The present invention provides a method and a system for designing an integrated circuit comprising a plurality of elements. The method includes obtaining a lithography-simulated layout corresponding to at least one element. The lithography-simulated layout accounts for lithography effects on the element. The method further includes determination of an equivalent circuit representation that is compatible to a circuit analysis tool, corresponding to the lithography-simulated layout with respect to one or more performance characteristics and based on user preferences. The method also provides equivalent circuit representation to the circuit analysis tool that analyzes one or more performance characteristics of the elements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the design of integrated circuits (ICs), and more particularly, to the performance analysis of ICs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of modern integrated circuits, the size of circuit elements has been reduced to the nanometer scale. Each new technological advancement entails tighter manufacturing process control requirements. For example, in the optical lithography process, circuit element sizes are significantly smaller than the wavelength of light used in optical lithography, resulting in a "sub-wavelength lithography" regime. This requires advanced photomasks that embody one or more reticle enhancement techniques, such as optical proximity correction of mask aperture shapes, the insertion of sub-resolution assist circuit elements, phase-shifting, and so forth.
However, not even leading-edge photomask making and other related technologies can compensate for unavoidable manufacturing process variations. These variations include, notably, variations in focus and dose amount. Variations in focus (i.e., "defocus") are errors in the positioning of the ideal image plane relative to the wafer. The dose amount is the amount of radiant energy that reaches the wafer surface. As a result of such process variations, the integrated circuit element shapes printed on the wafer often fail to match the element shapes drawn by the designer with an acceptable level of accuracy. The element shapes drawn by the designer are simulated with respect to photomask and/or process steps before they are actually printed on the wafer. This simulation, which we refer to generically as "lithography simulation", generates "lithography-simulated shapes", or, simply, "printed shapes" that serve as predictions of the actual printed shapes on the wafer. Correct verification of the IC design should typically require that the element shapes, as printed on the wafer, i.e., the lithography-simulated shapes and not the shapes drawn by the designer, are analyzed to determine the performance parameters of the IC. These performance parameters include the actual static power, dynamic power, total power, signal delay, signal integrity, circuit timing, reliability, manufacturing yield, and other performance characteristics.
The lithography-simulated shapes can be irregular, and known circuit analysis tools are unable to handle the complexity of these shapes efficiently. For example, circuit simulators, such as HSPICE™ from Synopsys, typically require transistors to be composed entirely of rectangles. Parasitic extractors, such as Raphael™ from Synopsys, QuickCap™ from Magma, Star-RCXT™ from Synopsys, and Fire & Ice™ from Cadence, are typically also limited to a small set of primitive shapes that are defined by axis-parallel edges. Since the underlying computer data structures and algorithms are dramatically simplified and have faster runtimes when straight-line edges and/or axis-parallel edges are assumed, existing circuit analysis tools have been limited to these types of primitive shapes. These circuit analysis tools cannot inherently analyze complex lithography-simulated shapes. Further, the runtime of parasitic extractors, critical-area analysis tools, and other analysis tools generally increases monotonically with the total number of vertices or edges in the set of input shapes.
These limitations effectively prevent analysis and optimization of the IC design, based on the lithography-simulated shapes. This discrepancy, with respect to the circuit elements on the polysilicon layer of the IC, can result in inaccurate transistor dimensions being used in performance analysis. Inaccurate wire widths may be used with respect to circuit elements on the interconnect layers. With respect to circuit elements on contacts/vias layers, the outcome can be an inaccurate coverage area, resulting in incorrect evaluations of reliability and resistance. Overall, these limitations can result in inaccuracy in analyses and optimizations of the IC design, including, but not limited to, those addressing system performance and power, and loss of performance and parametric yield in manufactured ICs.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and a system and that can analyze an IC for various performance characteristics, based on the lithography-simulated IC circuit elements rather than on the drawn layout of those circuit elements. The method and system should be capable of being used in the design cycle, to iterate the design of the IC, and make use of existing and known circuit analysis tools.

Method and system for finding an equivalent circuit representation for one or more elements in an integrated circuit


A method for detecting tramp material in an inertia cone crusher having an outer crushing shell and an inner crushing shell is provided. The inner crushing shell is supported on a crushing head. The crushing head is rotatably connected to an unbalance bushing. The unbalance bushing has an unbalance weight for tilting the unbalance bushing when it is rotated, such that the crushing head will gyrate about a gyration axis, the inner crushing shell thereby approaching the outer crushing shell for crushing material in the crushing chamber formed therebetween. The method includes the steps of measuring at least one of a position and a motion of the crushing head; obtaining, based on the measurement, a gyration value; comparing the gyration value with a gyration reference value; and determining, based on the comparison, whether to issue a tramp material warning signal indicating the presence of tramp material in the crusher.

An inertia cone crusher may be utiliPMed for efficient crushing of material, such as stone, ore etc., into smaller siPMes. An example of an inertia cone crusher can be found in EP2116307. In such an inertia cone crusher, material is crushed between an outer crushing shell, which is mounted in a frame, and an inner crushing shell, which is mounted on a crushing head. The crushing head is mounted on a crushing head shaft. An unbalance weight is arranged on a cylindrical sleeve-shaped unbalance bushing encircling the crushing head shaft. The cylindrical sleeve is, via a drive shaft, connected to a pulley. A motor is operative for rotating the pulley, and, hence, the cylindrical sleeve. Such rotation causes the unbalance weight to rotate and to swing to the side, causing the crushing shaft, the crushing head, and the inner crushing shell to gyrate and to crush material that is fed to a crushing chamber formed between the inner and outer crushing shells.
It may happen that tramp material, for example metal parts that have fallen off upstream equipment, enters the crusher. Such tramp material will not be crushed by the crusher. Instead, the tramp material may damage or block the crusher, or pass through the crusher unnoticed and cause damage to downstream equipment.


A method for accessing at least a portion of the data on a microprocessor card, such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card having at least one freely accessible card number for use with mobile phones. A separate master card uses a self-contained key and encryption algorithm together with the accessible SIM card number to generate a first identification number that is communicated to and stored on the SIM card during initial programming of the SIM card. When access to data stored on the SIM card is thereafter required, a second identification number is calculated in the same manner, is communicated to the SIM card, and is compared on the SIM card with the stored first identification number. Access to the data stored on the SIM card is granted only when the first and second identification match.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for accessing a portion of the data stored on a microprocessor card and, more particularly, to a method for accessing data stored on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards for mobile phones having a microprocessor and at least one accessible card number.
2. Description of the Related Art
European Patent No. EP 0 607 767 A1 discloses a SIM card that contains a Personal Identity Number (PIN) code that the subscriber must enter to gain access to the mobile phone network. The SIM card checks the PIN entered by the user to determine whether access is authorized; if access is authorized, the mobile phone gains access to special data on the SIM card, with which the mobile phone announces the subscriber to the network operator. This ensures that only authorized persons, i.e. only those having access to or knowing the PIN, can make calls using the SIM card.
In addition, another code, known as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) code, is also stored on the SIM card. European Patent No. EP 0 607 767 A1 further discloses the assignment or personalization of a mobile telephone to a SIM card by means of comparison with the IMSI code. A list of IMSI codes stored in the mobile phone is compared with the IMSI code on the SIM card; only when the codes agree will the mobile phone be activated.
Until now, access to the information stored on SIM cards has been restricted to the issuer of the cards, i.e. the cellular phone company. There is however an unmet need for a method that allows access to at least a portion of the data stored on the SIM card for specific and limited purposes, e.g. by sales and service persons for configuration and quality control.

Method for accessing a portion of the data on a microprocessor card


A portable device to help adults hold and support their infants is a semi-circular belt-shaped fabric product that is preferably well-padded with soft durable materials. It comprises a center portion connecting with a pair of arm-extended elements, a pair of shoulder straps, a body strap, a pair of hand-holders and a pair of locking strap systems. It is primarily used for training and assisting infants to walk during the early development stages and beyond. It also functions to minimize back strain on the child caregiver by eliminating back bending when holding a child who is a significantly different height. The design provides this device with the advantages of long-term usage and multiple functions, such as securing an infant onto a chair.

Today, older first-time parents are very common. Many women have their first child after 40 years of age. About 25% of all women in California have their first birth at an age over 35. This trend is seen all over the world. Many men at the age of 50-65 are fathering new babies. Many elderly people, such as grandparents, are childcare givers to their grandchildren. As soon as a small baby becomes mobile, such as crawling, standing, cruising and walking, the parents or attendants can expect a lot of work. Very often a small baby will trip and fall while learning to stand or walk. At those times, an older parent will have a very difficult time bending over, as many have by then experienced back injuries, back pain, or knee pain before having a child. Back pain and tiredness are common complaints by parents during the period when their children learn to walk.
Normal infants learn to walk as early as 6-7 months and as late as 14-16 months. During this period of time, a caregiver spends between 30 min per day to 3-4 hours per day assisting the baby with walking. Due to the significant height difference between a small child and his or her attendant, it is natural for the attendant to bend forward the upper-body to reach a small child with both arms and hands. Thus, this small child's arms or under arms are held by the attendant's hands. In other words, to be able to reach a small child, the attendant bends her/his back to hold the small child's arms when the child stands or walks. This is an extremely difficult position for many people, especially for an older person, a tall person or a person who has back problems. More importantly, when the child's arms are held by the attendant, the infant's arms and hands cannot move freely and naturally, so that the child is not able to touch, grasp, or play with objects as he or she desires. Also, the attendant's both hands are not free in this back bending position. Accidentally, many small children's arms or shoulders have been injured or twisted from sudden lifting or pulling because their attendants could not coordinate with the baby's movement.
Obviously, keeping a baby's hands free during walking exercise is very important in many ways: 1) it allows the baby to have good coordination between the body and hands, so that the baby can be in a natural physical position as much as possible during practicing walk; 2) most important, it helps to stimulate small babies brain development because it provides a great opportunity for a baby to receive information through hands. As we know, the learning process at this age relies mostly on hand touching. During the first three years of an infant's development, the brain develops most significantly in mass and in establishing synapses. It would be a great opportunity to receive a large amount of stimulations if a baby can go any place where a grown-up goes, such as walking into elevators, climbing up stairs, and walking on grass, pavement, shores of lakes or rivers, or anywhere. The more information a baby obtains, the more synapses can be developed, and the more intelligent a baby can become, and the earlier a baby can become independent. Learning how to step as well as obtaining information through this process will stimulate the child's brain development, which benefits both motor functions as well as intellectual development. Generally, due to safety concerns, most parents will not bring their babies to many places until their children reach a certain age. This present invention will provide a useful device to help save a lot of physical effort, avoid emotional stress and ease the burden of parenting. It helps stimulate small babies during the early development stage and explore the world safely.
The earliest infant-walking aid invention was made as early as 1913. U.S. However, effective baby walking aids for training a small baby to walk are still lacking in the market. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,193,374 granted in 1916, discloses a walking harness. This harness uses two parallel straps to surround the wearer's upper body. The hand-holding straps are narrowed straps that form a loop structure by connecting the ends. The harness is attached to the center back of the wearer. This design is very similar to most baby walking safety harnesses on the market today. The harness is normally operated by a single hand. The harness may be useful for keeping a toddler or older child nearby, but it is not a proper device to train a small baby to walk. When a baby is lifted at the center of the back, the baby can easily become out of balance and falls.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999 helps an adult assist a small baby to learn how to walk. It was developed as a garment-like apparatus that is worn by a baby. Two straps extend from the back of the shoulder to be held by a caregiver's hands. There are many disadvantages in this prior art device: the hand straps are very narrow straps that provide no protection to the wearer. When the straps are pulled, the front anterior part of the apparatus could be pulled up toward the wearer's neck, and may become a choking hazard. No buckles were available at that time, and it seems difficult to put on or take off this apparatus. The wearer can become very hot when used during the summer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,287 discloses a system in which two solid wood bars are provided for the caregiver and the baby to hold onto. The baby has to use his/her hands to hold onto the wooden bars, and therefore does not get his/her hands free. This prior art reference discloses a strap system used to hold on the baby's bottom, which does not seem to be convenient for a small baby when a baby starts to walk. It is always important for a baby that there is no obstacle below the waist and no other obstacle stretching between the legs. In addition, the solid rigid bar system is not as convenient as foldable clothes for storage and transportation.
The most recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,902, discloses a design similar to the design described in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999, but adding a seat part for holding the wearer's bottom. The tensions at the baby's bottom and legs create an unnatural force by the infant when the harness is in use. Plus, this suit-like garment limits the time that it can be used. It may work for smaller or younger babies, and definitely not good for a larger or older babies. The hand leashes are thin, offer no protection and provide less control to the wearers. A baby wearing such a harness is like a baby in a suit or in a net. It may be too hot for a baby to use during summer and is not easy to put on or remove.
Baby walkers help a baby learn to walk. A baby walker has a seat and wheels that allow a baby to sit inside surrounded by a frame. The wheels allow a baby to walk around. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,052 shows a wheeled support structure. After baby walkers become popular several years ago, many babies fell from the stairs in these walkers and became seriously injured. Now, these wheeled walkers are considered dangerous for infants and have been taken off the market. In addition, even before they are able to walk independently, many small babies have strong desire to walk and play in the playground like the big kids do. They also desire to experience with their attendants in going into elevators, on stairs, through doors, and on pavement or grass. However, all of these wheeled devices for assisting a baby walk cannot fulfill these needs.
Currently, there are many types of baby safety walking harnesses in the market, which are intended for toddlers who are able to walk already. They are used as restraining devices for keeping the kids nearby and to avoid being lost in the crowd or on the street. Most of the walking harnesses are made from webbing straps and have a long leash attached on the center back; some are designed to attach to the both sides of under-arms. They are not designed or cannot be used to assist an infant to learn how to walk.

Baby walker/walking safety belt apparatus


Provided is a grounding terminal comprising a terminal fitting including a crimp portion, and a fastened portion that is provided on the front lower side of the crimp portion and is to be connected to a grounding surface using a fastening member, the terminal fitting being provided with a stepped portion between the crimp portion and the fastened portion. A covering layer is configured to be formed on the grounding terminal by thermally shrinking a heat-shrinkable tube including, on its inner circumferential portion, a water sealing agent to be used to cover at least the crimp portion of the terminal fitting and seal the electric wire from water. A water sealing agent is configured to be distributed up to the front side with respect to the covering layer as viewed from above, and a hanging-down length d of a water sealing agent is within the range of the stepped portion.

Wire harnesses to be used in vehicles such as automobiles may include a grounding terminal to be connected to a grounding surface of a vehicle body panel or the like. The infiltration of water into an electric wire to which the grounding terminal is connected needs to be suppressed, even if water comes into contact with the grounding terminal of this type of wire harness when a vehicle is subjected to high-pressure washing, for example.
As a method for suppressing the infiltration of water into an electric wire in a terminal-equipped electric wire, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2013-114936, for example, waterproofing may be performed by attaching a heat-shrinkable tube provided with an adhesive thereinside to an electric connection portion where the terminal of the terminal-equipped electric wire and the electric wire are electrically connected to each other and melting the adhesive. In Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2013-114936, an attempt is made to prevent the leakage of the adhesive and reliably fill the adhesive in the heat-shrinkable tube up to the open end by using a jig configured to hold the heat-shrinkable tube between an upper frame and a lower frame to arrange the heat-shrinkable tube at a predetermined position of the electric connection portion.


A method for producing a capacitor having a good capacitance appearance factor and a low ESR comprising, as one electrode (anode), an electric conductor having pores and having formed on the surface thereof a dielectric layer and, as the other electrode (cathode), a semiconductor layer formed on the electric conductor by energization in an electrolytic solution, the method comprising impregnating pores with a semiconductor layer-forming precursor before energization to render the concentration of semiconductor layer-forming precursor in pores higher than that of semiconductor layer-forming precursor in the electrolytic solution; a capacitor produced by the method; and an electronic circuit and an electronic device using the capacitor.

A capacitor used in a circuit associated with the central processing unit (CPU) in personal computers and the like is required to have high capacitance and low ESR (equivalent series resistance) in order to prevent the fluctuation of voltage and reduce the generation of heat at the passing of a high ripple current. In general, an aluminum or tantalum solid electrolytic capacitor is used.
The solid electrolytic capacitor is constituted by an aluminum foil having fine pores in the surface layer or a tantalum powder sintered body having fine pores in the inside, which is serving as one electrode (electric conductor), a dielectric layer formed on the surface layer of the electrode, and the other electrode (usually a semiconductor layer) provided on the dielectric layer.
The ratio of the semiconductor layer formed on the dielectric layer is indicated by impregnation ratio, which is defined as a ratio (percentage) of the capacitance when a semiconductor layer is formed, assuming that the capacitance appearing when an electrolytic solution is impregnated in place of a semiconductor is 100%.
One of the methods for forming a semiconductor layer on the dielectric layer is a method of forming a semiconductor layer by energization. For example, a method of forming a semiconductor layer comprising a metal oxide by passing a direct current (Japanese Patent No. 1,985,056), a method of obtaining a semiconductor layer comprising an electrically conducting compound by passing an alternating current (Japanese Patent No. 2,826,341), or a method of obtaining a semiconductor layer comprising an electrically conducting polymer by contacting a separately prepared external electrode on a previously-provided chemical polymerization layer and by passing a direct current (Japanese Patent No. 1,988,457).


An organic waste disposer 10 such as is commonly mounted to a kitchen sink 12 has mounted next to it a device 14 for injecting a predetermined quantity of bio-enzyme material into the disposer's grinding chamber each time the motor of the disposer is turned on.

The invention disclosed herein pertains to motor operated organic waste disposers, such as food waste disposers that are commonly mounted to a kitchen sink, for receiving and grinding food waste, along with water, into fine particles which are flushed out and ultimately arrive in a public sewer system or a septic tank.
It is well known that some soaps and fats from the kitchen sink and other food waste that is discharged from a disposer can build up deposits on the interior of the piping running from the disposer to the ultimate destination of the waste. In due course, the deposited layer thickens and either impairs drainage or completely blocks it. When there is complete blockage, the common practice has been to introduce a caustic material into the piping system, usually through a sink drain, in expectation that the caustic material will react with and dissolve the deposits for being flushed away. The caustic material is known to cause toxic shock and other harm to the bacteria that act on the waste in a septic tank.
Some householders now introduce bio-enzyme products into the drain piping to digest and loosen or remove waste deposits so they can be flushed away with water. Bio-enzyme products have demonstrated a capability for consuming organic waste in piping and in other accumulators of waste such as septic tanks.
A septic tank depends on bacteria and on the enzymes produced by bacteria to digest waste material that is fed into the tank. The digested material constitutes a fluidized layer that can be conducted to leaching beds. A beneficial quantity of bacteria must be maintained at a certain level for the septic tank to function properly and efficiently. However, in many cases, all waste water generated in a dwelling is conducted to a septic tank. Waste water discharged from a dwelling often contains substances that causes toxic shock to bacteria which might be otherwise active in digesting waste deposited in piping or in a septic tank. Common examples of such deleterious substances are caustic materials such as lye, used for cleaning drains, detergents, bactericidal hand and dishwashing detergents and soap, acids such as from citrus fruits, chlorine bleaches from clothes washing machines, antibiotics from medications as well as various chemicals and even very hot water.
A consequence of a reduced bacteria concentration is that the septic tank becomes less efficient and congested with undigested solids and thereby inhibits infeed of organic waste and the water that entrains it. When this condition is reached, the usual remedy is to have the tank pumped out by an expert who supplies the service. Sometimes a fresh quantity of bio-enzymes is introduced into the septic tank after it has been pumped out to condition the tank for receiving and digesting organic waste. It would be desirable if the bio-enzyme concentration in the piping leading to the tank and to the tank itself could be held at a high level such that pipe clogging and the frequency of pumping out the contents of the tank would be reduced.
Bacteria materials for producing bio-enzymes are available for purchase in retail stores. Some householders have adopted the practice of keeping their drain piping and sewerage system clear of organic deposits by introducing such materials periodically into the plumbing system. In this way they can compensate for the reduction in bio-enzyme concentration in the sewerage system that has resulted from toxic shock. However, septic tank owners are unlikely to develop and follow a regular schedule for introducing fresh bio-enzyme yielding materials into the plumbing and septic tank. It will be apparent that it would be highly desirable to have a device for automatically introducing fresh bio-enzyme yielding bacteria concentrate into drain pipes daily to offset daily toxic shock whether the destination of the organic waste is a public sewerage system or a septic tank. Daily additions of bio-enzyme provides bacterial seeding that allows the septic system to restore and maintain a required level of efficiency.

Apparatus for comminuting organic waste and injecting bio-enzymes into the waste


The invention discloses a method of separating a biomolecule from at least one other component in a liquid, comprising a step of contacting said liquid with a separation matrix comprising a solid support and polymer chains bound to said solid support. The polymer chains comprise units derived from a first monomer of structure CH2═CH-L-X, where L is a covalent bond or an alkyl ether or hydroxysubstituted alkyl ether chain comprising 2-6 carbon atoms, and X is a sulfonate or phosphonate group.

There are many instances when it is required to separate one compound, such as a contaminant or a desired molecule, from a liquid. Charge-charge based interactions are used in a number of fields to capture and hence separate charged or chargeable compounds.
In the chemical and biotech field, target compounds such as drug or drug candidates usually need to be separated from contaminating species originating from the process of manufacture. For example, a protein drug or drug candidate produced by expression of recombinant host cells will need to be separated e.g. from the host cells and possibly cell debris, other host cell proteins, DNA, RNA, and any other compounds originating from the fermentation or cell culture broth. Due to its versatility and sensitivity to the target compounds, chromatography is involved as at least one step in many of the currently used biotech purification schemes. The term chromatography embraces a family of closely related separation methods, which are all based on the principle that two mutually immiscible phases are brought into contact. More specifically, the target compound is introduced into a mobile phase, which is contacted with a stationary phase. The target compound will then undergo a series of interactions between the stationary and mobile phases as it is being carried through the system by the mobile phase. The interactions exploit differences in the physical or chemical properties of the components of the sample.
The stationary phase in chromatography is comprised of a solid carrier to which ligands, which are functional groups capable of interaction with the target compound, have been coupled. Consequently, the ligands will impart to the carrier the ability to effect the separation, identification, and/or purification of molecules of interest. Liquid chromatography methods are commonly named after the interaction principle utilized to separate compounds. For example, ion exchange chromatography is based on charge-charge interactions; hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) utilizes hydrophobic interactions; and affinity chromatography is based on specific biological affinities.
As is well known, ion exchange is based on the reversible interaction between a charged target compound and an oppositely charged chromatography matrix. The elution is most commonly performed by increasing the salt concentration, but changing the pH is equally possible. Ion-exchangers are divided into cation-exchangers, wherein a negatively charged chromatography matrix is used to adsorb a positively charged target compound; and anion-exchangers, wherein a positively charged chromatography matrix is used to adsorb a negatively charged target compound. The term "strong" ion exchanger is used for an ion-exchanger which is charged over broad pH intervals, while a "weak" ion-exchanger is chargeable at certain pH values. One commonly used strong cation-exchanger comprises sulphonate ligands, known as S groups. In some cases, such cation exchangers are named by the group formed by the functional group and its linker to the carrier; for example SP cation exchangers wherein the S groups are linked by propyl to the carrier.
The charged groups in ion exchangers (often called ligands) can be attached to the carriers or support materials in different ways. Several publications (U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,186, WO2008145270, U.S. Pat. No. 8,092,682, WO2012015379, EP2412433 and EP2412435) describe how charged monomers can be graft polymerized on support materials to form ion exchangers where the ligands are present on pendant graft polymer chains covalently attached to the supports. However, in particular in the bioprocessing area, the demands on the separation matrices are continuously increasing and there is hence a need for further developments, particularly with respect to matrices providing improved selectivity and capacity, as well as stability during alkaline cleaning.


In a real-time printing system, in which large blocks of digital data corresponding to page images must be located in a memory via a translation table and accessed from the memory within a very narrow time frame, the memory-management internal program of an operating system is overridden by external instructions which lock the translation table in memory.

In computer science, high speed digital printing presents unique requirements to data-processing equipment. To operate a printing apparatus which is designed to output over 100 page-size images per minute, the ability to make the desired image data available to printing hardware requires very close tolerances in the management of the "overhead" when data is transferred from memory to printing hardware. A typical 600 spi letter-size page image, in a format suitable to be submitted to printing hardware, is typically of a size of about 4 MB; when the printing hardware demands the image data to print the particular page, this 4 MB of image data must be accessed from real memory within a time frame of approximately 300 milliseconds.
It has been found, with standard implementation of the UNIX operating system which is common in the art, that the various protocols and other steps necessary to locate and initiate transfer of image data from a real memory, and in particular from a virtual address within a real memory, often require more time than is available once the image data is demanded by the hardware. If the image data does not reach the hardware in time, typically a blank sheet will be output from the hardware, which in turn will interfere with a large printing job. There is therefore a need for a technique by which a standard operating system, such as UNIX, can be specially adapted for real-time access of image data located at a virtual address in real memory, so that the image data can be made available to printing hardware precisely when it is needed.

Real-time image data access from virtual memory in a digital printing system


A device for actuating locks on a vehicle door has a rotary latch spring-loaded into an open position. When the door is closed, the rotary latch receives a lock member of the lock and is rotated into a defined locked position. The rotary latch has a detent into which a pivotable catch drops in a blocking position for securing the locked position of the rotary latch. A catch spring forces the catch into the blocking position. An actuation is provided for lifting the catch from the blocking position into a release position for releasing the rotary latch. The catch spring is an over-center helper spring that reverses a direction of action of the spring force. The catch spring acts as a snow load device that holds the catch in the release position until the rotary latch has reached the open position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for actuating locks on hatches or doors of vehicles, comprising a rotary latch in the lock that is spring-loaded into its open position, wherein the rotary latch, when the hatch or the door is closed, receives a lock member provided stationarily on the vehicle and is rotated into at least one defined position (locked position). The device further comprises a detent on the rotary latch into which, upon rotation of the rotary latch, a catch, pivotably and stationarily supported in the lock, drops so as to define a blocking position of the catch and to secure the locked position of the rotary latch. The device further comprises a catch spring that forces the catch into the blocking position. An actuation that is operated manually or by means of a motor is provided for lifting the catch from its blocking position into a release position in which the rotary latch is released. A snow load device is provided in the lock which, when actuated, holds the catch in the release position until the rotary latch has reached its open position.
2. Description of the Related Art
The classical components of a lock include a spring-loaded rotary latch which upon closing of the door cooperates with a stationary lock member and a spring-loaded, pivotably supported catch that, when closing the door, drops into at least one detent of the rotary latch. The described device also includes a so-called snow load device. The snow load device is needed when upon electric and/or manual actuation of the catch the rotary latch remains in its locked position and does not release the lock member. Despite actuation, the door cannot be opened in this situation.
This "snow load situation" occurs for a lock arranged on the rear hatch of a vehicle when a snow load is present on the closed rear hatch. The weight of the snow presses the rear hatch so tightly into the lock member that the return force of the seal and/or the spring load is not sufficient for transferring the rotary latch into the open position. The term "snow load situation" has been derived from this situation. Without a snow load device, the catch would be returned by the catch spring into the blocking position so that it drops into a detent of the rotary latch and therefore secures the rotary latch again in the locked position.
The snow load device has the task of securing the catch in the release position caused by its actuation until the rotary latch has actually reached its open position. The result is that after removal of the snow load from the rear hatch the already released rotary latch is returned by its spring load into the open position without this requiring renewed actuation.
Aside from such a snow load situation there are also other disturbance situations in these devices where the use of such snow load devices is very desirable. In the case of rotary latches that have in addition to the so-called main detent also a pre-detent, it can occur that a rotary latch that is secured by the catch in its main detent will not return quickly enough upon actuation of the catch into its open position but instead its pre-detent is engaged by the catch. It is then necessary to actuate the catch again; this is perceived as cumbersome. In this situation, such a snow load device is also helpful.
Locking devices with snow load devices of this kind are known in various embodiments. The device according to German patent 38 01 158 C1 requires several parts for securing the catch in its release position, e.g. a blocking lever with a stop arm, a driver pin on the rotary latch, and an auxiliary lever. The known snow load devices are expensive and require a large space.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,671 discloses a lock in which the force of the catch spring acts always in the same direction on the catch; however, this force can be made inactive by providing additional safety means. These safety means are comprised of a U-shaped hook bracket on a driver that is connected fixedly to the catch and of control surfaces as well as a projection on the rotary latch. In the snow load situation, the hook bracket engages from behind the projection so that the driver is supported on the rotary latch and generates a spacing between the rotary latch and the catch. The force of the catch spring that is still active in the snow load situation is transmitted by the driver onto the rotary latch. These securing means take up a large space within the lock.

Device for actuating locks on doors or hatches of vehicles


To identify a finite state machine and verify a circuit design, the invention identifies, in a design description, a set of constructs, a construct in the set of constructs, and an object in the construct. It next identifies a first subset of constructs in the set of constructs which can control a change of a value of the object, and then identifies a second subset of constructs whose values can be changed directly or indirectly by the object. The identifying and storing steps are repeated for all objects in the construct and for all constructs in the set of constructs. A finite state machine is identified by searching for a first object which controls a change of a value of a second object and whose value is also changed directly or indirectly by the second object. This method of identifying finite state machine elements in a design description is used by a test generator which then generates test vectors for exercising the finite state machine elements on a test bench.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to automatically testing circuit design descriptions generated in an Electronic Design Automation (EDA) environment, and more particularly to identifying finite state machines and verifying circuit designs in a Verilog or VHDL environment.
2. Background Art
Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is a process for using computer programs to design, simulate, and test electronic circuits before fabricating them in silicon. Verilog and VHDL are two languages commonly used to define circuits in the steps of design, simulation, and testing. Circuit designs are tested with the aid of various simulation/emulation software packages so that design flaws can be detected and corrected before any actual devices are fabricated. Testing a circuit design before it is fabricated saves design firms millions of dollars in non-recoverable engineering (NRE) costs; however, as the circuit design complexity increases, so too does the difficulty of testing. Since system designers are asked to design and test these increasingly complex circuits in ever smaller time frames, designers must choose between either taking more time to test the design, and thereby delaying product shipment, or only testing portions of the circuit, and thereby increasing the risk that many undiscovered bugs remain in the design.
Various simulation and test products on the market attempt to increase the efficiency of circuit design verification. One approach speeds up the design simulation programs. Native Code Simulators, Simulation Acceleration, and Chip Emulation Systems decrease the time it takes to simulate a design, and may decrease the time it takes to identify the next bug in a design. However, during early stages of the design process, design bugs are prevalent, and speeding up the simulation does little to help identify the bugs.
Another approach tests the circuit design randomly. Random testing involves generating randomly related unique test vectors and testing (or xe2x80x9cexercisingxe2x80x9d) the design with these vectors. In this approach, as time allotted for random testing increases, more of the circuit design is tested. Random testing is time consuming and risky, since discovering bugs is hit or miss, and there usually is not sufficient time to fully test the circuit design. Running a random simulation ten or one hundred times longer may not significantly increase the verification density.
Other types of EDA testing tools, such as Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) tools, produce tests which only identify manufacturing defects in already-fabricated circuits. Testing is performed by successively applying known input values to the pins of the circuit, and then comparing actual output values with sets of expected output values. However, ATPG tools assume that the circuit design is fundamentally correct and that any anomalies discovered are due to physical defects such as wire breaks, introduced during manufacturing.
Other EDA testing tools, such as Verilint, developed by InterHDL of Los Altos, Calif.; Vericov, developed by Simulation Technology of Saint Paul, Minn.; Vera, developed by System Science of Palo Alto, Calif.; and Specman, developed by Verisity of Yehud, Israel are difficult to use, sell, and integrate into a test bench for verifying circuit designs.
Many circuit designs also include Finite State Machines (FSMs) which are complex and often a source of bugs. Thus, circuit designers are particularly interested in exercising the full range of behavior of an FSM as early in the testing process as possible. Existing test tools require designers to manually identify and define each of the states and transitions present in each FSM in the circuit before testing can commence.
What is needed is a system and method for identifying finite state machines and verifying circuit designs that increases the efficiency of circuit design testing.
The present invention provides a method and a system for identifying finite state machines and verifying circuit designs. The invention automatically identifies and tests input, output, and internal variables, finite state machines (FSMs), transitions elements, blocks, arcs, and paths of interest elements in a design description of a circuit.
The process of identifying elements first identifies a set of constructs in the design description. Next, a construct in the set of constructs and an object in the construct are identified. A first subset of constructs in the set of constructs, which can change, or control a change of a value of the object, are then identified. A second sub set of constructs in the set of constructs, whose values can be changed directly or indirectly by the object, are also identified. The identified construct, object, and first and second subsets of constructs are then stored in a relational database. The identifying and storing steps are then repeated for all objects in the construct and for all constructs in the set of constructs.
A finite state machine in the design description is identified by searching the relational database for a first object which controls changes of a value of a second object and whose value is also changed directly or indirectly by the second object. The first object is identified as an FSM state variable, if an occurrence of the first object precedes an occurrence of the second object. The second object is identified as an FSM state variable, if an occurrence of the second object precedes an occurrence of the first object. FSM state transition elements are identified as transitions from a first allowable state to a second allowable state in a set of allowable states of the FSM state variable.
Systems using the invention store a design description in a design database. A test generator identifies any finite state machine elements in the design description. Based on the design description retrieved from the design database a test bench then generates a simulated design. A coverage analysis tool monitors output data from the simulated design executing on the test bench and identifies which elements of the design remain to be tested. The test generator then generates test vectors, which are sent to the test bench, for exercising the untested elements.
Compared to the prior art the invention is advantageous because it automates a critical part of design verification which has been performed manually and sporadically due to time and resource requirements. The invention permits testing of input, output, and internal variables, finite state machines, transitions elements, blocks, arcs, and paths of interest elements in a design description, quickly, easily and comprehensively, in an integrated process. As a result, designers can proceed toward fabrication with confidence that the simulated design has been verified. A time savings of months is achieved, since any design flaws are discovered before the simulated design is fabricated.
These and other aspects of the invention will be recognized by those skilled in the art upon review of the accompanying drawings, detailed description and claims.

System and method for identifying finite state machines and verifying circuit designs


A system for the inspection of a well borehole and the formation around the borehole. The system includes a pair of concentric reeled tubings for injecting a pair of fluids into a wellbore through a wellhead, one of said fluids being an optically transparent or acoustically homogenous fluid which forms a slug of said fluid around an optical sensor which transmits signals indicative of well conditions to the surface. The other of said fluids is used to perform functions with respect to said sensor such as cooling said sensor or protect it from a corrosive environment. In addition, a fiberoptic cable construction in combination with the reel tubing is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to downhole inspection systems and, more particularly to a fiberoptic cable assembly for use within reeled tubing. The invention may be used in connection with the maintenance and servicing of oil, gas, geothermal and injection wells.
2. History of the Prior Art
In the drilling and production of oil and gas wells, it is often necessary to obtain at the surface information concerning conditions within the borehole. For example, tools and other objects may become lodged in the borehole during the drilling of a well. Such objects must be retrieved before drilling can continue. When the removal of foreign objects from a borehole is undertaken, known as "fishing", it is highly desirable to know the size, position, and shape of the obstructing object in order to select the proper fishing tool to grasp the object and remove it from the borehole. Such information is very difficult to obtain because of the hostile downhole environment within a borehole filled with opaque drilling fluid.
In the operation and/or periodic maintenance of producing injection wells, it is also frequently necessary to obtain information about the construction and/or operating condition of production equipment located downhole. For example, detection of the onset of corrosion damage to well tubing or casing within a borehole enables the application of anti-corrosive treatments to the well. Early treatment of corrosive well conditions prevents the highly expensive and dangerous replacement of corrosion damaged well production components. Other maintenance operations in a production well environment, such as replacement of various flow control valves or the inspection of the location and condition of casing perforations, make it highly desirable for an operator located at the surface to obtain accurate, real-time information about downhole conditions. The presence of production fluids in the well renders accurate inspection very difficult.
Various techniques have been proposed for obtaining at the surface information about the conditions within a borehole. One approach has been to lower an inspection device, such as a acoustic inspection sensor or an optical inspection sensor, attached to the end of reeled tubing as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,060 to Sizer, et al. In this system, a quantity of optically clear and/or acoustically homogeneous fluid is directed down the reeled tubing and exits at the lower end thereof in the region of the sensor. The exiting fluid forms a narrow zone of optically transparent and/or acoustically homogenous fluid within an inspection zone inside of the borehole to allow the inspection sensor to accurately observe conditions within the borehole. This system is a substantial improvement over prior art downhole inspection techniques. However, certain specialized operating conditions may occur within the borehole during the inspection process which require certain modifications to the system taught in the above referenced Sizer et al patent.
In certain situations it may desirable to perform additional operations downhole while at the same time conduct an optical or acoustic inspection by means of the optically transparent or acoustically homogenous fluid being sent down the reeled tubing. For example, it may be desirable to circulate a cooling fluid through the electronic equipment with which the inspection is being performed in order to maintain a proper operating temperature of that equipment. Additionally, it may be desirable to inject a corrosion inhibiting fluid at the same time the inspection operation is going on in order to protect the inspection equipment from a highly caustic and corrosive environment within the borehole. The configuration of the system of the present invention enables these additional features and functions.
An additional problem associated with the operation of an inspection system of the type shown in the above referenced Sizer et al patent is that of bringing information gathered during the inspection process up the borehole to the surface while at the same time sending control signals downhole to control the inspection sensor such as a television camera. One form of cable used for the transmission of television signals is that of fiberoptics. While such cables and means for their interconnection are well known, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,924,870 and 4,964,685, respectively, the use of fiberoptic cables in a downhole environment is relatively specialized. Moreover, even though it is also known to thread a cable through a length of reeled tubing, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,147, the adaptation of a fiberoptic downhole cabling system requires specialized characteristics and features. For example, the cabling used for this purpose must be furnished in extremely long lengths and, as a result, be relatively strong in order to support extremely long lengths of its own weight extending down the borehole. Further, in certain applications the fluids within the borehole are also highly corrosive and a means to protect such cabling from the deleterious affects of a highly corrosive environment is not only desirable but in some cases essential in order to enable the operation.
It would be a major improvement in downhole inspection systems in which an optically clear or acoustically homogenous fluid is injected in the borehole in the zone where inspection is desired to enable the simultaneous injection of a second fluid to serve a different function and to provide an improved cabling arrangement to use in connection with the reeled tubing to carry both power and information and control signals between the surface and the downhole equipment.

Downhole reeled tubing inspection system with fiberoptic cable


A guide wire that is capable of sensing the phasic pressure at the distal end of the guide wire. The guide wire has a central lumen which provides a non-compliant fluid path from the distal end of the guide wire to a pressure transducer at the proximal end of the guide wire.

Pressure measurements made before, after, or during a therapeutic or diagnostic procedure can be important methods of analyzing any body conduit. In blood vessels, pressure measurement may be used to continuously monitor a patient's condition, to determine the patency of a specific artery or vessel, to assess the severity of a lesion or stenosis, or to asses the results of a therapeutic procedure such as angioplasty, atherectomy, or stenting. Pressure measurements may be of two types, phasic or flat line. The flat line pressure is the average of pressure changes over time. The phasic pressure is a wave form. While the average pressure is of interest, physicians can readily identify a true physiologic wave form, with frequency content from DC up to about 30 Hz, and compare it to expected norms, thereby making phasic pressure measurement a highly valuable diagnostic tool.
Percutaneous coronary angioplasty is a specific procedure in which pressure measurement may be a valuable tool for lesion assessment and therapy assessment. The catheter which is used to measure pressure must be small enough so that the catheter itself does not interfere with measurement. In the epicardial coronary arteries, this requires catheters which are a fraction of a millimeter in diameter. It is also preferred to make the pressure measurement from a catheter which is already being used in a procedure, rather than exchanging for a pressure measuring catheter.
Prior art devices disclosed by Hastings, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,853, Wise, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,868, and Little in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,957 have integrated micro-sensors into the distal end of a guide wire with an electrical or optical interconnect extending to the proximal end of the wire (approximately 1.8 meters). Since the wire is only 0.014 inches in outer diameter, it is very difficult to integrate the sensor and interconnect into the guide wire without altering the mechanical performance of the wire. The wire must torque, push, and steer sufficiently well to navigate the tortuous coronary vasculature. Wires with integrated distal sensors which accomplish this feat are inherently expensive to produce.
Prior art fluid lines which provide a phasic pressure signal are typically underdamped and have a diameter much larger than a guide wire. As an example, Model PXMK099 from the Edwards Critical Care division of Baxter Health Care in Irvine, Calif. consists of a pressure transducer with a six inch connecting pressure tube connected to a user supplied fluid filled tube. When the Baxter system is connected to a 0.014 inch hollow guide wire, the output signal is totally damped and only a flat line average pressure is displayed. This damping is due to the relatively high compliance of the Baxter system and the relatively large volume of water contained therein. To determine the minimum tube diameter which can transmit a phasic blood pressure signal through the Baxter system, 1.8 m long polyimide tubes of varying diameters ranging from 0.012-0.057 inches were connected via a Touey-Borst style connector to the Baxter system. Experiments on this system found an average system compliance of ##EQU1## and that the natural frequency was greater than or equal to 30 Hz in lines with diameters greater than 0.053" (0.0013 m). The lines with diameters less than 0.020 inches were over-damped and the lines with diameters larger than 0.020 inches were under-damped. Clearly prior art fluid lines which provide adequate frequency response are much larger than guide wires and still are not critically damped.
Another prior art device is disclosed by Tremulis in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,553. Tremulis discloses a small diameter fluid filled line which can be used as a guide wire. However, blood pressure signals from this device may be extremely damped, giving only an average pressure value.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a medical pressure sensing device with the reduced cost attributes of a fluid line, a small enough diameter to be used as a guide wire or to be used in small vessels, and sufficiently responsive to provide a phasic pressure signal.


Disclosed herein is an expression system for the production and secretion of biologically active clot-specific streptokinase (CSSK) protein in methylotrophic yeast. Yeast-expressed CSSK protein displays improved plasminogen activation and fibrin selectivity. Further disclosed are methylotrophic yeast transformed with at least one copy of functional cDNA sequence encoding CSSK adjunct with modified signal sequence which results in secretion of mature and correctly processed CSSK.

In recent years, thrombolytic therapy with fibrinolytic agents, such as Streptokinase (SK), tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) or urokinase (UK) has revolutionized the clinical management of diverse circulatory diseases e.g., deep-vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and myocardial infarction. These agents exert their fibrinolytic effects through activation of plasminogen (PG) in the circulation by cleavage of the scissile peptide bond between residues 561 and 562 in PG. As a result, the inactive zymogen is transformed to its active form, the serine protease, plasmin (PN), which then acts on fibrin to degrade the latter into soluble degradation products. Activation of PG to PN can be catalyzed by TPA, the SK-plasminogen complex, and UK, each of which can cleave the scissile peptide bond in PG.
Unlike UK and TPA, SK has no proteolytic activity of its own, and it activates PG to PN indirectly by first forming a high-affinity equimolar complex with PG, known as the activator complex (reviewed in Castellino, F. J., 1981, Chem. Rev. 81: 431). Due to a lack of any appreciable fibrin clot-specificity in SK, the administration of SK can cause systemic PG activation, resulting in hemorrhagic complications due to the proteolytic degradation of blood factors by the plasmin generated throughout the circulatory system. In the past, the gene encoding for SK has been isolated from its natural source (Streptococcus) and cloned into several heterologous micro-organisms such as yeast (Hagenson, M. J., 1989, Enzyme. Microb. Technol. 11:650), bacteria such as E. coli (Malke, H, Ferretti, J. J., 1984, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. 81: 3557), other species of Streptococcus (Malke, H., 1984, Mol. Gen. Genet. 196:360), and Bacillus (Wong, S. L., 1994, Applied and Env. Microbiol. 1:517).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,163,817 and 8,143,027 disclose creation of novel clot-specific streptokinase proteins that contain SK or functionally relevant parts thereof, connected with fibrin binding domains of human fibronectin that confer fibrin affinity and altered plasminogen activation characteristics. The altered plasminogen activation involves an initial period of lag of several minutes' duration in the rate of PG activation, which is followed by high rates of PG activation akin to that of native SK.
Fibrin affinity and delayed PG activation in the CSSK chimeric proteins confer distinct advantages in the treatment of a subject in need of thrombolytic therapy. Specifically, after injection into the body, while the chimeric PG activator proteins are still in an inactive or partially active state, they bind to the pathological fibrin clot in the vascular system. However, after an initial lag, these will become fully activated while bound to the clot, thereby avoiding the systemic PG activation coincident with natural SK administration. Thus, the fibrin affinity of CSSK confers an ability to target itself to the immediate locale of the pathological clot and thus help build up therapeutically effective concentrations of the activator therein; the initially slowed kinetics of PG activation result in an overall diminished generation of free plasmin in the circulation prior to their localization to the site of circulatory impedance induced by the pathological fibrin clot. The net result is a continued and more efficient fibrinolysis at the target sustained by lowered therapeutically effective dosages of CSSK.
The development of CSSK has been a boon to the medical community. However, prior art methods to produce CSSK are time-consuming and laborious, resulting in low yield and high production costs.
In the method known in the art, clot specific streptokinase is produced intracellularly in E. coli, but the biologically-active protein is obtained by solubilization in urea/WO guanidinium chloride (strong chaotropes), and subsequent refolding. The in vitro refolding step is time-consuming and can be undertaken with high efficiency at a very low protein concentration. In addition, the E. coli cell wall contains lipopolysaccharides that are pyrogenic, and all E. coli based processes requires steps to remove these endotoxins.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved method of making clot specific streptokinase, particularly methods that improve on bacterial CSSK expression systems.
Although expression in yeast cells has desirable attributes, yeast expression is also not without drawbacks. For example, in some yeasts, transformants can express widely varying amounts of protein, possibly due to differences in site of plasmid integration or difference in expression cassette copy number. These drawbacks require many rounds of diagnosis and screening procedure to obtain transformants to get a high producing clone. Positive transformed cells can be characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or by Southern blot analysis to corroborate the integration of DNA fragment. In order to analyze the expression of protein of interest in a yeast expression system, reverse transcription can be used together with PCR or Northern blot technique. However, depending upon polypeptide composition and required post-translational modification, the protein levels might not always be in consonance with the transcription level. Further, conventional methods of screening of yeast clones involves SDS-PAGE analysis of direct or concentrated supernatants which is very tedious (due to low yield, concentrating the culture media of plethora of transformants etc.) for screening thousands of clones least one misses a true, and desirable, hyper-producer clone.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a process for producing CSSK in non-bacterial species, such as yeast, and for methods for screening yeast transformants expressing biologically active CSSK, that does not suffer from the above deficiencies.

Genetically modified yeast cell and improved process for production of clot-specific streptokinase

COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH


Provided is a method of detecting and preventing soft errors without performing multiplexing. As a result, it is possible to improve reliability of a device while suppressing an increase in mounting cost and reduction in operation speed accompanied with it. A diagnosis system includes an initial parameter generation unit which generates a plurality of initial parameters predicted on the basis of an external input; an operation unit which has a plurality of operators operating optimal solutions to the initial parameters by using an evaluation function describing a control object; and a diagnosis unit which diagnoses the operation unit on the basis of an output of the operation unit. When an optimal solution candidate giving an evaluation value deviating from a value taken by each evaluation value by a constant threshold or more among evaluation values corresponding to the optimal solutions to the initial parameters is found, the diagnosis unit diagnoses an error of the operation unit.

In driving support technology and automatic driving technology, in order to protect passengers and a peripheral environment, it is necessary to perform appropriate control according to a driving situation and a surrounding environment situation. As an example of such control, a method called trajectory planning is known. It is known that a trajectory planning problem results in an optimization problem and as an example of its solution, an exploratory solution utilizing meta-heuristics such as group intelligence is known. The exploratory solution in the trajectory planning problem has high affinity to acceleration using hardware having high parallelism in general, because the exploratory solution has features of performing a large number of operations having the same structure simultaneously and in parallel. Meanwhile, in the trajectory planning problem, from the viewpoint of the safety of the passengers and the peripheral environment, high reliability is required for an electronic control device that performs trajectory planning operations.
In a field requiring high reliability, there is known a conventional method of multiplexing and mounting identical logics, performing comparison or a majority decision, and performing error detection or masking. For example, in PTL 1, identical logics are tripled and a majority decision circuit is added, thereby implementing processing for masking an error and continuously performing a correct output, even when the error occurs in one of the tripled logics.

Diagnosis system and electronic control device


An apparatus for adjusting a shoe and methods for making and using the same. A relative movement can be generated between a platform and a model foot wearing the shoe such that the platform contacts the shoe and the model foot adjusts the shoe via the relative movement. Advantageously, the model foot can be a surrogate to a human foot in adjusting the shape of the shoe. The model foot can stretch the shoe in the same manner as human walk. A person can experience great comfort when wearing the stretched shoe. The model foot can simulate the mechanical characteristics of the natural foot. The model foot can simulate gait of a natural foot and the stretching of the shoe can be further customized.

Shoes are a necessity for daily life. When wearing comfortable and properly-shaped shoes, human body can stand, sit or move with correct full-body posture and avoid discomfort or injury. Further, shoes provide a foundation for an image that a person wants to broadcast to the world. For example, different shoes present an identity of a person differently. If a person can wear any shoes comfortably, he/she can send a desired image to the world confidently at any time.
Most people buy generic shoes that are not custom made. Such shoes may not fit a person's feet perfectly and can result in many problems. For example, a toe having an abnormal bend in the middle joint, or hammer toe, may rub against internal surface of a shoe and develop blisters. The person thus stops wearing the shoe or wears the shoe in pain until the blisters heal. Thus, the person may break in the shoe but does so via a painful process.
Existing shoe stretchers tend to overstretch or understretch a shoe. As a result, the stretched shoe still does not fit a foot perfectly and is still uncomfortable to wear.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for solutions to improve shoe stretchers that overcome drawbacks of existing solutions and adjust shoes with high precision and accuracy.
It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments. The figures do not illustrate every aspect of the described embodiments and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Apparatus for adjusting a shoe and methods for making and using the same


A system and method for computer aided technician dispatch and communication are disclosed. The system comprises a communications system linking a plurality of subscribers, a team of technicians, a service representative, and a user; an input terminal (100) for receiving information, the information comprising service request information from the plurality of subscribers (116), and work order information from the team of technicians (110), a server (116) coupled to the input terminals for processing the information and generating a graphical representation of the information, and , a display (104) for receiving the graphical representation and presenting the graphical representation to a user (112). A method for computer aided technician dispatch and communication comprises five steps. Those steps are (1) communicating with a plurality of subscribers and team of technicians; (2) receiving information, the information comprising service request information from the subscriber and work order information from the team of technicians, (3) entering the information in an input terminal, the input terminal coupled to a server; (4) processing the information, the processing resulting in a graphical representation of the information; and (5) displaying the graphical representation to a user.

Cable television and subscriber programming systems are well-known in the art. These systems typically consist of a service center and a plurality of subscriber locations, all serviced by a team of technicians. The service center includes a service representative, who is responsible for receiving incoming calls and requests for service. A dispatcher, who is responsible for ensuring that technicians are dispatched to subscriber locations that require service and for monitoring the technicians' progress, coordinates with the customer service representative at the service center site, or may be located at a different location.
As subscribers need assistance, they call the service representative. The service representative typically screens the request, and determines whether or not technician assistance is required. Should technician assistance be required, the service representative generates a work order request. This work order request includes the customer's name, address, telephone number, date of service appointment, current service status, service requested, and other desirable service information. A computer may be used to aid in the input, storage, and transfer of this information. This work order is then forwarded to the dispatcher to assign the work order to a technician.
Typically, the problem of assigning technicians to subscribers and tracking the technicians' progress is solved manually. In a conventional system, the information received by the dispatcher is in a list-based format and not formatted graphically. In the prior art, dispatchers use a conventional map and colored pins to represent the location of work orders and the location of technicians on the map. However, it is difficult to maintain the accuracy of this map throughout the day, as unexpected events may occur that interfere with the tracking of work orders. Further, there is a limit to the amount of information that a dispatcher can import from the map and from a list of job orders. As the day progresses, work order information, such as status, location, technician assigned, etc., may change, and, although this information may be entered in a computer immediately, it may be some time before the map is updated to reflect changes.

System and method for computer-aided technician dispatch and communication


A method of printing patterns for vertically aligning a serial printer that increases the speed of the vertical alignment operation. The method also reduces alignment errors caused by mechanical variation by printing a plurality of aligning patterns on the same line while a carriage body is continuously moved across the printing scan axis, reduces errors caused by the motor due to the accelerating of the carrier body, and also lessens the amount of paper wasted in the vertical alignment process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method for aligning a printer and, more particularly, to a method of printing patterns for rapidly vertically aligning a bidirectional printer.
2. Background Art
A typical printer such as a dot matrix printer, an ink-jet printer or a plotter includes a printer head mounted on a carriage for printing a plurality of rows of dots in a single scan of the print carriage across a printable medium. The typical printer prints information serially one letter per unit of time and can be unidirectional or bidirectional. A bidirectional printer can print information on a printable medium in both directions, that is, from left to right in a first line, and then form right to left in a second line. As a result, the printing speed of a bidirectional printer is twice as fast as a unidirectional printer, which can only print information in one direction and that has a carriage that must be returned to a starting position for each new line of printed characters.
The printer head is typically mounted in a print cartridge within an assembly that is mounted on the carriage of the printer. Generally, full color or black and white printing or plotting requires that the carriage supporting the printhead be precisely aligned so as to begin printing information at a precise location on a printable medium. Proper alignment of the printer is necessary to counter irregularities due to forces resulting from the acceleration and deceleration of the carrier body caused by the motor. Otherwise, any misalignment of the carriage will result in a misregistration of print images, due to incorrectly placed ink, particularly when the printer is a multi-color type of printer. Unfortunately however, mechanical misalignment of the carriage in the printable scan axis (i.e., the x-axis) and in the carriage scan axis (i.e., the y-axis) is common in contemporary printers.
Typical techniques for alignment of printers are disclosed, by way of example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,350 to Cobbs entitled Multiple Inkjet Print Cartridge Alignment By Scanning A Reference Pattern and Sampling Same With Reference to a Position Encoder, U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,269 to Beauchamp entitled Multiple Inkjet Print Cartridge Alignment for Bidirectional Printing By Scanning a Reference Pattern, U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,990 to Sorenson entitled Reference Pattern for Use in Aligning Multiple Inkjet Cartridge, U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,020 to Cobbs entitled Phase Plate Design for Aligning Multiple Inkjet Cartridges by Scanning a Reference Pattern, U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,929 to Meyer entitled Alignment System for Multiple Color Pen Cartridges, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,017 to Haselby entitled Print Cartridge Alignment in Paper Axis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,956 to Haselby entitled Print Cartridge Bidirectional Alignment in Cartridge Axis, in which software is incorporated into the printer to allow a user to perform vertical and horizontal alignment of a printhead using a predetermined test pattern.
I have observed that many vertical alignment processes use a series of vertical line segments to calibrate a print cartridge. During calibration of a print cartridge the cartridge must delay its printing by an appropriate amount of time, thus allowing the print cartridge to adjust its X-axis location before printing. Many processes used for aligning a print cartridge waste excessive amounts of paper. I expect that using a printing pattern for vertically aligning a bidirectional printer that allows the quantity of wasted paper to be reduced and the speed of the alignment process to be increased will increase the efficiency of the alignment process.

Method of printing patterns for vertically aligning a print cartridge in an image printing apparatus


An information element including a hybrid acknowledgement map format and a method for using the hybrid acknowledgement format and information element are disclosed. The hybrid acknowledgement map comprises a type flag and a content block, and the value of the type flag indicates the format of the content block. This enables the hybrid acknowledgement map to represent data using multiple formats. The information element including a hybrid acknowledgement map includes a hybrid acknowledgement map and a hybrid quantity field indicating the number of hybrid acknowledgement maps in the information element. A field or multiple fields in the information element header indicate whether or not the information element includes a hybrid acknowledgement map. Information elements using hybrid acknowledgement maps contain more acknowledgment information which reduces transmission of information elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of data communication networks, and more specifically, to using an information element including a hybrid acknowledgment map format to indicate receipt of data.
2. Description of the Background Art
Because information transmitted across a data communication network is subject to transmission errors such as data corruption or data loss, error control and/or correction is an integral part of existing data communication networks. Error control and/or correction allows devices using the data communication network to detect, and possibly correct, errors in the transmitted data. Existing data networks use many different methods for error control or error correction.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing a typical wireless data communication network 100. A base station 110 and multiple mobile stations 120 communicate data with each other using a communication protocol such as one compliant with the IEEE 802.16 standard. The data communication network 100 uses an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) scheme to detect correctly received data and retransmit data erroneously received or lost during transmission. ARQ schemes are commonly used because retransmission of data encountering transmission errors increases the reliability of communication between the mobile stations 120 and the base station 110. In an ARQ scheme, the receiving device automatically requests that the transmitting device retransmit received messages containing errors. Receiving a retransmission request causes the transmitting device to retransmit the requested message. When the message is correctly received, the receiving device transmits an acknowledgement (ACK) message. The requested message can be retransmitted until it is correctly received or the error persists beyond a specified number of retransmissions or persists beyond a specified time interval.
Conventional ARQ schemes use acknowledgment maps (ACK maps) to indicate correct or incorrect receipt of data sequences. By examining the ACK map, the transmitting device identifies the correctly received and incorrectly received segments of the transmitted data. ACK maps have different formats depending on the distribution of errors in the transmitted data. Currently, ACK maps are formatted as a bitmap or a block sequence listing.
When a bitmap is used, the ACK map contains information indicating correct or incorrect receipt of individual data segments. Thus, the bitmap format allows the ACK map to identify specific parts of the data incorrectly received and in need of retransmission. This allows for retransmission of the incorrectly received data segments rather than retransmission of all data.
When a block sequence listing is used, the ACK map contains information indicating whether or not a continuous block of data has been correctly or incorrectly received. However, the block sequence listing cannot indicate specific segments of the data which were correctly or incorrectly received. Thus, when the received data alternates between correct receipt and incorrect receipt, the block sequence listing cannot be used.
In existing ARQ schemes, information elements (IEs) are used to transmit multiple ACK maps. FIG. 2 shows an example of the fields within a typical information element (IE) 200. The IE 200 can be any formatted block of information, such as an ARQ feedback element compliant with the IEEE 802.16 standard.
The IE 200 includes a header 210 and a payload 220. The header 210 includes fields 212, 214 that specify characteristics of the payload 220 or the processing of the payload 220. In conventional ARQ schemes, the header includes a type field 212 and a quantity field 214. The type field 212 identifies the type of the ACK maps contained in the payload 220, and commonly comprises two bits. The quantity field 214 indicates how many ACK maps are contained in the payload 220. The payload 220 contains one to four ACK maps.
Because the type field 212 indicates the format of ACK maps in the payload 220, all ACK maps in an IE 200 must have the same format. Thus, when both bitmap formatted and sequence listing formatted ACK maps are necessary to describe data, multiple IEs 200 must be transmitted, with each IE 200 containing a different ACK map format. So, one IE 200 is necessary to transmit bitmap formatted ACK maps to identify data with correctly received and incorrectly received segments, and a second IE 200 is necessary to transmit sequence listing formatted ACK maps to identify continuous blocks of correctly received or incorrectly received data.
Because each IE 200 contains a header 210, as well as the ACK maps in the payload 220, transmitting additional IEs 200 increases the overhead necessary for ARQ schemes, reducing the bandwidth available for data transmission. As ACK maps are frequently transmitted, the overhead resulting from IE 200 transmission can significantly impair network performance.
Further, conventional IEs 200 and ACK maps have a limited size, which limits the amount of ACK maps that can be included in an IE 200. Typical ARQ schemes permit a maximum of four ACK maps to be included in an IE 200. Thus, incorrect determination of the ACK map format can further increase network usage by increasing the number of IEs 200 transmitted. Additionally, the limited ACK map size can require transmission of additional ACK maps and IEs 200 when the data contains multiple data segment sizes with different types of error distributions.
Therefore, there is a need for an acknowledgement map format capable of representing acknowledgment data in different formats that allows a single information element to include differently formatted acknowledgment maps.

Hybrid acknowledgement map format for data communication networks


The present invention provides a sealing structure of a sealed container in which an opening of a metallic cylindrical container is closed with a metallic closing member, wherein a gap between an inner wall surface on an side of the opening of the metallic cylindrical container and an outer surface of the metallic closing member that radially faces the inner wall surface is sealed with a seal member having been melted and solidified.

In various technical fields, there may be a need for a container that requires air tightness for preventing moisture from outside. For example, in a case of a gas generator used for an airbag device mounted in a vehicle, the gas generator is configured to prevent moisture from entering from outside, after placing necessary components from an opening of a container (housing), and thereafter, closing the opening using an igniter having a closing member or an igniter collar, an O-ring, and the like.
An igniter assembly is disclosed in JP 3134281 U, with a structure in which an inside of an igniter collar, an annular projection part of the igniter collar, and a cylindrical projection part that is a portion of the annular projection part are covered with a resin to improve moisture prevention.
JP 2010-184559 A discloses, in FIG. 1, a gas generator 1 including a cylindrical housing 10. An igniter 16 is disposed on one end side of the cylindrical housing 10, and the igniter 16 is fixed by a metallic igniter collar 17 and a resin 18. Furthermore, as disclosed in FIG. 1, one end side of the cylindrical housing 10 is crimped radially inward, and thus, the metallic igniter collar 17 and the cylindrical housing 10 are brought into close contact with each other, and moreover the O-ring is also disposed to increase the air tightness.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,702,125 B discloses, in FIG. 1, an inflator 14 including a cylindrical housing 12. An igniter 32 is disposed on one end side of the cylindrical housing 12, and a cylindrical member is disposed between the igniter 32 including an igniter collar and the cylindrical housing 12, this cylindrical member having a small thickness and including an end 24 that is closed and another end that is opened on an opposite side thereto.

Sealing structure of sealed container, formation method therefor, gas generator using sealing structure of sealed container, and manufacturing method therefor


An inductor current measurement scheme generates an output voltage as a function of inductor current in a pulse width modulation-based DC—DC voltage converter. The converter has an upper controlled switch and a lower controlled switch coupled in series between an input voltage terminal and a reference voltage terminal. A common connection of the upper controlled switch and the lower controlled switch provides a phase node voltage. An inductor L and a parasitic direct current resistance (DCR) are coupled between the phase node and an output node coupled to a load. The scheme generates a sense current as a function of the difference between the phase node voltage and the output voltage. This sense current is then supplied to a resistor-capacitor network comprised of a resistor Rs and a capacitor Cs, wherein the product of Rs*Cs=L/DCR, so as to produce a voltage across the resistor-capacitor network that is proportional to the inductor current.

FIG. 1 is a reduced complexity illustration of a typical buck mode DC—DC converter, having an upper switch SWU and a lower switch SWL, each of which is customarily implemented as a field effect transistor, coupled in series between a source of input voltage Vin and a reference terminal (e.g., ground). An inductor is coupled between the common node 10 between the two switches (node 10 often referred to as the phase node) and an output node 20 to which a capacitor C is coupled. In the schematic illustration of FIG. 1, the inductor has been shown as a parasitic resistor DCR (direct current resistance) in series with an inductor L. Respective upper gate drive and lower gate drive signals are applied to the gates of the MOSFETs of which the upper and lower switches SWU and SWL are respectively configured, so that the switches are turned on and off in a complementary manner.
In order to achieve certain control related to inductor or load current and provide over-current protection for the converter, current information is required. This has been traditionally obtained by sensing the voltage or current of the components connected to the phase node, such as the lower switch, the upper switch and the inductor. On conventional implementation for this purpose is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 2, which has series-coupled resistor Rs and capacitor Cs connected in parallel with the inductor L. The R and C construct a low pass filter which will filter out the ac voltage. And the voltage across the capacitor will reflect the current information through the inductor L. Namely, this voltage can be used to measure inductor current. Typically, however, the value of this voltage is only in the millivolt range as the DCR is generally measured in milliohm range.

Inductor current sensing scheme for PWM regulator


An apparatus and a method are provided for the detection of the level of the different phases present in at least one tube or vessel intended for filling the different wells of a microplate-format container for an automated analysis system. The apparatus is equipped with a fixing portion arranged to allow it to be itself held and/or handled instead of a microplate-format container, and carries out this detection by measuring the variation in wavelength of light reflected on a point zone of the content of the tube, during a displacement of the tube along an optical reader or of the optical reader along the tube in a rectilinear movement in a known manner.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for the detection of the level of the different phases present in at least one tube or vessel the content of which is intended for filling the different wells of a microplate-format container for an automated analysis system. According to the invention, this detection is carried out by reflecting light on a point zone on the outside of the tube, during a displacement of the tube along an optical reader or the optical reader along the tube in a rectilinear movement and in a known manner.
It relates moreover to such an apparatus or method operating by illumination with monochromatic light and detection of the amount of reflected light, with the phase differences being recognized by the sudden variation in the amount of reflected light.
Increasingly, many methods in laboratory chemistry are automated, for example chemical analyses or DNA sequencing. The different products to be mixed together are handled by robotic equipment, and the entire procedure is controlled and monitored by computer. The rapid growth of large-scale DNA analyses, for example by PCR-type methods, has increased the requirements in this field and makes even the smallest improvement in the productivity and reliability of these procedures and the corresponding equipment worthwhile.
Within the technical capabilities of each facility, an effort is made, as far as possible, to carry out the procedure while minimizing the manual operations that give rise to loss of time and the risk of error.
Typically, an integrated automated facility is used that includes computerized monitoring of the products and samples processed. Such a facility comprises one or more robot operating heads, for example a pipetting instrument which takes an accurate shot of a liquid from a vessel in order to transfer it to another vessel, where a reaction will then take place. This vessel can then be moved to another slot for another operation, and/or stored in a waiting slot during the reaction, possibly in a reactor ensuring specific conditions of temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.
For reasons of reliability of analysis and productivity, receptacles of a standardized so-called "microplate" type are most usually used. Such a receptacle usually comprises a monolithic surface area pierced by a large number of wells of a few millimeters in diameter which are independent of each other. Other types of microplates also exist which are here included under the same name, for example a tray or rack comprising positions in which the same number of moveable individual tubes are inserted, and performing a function similar to the wells of a monolithic plate. Depending on the versions, a single plate can contain for example 96 or 384 wells. Several wells of a single microplate are often processed in parallel by multi-head pipetting instruments, which can be controlled together or separately.
These plates all have a single external geometry, in particular in their base footprint. This geometry is governed by a standard called "SBS" (ANSI/SBS 1-2004), which allows compatibility of all the plates with the majority of the robots and specialized machines in this field. This geometry comprises for example a rectangular base having two cut off chamfered angles, and is equipped with a rim having a slight horizontal extension around the base. This standardized shape allows all the compatible robots to use a robot arm equipped with a compatible slot for receiving, gripping and holding all the plates in a firm, precise and repeatable manner.
In some circumstances, and in particular for most analyses of blood or biological fluids, the automated analysis or processing comprises a separation phase, for example by centrifugation or decantation, which makes it possible to separate the different constituents present within the fluid initially taken.
For example in the case of blood, the initial sample is poured into a test tube, also called a sample tube, which is then centrifuged. The result of this centrifugation gives a distribution of the different constituents on several different levels, forming the following phases:                at the bottom of the tube is found a thick, dark red phase containing the red blood cells;        above this is found a thin, whitish phase forming a sort of emulsion called "buffy coat", which mainly contains white blood cells;        at the top is found a lighter red fluid phase formed by the plasma, which represents approximately 55% of the blood volume.
In order to use a single one of the constituents separated in this way, a pipetting instrument is used that is made to descend in the tube until reaching the depth where the constituent in question is found, for example into the buffy coat for sampling white blood cells. The component thus sampled is then poured into one or more receptacles, for example for a series of wells within a microplate, an operation which is often called "filling" the microplate.
In the centrifugated tube, the vertical position of the different phases varies according to many parameters, such as the initial amount of fluid or the diameter of the tube. In order to make it possible to automate sampling in a particular phase, it is therefore necessary for the robot to be provided with an apparatus for the detection of the levels of the different phases in each of the tubes to be sampled.
Different types of apparatus are known for carrying out this detection. Certain equipment measures for example the variation in the light transmitted by the content of the tube. These methods have drawbacks owing for example to the variability of the transmission factors. Furthermore, the transmission does not make it possible to distinguish between opaque phases even if they contain different constituents. Other methods measure fluorescence emitted by the content of the tube under chemiluminescence, but require relatively complex, costly high-power instruments for this purpose.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,579 proposes to measure the scattering of incident light of 400 to 1000 manometers at a narrow angle of the order of 20°. The precision of this technique however can be insufficient, and represents a significant space requirement around the tube which is inconvenient for incorporation in a robot system.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,450,224 proposes to carry out computerized graphical analysis of a complete colour image of the tube. For this purpose, the tube is gripped by a robot gripper and brought into an imaging chamber containing a CCD multipixel colour camera and uniform multidirectional lighting. The tube is extracted from a rack positioned on a table with XY displacement.
This technique however has drawbacks, for example requiring relatively costly components and complex computer processing requiring a certain computing power. Furthermore, such an apparatus permanently occupies a certain space and requires a table with robotized displacement in order to make an automated choice of the tube to be sampled.

Apparatus and method for the automated detection of phases for automated analysis

Abstract: Such a device or method is also operated by illumination with monochromatic light and detection of the amount of reflected light, with the phase differences being recognized by the sudden variation in the amount of reflected light.