Systems and methods for controlling wireless network access for wireless devices are disclosed. A system can create an electronic record for a device intended for sale in a retail store. The record associated with the device can include an indication that the device has not been sold, and the device can be shipped to the retail store. When the device is purchased, the retail store can communicate to the wireless service provider that the device has been sold, and the system can update the electronic record to reflect that the device has been sold. The sold device can be allowed to access a network. An attempt to use a device marked as unsold can result in the call being routed to a fraud management center for verification of proper device purchase.

Wireless telephone service has gained widespread acceptance and popularity throughout much of the modern world. Advanced technologies on the horizon will speed the delivery of data to and from mobile devices as well as make voice calls more reliable, further increasing the desirability of having access to wireless services. Many individuals are deciding to discontinue landline service altogether, relying solely on wireless service for telephone voice communications.
To meet the public demand for wireless access, wireless service providers have developed myriad service plans. These service plans generally fall into one of two categories, postpaid or prepaid. Postpaid access plans generally allow the mobile customer to use airtime during a period for which the customer is billed at a later date. Enrollment in such a plan can require a level of trust between the customer and the wireless service provider, who may, for example require a credit check to determine if the customer has a history of promptly paying his or her debts. Generally, devices are sold under these plans at a discounted rate, the discount being recouped over the term of a contract that the customer is required to enter. The contract binds the customer to purchase wireless service for a predetermined period of time. Such plans also generally charge a base rate for a certain number of included minutes of airtime and/or amounts of data that can be transferred. An increased rate is usually charged for additional minutes or data.
Prepaid plans, on the other hand, allow the customer to pay for the wireless service before it is used. This can allow customers who may have some negative credit history to receive wireless access without risk to the wireless service provider that the bill will go unpaid. Additionally, prepaid plans can be attractive to customers who do not wish to enter into a long term contract commitment. Such plans also can be used by those who want to avoid the risk of expending their allotment of base minutes and paying the increased rate thereafter.
Of course, before a customer can enroll in an access plan, the customer must own a wireless device. These devices can include cell phones, PDAs, and BLACKBERRY® handheld devices, among others. Newer devices are popular not only for wireless convenience, but also due to novelty and fashion considerations. Modern devices allow customers to download ring tones and video games, and to purchase accessories and upgrades.
Wireless devices can be found for sale in myriad locations such as, for example, mall kiosks, stores operated by wireless service providers, national office and computer supply stores, and other large national retailers. These locations may offer one or both of prepaid and postpaid plans with the devices that are offered for sale. The devices offered at these locations may be locked to a specific wireless service provider and also may be restricted under agreement between the reseller and the wireless service provider as to whether or not the devices can be activated as postpaid devices and/or prepaid devices.
Unfortunately, the popularity of wireless access has made wireless devices a tempting target for theft. By stealing a device, the thief avoids paying the upfront cost for the device itself and can call the wireless service provider to activate service for the device. Contract commitments are avoided as well. The thief may have difficulty activating the phone as a postpaid device due to credit history problems, but still may obtain prepaid service. Where postpaid phones are generally stored under a counter or locked away in a cabinet with only a sample phone on display, prepaid phones are often placed in boxes in customer-accessible areas. This can make prepaid phones more susceptible to theft by customers or even store employees. Not knowing that a new device has been stolen, the wireless provider can unwittingly allow the stolen device to access the network.
Some wireless architectures include provisions for combating theft. For example, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard defines a unique device identifier for all compliant phones. This identifier is called an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI). GSM service providers can maintain a database of IMEI's that categorizes the status of the IMEI. For example, three status levels can be used, white, black, and gray. A white-listed device could be a device that has no suspicious activity associated with it. A gray-listed device could have some history of suspicious activity, but still may be allowed to access the network, and a blacklisted device could be a known stolen or rogue device. Wireless service providers may or may not limit device access in this manner.
The IMEI can be used, for example, when a paying customer's device is stolen from a car. The customer can call the GSM provider to report the stolen phone, and the GSM provider can blacklist the phone so that it is unable to access the network. The IMEI is known in this case because it was associated with the customer's account. GSM providers may share their IMEI lists so that a blacklisted phone cannot be used on any network and is thereby rendered useless. Some European wireless service providers limit access in this manner.
This method of restricting stolen device usage is effective in the scenario presented above, but may not be as helpful in the case of a new device stolen from a retail store. In the latter case, the retailer may not have the IMEI on record. Or, the retailer may not notice that the device has been stolen for quite some time, allowing the thief to use it in the interim. It also is possible that the retailer does not have the resources to devote to informing the wireless service provider that the device has been stolen. For example, it may cost more to pay staff members to watch inventories closely enough to detect the theft, determine which device was stolen and its IMEI, and then call the wireless service provider to blacklist the device than it costs to simply replace the stolen device. Even more troublesome for retailers, is the case wherein a staff member steals a device. Some retailers, indeed, may decide that due to the risk of theft, it is not worth offering the devices for sale at all. This is an unfortunate situation for the wireless service provider, the retailer, and honest paying customers.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for restricting the use of stolen devices on a wireless network


A communication system which transmits and receives a communication signal having an intra-guard-interval (IGI) inserted is provided. The communication system includes a signal generator which is configured to generate a signal to carry data; and a signal output part which is configured to split a symbol period, which is a transmission unit of the communication signal into a plurality of sections, and to selectively insert the signal which is generated into the plurality of sections, and to output the communication signal.

1. Field of the Invention
Systems consistent with the present invention relate to transmitting and receiving a communication signal having an intra-guard-interval (IGI), and more particularly, to transmitting and receiving a communication signal having an IGI inserted to prevent intra-symbol interference and inter-symbol interference and to prevent performance degradation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Spread spectrum communication is a technology to transmit a signal by spreading the signal's spectrum to a far wider spectrum. Spread spectrum communication includes a method using a narrowband carrier with a certain period as in a code division multiple access (CDMA) scheme, and a method using a wideband carrier. The method using the narrowband carrier modulates the frequency to make the frequency band of the information to be transmitted smaller than the frequency band of the carrier signal. The method using the wideband carrier modulates the frequency to make the frequency band of the information to be transmitted larger than the frequency band of the carrier signal.
The carrier used in spread spectrum communication is typically a sine wave or a pulse. Recently, for the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, a method of transmitting information using a chaotic signal has been suggested.
The IEEE 802.15.4a task group is the location-aware low-power sensor network standardization group. The location-aware low-power sensor networking is a next generation communication technique in which the location awareness capability and the low power are added to the combination of IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee and IEEE 802.15.3 ultra wide band (UWB) communication.
It is a chaotic signal modulation method that is suggested for the realization of the low power. The chaotic signal modulation can be designed in a simple radio frequency (RF) structure by hardware, and does not require circuits for a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), phase locked loop (PLL), mixer and the like that have been requisite for existing RF products. Thus, the chaotic signal modulation can reduce the power consumption to 5 mW which is about one third of the preceding power consumption.
Representative modulation schemes of the chaotic signal modulation are a differential chaos shift keying (DCSK) scheme, and a pulse position based-chaotic modulation (PPB-CM) scheme.
The DCSK scheme shows the best bit error rate (BER) characteristics in the chaotic signal modulation. The DCSK scheme utilizes a reference signal. In the symbol duration, two chaotic sample parts corresponding to one data bit are transmitted. The first sample part is used as the reference signal and the second sample part is used as a data signal to transmit. The second sample part is generated by transmitting the reference signal, or by inverting and transmitting the reference signal according to whether a transmitted binary symbol is 0 or 1. In doing so, when the binary symbol is 0, the second sample part, that is, the data signal is generated by reversing the reference signal. When the binary symbol is 1, the data signal is generated by transmitting the reference signal. A receiving side extracts digital data by correlating the received two sample parts.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are graphs showing a state of the transmission data signal after passing through a channel according to the DCSK scheme of the related art.
As shown, after passing through the channel, the reference signal and the data signal are received through the multipath. The reference signal smears to the data signal area and interferes with the data signal, and the multipath signal generated in the data signal smears to the reference signal area and interferes with the reference signal of the next symbol duration. As a result, in the related art, a guard interval is inserted between symbols to prevent inter-symbol interference, that is, the interference of the data signal with the reference signal of the next symbol duration. The guard interval is an empty symbol duration which carries no data between the symbols.
The guard interval can reduce inter-symbol interference, but not intra-symbol interference, that is, the interference between the reference signal and the data signal. In practice, when measuring the reference signal and the data signal after passing through the channel at 2.5 Mbps, the channel 37 suffers from intra-symbol interference of 2.73% and the channel 38 suffers from intra-symbol interference of 88.2%.
However, according to the characteristics of the DCSK scheme, since the data is determined depending on the correlation between the reference signal and the data signal, the relationship between the reference signal and the data signal is significant. Thus, the interference between the reference signal and the data signal causes serious performance degradation.
By contrast, the PPB-CM scheme splits the symbol duration into two parts and transmits the chaotic signal in one of the two parts according to whether the binary symbol is 0 or 1. When the binary symbol is 1, the first half of the symbol duration carries the chaotic signal, and when the binary symbol is 0, the second half of the symbol duration carries the chaotic signal. Accordingly, the receiver extracts the digital data based on where the chaotic signal is loaded within the symbol duration.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing a state after the chaotic signal, transmitted according to the PPB-CM scheme of the related art, passes through the channel.
As shown in FIG. 2, the chaotic signal corresponding to the binary symbol 0 is loaded in the second half of the symbol duration. When the chaotic signal is received in the multipath, it affects the chaotic signal of the subsequent symbol period. That is, the inter-symbol interference arises. In this case, it is hard to accurately extract the digital data in the subsequent symbol period. The inter-symbol interference can be attenuated by inserting the guard interval between the symbol periods. However, disadvantageously, the insertion of the guard interval extends the transmission time as much as the guard interval.
In contrast, since the chaotic signal of the binary symbol 1 is loaded in the first half of the symbol period, when the chaotic signal is received in the multipath, the signal smears to the second half of the symbol period. That is, the intra-symbol interference arises. Hence, it is hard to accurately extract the digital data in the symbol period.
Such intra-symbol interference appears not only in the DCSK scheme and the PPB-CM scheme using the chaotic signal, but also in most of the modulation schemes using a conventional carrier. Therefore, it is desirable to prevent the intra-symbol interference to thus avoid performance degradation.

Communication system for transmitting and receiving a communication signal having an intra-guard-interval


Disclosed is a multiprocessor apparatus including a plurality of processors connected to a common bus, a co-processor provided in common to the processors, an arbitration circuit that arbitrates contention among the processors with respect to use of a resource in the co-processor through a tightly coupled bus by the processors and a multiplexer coupled to the arbitration circuit, coupled to the processors through a local buses, and coupled to the co-processor through the local buses to transfer the commands received from the respective processors to the co-processor in accordance with a permission signal output by the arbitration circuit.

A typical configuration example of a multiprocessor (parallel processor) system of this type will be shown in FIG. 9 (refer to Non-Patent Document 1). The multiprocessor (parallel processor) system includes a plurality of symmetrical or asymmetrical processors and co-processors. In this system, a memory and a peripheral IO are shared by the processors.
Co-processors (co-processors) are classified into the following two types:
co-processors that assists processors by taking charge of specific processing (audio, video, or wireless processing, or an arithmetic operation such as a floating-point arithmetic or an arithmetic operation of an FET (Fast Fourier Transform) or the like); and
co-processors that serve as hardware accelerators that perform whole processing necessary for the specific processing (audio, video, wireless processing, or the like)
In the multiprocessor including plurality processors, a co-processor may be shared by the processors like the memory, or the co-processor may be exclusively used locally by a processor.
An example shown in FIG. 9 is a configuration in which a co-processor is exclusively used locally by a processor. Then, an example of an LSI configuration using a configurable processor MeP (Media embedded Processor) technique is shown.
FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram for explaining the configuration in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10, a processor 201A and a processor 201B are tightly coupled to co-processors 203A and 203B for specific applications through local buses for the processors, respectively. Local memories 202A and 202B store instructions and operation data to be executed by the processors 201A and 201B, respectively.
A parallel processing device of a configuration in which a multiprocessor and peripheral hardware (composed of co-processors and various peripheral devices) connected to the multiprocessor are efficiently emphasized is disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a CPU disclosed in Patent Document 1. Referring to FIG. 11, the configuration includes a plurality of processor units P0 to P3 each of which executes a task or a thread. The configuration includes a CPU 10 connected to co-processors 130a and 130b and peripheral hardware composed of peripheral devices 40a to 40d. Each processor unit that executes a task or a thread asks the peripheral hardware to process the task or thread according to execution content of the task or thread being executed. FIG. 12 is a simplified diagram of the configuration in FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 12, the processors P0 to P3, and co-processors 130a and 130b are connected to a common bus. Then, the processors P0 to P3 access the co-processors 130a and 130b through the common bus.
[Patent Document 1]
JP Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P-2006-260377A
[Non-Patent Document 1]
Toshiba Semiconductor Product Catalog General Information on Mep (Media embedded Processor) Internet URL:<http://www.semicon.toshiba.co.jp/docs/calalog/ja/BCJ0043_catalog.pdf>

Multiplexing commands from processors to tightly coupled coprocessor upon state based arbitration for coprocessor resources


In one aspect, a digital PLL (DPLL) operates based on fractional portions of input and output phases. The DPLL accumulates at least one input signal to obtain an input phase. The DPLL determines a fractional portion of an output phase based on a phase difference between an oscillator signal from an oscillator and a reference signal, e.g., using a time-to-digital converter (TDC). The DPLL determines a phase error based on the fractional portion of the input phase and the fractional portion of the output phase. The DPLL then generates a control signal for the oscillator based on the phase error. In another aspect, a DPLL includes a synthesized accumulator that determines a coarse output phase by keeping track of the number of oscillator signal cycles based on the reference signal.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electronics, and more specifically to a digital phase-locked loop.
II. Background
Phase-locked loops (PLLs) are an integral part of many electronics circuits and are particularly important in communication circuits. For example, digital circuits use clock signals to trigger synchronous circuits, e.g., flip-flops. Transmitters and receivers use local oscillator (LO) signals for frequency upconversion and downconversion, respectively. Wireless devices (e.g., cellular phones) for wireless communication systems typically use clock signals for digital circuits and LO signals for transmitters and receivers. The clock and LO signals are generated with oscillators and their frequencies are often controlled with PLLs.
A PLL typically includes various circuit blocks used to adjust the frequency and/or phase of an oscillator signal from an oscillator. These circuit blocks may consume a relatively large amount of power, which may be undesirable for portable devices such as cellular phones. There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to reduce power consumption of a PLL without sacrificing performance.

Digital phase-locked loop operating based on fractional input and output phases


System and methods for cryogenic magnetocaloric refrigeration are provided. The system may include a magnetocaloric material including a single ion anisotropy and primary magnetic interactions of at most two dimensions. The system may also include a cryogenic fluid in communication with the magnetocaloric material, such that, when a magnetic field having a strength of at least a predetermined threshold is applied, the magnetocaloric material is configured to at least partially liquefy the cryogenic fluid.

Magnetocaloric refrigeration is a process in which the entropy of a magnetocaloric material is modulated by a magnetic field, such that the material acts as a refrigerant, pumping heat from a lower-temperature source to a higher-temperature sink. Magnetocaloric refrigeration processes typically fall into either a near-room-temperature category or a cryogenic category, with the intended application resulting in different magnetocaloric materials and/or system configurations being used.
In some applications requiring cryogenic refrigeration, traditional methods of cryogenic refrigeration are unsuitable. For example, certain medical (e.g., MRI) and other small-scale applications employ liquefied helium or other cryogens, which have very low boiling points, for example, 4K for helium. Industrial compressors and other equipment designed to liquefy helium in conventional mechanical cycles may be efficient to liquefy large quantities of cryogens, but inefficient at smaller volume design points. Further, such industrial machinery may be prohibitively expensive for these applications. However, suitable magnetocaloric materials for such cryogenic applications may not be readily available. Accordingly, such cryogenic consumers typically purchase helium liquefied by a third party, use it, and then allow the gaseous helium to re-enter the environment. However, such methods require continual helium purchase, while the accessible supply thereof may be limited and prices subject to fluctuation.
What is needed, then, are systems and methods to economically liquefy and/or re-liquefy a cryogen such as helium.

Magnetocaloric materials for cryogenic liquification


A load bending part includes a pair of first elastic plate parts and a second elastic plate part. The pair of first elastic plate parts are elastically deformed in a bended manner so as to generate a first pressing load. The second elastic plate part is positioned between the pair of first elastic plate parts in the suspension widthwise direction in a state of having both ends in its longitudinal direction connected to a pair of support pieces of a supporting part, and are elastically deformed in a twisted manner around a twist axis line along the suspension widthwise direction so as to generate a second pressing load. The total of the first and second pressing loads functions as a load for pressing the magnetic head slider toward the disk surface against air pressure due to rotation of a disk surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head suspension for supporting a magnetic head slider that reads and/or writes data from/to a recording medium such as a hard disk device.
2. Related Art
A magnetic head suspension for supporting a magnetic head slider is required to move the magnetic head slider with high accuracy to a desired track of a recording medium such as a hard disk device (improvement in positioning accuracy), as well as to be highly impact-resistant in a state where the magnetic head suspension is in an operating condition in which the magnetic head slider is positioned above the recording medium (improvement in impact resistance).
In order to realize the improvement in positioning accuracy, the magnetic head suspension is required to be resistant to have a vibration that causes the magnetic head slider to displace from the desired track. In particular, it is crucial to raise a resonant frequency in a sway mode that is a main resonance mode.
For example, it is possible to raise the resonant frequency in the sway mode by increasing a thickness of a load beam part, which serves as one of components of the magnetic head suspension, so as to increase rigidity of the load beam part in an off track direction.
It is also possible to increase rigidity of the load beam part in the off track direction by increasing a width of a proximal end of the load beam part so as to increase a distance between support points at which the load beam part is supported.
Specifically, the magnetic head suspension includes a load bending part that generates a load for pressing the magnetic head slider toward a disk surface, the load beam part that transfers the load to the magnetic head slider, a supporting part such as an arm that supports the load beam part with the load bending part interposed therebetween, and a flexure part that is joined to the load beam part and that supports the magnetic head slider.
In general, the load bending part is formed of an elastic plate that is elastically bendable in a z direction orthogonal to the disk surface of the recording medium.
More specifically, the elastic plate has a proximal end connected to the supporting part and a free end connected to the proximal end of the load beam part, so that the load beam part is supported by the elastic plate in a cantilevered manner.
In this configuration, it is possible to increase rigidity of the load beam part in the off track direction by increasing the width of the proximal end of the load beam part so as to increase the distance in a suspension widthwise direction between the support points at which the load beam part is supported by the load bending part (connecting points between the load beam part and the free end of the elastic plate).
However, both of increase in thickness of the load beam part and increase in width of the proximal end of the load beam part result in increase in weight thereof, which adversely affects impact resistance of the magnetic head suspension.
Specifically, improvement in impact resistance requires that the magnetic head suspension is resistant to be displaced in the z direction orthogonal to the disk surface of the recording medium in a case where an extraneous impact force is applied to a data storage device that is mounted with the magnetic head suspension.
In particular, if an extraneous impact of not less than a predetermined force in a direction of moving the magnetic head slider apart from the disk surface is applied to the data storage device so that the magnetic head slider is moved apart from the disk surface (jumping action), the magnetic head slider may swing back from the jumping action to hit and damage the disk surface.
Impact resistance can be effectively improved by reducing the thickness and/or the width of the load beam part and thereby reducing the weight thereof, so as to reduce an inertial force that is applied to the load beam part upon application of an impact force. Impact resistance is rather deteriorated by increase in thickness and/or width of the load beam part for a purpose of raising the resonant frequency of the magnetic head suspension.
There are proposed some configurations for improving impact resistance of the magnetic head suspension with the thickness and/or the width of the load beam part being unchanged. Namely, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-348804 discloses a configuration (hereinafter, referred to as a first conventional configuration) in which a component forming the load beam part is provided with a proximal-end-side extended region that is extended beyond the load bending part toward the proximal end side. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 09-082052 and 11-039808 each disclose a configuration (hereinafter, referred to as a second conventional configuration) in which the proximal end of the load beam part is provided with an equilibrating weight.
In the first and second conventional configurations, the proximal-end-side extended region and/or the equilibrating weight equilibrate(s) as much as possible the weight on the distal end side and the weight on the proximal end side of the magnetic head suspension with the load bending part as a reference, so that the magnetic head slider is inhibited from jumping upon application of an extraneous impact force. These configurations are useful in that they do not deteriorate rigidity of the load beam part.
However, in the first and second conventional configurations, the load beam part is joined to the free end of the load bending part that is supported by the supporting part in a cantilevered manner. In this configuration, the support points at which the load beam part is supported (joining points between the load beam part and the load bending part) are dramatically displaced in the z direction orthogonal to the disk surface upon application of an impact force.
Therefore, the magnetic head suspension according to each of the first and second conventional configurations does not deteriorate rigidity of the load beam part, but does not adequately improve impact resistance thereof.


The present invention provides a hybrid Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA) and Cache-Only Memory Architecture (COMA) caching architecture together with a cache-coherent protocol for a computer system having a plurality of sub-systems coupled to each other via a system interconnect. In one implementation, each sub-system includes at least one processor, a page-oriented COMA cache and a line-oriented hybrid NUMA/COMA cache. Such a hybrid system provides flexibility and efficiency in caching both large and small, and/or sparse and packed data structures. Each sub-system is able to independently store data in COMA mode or in NUMA mode. When caching in COMA mode, a sub-system allocates a page of memory space and then stores the data within the allocated page in its COMA cache. Depending on the implementation, while caching in COMA mode, the sub-system may also store the same data in its hybrid cache for faster access. Conversely, when caching in NUMA mode, the sub-system stores the data, typically a line of data, in its hybrid cache.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of caches. More particularly, the invention relates to hybrid caching architectures and protocols for multi-processor computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-processor multi-cache computer systems with cache-coherent memories can be based on several cache architectures such as Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA) and Cache-Only Memory Architecture (COMA). In both examples, cache-coherence protocols are also needed if coherency is to be maintained between the respective caches.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C-1D are a block diagram, an address map and two flowcharts, respectively, illustrating a cache-coherent NUMA (CC-NUMA) computer system 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, CC-NUMA system 100 includes a plurality of sub-systems 110, 120, . . . 180 coupled to each other by a global interconnect 190. Each sub-system includes at least one processor, a corresponding memory management unit (MMU), a corresponding second level cache (L2$), a main memory, a global interface, a directory and a local interconnect. For example, sub-system 110 includes processors 111a, 111b, . . . 111i, MMUs 112a, 112b, . . . 112i, L2$s 113a, 113b, . . . 113i, main memory 114, global interface 115, directory 116 and local interconnect 119. Note that since sub-systems 110, 120, . . . 180 are similar in structure, the following description of sub-system 110 is also applicable to sub-systems 120, . . . 180.
Processors 111a, 111b, . . . 111i are coupled to MMUs 112a, 112b, . . . 112i, respectively. In turn, MMUs 112a, 112b, . . . 112i are coupled to L2$s 113a, 113b, . . . 113i, respectively. L2$s 113a, 113b, . . . 113i, main memory 114 and global interface 115 are coupled to each other via local interconnect 119. Directory 116 is coupled to global interface 115.
Referring now to the memory map of FIG. 1B, the total physical address space of CC-NUMA computer system 100 is distributed among main memories 114, 124, . . . 184. Thus, partitioning of the (global) addressable space (GA) is static and is determined before system configuration time, i.e., before the execution of application software. Accordingly, the first time a sub-system 110 needs to read or write to an address location outside its pre-assigned address space, the data has to be fetched from one of sub-systems 120, . . . 180.
In this example, global interface 115 is responsible for tracking the status of data associated with the address space of main memory 114. The status information of each memory location is stored as a memory tag (MTAG) in directory 116. In addition, since global interface 115 is also responsible for maintaining global cache coherency, global interface 115 includes hardware and/or software implemented cache coherency mechanism for maintain coherency between the respective caches and main memories of sub-systems 110, 120, . . . 180.
A typical read request, e.g., a Read.sub.-- To.sub.-- Share (RTS), by processor 111a of sub-system 110 occurs in the following manner as illustrated by the flowcharts of FIGS. 1C and 1D. First, processor 111a presents a virtual address (VA) to MMU 112a which converts the VA into a global address (GA) and presents the GA to L2$ 113a (step 1110). If there is a valid copy of the data line of interest in L2$ 113a, e.g., a shared (S) or owned (O) copy, then L2$ 113a provides the data to processor 111a via MMU 112a, thereby completing the read request (steps 1120, 1125).
Conversely, if L2$ 113a does not have a valid copy, then L2$ 113a presents the GA to the local interconnect 119 of the requesting sub-system 110 (step 1130). If the GA is not part of the requesting sub-system 110's local address space, i.e., the requesting sub-system is not the home sub-system, then the request is forwarded to the appropriate home sub-system, e.g., sub-system 120 (step 1145).
Referring now to FIG. 1D, in the above cases where the data cannot be found in the L2$ of the requesting sub-system 110, the home directory (116 or 126) is updated to reflect this response, for example by marking requesting sub-system 110 as a sharer of the data (step 1148).
Next, if requesting sub-system 110 is also the home sub-system, the corresponding MTAG in directory 116 is checked for an appropriate MTAG state, e.g., modified (M), owned (O) or shared (S) for a read (step 1150). If the MTAG state is inappropriate for the read request, or if requesting sub-system 110 is not home sub-system, directory 126 is checked for an appropriate MTAG state. The directory of the home sub-system has information about which sub-system(s) have valid copies of the data line and which sub-system is the owner of the data line. Note also that home sub-system may or may not be the owner sub-system. Note further that if the requesting sub-system is also the home sub-system, then the MTAG states will provide an indication of whether the transaction is permitted, i.e., the home directory does not need to be involved in the particular transaction.
If the home sub-system (110 or 120) is determined to have a valid copy of the data line, then the home sub-system provides the data to requesting sub-system 110 (step 1162). In the case where requesting sub-system 110 is also the home sub-system, only an internal data transfer is required. Alternatively, where home sub-system 120 is not the requesting sub-system, then global interface 120 of home sub-system 120 responds by retrieving the data line from main memory 124 and sending the requested data line to global interface 115 of requesting sub-system 110 via global interconnect 190.
Conversely, if the home sub-system (110 or 120) does not have a valid copy of the data line, i.e., the home sub-system is not the owner sub-system, then the read request with the GA is forwarded to the global interface of the sub-system who is the owner of the data line of interest, e.g., global interface 185 of owner sub-system 180 (step 1155). Global interface 185 responds by retrieving the data line from one of the L2$s of owner sub-system 180, e.g., owner L2$ 183a, and sending the requested data line to global interface 115 of requesting sub-system 110 via global interconnect 190 (steps 1164).
Upon receiving the data line, global interface 115 forwards the data line to L2$ 113a which provides the data requesting processor 111a (step 1180). The data line can be cached in L2$ off the critical path for subsequent retrieval by processor 111a (1190).
When a location in an L2$, e.g., L2$ 113a, is needed for storing another data value, the old cache line needs to be replaced. In this implementation, cache lines having an S state are replaced "silently", i.e., they do not generate any new transactions in computer system 100. In other words, a sub-system remains marked in the home directory of the cache line as a sharer of the replaced cache line with respect to the rest of system 100. Conversely, replacement of cache lines having either O or M state will generate a WB transaction to the main memory of the sub-system responsible for this GA. As such, the directory associated with the responsible sub-system is updated to reflect this change.
In sum, the architecture of CC-NUMA system 100 is better-suited for executing software programs using small data structures which requires a small number of the available cache lines in L2$ 113a. This is because the small data structures can remain entirely in L2$ 113a while they may be repeatedly accessed. Unfortunately, CC-NUMA system 100 is unable to cache large data structures which are too large to be stored entirely in L2$ 113a, causing a thrashing problem whereby portions of large data structures are repeatedly cached and discarded.
FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and 2E illustrate a simple COMA (S-COMA) computer system 200 which is capable of caching large data structures in their entirety since S-COMA system 200 allocates its cache memory space a page at a time. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2A, S-COMA system 200 includes a plurality of sub-systems 210, 220, . . . 280 coupled to each other by a global interconnect 290. Each sub-system includes at least one processor, a corresponding memory management unit (MMU), a corresponding second level cache (L2$), a cache memory, a global interface, an address translator, a directory and a local interconnect. For example, sub-system 210 includes processors 211a, 211b, . . . 211i, MMUs 212a, 212b, . . . 212i, L2$s 213a, 213b, . . . 213i, cache memory 214, global interface 215, directory 216, address translator 217 and local interconnect 219. Note that since sub-systems 210, 220, . . . 280 are similar in structure, the following description of sub-system 210 is also applicable to sub-systems 220, . . . 280.
Processors 211a, 211b, . . . 211i are coupled to MMUs 212a, 212b, . . . 212i, respectively. In turn, MMUs 212a, 212b, . . . 212i are coupled to L2$s 213a, 213b, . . . 213i, respectively. L2$s 213a, 213b, . . . 213i, main memory 214 and global interface 215 are coupled to each other via local interconnect 219. Directory 216 is coupled to global interface 215. Address translator 217 is located between global interface 215 and global interconnect 290.
Referring now to the memory maps of FIGS. 2B and 2C, responsibility for tracking the status of total addressable space of S-COMA system 200 is distributed among the respective home directories of sub-systems 210, 220, . . . 280. Partitioning of the cache memories of S-COMA computer system 200 is dynamic, i.e., cache memories 214, 224, . . . 284 function as attraction memory (AM) wherein cache memory space is allocated in page-sized portions during execution of software as the need arises. Note that cache lines within each (allocated) page are individually accessible.
Hence, by allocating memory space in entire pages in cache memories 214, 224, . . . 284, S-COMA computer system 200 avoids the above-described capacity and associativity problem associated with caching large data structures. By simply replacing main memories 114, 124, . . . 184 with similarly-sized page-oriented cache memories 214, 224, . . . 284, large data structures can now be cached entirely in sub-system 210.
In this example, global interface 215 is responsible for tracking the status of data stored in cache memory 214 of sub-system 210, with the status information stored as memory tags (MTAGs) in a corresponding location within directory 216. In addition, since global interface 215 is also responsible for maintaining global cache coherency, global interface 215 includes hardware and/or software implemented cache coherence mechanism for maintaining coherency between cache 214 of sub-system 210 and the caches of other sub-systems 220, . . . 280. Address translator 217 is responsible for translating local physical addresses (LPAs) into global addresses (GAs) for outbound data accesses and GAs to LPAs for incoming data accesses.
In this implementation, the first time a sub-system, e.g., sub-system 210, accesses a particular page, address translator 217 is unable to provide a valid translation from VA to PA for sub-system 210, resulting in a software trap. A trap handler of sub-system 210 selects an unused page in cache memory 214 to hold data lines of the page. MTAGs of directory 216 associated with the page are initialized to an "invalid" state, and address translator 217 is also initialized to provide translations to/from this page's local physical address (LPA) from/to the unique global address (GA) which is used to refer to this page throughout system 200.
A typical read request, e.g., a read-to-share (RTS) request, by processor 211a of sub-system 210 occurs in the following manner as illustrated by the flowcharts of FIGS. 2D and 2E. First, processor 211a presents a virtual address (VA) to MMU 212a which converts the VA into a LPA and presents the LPA to L2$ 213a (step 2110). If there is a valid copy of the data line of interest in L2$ 213a, e.g., a shared (S), owned (O) or modified (M) copy, then L2$ 213a provides the data to processor 211a, and the read request is completed (steps 2120, 2125).
Conversely, if L2$ 213a does not have a valid copy, then L2$ 213a presents the LPA to global interface 215 (step 2130). Global interface 215 accesses MTAGs of directory 216 to determine if a valid copy of the data line can be found in cache memory 214 (step 2132).
If such a valid copy exist, the data line is retrieved from cache memory 214 (step 2134). The data line is then provided to L2$ 213a which provides the data to processor 211a via MMU 212a, thereby completing the read request (step 2136).
However, if a valid copy of the data line of interest cannot be located in either L2$ 213a or cache memory 214, then requesting address translator 217 converts the LPA to a GA, before sending the data request via global interconnect 290 to the home sub-system whose address space includes the GA of the data line of interest, e.g., sub-system 220 (step 2142). Next, address translator 227 of home sub-system 220 converts the GA into a LPA (step 2144), and looks up the appropriate directory entry to determine if there is a valid copy of the data line in home cache memory 224 (step 2150). This GA to LPA translation in home sub-system 220 can be a trivial function such as stripping an appropriate number of most significant bits (MSBs).
Referring now to FIG. 2E, in each of the above cases where the data line is not found in requesting sub-system 210, home sub-system 220 updates home directory 226, e.g., to reflect a new sharer of the data line (step 2148).
If a valid copy exist in home sub-system 220, global interface 225 responds by retrieving the data line from cache memory 224 or L2$ 223a, before sending the requested data line to global interface 215 of requesting sub-system 210 via global interconnect 290 (step 2162).
Conversely, if home sub-system 220 does not have a valid copy of the data line, then the read request with the GA is forwarded to the address translator of the owner sub-system, e.g., translator 287 (step 2152). Upon receiving the GA from home sub-system 220, address translator 287 of sub-system 280 converts the GA into an LPA for global interface 285 (step 2154). This GA to LPA translation in owner sub-system 280 is a non-trivial function. Next, global interface 285 of owner sub-system 280 responds by retrieving the data line from either cache memory 284 or one of 2L$s 283a, 283b, . . . 283i, and sending the requested data line to global interface 215 of requesting sub-system 210 via global interconnect 290 (step 2164).
When the data line arrives at global interface 215, global interface 215 forwards the data line to L2$ 213a which then provides the data to requesting processor 211a (step 2180). The data line can be cached in L2$ 213a off the critical path for subsequent retrieval by processor 211a thereby completing the read transaction (2190). Note that a GA to LPA translation is not required for returning data.
Occasionally, replacement of (entire) pages stored in cache memory 214 may be needed when cache memory 214 becomes full or is nearly full, in order to make room for allocating new page(s) on a read request. Ideally, sub-system 210 maintains an optimal amount of free pages in cache memory 214 as a background task, i.e., off the critical timing path, ensuring that the attraction memory, i.e., cache memory 214, does not run out of storage space. Upon replacement, a determination of which cache lines of the to-be-replaced page contains valid data (either M, O or S state) is made by accessing the MTAGs stored in directory 216. A message is then sent to the responsible home directory informing the home directory that the cache line is to be replaced.
If the cache line has an M or O state, this transaction is similar to an owner sub-system's Write.sub.-- Back (WB) transaction in CC-NUMA mode, which writes the data value to the home cache memory of home sub-system. If the cache line has an S state, the replacement transaction does not transfer any data, but updates the corresponding directory to reflect the fact that the to-be-replaced node, i.e., sub-system, no longer has a shared copy of the data line. Hence, in S-COMA system 200, replacement is not "silent" since the respective directory is continually updated to reflect any replacement(s) of the data line.
Although S-COMA system 200 is more efficient at caching larger data structures than CC-NUMA system 100, allocating entire pages of cache memory at a time in order to be able to accommodate large data structures is not a cost effective solution for all access patterns. This is because caching entire pages to accommodate large data structures is inefficient when the data structures are sparse or when only a few elements of the structure are actually accessed.
Hence there is a need to provide a hybrid caching architecture together with a cache-coherent protocol for a multi-processor computer system that is flexible and efficient in caching both large and smaller, sparse and packed data structures.
Further, in order to fully exploit the capability of such a hybrid caching architecture, there is also the need for static and/or dynamic algorithms to efficiently select appropriate caching modes while executing programs with a wide variety of data structures and access patterns. Although specialized hardware event tracer for capturing class(es) of events, e.g., bus operations, over time, can be used to optimize caching mode selection, they are expensive and difficult to implement. This is because event ordering and timing capture based on in-circuit emulation (ICE) technology typically involve complicated high-speed analog circuitry and probes. Accordingly, any cache mode selection algorithm(s) should be simple and yet effective event-based histograms which captures some of the same event information, e.g., cache miss, to give some indication of the appropriateness of COMA versus NUMA cache optimization.

Hybrid NUMA COMA caching system and methods for selecting between the caching modes


An expandable medical sheath can include a sheath body having a lumen that extends between proximal and distal ends of the sheath. The sheath can have first and second members where the first member has a different elastic modulus than the second member such that one provides elasticity to the sheath and the other provides column strength. The first and second members can be coupled together in alternating sections to form the tubular sheath or the stiffer members can be embedded in the elastic member along all or a portion of the longitudinal length of the sheath. The sheath can automatically move to an expanded state to allow a larger diameter medical device to pass through the lumen, and once through the sheath can automatically return to its initial diameter.

A medical device, such as an intracardiac heart pump assembly, can be introduced into a patient in various ways. In general, a heart pump can be introduced in the heart to pump blood from the heart into a vessel to support the function of the heart. When deployed in the heart, a heart pump assembly pulls blood from the left ventricle of the heart and expels blood into the aorta, or pulls blood from the inferior vena cava (IVC), bypasses the right atrium and right ventricle, and expels blood into the pulmonary artery. Heart pump assemblies are introduced surgically or percutaneously during a cardiac procedure through the vascular system. In one common approach, pump assemblies are inserted by a catheterization procedure through the femoral artery using a sheath, such as a peel-away introducer sheath. The sheath can alternatively be inserted in other locations such as in the femoral vein or any path for delivery of a pump for supporting either the left or right side of the heart.
The peel-away introducer sheath can be inserted into the femoral artery through an arteriotomy to create an insertion path for the pump assembly. A portion of the pump assembly is then advanced through an inner lumen of the introducer and into the artery. Once the pump assembly has been inserted, the peel-away introducer sheath is peeled away. A repositioning sheath can then be advanced over the pump assembly and into the arteriotomy. Replacing the introducer sheath and the repositioning sheath during insertion of a medical device can prevent blood clot formation which would otherwise occur in the introducer sheath, and prevent or reduce bleeding at the insertion site in the skin and/or at the insertion site within the vessel because of better fixation of the sheath to the patient when used with a hemostatic valve.
Since peel-away introducer sheaths are not radially expandable, the inner diameter of the peel-away introducer sheath must always be large enough to accommodate the passage of the largest diameter portion of the pump assembly such as the pump head even if other parts of the pump assembly, such as the catheter, have a significantly smaller diameter. This means that once the pump is inserted, the peel-away introducer creates an opening that has an outer diameter that is wider than necessary to allow passage of the pump catheter into the vessel. Accordingly, the peel-away introducer sheath is peeled away and replaced with a lower-profile repositioning sheath. But peeling away the introducer has several disadvantages. For example, peel-away introducers can peel too easily and risk being torn prematurely, leading to bleeding or vascular complications. On the other hand, peel-away introducers may require excessive force to peel away. If a physician applies too much force, when the introducer finally gives, the physician may inadvertently shift the position of the pump within the heart. Having to peel away the introducer also complicates the design of the hemostatic valve located in the hub of the introducer which also needs to separate. Additionally, the peel away action is an added step that the user must be aware of and trained on, and which requires added time to perform. Further, the need for a repositioning sheath to guide and/or reposition the pump within the heart adds complexities to the intravascular procedure due to the above-described multi-step nature of insertion of a repositioning sheath.
Further, if a peel-away introducer sheath is required, there is also a larger arteriotomy opening to close after the system is removed. The larger size of the peel away sheath can be intimidating to some users and carries a negative perception that may limit adoption. To have a close fit to the delivery catheter body and to minimize the cross-section of the repositioning sheath through most of the indwelling length during longer term dwell, the inner diameter of the repositioning sheath is smaller than the peel away sheath. This prevents removal of the pump without also removing the repositioning sheath which loses access to the vessel and requiring the immediate attention to closing the access site upon system/sheath removal.
Some medical introducers for applications other than inserting heart pumps have expandable sheath bodies which may expand radially to allow passage of percutaneous devices into the patient's vasculature. These introducers are inserted having inner diameters smaller than the outer diameter of the device being introduced. The introducers expand to allow passage of the device through the sheath and into the vasculature and then shrink again after the device has passed. In the current state, these expandable introducers are for relatively short term use and are stand-alone components. Since the current expandable sheaths are intended for short term use, they are not configured for preventing thrombosis between the sheath body and an indwelling catheter. Additionally, some current expandable sheaths are completely flexible and therefore do not provide any rigidity within their structure thereby requiring the use of a repositioning sheath during insertion of a percutaneous medical device. Furthermore, the current expandable sheaths do not include means for sealing the arteriotomy for long durations or for preventing migration of the inserted device (in and out of the vessel).

Expandable introducer sheath for medical device


According to one aspect of the invention, a plug-in module is provided for installation in a power distribution assembly. In one embodiment, the plug-in module includes a housing, an electrical isolation and overcurrent protection device located in the housing and a current sensing device located in the housing and adapted to sense a current carried by the electrical isolation and overcurrent protection device. The plug-in module may further include a power cable including a first end that is pre-terminated at the plug-in module to connect the power cable to the electrical isolation and overcurrent protection device, and electrical contacts adapted to removably couple the plug-in module to a plurality of stationary electrical conductors of the power distribution assembly. According to one embodiment, the electrical isolation and overcurrent protection device includes a circuit breaker.

1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to electrical power distribution equipment. More specifically, at least one embodiment relates to an apparatus and a method for scalable power distribution.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Centralized data centers for computer, communications and other electronic equipment have been in use for a number of years. More recently, with the increasing use of the Internet, large scale data centers that provide hosting services for Internet service providers ("ISPs"), application service providers ("ASPs") and Internet content providers are becoming increasingly popular. Typical centralized data centers contain numerous racks of equipment that require power, cooling and connections to communication facilities.
In general, centralized data centers have a power distribution system configured to avoid power outages because the data centers include a high percentage of critical loads without which an enterprise may be unable to operate. Often, an uninterruptible power supply ("UPS") is employed in the power distribution system to ensure that equipment receives continuous power and avoids any power outages. Typical power distribution systems include racks of equipment, for example, servers and the like that are located in the data center. Generally, a plurality of power distribution circuits are provided where each circuit supplies power to one or more electrical loads (e.g., servers, cooling systems, lighting circuits, etc.) via a circuit breaker. These systems generally include racks in which the circuit breakers are installed (i.e., power distribution units) or alternatively racks that include an electrical panel board which is in general similar in design to the panel boards that are found in ordinary commercial facilities.
Problems with these approaches include the fact that the installation or removal of a circuit breaker from the panel board or power distribution unit requires that a skilled individual (i.e., an electrician) perform the installation or removal in close proximity to energized electrical circuits which may include exposed electrical connections and/or conductors. Alternatively, the power distribution equipment can be de-energized to facilitate the installation or removal of one or more circuit breakers. Of course, given the critical nature of the electrical load in the data centers, even these scheduled outages are undesirable.
Some existing approaches attempt to minimize power interruptions resulting from the connection of new power distribution circuits by providing pre-fabricated plug-in power cables whereby a first end of the cable includes a connector that can be plugged into an output of a circuit breaker at the power distribution unit and a second end that can be connected to an electrical load. Although this approach may allow an electrical load to be safely connected to the circuit breaker without de-energizing the entire power distribution unit (e.g., connected with the panel board energized but without requiring any "hot work"), it requires that the cable lengths be pre-determined. In addition, such systems may not be scalable, that is, each panel board or other power distribution unit may not be configured for the correct size or quantity of circuits and corresponding circuit breakers.
As one alternative, some current systems allow a user to order a preconfigured power distribution unit that includes a main breaker with a fixed rating and a plurality of branch circuit breakers each with a pre-selected current rating. Given the dynamic nature of the electrical load that may be included in the data center, for example, the addition of one or more computers, servers, chillers, etc., the preceding approach does not provide an advantage except in the rare instance where the power distribution unit supplies a known, fixed electrical load. That is, the preceding approach is only effective where the designer and/or user of the distribution system can accurately identify the electrical loading and power distribution requirements of the facility at the time of installation. Generally, it is unrealistic to expect that the designer and/or user will accurately predict the electrical loading (e.g., the quantity of distribution circuits and their maximum loading) given the dynamic nature of facility design, power distribution systems and the connected electrical load. As a result, preconfigured power distributions are often specified with substantial excess capacity that is never used.

Apparatus and method for scalable power distribution


A connector for ribbon optical fiber comprises a plug (1) and a socket (2). The plug (1) movably connects with the socket (2) through buttons (106) which are set on the both sides of the front end of the plug, and an alignment core (12) which allows a ribbon optical fiber movably aligning in the inside movement is also set on the front end of the plug (1). In the connector for ribbon optical fiber of present invention, the plug (1) movably connects with the socket (2) through buttons (106), therefore repeated plugging and pulling can be achieved, and the optical fiber movably aligns inside the alignment core with the advantages of simple structure and good effect of alignment.

The ribbon optical fiber cable has been increasingly applied due to its capability of providing multiple optical paths. Generally, the connection between the ribbon optical fiber cables is much more complex than that between optical fiber cables each with a single optical fiber, because each optical fiber of the ribbon optical fiber cable must be inserted into the corresponding hole or channel of the prefabricated connector. However, it is difficult to insert each bare optical fiber into the corresponding hole or channel due to the extremely small size and the brittle nature of the bare optical fiber, and the connection of the ribbon optical fiber cable must be reconstructed if any of the optical fibers is broken. Therefore, the nature of the ribbon optical fiber cable results in the complex structure and a relatively high defective rate of the existing connector for ribbon optical fiber cable, which limits the application of the ribbon optical fiber cable to a certain extent.


A car navigation system equipped with an interface for a detachable memory card that stores travel tracks and the like of cars and the like, comprises a data collector that collects, once at every given time interval or at every given distance interval, the travel date, starting position, destination, passing position, starting time, passing time, arrival time, travel distance and the like, a data recorder that stores the travel data collected by the data collector in the memory card, and a data printing processor that reads out data specified by the user from the travel records stored in the memory card to output the travel data to a printer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation system installed in a vehicle such as a car, and more particularly to a navigation system that has a function of printing travel records.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a prior car navigation system. In FIG. 6, the car navigation system comprises a central processing unit 11, abbreviated to CPU hereafter, that processes data, memory 12 that stores processing programs, data, and the like, an input device 13 that takes data from the user, a position measuring unit 14 that measures the current position, a display unit 15 that displays maps, travel records, and the like, a display controller 16 that controls display unit 15, a CD-ROM player 17 that drives a CD-ROM (compact disk ROM) that is a storage medium for map information and the like, a CD-ROM controller 18 that controls CD-ROM player 17, and a memory card controller 20 that has an interface function for connecting a memory card 19 that stores travel-record data and the like. Memory 12 is composed of ROM and RAM and stores processing programs, travel-record data, map screen information, and the like. CPU 11 performs processing for screen control, position calculation, route calculation, route guiding, and the like. Position measuring unit 14 is composed of a GPS (global positioning system) and others and measures the longitude and latitude information about the current position to send it to CPU 11. Memory card 19 is a detachable storage medium and records and preserves travel routes, travel tracks, and the like. The information about the recorded data is retrieved by the user's input through input device 13 and displayed on display unit 15.
In the prior car navigation system, position measuring unit 14 measures the current position, and CPU 11 accesses CD-ROM player 17 based on the position information to display map screen information including the current position on display unit 15. Further, CPU 11 executes the procedures of the programs stored in memory 12 following the input through input device 13 to perform route searching, route guiding including aural guiding, displaying of a route chart, and the like. CPU 11 also preserves travel track records in the connected memory card 19, and can read out a past travel record therefrom to display on display unit 15 for confirmation.
The prior car navigation system can display on the screen of display unit 15 the current route and past travel records recorded on memory card 19, and also can make a copy for each screen. However, it does not have a function of printing past travel records recorded on the memory card. Therefore, it cannot print out travel records that are necessary for operating control of vehicles for business use, such as travel positions, travel distance, travel time, and the like.


A method and system for storing and supplying hydrogen to a hydrogen pipeline in which a compressed hydrogen feed stream is introduced into a salt cavern for storage and a stored hydrogen stream is retrieved from the salt cavern and reintroduced into the hydrogen pipeline. A minimum quantity of stored hydrogen is maintained in the salt cavern to produce a stagnant layer having a carbon dioxide content along the cavern wall and the top of a residual brine layer located within the salt cavern. The compressed hydrogen feed stream is introduced into the salt cavern and the stored hydrogen stream is withdrawn without disturbing the stagnant layer to prevent carbon dioxide contamination from being drawn into the stored hydrogen stream being reintroduced into the hydrogen pipeline. This allows the stored hydrogen stream to be reintroduced into the hydrogen pipeline without carbon dioxide removal.

Hydrogen is utilized in a variety of industrial processes and is typically produced from the steam methane reforming of hydrocarbons that are contained in natural gas. The hydrogen after production can be used on site where the steam methane reformer is located or can be distributed to customers with the use of a pipeline.
Customer demand will typically vary and it has been found to be advantageous to store the hydrogen when customer demand is low for later use during peak demand periods. One central advantage in storing the hydrogen is that the hydrogen production facility does not have to be sized to meet peak customer demands and thus, can be a smaller, lower cost installation. Additionally, the storage of hydrogen also allows for further profitability in that spot sales of hydrogen can be made to customers, above that required to meet contractual customer demands. Since the storage requirements related to pipeline distribution systems can be at a level of over a billion standard cubic feet of hydrogen, large underground geological formations known as salt caverns are used for such purposes.
Salt caverns are formed by solution mining within large underground formations of salt that can be several hundred to several thousands of feet deep that are generally covered by a cap rock. In order to form the salt cavern, a well is drilled from the surface down to and through the salt formation. The well hole is supported by pipe casings which are surrounded by concrete and a smaller pipe, known as a brine string, is inserted into the casing to introduce water down into the hole. The water dissolves the salt to form the cavern and the resulting brine is pumped to the surface between the annular space formed between the casing and the smaller pipe. Additionally, brine is removed from the cavern by injecting hydrogen to pressurize the cavern and force the brine out through the brine string. When complete, the salt cavern has a roof region at the top of the salt cavern and beneath the cap rock, side regions connecting the roof regions with the bottom of the salt cavern and a residual brine layer or brine sump remaining at the bottom of the salt cavern.
The hydrogen to be stored can be produced at the site of the salt cavern or can be removed from the pipeline itself. The hydrogen is compressed by a compressor and the resulting compressed hydrogen feed stream is introduced into the salt cavern through the casing. When the hydrogen required to meet customer demand is greater than that able to be produced by the hydrogen production facility, the hydrogen is taken from the salt cavern as a stored hydrogen stream through the casings and injected back into the pipeline.
Carbon dioxide as well as other impurities can be introduced into the stored hydrogen stream from the salt cavern itself. The carbon dioxide impurity, as well as moisture, for the most part, evolves from the residual brine layer. Since the pipeline itself will have a specification for the amount of carbon dioxide and also, possibly moisture, that can be contained in the hydrogen that is reintroduced into the pipeline, the carbon dioxide impurity that is introduced into the stored hydrogen stream is removed by an adsorption unit that contains an adsorbent to adsorb the carbon dioxide and also possibly the moisture. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,078,011, a purification system is used in connection with the salt cavern to reduce levels of carbon dioxide and moisture to sufficiently low levels that are necessary to meet the pipeline specification. It has been found that the use of carbon dioxide purification system adds a level of complexity and expense to the operation of an installation that involves the storage of hydrogen within a salt cavern. As will be discussed, it has been found that although unacceptably high levels of carbon dioxide can initially be imparted from the salt cavern to the stored hydrogen stream to be injected back into the pipeline, when the salt cavern is operated in a manner as described in the present invention, carbon dioxide removal will not be necessary.


Disclosed herein is a substituted piperidine derivative represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 means an aryl or heteroaryl group which may have at least one substituent, R.sup.2 denotes an alkyl, alkenyl or aralkyl group, R.sup.3 stands for a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, and R.sup.4 is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or an aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl, aralkenyl or heteroaralkyl group which may have at least one substituent, or a salt thereof. A medicine including this compound is also disclosed. The compound has excellent anticholinergic effect and calcium antagonism and inhibits reflex bladder contraction and is hence useful for prophylaxis of and treatment for a urinary disturbance such as pollakiuria.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel substituted piperidine derivative and a salt thereof, and particularly to a substituted piperidine derivative and a salt thereof, which have an anticholinergic effect and a calcium antagonism and are useful as medicines for prophylaxis of and treatment for a urinary disturbance such as nervous pollakiuria, neurogenic bladder, nocturnal enuresis, unstable bladder, pollakiuria caused by a disease such as chronic cystitis, or urinary incontinence.
2. Description of the Background Art
In order to prevent and treat a urinary disturbance such as nervous pollakiuria, neurogenic bladder, nocturnal enuresis, unstable bladder, pollakiuria caused by a disease such as chronic cystitis, or urinary incontinence, drugs which inhibit reflex bladder contraction are useful.
As drugs for inhibiting the reflex bladder contraction, oxybutynin hydrochloride, propiverine hydrochloride, vamicamide and compounds described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 92921/1994 and 135958/1994 and WO 93/16048 have heretofore been reported.
However, the conventional compounds have been found to be insufficient in the inhibitory effect on the reflex bladder contraction.

Substituted piperidine derivative and medicine comprising the same


A shunt device for use in a light socket includes a first semiconductor chip and a first container having a receiving surface for receiving the first semiconductor chip therein and having an open surface through which the first semiconductor chip is exposed and a first conductive member connected having a first end connected to the first semiconductor chip through the open surface and a second end connected to a first of the terminals with the socket and wherein the container and the chip and the member are operatively interposed in a self retained manner between the terminals in the lower portion of the socket.

Decorative light strings which are connected in series are highly popular in the United States, especially during holidays in November and December. A drawback with such light strings is that they commonly include of a plurality of individual light units with bulbs which are electrically connected in series and not in parallel. The bulbs are typically incandescent bulbs having a filament formed between two leads of the bulb, the filament giving off light when a current is passed from one lead to the other, through the filament. As the bulb is used, over time, the filament will burn out, breaking the series circuit in which the bulb is arranged. This will cause the entire light string to go out unless a backup circuit path is available to bypass the failed filament.
Presently, inside of the mini-light bulb, there is a backup circuit path having a shunt system arranged in parallel with the filament of each bulb. This shunt is comprised of three turns of aluminum wire with an insulating (oxide) coating. When the filament is intact, current passes through the filament because the resistance of the filament is low compared to that of the insulating material on the shunt. However, when the filament burns out, the voltage across the leads of the bulb increases to the full line potential of 120 volts AC. The actual peak voltage at 120 volts AC is approximately 170 volts. The insulating coating on the shunt wire is designed to break down at a minimum of 40 volts to provide a backup circuit path around the failed filament. However, this 'shorting' mechanism only works about 70% of the time. When it fails to operate, the entire series-wired light string goes out.
One solution that allows the circuit to continue to function when there is a failure as described above is taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,084,357 and 6,580,182 which is issued to the same inventor herein. The solution is to provide a backup circuit path having a semiconductor shunt system arranged in parallel with the filament of each bulb. As described in the above mentioned issued patents, the semiconductor device might be a diode array or back-to-back Zener diodes. In this manner, even if a bulb burns out, breaks, or falls out of its socket, the rest of the light units in the light string remain on because the series circuit remains closed. The system employed in the above issued patents is the shunting of each light bulb in the string with such a semiconductor shunt mounted in a package as the standard DO-41 package. The DO-41 package housing the semiconductor chip is placed inside of each socket and is electrically connected to the light bulb's conductive connection in the socket.
In addition, co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/611,744 described a further improvement in wherein a shunt device included a semiconductor chip held in place by a spring-like conductive member. While this improvement has met with success, the shunt device is difficult to work with due to the diode chip size being extremely small (i.e., chip size is 0.028″×0.028″) and current implementation is relatively expensive.
While the functionality of decorative light strings using the inventor's prior shunt devices work well, there remains a need to improve the shunt device as set forth herein and reduce the cost of producing the decorative light string.

Semiconductor chip with container and contact elements for use in a light socket


A method and system are provided for correcting a pitch of a human generated vocal signal. A human vocal signal is received at a first input. A reference signal having correct pitch is received at a second input. The pitch of the human vocal signal is then corrected by shifting the pitch of the human vocal signal to match the pitch of the reference signal, e.g., using pitch shifter circuitry.

A "karaoke" device is a digital storage media playback device, typically a laser disc player or CD-ROM drive, used for amusement purposes. The karaoke device plays a musical accompaniment to a song, but not the vocal accompaniment (or at least not the lead vocal accompaniment). Usually, this is achieved by recording a specific arrangement of the song that lacks one or more vocal accompaniments. A selected song is played back and an individual provides a live version of the vocal accompaniment. Typically, the individual providing the vocal accompaniment is an amateur singer who has difficulty maintaining correct pitch for the vocal accompaniment. A video presentation, including the text of the lyrics, is also typically generated by the digital storage media playback device from the digital storage medium.
In the karaoke art, processors exist for correcting the vocal pitch of an amateur signer. Typically, these processors employ one of two approaches whereby the singer's pitch is corrected to the nearest semitone or to the nearest note within a given scale. Both of these techniques have disadvantages. In the "nearest semitone" approach, the singer's pitch must be within a half semitone of the correct pitch. However, this is difficult for an amateur singer to achieve. In this approach, if the signer's pitch is off by more than a half semitone, the correction process tends to produce a vocal signal that deviates more from the correct pitch than the original uncorrected vocal signal. In the "nearest tone" approach, the singer must specify the scale in which the singer will sing. This is generally impractical in the context of an amusement device for amateurs. Moreover, this presents a problem if the vocal accompaniment changes key during the song. Furthermore, the pitch of the singer's vocal signal must still be closer to the correct note than any other note in the scale in order to produce a vocal signal that is closer to the correct pitch than more deviant. Again, this is not always the case for an amateur singer.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.


A method for producing bromomethylcyclopropane is provided, comprising reacting an organic sulfonyl halide with cyclopropylmethanol in the presence of a tertiary amine in a non-protic solvent, to generate cyclopropylmethyl organic sulfonate, and reacting the resulting cyclopropylmethyl organic sulfonate with an alkali metal bromide and/or a quaternary ammonium bromide in a non-protic polar solvent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing bromomethylcyclopropane having a high purity. The bromomethylcyclopropane of the present invention is useful as a raw material of pharmaceutical products.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Conventional methods for producing bromomethylcyclopropane, for example, include a method comprising reacting methanesulfonyl bromide with cyclopropylmethanol in the presence of a tertiary amine under heating (EP 565826), a method comprising reacting a dimethylsulfide-bromine complex with cyclopropylmethanol (Chem. Commun., p.212 (1973)), and a method comprising reacting phosphorus tribromide with cyclopropylmethanol (J. Am. Chem. Soc., p.2509 (1951)); however, in these methods, the ring-opening reaction of the cyclopropane ring or the isomerization thereof into bromocyclobutane is progressed, so that bromomethylcyclopropane with a high purity, as required for pharmaceutical usages, cannot be obtained.
A method for producing bromomethylcyclopropane at a high purity, suitable for pharmaceutical use, is known comprising brominating cyclopropylmethanol with triphenylphosphine-dibromide (J. Org. Chem., Vol.49, p.431 (1984) and WO 97/30958). However, this method is not appropriate for industrial practice, because it presents the disadvantages of having to use triphenylphosphine dibromide which is expensive and because the process generates large amounts of phosphorus waste.
Therefore, there is a need for an industrially advantageous method to produce bromomethylcyclopropane with a high purity, and at relatively low cost.

Method for producing bromomethylcyclopropane


A water stake is provided comprising at least one linear tube having a cylindrical configuration with an open top end and an open bottom end. The bottom end is beveled as defined by a cutout formed therein along a plane skewed in relation to an axis of the tube. The bottom opening thus has an upper arc and a lower arc with the lower arc defining a sharp edge. A plurality of linearly aligned circular bores are formed in the tube. The circular bores resides along a line which lies in a first plane defined by the upper arc and lower arc of the bottom end. A plurality of plant ties each have an L-shaped configuration with a long horizontal extent having a first end coupled to the tube in perpendicular relationship with the axis thereof. A short vertical extent is integrally coupled to a second end of the long horizontal extent and extends upwardly therefrom. Finally, a cup is included which defines an interior space with a top opening. A bottom face of the cup is integrally coupled to the open top end of the tube and in communication with the bottom end and the plurality of circular bores thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water stake and more particularly pertains to watering plants such as tomatoes and peppers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of plant watering apparatuses is known in the prior art. More specifically, plant watering apparatuses heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of watering various plants are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,274; U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,706; U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,965; U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,968; U.S. Pat. No. 1,984,265; U.S. Pat. No. 1,589,400; and U.S. Pat. No. 500,140.
In this respect, the water stake according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of watering plants such as tomatoes and peppers.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved water stake which can be used for watering plants such as tomatoes and peppers. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A connector assembly for attachment to a substrate wherein an engagement element is on one of the housing and the terminal and a stabilizer, complementary thereto, is on the other, thereby restraining the terminal from movement in any direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. Alternatively, a restriction piece is attached to--or part of--the housing so that it retains the attachment end of the terminal within the housing until it is ready to be attached to the substrate. In this way, the opportunities for damage or distortion of the terminal are minimized.

A prior art substrate connector is disclosed in Japanese OPI 3-11566. As shown in FIG. 20, connector 1 consists of housing 2 which contains cavity 3. Terminal 4 is located in cavity 3 and includes mating section 4A containing spring contact 7, adapted to mate with another connector (not shown) and attachment end 8 which projects out of housing 2 and through a hole in circuit board P. Between spring contact 7 and attachment end 8 is strip 5. Connector 1 is secured to circuit board P at soldering section 6 of attachment end 8. Strip 5 includes deformable bend 9 which, upon flexing, absorbs stress which may be applied to soldering section 6 when the other connector is inserted or removed. This prevents separation of the solder from circuit board P and/or attachment end 8.
This device suffers from certain important disadvantages. The end of terminal 4 which carries spring contact 7 is box shaped, while strip 5 is a thin band. Thus, when terminal 4 is inside cavity 3, there is substantial free space between strip 5 and the inner walls of cavity 3. This construction permits unwanted movement of attachment end 8 which can easily be deformed if an outside force is applied either while transporting the connector or mounting it. This instability also creates a problem in aligning attachment end 8 with the corresponding through hole in circuit board P. Moreover, the stabilizers which have been previously used engage only the inner wall of cavity 3. This restricts motion in the direction of the inner walls, but does not secure the terminal in the direction perpendicular thereto. Thus, even if such stabilizers are provided, satisfactory stability of attachment end 8 is not achieved.
Another typical prior art connector is shown in FIG. 21. Connector 1 comprises housing 2 which contains cavity 3. Terminal 4 is located therein and consists of mating section 4A, attachment section 4C, and flexible section 4B. Mating section 4A receives another terminal (not shown) and attachment section 4C extends out of housing 2 through hole H in circuit board P.
When connector 1 is attached to circuit board P, housing 2 is fixed on the circuit board by soldering attachment section 4C thereto. When a complementary terminal (not shown) is inserted into mating section 4A, this can cause the mating section to move somewhat toward attachment section 4C. Flexible section 4B is intended to absorb such forces and prevent the generation of excessive stress at attachment section 4C and the soldering section.
However, there is a serious practical problem with connectors of this type. Specifically, attachment section 4C projects outside housing 2 upon assembly thereof and before attachment to circuit board P. Thus, as connectors 1 are handled, other elements may come into contact with projecting attachment section 4C, thereby bending or otherwise distorting it. Such distorted attachment sections would render the connectors unacceptable for commercial use.


A magazine support reinforcement for a machine gun having a receiver. A magazine support is attached to the underside of the receiver. The magazine support reinforcement is connected to the magazine support. The reinforcement includes a front support, a rear support and a fastener for fastening the front support to the rear support. The front and rear supports include bracing members having a generally concave side and a lug portion.

The invention relates to munitions and in particular to ammunition feeding mechanisms for machine guns.
Machine guns primarily use large magazines that hold belted ammunition. The large magazines may hold 100 or 200 rounds. These large magazines are attached to the magazine support of the machine gun. Under rough handling conditions, the magazine support fails to securely hold the large ammunition magazines. This problem has existed with the M249 machine gun since it was fielded in the 1980s.
Select machine guns, such as the M249, may also use a small magazine (30 rounds of unbelted ammunition) as a secondary ammunition supply. When using the small magazine, the magazine is inserted into a magazine well attached to the gun. The magazine well includes a rectangular opening for receiving the small magazine. The magazine well is attached to the side of the receiver and to the magazine support. The magazine support is attached at one end to an underside of the gun receiver and at the other end to the magazine well. Of course, the large magazines (100 or 200 rounds) cannot use the magazine well.
Various changes have been made to the large ammunition magazines to solve the lack of support problem. Different plastics have been used to construct the magazines. Metal stiffeners have been inserted in the magazines to keep them from bending. Bending of the large magazine beyond a certain point causes the large magazine to pop out of the magazine support. These fixes have only slightly increased the magazine retention capabilities. Notably, these fixes cause the magazine support to bend and the large magazines to pop out. Thus, there is a need for a device that prevents the magazines from bending and popping out of the magazine support.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


An improved coin box assembly is provided for a coin operated laundry appliance. The assembly includes a mounting bracket mounted in the cabinet of the appliance, a vault mounted within the mounting bracket, and a coin box mounted within the vault. The mounting bracket and vault provide double-wall protection for the coin box so as to inhibit prying. The assembly further includes external and internal plates sandwiching the front wall of the coin box to prevent cutting of the front wall of the coin box. A freely-spinning washer is mounted between the front plate and the front wall of the coin box to preclude a hole saw from cutting out the lock cylinder of the coin box.

Commercial laundry appliances used in commercial laundry facilities, university and college student housing, and other public settings, are typically coin operated, and accordingly, include a coin box for storing the coins deposited by users to operate the washer and dryer machines. It is not unusual for the coin boxes to hold several hundred dollars of quarters, which, unfortunately, creates theft problems. For example, it has been known for thieves to use drilling, prying, torching, and cutting tools to gain access to the coin box so as to steal the money therein.
Prior art coin operated appliances have been designed with coin boxes mounted in a small protective vault so as to make theft more complicated. However, theft remains a problem, particularly as battery operated tools make it easier for a thief to breach weak points in the security of the coin box and/or vault.
For example, existing designs for the coin box of commercial appliances are susceptible to hole saw attack around the shoulder of the lock, and due to the material specifications of the coin box, which are not designed to stop cutting with a hole saw. Similarly, existing designs are susceptible to prying attack due to a single wall vault and a coin box design which does not withstand prying pressure. A relatively small opening allows a thief to vacuum out the coins with a small vacuum, or to string out the coins with adhesive-type materials to which the coins stick.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved coin box assembly for commercial laundry appliances.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a high security coin vault with redundant security features to defeat common break-in methods for commercial laundry appliances.
Another objective of the present invention is a coin vault designed for commercial laundry appliances which guards against drilling, prying, torching, and cutting attacks.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved coin vault assembly for commercial laundry appliances which defeats common break-in methods using common burglary tools.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive redundant money handling, high security system for coin operated machines.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a coin operated appliance or machine having a coin box, coin vault, and mounting bracket which compliment one another so as to withstand break-in attempts.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved coin operated appliance or machine having high levels of security with low impact to production cost.
Still another objective of the present invention is an improved coin operated laundry appliance having no visible points of attack to the coin box.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved security coin vault for coin operated machine wherein the coin box assembly includes a double-wall, pry-resistant design.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved security coin box assembly for a commercial laundry appliance having a front plate assembly on the coin box which is resistant to drilling and cutting.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved security coin vault for commercial laundry appliances wherein welds in the assembly are hidden, masked or finished.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.


A variable reluctance transducer system incorporating digital control of parallel resonant circuits including two inductive sensors L1 and L2 on each side of a flat diaphram. The dual variable reluctance elements provide dual frequency signals for digital calculation to obtain a quotient of the frequencies, thereby substantially eliminating the resonant frequencies as a variable in the accuracy of the device. Manipulation of the produced quotient by a micro-controller 10 employing digital calibration tables stored in a programmable read only memory 14 allows calibration reponsive to a temperature sensor 16, thereby substantially eliminating temperature induced errors in the system, further increasing accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention applies generally to variable reluctance transducers employing parallel resonant circuits producing signals for manipulation to represent the input to the transducer with an output value. Specifically, the present invention employs digital control of parallel resonant circuits incorporating variable reluctance elements acting as the force sensor in the transducer providing dual frequency signals for digital calculation to obtain a quotient of the frequencies thereby substantially eliminating the resonant frequencies as a variable in accuracy of the device. Manipulation of the produced quotient through digital calibration tables responsive to a temperature sensor produces an output value which substantially eliminates temperature-induced errors in the system and further increases accuracy.
2. Prior Art
Variable reluctance transducers have been in use for a number of years in the measurement of physical parameters which can be resolved into force on a diaphragm. Displacement or deformation of the diaphragm due to the force which may be fluid pressure, acceleration or other physical phenomenon exerted on the diaphragm provides a basis for measurement. An inductor or capacitor mounted to the diaphragm changes value based on the displacement or deformation. Incorporation of the inductor or capacitor in a resonant circuit allows measurement of the deformation by change in frequency. The use of two variable reluctance elements to produce two separate frequencies based on deformation of the diaphragm provides a basis for calibrating and correcting the measured value. Integration of both variable reluctance elements with the diaphragm to produce opposite variation of the parameter value or fixed mounting of one element for comparison with the element mounted to the diaphragm allows calibration through various combinations of the two frequencies produced. U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,450 entitled "Force Controlled Variable Reactance Transducer," issued on Jul. 7, 1964 to the inventor of the present application discloses the structure of such a transducer wherein the frequencies produced by the two resonant circuits are mixed to obtain a difference frequency for measurement of the force applied to the diaphragm.
Calibration and compensation of variable reluctance transducers has been accomplished in the prior art through the design of the oscillator circuit provided to drive the variable reluctance resonant circuit of the transducer. Various means to provide constant amplitude signals for increased accuracy of measurement are disclosed in various prior art patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,763,444, 3,837,227 and 4,947,139, all issued to the inventor of the present application.
While significant accuracy improvements have been made in variable reluctance transducers, the inaccuracies caused by nonlinearity in deformation characteristics of the diaphragm, influence of temperature on the diaphragm characteristics and electronic components, and conversion of the data produced by the transducer to usable form continue to require creative solutions.
The present invention provides a novel oscillator circuit for control of switchable dual resonant circuits for a variable reluctance transducer in combination with a digital control system for accurate conversion of the raw transducer signal and to provide a digital output of desired form allowing easy analysis and manipulation of the data produced.

Digital transducer system including two reactive transducers forming resonant oscillator circuits