer available from the seller currently has no simple way to communicate with, for example, ticket holders. Known methods of contacting ticket holders, such as through a newspaper advertisement, are not very effective and incur additional costs, such as the price of the advertisement.
Thus, a need exists for a system and method that enables sellers, such as airlines, to capitalize on demand identified after a sale when the value of that demand surpasses the value of the demand realized at the time of the sale.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,165 to Leiseca et al. is directed to a computerized reservation and scheduling system that lets consumers negotiate for, and select from, pre-scheduled transportation services. The Leiseca patent does not address how a transportation provider could resell a previously-sold transportation product.
Similarly, PCT International Publication Number WO 96/34356 (the "WO '356 reference") discloses that consumers can use posting terminals to communicate with a market maker computer to create a computerized market for previously sold goods. The WO '356 reference does not disclose that a product, previously sold, can be resold.

System and method for reselling a previously sold product


According to one embodiment, a radio communication apparatus includes a radio communicator, a storage, and a controller. The radio communicator is configured to perform close proximity wireless communication or near field wireless communication with other radio communication apparatus. The storage is configured to store data, setting parameters associated with the data, and an application. The controller is configured to execute the application and control a transmission and reception of the data performed by the radio communicator on the basis of the application. The application can be set to a read-only mode by an operation of a user. The setting parameters include transfer permission information. The controller checks whether or not a user is an authorized user of the radio communication apparatus, when the user is the authorized user, the controller executes the application and thereby activates the radio communicator.

TransferJet (registered trademark) is a near field/close proximity wireless communication technique, which currently attracts attention. It is possible to easily and quickly distribute and share the content by coming devices including the TransferJet into contact with each other.
However, use cases are increasing in which content is required to be securely processed and managed from a viewpoint of protecting the content from careless use and unexpected use.

Radio communication apparatus and radio communication method


A voltage detection circuit outputs a detection signal when an amount of charges read to one of a pair of bit lines reaches a predetermined amount. A mask circuit of a timing generator masks an output of a sense amplifier activation signal until the detection signal is output. A sense amplifier determines logics of data read to the bit lines from memory cells in synchronization with the sense amplifier activation signal. An operation of the sense amplifier is started after predetermined amounts of charges are read from the memory cells to the bit lines, that is, after the detection signal is output. Accordingly, even when a timing to output a timing signal becomes early due to a variance of manufacturing conditions of a semiconductor memory, data read from the memory cells can be latched correctly in the sense amplifier. As a result, malfunctions of the semiconductor memory can be prevented.

A ferroelectric memory composed of memory cells each including a ferroelectric capacitor is developed as a semiconductor memory device which has both advantages of DRAMs and flash memories/EEPROMs. The ferroelectric memory operates the ferroelectric capacitor made of ferroelectric material, which is insulating material, as a variable capacitor. The ferroelectric memory can hold data without a power supply, by utilizing residual dielectric polarization which is left even when no voltage is applied to the ferroelectric capacitor.
In recent years, there has been proposed a technique for reading a ferroelectric memory referred to as bit line GND sensing technique. According to this type of reading technique, in order to prevent fluctuation in voltage of bit lines when applying a voltage to plate lines, charges are read out from memory cells to the bit lines and are transferred to charge storing circuits through charge transferring circuits referred to as charge transfers which are formed in pre-sense amplifiers. The amounts of charges transferred to the charge storing circuits are converted to voltages. Then the logical values corresponding to the converted voltages are latched by the sense amplifiers at the predetermined timing, and the logical values of the data retained in the memory cells are read (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent publication No. 2002-133857).
Further, there has been proposed a technique such that a detection signal is output when output voltages of the pre-sense amplifiers reach a predetermined voltage, and data read from complementary bit lines in synchronization with the detection signal are latched in the sense amplifiers (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent publication No. 2005-129151).
In general, in the read operation and the write operation of a semiconductor memory, control circuits such as an address decoder, a word driver and a sense amplifier are operated sequentially. Accordingly, for example, timing signals for these control circuits are generated sequentially using cascade-coupled delay circuits. The delay circuits are made of transistors and so on, and thus delay times of the delay circuits disperse due to a variance of manufacturing conditions of the semiconductor memory. On the other hand, changes in voltages read to the bit lines from the memory cells are constant without depending on characteristics of the transistors. Accordingly, for example, when threshold voltages of the transistors are low, it is possible that the sense amplifiers latch data before charges are read sufficiently to the bit lines from the memory cells. When the pre-sense amplifiers are coupled to the bit lines, it is possible that the sense amplifiers latch data before output voltages of the pre-sense amplifiers become sufficiently large. In these cases, the semiconductor memory malfunctions.
Further, the amounts of charges read to the bit lines vary due to, for example, dispersion of manufacturing conditions of memory cell capacitors. For example, when the capacitance values of manufactured capacitors are small, the amounts of charges read to the bit lines become small. With the technique in which a detection signal is generated using pre-sense amplifiers and data are latched in sense amplifiers in synchronization with the detection signal, when output voltages of the pre-sense amplifiers do not reach a predetermined voltage, the detection signal will not be output and hence the sense amplifiers are unable to latch data. When this happens, the semiconductor memory malfunctions.

Semiconductor memory including voltage detection circuit for generating sense amplifier signal


A vehicle brake control system is provided with a preceding object detecting section, a running condition detection section, a steering actuation state detecting section, a braking force detecting section, a preceding object avoidability determining section and a braking force control section. The preceding object avoidability determining section determines a possibility of avoiding the preceding object by steering and reducing the current braking force acting on the host vehicle based on the position of the preceding object, the running condition of the host vehicle, the braking force applied to the host vehicle and the steering wheel actuation state that are detected. The braking force control section reduces the current braking force applied by the host vehicle braking system when the preceding object avoidability determining section determines that the preceding object can be avoided by steering and reducing the current braking force acting on the host vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle brake control system and method capable of assisting a driver with respect to avoiding an obstacle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle brake control system and method that aids in determining if a preceding detected obstacle can be avoided by steering way from the preceding object and lowering the braking force acting on the vehicle.
2. Background Information
Vehicle brake control systems have been proposed to determine the possibility of avoiding an obstacle existing in front of a host vehicle in which the system is employed and to control a host vehicle braking system applied to the host vehicle so as to avoid a collision. One example of such a vehicle brake control system is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-155241. In this publication, it is also proposed that when the driver is operating the steering wheel, a generated braking force is reduced compared to the braking force that would be generated if the driver were not operating the steering wheel.


An electric rotary shaver, in which the cutter head that includes outer and inner cutters is washable while the inner cutter(s) is being rotationally driven, including agitating vanes that agitate the liquid in which the cutter head is immersed and discharge shaving debris out of the cutter head by generating a flow of the liquid. The agitating vanes are provided on a drive shaft(s) that engages with and rotates the inner cutter(s) and rotationally drives the inner cutter(s).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric rotary shaver and more particularly to an electric rotary shaver that has a washable cutter head.
2. Prior Art
In one type of electric shaver, a cutter head, which includes an outer cutter and an inner cutter, and a shaving debris accommodating section, which is inside the cutter head, are provided so that the cutter head and the shaving debris accommodating section can be cleaned or washed using a water rinse or cleaning liquid.
Such washable electric shaver is disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 7-124347, 9-122363 and 2001-198367.
There are substantially two methods for washing electric shavers. In one method, the cutter head is removed from the main body of the electric shaver, and washing is performed with its power turned off. In another method, washing is performed with the cutter head mounted on the main body of the shaver and the power is turned on.
When washing is performed with the cutter head removed from the main body of the electric shaver, shaving debris is rinsed away using flowing water or the like. However, when washing is performed with the cutter head mounted on the main body of the electric shaver, it is necessary to perform washing in a state in which the discharge of shaving debris to the outside of the cutter head can be done easily.
FIG. 5 shows one example of an electric rotary shaver that has three rotary cutters.
In this shaver, a cutter cradle 12 is provided inside upper portion of the main body 10 of the shaver, and a cutter head 20 is detachably mounted on the cutter cradle 12.
The cutter cradle 12 is in a recessed shape so as to accommodate shaving debris. Three drive shafts 14 that drive or rotate three inner cutters are disposed so that these drive shafts protrude from the inside bottom surface of the cutter cradle 12. The cutter head 12 includes three outer cutters 22 and three inner cutters (not shown) that respectively make sliding contact with the outer cutters. The drive shafts 14 that protrude from the bottom of the cutter cradle 12 respectively engage with the inner cutters when the cutter head 20 is mounted on the main body 10, and these drive shafts 14 rotationally drive the inner cutters when the power of the electric shaver is turned on.
Accordingly, when washing is performed with the cutter head 20 removed from the main body 10, shaving debris that has accumulated in the cutter cradle 12 can easily be discharged and washed away by removing the cutter head 20 from the main body 10 of the electric shaver as shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 shows the manner of washing the electric shaver with the cutter head on and while the power is on.
The reference numeral 50 is a cleaning vessel filled with a cleaning liquid 52. The cutter head 20 is set to face down and is immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning vessel 50; then, the shaver is switched on and cleaning is performed while the electric shaver is being driven.
The space between the inside bottom of the cutter cradle 12 and the cutter head 20 constitutes a space that accommodates shaving debris. As a result of the action of the flow of cleaning liquid that is generated by the rotation of the inner cutters 23 and drive shafts 14, the shaving debris that has been in this space is discharged into the cleaning vessel 50 via slit-form openings (or hair introducing apertures) formed in the outer cutters 22.
However, as seen from FIG. 6, when the washing is performed by rotating the inner cutters 23 in the cleaning liquid 52 in the cleaning vessel 50, though the inner cutters 23 and the areas near the inner cutters 23 can be washed by agitating the cleaning liquid 52 in the vicinity of the inner cutters 23, shaving debris cannot be effectively discharged to the outside of the space in which such shaving debris accommodates. Accordingly, after the cutter head 20 has been cleaned in the cleaning vessel 50, it is further necessary to remove the cutter head 20 from the main body 10 and clean the cutter cradle 12 and other parts using a brush or the like.