An apparatus comprising the use of at least two or more vertically disposed tubular structures with each tube filled with water, and having a nozzle-like conduit at one end. Inside each tube is a sealed cylinder or float for containing either gas or water. When gas is introduced into the float positioned at the bottom of the tube, the float begins to ascend inside the tube causing the water advancing ahead of the rising float to become increasingly more pressurized due to the buoyancy effect. Maximum or near maximum pressure levels are reached when the water advancing ahead of the rising float reaches the top of the tube and is forced through the narrow conduit and the interconnected flow line. At the top, the gas in the float is replaced with water compelling the float to sink to or near the bottom of the tube where the water is replaced with gas, and the process is repeated. The coordinated ascending and descending float in their respective tubes with one gas-filled float rising within its tube while simultaneously the other water-filled float sinks within another tube, or more typically a plurality of floats and tubes constructed and operating essentially in the same way, continuously repeat this process forcing a constant flow of highly pressurized water through the system eventually striking the turbine blades to rotate the generator shaft and produce the requisite hydroelectric power.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for producing hydroelectric power with the use of a hydroelectric turbine generator and more particularly to a new and improved apparatus that utilizes the physics of buoyancy and gravity to pressurize water to produce power.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of technology to move water to produce electric energy, such as falling water flowing through a dam used to turn a turbine propeller, which turns a shaft in a generator which, in turn, produces electric power, is well known in the prior art. Prior art systems in this area include, for example, the following: U.S. Pat. App. No. 2008/0265581A1 (Welch, et al., publication date Oct. 3, 2008), which teaches the use of a system of buoyancy pump devices driven by waves and currents to produce electricity. One embodiment converts wave motion into mechanical power, while another generates electricity from a turbine as a function of wave energy; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2006/0064975 A1 (Takeuchi, published Mar. 30, 2006), which teaches the introduction of continuous bubbled gas moving through a liquid to force a conveyor fitted with numerous bucket-like devices to rotate which in turn causes a power generating turbine to rotate; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2006/0267346A1 (Chen, published Nov. 3, 2006), which teaches the use of a water tower that accumulates water at the top through the application of buoyancy and the use of transmission rods to force the water up whereupon, guided by the principles of gravity, water cascades down a pipe to drive a turbine to produce the electric power; U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,253 B1 (Scharfenberg, issued Aug. 3, 2004), which teaches a turbine power plant using buoyant force in the form of air propelled against a series of vanes coupled to a shaft connected to a turbine; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2010/01720242 A1 (Irps, published Jul. 8, 2010), which teaches springs as an energy storage device connected to buoys driven up and down inside water-filled containers as a result of buoyance and gravitational forces exerted via a working stroke to produce mechanical energy to generate power; U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,976 (Kim, et al., issued Jan. 26, 1988), which teaches a method and apparatus for generating power comprising float members disposed inside respective cylinders and a series of lever arms pivotably disposed above the cylinders connected to the float members whereby water introduced and discharged into and from the cylinders causes the floats to rise and fall causing, in turn, the lever arms to pivot on their axes resulting in the conversion of rotational motion to rectilinear motion, or vice versa, to operate power generators or turbines; U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,232 (Willmouth, issued Jan. 12, 1998), which teaches an apparatus that drives an electrical power generator from a combination of buoyance and gravitational forces comprising a long chain having a series of attached float members extending around a sprocket with the float members immersed in liquid as they rise driven by the force of buoyance and passing through airspace as they fall pulled down by the force of gravity; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,281 (Kim, et al., issued Jun. 23, 1987), which teaches an apparatus for generating power comprising two cylinders and a float member within each cylinder and rotating lever arms attached to the float members at one end to a crank connected to a shaft at the other end whereby the introduction of fluid and air into the first cylinder and its float member, respectively, and simultaneously, the discharge of fluid and air from the second cylinder and its float member, respectively, cause the float members to rise and fall accordingly and, in turn, the lever arms to move up and down and the crank to rotate about the crank shaft.
The improved buoyancy power generating apparatus of the present invention comprises at least two vertically oriented tubes filled with liquid, preferably water, with one end of each tube having an inward tapered portion through which passes highly pressurized water. A float device, which has a diameter slightly less than the interior diameter of the tube and a conical-shaped bottom, is disposed inside each tube, with each float device capable of holding both gaseous and liquid material. Also included is the means for alternatively introducing and releasing gas and liquid to and from the float devices to cause one float to rise and fall within one tube, and a conical-shaped bottom, and simultaneously the other float to fall and rise within the other tube such that, when gas is introduced into one float, that float begins to rise within its tube, steadily increasing the water pressure ahead of it in the tube as the float ascends with the water reaching near or at its maximum pressure as it is forced through the tapered portion or nozzle formed at the top end of the tube. As the float filled with gas begins moving upwards within its tube, the float in a second tube, which begins its sequence at the top, is filled with liquid, typically water, causes it to sink to the bottom of the tube. The pressurized water moving through the nozzle and the line leading to the turbine eventually causes the turbine blades and, thus, the turbine to rotate. This, in turn, causes the generator shaft to rotate, which ultimately produces the electric power.
Nothing in the prior art, including the cited references above, includes an apparatus with the combination of structural elements and relationship of components, and the specific means and objectives as the improved apparatus of the present invention.


A rim assembly comprises a rim including a peripheral rim portion for the mounting of a wheel; a wheel cover affixed to the rim and configured to rotate about an axis of the rim; and an oscillator attached to the wheel cover and configured to move back and forth between a first position and a second position based on rotation of the wheel cover about the axis. The oscillator is configured to protract axially away from the wheel cover when moving from the second position toward the first position and to retract axially toward the wheel cover when moving from the first position toward the second position.

Decorative rims for automobile wheels are generally known. For example, decorative rims are disclosed in the following exemplary patent references, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,454 to Miansian ("Miansian"); U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,810 to Wang ("Wang"); U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,370 to Fowlkes ("Fowlkes"); U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,989 to Hsiao et al. ("Hsiao"); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0206218 A1 to Clifford et al. ("Clifford"); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0116530 to Simpson ("Simpson"); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0052069 to Gilly et al. ("Gilly"); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0232758 to Freeman ("Freeman"); and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0102712 to Fitzgerald ("Fitzgerald").
Of these patent references, Fowlkes, for example, discloses a wheel spinner assembly wherein a spinner rotates independently relative to the rim assembly to which the spinner is mounted. Such "spinners" have become increasingly popular over recent years because of the dynamic effect that is provided. Moreover, it is believed that demand for the ability to customize a vehicle has increased dramatically in recent years. In this environment, the present invention provides another inventive approach to customization of a vehicle's wheels.


Defragmentation of a file system. Multiple files within the file system may be fully or partially defragmented with respect to the physical storage system containing the physical file system. The defragmented files include at least one file that represents a virtual storage system. That virtual storage system file contains a number of sub-files that represent files (i.e., virtual files) of the virtual storage system. These virtual files are not files managed by the physical file system, but are files recognized by a virtual file system managed by a virtual machine running on the physical machine. The defragmentation of the virtual files occurs using knowledge of the unordered nature of the allocation segments that make up the virtual storage system file. Accordingly, after defragmentation, the files of the physical file system and the virtual file system are more defragmented with respect to the physical storage system, while not requiring a shut down of the virtual file system.

Computing systems often use non-volatile readable and writable storage in the form of a magnetically readable and writable disk. The disk is physically organized into fixed-sized "data blocks" (often termed "clusters" when discussing hard disks). A file system manages information at the higher file level. A file may be contained within a single data block, or it may be distributed across multiple data blocks. A file will often become "fragmented" on a disk if the file is not stored in order in contiguous data block locations. When a large number of files on the disk are fragmented, the entire disk is said to be "fragmented".
Such disk fragmentation can result in a noticeably less efficient computing system since a fragmented file can take longer to read from and write to than might the same file if not fragmented. While special precautions can be taken to reduce the speed at which a disk becomes fragmented, disk fragmentation has come to be accepted as a problem to be addressed.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simplistic example of a how a conventional file system might manage fragmented files. The file system has a certain contiguous range of addressable data blocks symbolized by the larger box labeled file system data blocks 100 in FIG. 1, with the lowest addressable data block 101 represented at the left side of the range, and the highest addressable data block 102 represented at the right side of the range. According to this illustration convention, the addresses of the data blocks thus steadily increases as one moves through the data blocks 100 from left to right. A typical file system may have access to enumerable numbers (e.g., millions or even perhaps billions) of data blocks, and thus the individual data blocks between these two extremes 101 and 102 are not illustrated.
A typical file system may contain countless files. However, to illustrate the basic principles of disk fragmentation, the files system data blocks 100 of FIG. 1 are illustrated simply as representing only three files 111, 112 and 113. In other words, the file system itself is only managing three files in this example. Each of these files is represented in the file system data blocks 100 using multiple fragments, each fragment representing one or more contiguous data blocks. For instance, file 111 is fragmented into two fragments labeled 111-1 and 111-2 (represented by rightward-facing cross-hatching filler material). File 112 is fragmented into four fragments 112-1, 112-2, 112-3 and 112-4 (represented by vertical cross-hatching filler material). Finally, file 113 is fragmented into three fragments 113-1, 113-2 and 113-3 (represented by dotted filler material). In the illustration convention of FIG. 1 through 7, fragments common to the same file are illustrated by boxes with common filler material. The order that the fragment appears in the file is represented by the number within the box. For instance, the fragments with a "1" in them represent the first fragment of the file, the fragments with a "2" in them represent the second fragment of the file, and so forth if there are more fragments in the file. The unlabeled boxes represent free space in the file system where other files could be placed or where these files could grow.
In order to avoid the inefficiencies associated with disk fragmentation, defragmentation utilities are widely used. Defragmentation utilities move meticulously through the entire file system and move file fragments to be contiguous and in proper order. For instance, if the file system data blocks 100 of FIG. 1 were to be defragmented, we might arrive at the defragmented file system data blocks 200 of FIG. 2. Of course, now the file fragment numbers within the fragments, and the lines separating the file and free space fragments are not really necessary, because each file and the free space are unfragmented. They are included to show how the pieces were rearranged to arrive at the unfragmented file system.
There is conventional software that is capable of implementing a "virtual machine" on a computing system. FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified schematic view of a computing environment 800 that incorporates a virtual machine 810. A virtual machine is a piece of software that runs on the physical computing system, that causes the physical computing system to emulate a different environment. For instance, a physical computing system may run one operating system having a set of files and applications, one of which being a virtual machine application. The physical computing system may then execute the virtual machine application, which then presents a different operating environment. One part of that virtualized operating environment is a virtual disk.
This virtual disk is not an actual disk, but is often instead implemented as a file on the host operating system. For instance, the computing environment 800 includes a physical storage system 850, which can be, for example, a physical hard disk. The physical hard disk stores multiple files. There are three files 851, 852 and 853 illustrated as being included on the physical storage system 850, although a typical physical storage system may store many more. One of the files 853 is symbolically illustrated using a hard-disk shaped form of dashed lines, symbolizing that the file is a special kind of file that represents a virtual storage system file. Of course, the files 851 through 853 may potentially be fragmented into discontiguous data blocks on the physical storage system 850.
A storage driver 840 (a disk driver in the case of a hard disk) is used to provide and interpret physical signaling 841 to and from the physical storage system 850 as appropriate given the data block access requests and responses 831 received from the physical file system 830. The physical file system 830 receives file access requests 821 from a variety of file-using software components (e.g., applications and perhaps components of the operating system), and provides the appropriate data block access requests 831 to the storage driver 840. The physical file system 830 also interprets data block access responses 831 and provides the appropriate file system response 821 back to the file-using software components. The physical file system 830 might, for example, receive a read or write request for a particular file 851, 852 and 853, identify the specific data block being read or written to, and issue an appropriate block read or write request to the storage driver 840.
Amongst the file-using software components is a virtual machine 810, as well as one or more other file-using components 820. The virtual machine 810 might virtualize a number of components such as, for example, virtual processors, virtual networks, and virtual storage devices. The components for virtualizing a storage device are illustrated within the virtual machine 810. For instance, when the virtual machine 810 starts up, a virtual file system 812 operates to receive file access requests for files within the virtual file system 812. The virtual file system 812 may consider that is has access to a very large segment of storage. For instance, a 20 Gigabyte virtual file system 812 is certainly within the realm of possibility given a 40 Gigabyte physical file system 830.
Since the virtual disk is represented as a file in the physical storage system, it could be that the virtual machine 810 simply causes the physical file system 830 to allocate a file of size 20 Gigabytes from the physical storage system 850 for use as the virtual file system file. However, this could represent an inefficient use of the physical storage system 850. A conventional way to avoid this is to simply allocate physical disk space, one allocation segment at a time, as the virtual file system uses its range of virtual storage space. To abstract this away from the view of the virtual file system 812, a virtual storage manager 813 is utilized.
For example, suppose that the file system data blocks 100 of FIG. 1 are really virtual file system data blocks, and thus represent a virtual disk in a single physical file (e.g., virtual storage system file 853). Furthermore, suppose instead of pre-allocating the entire virtual disk file space, the virtual disk space is allocated one allocated segment at a time, when used. To begin the explanation, FIG. 3 illustrates segmented file system data blocks 300, that show the allocation segment boundaries 301A through 301I when applied to the file system data blocks 100 of FIG. 1. In one example, the allocation segments might be, for example, one megabyte in size.
FIG. 4A illustrates the file system data blocks 400A actually segmented into the various allocation segments A through I. Note how the allocation segment boundaries may intersect a file fragment. For instance, the file fragment 111-1 is further split between allocation segments A and B, with fragment portion la positioned in allocation segment A, and fragment portion 1b positioned in allocation segment B. Also, file fragment 112-4 is further split between allocation segment E and F, with a fragment portion 4a being in allocation segment E, and fragment portion 4b being in allocation segment F.
In this example, the file system data blocks 100 of FIG. 1 represent the file system from the viewpoint of the virtual file system 812. However, the virtual storage manager 813 does not deal with the same view. Instead, the virtual storage manager 813 sees the file (e.g., the virtual storage system file 853) that represents the data managed by the virtual file system, and abstracts that view away from the virtual file system 812. The virtual storage manager 813 allocates the allocation segments in the order that they are first written to by the virtual file system 812, even if that allocation order is not in the sequential order. If there is an allocation segment of the virtual file system 812 that is not yet written to, the virtual storage manager 813 has not yet caused any physical file space for that as-yet-unwritten-to allocation segment. If there is an allocation segment that is to be written to the first time, then the virtual storage manager 813 will request the physical file system 830 to extend the virtual storage system file 853 to include an additional allocation segment. The virtual storage manager 813 will then keep track of that order and provide appropriate translations back to the virtual file system 812.
For instance, suppose that allocation segment A was the first virtual file system segment to be written to. At that point, the virtual storage system file 853 would have only contained allocation segment A. If the virtual file system 812 were to write again to a virtual storage data block within that allocation segment A, the virtual storage manager 813 may simply write to the appropriate data blocks of the allocation segment A, without further extending the virtual storage system file 853.
Now suppose that the virtual file system 812 requests a write to a virtual storage data block within allocation segment C. In that case, since the virtual allocation segment C does not yet exist in the actual virtual storage system file 853, the virtual storage manager 813 extends the virtual storage system file 853 to include allocations segment C. Note that allocation segment B still does not exist in the virtual storage system file 853 since it has not yet been written to by the virtual file system 812. After all, the virtual file system 812 can write to space within its virtual storage space in whatever order it deems appropriate given its internal logic.
Next, suppose that the virtual file system 812 then writes to allocation segments D, F, B, H and E in that order. The virtual storage manager 813 will then extend the virtual storage system file 853 in order to extend to accommodate these additional allocation segments. FIG. 5 illustrates the resulting example allocation order 500 of the virtual storage system file 853. Note how the virtual storage system file 853 (from the perspective of the virtual storage manager 813) includes allocation segments A, C, D, F, B, H, and E, in that order, and does not yet include allocation segments G or I, since they have not yet been written to. Roman numerals I through VII are used to show the allocation order of the allocation segments within the virtual storage system file 853. For instance, allocation segment A is the first allocation segment I in the virtual storage system file 853. Allocation segment C is the second allocation segment II in the virtual storage system file 853. This nomenclature convention continues until finally segment E is illustrated as the seventh allocation segment VII in the virtual storage system file 853. Thus, lettering A though H is used to represent the logical ordering of the entire range of the virtual file system 812. In contrast, Roman numerals are used to represent the logical ordering of an allocation signal within the virtual storage system file 853 as viewed by the virtual storage manager 813. This convention will be used throughout the remainder of this description.
FIG. 6A illustrates the ordering of the contents of the virtual storage system file 853 in the form of file 600A when the content of the virtual file system is fragmented as represented by the data blocks 400A of FIG. 4A. Because the allocation segments were not physically allocated in order, and because the files themselves were already fragmented, the virtual storage system file 600A is even more fragmented than the view of the virtual file system data blocks 100 viewable by the virtual file system 812. For instance, fragment portion 1a of file fragment 111-1 is now separated from fragment portion 1b of file fragment 111-1. Also, fragment portion 4a of the file fragment 112-4 is now separated from fragment portion 4b of file fragment 112-4.
This virtual storage system file 600A itself exists in the physical file system 830 of the physical computing environment 100, and represents an example of the virtual file system file 853 of FIG. 8. The computing environment's 100 physical file system 830 is also possibly fragmented. For instance, FIG. 7A illustrates the fragmented physical file system space 700A. The physical file system space 700A includes the virtual storage system file 600A fragmented into four fragments 600A-1, 600A-2, 600A-3 and 600A-4. The physical file system space 700A also includes another fragmented file 702A that is fragmented into three fragments 702A-1, 702A-2 and 702A-3. The physical file system space 700A further includes another file 701A that happens to not be fragmented at all. Notice that the files within the virtual storage system file 600 have become further fragmented as a result of fragmentation of the virtual file system file at the physical level. For instance, file fragment 112-1 of file 112 is further fragmented into segments 1a and 1b., because allocation order 500 block III is split into segments IIIa and IIIb, which splits segmented filed system data 400A, block D into segments Da and Db.
As a supplemental example, FIG. 4B shows the file system data blocks 400B, which are basically the same as the file system data blocks 200 of FIG. 2 shown defragmented. If the file system data blocks 200 represent the virtual file system, and if the virtual file system 812 were to perform a defragmentation, the virtual file system 812 would view its range of address spaces much as shown in FIG. 4B. In this defragmented condition, however, files and file fragments may still span allocation boundaries. For instance, moving from left to right, fragment 111-2 of file 111 spans allocation boundaries A and B resulting in the diagonally cross-hatched segments labeled as 2A and 2B. Fragment 112-1 of file 112 spans allocation boundaries B and C resulting in the vertically cross-hatched segments labeled as 1A and 1B. Fragment 112-3 of file 112 spans allocation boundaries C and D resulting in the vertically cross-hatched segments labeled as 3A and 3B. Fragment 113-1 of file 113 spans allocation boundaries D and E resulting in the dot-filled segments labeled as 1A and 1B. Finally, fragment 113-2 of file 113 spans allocation boundaries E and F resulting in the dot-filled segments labeled as 2A and 2B.
Of course, as previously mentioned, the virtual storage manager 813 views the actual virtual storage system file 853 in the order that the allocation segments were allocated (I through VII), not in the logical order of the allocation segments (A through H) as viewed by the virtual file system 812. FIG. 6B illustrates how the virtual storage manager 813 would view the virtual storage system file 853 if the virtual file system 812 were to have the arrangement of the data blocks 400B of FIG. 4B. Note once again that the reordering of allocation segments causes significant fragmentation in the virtual storage system file 853, even though the virtual file system 812 might consider the data blocks to be defragmented from its perspective. FIG. 7B illustrates a physical layout 700B of the virtual storage system file of FIG. 6B in conjunction with other files fragmented on a physical storage system. Note how the physical storage space is extremely fragmented in this case, even though the virtual file system 812 might view its space as defragmented. While there is one file 701B that is not fragment, file 702B is fragmented into three segments 702B-1, 702B-2 and 702B-3. The virtual file system file 600B is shown fragmented into segments 600B-1, 600B-2, 600B-3 and 600B-4.
One maker of a defragmentation program calls this general problem "hierarchical fragmentation" or "fragmentation within fragmentation". This maker recommends running a defragmentation program both within the virtual machine and in the host operating system. However, this solution does not address fragmentation of data blocks within the virtual storage system file itself. For instance, FIG. 7B illustrates how fragmented a physical storage system can appear even after defragmentation using a virtual machine. Accordingly, this solution would still result potentially result in internal fragmentation of the virtual storage system file with respect to the physical storage system, even though the virtual file system might consider the file to be defragmented within its own view.
There is another conventional solution offered by VMware® that includes taking the following steps:
1. Run a disk defragmentation utility inside the virtual machine.
2. Power off the virtual machine, then defragment its virtual disks from the virtual machine settings editor (VM>Settings). Select the virtual disk you want to defragment, then click Defragment.
3. Run a disk defragmentation utility on the host computer
VMware® notes that this solution takes considerable time. In addition, note that the virtual machine is to be powered down during much of this operation. This solution can be impractical if the powering down of the virtual machine is costly.
However, suppose that this conventional approach were to be applied to a virtual storage system file having the layout 100 of FIG. 1. Upon defragmentation by the virtual file system after step 1 of the VMware® approach, the virtual file system may then view its addressable range of data blocks as having the defragmented state 200 of FIG. 2 or equivalently state 400B of FIG. 4B when viewed in the context of the various allocation segments A through I. From the virtual storage manager 813 perspective, the virtual storage system file would have the layout 600B shown in FIG. 6B. From the physical file system 830 perspective, the physical addressable space would have the layout 700B shown in FIG. 7B.
According to step 2 of the VMware® approach, the virtual machine would then be powered down, and the allocation segments of the virtual storage system file 853 would then be rearranged to be in proper order. Thus, the roman numeral I through VII would then match the uppercase letters A through F and H. Note that allocation segment G is still unused in our example, and thus need not be included in even the reordered virtual storage system file.
According to step 3 of the VMware® approach, the physical file system would then be defragmented. The result achieved as viewed by the physical file system may be similar to the defragmented files 1200C of FIG. 12C. Note that the virtual file system is also defragmented and all of the allocation segments are in proper order consistent with the virtual storage manager as well. Accordingly, the VMware® solution does achieve defragmentation.
However, the VMware® solution, as mentioned, previously requires the shut down of the virtual machine. This might not be feasible if the virtual machine is desired to run continuously. Furthermore, each of the three steps of the VMware® solution might require movement of data blocks. Thus, each data block might be moved up to three times during defragmentation, not including intermediate moves, resulting in a rather slow defragmentation process.

Defragmentation in a virtual environment


A multi-function sit-up apparatus includes a frame, a seat and a back pad. The seat and the back pad are disposed on the frame. The back of the back pad is provided with a pair of arm pull devices. By the arm pull devices, the user sits on the seat and lies on the back pad with his/her hands to pull the pull handles to strengthen the abdominal muscles, arms and pectoral, providing a multi-function exercise effect.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise machine, and more particularly to a multi-function sit-up apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nowadays, people are busy to work and there are not sufficient outdoor exercise facilities. Most people buy exercise equipment for exercise at home, such as a sit-up board. The sit-up board comprises a frame, a seat on the frame, a back pad, and an adjusting mechanism to adjust the back pad. A footrest is provided at a front end of the frame. In use, the back pad is adjusted for a desired angle. The user sits on the seat with his/her feet on the footrest and back on the back pad to do sit-up exercise for strengthening the abdominal muscles.

Xiamen Zhoulong Sporting Goods Co., Ltd.


A hypervisor identifies a memory address associated with a device slot of a communication bus; determines that the device slot of the communication bus is not associated with any of one or more devices; generates a memory page for the memory address, wherein the memory page comprises a value that indicates that the memory address is not associated with any of the devices; maps, in a page table, a page table entry for the memory page to the memory address, wherein the page table entry indicates that the memory page is read only for a guest operating system (OS) of a virtual machine (VM); and causes the memory page to be provided to the guest OS of the VM in view of a read access of the memory address by the guest OS.

A virtual machine (VM) is an emulation of a computer system. When executed on appropriate hardware, a VM creates an environment allowing the virtualization of an actual physical computer system (e.g., a server, a mainframe computer, etc.). The actual physical computer system is typically referred to as a "host machine." Typically, a component on the host machine known as a "hypervisor" (or a "virtual machine monitor") manages the execution of one or more virtual machines or "guests", providing a variety of functions such as virtualizing and allocating resources, context switching among virtual machines, etc. The operating system (OS) of the virtual machine is typically referred to as the "guest operating system" or "guest OS." The guest OS and applications executing within the guest OS can be collectively referred to as the "guest."
Physical devices connected to a communication bus, such as Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, can be made available to guests by the hypervisor by a process known as device assignment. The hypervisor can create a virtual device within the guest that is associated with the physical device so that any access of the virtual device can be forwarded to the physical device by the hypervisor. In many virtualized systems, a guest can identify hardware devices that are available via a PCI bus but a process referred to as device discovery.

Fast device discovery for virtual machines


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a skin adherable device for delivering therapeutic fluid into a body of a patient. In some embodiments, the device includes a monitoring apparatus, a pump, and a tip for delivering the therapeutic fluid into the body of the patient and for monitoring bodily analyte in the body of the patient. The pump may continuously deliver the therapeutic fluid to the body of the patient and the monitoring apparatus may continuously monitor bodily analytes of the patient.

Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Injection (SCII)
Medical treatment of several illnesses requires continuous drug infusion into various body compartments, such as subcutaneous and intra-venous injections. Diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, for example, require administration of varying amounts of insulin throughout the day to control their glucose levels. In recent years, ambulatory portable insulin infusion pumps have emerged as a superior alternative to multiple daily syringe injections of insulin, initially for Type 1 diabetes patients (Diabetes Medicine 2006; 23(2):141-7) and consecutively for Type 2 diabetes patients (Diabetes Metab 2007 Apr. 30, Diabetes Obes Metab 2007 Jun. 26). These pumps, which deliver insulin at a continuous basal rate as well as in bolus volumes, were developed to liberate patients from repeated self-administered injections, and allow them to maintain a near-normal daily routine. Both basal and bolus volumes must be delivered in precise doses, according to an individual prescription since an overdose or under-dose of insulin could be fatal.
The first generation of portable infusion pumps concerns "pager-like" devices with a reservoir contained within the device's housing. These devices are provided with a long tube for delivering insulin from the pump attached to a patient's belt to a remote insertion site. Both basal and bolus deliveries in these "pager-like" devices are controlled via a set of buttons provided on the device. A user interface means including a screen are provided on the device's housing for advising the user regarding fluid delivery status, programming flow delivery, alerts and alarms. Such devices are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,771,694, 4,657,486 and 4,498,843. These devices represent a significant improvement over multiple daily injections (MDI), but nevertheless, they are large sized, heavy, have long delivery/infusion tubing and lack discreetness, which substantially disturb daily activity.
To avoid the consequences of a long delivery tube, a new concept was proposed, which was implemented in second generation pumps. As described in prior art, this new concept concerns a remote controlled skin adherable device having a housing, a bottom surface adapted to be in contact with the patient's skin, a reservoir disposed within the housing, and an injection needle adapted for communication with the reservoir. In these second generation pumps, the user interface means are configured as a separate remote control unit that contains operating buttons and screen providing fluid delivery status, programming flow delivery, alerts and alarms, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,957,895, 6,589,229, 6,740,059, 6,723,072, and 6,485,461. These second generation devices also have several limitations, such as being heavy, bulky, and expensive because the device should be disposed of every 2-3 days (due to insertion site infections and reduced insulin absorption). Another significant drawback of these second generation skin adherable devices is associated with the remote controlled drug administration. The user is totally dependent on the remote control unit. For example, the user cannot initiate bolus delivery or operate the device if the remote control unit is not at hand, if it is lost or if it malfunctions.
A third generation of skin adherable infusion devices was devised to avoid the cost issues associated with the second generation devices and to extend patient customization. An example of such a device was described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007-0106218 and in International Patent Application Publication No. WO2007/052277. This third generation device contains a remote control unit and a skin securable (e.g., adherable) device/patch unit that may include two parts: (1) a reusable part containing at least a portion of the driving mechanism, the electronics, and other relatively expensive components, and (2) a disposable part containing the reservoir and in some embodiments at least one power source (e.g., a battery).
This third generation concept provides a cost-effective, skin securable infusion device and may allow diverse usage such as various reservoir sizes, various needle and cannula types.
A fourth generation of infusion devices was devised as a dispensing unit that can be disconnected and reconnected from and to a skin adherable cradle unit, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008-0215035 and International Patent Application Publication No. WO2008/078318. Such skin-securable dispensing units can be operated using a remote control and/or a user interface (e.g., a button-based interface) provided on a housing of the dispensing unit, as disclosed, for example, in International Patent Application Publication No. WO2009/013736 [also published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0204657], and International Patent Application Publication No. WO2009/016636 [also published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0145276], filed Jul. 31, 2008, claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 60/963,148 and 61/004,019, and entitled "Portable Infusion Device Provided with Means for Monitoring and Controlling Fluid Delivery", the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
Most diabetic patients measure their glucose levels several times during the day by obtaining finger-prick capillary samples and applying the blood to a reagent strip for analysis in a portable meter. While self-monitoring of glucose levels has had a major impact on improving diabetes care in the last few decades, the disadvantages of this technology are substantial and consequently leading to non-compliance. The drawbacks of this blood sampling technique are associated with discomfort of multiple skin pricking, inability to test the blood during sleep or when the subject is occupied (e.g., driving, running), and missing episodes of hyper- and hypoglycemia due to intermittent testing. A suggested glucose monitoring technology should therefore employ substantially automatic and continuous testing.
It is understood that there are three (3) techniques for continuously monitoring glucose in the subcutaneous interstitial fluid (ISF). The first technique is based on use of glucose oxidase based sensors as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,360,888 to McIvor et al. and 6,892,085 to McIvor et al., both assigned to Medtronic MiniMed Inc. (CGMS, Guardian™ and CGMS Gold), and 6,881,551 to Heller et al., assigned to Abbott Laboratories, formerly TheraSense, Inc., (Navigator™). These sensors consist of a subcutaneously implantable, needle-type amperometric enzyme electrode, coupled with a portable logger.
The second technique is based on use of reverse iontophoresis-based sensors as detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,643 to Chen et al., assigned to Cygnus, Inc. (GlucoWatch™). A small current passed between two electrodes located on the skin surface draws ions and (by electro-endosmosis) glucose-containing interstitial fluid to the surface and into hydrogel pads incorporating a glucose oxidase biosensor (JAMA 1999; 282: 1839-1844).
The third technique, currently in clinical use, is based on microdialysis (Diab Care 2002; 25: 347-352), as detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,976 to Pfeiffer et al., assigned to Roche Diagnostics, as well as a marketable device (Menarini Diagnostics, GlucoDay™). In this technique, a fine, hollow dialysis fiber is implanted in the subcutaneous tissue and perfused with isotonic fluid. Glucose from the tissue diffuses into the fiber and is pumped outside the body for measurement by a glucose oxidase-based electrochemical sensor. Initial reports (Diab Care 2002; 25: 347-352) show good agreement between sensor and blood glucose readings, and good stability with a one-point calibration over one day.
Closed and Open Loop Systems
In an "artificial pancreas", sometimes referred to as a "closed loop" system, an insulin pump delivers appropriate dosage of insulin according to continuous glucose monitor readings. An artificial pancreas avoids a human interface and is expected to eliminate debilitating episodes of hypoglycemia, particularly nighttime hypoglycemia. An intermediate step in the way to achieve a "closed loop" system is an "open loop" (or "semi-closed loop") system also called "closed loop with meal announcement." In this model, user intervention is required in a way similar to using of today's insulin pumps by keying in the desired insulin before they eat a meal. A closed loop system is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,351 to Steil et al., assigned to Medtronic MiniMed. The system is comprised of two separate devices, a glucose monitor and an insulin pump which are adherable to two remotely body sites and the loop is closed by an RF communication link.
However, the Steil et al. closed loop system has some drawbacks. For example, the glucose monitor and insulin pump are two discrete components which require two insertion sites and two skin-pricking sites for every replacement of the insulin pump and the sensor, typically every 3 days. In addition, being separated apart, the two system components should be connected either by radio communication link or by wires. Moreover, the pump is heavy and bulky, with long tubing, making the system non-discreet and the system is extremely expensive since the pump infusion set and the monitor sensor require disposal every three (3) days.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a skin securable device which is configured for both drug (e.g., insulin) dispensing and continuous body analyte (e.g., glucose) level monitoring. It is also desirable to have such a device which is miniature, discreet, economical for the users and highly cost effective. An embodiment of such a desirable device is preferably connected to a single skin-insertable tip which preferably includes a subcutaneous cannula for delivering the drug to the body as well as a probe for monitoring the analyte via a single insertion site. Such a device is preferably disconnected from and reconnected to a skin adherable cradle unit, such that after connection of the patch to the cradle, current generated on the probe is delivered to the processor within a housing of the device.

Analyte monitoring and fluid dispensing system


A chain of boundary scan registers is configured to use a two-phase clock signal to avoid data timing race conditions. The two-phase clock signal is generated according to a two-phase clock generator, which includes two self-timed clock pulse generators for each boundary scan register. The two-phase clock generator locally generates a self-timed clock pulse at the rising edge of a clock signal, which triggers a first stage of the boundary scan register. The two-phase clock generator also generates a self-timed clock pulse at the falling edge of the input clock signal, which triggers a second stage of the boundary scan register. The two-phase clock controlled boundary scan register includes two latches, each latch is triggered by one of the self-timed clock pulse generated locally from the rising and falling edge of the input clock signal.

Historically, most printed circuit board (PCB) testing was done using in-circuit test equipment. Recent advances with VLSI technology now enable microprocessors and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) to be packaged into fine pitch, high count packages. These high density devices pose unique manufacturing challenges, such as the accessibility of test points and the high cost of test equipment.
Boundary scan testing was developed as the JTAG (Joint Test Access Group) interface, and formalized as the IEEE 1149.1 standard, to solve the physical access problems on PCBs caused by increasingly crowded assemblies due to the dense packaging technologies. Boundary scan embeds test circuitry at the chip level to form a complete board-level test protocol. With boundary scan, even the most complex assemblies can be accessed for testing, debugging, in-system device programming, and for diagnosing hardware problems.
Boundary scan is a methodology allowing complete control and observation of the boundary pins of an IEEE 1149.1 compatible device via software control. The IEEE 1149.1 standard defines a four-wire serial interface used to access complex integrated circuits (ICs) such as microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs). An on-chip test bus circuitry that complies with the IEEE 1149.1 standard includes boundary scan registers and a test access port (TAP) controller to execute the boundary scan functions. The TAP controller is a finite-state machine that decodes the state of the bus.
The boundary scan bus circuitry consists of the boundary scan registers, a 1-bit bypass register, an instruction register, several miscellaneous registers, and the TAP controller. The boundary scan bus consists of a test clock signal (TCK) pin, a test mode signal (TMS) pin, a test data in (TDI) line, a test data out (TDO) line, and a test reset (TRST) pin.
The TCK pin and the TMS pin direct signals between the TAP controller states. The TDI pin and the TDO pin receive the data input and output signals, respectively, for the boundary scan register chain. Optionally, a fifth pin, TRST, can be implemented as an asynchronous reset signal to the TAP controller.
During standard operations, the boundary scan registers are inactive and allow data to be propagated through the boundary scan device normally. During test modes, all input signals are captured for analysis and all output signals are preset to test down-string devices. The operation of these boundary scan registers are controlled through the TAP Controller and an instruction register.
Test instructions and test data are sent to a chip over the TDI line. Test results and status information are sent from a chip over the TDO line. This information is transmitted serially. Control of the boundary scan bus circuitry is carried out by the TAP controller, which responds to the state transitions on the TMS line. The boundary scan logic is clocked by the TCK signal.
The boundary scan registers are configured as a chain. A first boundary scan register in the chain is driven by the TDI line, and the last boundary scan register drives the TDO line. The instruction register provides the specific instructions related to the type of test that is to be performed. The IEEE 1149.1 Standard requires that all compliant devices must perform the EXTEST instruction, the SAMPLE/PRELOAD instruction, and the BYPASS instruction. The EXTEST instruction performs a PCB interconnect test. The EXTEST instruction places an IEEE 1149.1 compliant device into an external boundary test mode and selects the boundary scan register to be connected between the TDI pin and the TDO pin. During this instruction, the boundary scan registers associated with the outputs are preloaded with test patterns to test downstream devices. The input boundary scan registers are set up to capture the input data for later analysis. The SAMPLE/PRELOAD instruction allows an IEEE 1149.1 compliant device to remain in its functional mode and selects the boundary scan register to be connected between the TDI pin and the TDO pin. During this instruction, the boundary scan register can be accessed via a data scan operation to take a sample of the functional data entering and leaving the device. This instruction is also used to preload test data into the boundary scan registers prior to loading an EXTEST instruction. A boundary scan register chain can be skipped using the BYPASS instruction, allowing the data to pass through the bypass register. The BYPASS instruction allows an IEEE 1149.1 compliant device to remain in a functional mode and selects the bypass register to be connected between the TDI pin and the TDO pin. The BYPASS instruction allows serial data to be transferred through a device from the TDI pin to the TDO pin without affecting the operation of the device.
Multiple scan-compatible ICs may be serially interconnected on the PCB, forming one or more boundary scan chains, each chain having its own TAP. Each scan chain provides electrical access from the serial TAP interface to every pin on every IC that is part of the chain. In normal operation, the IC performs its intended function as though the boundary scan circuits were not present. However, when the device's scan logic is activated for the purpose of testing or in-system programming, data can be sent to the IC and read from it using the serial interface. This data may be used to stimulate the device core, drive signals outward from the device pins to the PCB, sense the input pins from the PCB, and sense the device outputs.
The boundary scan registers are located close to the pad area of the chip under test. Due to physical constraints of the printed circuit board, a boundary scan device, and its boundary scan registers, can not always be located as close to the pin under test as is optimal. Further, the circuit path length from the pin under test to each boundary scan register varies in length, which results in delay. Other factors also contribute to incongruent delay, such as temperature. Further, the clock signal that triggers a particular boundary scan register is generated from the TAP controller, and distributed to the boundary scan registers. For ideal boundary scan register path design, any data delay from one boundary scan register to another should match the clock skew between registers, so that the boundary scan register does not receive the wrong data. However, in practice the order of data transmission does not track with the clock distribution path. To overcome this disparity, a delay can be inserted on the data path between two boundary scan registers. Accounting for such delays though, across all temperature and process variations, is difficult and burdensome. Moreover, for a high-capacity chip, which has many I/O and control pins, there are many different boundary scan register paths to consider.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional chain of two boundary scan registers configured according to ideal conditions. A boundary scan register FFn and a boundary scan register FFn+1 are configured in series such that an output from the boundary scan register FFn is provided as an input to the boundary scan register FFn+1. The conventional chain is configured such that a one-phase clock signal is provided as the clock input signal cktst to each of the boundary scan registers in the chain, including the boundary scan register FFn and the boundary scan register FFn+1. In the ideal case illustrated in FIG. 1, there is no clock signal delay between the clock signal received by the boundary scan register FFn and the boundary scan register Ffn+1. Accordingly, data racing does not occur. The ideal case also represents those occurrences where the clock skew between the two boundary scan registers FFn and FFn+1 is less than the value tKQ plus data line delay, where the value tKQ represents the time delay of the boundary scan register FFn to provide the data to the boundary scan register FFn+1.
FIG. 2 illustrates the waveforms associated with the boundary scan registers configured according to FIG. 1. The boundary scan register FFn latches the data 1a received at the input D of the register FFn. At the rising edge of the clock signal cktst, the data 1a latched by the boundary scan register FFn is provided at the output Q of the boundary scan register FFn, illustrated as Q(FFn) in FIG. 2. The boundary scan register FFn+1 latches the data Q(FFn) as data 2a. At the rising edge of the clock signal cktst, the data 2a latched by the boundary scan register FFn+1 is provided at the output Q of the boundary scan register FFn+1, illustrated as Q(FFn+1). The ideal boundary scan register chain shown in FIG. 1 successfully shifts data from cycle to cycle. However, under normal configurations and operating conditions, significant delays are introduced whereby data racing problems occur.
FIG. 3 illustrates a chain of two conventional boundary scan registers in which timing delays result in data racing. FIG. 4 illustrates the waveforms associated with the chain of boundary scan registers illustrated in FIG. 3. If the clock skew between the two boundary scan registers is larger than the delay tKQ of the boundary scan register FFn plus the data line delay, then the data 1a which should be latched by the boundary scan register FFn+1 at the second cycle, is instead latched at the first cycle. This results in a data timing race problem. If the clock signal cktstn+1 provided to the boundary scan register FFn+1 is delayed enough, then when the data is output from the boundary scan register FFn to the boundary scan register FFn+1, the data simply flows through the boundary scan register FFn+1 as long as the clock signal cktstn+1 is high. Racing problems occur because the clock distribution path is usually not tracking with the data transmitting path. This problem cannot be resolved even when the system cycle time TCK is relaxed. Data racing can be fixed by adding a delay on the data path. However, it is difficult to match the transistor delay to the metal wire RC delay in all process corners, power supply levels and temperatures. Matching these delays significantly increases the overhead.

Shift registers free of timing race boundary scan registers with two-phase clock control


In the manufacture of RFID tags, electronic components are connected with soldered connections to antennas stamped from a thin strip of electrically conductive metal, utilizing methods and intermediate products which enable accurate registration of the leads of the electronic components with contacts on the antennas. Thus, a strip of metal is provided with contact members unitary with the strip and coupled to the strip through compliant coupling arrangements which allow compliant movement of the contact members relative to the strip for accurate alignment with electronic components juxtaposed with the contact members for soldered connections between the leads of the electronic components and the corresponding contact members. The antennas, with the electronic components soldered in place, are carried by a substrate, and the sequence of the stamping and soldering operations avoids exposing the substrate to the heat of soldering.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, or cards, and pertains, more specifically, to the manufacture of RFID tags and intermediate products employed in manufacturing processes for such tags.
RFID tags are finding increased and widespread use as more systems are developed and placed into service for managing the inventory and sale of a wider variety of goods. These RFID tags are applied to the goods and employ electronic circuitry responsive to radio frequency (RF) signals for providing readily monitored identification data pertaining to the goods. By virtue of the manner in which RFID tags are attached to and carried by various articles, the tags must be made compact, usually are thin and flexible, and should be inexpensive enough to be readily expendable.
2. Description of Related Art
The circuitry of an RFID tag includes an antenna connected to other circuit components of the tag. The antenna typically occupies a substantial portion of the area dimensions of the tag and usually is constructed of a relatively thin copper foil for flexibility and for maximum effectiveness in responding to RF signals. Current manufacturing processes are similar to those employed in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. A thin copper foil, typically 0.0005 to 0.0015 inch in thickness, is laminated to a flexible synthetic polymeric substrate, such as a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrate having a thickness of about two to five mils. The desired antenna configuration then is photochemically etched from the laminate, that is, copper is chemically milled away leaving the desired copper pattern laminated to the chemically inert substrate. The substantial cost of the copper/PET laminate coupled with the relatively high cost of processing the substrate by chemical etching results in a total cost which becomes excessive when viewed in the light of the increasing demand for inexpensive, readily expendable RFID tags.

Manufacture of RFID tags and intermediate products therefor


An acquiring unit acquires from each of a plurality of database servers processing capacity information for a query received from a client. A generating unit generates a first code indicating a first processing and a second code indicating a second processing for the query. A first transmitting unit transmits the first code to the database servers. An executing unit executes the second processing by using first result data of XML data acquired by executing the first processing from the database servers. A second transmitting unit transmits second result data of XML data acquired by executing the second processing to the client.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coordinator server configured to be connected to a plurality of database servers each having a database for storing extensible markup language (XML) data to constitute a distributed XML database server, and a distributed processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a high speed technology of a processor that performs reading, interpretation, and execution of commands, and writing of results thereof, for example, there is a pipeline processing technology. Pipeline processing independently operates a process of each phase, in which before a processing cycle of a previous phase finishes, a process of the next phase is started, and this process is repeated. Accordingly, an assembly-line operation is realized and the performance of the entire processing is improved.
Meanwhile, there is a parallel database technology as a technique for managing a large amount of data. In the parallel database technology, a system including a plurality of servers is established to correspond to a large amount of data. A large amount of data set having a uniform data format is arranged in a plurality of databases. There is also a case that the data set is arranged not in a distributed manner, but in an overlapped manner on a plurality of databases. By arranging the data set in this manner, an improvement of throughput can be expected in a case that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same data is high.
A system of managing the data in such a parallel database is largely divided into three methods, that is, a system in which a plurality of servers do not share a disk (disk nonshared system), a system in which the servers share a disk (disk sharing system), and a system in which the servers share a disk and a memory (memory sharing system).
The disk nonshared system is mainly explained here. When the data set is divided into a plurality of databases and arranged, two methods of vertical division of data set and horizontal division of data set can be considered (fragmentation). The horizontal division of the data set is to create a subset of data set. A data partitioning technique described later becomes important. The vertical division of the data is to divide the data in a unit of attribute or column. Each division method includes a merit and demerit according to an individual access pattern. For example, in the vertical division of data, high speed can be acquired if data scanning of a size with few inquiries is good enough. However, if original data is required, data coupling is required between servers, and the performance is greatly deteriorated.
Each server used in the parallel database in the disk nonshared system can perform parallel access by individually accessing a plurality of databases in which the data set is arranged in the divided manner, and improvement of performance corresponding to the number of databases can be expected. Accordingly, processing efficiency and response time can be improved (partition parallelization).
As the data partitioning method, key range partitioning and hash partitioning are known. For example, it is assumed here that a large amount of data set is expressed with relation. In the key range partitioning and the hash partitioning, there are a case of using one column value of a table and a case of using a plurality of column values of the relation. When such data partitioning is performed, although loads are concentrated, in search with a range condition with respect to a target column, inefficiency caused by accessing an irrelevant database can be avoided. Further, in the search including natural coupling in the target column, coupling between different databases is not required, thereby enabling to considerably improve the performance.
In the parallel database, loads are concentrated on a specific database at the time of search, unless balanced data partitioning is performed, thereby making it difficult to exhibit a parallelization effect. However, respective data sizes may be unbalanced due to a change in the trend of input data, which cannot be avoided by using a predetermined data division rule. Therefore, improvement techniques such as dynamically changing the key range and changing the hash value have been proposed. With these techniques, however, the load due to data shift related to the change increases.
The parallel database often includes one coordinator server and a plurality of database (DB) servers. In such a configuration, following processing is performed in the parallel database. That is, the coordinator server having received a request from a client analyzes the request to generate a plan, and divides and distributes the plan to each of the DB servers. Each DB server executes the distributed plan and transmits data set of a processing result to the coordinator server. The coordinator server performs aggregation processing such as merge with respect to the transmitted data set, and transmits the aggregation result to the client. The data transferred between the servers is stream transmitted on a network such as a local area network (LAN). Therefore, in the parallel database, also the network is often realized on distributed parallel platforms such as interconnect between high-speed servers.
To realize high speed in the above processing, in the parallel database, a mechanism for performing phase processing such as scanning, sorting, and joining of internal processing of structured query language (SQL) in parallel by a plurality of processes and a plurality of servers is incorporated. In a part of database products, a pipeline system in which the process in each phase is operated independently, and before a previous phase process finishes, the next phase process is started has been adopted (pipeline parallelization).
Further, in an XML database that stores XML data, as a query requesting acquisition of the XML data, for example, a functional language referred to as XQuery having a static typing function is used, to acquire a data set of the processing result. Single XQuery processing performed by using the XQuery is largely divided into an approach for processing XML data as the functional language, and an approach for processing the XML data by a tuple operation. Recently, distributed XQuery processing technology for realizing such XQuery processing by a distributed system has been developed. However, an attempt of distributed XQuery processing has just been started, and articles describing the distributed XQuery processing are found only occasionally. For example, there are articles in 'Christopher Re, et. al., "Distributed XQuery", IIWeb 2004 Highly Distributed XQuery with DXQ' and 'Mary Fernandez, et. al., "Highly Distributed XQuery with DXQ", SIGMOD 2007'.
The distributed XML database that performs the distributed XQuery processing has, for example, a master-slave distributed architecture in which a plurality of database servers are designated as slaves and a coordinator server that coordinates the database servers is designated as a master. In such a distributed XML database, for example, it is assumed that, in an XQuery specification for performing the conventional single XQuery processing, an XQuery specification partially extended so that query shipping can be executed is used.
However, when the specification in which the XQuery specification for performing the conventional single XQuery processing is partially extended is used, a user who generates XQuery needs to describe a distributed processing procedure, and therefore it is not always true that the distribution transparency is high (XQueryD). The distribution transparency realizes a distributed system by causing the distributed configuration to appear as if it is a centralized system, without making a user conscious of the distributed configuration.

Device, method, and computer-readable recording medium for notifying content scene appearance


An ultrasonic inspection method and an ultrasonic inspection device allow three-dimensional inspection data and three-dimensional shape data to be appropriately positioned on a display screen and allow a defect echo and a shape echo to be quickly identified even when information on the relative positions of a probe and an object to be inspected is not provided. The ultrasonic inspection data that is generated from the waveforms of ultrasonic waves received by an ultrasonic probe is compared with a plurality of ultrasonic propagation data pieces calculated by a ray tracing method on the basis of the three-dimensional shape data on an object to be inspected. The position of the three-dimensional inspection data or the three-dimensional shape data is moved relative to the other data position on the basis of the comparison results, thereby displaying the three-dimensional inspection data and the three-dimensional shape data while overlapping each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic inspection method and an ultrasonic inspection device. The invention more particularly relates to an ultrasonic inspection method in which an array type ultrasonic probe is used, and an ultrasonic inspection device that includes an array type ultrasonic probe.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, constructional materials and the like are inspected by an ultrasonic inspection method. Such a method having being developed more accurately generates an image inside of an object to be inspected in a short time to inspect the inside of the object, as typified by a phased array method and an aperture synthesis method (refer to, for example, Non-Patent Document 1 (Digital signal processing series, volume 12, "Digital signal processing with measurement sensor" pp 143-186, issued by Shokodo, written by Michimasa Kondo, Yukimasa Ohashi, and Akio Jitsumori)).
The phased array method is based on a principle in which an array type ultrasonic probe having a plurality of piezoelectric elements is used and wavefronts of ultrasonic waves transmitted from the piezoelectric elements interfere with each other to form a synthesized wavefront that propagates. Thus, in the phased array method, timings of transmission of ultrasonic waves from the piezoelectric elements are controlled to delay so that timing of each transmission is shifted, thereby enabling control on incident angles of the ultrasonic waves and also focusing of the ultrasonic waves.
For reception of ultrasonic waves, incident angles of ultrasonic waves that are reflected, and received by the piezoelectric elements are shifted in timing and is summed, thereby enabling control on the incident angles to be formed when the ultrasonic waves are received and also reception of the ultrasonic waves in focused state, as is the case with the transmission.
A linear scanning method and a sector scanning method are generally known as the phased array method. The linear scanning method is such that piezoelectric elements for a one-dimensional array probe linearly scan an object to be inspected. The sector scanning method is such that a direction in which an ultrasonic wave is transmitted or received is changed within a fan-shaped region. If a two-dimensional array probe that has piezoelectric elements arranged in a matrix pattern is used, ultrasonic waves can be three-dimensionally focused on any position and thereby scanning suitable for an object to be inspected can be performed. Each of the two methods allows ultrasonic waves to be scanned at high speed without moving the ultrasonic probe. Also, each of the two methods allows incident angles of ultrasonic waves and the vertical position at a focal point thereof to be controlled without replacing the ultrasonic probe. These methods are techniques which enable inspection to be performed at high speed with high accuracy.
The aperture synthesis method is based on the following principle: when a piezoelectric element transmits an ultrasonic wave in such a manner that the ultrasonic wave spreads in an object to be inspected and the piezoelectric element receives the reflected ultrasonic wave, a defect that is the source from which the received reflected ultrasonic wave derives is present on a circular arc that has a center thereof at the position of the piezoelectric element (that transmitted and received the ultrasonic wave) and has a radius of a distance that the reflected ultrasonic wave propagates. The piezoelectric element transmits an ultrasonic wave and receives the reflected ultrasonic wave while the position of the piezoelectric element is sequentially changed. The ultrasonic waves received by the piezoelectric element at the positions are calculated by an electronic computer so that the ultrasonic waves are represented by circular arcs. Intersections on the circular arcs are concentrated at the position of a defect that is the source from which the reflected ultrasonic waves derive, whereby the position of the defect is specified. The details of the calculation performed by the electronic computer are described in Non-Patent Document 1.
In the methods in which a probe that has a plurality of piezoelectric elements is used, the probe can three-dimensionally receive an ultrasonic wave signal reflected from a defect without a movement of the probe. However, in order to specify the three-dimensional position of the defect on the basis of the reflected ultrasonic wave signal, the three-dimensional position of the defect is estimated on the basis of a two-dimensional image having multiple reflection intensity distributions of waves reflected at locations that are spatially different from each other. Alternatively, the three-dimensional position of the defect is estimated by converting the reflection intensity distributions into three-dimensional data and then three-dimensionally displaying the three-dimensional data.
When the linear scanning method and the sector scanning method based on phased array methods are adopted, multiple two-dimensional reflection intensity images responsive to known scanning pitches can be acquired. Thus, a direction in which a reflected ultrasonic wave appears can be specified by sequentially selectively displaying the two-dimensional reflection intensity images on a screen. However, these methods have limitations when three-dimensional scanning other than the aforementioned scanning is performed.
To cope with this, advancement in computer technology in recent years has made available a technique for performing interpolation on ultrasonic wave signals reflected and received from multiple directions so that image data that indicates points three-dimensionally arranged in a matrix pattern is generated and displaying the image data by volume rendering or surface rendering. In addition, there is a technique for displaying an image as a three-dimensional point group without conversion of the reflected ultrasonic wave signals into data that indicates points arranged in a matrix pattern. Since the techniques are designed such that the data is stored as three-dimensional inspection data, an inspector can confirm the three-dimensional inspection data in any direction after the measurement (refer to, for example, Non-Patent Document 2 ("Development of 3-Dimensional Ultrasonic Testing System "3D Focus-UT"", Japan Society of Maintenology, The fifth scientific lecture meeting, Summary report, 155 (2008), written by Atsushi Baba, So Kitazawa, Naoyuki Kono, Yuji Adachi, Mitsuru Odakura, and Osamu Kikuchi) and Non-Patent Document 3 (Potts, A; McNab, A.; Reilly D.; Toft, M., "Presentation and analysis enhancements of the NDT Workbench a software package for ultrasonic NDT data", REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN QUANTITATIVE NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION: Volume 19. AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 509, pp. 741-748 (2000)).
However, it is difficult to determine, only on the basis of such three-dimensional inspection data, whether or not a wave that corresponds to a peak of a reflection intensity distribution is a wave reflected on an end surface or boundary surface of an object to be inspected or is a wave reflected on a defect. Especially, it is difficult even for an experienced inspector to make such a determination for inspection of an object having a complex shape, since reflected ultrasonic wave signals (shape echoes) dependent on the shape of the object appear in great numbers. Thus, software has been developed that allows data (three-dimensional shape data) on the three-dimensional shape of an object (to be inspected) to be displayed together with three-dimensional inspection data. By overlapping and comparing the two types of the data using this software, it is possible to easily determine whether an ultrasonic wave signal is a shape echo or an echo (defect echo) generated from a defect. Data generated by a general-purposed computer aided design (CAD) system is read and used for three-dimensional shape data in many cases (refer to, for example, Non-Patent Documents 2 and 3).

Ultrasonic inspection method and ultrasonic inspection device


This invention features a compound of formula (I):

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric cytokine (p70) composed of two subunits (p35 and p40), and plays key roles in immune responses by bridging innate resistance and antigen-specific adaptive immunity. Trinchieri (1993) Immunol Today 14: 335. For example, it promotes type 1 T helper cell (Th1) responses and, hence, cell-mediated immunity. Chan et al. (1991) J Exp Med 173: 869; Seder et al. (1993) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90: 10188; Manetti et al. (1993) J Exp Med 177: 1199; and Hsieh et al. (1993) Science 260: 547. Overproduction of IL-12 causes excessive Th1 responses, and may result in inflammatory disorders, such as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, or sepsis. See, e.g., Gately et al. (1998) Annu Rev Immunol. 16: 495; and Abbas et al. (1996) Nature 383: 787. Thus, inhibiting IL-12 overproduction is an approach to treat the just-mentioned diseases. Trembleau et al. (1995) Immmunol. Today 16: 383; and Adorini et al. (1997) Chem. Immunol. 68: 175. For example, overproduction of IL-12 and the resultarnt excessive Th1 type responses can be suppressed by modulating IL-12 production. A compound that down-regulates IL-12 production can be used for treating inflammatory diseases. Ma et al. (1998) Eur Cytokine Netw 9: 54.

Abstract: R1 is aryl or heteroaryl; each of R2 and R4, independently, is H, halogen, CN, alkyl, ORa, or NRaRb; R3 is H, halogen, CN, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, cyclyl, heterocyclyl, ORa, OC(O)Ra, OC(O)NRaRb, NRaRb, NRaC(O)Rb, NRaS(O)RbNRaS(O)2Rb, NRaC(O)NRbRc, NRaC(S)NRbRc, NRaC(NRb)NRcRd, NRaC(O)ORb, S(O)NRaRb, S(O)2NRaRb, S(O)Ra, S(O)2Ra, C(O)Ra, C(O)ORa, or C(O)NRaRb; R5 is H or alkyl; n is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6; A is O, S, S(O), S(O)2, or NRe; B is N or CRf; X is O, S, S(O), S(O)2, NRe, or C(O); Y is a covalent bond, C(O), C═NRa, O, S, S(O), S(O)2, or NRe; Z is N or CH; each of U and V, independently, is N or CR; and W is O, S, or NRe; in which each of Ra, Rb, Rc, and Rd, independently, is H, alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, cyclyl, or heterocyclyl; Re is H, alkyl, aryl, acyl, or sufonyl; and Rf is H, alkyl, aryl, acyl, sulfonyl, alkoxyl, amino, ester, amide, CN, or halogen. The compound is useful for treating an interleukin-12 overproduction-related disorder.


A multipurpose marine life container having a closed chamber defined by a pair of substantially identical clam shell-type housing halves opening toward each other and removably joined together along a parting line. An entrance opening is formed in each end wall of the container by a pair of half openings opening toward each other along the parting line. Each end wall supports a rotatable disk that includes three inwardly opening entry funnel areas as well as a closed area rotatable into and out of registry with the corresponding entrance opening. Hollow tubes with air tight closures are removably secured lengthwise through the container to provide buoyancy, weighting and reinforcement for the container. The opposite sides of the container include large openings which are selectively closed by cantilever supported doors swingable by gravity to the open positions and releasably latchable in the closed positions. A lifting bridle for the container can be attached to the free swinging edges of the doors whereby the doors may be closed by a lifting line. The opposite side doors are each pivotally mounted from the hollow tubes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multipurpose marine life container or cage which has holes, slots or other perforations for the passage of water and air therethrough and which may be used as a holding pen for bait fish or other marine life, as a chum pot, as a self-tending bait pot or trap and as a manually tending bait pot or trap. The multipurpose marine life container may be variously formed but is preferably formed out of molded plastic or the like and incorporates two substantially identical clam shell-like halves joined together along a parting line or plane.
2. Description of Related Art
Watermen, fishermen, crabbers and other persons experiencing recreation near or on bodies of water containing various forms of marine life often have use for a marine life holding pen, a chum pot, a self-tending bait or crab pot or a tending bait or crab pot, and each of these structures usually has a significantly different construction and requires various types of maintenance. Prior U.S. patents disclose various different forms of marine life traps or pots. For example, Nudell U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,785 discloses a combined minnow bucket and minnow trap including major side wall portions constructed of wire mesh and including opposite end entrance openings for minnows, the openings having swingable closure disks operatively associated therewith. Parker U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,464 discloses a fish trap constructed from plastic mesh combined with a wire frame and includes a removable entrance cone or funnel pivotally mounted on the frame and held in place by spring loaded hooks connected to the frame. The patent to Sjolund, U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,071, discloses a crab trap incorporating different size mesh panels to allow the escape of smaller species of crabs through the larger mesh panels.
Tarantino U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,424 discloses a selectable entry shell fish trap incorporating a joinable two-section molded plastic cage-like enclosure provided with remote side inwardly opening funnel portions for the entrance of shell fish into the trap. The patent to Wyman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,653, discloses an entrance gate apparatus for a crab trap or pot including structure for selectably adjusting the effective size of the opening defined by the entrance gate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,541 to Jonason et al. discloses a collapsible tending crab trap having a central located bait feeder made of wire mesh material.
Peters et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,708 discloses an aquatic trap including a wall portion thereof defining an inwardly opening funnel area with the wall portion pivotally mounted from the remainder of the trap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,273 to Ives discloses a crab pot having inwardly opening funnel-like entrance areas provided with pivoted closure members, gravity biased to the closed positions, and which may be pushed toward the open positions from the closed positions by crabs attempting to enter the pot.
Thus, the prior art discloses traps, holding pens and chum pots in one or two forms, but not in all three forms combined. In the prior art, traps are also known to have funnels for the entry of the marine life to be trapped, but not as an adjustable part of the trap. The prior art also discloses traps which can be self-tending (with funnels) or manual tending, with collapsible doors, but not combined in one apparatus or container. Traps are also known in the prior art to have ballast weights or floats, but not ballast tubes configured to fit neatly within the confines of the trap structure itself. Further, the prior art does not disclose an apparatus that allows all of the functions to be performed within one unit, as accomplished by the present invention, especially by simply adjusting the attached parts of the apparatus, and in an apparatus which can be easily assembled and disassembled for cleaning and storage. Finally, the prior art fails to disclose the utilization of biodegradable plastic hooks associated with collapsible doors for environmental purposes or a removable bait basket that fits neatly into the top hatch of the apparatus structure.

Combination trap, holding pen and chum pot


An electrically isolating gasket is disclosed wherein a coating layer is disposed on at least one conductive surface, and in some embodiments, on all surfaces or at least all of the conductive surfaces. The electrically isolating gasket includes a core gasket component, a ring seal component, and a non-conductive inner seal component. The coating layer can be, for example, polyimide, polyamide, ceramic, and aluminum oxide.

Providing gaskets with electrically isolating properties is desired in a variety of different industries and applications. However, many limitations exist with respect to previously known gaskets having electrical isolating properties.
For example, in some cases, the electrical isolation properties of these gaskets are not high enough for a given application or industry. This may be because the material used to provide electrically isolating properties is not a high dielectric material.
In some instances, gaskets with electrically isolating properties are limited to lower temperature applications because they are not capable of withstanding exposure to high temperatures. In one example, gaskets with electrical isolating properties use glass reinforced epoxy (GRE). However, GRE has a maximum glass transition temperature in the range of from 250 to 350° F. When gaskets with GRE are exposed to temperatures above this range, the GRE becomes soft and rubber-like, and the GRE subsequently lacks the strength to properly support the sealing elements, thus leading to gasket failure. Additionally, GRE is typically adhered to a core of a gasket through the use of adhesive. This adhesive may fail at elevated temperatures and pressures, which can result in delamination.
Many gaskets incorporating materials having electrically isolating properties have larger thicknesses due to the material that is added to the core of the gasket in order to impart electrically isolating properties. Many common isolation materials have a dielectric strength value of between 400 and 800 volts/mil. Accordingly, a thick gasket is necessary to develop enough voltage resistance for common applications. These higher-thickness gaskets result in limitations on where the gaskets can be used.
Other problems associated with previously known gaskets having electrically isolating properties include structure complexity, limited dimensional stability, and limited chemical resistance. Thus, a need exists for an improved gasket having electrically isolating properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Gasket with electrical isolating coatings


A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, controlling a vehicle based on a learned energy consumption efficiency. The energy consumption efficiency may be learned in an energy domain by periodically filtering a ratio of a distance traveled to an energy consumed.

An energy source in necessary to provide power for propelling a vehicle. For example, petroleum based products, such as gasoline or diesel, are the main energy source of conventional vehicles that include internal combustion engines. On the other hand, electrified vehicles are known that utilize one or more electric machines and in some cases an engine that can be used either individually or in combination to propel the vehicle. A high voltage battery typically acts as one energy source for powering such electric machines.
It may be beneficial to calculate the energy use of a vehicle in order to display a variety of end use features to the vehicle driver. For example, an energy consumption rate may be monitored and used to predict a distance to empty (DTE) value which can be displayed to the vehicle driver to provide information for trip planning, minimizing driving costs, evaluating vehicle performance, etc. One current method used to monitor energy use of a vehicle is a time domain approach. However, other approaches may provide improvements to existing methods.

Vehicle energy consumption efficiency learning in the energy domain


The invention relates to a twin gripper (1) for gripping two round-profile portions (2, 3) simultaneously, having a first mount (6) with a first bearing means (6a) and a further first bearing means (6b), and having a second mount (7) with a second bearing means (7a) and a further second bearing means (7b), wherein the first and second bearing means (6a, 7a) are connected to one another in a fixed position, and the first and second further bearing means (6b, 7b) are connected to one another in a resilient manner, and the two bearing means (6a, 7a) can be displaced back and forth in a displacement direction (V) in relation to the two further bearing means (6b, 7b).

The invention relates to a twin gripper.
Modern tube cutting machines are designed as sawing and machining centers in which tubes are cut to length and the tube ends are subjected to additional machining in further work steps. To transport the pipe portions cut to length from one machining station to the next, grippers are provided which grip the pipe portion cut to length in the sawing station and supply it to a chamfering device, for example. The pipe portion is clamped in the chamfering device and chamfered, and once the chamfering process has ended, the now-chamfered pipe portion is supplied by means of a further gripper to the next machining station, for example a length measurement facility in which an inspection of the length of the pipe portion is performed so that the latter can be made available in a tested state.
To increase the number of pipe portions cut to length, machined and tested per unit of time, a twin machining process is increasingly performed, i.e. two pipe portions are simultaneously cut to length from two long profiles. These then have to be gripped simultaneously by means of a twin gripper and transported in pairs to the respective next machining station in the further course of the machining.
The simultaneous gripping of two pipe portions causes problems insofar that the pipe portions are not exactly the same in terms of diameter but may exhibit minor variations, while the clamping of two pipe portions between two jaws in each case is generally inaccurate in terms of alignment such that one of the two pipe portions is typically not clamped and gripped tightly.
DE 20 2009 010 757 U1 discloses a rail gripper to handle rails as a lifting load. In this respect, two gripping elements are provided, each with two gripping jaws, wherein gripping jaws of the different gripping elements intersect and each of the two gripping jaws is thus allocated to both of the rails to be lifted.
In DE 10 2010 021 422 A1, a gripping device is described in which the individual gripping devices may be equipped with two or more gripping elements and all of the gripping elements of a gripping device can be displaced temporally in synchronicity to each other.
DE 2 73 597 A1 discloses a multiple gripper to serially insert scions transversely to the direction of movement. Disadvantageously, this is not suitable for a high-precision application in mechanical engineering.


A software product for qualifying communication devices for a broadband wireless service is disclosed. The software product first identifies requirements of the broadband wireless service. Examples of the requirements include hardware and software requirements for a communication device to receive the broadband wireless service. The software product then executes an application to determine configuration information for a communication device. Configuration information, for example, is information on the CPU, the operating system, the amount of RAM, available hard disk space, an Ethernet connection, and a CD ROM drive of the communication device. The software product then compares the configuration information to the requirements of the broadband wireless service to determine if the communication device is configured to receive the broadband wireless service. Advantageously, the software product automatically determines if a communication device can receive a broadband wireless service.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communication systems, and in particular, to communication device qualification for broadband wireless service.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advent of the Internet, many products and services are available online. A computer can download files through a variety of web sites. A file can include programs, games, and other software. Sometimes the computer may not be adequately configured to download or run a file. For instance, a computer that does not have audio software may not be able to play a downloaded music file. A computer with a slow modem may not be able to download a live video feed. Unfortunately, some computer users may not know how their computer is configured and whether they can download and run a file.
Some software programs are able to determine the configuration of a computer. The computer runs the software program, which queries the processor for configuration information. The software program then displays the configuration information. The computer user can then determine if he/she can download or run a file. Software programs like this are available online. To evaluate the configuration of a computer, the software program transmits an applet to the computer. The applet is a stand-alone application. The computer executes the application to determine its own configuration. The computer then displays the configuration information to the computer user. One example of a software program that determines the configuration of a computer is software from MacAfee.com Corp.
Unfortunately, the current software programs do not compare the configuration information for a computer to a set of requirements. For instance, the set of requirements could be a minimum CPU speed and a minimum amount of RAM to run a program. The computer user generally has to make the comparison, which is inconvenient and time consuming.
Communication providers are constantly looking for faster and more reliable communication services for their customers. That way, the computer user can more efficiently surf the web and download files. One type of communication service is broadband wireless service. Broadband service generally refers to service with a bandwidth of at least 64 kbps. Broadband wireless service may require the customers have higher-performance computers. The customers seeking to get the broadband wireless service may not know if their computer is adequately configured for the service. As stated above, software programs do exist that determine the configuration of a computer. Unfortunately, the current software programs have not been effectively adapted to determine the configuration of a computer for the purpose of broadband wireless service.

Communication device qualification for broadband wireless service


Amorphous alloy armor made of at least one thin layer of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloys and methods of forming such armor are provided. Forming the armor in accordance with the current invention provides ruggedness, a lightweight structure, excellent resistance to chemical and environmental effects, and low-cost manufacturing.

Armor is protective device designed to stop penetrator or to reduce the damage caused by penetrator. For the purposes of this disclosure, penetrator is defined as any object that penetrate, which includes, but is not limited to, nails, knives, ice-picks, mines, bullets, gun-fired projectiles, and shrapnel fragments from explosion.
The most critical aspect of the armor is the capability of stopping or reducing the speed of the penetrator to minimize damage to the host. Generally, the armor must be tough, penetration resistance, light weight, and flexible. Such demanding properties can be achieved cost effectively only with a limited number of materials. Soft vests, made from multiple layers of woven or laminated fibers, Kevlar for example, can protect wearer from small projectiles. Soft vests are unable to protect wearers from stab and slash from a knife, nail, ice-pick, or the like. Adding ceramic or metal plates to the soft vests, it can provide additional protection to the wearers from knives, nails, ice-picks, or the like, and shots fired from rifles; however, the added weight and rigidity make it difficult for the wearer to move about. Furthermore, ceramic has the tendency to break into multiple pieces and cannot take multiple hits.
Accordingly, a need exists for novel materials to be used in armors and armor systems, which can provide remedy to the deficiencies of incumbent materials and structures.