A method and apparatus for scheduling transmissions via an enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) are disclosed. A scheduled power is calculated for scheduled data flows. A remaining transmit power is calculated for the E-DCH transmission. A rate request message is generated, wherein the scheduled power, remaining transmit power and rate request message are used to select transport format combinations (TFCs) and multiplex data scheduled for the E-DCH transmission. The remaining transmit power is calculated by subtracting from a maximum allowed power the power of a dedicated physical data channel (DPDCH), a dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH), a high speed dedicated physical control channel (HS-DPCCH), an enhanced uplink dedicated physical control channel (E-DPCCH) and a power margin.

Methods for improving uplink (UL) coverage, throughput, and transmission latency are currently being investigated in the third generation partnership project (3GPP). In order to achieve these goals, enhanced uplink (EU) transmissions have been proposed in 3GPP, in which control, (i.e., scheduling and assigning), of UL resources, (i.e., physical channels), is moved from a radio network controller (RNC) to a Node-B.
FIG. 1A shows a conventional wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), (e.g., mobile station), side medium access control (MAC) architecture 100. The WTRU MAC architecture 100 includes a MAC-es/MAC-e entity 105, which comprises different independent sub-layer entities within the MAC. The MAC-es/-e functionality split is a result of how the MAC functionality is partitioned within the universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN). The WTRU MAC architecture 100 further includes a high speed MAC entity 110, a MAC-c/sh 115, a dedicated channel MAC (MAC-d) 120 and a MAC control service access point (SAP) 125. The MAC-c/sh 115 controls access to all common transport channels, except the HS-DSCH transport channel 145. The MAC-d 120 controls access to all dedicated transport channels, to the MAC-c/sh 115 and the MAC-hs 110. The MAC-hs 110 controls access to the HS-DSCH transport channel 145.
The MAC-es/MAC-e entity 105 controls access to an E-DCH 130, whereby the MAC-d 120 may access the E-DCH 130 via a connection 135, and the MAC control SAP 125 may access the E-DCH 130 via a connection 140.
FIG. 1B shows MAC interworking in the conventional WTRU of FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1B, a radio link control (RLC) protocol data unit (PDU) enters the MAC-d on a logical channel. In the MAC-e header, a data description indicator (DDI) field, (6 bits), identifies the logical channel, MAC-d flow and MAC-d PDU size. A mapping table is signaled over radio resource control (RRC) signaling to allow the WTRU to set the DDI values. The N field, (fixed size of 6 bits), indicates the number of consecutive MAC-d PDUs corresponding to the same DDI value. A special value of the DDI field indicates that no more data is contained in the remaining part of the MAC-e PDU. The transmission sequence number (TSN) field (6 bits) provides the transmission sequence number on the E-DCH 130 shown in FIG. 1A. The MAC-e PDU is forwarded to a hybrid-automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) entity, which then forwards the MAC-e PDU to layer 1 for transmission in one transmission time interval (TTI).
An efficient MAC architecture for scheduling the transmission of E-DCH data is desired.

Method and apparatus for scheduling transmissions via an enhanced dedicated channel


A respiratory filter includes an air-permeable sleeve and at least one filter layer that is arranged in the sleeve and contains activated carbon. The activated carbon contained in the filter layers serves as a gas filter that, by absorption, at least partially removes the noxious gases that are contained in the air inhaled.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a respiratory air filter.
2. Description of Related Art
In the prior art, filter devices are known that have a half mask and a filter element associated therewith. When needed, a person places the half mask over the nose and mouth such that he can only inhale air that has previously flowed through the filter element into the mask. Such filter devices are relatively complex in design and not suitable for low-cost mass production.
Consequently, the object of the invention is to provide a respiratory air filter that is designed as simply as possible and is inexpensive to produce.


A signal receiving method, a signal transmission method, UE, and a network device are provided. The signal receiving method includes: determining a frequency domain position and/or spatial domain position for receiving a signal, wherein the frequency domain position includes one or more of a plurality of frequency domain positions, and the spatial domain position includes one or more of a plurality of spatial domain positions; and receiving the signal at the determined frequency domain position and/or spatial domain position. The signal is one or more of a pre-indication signal, information carried in a PDCCH, and a paging message.

With the development of mobile communication technologies, a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system has emerged. To support higher system throughput and user throughput, the 5G system supports frequency domain division and spatial domain division, so that UE can receive signals at different frequency domain positions and/or spatial domain positions.
For example, a 5G system supports a system bandwidth of up to 400 MHz, which is far greater than a system bandwidth of up to 20 MHz in Long Term Evolution (LTE). Therefore, higher system and user throughputs are supported. In addition, the 5G system also supports dynamic and flexible bandwidth allocation. A system bandwidth may be divided into a plurality of bandwidth parts (BWPs) to support narrowband UE or UE in a power saving mode, so that the UE only needs to operate in a part of the system bandwidth.
For another example, the 5G system also supports an operating frequency band above 6 GHz, to provide a higher data transmission throughput. Because a high-frequency signal has a short wavelength, compared with a low frequency band signal, a panel of given size may accommodate more antenna array elements, so that a plurality of beams with higher directivity and narrower lobes may be formed by using a beamforming technique. The 5G system can transmit broadcast signals or system information to UE in a cell by using a beam sweeping technique.
The related art is silent about how to transmit and receive signals at a plurality of frequency domain positions (for example, there are a plurality of BWPs) and/or a plurality of spatial domain positions (for example, there are a plurality of beams). Therefore, when there are a plurality of frequency domain positions and/or a plurality of spatial domain positions, how a network device transmits a signal to UE and how the UE receives the signal transmitted by the network device become problems that urgently need to be resolved.

Signal receiving method, signal transmission method, user equipment, and network device


This invention is directed to systems and methods for removing lipids from a fluid or from lipid-containing organisms from a fluid, such as plasma. These systems combine a fluid with at least one extraction solvent, which causes the lipids to separate from the fluid or from the lipid-containing organisms. The separated lipids are removed from the fluid. The at least one extraction solvent is removed from the fluid or at least reduced to a concentration enabling the fluid to be administered to a patient without undesirable consequences. Once the fluid has been processed, the fluid may be administered to a patient who donated the fluid or to a different patient for therapy.

Hyperlipidemia and Arteriosclerosis
Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular diseases are responsible for a significant number of deaths annually in many industrialized countries. One of the most common pathological processes underlying these diseases is arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is characterized by lesions, which begin as localized fatty thickenings in the inner aspects of blood vessels supplying blood to the heart, brain, and other organs and tissues throughout the body. Over time, these atherosclerotic lesions may ulcerate, exposing fatty plaque deposits that may break away and embolize within the circulation. Atherosclerotic lesions obstruct the lumens of the affected blood vessels and often reduce the blood flow within the blood vessels, which may result in ischemia of the tissue supplied by the blood vessel. Embolization of atherosclerotic plaques may produce acute obstruction and ischemia in distal blood vessels. Such ischemia, whether prolonged or acute, may result in a heart attack or stroke from which the patient may or may not recover. Similar ischemia in an artery supplying an extremity may result in gangrene requiring amputation of the extremity.
For some time, the medical community has recognized the relationship between arteriosclerosis and levels of dietary lipid, serum cholesterol, and serum triglycerides within a patient's blood stream. Many epidemiological studies have been conducted revealing that the amount of serum cholesterol within a patient's blood stream is a significant predictor of coronary disease. Similarly, the medical community has recognized the relationship between hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes mellitus. Further, hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis have been identified as being related to other major health problems, such as obesity and hypertension.
Hyperlipidemia may be treated by changing a patient's diet. However, use of a patient's diet as a primary mode of therapy requires a major effort on the part of patients, physicians, nutritionists, dietitians, and other health care professionals and thus undesirably taxes the resources of health professionals. Another negative aspect of this therapy is that its success does not rest exclusively on diet. Rather, success of dietary therapy depends upon a combination of social, psychological, economic, and behavioral factors. Thus, therapy based only on correcting flaws within a patient's diet is not always successful.
In instances when dietary modification has been unsuccessful, drug therapy has been used as an alternative. Such therapy has included use of commercially available hypolipidemic drugs administered alone or in combination with other therapies as a supplement to dietary control. Hypolipidemic drugs have had varying degrees of success in reducing blood lipid; however, none of the hypolipidemic drugs successfully treats all types of hyperlipidemia. While some hypolipidemic drugs have been fairly successful, the medical community has not found any conclusive evidence that hypolipidemic drugs cause regression of atherosclerosis. In addition, all hypolipidemic drugs have undesirable side effects. As a result of the lack of success of dietary control, drug therapy and other therapies, atherosclerosis remains a major cause of death in many parts of the world.
To combat this disturbing fact, a relatively new therapy has been used to reduce the amount of lipid in patients for whom drug and diet therapies were not sufficiently effective. This therapy, referred to as plasmapheresis therapy or plasma exchange therapy, involves replacing a patient's plasma with donor plasma or more usually a plasma protein fraction. While having been fairly successful, this treatment has resulted in complications due to introduction of foreign proteins and transmission of infectious diseases. Further, plasma exchange undesirably removes many plasma proteins, such as very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
HDL is secreted from both the liver and the intestine as nascent, disk-shaped particles that contain cholesterol and phospholipids. HDL is believed to play a role in reverse cholesterol transport, which is the process by which excess cholesterol is removed from tissues and transported to the liver for reuse or disposal in the bile. Therefore, removal of HDL from plasma is not desirable.
Other apheresis techniques exist that can remove LDL from plasma. These techniques include absorption of LDL in heparin-agarose beads (affinity chromatography), the use of immobilized LDL-antibodies, cascade filtration absorption to immobilize dextran sulphate, and LDL precipitation at low pH in the presence of heparin. Each method removes LDL but not HDL.
LDL apheresis, however, has disadvantages. For instance, significant amounts of plasma proteins in addition to LDL are removed during apheresis. In addition, LDL apheresis must be performed frequently, such as weekly, to obtain a sustained reduction in LDL-cholesterol. Furthermore, LDL removal may be counterproductive because low LDL levels in a patient's blood may result in increased cellular cholesterol synthesis. Thus, removal of LDL from a patient's blood may have negative side effects.
Yet another method of achieving a reduction in plasma cholesterol in homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and patients with acquired hyperlipidemia is an extracorporeal lipid elimination process, referred to as lipid apheresis. In lipid apheresis, blood is withdrawn from a patient, the plasma is separated from the blood, and the plasma is mixed with a solvent mixture. The solvent mixture extracts lipids from the plasma. Thereafter, the delipidated plasma is recombined with the patient's blood cells and returned to the patient.
More specifically, lipid apheresis results in the removal of fats from plasma or serum. However, unlike LDL apheresis, the proteins (apolipoproteins) that transport lipids remain soluble in the treated plasma or serum. Thus, the apolipoproteins of VLDL, LDL and HDL are present in the treated plasma or serum. These apolipoproteins, in particular apolipoproteins A1 from the delipidated HDL in the plasma or serum, are responsible for the mobilization of unwanted lipids or toxins, such as excessive amounts of deposited lipids including cholesterol in arteries, plaques, and excessive amounts of triglycerides, adipose tissue, and fat soluble toxins present in adipose tissue. These excessive amounts of lipids or toxins are transferred to the plasma or serum, and then bound to the newly assembled apolipoproteins. Application of another lipid apheresis procedure successively removes these unwanted lipids or toxins from the plasma and thus the body. The main advantage of this procedure is that LDL and HDL are not removed from the plasma. Instead, only cholesterol, some phospholipid and a considerable amount of triglycerides are removed.
While lipid apheresis has the potential to overcome the shortcomings of dietary control, drug therapy and other apheresis techniques, existing apparatuses and methods for lipid apheresis do not provide a sufficiently rapid and safe process. Thus, a need exists for systems, apparatuses and methods capable of conducting lipid apheresis more quickly than accomplished with conventional equipment and methods.
Unfortunately, existing lipid apheresis systems suffer from a number of disadvantages that limit their ability to be used in clinical applications, such as in doctors' offices and other medical facilities. One disadvantage is the explosive nature of the solvents used to delipidate this plasma. If used in a continuous system, these solvents are in close proximity to patients and medical staff. Thus, it would be advantageous to limit this exposure; however, this hazard is clearly present for the duration of the delipidation process, which usually runs for several hours.
Another disadvantage is the difficulty in removing a sufficient amount of solvents from the delipidated plasma in order for the delipidated plasma to be safely returned to a patient. In addition, patients are subjected to an increased chance of prolonged exposure to solvents in a continuous system. Furthermore, current techniques do not provide for sequential multi-washes because the volume of blood necessary for continuous processing using conventional equipment requires removal of an amount of blood that would harm the patient. In other words, conventional equipment does not allow for automated continuous removal, processing and return of plasma to a patient in a manner that does not negatively impact total blood volume of the patient. While the long-term toxicity of various extraction solvents is not known, especially when present in the bloodstream, clinicians know that some solvents may cross the blood-brain barrier. Furthermore, external contact with solvents is known to cause clinical symptoms, such as irritation of mucous membranes, contact dermatitis, headaches, dizziness and drowsiness. Therefore, conventional equipment for lipid apheresis is not adequate to conduct continuous processing of a patient's blood.
Infectious Disease
While the medical community has struggled to develop cures for hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis, it has likewise struggled in its battle against infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are a major cause of suffering and death throughout the world. Infectious disease of varied etiology affects billions of animals and humans each year and inflicts an enormous economic burden on society. Many infectious organisms contain lipid as a major component of the membrane that surrounds them. Three major classes of organisms that produce infectious disease and contain lipid in their cell wall or envelope include bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Numerous bacteria and viruses that affect animals and humans cause extreme suffering, morbidity and mortality. Many bacteria and viruses travel throughout the body in fluids, such as blood, and some reside in plasma. These and other infectious agents may be found in other fluids, such as peritoneal fluid, lymphatic fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, and in various fluids of the reproductive system. Disease can be caused at any site bathed by these fluids. Other bacteria and viruses reside primarily in different organ systems or in specific tissues, where they proliferate and enter the circulatory system to gain access to other tissues and organs.
Infectious agents, such as viruses, affect billions of people annually. Recent epidemics include the disease commonly known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is believed to be caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This virus is rapidly spreading throughout the world and is prevalent in various sub-populations, including individuals who receive blood transfusions, individuals who use needles contaminated with the disease, and individuals who contact infected fluids. This disease is also widespread in certain countries. Currently, no known cure exists.
It has long been recognized that a simple, reliable and economically efficient method for reducing the infectivity of the HIV virus is needed to decrease transmission of the disease. Additionally, a method of treating fluids of infected individuals is needed to decrease transmission of the virus to others in contact with these fluids. Furthermore, a method of treating blood given to blood banks is needed to decrease transmission of the virus through individuals receiving transfusions. Moreover, an apparatus and method are needed for decreasing the viral load of an individual or an animal by treating the plasma of that individual and returning the treated plasma to the individual such that the viral load in the plasma is decreased.
Other major viral infections that affect animals and humans include, but are not limited to meningitis, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis in its various forms. While some forms of hepatitis may be treated with drugs, other forms have not been successfully treated in the past.
At the present time, most anti-viral therapies focus on preventing or inhibiting viral replication by manipulating the initial attachment of the virus to the T4 lymphocyte or macrophage, the transcription of viral RNA to viral DNA and the assemblage of new virus during reproduction. Such a focus has created major difficulty with existing treatments, especially with regard to HIV. Specifically, the high mutation rate of the HIV virus often renders treatments ineffective shortly after application. In addition, many different strains of HIV have already become or are becoming resistant to anti-viral drug therapy. Furthermore, during anti-viral therapy treatment, resistant strains of the virus may evolve. Finally, many common therapies for HIV infection involve several undesirable side effects and require patients to ingest numerous pills daily. Unfortunately, many individuals are afflicted with multiple infections caused by more than one infectious agent, such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. Such individuals require even more aggressive and expensive drugs to counteract disease progression. Such drugs may cause numerous side effects as well as multi-drug resistance. Therefore, an effective method and apparatus is needed that does not rely on drugs for combating infectious organisms found in fluids.
Thus, a need exists to overcome the deficiencies of conventional systems and methods for removing lipids from fluids such as plasma or serum and for removing lipids from infectious organisms contained in a fluid. Furthermore, a need exists for a medical apparatus and method to perform delipidation rapidly, either in a continuous or discontinuous manner of operation. A need further exists for such an apparatus and process to perform safely and reliably, and to produce delipidated fluid having residual plasma solvent levels meeting acceptable standards. In addition, a need exists for an apparatus having minimal physical connection between a patient and the lipid apheresis process. Furthermore, a need exists for an economical medical apparatus that is sterile and made of a disposable construction for a single use application. Finally, a need exists for such an apparatus and process to be automated, thereby requiring minimal operator intervention during the course of normal operation.

Systems and methods using multiple solvents for the removal of lipids from fluids


A tree-based datastore comprising a forest of interconnected trees that can be generated and/or accessed may require specialized saving and restoring processes to ensure that all the links are properly maintained whether it will be restored in full or in part. A previous process acted on known features of the trees based datastore to generate a file of metadata and packetize each of the nodes of the structure, carefully saving the links and lists of links with old memory addresses accounted for. This shows how to build a save file without saving all links, using a new restore process to restore the links instead.

Saving and restoring the knowledge store or KStore that is an interlocking trees datastore can be an important feature in the commercialization of such datastores. In experimental trials we have reduced time required to save and restore KStores by several orders of magnitude, and the memory size needed, applying the principles we teach herein.
We have developed a system and various methods for creating and using interlocking trees datastores. In particular, these structures and methods have been described in copending patent applications U.S. Ser. Nos. 10/385,421, and 10/666,382, by inventor Mazzagatti. Additionally, we described a system in which such interlocking trees datastores could more effectively be used in U.S. Ser. No. 10/879,329. While the system and method we describe in this patent relate with particularity to the specific interlocking trees datastores which inventor Mazzagatti hereof described in the above-referenced patent (applications), the system and methods described herein may also be applicable to similar structures.
There are of course other uses for saved interlocking trees datastores. With the use of partial saves, or "partitions" of a whole interlocking trees datastore, there are even more uses. Therefore, one could use a save and restore process to do things such as saving interlocking trees datastores (or saving partial interlocking trees datastores) that have been built on one machine into multiple computing machines for similar but distributed or independent contemporaneous uses, for just one example. To put a real-world view on this, one can see knowledge-filled interlocking trees datastores being saved from a central machine and restored into cash registers across a nationwide company handling queries on inventory at point of sale without recourse to a central repository. One can see saving course material or sample knowledge bases for student use or modification on their individual computers. For any such uses, the save and restore processes we describe that are responsive to these needs can be used to move an interlocking trees datastores, and partial saves thereof, from any memory to any other.
While the interlocking trees datastores structure created by the system originally described in co-pending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 10/385,421 provides many useful traits for relating the data to itself in various ways, and for generating results to various inquiries without the need to generate special structures to obtain the results, heretofore there have been fundamental limits on its usefulness. One of the limitations was that the data structure in memory in a computer works while in place, but was not amenable to moving, or to saving and subsequent restoration. We previously had to re-teach, that is, re-create (or, more exactly, allow our inventive systems to re-create) an entire new copy or instantiation of the interlocking trees datastore every time we needed to move it or needed to shut down the computer system in which it existed. Thus, the availability of portability and longevity for interlocking trees datastores despite computer system failure were unavailable to the interlocking trees datastores prior to this development.
Given that the data structure we created did not exist in computer systems prior to our development, we found little in the way of prior designs for such systems to accommodate our need. Accordingly we were forced to design a specific way to save our structure so that it could be restored without losing the connections that make it what it is; that is, the pointer structure needed to be restored correctly, despite the changed address space in new systems into which it might be ported or in the same computer system from which it was saved and to which it needed to be restored. The elemental root nodes needed their data retained and access to their pointers into the structure restored. All of the nodes needed to have the same access to their pointers, even though they may all later be restored to different addresses, and we needed to accomplish this in an OS-independent and machine-independent way so that the interlocking trees datastore could be used in any computer environment.
Generally, a forest of interconnecting trees datastore is generated and/or accessed in a manner we have described before in earlier patent documents. The tree-based datastore comprises a first tree that depends from a first root node and may include a plurality of branches. Each of the branches of the first tree ends in a leaf node. Each leaf node may represent an end product, or a subcomponent node. A second root of the same tree-based datastore is linked to each leaf node representing an end product. Finally, the tree-based datastore comprises a plurality of trees in which the root node of each of these trees can be described as an elemental node. The root node of each of these trees may be linked to one or more nodes in one or more branches of the first tree. The nodes of the tree-based datastore contain only pointers to other nodes in the tree-based datastore, and may contain additional fields wherein one such may be a count field. Additionally, means to get probabilities of the coincidence of variables related to particular nodes as identified by desired contexts within one or more defined foci are described. Further, the application of logical operators to queries regarding such variables is shown.
After working with the save and restore system we describe in co-pending application Ser. No. 10/759,466, we discovered that we could operate save and restore significantly more efficiently. Accordingly, we describe those findings herein, along with some of the original disclosure from that application.

Saving and restoring an interlocking trees datastore


A self-retaining shear pin tool and methods for connecting downhole tubulars in a wellbore are disclosed. The self-retaining shear pin tool includes a cap having an inner side and an outer side opposite the inner side, the cap defining a first recess formed in the inner side of the cap, the first recess of the cap having a cylindrical portion and a frustoconical portion extending from the cylindrical portion towards the outer side of the cap, and a shear pin disposed partially in the first recess of the cap and extending out of the first recess of the cap. The shear pin includes a body, a first recess extending inward from a first end of the body, a second recess extending inward from a second end of the body, a first swage, and a second swage die.

Drilling, operating, and maintaining wells includes placing downhole tubulars within wellbores. Shear pins (e.g., shear pins or shear screws with partially threaded shanks) can be employed to connect downhole tubulars in the wellbore. Shear pins can serve as a "weak-link" in the connected downhole tubulars. Application of an increased axial load that exceeds a predefined threshold on the shear pins causes the pins to fail and the downhole tubulars to separate and move freely.


Apparatus for the deposition of a material such as diamond on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition is provided. The apparatus comprises:. support shelf on which the substrate is located; PA1 a resistance heating element in the form of an elongate strip of conductive material having at least one curved section in its length; the elongate strip being positioned relative to, and spaced from, the substrate such that it presents an elongate edge to the substrate and an elongate edge away from the substrate; and PA1 means such as a perforated pipe for causing reaction gas for the deposition to pass across the elongate strip from one longitudinal edge to the other and then to the support shelf and the substrate located thereon.

This invention relates to apparatus for depositing a material such as diamond on a substrate by chemical vapour deposition.
Methods of depositing material such as diamond on a substrate by chemical vapour deposition (hereinafter referred to as "CVD") are now well established and have been described extensively in the patent and other literature. Where diamond is being deposited on a substrate, the method generally involves providing a mixture of hydrogen or oxygen gas and a suitable gaseous carbon compound such as a hydrocarbon, applying sufficient energy to that gas to dissociate the hydrogen into atomic hydrogen or the oxygen into atomic oxygen and the gas into active carbon ions, atoms or CH radicals and allowing such active species to deposit on the substrate to form diamond. Dissociation of the gases can take place by a variety of methods.
One such method is the use of a hot filament. In this method, the temperature of the filament is about 2000.degree. C. and the substrate on which the diamond growth occurs is at 600.degree. to 1100.degree. C.
Apparatus for depositing diamond or other material on a substrate by chemical vapour deposition using the hot filament method will generally include a closed reaction chamber having at least one gas inlet and at least one exhaust means. The apparatus will further include means for supporting the substrate and resistance heating means in the form of electrically conductive filaments across which the gas is passed to cause it to dissociate. In use, the chamber will generally be maintained at a pressure below atmospheric.
One of the inherent practical problems with the hot filament deposition method is the deformation and fragility of the filament during repeated heat cycles. Various solutions to prevent filament deformation and sagging have been suggested. Most of these suggestions are based on the concept of tensioning the filaments so as to take up the expansion during heating. There are disadvantages with the tensioning technique. The filament stretches under tension at high temperatures creating thinner sections in the filament which give rise to hot spots and eventual breakage. Further, the technique requires complicated mechanical assemblies in order to tension filament wires which are then heated by high electric currents.
South African Patent No. 90/5696 provides resistance heating means in the form of a plurality of vertically extending linear, electrically conductive filaments prestressed to curve in a single plane substantially equidistant from and parallel to the substrate on which deposition is to take place. The filaments are secured at each end to a pair of electrodes.
Another frequent problem is the short life of the filaments if heat cycles are involved in the method. After being heated and exposed to the growth atmosphere most filament materials carburise and become fragile. In conventional filament holding assemblies, this will invariably result in filament breakage during the cooling cycle.

Apparatus for depositing a material on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition


A fuel injector solenoid includes an armature through which a high pressure fuel passage extends. Because the fuel passage is disposed within the armature, the solenoid can be made larger, thereby permitting greater armature forces to be developed.

Fuel injected engines employ fuel injectors, each of which delivers a metered quantity of fuel to an associated engine cylinder during each engine cycle. Prior fuel injectors were of the mechanically or hydraulically actuated type with either mechanical or hydraulic control of fuel delivery. More recently, electronically controlled fuel injectors have been developed. In the case of an electronic unit injector, fuel is supplied to the injector by a transfer pump. The injector includes a plunger which is movable by a cam-driven rocker arm to compress the fuel delivered by the transfer pump to a high pressure. An electrically operated mechanism either carried outside the injector body or disposed within the injector proper is then actuated to cause fuel delivery to the associated engine cylinder.
Prior fuel injector designs have included high pressure fuel passages extending around a central recess containing a solenoid coil and a solenoid armature. Because the overall size of the fuel injector is limited, the size of the solenoid must also be limited, thereby undesirably reducing the available solenoid force. In addition, the high pressure fuel passage must include turns and bends in order not to intersect the solenoid recess, thereby complicating formation of the passages and requiring the use of plugs to seal off portions of the passages after formation. Because of the increase in the path length of the fuel passages, relatively large forces must be placed on the various parts in order to achieve proper sealing, thereby leading to part deflections which can undesirably affect the various components.

Fuel injector solenoid utilizing an apertured armature


The present invention provides an information recording medium in which at least one set of an audio data portion and a music block, which represent a piece of music, is recorded. The audio data portion includes first audio data. The music block includes first music reproduction information associated with the first audio data so as to manage reproduction of the first audio data. The first music reproduction information includes a first block type which indicates that the first audio data is audio data for a first use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rewritable information recording medium, and more particularly to an information recording medium to which distributed music content (music) is recorded. The present invention also relates to an information recording apparatus for recording distributed music content to such an information recording medium, a reproducing apparatus for reproducing recorded music content from the information recording medium, and a copying apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the result that various compression encoding methods were invented and technologies related to the internet rapidly came into wide use, a number of electronic music distribution systems have been offering music distribution services. In such systems, compression encoding methods, such as MP3, are utilized to allow music to be distributed to a user in a short amount of time even if a narrow-band network is used. In the present specification, data including distributed music is referred to as "EMD (electronic music distribution) data". Most of such electronic music distribution systems presuppose the use of a PC (personal computer), and therefore reproduction compatibility, i.e., distributed music can be reproduced by any PC, is not a major problem. As a result, a large number of electronic music distribution systems are currently in service, and there are differences in format for the EMD data among the electronic music distribution systems.
Further, in many cases, the electronic music distribution system employs a copy control method which is different from a conventional copy control method. The conventional copy control method is of a generation management type, which allows an original medium to be copied but is controlled such that a grandchild copy of the original medium cannot be created. As methods for realizing such copy control, there are SCMS (serial copy management system) for use with a CD (compact disc) or an MD (MiniDisc), CPPM (content protection for prerecorded media) for use with DVD (digital versatile disc) Audio, and the like. On the other hand, in many cases, the electronic music distribution system employs methods, such as "MOVE", "CHECK OUT/IN", and the like. The "MOVE" method is used to copy contents of an original medium to another medium, and the contents of the original medium are deleted upon completion of copying. Moreover, in many cases, contents of a target medium, which are created by copying, are also allowed to be "MOVED", as contents of an original medium, to another medium.
In an original medium which is in conformity with the "CHECK OUT" method, counter information is recorded together with contents thereof. When copying the contents of the original medium to another medium, the counter information is modified simultaneously with copying the contents. When the value of the counter amounts to a prescribed number, additional copying of the original medium is not allowed. Moreover, a grandchild copy is not allowed to be created from a target medium to which the contents of the original medium are recorded. The "CHECK IN" method is used in a manner opposite to the "CHECK OUT" method. That is, counter information recorded in an original medium is updated simultaneously with deleting contents of a target medium, which are copied from the original medium in accordance with the "CHECK OUT" method. This allows the contents of the original medium to be copied to another medium. With regard to such copying, most of the current electronic music distribution systems also presuppose the use of a PC, and therefore the fact that any PC can make a copy of distributed music content does not cause any major problems.
Since most of the current electronic music distribution systems presuppose the use of a PC, any user who does not have a PC cannot receive electronic music distribution services. Therefore, there is a need for consumer apparatuses which can be readily handled by a large number of users and can record/reproduce EMD data to/from an information recording medium (disc). For example, a case where a household audio recorder/player, which is in conformity with DVD-RAM standards, is used for recording/reproducing EMD data to/from a DVD-RAM disc is considered. In this case, there are necessities for a data format and an information recording apparatus which allow conversion of distributed EMD data into LPCM (linear pulse code modulation) audio data or audio data processed by other compression coding methods, recording of the converted audio data to a DVD-RAM disc, and the use of new copy control methods, such as "MOVE", "CHECK OUT", and the like. Moreover, it is necessary to realize reproduction compatibility which allows audio data recorded in a disc to be reproduced by any reproducing apparatus, long-time recording which allows data to be recorded as much as possible, and high-speed copying performed by any copying apparatus in accordance with a "MOVE" or "CHECK OUT" method.
It is conceivable that a method which realizes such reproduction compatibility, long-time recording, and high-speed copying, uses a mandatory compression encoding method defined as a disc standard. Where the mandatory compression encoding method is defined as a disc standard, audio data is always required to be recorded to a disc by such a compression encoding method, so as to ensure reproduction compatibility with any reproducing apparatus. Moreover, when audio data is recorded to a disc by a compression encoding method, it is possible to realize long-time recording and high-speed-copying. However, when a mandatory compression encoding method is defined as a disc standard, any apparatus, which is in conformity with such a standard, is always required to mount a decoder, which uses the mandatory compression encoding method, and there is an obligation to pay a license fee. Moreover, even if any new high sound-quality and high compression-rate encoding method is developed in the future with the advance of technology, data recording has to be performed using a conventional mandatory compression encoding method.
Further, in the case of copying music data for use in one application program, which uses a mandatory compression method, in order to use the music data in another application program, if the mandatory compression encoding method is different from a compression encoding method supported by the target application program in which the copied music data is used, the copied music data is required to be converted so as to conform to the compression encoding method supported by the target application program. As a result, high-speed copying cannot be realized and even deterioration in sound quality is caused by such conversion. In this manner, various problems are caused by defining the mandatory compression encoding method as a disc standard.
In order to realize reproduction compatibility, long-time recording, and high-speed copying while avoiding the problems as described above, it is conceivable to define a mechanism which allows a user to choose whether to record LPCM audio data created by decoding the original audio data, which is encoded by a specific compression encoding method, so as to ensure reproduction compatibility, or to record the original audio data without converting the format therefor so as to realize long-time recording and high-speed copying. Alternatively, in some cases, music data encoded by both an LPCM encoding method and a specific compression-encoding method are recorded to a disc. In such a case, any one of the following data formats (1), (2), and (3) is required.
(1) Data format with music data which ensures reproduction compatibility.
Unlike a PC, it is difficult for a household audio player to be compatible with all of a large number of electronic music distribution systems. Therefore, by defining an audio data reproducing means, which is necessarily mounted on all audio players, and recording audio data in conformity with a specific encoding method which can be reproduced using such an audio data reproducing means, reproduction compatibility is ensured. In this case, LPCM is desirable as the specific encoding method.
(2) Data format with compressed audio data included in EMD data, which can be copied from one disc to another disc at high speed using any copying apparatus.
In order to perform a "Move" operation or a "CHECK OUT" operation on EMD data distributed by an electronic music distribution system, the format for the EMD data is required to be decoded, and therefore it is difficult for a household audio apparatus to be compatible with all electronic music distribution systems. Therefore, by defining an audio data copying means, which is necessarily mounted on all copying apparatuses, and recording compressed music data, which can be copied at high speed using such an audio copping means, to a disc, it is ensured that the EMD data can be copied at high speed using any copying apparatus.
(3) Data format with a mechanism which realizes long-time recording.
Specifically, the mechanism provides a choice between recording of both the audio data specified by (1) and the compressed audio data specified by (2) and recording of only the compressed audio data specified by (2). Alternatively, only the compressed audio data specified by (2) is recorded without any choice. When simultaneously recording the audio data specified by both (1) and (2), reproduction compatibility can be ensured but long-time recording cannot be realized. On the other hand, when recording only the compressed audio data specified by (2), long-time recording can be realized but reproduction compatibility is not ensured. Therefore, the compressed audio data specified by (2) can be reproduced only by a player having a reproducing means which can reproduce the compressed audio data.
As described above, when both the audio data specified by (1) and the compressed audio data specified by (2) are recorded in an information recording medium for the same piece of music, in the light of convenience for a user, it is desirable that either one of the audio data specified by (1) and (2) is used for reproduction or copying. Prior art documents, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 11-120748, disclose reproducing apparatuses for reproducing audio data according to reproduction environment, i.e., according to their ability to receive a data stream. However, such reproducing apparatuses cannot choose either the audio data specified by (1) or the compressed audio data specified by (2) for reproduction.
An objective of the present invention are to provide an information recording medium in which data is recorded using a disc format which solves the above-described problems, and the other objectives of the present invention are to provide an information recording apparatus, an information reproducing apparatus, and a copying apparatus, which are used with such an information recording medium.

Information recording, information reproducing and copying apparatuses, and information recording medium for recording and reproducing music

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention is a machine for manufacturing welded steel pipes, in which an edge bending roll for constraining under pressure a strip from its pipe edge portions to the boundaries between the pipe edge portions and its pipe side portions to bend the strip, a first center bending roll for constraining under pressure the pipe side portions to bend the pipe side portions, second to fourth center bending rolls for constraining under pressure the strip from the boundaries between the pipe side portions and its pipe bottom portion to the pipe bottom portion and applying lateral pressure to the pipe from both sides to bend the boundaries and the pipe bottom portion and a plurality of cage rolls arranged on both the sides of these center bending rolls, first and second fin pass rolls for further forming under pressure the pipe, are arranged in order from the stream side to the downstreamside of a roll forming process. And at least the edge bending roll, the first center bending roll, the first and second fin pass rolls each has a driving means provided thereon, and all the upper rolls of the first to fourth center bending rolls are set in one housing, and all the bottom roll stands of the first to fourth center bending rolls or all the bottom roll stands of the second to fourth center bending rolls are set on one common sub-base plate.

(A) Line constitution
A welded steel pipe manufactured by roll forming a steel strip to shape a pipe and welding its butted seam is already well known. Recently, an electrically seamed steel pipe manufactured by electrically (resistance) welding of a seam is mainly produced.
For one of the roll forming methods in this case, by the way, there is a whole width reduction bending method in which a strip is bent in whole, with gradually reducing its width, so as to make the whole of a pipe round. As to the forming machines belonging to this method, there are known one shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, supplied by Yoda Co. in U.S.A. (disclosed in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 29,896/1970) and another one shown in FIG. 13 to FIG. 15, supplied by Thorans Co. in U.S.A. (the official gazette of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 28,897/1971). In the figures, the reference numeral 100 represents a pre-forming roll, 102, 104, 106 and 108: break-down rolls, 110 . . . : inner rolls, EF: an edge forming roll, CR: cage rolls, 1F, 2F and 3F: fin pass rolls, and SQ: a squeezing roll, respectively.
However, these machines have such defects as follows:
i) the number of forming rolls is large, PA0 ii) the constraining force to a strip is weak so that the strip is apt to roll. PA0 iii) an applicable range of use for rolls to the change in the size of pipe to be produced is narrow, PA0 iv) the contour of a formed pipe becomes easily a discontinuous polygonal form due to the influence of rolls (See: FIG. 16), and PA0 v) there is large load in the final stage of fin pass forming, because the bending work can not be satisfactorily carried out in the rough and intermediate forming courses, and in practice, it is required to provide at least three stages of fin pass rolls.
In order to overcome these defects, such a forming machine as shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 has first been developed (the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 135,428/1986). This machine is composed so that an edge forming roll EF, first to fourth center bending rolls 1CB, 2CB, 3CB and 4CB and a large number of cage rolls CR . . . arranged on both the sides of these center bending rolls, a plurality of fin pass rolls 1F, 2F and 3F, and a squeezing roll SQ, are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side, wherein the edge forming roll EF serves to bend the pipe edge portions of a strip (FIG. 18a), the first to third center bending rolls 1CB, 2CB and 3CB and the cage rolls CR . . . serve to bend the boundaries of the pipe side portions of the strip and the pipe bottom portion thereof (FIGS. 18b, c and d), the fourth center bending roll 4CB and the cage rolls CR . . . serve to bend the pipe bottom portion (FIG. 18e) so that a pipe is U-shaped in cross section (FIG. 18f ), and the fin pass rolls 1F, 2F and 3F serve to further form the pipe under pressure so that the pipe side portions are protruded, and the pipe edge portions, the boundaries between the pipe edge portions and pipe side portions and the boundaries between the pipe side portions and pipe bottom portion are bent and unbent, and a welder serves to weld the resulting seam and the squeezing roll SQ serve to upset bond the said seam.
Also in this case, there are practically such defects as follows:
1 Since the first to fourth center bending rolls 1CB, 2CB, 3CB and 4CB serve to bend only the boundaries between the pipe side portions and pipe bottom portion and the pipe bottom portion and they are therefor arranged at the center of the strip within a range as wide as one-third of its width (FIGS. 18b to d), and since the first to third center bending rolls 1CB, 2CB and 3CB each comprises a twin type split roll, the contact area of these rolls with the strip is small. Even if all the center bending rolls are driven, accordingly, the transmission of feed torque from the rolls to the strip can not be carried out satisfactorily, and as a result, the strip can not be made to progress smoothly.
In order to drive all the center bending rolls, it is necessary to make the machine large-scaled and it is difficult to ensure the space where the cage rolls are to be installed, also leading to the increase of installation expense.
2 Since the second and third center bending rolls 2CB and 3CB each is a twin type split roll (See: FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, wherein FIG. 19 shows a case of a larger size of a pipe to be produced and FIG. 20 shows a case of a smaller one), the formation of dents and roll flaws on the strip, in particular in the split rolls of the down rolls, will be caused by their roll corners.
3 Since the first to fourth center bending rolls 1CB, 2CB 3CB and 4CB each has an independent stand structure, there are required much labor and a long time for the exchange of these rolls.
4 As to the down rolls of the second and third center bending rolls 2CB and 3CB, their roll space must be changed, in spite of the presence of the cage rolls on both the sides thereof, every time the size of a pipe to be produced is changed, and there are, namely, required much labor and a long time for the adjustment of the rolls.
5 Since it is necessary to provide at least three stages of fin pass rolls 1F, 2F and 3F, there are required much labor and a long time for the exchange of these rolls.
Due to consideration of these facts, the present invention is intended to provide a machine for manufacturing welded steel pipes and a method for handling the machine.
Of conventional forming stands for manufacturing electrically seamed steel pipes, these are used several stages of forming stands of the breakdown roll system or center bending roll system, in the rough and intermediate forming processes. These respective stands are independent of one another, and in each of these stands, upper and down rolls are incorporated in a common housing by way of chocks. Accordingly, the exchange of rolls in each forming stand is carried out one by one through the stand side drawing-out system or chock top drawing-out system.
In these roll exchange techniques, however, there are required much labor and a long time in such a case that most rolls must be exchanged, for instance when the size of a pipe to be produced is changed.
The present invention is intended to solve such problems in the prior art, and to improve the rate of operation.
In such a welded pipe forming machine, however, a pipe is curved down by a force applied thereto from cage rolls in the last zone L of a cage roll forming zone, and in the sledding of a strip, its pipe end does not move smoothly into the next first fin pass roll 1F, and it may move out of the pass line so that pipe forming becomes impossible. Even if the pipe end does so move, the contact of the pipe with the down roll of the first fin pass roll 1F may be too strong, leading to the easy formation of roll flaws on the pipe. When a strip is subjected to the width-reduction forming by right and left cage rolls, furthermore, its pipe bottom portion may be deformed, namely folded partly so that the pipe forming result is inferior.
The present invention is intended to eliminate such defects in the prior art, and to achieve the stable forming of pipes.
(B) Edge bending roll
As to a edge bending roll for bending the edges of a steel strip in a forming machine which bends the strip continuously, there is known the technique disclosed in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 167,025/1983 (FIG. 34). According to this technique, an upper roll 36, of the edge bending rolls, is a pair of right and left split rolls 36a and 36b put on one shaft, wherein the pair of these split rolls 36a and 36b are such that the radius of curvature of the split roll surfaces on the mutually opposite face sides thereof, i.e. on the inner surface sides and the radius of curvature of the roll surfaces on the non-opposite face sides thereof, i.e. on the outer surface sides are different. The pair of these split rolls 36a, 36b are made to be changeable for each other in the putting position with respect to a shaft 37 so that both the inner and outer face sides of these split rolls 36a, 36b can be reversed in position. It is, therefore, possible to form strip edges for two sizes of pipes to be produced, by use of the pair of these split upper rolls 36a, 36b together with down rolls 1.
A strip edge forming roll for a welded steel pipe serves to pass a strip while it is held between both the upper and down rolls, thereby forming on the edges of the strip a curved portion corresponding to the size of a pipe to be produced. It is, therefore, necessary to exchange the said rolls, every time the size of a pipe to be produced is changed. Such roll exchange requires much labor in proportion to the sizes of pipes to be produced.
The present invention is intended to provide an edge bending roll for welded steel pipes, in which the above problems are solved.
(C) Split forming roll adjusting device
A roll forming machine in a welded steel pipe manufacturing line for working a steel strip continously comprises upper rolls and down rolls as the forming rolls, in which a steel strip is passed between the rolls so as to be bent in the so-called flower form. If the forming roll is exchanged every time the size of a pipe to be produced is changed, there are required a large number of forming rolls different in size, and their exchange is not easy, leading to increase of cost. Recently, a split roll system has been, therefore, mainly used.
This split roll system is such that the forming roll is composed of split members divided right and left into two parts, i.e. split rolls, wherein the size of a pipe to be produced can be changed by adjusting the space between the split rolls. As to an adjustment means therefor, there are known, for instance one of having a helical adjustment mechanism, disclosed in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 28,627/1982 and another of exchanging a spacer between split rolls, disclosed in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 209,722/1982.
However, the former adjustment means is composed such that the horizontal main shaft thereof is a screw in itself and a pair of nuts screw-engaged with the said screw, wherein a pair of split rolls movably mounted on the main shaft are moved in the axial direction, respectively, by screw-moving the said nuts, so that the space between the split rolls can be adjusted. Accordingly, there is a large possibility of such a risk that the main shaft may be damaged due to the concentration of stress, when any large load is applied to the split rolls. Furthermore, the former adjustment means is not suitable, in particular in the case of manufacturing pipes from a thin sheet, in which high accuracy is required, because it has no backlash adjustment mechanism.
The latter adjustment means is such that a spacer is made to intervene between a pair of right and left split rolls and the said spacer is exchanged with one different in size at need. Every time the spacer is exchanged, accordingly, there are required so much labor and long time, because it is necessary to detach a main shaft from the machine and to detach the split rolls and the spacer from the main shaft, and then to assemble the split rolls and another spacer different in size in place of the old one and incorporate them into the machine.
The present invention is intended to solve such problems in the prior art and to stabilize the quality of the product.
(D) Upper roll actuating apparatus
An upper roll which serves to cause a strip to progress as it is held between the upper roll and a down roll whereby it is gradually shaped into a tubular form, is provided so as to be adjustable in vertical position, in order that the roll surface of the said upper roll is made to accord with a pass line for strips different in thickness and the strips are pressed down. The upper roll actuating apparatus therefor is usually provided so that screw shafts are provided standingly from the chocks at both the ends of an upper roll put-on shaft, and these screw shafts are incorporated in the worm jucks at both the right and left portions of a worm shaft supported on a stand, whereby the upper roll can be moved up and down, with the rotation of the worm shaft in both the normal and reverse directions. The elimination of backlash in this appararus will be carried out by use of a special oil-hydraulic jack provided between the chocks at both the ends of a down roll put-on shaft and the chocks of the upper roll put-on shaft.
As to the elimination of backlash in such a conventional apparatus as mentioned above, there are such defects that it is difficult to carry out the elimination of backlash, because the space between both the upper roll put-on shaft and down roll put-on shaft is narrow, and it is necessary to detach and attach the oil pipings of the said oil-hydraulic jack, when a stand on the movable side is taken off or mounted on these roll put-on shafts, for exchange of the rolls.
The present device is intended to eliminate such defects as mentioned above, and to carry out properly the elimination of backlash.
(E) Cage rolls
In general, for the cage roll forming an electrically seamed steel pipe, there has been hitherto used such a forming machine as shown in FIG. 47 and FIG. 48. This machine is composed so that a plurality of inner rolls 110 . . . , whose roll widths are smaller in order, are arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side, and a large number of outer rolls, i.e. cage rolls CR . . . , CR . . . are arranged on both the sides of the said inner rolls, at heights and directions fitting to the forming situations, wherein a strip fed therein is gradually bent into a U-shaped form, and further into a circular form by applying force to the strip from the inside and the outside by these rolls.
As to the cage rolls CR . . . , CR . . . of the prior art, by the way, there are two types, as shown in FIG. 49 to FIG. 50, one whose roll surface is of a flat face (for example, disclosed in the official gazettes of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 19,371/1987 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 174,216/1985) and the other whose roll surface is of a convexly curved face (for example, in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 202,122/1984). Both of them can be applicable to various sizes of pipes to be produced.
In these cage rolls, however, there are such defects of making the roll-contacted portion of a formed steel pipe flat in a stripe-pattern so that its good appearance is strikingly ruined and its commercial value is decreased. In particular, the latter of the two types of cage rolls is excessively defective.
The present invention is intended to eliminate these defects in the prior art.

Machine for manufacturing welded steel pipes and method for handling the machine


A method and system for tracking accesses to virtual addresses are disclosed. Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention sets forth a method, which includes the steps of receiving a virtual address from a client requesting to access memory in a graphics context, updating access state information corresponding to a virtual page associated with the graphics context in which the virtual address resides, after the virtual address successfully maps to a physical memory location, and determining whether to evict a physical page associated with the graphics context based on the access state information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to virtual memory management, and more particularly to a method and system for tracking accesses to virtual addresses in graphics contexts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) incorporate high speed processing units, such as shader engines and texture units, which are capable of performing multiple tasks on significant amounts of data in parallel. To access and operate on such data, some virtual memory management schemes have been developed for the GPUs to handle extensive memory accesses.
Traditionally, virtual memory management was implemented for central processing units (CPUs). With virtual memory management, a process can indirectly access physical pages, which store data in a physical memory, via "virtual" addresses. To effectively access the physical page, one memory management mechanism keeps and updates translations from virtual addresses, more precisely "virtual" page numbers derived from the virtual addresses, to physical addresses that point to physical pages in the physical memory. If a physical page corresponding to a virtual address does not currently reside in the physical memory, then the operating system performs the required operations to load the missing page from an auxiliary storage device (such as a hard disk) without needing to know which process requests to access the physical page. Though the aforementioned virtual memory mechanism has been extensively used in CPUs, it is not directly applicable to address some specific GPU's needs.
FIG. 1 illustrates one prior art virtual memory management approach for a GPU. Each task or process performed by the GPU corresponds to a graphics context. "Graphics context" as used herein means all the states, including memory states, needed for the GPU to perform one process. In this prior art implementation, "surface residency" model is adopted, which requires the physical presence of an entire surface, such as the texture surface 108, in the physical memory 106 before a graphics context is executed. With reference to FIG. 1, suppose the list of graphics contexts run by the GPU includes a first graphics context C1 and a second graphics context C2. In the first graphics context C1, for example, a texture mapping operation is applied to a first texture TEXTURE#1, while in the second graphics context C2, another texture mapping operation is applied to a second texture TEXTURE#2. The first graphics context C1 is further associated with a virtual memory space 102 in which certain virtual addresses are allocated for TEXTURE#1. Similarly, the second graphics context C2 is also associated with a virtual memory space 104 in which certain virtual addresses are allocated for TEXTURE#2. To access TEXTURE#1 or TEXTURE#2, the entire texture surface needs to be resident in the physical memory 106. If the surface is not resident in the physical memory, as shown for TEXTURE#2, a surface fault is generated, causing an interrupt to be generated. Then, the driver program along with the operating system usually take over and perform the necessary operations to swap in the missing surface.
The aforementioned surface fault model has a number of disadvantages. First, because it involves the residency of an entire surface, any time a surface fault occurs, the entire surface needs to be swapped in, which may cause undesirable thrashing due to the constant transferring of surfaces between the physical memory 106 and the auxiliary storage. Moreover, suppose only a particular portion of a texture is requested, such as portion 110. Under the surface fault model, memory locations sufficient to hold the entire texture surface in the physical memory 106 are still required to be allocated. Furthermore, referring again back to FIG. 1, with the concurrently operating graphics contexts C1 and C2, implementing a replacement policy for the physical memory 106 on the coarse granularity of a surface (e.g., which surface can be evicted) is likely problematic and inefficient.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is thus a mechanism that can track accesses to virtual addresses in graphics contexts at a finer granularity and address at least the problems set forth above.

Method and system for tracking accesses to virtual addresses in graphics contexts


The invention relates to an interactive exercise management system. The system may be used for improving a workout environment for a specific user or group of users, tracking exercise information, and providing future workout information. The system, and method of using the system, allows for a specific user or group of users to control their workout environmental conditions. The conditions that may be controlled include, but are not limited to, sight, sound, smell and climate.

Medical data shows that regular exercise leads to a healthier life. Despite the availability of gyms and health clubs, many people fail to get a sufficient quantity of exercise. One reason people do not exercise is their workout environment is not ideal.
Gyms and health clubs provide exercise rooms that are temperature/climate controlled, however, they do not provide the individual user or group of users with control over the temperature/climate. Gyms and health clubs also provide TV and music as entertainment options for select exercise equipment, however, they do not provide the individual user or group of users with control over the entertainment options.
There is a need to improve the exercise environments, particularly at gyms and health clubs. The present invention provides for an improved workout environment that may be customized and controlled by each specific user or group of users.


A transmission method of multiple services combination is as follow. During service initialization of both communication sides, an identical TFCS (Transport Format Combination Set), containing all TFC (Transport Format Combination), is created in both sides. When a data is transmitted according to specific TFC at the transmitting end, a corresponding TFCI (Transport Format Combination Indicator) of the TFC is transmitted simultaneously. At the receiving end, the TFCI is used to look for the TFC in the TFCS. The TFCS is divided into no less than one sub-sets according to the specific channel characteristics of the service. TFCI is only used for looking for TFC in a sub-set, but not used to indicate the sub-set where the TFC is located. When data of services are transmitted with TFC at the transmitting end, the service specific channel characteristics are used to define a sub-set where the TFC is located at the receiving end, and the TFCI is used to look for the TFC in the sub-set.

In modem telecommunication system, transmission method taking time-slot, frame or multiple frames as a unit is popular. In order to transmit data of multiple services simultaneously, it is necessary to combine (to multiplex) data of various services in a certain format at the transmitting end, and to de-multiplex received data of various services with the same format at the receiving end. At transmitting end, combined data and its combination format information are sent simultaneously, and at receiving end, the received data are de-multiplexed according to the received combination format information.
Specially speaking, in present transmission methods of multiple services combination, such as initialization of services between a base station and a mobile, an identical set including all transport formats combination is created at both sides, which is called Transport Format Combination Set (TFCS). When data of services are transported according to certain Transport Format Combination (TFC) at the transmitting end, a Transport Format Combination Indicator (TFCI) is transported simultaneously. The TFC may include multiplex mode, characteristics of the service, such as coding mode, etc. At the receiving end, the TFC of the received data is looked for in the TFCS according to the received TFCI, and then the received data are properly processed based on the TFC.
In order to satisfy requirement of multiple services, TFCI must be updated with certain rate, usually at least once in 10 ms. Therefore, transmission of TFCI occupies a larger part of channel resource. For example, in the TD-SCDMA scheme of CWTS (China Wireless Telecommunication Standard) there are 64 chips for TFCI transmission of each time-slot.

Transmission method of several services combination


A memory device includes a memory cell array having multiple memory cells arranged respectively in regions where first signal lines cross second signal lines. The memory device further includes a decoder having multiple line selection switch units connected respectively to the of first signal lines. Each of the multiple line selection switch units applies a bias voltage to a first signal line corresponding to each of the multiple line selection switch units in response selectively to a first switching signal and a second switching signal, voltage levels of which are different from each other in activated states.

Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to a memory device, and more particularly, to a resistive memory device and a method of operating the resistive memory device.
As the demand for high capacity and low power consumption memory devices has increased, research into next-generation memory devices, such as non-volatile memory devices that do not require a refresh operation, is being conducted. These next-generation memory devices are required to have a high integrity characteristic like Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), have a non-volatile characteristic like flash memory, and have high speed like static RAM (SRAM). Phase-change RAM (PRAM), Nano Floating Gate Memory (NFGM), Polymer RAM (PoRAM), Magnetic RAM (MRAM), Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), and Resistive RAM (RRAM) have been highlighted as some of the next-generation memory devices.

Resistive memory device and method of operating the same


A polymetaphenylene isophthalamide porous hollow fiber membrane is produced by extruding a film-forming solution comprising polymetaphenylene isophthalamide, polyvinylpyrrolidone and an inorganic salt through a concentric double annular spinning nozzle while keeping the film-forming solution at 70° C. or higher, thereby conducting dry-and-wet spinning, followed by moisture retention treatment, where it is preferable to subject the resulting porous hollow fiber membrane obtained by dry-and-wet spinning to heat treatment in water at 80° C. or higher before the moisture retention treatment. The polymetaphenylene isophthalamide porous hollow fiber membrane resulting from wet heat treatment under wet heat conditions at the temperature of 100° C. and the humidity of 8% for 1,000 hours or more has a strength at break of 10 MPa or more and a elongation at break of 80% or more, where the elongation at break can keep at least 80% as high as that before the wet heat treatment, and also has distinguished resistance to moisture and heat and humidifying performance, so that the membrane can be used as an effective humidifying membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, etc.

Solid polymer electrolyte membrane for use in polymer electrolyte fuel cell shows an ion conductivity only in a state involving water molecules to some extent, and thus its power generation efficiency abruptly decreases when the electrolyte membrane is dried. When the electrolyte membrane is too much wetted with water, on the other hand, the membrane fails to conduct gas diffusion therethrough, resulting in a decrease in the power generation efficiency. Thus, to attain a high and stable power output, the electrolyte membrane must be appropriately humidified. The electrolyte membrane can be humidified by a bubbler humidification system, a water vapor addition system, a humidifying membrane system, etc., among which the humidifying membrane system for humidifying the electrolyte membrane by transporting only water vapor contained in an exhaust gas into a feed gas through a selectively water vapor permeating membrane, that is, a humidifying membrane system is expected to be highly promising because of a possibility to make the humidifier compact in volume and light in weight.
Desirable shape of the humidifying membrane for use in the humidifying membrane system is a hollow fiber membrane having a larger permeation area per unit volume in the case of membrane modules. Very high humidifying capacity is required for humidification of the electrolyte membrane of fuel cells, particularly fuel cells for mobile unit, and thus a porous membrane state is desirable for the hollow fiber membrane because a high permeation rate can be obtained by capillary condensation of water vapor and because the capillary condensation of water vapor can act as a barrier against other gases.
To obtain such a porous membrane, the present applicant formerly proposed a process for producing a polymetaphenylene phthalamide separation membrane by extruding a film-forming solution of polymetaphenylene isophthalamide made by a low-temperature polycondensation process, the solution also containing a water-soluble polymer and an inorganic salt, into a coagulation bath under heating conditions at 70° C. or higher, thereby coagulating the solution (JP-A-2001-286743).
On the other hand, such durability as to ensure a prolonged operation is required for fuel cells, particularly fuel cells for mobile unit, and thus a resistance to moisture and heat without any deterioration, even if subjected to high temperature and high humidity circumstances for a long time, is also required for the humidifying membrane. However, to satisfy the resistance to moisture and heat renders a humidifying membrane low in the humidifying performance, and thus it is difficult to satisfy the two requirements at the same time, i.e. resistance to moisture and heat and humidifying performance.

Process for production of poly(m-phenyleneisophthal-amide) porous hollow fiber membrane


An upright vacuum cleaner is provided having a suction nozzle height adjustment arrangement controlled by a rotary mode control member located on the upper housing. The rotary mode control member controls a suction nozzle height adjustment motor and a rotary agitator drive disconnect arrangement. A wheel tensioner located on an idler arm is operatively connected to a cam on the suction nozzle height adjustment motor which tensions and de-tensions the agitator drive belt to control the rotary agitator. The rotary mode control member could have discrete settings for the various floor surfaces to be cleaned including bare floors and carpet of varying pile heights. Alternately, the rotary mode control member could be variable so that an infinite number of suction nozzle height settings can be selected.

It is known to produce an upright vacuum cleaner with controls for controlling the operation of the motor-fan assembly, the height of the suction nozzle in relation to the floor surface, and for turning the rotary agitator on and off. There are many such cleaners having various manual or electronic controls or a combination thereof for controlling these features individually or in conjunction with one another as a system according to pre-determined settings.
In recent years, it has been found to be advantageous to produce a floor care appliance with one or more modes wherein one of the modes will be used for cleaning bare floors. In bare floor mode, it is desirous to either manually or automatically lower the suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner to the lowest position in relation to the floor surface while simultaneously disconnecting the rotary power to the rotary agitator. Disconnecting the rotary agitator prevents the rotating agitator from damaging the floor surface. It has also been found to be desirous to vary the height of the suction nozzle according to the type of floor surface being cleaned by utilizing a rotary control dial or member having either discrete settings or variable positions. In this manner, a suction nozzle height setting may be selected according to the type floor surface or type of carpet to be cleaned. Heretofore, it is unknown to have a floor care appliance utilizing a rotary control member to control the height of the suction nozzle and to control the rotary agitator according a pre-determined position of the rotary control member
In the present invention, a rotary mode control member electronically controls a suction nozzle height adjustment motor. The suction nozzle height adjustment motor has a cam portion which adjusts the height of the suction nozzle by urging against a lever arm on the wheel carriage supporting the suction nozzle on the floor surface. A projection extending from the cam portion is operatively linked to an idler arm having a belt tensioner for tensioning and de-tensioning the agitator drive belt according to a pre-determined height of the suction nozzle. Thus, the rotary control member can be moved to a position to lower the suction nozzle closest to the floor surface and turn off the rotary agitator ortho other positions where the suction nozzle is moved to a pre-determined height above the floor surface and the drive belt is tensioned so that rotary power is provided to the rotary agitator. Therefore, the present invention fulfills a need not heretofore addressed in the prior art.

Mode control arrangement for a floor care appliance


Saturation variations are obtained by displacing a first fluid (for example water) that initially saturates a sample (1) coated with resin (2) by injecting therein, through a first end plate or cap (3) and by means of a pump (7), a second fluid (for example oil). The mixture flowing out through an opposite end plate (4) is collected in an initially filled two-phase separator (9) placed on an electronic balance (10). The first excess fluid flows towards a vessel (13), and the progressive accumulation of the second fluid in separator (9) leads to a variation in the total weight. A programmed processor (14) computes permanently the saturation values of the sample with respect to the first and to the second fluid, from the measured weight variations of separator (9). The method and device can be used for laboratory measurements of rock samples for example.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of the continuous measurement of variations in the overall fluid saturation of a porous material sample subjected to drainage or to an imbibition phase, according to the principle of a continuous constant-volume weighing, and to a device for the implementation thereof.
The method according to the invention is notably suited for the study of geologic samples taken in formations containing or likely to contain petroleum effluents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The knowledge that can be acquired concerning various petrophysical parameters of rocks during drainage or imbibition phases can be used for example for selecting the most appropriate fluid for displacing the petroleum effluents they contain and for improving thereby the efficiency of effluent enhanced recovery processes in a reservoir.
It is known to determine for example the saturation and the wettability of rocks with respect to fluids such as water (in the form of brine) and oil that can be contained therein. To that effect, rock drainage phases are carried out, i.e. a displacement of the fluids intended to decrease the water saturation, followed by imbibition phases which, on the contrary, are intended to increase its water saturation (Sw). The capillary pressure at a point of a porous sample in the presence of water and of oil in the continuous phase is defined, as it is well-known, as the difference Pc at equilibrium between the pressure P(oil) and the pressure P(water). Devices allowing petrophysical parameters of rocks to be measured are for example described in patent applications FR-2,603,040, EN-93/09,481 or EN-94/10,783 filed by the assignee or in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,868,751 and 5,069,065.

Method and device for the continuous measurement of variations in the overall saturation of a sample with incompressible immiscible fluids


An improved structure of a pressure regulator including a body and an adjusting device. The adjusting device includes a retractable bent in shape from a metal material and provided on an upper side of the body. The secondary pressure in the interior of an enclosed space defined between the retractable tube and upper and lower plates is utilized to act in a stable and uniform manner on the upper plate to thereby change the length of the retractable tube and bring a valve plug to elevate so as to control high pressure gas flowing from a primary pressure chamber to a secondary pressure chamber. By means of the elasticity of the retractable tube that coordinates with the pressure of the gas, the output of secondary pressure can be stable and precise without being affected by the pressure different caused by change in the internal pressure of the container (steel cylinder), thus having the advantages of extended service life and enhanced safety.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved structure of a pressure regulator, and more particularly to a pressure retractable tube construction, in which the elasticity of the coordination between the elasticity of the retractable tube and the pressure of a high pressure gas is utilized to achieve stable and pressure secondary pressure output without being affected by the primary pressure. Besides, leakage proof is ensured.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Some gases, such as oxygen, acetylene, nitrogen, argon, etc., have to be containerized under high pressure so that they can be utilizable by industries. But before the gas can be output for use, the pressure of the gas must be adjusted to a suitable value by using a pressure regulator so as to ensure normal and safe operation of instrument pipelines, apparatus, or relevant equipment. And the major function of the pressure regulator is to ensure the stability of the output pressure.
FIGS. 1-4 show a conventional pressure regulator. A body 1 has an upper cover 11 screwably provided thereon and an interior divided into a primary pressure chamber P1 and a secondary pressure chamber P2. The primary pressure chamber P1 communicates with an intake duct 12 and a primary pressure gauge 13. The secondary pressure chamber P2 communicates with a discharge duct 14, a secondary pressure gauge 13, and a relief valve 16. A valve 17 having a small spring fitted at a bottom end thereof is disposed between the primary and secondary pressure chambers P1, P2 to control opening and closing of the path. Furthermore, the center of the upper cover 11 forms a recess 111, and a lower end thereof forms a flange 112 that, together with the body 1, keeps a plastic film 18 sandwiched therebetween so as to link-up with the valve 17 and partition the secondary pressure chamber P2 and the recess 111. The upper cover 11 is further provided with a threaded through hole at a top end thereof for mounting an adjusting screw 113 that extends into the recess 111. The recess 11 internally accommodates a large spring 19 that has an upper end provided with a packing plate 191 adapted to be urged against by the adjusting screw 113, and a lower end urging against a metal packing plate 181 provided at the center of the plastic film 18.
However, since the adjustment of the pressure in the secondary pressure chamber P2 is through the adjusting screw 113 that is disposed in a knob 114 and adjusts the position of the large spring 19 so that it exerts pressure a curved position of the plastic film 18 to thereby control the opening of the valve 17 to form a path and control the high pressure gas flowing from the primary pressure chamber P1 to the secondary pressure chamber P2. When the gas pressure of the secondary pressure chamber P2 is greater than the pressure exerted by the large spring 19 above the plastic film 18, the plastic film 18 will curve in deformation as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the valve 17 is subjected to the elasticity of the small spring 171 at the bottom end and elevates to close the valve port 172 of the primary pressure chamber P1. When the discharge duct 14 releases pressure, the pressure in the secondary pressure chamber P2 drops, and the plastic film 18 will be subjected to the elasticity of the large spring 19 to resume its original curved shape, as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, the metal packing plate 181 at the center of the plastic film 18 urges against a top rod 173 of the valve 17 to cause it to drop therewith, thereby opening the valve port 172, so that the gas in the primary pressure chamber P1 flows into the secondary pressure chamber P2. The pressure of the secondary pressure chamber P2 is continuously adjusted in the above manner to achieve the required pressure output.
Therefore, the plastic film 18 is constantly changing its curved shape. And because it has extendibility, after use thereof for a period of time, the plastic film 18 will be worn out. If the container is used to hold a corrosive gas, gas leakage may occur due to wearing out of the plastic film 18. In addition, the thickness of the plastic film 18 is not very uniform so that deformation often occurs at the relatively thin portions, and the force bearing area will likewise be affected.
Furthermore, since the output of the secondary pressure is achieved by using the adjusting screw 113 of the knob 114, the large spring 19, and the metal packing plate 181 to control the plastic film 18, the plastic film 18 cannot be positively controlled at a determined position. In addition, the high pressure gas in the steel cylinder will change with use. For instance, the pressure of the high pressure gas in the steel cylinder when full is about 150 kg/cm.sup.2, but there may remain only about 10 kg/cm.sup.2. Such a considerable pressure difference will cause the output pressure from the primary pressure chamber P1 to be unstable. As a result, the valve 17 located in the primary pressure chamber P1 and the small spring 171 at its bottom portion are likely to be affected by the pressure difference. Besides, since the small spring 171 controlling the elevation of the valve 17 has low elasticity, the influence on the valve 17 due to pressure difference is relatively greater, hence affecting the precision of the valve in gas flow control. Besides, the plastic film 18 that is flexible will also vibrate and deform in shape due to negative pressure and unstable pressure.

No. 100, Tzu Chiang W. Road, Kweishan Hsiang


A container for packing semiconductor wafer is provided which has superior airtightness to prevent contamination of the wafers by air. A gasket groove is formed on the case of the container. A gasket is inserted within the gasket groove. The gasket contains protrusions that assist in providing an airtight seal. The case and a lid are securely fastened together by the engagement of four clips within respective clip recesses that are formed in the container and lid.

One prior art container used for packing semiconductor wafers is disclosed in JP. A 3-114245. The container generally consists of a wafer carrier which can hold a plurality of wafers therein. The wafer carrier is housed within a case. The container also includes a lid and a wafer pressing part.
The wafer carrier generally includes a plurality of holding grooves which have lower portions that are inwardly curved to receive the plurality of wafers. The case typically has a protruding edge or groove along its top portion to engage a lid which allows for closing of the case. Two latches are disposed at sides of the top portion against one another and with recesses in the lid to secure the lid with the case.
However, the airtightness of the above described structure is not sufficient to prevent air contamination of the wafers. In this regard, the lid typically does not perfectly attach to the top portion of the case, and the lid is not firmly fastened using two latches.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a container for packing semiconductor wafer which has superior airtightness and which can prevent contamination of the semiconductor wafers by air.


Disclosed herein is a method of radio link monitoring (RLM) in a UE comprising the steps of: selecting a control channel type to perform RLM on, wherein the control channel type includes one or more of: a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); or an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH); receiving a transmission on a carrier, the transmission comprising one or more reference signals; and determining the quality of the radio link using the selected control channel type and the one or more reference signals.

As used herein, the term "user equipment" (alternatively "UE") might in some cases refer to mobile devices such as mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, handheld or laptop computers, and similar devices that have telecommunications capabilities. Such a UE might include a device and its associated removable memory module, such as but not limited to a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) that includes a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) application, a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application, or a Removable User Identity Module (R-UIM) application. Alternatively, such a UE might include the device itself without such a module. In other cases, the term "UE" might refer to devices that have similar capabilities but that are not transportable, such as desktop computers, set-top boxes, or network appliances. The term "UE" can also refer to any component that can terminate a communication session for a user. Also, the terms "user equipment," "UE," "user agent," "UA," "user device," and "mobile device" might be used synonymously herein.
As telecommunications technology has evolved, more advanced network access equipment has been introduced that can provide services that were not possible previously. This network access equipment might include systems and devices that are improvements of the equivalent equipment in a traditional wireless telecommunications system. Such advanced or next generation equipment may be included in evolving wireless communications standards, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). For example, an LTE or LTE-A system might be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) and include an E-UTRAN node B (or eNB), a wireless access point, or a similar component rather than a traditional base station. As used herein, the term "access node" refers to any component of the wireless network, such as a traditional base station, a wireless access point, or an LTE or LTE-A node B or eNB, that creates a geographical area of reception and transmission coverage allowing a UE or a relay node to access other components in a telecommunications system. In this document, the terms "access node" and "network element" may be used interchangeably, but it is understood that an access node may comprise a plurality of hardware and software.
In 3GPP LTE, a cell may refer to a combination of downlink and/or uplink resources. In general, multiple cells may originate from the same access node (e.g., eNB in LTE) and occupy overlapping geographical areas. When there is no danger of confusion, a cell may refer to the distinctive geographical area of reception and transmission coverage provided by an access node. Some cells may have significantly larger coverage area than others and may be referred to herein as macro-cells. Some cells may have significantly smaller coverage area than the macro-cells and may be referred to herein as small cells. Small cells may also include micro-cells, pico-cells, and femto-cells. In some embodiments, small cells may operate within the area covered by a macro-cell.
A radio link may be established between an access node and a UE. The radio link may comprise an uplink signal with communication from the UE to the access node, and a downlink signal with communication from the access node to the UE. The UE may monitor the downlink signal in order to detect a downlink radio link quality in a cell.