A method and an apparatus for reading a given digital pulse signal of variable length in the domain of a first clock frequency and creating a pulse output signal that is synchronized in the domain of a second clock. The number of cycles the input pulse signal is active, in terms of the first clock, is the same number of cycles as the resulting output signal is active, where for the output signal the number of cycles is measured by the second clock.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the timing of digital signals on an integrated circuit. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for synchronizing a signal with respect to two independent clocks.
2. The Background Art
The use of clocking systems is well known in the field of integrated circuits. Clock signals are used in synchronous circuits to direct elements of the circuit when to transition from the "current state" to the "next state." For example, determining when a particular register should sample or store input data. A clock literally sets the pace of, and provides the unit of measure for, the various stages of computations and operations on a chip. A clock signal normally transitions between a low and a high state, denoted 0 and 1 respectively, at a speed determined by the cycle time of the particular clock. Typically, it is the clock signal transition, either rising (rising edge) from 0 to 1 or falling (falling edge) from 1 to 0, that is used to pace the chip operations. In some situations both the clock signal transition and it's complement (the rising and falling edges) are used. A common operation in the field of integrated circuits is measuring how long a given signal is active, e.g., in the 1 state, as measured by the number of cycles of the clock.
In many applications, there are multiple clock signals on the same chip. Often there is a direct relationship between the multiple clock signals. Examples include: two clocks operating at the same frequency but out of phase and one clock operating at a frequency that is an integer multiple of another. Where the mathematical relationship between the clocks is known, transforming a signal from one clock domain to the other is relatively straightforward. This is not so when two clocks signals are not correlated, or when the relationship between them is unknown.
It would be desirable (for example in the field of video displays) to have an efficient way of converting an input pulse signal of a variable length X cycles, in terms of a first clock, into a pulse output signal, X cycles long in terms of a second clock, where the two clocks are operating at different frequencies. That is, to efficiently synchronize the input pulse signal across the two independent clock domains.
FIG. 1 shows a first clock signal 1 and an input pulse signal 2, which is three clock cycles long. The second clock signal 3 is slower than the first, it operates at a lower frequency. Thus, the synchronized output signal 4 is stretched, compared to the input pulse signal, in order to also be three clock cycles long, as measured by the second clock. The timing of samples in FIG. 1 are based on the rising edges of the clock signals. The falling edges could just as well have been used. There is no attempt made to resolve the input pulse signal any finer than an integer clock cycle, at both the beginning and the end of the signal.
As shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to use a circuit such as circuit 100, made up primarily of latches, to synchronize an input pulse with a pulse output signal. The input pulse signal 2 is latched by latching mechanism 10 when the first clock signal is active. Latching mechanism 10 operates as a filter for the input pulse signal. This latched signal is an output signal 20, that is latched by latching mechanism 11, on the rising edge of the second clock and output as signal 21. There is a possibility that signal 21 may be metastable, that is in an indeterminate state between 0 and 1 because the latching mechanism 11 is perfectly balanced between making a decision to resolve a 0 or a 1. The possibility that signal 21 maybe metastable depends on how the rising edges of the asynchronous clocks happen to line up, and this alignment could be changing with each clock cycle. To ensure a stable signal, a third latching mechanism 12 is used. Latching mechanism 12 reads signal 21, on the rising edge of the second clock signal 3. The latched signal from latching mechanism 12 is then output as signal 22, both to latching mechanism 13 and to AND gate 14. The complement of the latched signal from latching mechanism 12 is output as signal 23 to latching mechanism 15. Latching mechanism 13 operates as an integrator, it reads signal 22 on the rising edge of the second clock signal 3 and outputs the complement of the latched signal as signal 25 to AND gate 14. Latching mechanism 15 reads signal 23 on the rising edge of the first clock signal 1 and outputs the complement of that signal as signal 24. When signal 24 is high, latching mechanism 10 is reset. Signal 4, coming out of AND gate 14, is the synchronized output signal.
One disadvantage of the circuit shown in FIG. 2 is that this implementation introduces a recovery time. Time is required between sequential input pulse signals because the circuit must be idle before another input pulse can be processed. The circuit in FIG. 2 would require resetting the latch mechanisms 10 and 13 to the "0" state. This corresponds to a minimum recovery time equal to 2 cycles of clock 1 plus 3 cycles of clock 2. It would be desirable to minimize or eliminate the recovery time for time critical or real time applications, so that another input pulse signal could be quickly processed. Introducing a delay between sequential input pulse signals solves the problem, but does so at the expense of speed. In addition, this solution requires different minimum delay times for different clock combinations.
Another related problem with the type of circuit shown in FIG. 2 is that the implementation requires a series of latches, latching the input pulse signal on both the clock signals, to avoid metastable or transitional states in the circuit components. This series of latches introduces delays. It is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that such metastable states may lead to erroneous output results and that these states are not always easily detected by logic simulators and other conventional design techniques. It would be desirable to have a proven generic design for use in all signal synchronization situations, that avoids the use of devices having potential metastable states.


Hoist systems are provided. In one embodiment, a hoist system includes a lower platform, an upper platform, a plurality of flexible members, and a plurality of hoists. The upper platform has a plurality of rotatable support arms. The flexible members connect the rotatable support arms to the lower platform and can be extended and retracted using the plurality of hoists. If desired, the upper platform includes a plurality adjustable length support arms, and actuators may be used to extend and retract the support arms.

The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the claimed subject matter.
Moveable platform systems suspended by cables are known. In one embodiment, an upper platform mounted to, for example, a bridge supports a lower platform using six wire ropes. Both the upper platform and the lower platform each have three spaced apart locations where two wire ropes are joined or come together such that the wire ropes at each location come from two different locations on the other platform. A stable lower platform is obtained because the wire ropes are kinematically constrained and where the stiffness of the platform is determined, at least in part, by the tensile elasticity of the wire ropes. The lower platform can be moved in a work envelope as determined by the length of each of the wire ropes suspending the lower platform from the upper platform as well as the linear position of the upper platform on the bridge, if the upper platform is moveable on the bridge in one degree of linear motion, and/or the bridge is movable on gantry rails in another degree of linear motion.


Methods, devices, and systems for determining failure of an ultraviolet (UV) sensor are described herein. One device includes a memory, and a processor configured to execute executable instructions stored in the memory to reduce an excitation voltage of a UV sensor until no conduction occurs in the UV sensor, increase, upon no conduction occurring in the UV sensor, the excitation voltage of the UV sensor until a conduction event occurs, compare the excitation voltage at which the conduction event occurs to a reference voltage, and determine whether the UV sensor has failed based on the comparison.

Ultraviolet (UV) sensors are designed to detect the presence of UV radiation. For example, UV sensors may be utilized to detect the presence of radiation in the spectral range of approximately 10 nm to 400 nm.
UV sensors may be useful in many different product applications. For example, UV sensors may be useful in detecting the presence of a flame in a burner. Detecting the presence of a flame inside a burner can help a user (e.g., technician and/or maintenance personnel) safely operate and/or service the burner. For instance, if no flame is present in the burner, the user may shut the burner down to prevent unburned fuel from accumulating inside of the burner.
UV sensors may be damaged or wear out over time. For example, the fill-gas composition within the UV sensor may change over time. Other examples can include damage to the spacing of electrodes inside the UV sensor, or surface defects on the electrodes. Damage to a UV sensor can lead to dangerous operating conditions for a product application containing a UV sensor. Therefore, it is important to know if a UV sensor has become damaged or failed.

Determining failure of an ultraviolet sensor


A drop chute extension for unloading a shuttle dumping transport vehicle for harvested cotton bolls extends the length of the conveyor dump side wall when unloading the transport vehicle. The extension of the conveyor dump side wall allows cotton to be dumped in the middle and far side of a module builder or trailer. The drop chute extension can be folded over and down into the basket of the dumping transport vehicle, reducing both the transport height and width of the vehicle. The drop chute extension includes two hydraulic extension arm cylinders which cause the door chute to extend or retract and are interconnected with the hydraulic system of the vehicle lift basket. Operation of the basket lift cylinders is precluded until the extension arm cylinders have fully extended the chute door. The drop chute extension is also joined to a second hydraulic system to operate an unloading conveyor which extends into the extension. The second hydraulic system has a safety selector valve that prevents operation of the conveyor hydraulic system until the chute has been fully extended. There is also a uni-directional flow valve in the chute extension conveyor drive system that allows the conveyor to travel in only one direction.

Shuttle dumping transport vehicles for harvested cotton are currently used in the market. These vehicles include chain driven conveyor belts for unloading harvested cotton. The vehicles must be positioned close to the module builder or trailer wagon for proper unloading of the cotton into the module builder or trailer. Current dumping vehicles, however, have wide baskets or holding containers that make it difficult for the operator to easily position the vehicle beside a module builder or trailer for unloading. The present invention provides a drop chute extension that is connected to the dumping wall side of the vehicle and which can be selectively retracted or completely extended, thereby increasing distance over which the cotton can be dumped into the module builder. An extended conveyor section in the chute extension directs the outward flow of cotton in the middle and far side of the module builder or trailer, providing even distribution and allowing the module builder or trailer to be completely filled. The present invention also provides that the drop chute extension can be folded over and retracted into the basket of the shuttle dumping vehicle, allowing for easy transport down the road without undue concern about hitting overhead obstructions.
Shuttle dumping transport vehicles, such as the "BOLL BUGGY" (a registered trademark of the assignee of the present invention), that include the present invention have a safety feature that is intended to prevent operation of the conveyor belt until the drop chute extension is fully extended and the basket of the vehicle has been lifted. This safety feature prevents damage to equipment.

Drop chute extension for a shuttle dumping transport vehicle for harvested cotton


A timber-working head comprises a frame, first and second delimb arms pivotally coupled to the frame, and a single delimb cylinder operatively coupled to both the first delimb arm and the second delimb arm to pivot the first and second delimb arms relative to the frame to open and close them. The first and second delimb arms are otherwise operatively unconnected from one another allowing pivotal movement of each of the first and second delimb arms without corresponding pivotal movement of the other of the first and second delimb arms. The second delimb arm comprises a cam stop defining a variable closure point for the first delimb arm, and the first delimb arm is configured to pivot into closed engagement with the cam stop.

It is well-known to mount a timber-working head in the form of a harvesting head to a carrier to perform a number of functions in connection with timber. For example, the head may be used to grapple and fell a standing tree and process the felled tree by delimbing, possibly debarking (depending on the configuration of the head), and cutting a trunk of the tree into logs (e.g., logs of predetermined length). Processing the felled tree typically involves feeding the felled tree in axially opposite directions, as needed, along a feed axis while delimbing the tree using a number of delimb elements such as one or more delimb arms grappling the tree.
A well-known type of delimb system has a left-hand (LH) delimb arm and a right-hand (RH) delimb arm, both of which are pivotally coupled to a frame of the head. A single hydraulic delimb cylinder is operatively coupled to both delimb arms to pivot the delimb arms relative to the frame so as to open and close them. A timing link interconnects the delimb arms so that they open and close together, preventing independent movement of the delimb arms relative to one another. Such coordinated movement of the delimb arms is useful, for example, to facilitate picking up logs from a stack but is less suitable with ill-formed trees such as those with sweep (i.e., variation in the axial linearity of the tree) or other contour irregularities (e.g., bulges, depressions, lack of circularity).


A computer capable of playing real time applications includes a processing circuit configured to operate in a first power state, a second power state, and a third power state where the processing circuit consumes less power in the second state than in the first state, and less power in the third state than in the second state; and a real time subsystem coupled to the processing circuit, wherein the real time subsystem includes a buffer. The buffer is further configured to store data and output the data to an output device thereby enabling the processing circuit to enter the third power state while the buffer is outputting said data.

Efforts have been underway recently to reduce power consumption in computers. Computers including desktop PCs and portable computers are prevalent in most everyday office and home life. While most PCs consume a modest amount of power, in combination they consume a significant amount of power. In addition, portable computers are constantly striving to reduce power consumption, which enables it to have prolonged times between recharging of a battery supply, and/or to have a smaller size battery.
In conjunction with power conservation efforts, capabilities of computers are expanding to include real time entertainment applications, e.g., such as audio, video, and game applications, as well as the more traditional computing applications. For instance, CD/DVD-ROM drives are becoming more commonplace in many computers. In addition to traditional uses, such drives enable a user to play standard music CDs on their computer equipped with appropriate audio transducers, e.g., speakers. For audio applications, MP3 files and MP3 players may also be used to listen to audio data. The DVD-ROM drive and associated video subsystems may also permit a user to view a video on the computer display screen. In addition, various video games may also be played.
Such real time applications are typically not compatible with typical PC and portable computer processor power conservation efforts. As opposed to other applications, real time applications require the computer system to be able to respond to any request at any time. Therefore, the computer's operating system maintains the processor in, at most, a light sleep state. If the processor were put into a deep sleep state, the processor may not be fast enough to keep up with the output data from the real time application. In the case of an audio application for instance, the user would hear a click sound. In the case of a video application, the video screen would be frozen for a short period of time.
In addition, most processors have cache memory to enhance processing power. In order to keep data coherency between cache memory and system memory, the processor has to keep track of access from any other components in the system. Some components may have direct access to system memory. For example, an audio component in an audio subsystem may be able to retrieve audio data directly from system memory.
To support such direct access methods, each component has to know when it needs more data and where to retrieve it. With a processor having an internal cache memory, some of the data may be temporarily stored in cache memory rather than system memory. Because of this the processor cannot be put into a deep sleep mode when any of the system components use such direct access methods. Accordingly, power conservation efforts in these instances are thwarted.
Finally, components that are connected to the same bus must be in the same or lower power state as the bus itself. This protocol is supported by the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) Specification, which is a Specification jointly established by Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation in order to facilitate controlling electrical power consumption in computers. However, this protocol presents power conversation limitations. One example utilizing this protocol is listed in PCI Bus Power Management Interface Specification Revision 1.1.
For instance, if the component is a real time application component, e.g., an audio or video component, that needs to be in a higher power state in order to perform certain operations, e.g., video or audio playback, the connected bus in such a computer system would have to be in a similar higher power state. In addition, some other components may also have to be in the same or higher power state in order to maintain the bus in the higher power state. This ends up increasing power consumption of the entire computer.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method that overcomes the above deficiencies in the prior art to allow for improvements in power conservation techniques including an apparatus capable of allowing a processor and other system components to enter a deep sleep power state while playing real time applications without degradation in audio and video output performance.

Digital computer utilizing buffer to store and output data to play real time applications enabling processor to enter deep sleep state while buffer outputs data


To provide vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer particles, which have a small change with time in sol viscosity when kneaded together with a plasticizer and are excellent in the mechanical strength during low temperature processing, and applications represented by a coating agent, particularly an automobile underbody coating or an automotive sealant.

A vinyl chloride resin for paste processing (hereinafter, abbreviated as paste PVC sometimes) is ordinarily kneaded together with a plasticizer, a filler, a stabilizer or other compounding agents to prepare a paste PVC sol, and the paste PVC sol is used in a variety of molded products, for example, wallpaper, tile carpet and gloves by various molding method. Further, in the application of low processing temperature as paste PVC having a property excellent in gelation meltability for obtaining mechanical strength even at a relatively low temperature, a vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer resin obtained by copolymerizing vinyl acetate with vinyl chloride is known. Moreover, as a countermeasure for storage stability for a long period of time from the preparation of paste PVC sol to the processing, paste PVC having a small change with time in sol viscosity has been required.
As a method for producing paste PVC having a small change with time in sol viscosity, a method for producing a polyvinyl chloride resin for paste processing by a seed microsuspension polymerization using a specific surfactant has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In addition, a polyvinyl chloride resin composition in which a specific compound is incorporated into a paste PVC sol has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer particles and automobile underbody coating agent

Abstract: Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer particles comprising a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers in which a vinyl acetate residue unit content is continuously distributed in a range of 0 to 30% by weight and the distribution has one local maximum, and which has an average polymerization degree of 1,500 to 3,000 and an average vinyl acetate residue unit content of 5 to 15% by weight, and wherein an average diameter of a primary particle of the vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers is from 1 to 2 μm.


Methods and system for reconstructing 360-degree video is disclosed. A video sequence V1 including a plurality of frames associated with spherical content at a first frame rate and a video sequence V2 including a plurality of frames associated with a predefined viewport at a second frame rate is received by a processor. The first frame rate is lower than the second frame rate. An interpolated video sequence V1′ of the video sequence V1 is generated by creating a plurality of intermediate frames between a set of consecutive frames of the plurality of frames of the sequence V1 corresponding to the second frame rate of the video sequence V2. A pixel based blending of each intermediate frame of the plurality of the intermediate frames of sequence V1′ with a corresponding frame of the plurality of frames the sequence V2 is performed to generate a fused video sequence Vm for displaying.

Virtual Reality (VR) has been an effective means of sharing experiences and providing an immersive environment by streaming a 360-degree video to a VR display device for viewing by a user. The 360-degree videos usually have large file sizes thereby making it an impediment to deliver without compromising on quality to the VR display device. In order to reduce high bandwidth required in delivering 360-degree video to the VR display devices, compression techniques for 360-degree video encoding and network transmission have to be deployed.
An effective technique for 360-degree video compression involves view-dependent streaming where a fraction of the 360-degree video frame (hereinafter referred to a 'viewport') that corresponds to the part of 360-degree video, the user can currently see, i.e., the field of view (FOV) of the user, is streamed to the VR display device with high quality. For the part of 360-degree video that is outside of the user's field of view, it is to be streamed to the VR display with lower quality. This technique is commonly known as view optimization.
A state of art view optimization technique involves applying 3D pyramid mapping to each frame of the 360-degree video. In this technique, each frame of the 360-degree video is converted into a smaller pyramid shaped video frame to create a viewport. The front view of each of such view ports has full resolution and full frame rate video data while side views and rear views involve gradually increased spatial compression. Aforesaid technique results in a reduction in file size of the 360-degree video and provides a high video quality of the front view. However, when the user turns to a side or to back the heavy spatial compression provides a low quality video experience. To overcome low quality of the side views, the user may be provided with another viewport with the view orientation aligned to that of the user, instead of viewing the side view of the previous viewport. However, the switching from one viewport to another viewport often involves delay due to network latency and video decoding process. Therefore, the low quality video can still be seen depending on the user head movement which causes unpleasant viewing experience.
Accordingly, there is a need for a solution that can help improve the video quality of the 360-degree video irrespective of amount of motion in the video content. Further, there is a need to improve the video quality without involving major increases in total network bandwidth.

Method and system for reconstructing 360-degree video


The invention relates to an electro-optical component with a millimeter or submillimeter antenna and an optical receiver. In order, in the case of such an electro-optical component, to achieve the situation in which millimeter waves or submillimeter waves can be generated particularly well, the invention provides for the optical receiver to be an electroabsorption modulator.

The term "millimeter waves" is understood hereinafter to mean electromagnetic waves whose wavelength (free space wavelength) lies in the millimeters range; correspondingly, the term "submillimeter waves" is understood to mean electromagnetic waves whose wavelength is less than one millimeter. The term "millimeter antenna" and "submillimeter antenna" is used hereinafter to mean antennas which can radiate and/or receive electromagnetic millimeter waves and submillimeter waves, respectively.
A component of this type is disclosed in the document "Monolithically integrated Yagi-Uda antenna for photonic emitter operating at 120 GHz" (A. Hirata, T. Furuta and T. Nagatsuma; Electronics Letters, 30 Aug. 2001, Vol. 37, No. 18). This previously known component is an arrangement comprising a photodiode and a Yagi-Uda antenna connected to the photodiode. The photodiode, which is designed as a UTC (UTC: uni-travelling-carrier photodiode), receives optical signals modulated with a signal frequency of 120 GHz and converts them into electrical signals. The electrical signals thus have an electrical frequency of likewise 120 GHz and are radiated by the Yagi-Uda antenna connected to the UTC photodiode. In other words, the previously known component is an electro-optical transducer which converts optical signals with a high modulation frequency into electromagnetic millimeter waves.


A detector for determining the volume and volumetric changes of respiratory gases in a closed circuit anaesthesia circuit having a bellows ventilator. The device includes a first sensor positioned with respect to the bellows for detecting and indicating when the bellows assumes a given expanded position in a bellows housing indicative of the given volume of respiratory gas in the circuit. A second sensor detects and indicates when the bellows assumes an expanded position indicative of the greater amount of expansion than that corresponding to the given expanded position. During respiratory cycles of the patient, indications from the first sensor in the absence of indications from the second sensor indicates that the volume of gas in the closed circuit anaesthesia circuit is not changing, but is remaining at that corresponding to the given expanded position of the bellows. Indications from both the first sensor and the second sensor indicates that the degree of expansion of the bellows is greater than that corresponding to the given expanded position and hence the volume of gas in the closed circuit anaesthesia circuit has increased. The absence of indications from both the first and second sensors indicates that the degree of expansion of the bellows is less than that corresponding to the given expanded position and that the volume of gas in the closed circuit anaesthesia circuit has decreased.

The present invention relates to a device by which the volume of respiratory gas in an anaesthesia circuit and changes in such gas volume can be accurately, rapidly, and easily determined. The invention is particularly suited for use in an anaesthesia circuit operating in the closed circuit mode to enable an appropriate control apparatus or an attending anesthesiologist or other medical personnel to establish and maintain the gas volume in the circuit to a desired, generally constant, level.
Apparatus for administering an inhaled anaesthetic agent to a patient typically includes an anaesthesia machine in which the anaesthetic agent is entrained in a flow of carrier gas. The carrier gas is usually a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide or air. The carrier gas and entrained anaesthetic agent from the anaesthesia machine are provided to an anaesthesia circuit for delivery to a patient in the course of his/her respiration. The anaesthesia circuit is typically operated in one of two modes: a semi-closed mode or a closed circuit mode. In the semi-closed mode, the amount of gas supplied to the circuit from the anaesthesia machine exceeds that taken up by the patient. The excess gas is discharged from the circuit to a scavenging system through a pressure limiting, or "pop off", valve during the exhalation phase of the patient's breathing.
In the closed circuit mode the respiratory gases in the circuit, including gas exhaled by the patient, are not discharged from the circuit but are retained in the closed circuit for recirculation to and from the patient. To absorb the carbon dioxide contained in the respiratory gases exhaled by the patient, a CO.sub.2 absorber employing a suitable absorbent, such as soda lime, is provided in the circuit.
In a closed circuit anaesthesia system, once the patient is brought to near equilibrium with the respiratory gas contained in the anaesthesia circuit, the amount of gas supplied to the circuit is only the small amount necessary to provide the patient minute oxygen consumption plus some minimal level of anaesthetic agent.
Closed circuit anaesthesia systems have numerous advantages over semi-closed or open systems. These include decreased use of carrier gas and anaesthetic agent. This results in decreased costs from the lessened consumption of the carrier gas and the anaesthesia agent. The amount of environmental pollution is lessened because of the closed nature of the circuit. In a closed circuit system, the patient minute oxygen consumption can be rather precisely determined since, with the circuit at equilibrium, the amount of oxygen supplied to the closed circuit in the gas flow from the anaesthesia machine will be the same as that which the patient is consuming.
However, closed circuit anaesthesia circuits have not achieved as wide spread usage as their advantages would warrant. This is due, in considerable measure, to the fact that a closed anaesthesia circuit requires continuous monitoring of the volume and composition of the respiratory gas in the circuit and careful maintenance of those characteristics by controlling the amount and composition of the gas flow supplied to the closed circuit.
The gas volume in a closed circuit anaesthesia circuit is evident from a bellows assembly of the attached ventilator. The bellows assembly includes an expandable, pleated bellows, formed of rubber or other flexible material. The bellows is connected in the closed circuit for receiving and discharging gas respired by the patient. The bellows is contained in a surrounding rigid housing, typically formed of clear plastic. To cause or assist the patient to inhale respiratory gas, a separate, driving gas is supplied to the housing to compress the bellows and deliver respiratory gas in the closed circuit to the patient. As the patient exhales, the driving gas is allowed to exit the housing so that the bellows may expand to receive respiratory gas exhaled by the patient. The process is then repeated for the next breathing cycle of the patient. The bellows is typically compressed downwardly during inhalation and expands upwardly during exhalation, and the housing surrounding the bellows is cylindrical in nature, with a vertical volumetric scale.
The anesthesiologist, or others, using an anaesthesia system in a closed circuit mode, adjusts the gas volume in a closed circuit system so that the bellows rises, with the patient's exhalation, to an intermediate position on the vertical scale of the housing. Changes in the gas volume in the closed circuit are determined by observing changes in the position of the bellows in the housing at the end of successive breathing cycles of the patient. For instance, if the bellows is gradually rising higher and higher with each exhalation of the patient, the volume of gas in the closed circuit is increasing. The anesthesiologist must slightly decrease the gas supply of one or more of the gases supplied to the closed circuit to restore and maintain the desired constant volume in the circuit. If, on the other hand, the bellows is gradually returning to a lower and lower position in the housing with each exhalation, the anesthesiologist will need to add gas from one or more of the gas supplies to the closed circuit. When the desired goal of maintaining the volume of gas in the closed circuit at a constant level is being achieved, the bellows will return with each exhalation to the same intermediate position in the housing.
The desired composition for the respiratory gases in the closed circuit is determined by measuring the oxygen concentration in the closed circuit, typically the inspired oxygen concentration (FiO.sub.2), and the amount and composition of the gas supplied to the circuit is adjusted to maintain the oxygen concentration at a desired level.
The need for continuous monitoring of gas volume and composition and careful maintenance of these characteristics places a corresponding burden on the anesthesiologist attending a patient to observe the magnitude of the gas volume, the nature of changes therein, and composition of the respiratory gas in the closed anaesthesia circuit and to properly operate the appropriate gas supply values in response to such observations. These requirements are in addition to other demands on the anesthesiologist, for example, to monitor the physiological condition of the patient during a surgical or other medical procedure.
The foregoing burden has caused anesthesiologists to employ other modes of operation instead of closed circuit anaesthesia circuits, in spite of the advantages of the latter.

Device and method for determining gas volume and volumetric changes in a ventilator


A system for determining a deceleration rate of an aircraft, in various embodiments, includes at least one component capable of transmitting a first deceleration rate. The system also includes a brake control unit coupled to the at least one component and having a brake controller that is configured to receive the first deceleration rate from the at least one component and to determine a likely accurate deceleration rate based on the first deceleration rate, a second deceleration rate and a hierarchy of sources of deceleration rates.

Various aircraft brake systems include a brake control unit (BCU) that controls the various brakes of the aircraft. Various BCUs provide automatic deceleration of the aircraft. For example, the BCU may allow a pilot to select a deceleration rate and then control the brakes to cause the aircraft to decelerate at the selected rate. When controlling the brakes to achieve the selected deceleration rate, the BCU constantly or periodically detects a current deceleration rate and applies more or less braking force based on the detected deceleration rate. Conventional aircraft wheels include wheel speed sensors for detecting a wheel speed and BCUs are capable of determining deceleration rates based on the detected wheel speeds. Some BCUs can also receive deceleration rates from avionics units of the aircraft.

Robustness and availability of aircraft acceleration evaluation


A server-based method for implementing a communications link. The method includes receiving via a communications network a request for a communications link from a client communications component executing on a handheld device and establishing a wireless communications link with the handheld device by using a server communications interface executing on the server. An optimized protocol is automatically implemented between the client communications component and the server based on the wireless communications link type and the handheld device type, wherein the optimized protocol is implemented while maintaining a standardized application programming interface for the server communications interface, and wherein the communications link is established via the communications component functioning with a device API component to configure hardware of the handheld device.

The use of mobile handheld devices, particularly, devices with wireless communications capabilities, is becoming increasingly popular with consumers. A wide variety of various types of mobile devices are being manufactured by a large number of consumer electronic device manufacturers. For example, in a typical market like the United States, many millions of mobile handheld devices such as, for example, mobile phones, portable computers (e.g., PDAs, micro laptops, etc.), portable media players, and the like are purchased by consumers each year. As the features offered by these devices continued to increase with respect to their richness and depth of functionality, the overall mobile handheld device market continues to expand. This expanding market offers opportunities to those device manufacturers that are best able to satisfy consumer demand.
Much of the unique functionality provided by a wireless handheld device depends upon its ability to connect with other wireless devices and/or a wireless base station and application servers. Examples include cell phones being able to talk to a cell phone base station (e.g., cell tower, etc.) and access an e-mail server. Another example is the ability of a wireless handheld device to talk to a WiFi hotspot, or other such base station. Application functionality (e.g., weather information, stock quotes, news, etc.) is often provided by a server that communicates with the wireless device via the base station.
The ability to establish a reliable wireless communication link between a wireless handheld device and a server (e.g., a server connected to the Internet, etc.) is typically the most critical factor controlling quality of the user experience. A given application's usability and desirability can be dictated by the speed and reliability of the link between the wireless handheld device and the server.
Unfortunately, there are a number problems with the continued expansion of the market for wireless handheld devices. There are a number of different wireless network carriers that employ a number of different wireless technologies (e.g., CDMA, GSM, etc.). Each of these different network carriers utilize a large number of different types of wireless handheld devices, from a large number of different manufacturers. The different network carriers also used different techniques in different technologies to accommodate the changing transmit received conditions as, for example, the mobile users move around (e.g., walking down the street, driving a car, etc.), changing device locations with respect to each other and with respect to any base station. Consequently, an application developer is confronted with a large number of different technology architectures, network topologies, software interfaces, etc., that must be interfaced with and accommodated in order to achieve a sufficiently fast and reliable link between a given wireless handheld device and a server.
Another problem is the fact that an application developer does not have access to a wide array of wireless mobile handheld devices through a reasonable number of conditions or a reasonable number of APIs. There are a large number of different types of handheld devices. Each of these devices varies widely in terms of their capability. Such capabilities include, for example, the power of the embedded CPU, the amount of included RAM, battery power, the communications hardware included, antenna effectiveness, and the like. Depending upon the degree of capability of a given device, the developer must either custom write communications routines or network layer code (e.g., interrupt service routines, Internet protocol stacks, etc.) for more primitive devices, or merely hook into established APIs (e.g., Brew, J2ME, etc.) for more advanced devices, or some combination of the two for devices that are in between. This causes a large amount of developer coding time simply getting an application through QA and debugging to run on a given model of device. Developers simply do not have the time or the resources to take even a single application through a customized QA and debugging process for all the different types of handheld devices that comprise the market.
Thus, what is required is a standardized method for implementing wireless communications links for wireless mobile handheld devices. What is required is a method that can adapt to the various different technologies used to implement a communications link between a handset and a server to provide a standardized way to communicate regardless of the carrier and regardless of the handset type. What is required is a solution that is transparent to an application developer and presents a standardized, device-independent interface. The present invention provides a novel solution to these requirements.

Server-side wireless communications link support for mobile handheld devices


When packet sending and receiving apparatus 21 sets a connection, timing control apparatus 22 generates a timing information Tf as the packet is dispersed equivalently. Timing control apparatus 22 notices the timing information Tf to packet sending and receiving apparatus 21 and base station 3. Packet sending and receiving apparatus 21 carries out a packet generating processing in accordance with a frame offset value which is indicated by the timing information Tf. Therefore, the packets in which a packet transmission timing is averaged in a packet transmission period arrives to packet multiplex apparatus 23. Consequently, it is possible to decrease a waiting time of the packet multiplex transmission. Therefore, it is possible to use efficiency a transmission link L1, while being satisfied the required service quality.

In data communication, a conventionally known packet transmission method is available for multiplexing and transmitting the data packets from a plurality of connections to a transmission link employed in common by the plurality of connections. Control is carried out as follows in a conventional packet transmission method. First, detection is performed to determine whether or not the transmission link has a vacant bandwidth. Next, if the transmission link has a vacant bandwidth, the packet is transmitted directly. If, however, the data link does not have a vacant bandwidth due to transmission of other packets with connections, packet transmission enters a waiting state until the transmission link becomes vacant. If the pattern for generating packets for each connection is random, and the connection number is sufficiently high, then the probability of a packet collision during multiplex transmission is averaged by this packet transmission method. Therefore, the average value is used for collision probability, and a transmission link that provides some degree of margin is prepared. In this way, a decline in service, such as increased delays, does not occur substantially, even if a transmission link for the transmission band that added the maximum rate which is offered to all the connections is not prepared.
Thus, it is possible to reduce costs since the transmission service provider can design facilities anticipating a statistical multiplexing effect. The following two points are prerequisites in a facilities design that anticipates such statistical multiplexing effect.    1) The delay condition of the target service shall be comparatively loose to an extent which does not impair the quality of service, even if the packets are made to wait for a moment in a packet multiplex transmitter.    2) The traffic characteristics of a packet which is supplied into the packet multiplex transmitter are average, and burst traffic does not occur.
However, data having strict delay conditions, or data that is cyclically generated is sometimes transmitted in data communication.
As an example of a strict delay condition, a service may be cited in which the delay of transmission data is acknowledged without modification by the user as a time lag, as in the case of image data in voice communication or in a video conference system.
Transmission of high efficiency coded data is available as an example of data having cyclical origin characteristics. The side which is transmitting this coded data converts the user's voice or moving image information into data of fixed or variable length by compressing. The transferred data is then transmitted cyclically or intermittently at a predetermined interval. The receiving side expands the user's voice or moving image information in its continuous, original form on the basis of the received coded data.
As another example of data having cyclical origin characteristics, there is communication through a radio link. In a radio transmission, radio frames are constituted cyclically in the radio link, and data is stored into a radio frame and transmitted. In this case, a communication from a user is carried out with this radio frame period. Therefore, the sending and receiving timing for data at the terminal of the radio link depends on the radio frame period.
For example, in the PDC system employed in digital mobile communication in Japan, the radio frame is formed at every 40 msec interval by combining 6 channels of time slots having a capacity of 280 bits. A super radio frame is formed by combining 18 of the radio frames. The super radio frame has a 720 msec period. In this radio frame design, two time slots are assigned to user communication in V-SELP (Vector Sum Excited Liner Prediction) voice data communication, while one time slot is assigned to user communication in PSI-CELP (Pith Synchronous Innovation CELP) voice data communication. Therefore, the voice communication data of these users usually originates at an integer timing of 20 msec or 40 msec.
As in the case of the examples mentioned above, data exists which has strict delay conditions, or which occurs cyclically. In particular, when a plurality of datum compete in a low speed transmission path, the amount of delay while awaiting transmission becomes serious. Thus, a facilities design which incorporates the statistical multiplexing effect described above cannot be applied to data communication of the aforementioned characteristics.
For the first example, an explanation will now be made of the case where ATM cell multiplex transmission is employed between a mobile communication base station and switching center, and cyclic data having strict delay conditions, such as voice data, is transmitted.
Mobile communication systems generally have extensive communication area. Thus, a mobile communication system arranges base stations that cover radio access to a region of a constant area. The mobile communication system connects these base stations and a switching center with a transmission link, and adopts a design in which the communication data from these base stations is exchanged and summarized. The transmission link speed between the base station and the switching center is influenced by the amount of traffic at the base station. However, in the case where voice communication predominates, the transmission link speed may become a low speed like 1.5 Mbps.
ATM cell multiplex transmission is sometimes applied to the transmission link between this base station and the switching center. In this case, the ATM cell multiplex transmission waiting delay in the ATM cell multiplex transmission portion has a large impact on the service quality as compared to a fixed network. The reason is as follows. First, ATM transmission in a fixed network sets 155 Mbps the basis. Because of this, in the ATM cell multiplex transmission portion, the transmission waiting time of one ATM cell is about 0.0027 msec. However, the delay becomes about 0.27 msec for transmitting the same single ATM cell in a 1.5 Mbps network. In other words, a delay quantity of about 100 times that of the fixed network occurs in the service because the multiplex transmission link is a low speed in mobile communication. In the case where N ATM cells compete in the ATM cell multiplex transmission portion, then a N-fold waiting time occurs. Thus, delay becomes an even more serious problem.
Therefore, when multiplex transmitting data having strict delay conditions at a specified quality by employing ATM cell multiplex transmission in the low-speed transmission link provided between the base station and the switching center, an approach is required which restricts the number of input connections, even if there is additional coverage in the band of the whole multiplex transmission path. As a result, a problem arises in that the statistical multiplexing cannot be sufficiently utilized.
The preceding example employed the case where data is multiplexed in ATM cell units. In contrast to this, a method is known for the efficient forwarding of data having a low transmission rate. In this method, the data is transmitted by multiplexing a AAL Type2 CPS Packet, in which a plurality of connections are mounted on one ATM cell, to one ATM virtual channel (VC). However, when this AAL Type2 CPS Packet is multiplexed to one VC of the ATM, a problem similar to that discussed in the preceding example occurs.
Next, the problem of the burst arrival of data in the terminal of the radio link will be discussed for the second example.
In a design in which ATM multiplex transmission is carried out between a mobile station and a base station which are connected by a radio link, a plurality of mobile stations transmit data to the base station. In this case, the timing for data receipt at the base station depends on the radio frame transmission timing between the mobile station and the base station. Therefore, in the case where each radio frame of each connection used by the plurality of mobile stations during communication is synchronously managed with the same timing, then the base station receives the data from all the mobile stations in a burst at the same timing. Therefore, the ATM cell also arrives at the base station's ATM multiplex transmitter in a burst at the same timing, so that the waiting delay described in the first example increases. Thus, in order to carry out multiplex transmission while satisfying quality, an approach is required in which the number of input connections is restricted, even if there is additional coverage in the band of the whole multiplex transmission path. As a result, a problem arises in that it is not possible to sufficiently utilize the statistical multiplexing effect.

Packet transmission method, packet transmission device, radio frame transmission method, mobile communication method, mobile communication system, and exchange


The invention concerns a process for incorporating a perfume into a personal product, wherein the perfume is first combined with one or more non-ionic emulsifiers and an aqueous phase to form a structured emulsion containing liquid crystal structures, which surround the dispersed perfume, and thereafter this structured emulsion is dispersed into a personal product base. The invention also concerns the personal products thus obtained and the structured emulsions used in the process. The structured emulsions comprise 1-30% by weight of one or more non-ionic emulsifiers, 1-50% by weight of a perfume and 20-98% by weight of an aqueous phase. Preferably low shear mixing is used in preparing the emulsions.

The addition of perfumes to consumer products is well established, particularly for products such as household cleansers, laundry products and personal cleaning and cosmetic products. Normally, the perfume is simply admixed with the other components of the product to produce a homogeneous product but in some cases this process may be facilitated by the use of a solubiliser, such as a emulsifier or co-solvent, to disperse the perfume more readily into the product. Whilst in general the perfume does not contribute to the functional performance of the product it does serve to improve its aesthetic appeal by imparting a pleasing odour to the product both on storage and in use. Additionally it may impart a pleasing odour to substrates on which the product is used, such as skin and hair.
Where a perfume is added to a product the nature of the product can affect its performance in a number of ways. For example, the components of the product may chemically interact with the perfume; the performance of the perfume may be hindered by interactions with component(s) of the product and this may affect both its perception in the package and in use; the longevity of the perfume may be affected. Various methods are known in the art to address these problems. One approach to optimising perfume performance in products is to empirically tailor the perfume by selecting those ingredients which are known in the art to perform well in particular products. In some cases, this can severely constrain creativity in designing a suitable perfume and may have increased cost implications for the successful perfuming of a product. In another approach, encapsulation technology can be used to stop or hinder adverse interactions between perfume and product components or to allow tailored release i.e. to control the release profile. Well-known examples of such encapsulation or controlled delivery technology include processes and products described in EP 303 461 (Unilever), U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,941 (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Corp.), EP 332 175 (Lion Corp.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,761 (IFF Inc.), EP 334 666 (Union Camp Corp.), GB 2,141,730 (Colgate-Palmolive Co.), EP 332 259 and EP 332 260 (both Procter and Gamble Inc.). Often these methods result in an appreciable on-cost for the perfuming of products.
It is known that liquid crystalline phases can help to stabilise skin cream emulsions (G. Dahms in "Cosmetics and Toiletries" Vol. 101 no. 11 (1986), pp. 113-115) and they are claimed to offer advantages in moisture retention on the skin. In a similar way liquid crystalline phases can be used to form vesicles and in recent years there has been extensive literature describing the preparation and application of such vesicles known as "liposomes". Bioemulsifiers, such as phospholipids (e.g. lecithin), have been the principal materials used in the preparation of such liposomes and are being increasingly exploited in a variety of personal products, which are claimed to offer exceptional benefits as skin moisturizers, e.g. as described in EP 120 722 (Parfums Christian Dior), U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,703 (Parfums Christian Dior), U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,971 (Lever Bros. Co.). Additionally, some non-ionic emulsifiers have also been used to form liposomes with similar benefits being claimed, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,344 (L'Oreal), U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,185 (Lion Corp.). In WO 88/06883 (Micro Vesicular Systems) paucilamellar vesicles are suggested for a number of applications in the medical and therapeutic field. A method of preparing multilamellar lipid vesicles using certain non-ionic emulsifiers and a sterol is disclosed in WO 88/06882 (Micro Vesicular Systems). A similar method wherein hydrophilic and amphiphilic components are encapsulated in such vesicles is disclosed in WO 88/06881 (Micro-pak Inc.). In EP 347 306 compositions with high perfume concentration are described which appear to contain separate bubbles of non-ionic emulsifier (based on polyglycerol derivatives) and droplets of perfume, surrounded by a continuous aqueous phase. GB 1,439,244 describes liquid crystalline compositions prepared by mixing an aqueous phase containing an amphotheric surfactant with an organic liquid. This liquid, which may contain perfumery materials, must itself be capable of forming the required liquid crystalline structure in combination with the aqueous phase. However, the organic liquid does not appear to be surrounded, and thus protected, by the liquid crystal structures. The compositions are described as giving enhanced substantivity of the organic liquid to skin, hair etc, when directly applied thereto. Preferably, the aqueous phase of the compositions is acidified to a pH near the isoelectric point of the amphoteric surfactant to obtain maximum substantivity. Finally, the liquid crystalline compositions described lose their substantivity in combination with most anionic surfactants.
On the other hand, EP 217 105 describes, lamellar-type single phase liquid crystal compositions for application to the skin, comprising hydrophilic nonionic surfactants having an HLB of 10 or more, water soluble substances, an oily substance and a relatively small amount (preferably below 30%) of water. These compositions are cited to have the advantage of being easily washed of the skin with water, i.e. being the reverse of substantive.
Finally, EP 316 728 and EP 368 146 describe clear microemulsion cleaning compositions comprising anionic and nonionic surfactants, co-surfactants, perfume and water. These products are intended for removing oily and greasy soils.
However, none of these references suggests to use vesicles or liposomes or or similar structures to incorporate a perfume in a personal product so as to protect it against interaction with other components present in the product and enhance its performance.

Perfumed structured emulsion in personal products


An antenna apparatus includes a feeding terminal, a high-pass low-cut device, a first low-pass high-cut device, and an antenna body, where the high-pass low-cut device is electrically connected in series between a first free end of the antenna body and the feeding terminal, and the first low-pass high-cut device is electrically connected in series between a second free end of the antenna body and the feeding terminal.

With continuous evolution of communications networks, wireless terminals having a multi-mode communication capability have gradually become a key development direction for the future in the industry. The multiple modes may be, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
As a quantity of LTE frequency bands increases, it is particularly important for a terminal antenna to have a wide band and to be miniaturized. Existing antenna design solutions for LTE mostly use a conventional antenna having a support, such as a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA).
However, an existing terminal antenna has a relatively large size, and costs of a support are relatively high.


A cantilevered shoe construction for preventing knee and hip osteoarthritis. The shoe construction includes a cantilevered foot support with an anchored lateral side and a fully or partially cantilevered medial side. The cantilevered foot support transfers forces, otherwise transmitted through the medial aspect of the shoe and foot, to the lateral side of the shoe and foot, thereby reducing the knee varus and hip adductor torques to prevent or delay onset of knee and hip osteoarthritis and reducing the ankle joint adductor torque to reduce the risk for ankle sprain injury. The reduction of these joint torques also maintains posture without counterbalancing muscle activity, thereby improving muscle efficiency and performance during weight bearing activities and reducing the tendency for musculoskeletal injury. A spring loading effect of other embodiments enhances the natural coronal foot progression during gait so as to enhance the push off phase of gait.

Nearly every person living long enough develops some degree of osteoarthritis, sometimes referred to as degenerative or wear-and-tear arthritis in both the knees and hips. Osteoarthritis becomes disabling when the articular cartilage covering the joint degenerates, resulting in areas of the joint where bone rubs against bone. Knee osteoarthritis in particular, which most typically occurs on the medial aspect of the knee, accounts for more disability with respect to mobility than any other disease in the elderly. That the medial aspect of the knee is particularly susceptible is due to the fact that during walking (and other weight bearing activities), an external varus knee torque throughout the stance period imparts a continuous compressive force across the medial aspect of the knee. While the medial aspect of the knee is most susceptible to arthritis, the varus torque makes the entire knee susceptible by necessitating counterbalancing muscle activity that imparts substantial muscle compressive forces throughout the knee.
Other than avoiding acute joint trauma and maintaining normal body weight, there are no proven measures to reduce the inevitable wear and tear during weight bearing activities of the knee such that the gradual development of knee osteoarthritis can be prevented or mitigated. Footwear or shoes often include material in the soles that absorb shock. However, because shock absorbing material does not actually reduce joint torques or forces during walking or other weight bearing activities, the propensity to knee and hip osteoarthritis is unchanged. Although shoe designs and arch supports often support the medial side of the foot, including the natural arch of the foot, they affect only the anatomy of the foot and do not reduce (and in fact can increase) the knee varus and hip adductor torques.
A laterally wedged heel or sole can reduce knee varus torque. While a wedge-like sole could be acceptable as a treatment modality for a person who already has knee osteoarthritis, the shoe insert alone is unlikely to be an acceptable preventative device that could be useful to a healthy person in preventing knee osteoarthritis. In use, such a shoe insert or design will tend to pronate the foot and collapse the natural arch. Such a tendency toward collapse of the foot arch with repetitive steps is likely to be uncomfortable for healthy people and athletes, and probably does not warrant the risk of foot injuries and deformities. Moreover, the end result of a collapsed foot arch would be an increase rather than a decrease in the knee varus and also hip adductor torques.
Thus, there is a need for a footwear design that both comfortably and adequately supports the foot and prevents pronation, yet also reduces the external knee varus torque and potentially also reduces the hip adductor torque and ankle inversion torque. By reducing the knee varus and hip adductor torque, less counterbalancing muscle activity would be required, resulting in reduction of the forces throughout the knee (not just the medial side) and hip. Such a design would be particularly useful for prevention of both knee and hip osteoarthritis and could help prevent common musculoskeletal injuries including hip pointers and ankle sprain injury. By reducing the joint torques in the coronal plane (knee varus, hip adductor and ankle inversion), the design would simultaneously reduce the need for counterbalancing muscle activity (and strain) in the coronal plane to maintain posture, thus improving muscle efficiency and athletic performance during weight bearing activities. There is currently no effective shoe design that reduces the need for muscle activity related to the coronal plane.


A parameter determination apparatus is provided with: an input/output I/F configured to receive topology information representing connections between nodes included in a communication system, and node pair information indicating node pairs that communicate with each other; a parameter determination unit configured to simultaneously determine, based on the topology information and the node pair information, a group formed of 1 or more node pairs and a transmission rate to be assigned to the group; and a parameter setting unit configured to give notification of the group and the transmission rate to the nodes included in the communication system. In this way, network utilization efficiency is increased.

Industrial embedded systems requiring real-time control are being widely introduced, such as factory automation (FA) systems and broadcast video systems. Since these industrial embedded systems require real-time control between embedded CPUs (Central Processing Unit) that are geographically dispersed, real-time communication is realized using dedicated communication protocols and dedicated field buses.
However, along with lower costs and wider bandwidth for Ethernet (registered trademark), which is widely used in communication networks, systems realizing communication networks in industrial embedded systems by Ethernet (registered trademark) are becoming common.
"Communication delay guarantee" for realizing real-time control is cited as a requirement of a network in an industrial embedded system. In order to provide a guarantee with regard to communication delay in Ethernet (registered trademark), an End-to-End bandwidth reservation system is described in Patent Literatures (PTLs) 1 and 2.
In the systems described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, bandwidth reservation is carried out by determining transmission rate for each node pair so as to maximize the utilization rate of network bandwidth, and setting the determined transmission rate in a rate control unit corresponding to a destination node.
[PTL 1]
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-H07-245626A
[PTL 2]
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP2006-074600A

Parameter determination apparatus, parameter determination method and program


Iterative write pausing techniques to improve read latency of memory systems including memory systems with phase change memory (PCM) devices. A PCM device includes a plurality of memory locations and a mechanism for executing an iterative write to one or more of the memory locations in response to receiving a write command that includes data to be written. The executing includes initiating the iterative write, updating a state of the iterative write, pausing the iterative write including saving the state in response to receiving a pause command, and resuming the iterative write in response to receiving a resume command. The resuming is responsive to the saved state and to the data to be written.

This invention relates generally to computer memory, and more specifically, to write pausing and pre-empting techniques to improve read latency of memory systems.
Limited lifetime computer storage devices include, but are not limited to, flash memory (e.g., not-and or "NAND" flash memory, and not-or or "NOR" flash memory) and phase change memory (PCM). Limited lifetime memory technologies may benefit from iterative write techniques (commonly referred to as "write-and-verify") that are comprised of a sequence of write and read operations. Iterative write techniques may allow a controller for the memory to store a desired value with an increased accuracy, since the read operations offer a feedback mechanism that can be used to reduce errors in the writing process.
Many of the emerging non-volatile memory technologies (e.g., flash and PCM) have asymmetric latency for read and write requests. Servicing a write request typically takes four to sixteen times the amount of time that it takes to service a read request. When a write request is scheduled to a bank of such slow-to-write memory, the bank is busy until the write request is completed. If another read or write request arrives at the same bank after the write is scheduled, that request has to wait until the current request is serviced. Thus, the slow writes can increase contention and increase the effective latency for subsequent read and write requests. While increased latency due to contention can generally be tolerated for write requests by using buffers, the increased latency for a read request may have bigger impact on overall system performance because reads are often in a critical path of a program being executed.

International Business Machines Corporation


A seal assembly with an accumulator ring for protecting a seal from explosive decompression is disclosed. The accumulator ring and the seal are contained within a seal gland. The seal is made of a material that is susceptible to damage from explosive decompression. When exposed to a high-pressure fluid environment, the accumulator ring fills with a quantity of high-pressure fluid, either by permeation if it is solid or by permeation and/or vents and/or channels leading to a void if it is hollow. During an explosive decompression event, the accumulator ring expands to fill the remaining volume of the seal gland. Then, the accumulator ring exerts an axial compressive or supporting force on the seal for a sufficient amount of time to allow the seal to expel fluid contained in it and minimize the effects of explosive decompression thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seal assembly and method of sealing for use in high pressure application, for example, drilling and production applications. More particularly, the invention involves a seal assembly and method of sealing the junction between the male and female members or face seal members, wherein the seals are susceptible to explosive decompression effects.
2. Related Art
Ring seals are used in a variety of environments. Of particular interest are ring seals used in high-pressure environments. These include applications such as oil field drilling and production operations, hydraulic couplings, blowout preventer packings, etc.
Typical ring seals are often made from semi-permeable elastomeric materials. The sealing rings are intended to seal against a particular medium; if the pressure brought against the sealing rings by the medium becomes too great, the medium begins to penetrate the elastomeric material that constitutes the sealing rings. If a sudden pressure drop occurs in the surroundings of the sealing ring after such a penetration has occurred, the medium that has penetrated into the sealing rings abruptly expands. As a consequence of this expansion, the sealing rings are damaged or even destroyed. This kind of event is called an "explosive decompression." This is a particular problem when the fluid is a gas at high temperature and pressure. In order to reduce the risk of an explosive decompression occurring, it is known to use seals, for example, o-rings, having a reduced cross-section and, as a result, a reduced exposed surface area. The likelihood of explosive decompression is also decreased by using seals made of materials having very low or very high permeability rates, such as costly and weaker silicone materials. Low permeability rates minimizes the incorporation of fluid in such materials, typically having a high durometer, thereby minimizing the effects of explosive decompression thereto. High permeability rates allows any fluid within such a material to be quickly released, thereby minimizes such effects thereto. Additionally, seal designers attempt to achieve a maximum volume fill of the seal gland partly to try to minimize such effects, but are constrained from doing so due to the thermal coefficient of expansion of the materials placed within the seal gland. Thus, a 100% volume fill cannot be accomplished. At best, about a 90% volume fill is attainable at room temperature.
There is a need to protect ring seals and provide a degree of resistance to explosive decompression regardless of the material that constitutes the ring seals.


A SAN management application maintains configuration information in a near real-time (RT) manner for timely and accurate responses to queries. A database manager responsive to the management application aggregates information concerning both current and historical configurations by combining current and historical information sets as a common (DB) database portal responsive to an individual query for configuration data from both current and historical data. The common portal avoids redundant and duplicative entries between the current and historical information sets, and is responsive to the management application for maintaining each change on only one of the current and historical information sets. Configuration changes add, update and move data items between the current and historical information sets, but need not store a configuration change in both the current and history information sets.

In a configured information network, such as a storage area network (SAN), a network fabric, or infrastructure, interconnects network elements, or nodes, for providing various services to end users that are also connected to the network. In a storage area network, for example, a number of storage arrays are adapted to provide data storage and retrieval services. The storage arrays connect to other elements such as switches and hosts to efficiently provide the services to the users. Further, each storage array includes a set of individual storage devices (e.g. disk drives) that are themselves considered network elements. The collection of elements defines a configuration of the SAN that is often updated to respond to changes in the network, such as for performance improvements, message traffic redirection, and equipment failures.
In a typical information network such as a SAN, a management application monitors the state of network elements and responds to queries about the network configuration. A conventional database arrangement stores data about the configuration, typically as a set of entries about relationships between the elements stored in relational database tables. For example, as discussed above, a storage array includes a plurality of storage devices and connects to one or more switches or routers that in turn connect to host computers (hosts). In a conventional network, substantive data throughput is paramount. In a SAN, timely and efficient delivery of data to users must remain the priority of the network. Accordingly, it is desirable that configuration management operations do not hinder effective delivery of network services to users.


The present invention is directed to a method of inhibiting aconitase activity of fungal cells in an individual, the method comprising administering an inhibitor of aconitase activity to the fungal cell in an amount effective to inhibit activity of aconitase by said fungal cells.

Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the anti-fungal mechanism of action of pyrithione-containing antifungals involves the inhibition of aconitase and other mitochondrial iron-sulfur proteins. The mechanism of inhibition is believed to involve the formation of copper pyrithione within the cell by either association with exogenous or endogenous copper and transchelation according to the Irving-Williams series. The copper pyrithione can then traverse the mitochondrial membrane and interact with iron-sulfur proteins such as aconitase resulting in alteration of the iron-sulfur active site and resultant inhibition of activity.
In the present invention it was found that the ZPT sensitivity increased with a CUP2 deletion strain that is defective in protection from high copper levels. From this and other observations, it is appreciated that copper is augmenting the effect of ZPT induced growth inhibition, but the mechanism was unknown.
Through the present invention, including the results of ZPT sensitivity of the Saccharomyces deletion library strains, it is found that mitochondrial iron sulfur protein maturation is a key target of ZPT. This is confirmed by the present invention's demonstration that, in minimal medium, ZPT inhibits growth by inhibition of glutamate and lysine synthesis, which require the activity of the mitochondrial iron-sulfur protein aconitase. Moreover, culturing of cells in the presence of ZPT has led to aconitase inhibition. The present invention has extended the understanding of the ZPT mechanism of action to identification of a key target enzyme.

Inhibition of microbial growth by aconitase inhibition


In a method and system of controlling the effective value of alternating current supplied to a load through controlled semiconductor switching elements which are connected in parallel opposition, circuits are provided to produce data ##EQU1## where .DELTA.I represents an increment of the load current, .DELTA..alpha. an increment of the ignition angle .alpha. and I.sub.90 the effective value of the load current at an ignition angle of 90.degree.. .DELTA..alpha. is calculated according to an equation ##EQU2## where K is a constant smaller than 1. Then .DELTA..alpha. is added to an ignition angle .alpha..sub.1 in a preceding half cycle to determine a new ignition angle which is used to control the controlled semiconductor switching elements.

This invention relates to a method and system of controlling the effective value of alternating current to a preset value.
In an alternating current system wherein alternating current is supplied to an AC load through a pair of controlled semiconductor switching elements, for example thyristors, which are connected in parallel opposition, it is desirable to maintain the effective value of the alternating current at a prescribed set value and to change the set value when desired. However, as will be described later in more detail according to a prior art method and system where the power factor of the load varies greatly it has been difficult to increase the response speed of the system and to improve the stability thereof.

Method and system of controlling effective value of alternating current


3-Pyrimidinyloxy-substituted picolinic acid derivatives of the formula ##STR1## and their salts are useful as herbicides against annual and perennial gramineous and broadleaf weeds while exhibiting low phytotoxicity to desired crop plants.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a picolinic acid derivative and a salt thereof, and a herbicidal composition containing the same as an active ingredient, which is applicable to a paddy field, an upland filed and a non-agricultural land.
2. DISCUSSION OF BACKGROUND
As a herbicide having a structure similar to the compound of the present invention, a 3-(4,6-dimethoxypirimidin-2-yl)oxypicolinic acid derivative has been known (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 121973/1990). This publication discloses a picolinic acid type (2-pyridine-carboxylic acid) structure and an isonicotinic acid type (4-pyridine-carboxylic acid) structure as a compound having a pyridine ring. However, this publication does not disclose a compound having a substituent on the pyridine ring, like the compound of the present invention. Accordingly, there is no specific disclosure or suggestion of the herbicidal effects of such a compound.
Further, it is also known that a 2-sulfoneaminopyrimidine derivative has herbicidal activities (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 149567/1990). However, in this case, a large dose is required to control various weeds simultaneously, and its herbicidal effects are not yet satisfactory.
Furthermore, a similar patent publication (WO-9207846-Al) discloses herbicidal effects of an amino group derivative at the 6-position of picolinic acid. However, there is no specific description about the safety of the compound to crop plants, and the herbicidal effects are not satisfactory particularly to control weeds in an agricultural field.
In recent years, a number of herbicides have been developed and practically used, and they have contributed to the saving of energy for the agricultural operations and to the improvement of the production efficiency. However, in their practical use, such herbicides have various problems with respect to the herbicidal effects and the safety to the crop plants. For example, perennial weeds such as Johnsongrass are widely distributed throughout agricultural fields in the world and regarded as weeds which are very difficult to control. Under the circumstances, it is desired to develop an improved herbicide.

Picolinic acid derivative and herbicidal composition


In an RF antenna having a planar radiating element disposed adjacent to a ground plane, one or more metasolenoids are disposed between the radiating element and the ground plane. As such, the magnetic flux through the metasolenoids interacts with the radiating element and the ground plane, widening the bandwidth of the antenna. Each of the metasolenoid comprises a stack of split-ring resonators co-axially aligned. The gap in each split-ring resonator is oriented differently from the gap in the adjacent split-ring resonator. The use of metasolenoids disposed between the radiating element and the ground plane does not increase the volume of the radiating element.

Mobile phones require a small antenna for signal transmission and reception. Microstrip antennas, including planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs), are, in general, suitable for that purpose. One of the known features of microstrip antennas is a narrow bandwidth they possess. Several different techniques for widening the bandwidth of PIFAs have been used or proposed. For example, the bandwidth of a PIFA can be altered by changing the size and the shape of the patch. Bandwidth widening can also be achieved by using parasitic patches disposed adjacent to the radiator. Different materials such as dielectrics of photonic bandgap structures (PBGs) have been used to load the radiator. In most cases, implementing the bandwidth widening feature increases the cost of antennas significantly or the volume of the antenna radiator.
It is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and device for efficiently widening the bandwidth of a PIFA in a hand-held electronic device without the disadvantages of the prior art techniques.

Method and device for loading planar antennas


An integrated circuit product is disclosed that includes a resistor body and an e-fuse body positioned on a contact level dielectric material, wherein the resistor body and the e-fuse body are made of the same conductive material, a first plurality of conductive contact structures are coupled to the resistor body, conductive anode and cathode structures are conductively coupled to the e-fuse body, wherein the first plurality of conductive contact structures and the conductive anode and cathode structures are made of the same materials.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and, more specifically, to various methods of making an e-fuse for use on integrated circuit products and the resulting integrated circuit product.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fabrication of advanced integrated circuits, such as CPU's, storage devices, ASIC's (application specific integrated circuits) and the like, requires the formation of a large number of circuit elements in a given chip area according to a specified circuit layout. Field effect transistors (NMOS and PMOS transistors) represent one important type of circuit element that substantially determines performance of such integrated circuits. During the fabrication of complex integrated circuits using, for instance, MOS technology, millions of transistors, e.g., NMOS transistors and/or PMOS transistors, are formed on a substrate including a crystalline semiconductor layer. A field effect transistor, whether an NMOS or a PMOS device, is a planar device that typically includes a source region, a drain region, a channel region that is positioned between the source region and the drain region, and a gate structure positioned above the channel region. The gate structure is typically comprised of a very thin gate insulation layer and one or more conductive layers that act as a conductive gate electrode. In a field effect transistor, the conductivity of the channel region, i.e., the drive current capability of the conductive channel, is controlled by applying an appropriate voltage to the gate electrode.
For many early device technology generations, the gate structures of most transistor devices was made using silicon-based materials, such as a silicon dioxide and/or silicon oxynitride gate insulation layer, in combination with a polysilicon gate electrode. However, as the channel length of aggressively scaled transistor devices has become increasingly smaller, many newer generation transistor devices employ gate electrode structures comprised of a so-called high-k gate insulation layer (k value of 10 or greater) and a gate electrode structure comprised of one or more metal layers, i.e., high-k/metal gate structures (HK/MG). Transistor devices with such an HK/MG structure exhibit significantly enhanced operational characteristics as compared to the heretofore more commonly used silicon dioxide/polysilicon (SiO2/poly) configurations.
One well-known processing method that has been used in recent years for forming a transistor with a high-k/metal gate structure is the so-called "gate last" or "replacement gate" technique. In general, the replacement gate process involves forming a basic transistor structure that includes a sacrificial or "dummy" gate insulation layer, a sacrificial or "dummy" gate electrode, sidewall spacers and source/drain regions in the substrate. The sacrificial gate insulation layer is typically made of silicon dioxide and the sacrificial gate electrode is typically made of polysilicon. After certain high-temperature process operations are performed, e.g., after the source/drain anneal process is performed to activate the implanted dopant materials and to repair any damage to the lattice structure of the substrate, the sacrificial gate electrode and the sacrificial gate insulation layer are removed to thereby define a gate cavity between the spacers where the "replacement gate," i.e., the high-k dielectric/metal gate structure, will be formed.
In modern integrated circuits, a very high number of individual circuit elements, such as field effect transistors in the form of CMOS, NMOS, PMOS elements, resistors, capacitors and the like, are formed on a single chip area. In addition to the large number of transistor elements, a plurality of passive circuit elements, such as capacitors, resistors and the like, are typically formed in integrated circuits that are used for a plurality of purposes, such as for decoupling.
Due to the reduced size of circuit elements, not only the performance of the individual transistor elements may be increased, but also their packing density may be improved, thereby providing the potential for incorporating increased functionality into a given chip area. For this reason, highly complex circuits have been developed which may include different types of circuits, such as analog circuits, digital circuits and the like, thereby providing entire systems on a single chip (SoC). Furthermore, in sophisticated micro-controller devices, an increasing amount of storage capacity may be provided on a chip with the CPU core, thereby also significantly enhancing the overall performance of modern computer devices.
For a variety of reasons, the various circuit portions may have significantly different performance capabilities, for instance with respect to useful lifetime, reliability and the like. For example, the operating speed of a digital circuit portion, such as a CPU core and the like, may depend on the configuration of the individual transistor elements and also on the characteristics and performance of the metallization system coupled to the CPU core. Consequently, the combination of the various circuit portions in a single semiconductor device may result in a significantly different behavior with respect to performance and reliability. Variations in the overall manufacturing process flow may also contribute to further variations in the performance capabilities between various circuit portions. For these reasons, in complex integrated circuits, frequently additional mechanisms are used so as to allow the circuit itself to adapt or change the performance of certain circuit portions to comply with the performance characteristics of other circuit portions. Such mechanisms are typically used after completing the manufacturing process and/or during use of the semiconductor device. For example, when certain critical circuit portions no longer comply with corresponding device performance criteria, adjustments may be made, such as re-adjusting an internal voltage supply, re-adjusting the overall circuit speed and the like, to correct such underperformance.
In computing, e-fuses are used as a means to allow for the dynamic, real-time reprogramming of computer chips. Speaking abstractly, computer logic is generally "etched" or "hard-coded" onto a silicon chip and cannot be changed after the chip has been manufactured. By utilizing an e-fuse, or a number of individual e-fuses, a chip manufacturer can change some aspects of the circuits on a chip. If a certain sub-system fails, or is taking too long to respond, or is consuming too much power, the chip can instantly change its behavior by blowing an e-fuse. Programming of an e-fuse is typically accomplished by forcing a large electrical current through the e-fuse. This high current is intended to break or rupture a portion of the e-fuse structure, which results in an "open" electrical path. In some applications, lasers are used to blow e-fuses. Fuses are frequently used in integrated circuits to program redundant elements or to replace identical defective elements. Further, e-fuses can be used to store die identification or other such information, or to adjust the speed of a circuit by adjusting the resistance of the current path. Device manufacturers are under constant pressure to produce integrated circuit products with increased performance and lower power consumption relative to previous device generations. This drive applies to the manufacture and use of e-fuses as well.
Prior art e-fuses come in various configurations. FIGS. 1A-1B depict illustrative examples of some forms of prior art e-fuses. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a very simple e-fuse 10 comprised of conductive lines or structures 12 having a reduced-size metal line 14 coupled to the conductive structures 12. The e-fuse 10 may sometimes be referred to as a "BEOL" type e-fuse, as it is typically made using the materials used in forming various metallization layers in so-called Back-End-Of-Line activities.
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of another type of e-fuse 15 that extends between two illustrative metal layers, M2 and M3, formed on an integrated circuit product. In general, the e-fuse 15 is comprised of schematically depicted conductive lines 16, 18 that are formed in the metallization layers M2, M3, respectively. A reduced-size metal structure or via 20 is conductively coupled to the conductive lines 16, 18. The e-fuse 15 may sometimes be referred to as an "I" type e-fuse due to its cross-sectional configuration. In some very early device generations, e-fuses were comprised of structures that included polysilicon line-type features as part of the e-fuse. The polysilicon line-type features for the e-fuses were typically patterned at the same time as was the polysilicon gate electrodes for the various transistor devices. A metal silicide material was formed on top of the polysilicon lines used for the e-fuse.
All of the above-described e-fuses typically worked by passing a sufficient current though the e-fuse such that, due to resistance heating, some portion or component of the e-fuse ruptured, thereby creating an open electrical circuit. The polysilicon-based e-fuses were programmed by passing a current through the fuse to cause the metal silicide material to rupture due to electromigration. Some types of e-fuses, such as BEOL e-fuses, require a relatively high programming current, e.g., about 35 mA or higher. Such a high programming current is generally not desirable for e-fuses, as such a high programming current will require a relatively larger programming transistor, which means increased consumption of valuable space on the chip. Moreover, a higher programming current degrades the sensing margin for sensing circuits that are used to determine whether or not the e-fuse is programmed, i.e., blown.
FIGS. 2A-2D depict one illustrative prior art technique used to form metal silicide based resistors on a prior art integrated circuit product 30. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view that schematically depicts the product at a point in fabrication wherein an illustrative transistor 36 has been formed in and above an active region defined in the substrate 32 by an illustrative isolation region 34. The transistor 36 is generally comprised of a gate structure 38 comprised of a gate insulation layer 38A and a conductive gate electrode layer 38B, sidewall spacers 42, a gate cap layer 40 and source/drain regions 44. Various other aspects of the transistor 36 are not depicted, e.g., doped well regions, halo implant regions, etc. Also depicted in FIG. 2A is a contact level dielectric material 50 that has been formed above the substrate 32. The contact level dielectric material 50 is intended to be representative in nature as it may be comprised of one or more layers of insulating material, e.g., silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, etc. The contact level dielectric material 50 may be formed by performing one or more known deposition processes, e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The product 30 is depicted at the point in fabrication wherein it is time to form conductive contacts to at least the source/drain regions 44 of the transistor 36.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, a resistor body 52 is formed above the contact level dielectric material 50. In one embodiment, the resistor body 52 may be formed by depositing a layer of a metal silicide, e.g., tungsten silicide, and thereafter patterning the deposited metal silicide material using known photolithography and etching tools and techniques. The metal silicide material may be initially deposited by performing, for example, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process. The resistor body 52 may be formed to any desired thickness and length.
FIG. 2C depicts the product 30 after a layer of insulating material 54 is deposited above the product 30. The layer of insulating material 54 is intended to be representative in nature as it may be comprised of one or more layers of insulating material, e.g., silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, etc. The layer of insulating material 54 may be formed by performing one or more known deposition processes, e.g., CVD, and it may be formed to any desired thickness.
FIG. 2D depicts the device 30 after various conductive contact structures have been formed to establish electrical contacts to the source/drain regions 44 of the transistor 36 and to the gate electrode 38B of the transistor 36. More specifically, conductive contact structures 56 and 58 are formed so as to be conductively coupled to the resistor body 52, conductive contact structures 60 are formed so as to be conductively coupled to the source/drain regions 44 and a conductive contact structure 62 is formed so as to be conductively coupled to the gate electrode 38B of the transistor 36. Although simplistically depicted in FIG. 2D, the various conductive contact structures 56, 58, 60 and 62 may be formed at the same time or at different times in the process flow depending upon the particular application. Moreover, the conductive contact structures 56, 58, 60 and 62 shown in FIG. 2D are depicted as being formed of a single uniform material. In practice, the conductive contact structures 56, 58, 60 and 62 may be comprised of two or more conductive materials, e.g., a metal silicide region and a tungsten region coupled to the metal silicide region. The manner in which the conductive contact structures 56, 58, 60 and 62 are formed are well known to those skilled in the art. In practice, the conductive contact structures 56, 58 provide a conductive flow path for current that passes through the resistor body 52 to establish the desired resistance in the circuit that includes the resistor. Importantly, all or a portion of the conductive contact structures 56, 58 are formed at the same time as at least a portion of one of the conductive contact structures 60 and 62 is formed.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods of making a metal silicide e-fuse for use on integrated circuit products and the resulting integrated circuit product.

Methods of forming an e-fuse for an integrated circuit product and the resulting integrated circuit product