A file management system which locates files with less processing load and provides more sophisticated file management tasks. A file manipulation command causes a file manipulation hander to execute a file system operation, which involves placement of a given file to a specified directory, thus assigning the specified directory as a parent directory of that file. The file placement operation causes a parent directory record manager to define a parent directory record of by setting thereto the file's parent directory identifier. Afterwards, when a parent directory inquiry about a specific file is issued, a parent directory inquiry handler retrieves the parent directory record of the specified file and outputs the identifier of the specified file's parent directory that is contained in the retrieved parent directory record.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a file management system and program for managing files in a computer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a file management system and program which efficiently manage the locations of files in a directory structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers incorporate file systems into their core mechanisms to manage program and data files stored in a hard disk drive (HDD) and other storage devices. File system is a logical structure consisting of substantive records of files and additional information for managing their locations and usage.
Most file systems employ a hierarchical architecture to ease the management of a large number of files. In such a hierarchical file system, directories and user files are modeled as nodes and leaves of a tree. Individual files are identified by their locations in the hierarchical structure, in combination with their file names. The location of a file is obtained by tracing nodes and links of the tree structure from its root directory. The discovered route from the root directory to the file of interest is called "path name" (or simply "path"). File systems locate a particular file by using its path name and file name as key information.
Each directory accommodates files and child directories (also called "subdirectories"), and the file system has to manage such hierarchical relationships among such objects. Conventional file systems achieve this by maintaining management data of each individual directory. Every file can therefore be reached by following the directory structure from top to bottom, if its path name and file name are given.
Conventional file systems, however, do not have facilities for upward tracing of the directory tree, from a low-level file to its parent directories. For this reason, it is not easy to find the path name of a specific file when that file has been identified with some unusual method other than the normal directory search. If this is the case, the conventional file management system has to perform an exhaustive search for possible paths, starting from the root directory. Considering the probability of discovery, the search should cover, on average, one half of the file system before the requested path name is successfully found. This is unsuitable, however, for heavily-loaded large-scale file systems because they are supposed to process a lot of transactions at high speeds.
The lack of upward search facilities hampers conventional file systems from providing advanced functions. For example, think of a function that sets a certain attribute (e.g., "never update last-access date") to all files in a particular directory and its subdirectories. One possible method to implement this function is to add the attribute to each individual file and directory for later reference. When an access to a file occurs, the file system checks its corresponding attribute record to determine whether to update the last-access date of that file. The trouble occurs when a file or directory is relocated to other places. While the moved directory and its subordinate file and directories are required to inherit attributes from the destination directory, it is not practical to implement this function as a realtime task, because it would pose a large amount of processing load. Actually, conventional systems implement only a part of the above function with a limited consistency.
Consider here that a certain file has been subjected to some file manipulation. To determine what to do with that file, the file management system needs attribute information that resides somewhere up in the directory structure. If the file system was designed to be traceable from that file in the upward direction, it would be possible to find an upper-level directory whose attributes are supposed to be applied to its subordinate directories and files. In this file system configuration, there is no need to distribute attributes to all directories and files, but they can be concentrated in a certain upper directory.
As seen from the above, conventional file systems have limited themselves in a smaller range of applications, due to the lack of upward tracing capability. With conventional systems, it is difficult to apply a particular file system operation to a plurality of files and directories by setting an attribute to their common upper-level directory.

File management system with parent directory search functions


A tendon tensioning anchor has a base member having a tubular section extending therefrom, and a pair of flanges extending outwardly on opposite sides of the tubular section, and a polymeric encapsulation in generally air-tight juxtaposition with an exterior of the base member. A hole is formed through each of the pair of flanges. The polymeric encapsulation extends entirely through and fills the holes so as to integrally connect the polymeric material overlying one surface of the flange with the polymeric material overlying an opposite surface of the flange. The hole is formed adjacent to the tubular section.

For many years, the design of concrete structures imitated the typical steel design of column, girder and beam. With technological advances in structural concrete, however, its own form began to evolve. Concrete has the advantages of lower cost than steel, of not requiring fireproofing, and of its plasticity, a quality that lends itself to free flowing or boldly massive architectural concepts. On the other hand, structural concrete, though quite capable of carrying almost any compressive (vertical) load, is extremely weak in carrying significant tensile loads. It becomes necessary, therefore, to add steel bars, called reinforcements, to concrete, thus allowing the concrete to carry the compressive forces and the steel to carry the tensile (horizontal) forces.
Structures of reinforced concrete may be constructed with load-bearing walls, but this method does not use the full potentialities of the concrete. The skeleton frame, in which the floors and roofs rest directly on exterior and interior reinforced-concrete columns, has proven to be most economic and popular. Reinforced-concrete framing is seemingly a quite simple form of construction. First, wood or steel forms are constructed in the sizes, positions, and shapes called for by engineering and design requirements. The steel reinforcing is then placed and held in position by wires at its intersections. Devices known as chairs and spacers are used to keep the reinforcing bars apart and raised off the form work. The size and number of the steel bars depends completely upon the imposed loads and the need to transfer these loads evenly throughout the building and down to the foundation. After the reinforcing is set in place, the concrete, a mixture of water, cement, sand, and stone or aggregate, of proportions calculated to produce the required strength, is placed, care being taken to prevent voids or honeycombs.
One of the simplest designs in concrete frames is the beam-and-slab. This system follows ordinary steel design that uses concrete beams that are cast integrally with the floor slabs. The beam-and-slab system is often used in apartment buildings and other structures where the beams are not visually objectionable and can be hidden. The reinforcement is simple and the forms for casting can be utilized over and over for the same shape. The system, therefore, produces an economically viable structure. With the development of flat-slab construction, exposed beams can be eliminated. In this system, reinforcing bars are projected at right angles and in two directions from every column supporting flat slabs spanning twelve or fifteen feet in both directions.
Reinforced concrete reaches its highest potentialities when it is used in pre-stressed or post-tensioned members. Spans as great as 100 feet can be attained in members as deep as three feet for roof loads. The basic principal is simple. In pre-stressing, reinforcing rods of high tensile strength wires are stretched to a certain determined limit and then high-strength concrete is placed around them. When the concrete has set, it holds the steel in a tight grip, preventing slippage or sagging. Post-tensioning follows the same principal, but the reinforcing is held loosely in place while the concrete is placed around it. The reinforcing is then stretched by hydraulic jacks and securely anchored into place. Prestressing is done with individual members in the shop and post-tensioning as part of the structure on the site.
In a typical tendon tensioning anchor assembly in such post-tensioning operations, there is provided a pair of anchors for anchoring the ends of the tendons suspended therebetween. In the course of installing the tendon tensioning anchor assembly in a concrete structure, a hydraulic jack or the like is releasably attached to one of the exposed ends of the tendon for applying a predetermined amount of tension to the tendon. When the desired amount of tension is applied to the tendon, wedges, threaded nuts, or the like, are used to capture the tendon and, as the jack is removed from the tendon, to prevent its relaxation and hold it in its stressed condition.
Metallic components within concrete structures may become exposed to many corrosive elements, such as de-icing chemicals, sea water, brackish water, or spray from these sources, as well as salt water. If this occurs, and the exposed portions of the anchor suffer corrosion, then the anchor may become weakened due to this corrosion. The deterioration of the anchor can cause the tendons to slip, thereby losing the compressive effects on the structure, or the anchor can fracture. In addition, the large volume of byproducts from the corrosive reaction is often sufficient to fracture the surrounding structure. These elements and problems can be sufficient so as to cause a premature failure of the post-tensioning system and a deterioration of the structure.
Several U.S. patents have considered the problem of anchor and tendon corrosion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,844, issued to Morris Schupack et al., on Sep. 14, 1982, disclosed a tendon assembly in which a tendon is enclosed in a sheath suspended under tension between two spaced anchor members. The anchor members are entirely enclosed within an envelope or a housing. The sheath, the envelope, and the housing are required to comprise electrically non-conductive materials for electrically isolating the tendon and anchor members from a surrounding concrete structure to thereby prevent the effects of electrolysis caused by electrical currents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,458, issued to Davis et al., on Oct. 14, 1986, provided a plastic structure for protecting the anchor assembly and the ends of a tendon from exposure to the corrosive elements. The system of this patent describes a protective top member and a protective bottom member. The anchor was interposed between these members, the members were snap-fitted together, and the anchor locked into position between these protective members. Grease was then injected into the interior between these protective plastic members so as to seal the anchor from the corrosive water in the environment. A grease cap would be threaded onto the protective top member so as to allow grease to be injected into the interior space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,470 issued on Jan. 30, 1990 to the present inventor, describes a tendon tensioning anchor which includes a base member having a tubular extension extending therefrom and aplastic encapsulation in generally juxtaposition with the exterior of the base member and the exterior of the tubular section. The plastic encapsulation includes a polymeric material of high density polyethylene and in injection-molded relationship to the base member and the tubular section. The encapsulation is of a unitary construction. The base member and the sloping annular interior wall of the tubular section are in contact with the tendon extending therethrough so as to establish an electrolytic contact. The tubular section has a sloping annular interior wall for receiving the end of the tendon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,558, issued on Dec. 17, 1991 to the present inventor, also describes a post-tension anchor system having a similar construction to that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,470. U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,558 describes the use of a heat shield fastened within the polymer encapsulation adjacent an end of the tubular section that extends outwardly of the base. The polymer encapsulation includes a tubular portion formed at a side of the base member opposite the tubular section and extends outwardly perpendicular to the base member. The heat shield is a rigid member having an outer diameter corresponding to the outer diameter to the tubular section. Extension tubing is fitted to the end of the tubular section of the polymer encapsulation. A seal is fastened within the other end of the extension tubing so as to create a liquid-tight seal with a tendon passing therethrough.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art system manufactured in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,896,470 and 5,072,558. This system is presently sold by General Technologies, Inc., of Stafford, Tex. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the base member 10 has a polymeric encapsulation 12 extending thereover. A tubular section 14 extends outwardly of the base member 12 generally centrally thereof. Flanges 16 and 18 extend outwardly from opposite sides of the tubular section 14. The polymeric encapsulation 12 will extend around the base member 10 and over and around the tubular section 14. A pair of nail holes 20 and 22 are formed through the base member 10 so as to allow the base member 10 to be secured to an exterior surface. A cap 24 is illustrated as suitable for connection over the end 26 of tendon 28 so as to maintain the end 26 of tendon 28 in a generally air-tight and liquid-tight environment. A suitable grouting material can fill the interior of the cap 24 so as to further avoid any contaminating effects from the exterior environment as affecting the tendon 28. A tubular section 30 extends outwardly from the opposite side of the base member 10 opposite the tubular section 14. A sealing tube 32 is illustrated as positioned for friction-fit relationship to the tubular section 30. Tendon 28 will extend through the sealing tube 32. A sheathing 34 is applied over the exterior of the tendon 28 so as to further avoid corrosive effects from the exterior environment. A seal 36 engages with the sheathing 34 so as to maintain the tendon 28 in a generally liquid-tight and air-tight environment.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the anchor system as illustrated in FIG. 1. In particular, it can be seen that the base member 10 is a steel anchor of a generally conventional configuration. The tubular section 14 has a sloping annular interior wall 38. The polymeric encapsulation 12 will extend over the surfaces of the tubular section 14 and over the flanges 16 and 18 of the base member 10. Tubular portion 30 is illustrated as extending in longitudinal alignment with the tubular section 14. The polymeric encapsulation includes a portion 40 which extends over and around the exterior of the tubular section 14 and also defines the cap-receiving receptacle 42. The polymeric encapsulation 12 is integrally formed over the base member 10 and serves to define the portion 40 and the tubular portion 32.
In use of the anchor described in FIGS. 1 and 2, it was found that a certain amount of polymeric shrinkage can occur over time. The shrinkage of polymers is a natural condition of polymers. Whenever the polymeric encapsulation 12 should shrink around the base member 10, surfaces 44 and 46 will tend to pull away from the surfaces 48 and 50 of the base member 10. When the polymeric encapsulation tends to pull away from surfaces 48 and 50, several problems can result. First, the polymeric encapsulation 12 will no longer be in surface-to-surface with the surfaces of the base member 10. As such, it is possible that air and liquid intrusion can occur into such spaces. Secondly, the forces imparted by the shrinking polymeric encapsulation 12 could potentially create sufficient forces so as to cause a fracture of the steel material used for the base member 10. This can especially be the case where a certain leverage effect is created by the force exerted by the shrinking polymer material upon the far ends of the outwardly extending flanges 16 and 18. In other words, when the polymeric encapsulation 12 should shrink, the pulling forces will extend between the tubular section 14 and the very ends of the flanges 16 and 18. As such, it is very important to be able to provide a system whereby such polymer shrinkage will not adversely affect the integrity of the post-tension anchoring system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a post-tension anchor system which effectively avoids any adverse effects caused by polymer shrinkage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a post-tension anchor system which maintains the polymeric encapsulation in strong surface-to-surface contact with the surfaces of the anchor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a post-tension anchor system which minimizes potential fractures of the steel base member.
It is a still another object of the present invention to provide a post-tension anchor system which is easy to manufacture, easy to use and relatively inexpensive.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Tendon tensioning anchor system having polymeric encapsulation with reduced shrinkage effects


A autonomous and remote control all purpose machine (ARCAPM) having different interchangeable modules that are structured and arranged to perform different tasks is disclosed. A machine includes: a body; a plurality of bays in the body, wherein each bay is configured to receive a respective module; and a power source carried by the body. A respective power connector is in each one of the bays that is configured to provide an electrically conductive path between the power source and a device in a module arranged in one of the bays. The machine includes a propulsion system structured and arranged to move the body over the ground. The machine also includes a control system structured and arranged to control autonomous movement of the machine based on at least one of: proximity sensors, metal detectors, and GPS data.

Yard work and similar tasks (e.g., raking leaves, cutting grass, shoveling snow, etc.) are prohibitively difficult for some individuals. For example, removing leaves is a problem for some people. In particular, removing leaves is a very tiring and time-consuming task for many, especially for the elderly and the disabled. The problem is compounded by the need to repeat the task multiple times each season. Manual raking takes a lot of time especially if an individual has a large yard. Continuous raking over a long period of time is very time consuming and can lead to injury even for an average person. As but one example, there were 12,000 injuries in 2004 due to raking leaves. Similarly, there are accounts of people suffering heart attacks when doing strenuous activities such as shoveling snow.
There are many devices specifically suited to yard work and associated tasks, such as rakes, brooms, vacuums, leaf blowers, lawnmowers, etc. Operating such devices can be challenging, if not impossible, for some people. Moreover, although using a leaf blower can decrease the time it takes to rake the yard in less than half the time it takes to use a hand rake, there is a large amount of human manipulation and handling of the leaf blower during the process.

Autonomous and remote control all purpose machine (ARCAPM)


A pixel includes a photodiode and a readout node for receiving charge transferred from the photodiode. The readout node is configured to have a variable capacitance that is non-linear with respect to a voltage at the readout node. The readout node is resettable. The readout node may be configured to have a lower capacitance when reset to a reset voltage than when getting filled with charge from the photodiode. The readout node may be configured such that the capacitance of the readout node continuously increases as additional charge is received by the readout node after the readout node is reset. The readout node may be configured such that the capacitance of the readout node jumps from a first capacitance to a second capacitance after the readout node has been filled with a certain amount of charge. An image sensor includes a pixel array with a plurality of the pixels.

Image sensors have found wide application in consumer and industrial electronics, and have enabled an explosion in a number of digital cameras and digital video devices used for work and entertainment.
FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a related art image sensor 1. The image sensor 1 includes a pixel array 2, a row driver 4, column readout circuitry 7, and a column circuit timing controller 9. The pixel array 2 includes pixels 3 that are arranged in rows and columns. Each pixel 3 includes a light sensitive element, such as a photodiode, or the like, to sample light intensity of a corresponding portion of a scene being imaged, and each pixel 3 is configured to produce an analog pixel signal based on the sampled light intensity. The row driver 4 supplies control signals to the pixels 3 in the pixel array 2 to control operations of the pixels 3.
Pixels 3 that are in a same row of the pixel array 2 share common row control signals from the row driver 4. For example, pixels 3 in a first row of the pixel array 2 share common row control lines 51 for receiving control signals from the row driver 4. Similarly, pixels 3 in a second row of the pixel array 2 share common row control lines 52 for receiving control signals from the row driver 4, and pixels 3 in an nth row of the pixel array 2 share common row control lines 5n for receiving control signals from the row driver 4. Pixels 3 that are in a same column of the pixel array 2 share a common column readout line to provide output. For example, pixels 3 in a first column of the pixel array 2 share a column readout line 61, pixels 3 in a second column of the pixel array 2 share a column readout line 62, and pixels 3 in an mth column of the pixel array 2 share a column readout line 6m. The row driver 4 controls the pixels 3 to provide output row by row.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic of an example design of the pixel 3. The pixel 3 in FIG. 2 is typically called a four transistor (4T) pixel. The pixel 3 includes a photodiode 21, a transfer transistor 28, a floating diffusion 23, a reset transistor 24, a source follower transistor 25, and a row select transistor 26. The transfer transistor 28, the reset transistor 24, the source follower transistor 25, and the row select transistor 26 may each comprise, for example, an n-channel metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (NMOS transistor), or the like.
The pixel 3 illustrated in FIG. 2 is provided as an example of a pixel in an ith row and a jth column of a pixel array, such as the pixel array 2 (refer to FIG. 1), and the pixel 3 receives a transfer control signal (TX) over a transfer signal line 5i1, a reset control signal (RST) over a reset signal line 5i2, and a row select control signal (ROW) over a row select signal line 5i3. The transfer signal line 5i1, the reset signal line 5i2, and the row select signal line 5i3 are shared by all pixels in an ith row of a pixel array, such as the pixel array 2 (refer to FIG. 1), and the transfer control signal TX, the reset control signal RST, and the row select control signal ROW are provided from a row driver, such as the row driver 4 (refer to FIG. 1). The pixel 3 in FIG. 2 provides output to a column readout line 6j.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, an anode of the photodiode 21 is connected to a fixed voltage, such as gound or another suitable voltage, and a cathode of the photodiode 21 is connected to a first terminal of the transfer transistor 28. A gate 22 of the transfer transistor 28 is connected to the transfer signal line 5i1, and the gate 22 of the transfer transistor 28 may also be called the transfer gate 22. A second terminal of the transfer transistor 28 is connected to the floating diffusion 23. A first terminal of the reset transistor 24 is connected to the floating diffusion 23, and a second terminal of the reset transistor 24 is connected to a supply voltage (Vdd) provided from a power supply. A gate of the reset transistor 24 is connected to the reset signal line 5i2. A first terminal of the source follower transistor 25 is connected to the supply voltage Vdd provided from the power supply, and a second terminal of the source follower transistor 25 is connected to a first terminal of the row select transistor 26. A gate of the source follower transistor 25 is connected to the floating diffusion 23. A second terminal of the row select transistor 26 is connected to the column readout line 6j. A gate of the row select transistor 26 is connected to the row select signal line 5i3.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an implementation of the pixel 3 from FIG. 2. The pixel 3 illustrated in FIG. 3 is provided as an example of a pixel in a jth column of a pixel array, such as the pixel array 2 (refer to FIG. 1). The pixel 3 includes a substrate 27, the photodiode 21, the transfer gate 22, the floating diffusion (FD) 23, the reset transistor 24, the source follower transistor (SF) 25, and the row select transistor 26. The floating diffusion 23 may also be called a storage diffusion and serves as a sense node or a readout node for the pixel 3. The photodiode 21 may be, for example, a pinned photodiode (PPD) that collects charge during exposure based on the light intensity of a corresponding portion of a scene being imaged. The transfer gate 22 is connected to receive the transfer control signal TX, and the transfer gate 22 is controllable by the transfer control signal TX to transfer charge from the photodiode 21 to the floating diffusion 23.
The gate of the reset transistor 24 is connected to receive the reset control signal RST. The first terminal of the reset transistor 24 is connected to the floating diffusion 23 and to the gate of the source follower transistor 25. The gate of the source follower transistor 25 is connected to the floating diffusion 23 and to the first terminal of the reset transistor 24. The first terminal of the source follower transistor 25 is connected to the power supply that supplies the supply voltage Vdd. The second terminal of the source follower transistor 25 is connected to the first terminal of the row select transistor 26. The gate of the row select transistor 26 is connected to receive the row select control signal (ROW). The second terminal of the row select transistor 26 is connected to the column readout line 6j for providing the pixel output signal (pout) for the pixel 3 on the column readout line 6j. Thus, the pixel 3 is controlled with the control signals TX, RST, and ROW, and the pixel 3 provides the pixel output signal pout.
An operation of the pixel 3 in FIGS. 2 and 3 during a shutter operation may proceed as follows: (i) a row driver, such as the row driver 4 (refer to FIG. 1) provides a HIGH signal for the reset control signal RST on the reset signal line 5i2 and a HIGH signal for the transfer control signal TX on the transfer signal line 5i1 to discharge the photodiode 21 and reset the floating diffusion 23; (ii) the row driver provides a LOW signal for the reset control signal RST on the reset signal line 5i2 and a LOW signal for the transfer control signal TX on the transfer signal line 5i1 to close the gate of the reset transistor 24 and the transfer gate 22 for an exposure time during which the photodiode 21 accumulates charge from sensed light, and the row driver provides a HIGH signal for the row select control signal ROW on the row select signal line 5i3 to read out a potential (the reset value) of the empty floating diffusion node 23 over the column readout line 6j and then provides a LOW signal for the row select control signal ROW on the row select signal line 5i3; (iii) the row driver provides a HIGH signal for the transfer control signal TX on the transfer signal line 5i1 to open the transfer gate 22 to transfer the accumulated charge from the photodiode 21 to the floating diffusion 23; (iv) the row driver provides a LOW signal for the transfer control signal TX on the transfer signal line 5i1 to close the transfer gate 22 to hold the charge at the floating diffusion 23; and (v) when charge from the row in which the pixel 3 is located is to be read out, the row driver provides a HIGH signal for the row select control signal ROW on the row select signal line 5i3 to open the gate of the row select transistor 26 to provide output to the column readout line 6j.
The reset value corresponding to the reset potential at the floating diffusion node 23 after reset, and the pixel signal corresponding to the charge at the floating diffusion node 23 for the image capture operation are provided to a corresponding column readout circuit 8 (refer to FIG. 1) for the column in which the pixel 3 is located. The column readout circuit 8 digitizes a difference between the pixel signal and the signal of the reset potential to provide a digital output representing the charge collected by the pixel 3 during the corresponding exposure. During readout, therefore, the floating diffusion that serves as a readout node is reset to a high voltage, and then it is filled with the signal charge, and the difference of the potential between the reset (empty) readout node and the readout node with charge is used to determine the output pixel value.
With reference again to FIG. 1, the column readout circuitry 7 includes a column readout circuit 8 for each column of pixels 3 in the pixel array 2. Each column readout circuit 8 is connected to receive analog signals from a corresponding column readout line, and is configured to provide digital output on a corresponding output line. For example, the column readout circuit 8 for the first column is connected to the column readout line 61 for receiving input, and is connected to an output line 111 for providing output. Similarly, the column readout circuit 8 for the second column is connected to the column readout line 62 for receiving input, and is connected to an output line 112 for providing output, and the column readout circuit 8 for the mth column is connected to the column readout line 6m for receiving input, and is connected to an output line 11m for providing output. The column circuit timing controller 9 is configured to provide control signals to the plurality of column readout circuits 8 over one or more control lines 10.
In the pixel 3 of FIG. 3, the substrate 27 has a p type doping and the floating diffusion 23 is an n+ doped region in the substrate 27. Once the pixel 3 has been manufactured, the floating diffusion 23 has a fixed capacitance. In other words, the readout node for the pixel 3, which is the floating diffusion 23, has a fixed capacitance.

Image sensors, methods, and high dynamic range pixels with variable capacitance


An instruction processing method for checking an arrangement of basic instructions in a very long instruction word (VLIW) instruction, suitable for language processing systems, an assembler and a compiler, used for processors which execute variable length VLIW instructions designed based on variable length VLIW architecture.

1. Field of the Invention
Recent improvements in processing capacity of computer systems are mainly realized by improvement in processing capacity of processors, Central Processing Units (CPUs). The processing capacity of the processors is improved by increasing Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP), for example. Technologies such as Super-Scalar Architecture and Very Long Instruction Word Architecture (VLIW) are known as a method to increase the ILP.
Various microprocessors are provided in electronic devices such as cellular phones, printers, and digital televisions. Those devices are called as Embedded Application device, and those microprocessors are called as Embedded Processors.
Recent demands for high-performance embedded application devices require performance of embedded processors to be improved year by year. Some of the embedded processors have been improving their performance by increasing ILP.
In a development of an embedded application device, however, both cost and power consumption of the device must be considered at a high priority. A processor designed by the super scalar architecture, compared with a processor designed by VLIW architecture, usually requires larger chip size and consumes more electric power. On contrary, the processor based on VLIW requires a larger program, and consequently a larger memory device to store the program, since "no operation" instructions (NOP) must be inserted into instruction slots where no instruction is put.
Processors designed by variable length VLIW architecture have solved this problem as described in the specification filed as a Japanese patent application No. 1999-281957 dated Oct. 1, 1999.
The present invention generally relates to computer programs, and more particularly, to algorithm to verify an arrangement of basic VLIW instructions for language processing system used on such processor designed by variable length VLIW architecture.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a conventional processor based on the very long instruction word architecture. This processor will be referred to as VLIW processor.
(Architecture)
The conventional processor shown in FIG. 1 includes a memory 10, an instruction read unit 11, instruction registers 12, integer units IU0 and IU1, floating units FU0 and FU1, branch units BU0 and BU1, a general purpose register GR, a floating register FR, and program counter PC.
The instruction read unit 11 reads a memory area storing a VLIW instruction addressed by an address stored in the program counter PC, and write the VLIW instruction to the instruction register 12. The instruction read unit 11 also increase the address stored in program counter PC by a number corresponding to a VLIW instruction.
The instruction register 12 stores the VLIW instruction written by the instruction read unit 11. The instruction register 12 provides the instruction to IU, FU, and BU as follows:
A basic instruction stored in an instruction slot 0 is provided to IU0. Basic instructions stored in an instruction slot 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are provided to FU0, IU1, FU2, BU0, and BU1, respectively.
IU0 and IU1 perform an integer arithmetic instruction, an integer load instruction, an integer store instruction, a floating point load instruction, a floating point store instruction, and a "no operation" instruction.
When an integer arithmetic instruction is provided, the integer units retrieve input operand data from the general purpose register GR, and store output operand data, the result of the integer arithmetic, to the general purpose register GR.
When an integer load instruction is provided, the integer units IU0 and IU1 retrieve input operand data from a register, and calculate an effective address. Then, the integer units retrieve data from a memory area corresponding to the effective address, and store the data to the general purpose register GR.
When an integer store instruction is provided, the integer units retrieve input operand data from the general purpose register GR, and calculate an effective address. Then, the integer units store "store data" to a memory area corresponding to the effective address.
When a floating point instruction is provided, the integer units retrieve input operand data from a register, and calculate an effective address. Then, the integer units retrieve data stored in a memory area corresponding to the effective address, and store the data to the floating register FR.
When a floating point store instruction is provided, the integer units retrieve input operand data from the floating register FR, and calculate an effective address. Then, the integer units store "store data" to a memory area corresponding to the effective address.
When a "no operation" instruction is provided, the integer units perform nothing.
The floating units FU0 and FU1 perform a floating point arithmetic instruction and a "no operation" instruction. When a floating point arithmetic instruction is provided, the floating units retrieve input operand data from a floating register FR, and perform floating point arithmetic. Then, the floating units store output operand data, a result of the arithmetic, to a floating register FR. When a "no operation" instruction is provided, the floating units perform nothing.
The branch units BU0 and BU1 perform an unconditional branch instruction, a conditional branch instruction, and a "no operation" instruction. When an unconditional branch instruction is provided, the branch units retrieve input operand data from registers (GR, PC), and calculate an address follow d by storing the address to a program counter PC. When a conditional branch instruction is provided, the branch units check whether a branch condition is met. If the branch condition is met, the branch units retrieve input operand data from a register (GR, PC), and calculate an address using the input operand data. The branch units further store the result, i.e., an address of a destination of the branch, in the program counter PC. When a "no operation" instruction is provided, the branch units perform nothing.
IU, FU, and BU are, hereinafter, called functional units. A functional unit performs a basic instruction provided by an instruction register.
(Operation)
Operations of a VLIW processor will be described here.
A process in which a VLIW processor shown in FIG. 1 executes a program shown in FIG. 2, for example, will be described with reference to FIG. 3. In these figures, "ADD" is an integer arithmetic instruction meaning an addition, "FADD" is a floating point arithmetic instruction meaning an addition, and "NOP" is a "no operation" instruction.
(Time 1)
(A) A VLIW instruction 1 is stored in memory area in the memory 10 as shown in FIG. 2. Using an instruction address stored in PC, the instruction read unit 11 retrieves a VLIW instruction 1 from the memory 10, and stores the VLIW instruction 1 to the instruction register. Basic instructions included in the VLIW instruction 1 are stored in the instruction slots indicated as Time 1 as shown in FIG. 3.
(B) The functional units execute the instructions provided. An "ADD" instruction stored in the instruction slot 0 is executed by IU0. A "FADD" instruction stored in the instruction slot 1 is executed by FU0. An "ADD" instruction stored in the instruction slot 2 is executed by IU1. A "FADD" instruction stored in the instruction slot 3 is executed by FU1. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 4 is executed by BU0. Another "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 5 is executed by BU1.
The execution of the VLIW instruction 1 finishes when a last basic instruction is executed by an instruction unit.
(Time 2)
(A) A VLIW instruction 2 is stored in memory area in the memory 10 as shown in FIG. 2. Using an instruction address stored in PC, the instruction read unit 11 retrieves the VLIW instruction 2 from the memory 10, and stores the VLIW instruction 2 to the instruction register. Basic instructions included in the VLIW instruction 2 are stored in the instruction slots indicated as Time 2 as shown in FIG. 3.
(B) The functional units execute the instructions provided. An "ADD" instruction stored in the instruction slot 0 is executed by IU0. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 1 is executed by FU0. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 2 is executed by IU1. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 3 is executed by FU1. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 4 is executed by BU0. Another "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 5 is executed by BU1.
The execution of the VLIW instruction 2 finishes when a last basic instruction is executed by an instruction unit.
(Time 3)
(A) A VLIW instruction 3 is stored in memory area in the memory 10 as shown in FIG. 2. Using an instruction address stored in PC, the instruction read unit 11 retrieves the VLIW instruction 3 from the memory 10, and stores the VLIW instruction 3 to the instruction register. Basic instructions included in the VLIW instruction 3 are stored in the instruction slots indicated as Time 3 as shown in FIG. 3.
(B) The functional units execute the instructions provided. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 0 is executed by IU0. A "FADD" instruction stored in the instruction slot 1 is executed by FU0. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 2 is executed by IU1. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 3 is executed by FU1. A "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 4 is executed by BU0. Another "NOP" instruction stored in the instruction slot 5 is executed by BU1.
The end of the execution of the VLIW instruction 3 means that all basic instructions are executed by instruction units.
In case of a VLIW processor, an instruction slot in the instruction register 12 where a VLIW instruction retrieved by the instruction readout unit 11 is stored and a functional unit in the instruction execution unit which executes the VLIW instruction corresponds 1-to-1. In other words, since an integer arithmetic instruction, an integer load instruction, an integer store instruction, a floating point load instruction, and a floating point store instruction are executed only by the integer units IU0 and IU1, these instructions must be stored in either the instruction slot 0 or the instruction slot 1.
Since a floating point arithmetic instruction is executed only by FU0 or FU1, this instruction must be stored in either the instruction slot 1 or the instruction slot 3.
Because a conditional branch instruction and an unconditional branch instruction are executed only by the branch units BU0 or BU1, these instructions must be stored in the instruction slot 4 or the instruction slot 5. Due to this constraint, a language processing system for a VLIW processor must verify the correspondence between a basic instruction and an instruction slot. A language processing system, an assembler and a compiler, for a VLIW processor includes a VLIW verification step which verifies whether an arrangement of basic instructions is executable by the VLIW processor. Only executable VLIW instructions are stored in the memory 10.
(Assembler)
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an assembler for a VLIW processor as an example of prior art. The assembler includes a word analysis step S11, an instruction code generation step S12, a VLIW verification step S13, and an object generation step S14.
In the word analysis step S11, source code text is retrieved, from the beginning sequentially, from a source code file of an assembler program, and words and phrases in the retrieved source code text are analyzed. In the instruction code generation step S12, analyzed words and phrases are converted into instruction codes. In the VLIW verification step S13, it is verified whether a VLIW instruction can be provided through an instruction issuance unit to an instruction execution unit of the processor. In the object generation step S14, issuable VLIW instructions are converted into an object format, and written out to an object program file.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the VLIW verification step S13. The VLIW verification step S13 includes an instruction slot configuration verification step S13-1 and a register conflict verification step S13-2.
The instruction slot configuration verification step S13-1 verifies whether each basic instruction of a VLIW instruction is assigned to an instruction slot which can execute the basic instruction. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the instruction slot arrangement verification step S13-1.
The register conflict verification step S13-2 verifies whether two or more basic instructions of a VLIW instruction store data in the same register at the same time. An algorithm used in the instruction slot configuration verification step S13-1 which verifies whether basic instructions of a VLIW instruction are issuable is as follows.
In the step S22, basic instructions are taken out from the VLIW instruction first. In the next step S23, an instruction slot at which a basic instruction is assigned is identified. In the next step S24, an instruction slot at which the basic instruction is executable is checked with reference to an assignable instruction slot table. In the step S25, whether the instruction slot at which the basic instruction is assigned (S23) is one of the instruction slots at which the basic instruction is executable (S24) is checked. The steps S22-S27 are repeated until all instruction slots are checked (Step S21).
FIG. 7 is the assignable instruction slot table which is referred to at the step S24. The assignable instruction slot table indicates, for each basic instruction available for a VLIW processor, which instruction slot is assignable and which is not.
(Compiler)
FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a compiler for a VLIW processor as an example of prior art. As shown in the flow chart, the compiler includes a word analysis step S31, a syntax analysis step S32, a semantic analysis step S33, a VLIW formation step S34, and an assembly language description output step S35.
The word analysis step S31 reads out source code text, from the beginning sequentially, out of a source code file written in a high level language, and analyzes words and phrases of the source code text. The syntax analysis step S32 analyzes a logical structure of the program in accordance with syntax rules. The semantic analysis step S33 analyzes the meaning of each component of the program, and converts the source code to an intermediate language codes. The VLIW formation step S34 converts the intermediate language codes into a VLIW instruction, and is identical to a VLIW verification step S13 of the assembler. The assembly language output step S35 outputs the VLIW instructions expressed in the assembly language.
FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the VLIW formation step S34 of the compiler. The VLIW formation step 34 uses the following algorithm. The step S41 checks whether a basic instruction can be taken out of an intermediate language expression. If YES, a step S42 follows, and if NO, a step S48 is performed. In the step S42, a basic instruction is taken out. A step S43 checks whether the basic instruction can be assigned to an instruction assignment table. If YES, a step S45 follows, and if NO, a step S46 is performed.
The step S45 assigns the basic instruction to the instruction assignment table, and a step S42 follows. If the step S44 is NO, the step S46 outputs a set of basic instructions stored in the instruction assignment table as a VLIW instruction. A step S47 clears the instruction assignment table. Then, the step 43 follows.
If the step 41 is NO, a set of basic instructions stored in the instruction assignment table is output as a VLIW instruction.
In case of an embedded processor based on a variable length very long instruction word architecture described in a Japanese patent application 1999-281957 dated Oct. 1, 1999, instruction slots, which is an element of a VLIW instruction, and functional units have either a 1-to-many relationship or a many-to-many relationship. Accordingly, a language processing system must verify whether a set of basic instructions forming a VLIW instruction is executable by the processor.
Since embedded processors can be used in a wide range of applications, performance requirements for an embedded processor vary in a wide range. The variable length VLIW architecture processors described in the Japanese patent application mentioned above realizes processors for which different length instructions can be used, and satisfies such requirements. Short instruction length processors are applicable to low performance applications, and long instruction length processors are applicable to high performance applications. It should be noted, however, that making a different language processing system which supports a processor having a different instruction length is not economical.

Instruction processing method for verifying basic instruction arrangement in VLIW instruction for variable length VLIW processor


A magneto-optical head including a lens forming a light spot on a storage disk, a magnetic field generating coil arranged between the lens and the disk to surround the optical center of the lens, and an annular heat sink arranged around the coil. The distance between the outer circumference of the coil and the inner circumference of the heat sink is 70–100 μm.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optical head for writing data to and-reading data from a magneto-optical disk. The invention also relates to a magneto-optical disk drive provided with such a magneto-optical head.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP-A-2003-51144, for example, discloses a magneto-optical head used for recording data by magnetic field modulation. The disclosed magneto-optical head includes an optical lens for forming a light spot on a data storage disk, a coil arranged between the lens and the disk for generating a magnetic field, and a magnetic element arranged between the coil and the lens. The coil generates heat when a current flows through the coil. For dissipating the heat, the magneto-optical head is provided with a heat sink surrounding the coil. With this structure, it is possible to prevent the lens from overheating due to the heat of the coil. Thus, the refractive index of the lens remains constant, whereby a proper light spot can be formed. When the disk rotates, airflow is caused between the disk and the MO head, which contributes to the cooling of the heat sink.
In the magnetic field modulation recording system, a high-frequency current of e.g. 50 MHz flows through the coil for magnetic field generation. When a magnetic field is generated by the coil, the magnetic flux passes through the heat sink around the coil. As the direction of the magnetic field is reversed at high frequency, eddy current is generated at the heat sink. The amount of eddy current generated depends on the distance between the outer circumference of the coil and the heat sink. Specifically, the amount of eddy current increases as the distance between the heat sink and the coil decreases and the amount decreases as the distance increases.
When the distance between the heat sink and the coil is relatively small, the heat sink can effectively dissipate the heat generated by the coil. However, the loss due to the eddy current deteriorates the generation efficiency of the magnetic field. On the other hand, when the distance between the heat sink and the coil is relatively large, the generation of eddy current at the heat sink is reduced, so that the generation efficiency of the magnetic field improves. However, the amount of heat dissipated by the heat sink is reduced.
The deterioration of generation efficiency of the magnetic field necessitates the use of a complicated system. Specifically, for example, the current value need be adjusted in accordance with the eddy current loss or the increase of frequency. On the other hand, when the heat dissipation effect lowers, the a proper light spot fails to be formed due to the change of the refractive index of the lens, as described above.

Magneto-optical head and magneto-optical disk drive


A sealed type lash adjuster (100A) includes a plunger (2A), a body (1) in which the plunger (2A) is inserted in a fitting manner, a first sealing means (5) provided between the plunger (2A) and the body (1), and a second sealing member (20A) that can prevent or suppress intrusion of an engine oil from an outside. The second sealing means (20A) seals a portion of the plunger (2A) exposed from the body and is arranged so as to cover a clearance (K) formed between an open end portion of the body and the plunger (2A). More specifically, the second sealing member (20A) has a one-end portion (20aA) and an other-end portion (20bA) as sealing parts having a function of preventing or suppressing intrusion of the engine oil from the outside.

Conventionally, there has been practically used a lash adjuster that automatically adjusts a valve clearance provided between an intake or exhaust valve and a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine to substantially zero. With such a sealed type lash adjuster, in the aspect of function, clatter noise generated by interference between the intake or exhaust valve and the cylinder head is eliminated by means of this lash adjuster. Moreover, in the aspect of maintenance, it becomes unnecessary to perform operation for periodically checking and adjusting the valve clearance. The lash adjuster includes, for example, an external oil feed type lash adjuster that utilizes engine oil. In the case of this external oil feed type lash adjuster, if a filled quantity of the engine oil is inappropriate or if degraded oil continues to be used, a risk that air or foreign substance is mixed into the oil increases. Therefore, as a result of these factors, the function of the lash adjuster can be impaired. That is, in the external oil feed type lash adjuster, the function of the lash adjuster depends on whether the engine oil is well maintained or not. On the other hand, the lash adjuster includes a sealed type lash adjuster in which a liquid such as oil is hermetically enclosed. With such a sealed type lash adjuster as just described, the above-described factors impairing the function thereof can be eliminated.
With regard to the sealed type lash adjuster, a sealed type lash adjuster such as shown below has been proposed, for example, in Patent Document 1. The sealed type lash adjuster proposed by Patent Document 1 is equipped with an oil seal having two lips in an X-letter shaped cross section (hereinafter simply called X-seal) between a body and a plunger. This X-seal can seal two liquids on both sides of the seal at the same time. Consequently, this sealed type lash adjuster has a structure to simultaneously prevent outflow of the oil sealed by the X-seal to the outside and intrusion of the engine oil from the outside.
[Patent Document 1]
    Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. JP-B-62-029605


A system and method for transferring content streams in a peer-to-peer network is provided. The system may first process and manipulate, through resizing, compression and frame limitations, a source content stream through a stream processor and into a destination canvas before being sent to a peer connection. The source content may be manipulated differently for a plurality of peer connections through associated stream processors. The system may further dynamically connect to a plurality of peers of a network and requests a list of requirements for selecting a preferable stream broadcaster. The selection may use the bandwidth available for streaming and the geolocation of the participants.

When transferring a content stream from a user to another user over a peer-to-peer network, the content of the stream is generally communicated as a media stream over a real-time communication (RTC) peer-to-peer connection. As shown in FIG. 1, a camera captures a video or series of images, the captured video is fed as a media stream to the RTC peer-to-peer connections. As the content stream may not be processed nor manipulated in real time as the WebRTC does not provides access to the said stream.
Referring to FIG. 2, a diagram of connections between participants of a typical prior art peer-to-peer videoconference system is shown. In such system, one connection for both downloading and uploading is established between each of the participants of the peer-to-peer network. As the number of participants increase, the required number of connections exponentially increases. Therefore, the required bandwidth required to stream the videoconference between the participants shall also increase exponentially. One of the main drawbacks of such prior art system is that any user sending a video stream will be the bottleneck to the videoconference streaming.
Accordingly, there is a need for novel peer-to-peer videoconferencing system allowing an increased number of participants over prior art systems.

Peer-to-peer conferencing system and method


A beam-type wiper blade reclosable package that includes a pair of package halves joined by an elongate compliant joint that preferably enables one of the package halves to function as a cover that can be closed over a base that includes a curved beam-type wiper blade compartment formed therein. The compartment includes a wiper blade beam or backbone seat and a wiping blade element land, an adapter clearance recess defining a lip that facilitates package opening and closing and wiper blade removal facilitating pockets. The compliant joint preferably is a living hinge of double fold construction that serves to strengthen the package when closed.

Beam-type windshield or windscreen wiper blades are growing in popularity throughout the United States and the rest of the world. Beam-type wiper blades have an elongate beam "backbone" that is curved along its length. They also have a rubber wiper element attached to one side of the beam and an adapter, used for releasably mounting the wiper blade to a vehicle, attached to the beam, which extends outwardly from its other side. Examples of beam-type wiper blades are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,836,925, 6,813,923, and 6,550,096.
The curved beam helps ensure more constant and even pressure is applied along the entire windshield, providing a smoother, more consistent wipe. While conventional articulating framework wiper blades typically have somewhere around six or eight pressure points, beam-type wiper blades essentially have an infinite number of pressure points, helping to ensure the wiper element is urged against the windshield with substantially continuous pressure along substantially the entire length of the blade. A curved beam is also better able to conform to the curved contour of just about any vehicle windshield, which further ensures a smoother, more consistent wiping action.
During operation, each wiper blade is attached to an arm that moves back and forth across part of a windshield of a vehicle. The wiper element rides in concert along the surface of the windshield, essentially functioning as a squeegee to urge water in its path off the windshield.
Packaging such a beam-type windshield wiper blade poses unique challenges as compared to conventional wiper blades because of its curved beam shape and because the wiper element is directly attached to the beam. Thus, a critical challenge relates to protecting the wiper element as well as the beam. Due to the curvature of the beam and the arrangement of the wiper element, the end of the wiper element can become warped or distorted over time if the blade is not properly supported. Should this happen, part or all of the wiper element will make poor contact with the windshield, which can cause undesirable streaking during wiper operation. This warpage or distortion can also extend along part of the squeegee edge of the wiper element, exacerbating these problems. If too great, it can undesirably result in such warped or distorted wiper blades being returned to the store for refund.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and advantageous to provide packaging for a beam-type wiper blade that protects the blade while being of economical, durable, resilient and reclosable construction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An aircraft sensor system includes a first sensor configured to detect a parameter of an aircraft system and a first micro electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) disposed local to a first component within the aircraft system. The first MEMS is communicatively connected to a controller, and is configured to trigger in response to a corresponding parameter exceeding a threshold. The controller is connected to an output of the first sensor and includes a non-transitory memory storing instructions configured to cause the controller to increase a sampling rate of the first sensor to a sampling rate corresponding to the first component for at least a predetermined length of time in response to the first MEMS being triggered.

Gas turbine engines, such as those utilized in commercial and military aircraft, include a compressor section that compresses air, a combustor section in which the compressed air is mixed with a fuel and ignited, and a turbine section across which the resultant combustion products are expanded. The expansion of the combustion products drives the turbine section to rotate. As the turbine section is connected to the compressor section via a shaft, the rotation of the turbine section further drives the compressor section to rotate. In some examples, a fan is also connected to the shaft and is driven to rotate via rotation of the turbine as well.
During operation of the gas turbine engine, it can be desirable for an engine controller such as a full authority digital engine controller (FADEC) to monitor one or more parameters of the engine operation. The parameters can be monitored using sensors configured to detect the parameters. The data from the sensors is read at an acquisition rate (alternately referred to as a sampling rate). In some instances, such as when certain vibrational events occur, it can be desirable to read data from the sensor more frequently than the base data acquisition rate.

System for active data acquisition management in a gas turbine engine


Techniques to facilitate acquiring a media season, or a related series, of digital media assets from an on-line media store are disclosed. A user can view various media seasons that have been listed as available for purchase from the on-line media store. A user can choose to purchase a particular media season, either before or during the season. Subsequent to the purchase of the particular media season, digital media assets of the particular media season can be delivered to the user once the digital media assets become available. Since the monitoring is computerized and the delivery is electronic, once a digital media asset becomes available, delivery can be automatically processed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital media assets and, more particularly, to network-based purchase of sets of digital media assets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television shows are recorded and then scheduled for broadcast to viewers over cable or airwaves. Often the television shows are daily or weekly programs. As such, in a given season of television shows, many shows will provide a number of different episodes that are broadcast over the course of the season. Users can receive and view the shows at the specific times of their broadcast. However, after the episodes have been broadcasted, the episodes are not readily available, unless a user has recorded the broadcast onto a tape (e.g., VHS tape), DVD or data storage drive (e.g., TIVO). Occasionally, a previously broadcasted episode of a show will be re-broadcast (known as a "re-run"). After a season is over, a media company owning rights in a television show may package the various episodes of a show onto a DVD and offer the DVD for sale at retail stores. For example, an entire season of episodes of a particular television show can be provided on a DVD and sold.
Recently, videos have become available for download from media servers located on the Internet. Unfortunately, when a video pertains to a show that has a season of episodes, the user has to access, locate and download each of the episodes for the show. This is time consuming and burdensome on the user, particularly since the episodes are released over the course of the season. Thus, there is a need for improved approaches to acquiring a season of shows from an on-line media source.

Techniques for acquiring a media season of digital media assets


An airplane wing has a lower wing cover, an upper wing cover and a wing spar. A first end portion of the wing spar is welded to the lower wing cover and/or a second end portion of the wing spar is welded to the upper wing cover.

A wing of an airplane usually comprises a lower wing cover, an upper wing cover, and at least one wing spar spanning the lower wing cover with the upper wing cover. Such a wing spar is frequently composed of a top chord and a bottom chord as well as a middle web therebetween. Such a spar is connected at the top chord side to the upper wind cover and at the bottom chord side to the lower wing cover.
When constructing the interface area between wing spar and wing covers, a plurality of design criteria have to be considered, such as static strength, deformation behavior, stability, crack initiation and crack growth properties, residual strength, corrosion resistance, controllability, and various production aspects.
Conventionally, a wing spar is connected to the wing covers by means of single to three row rivet joints or by means of threaded joints. It is also known from the state of the art to secure a wing spar to wing covers by using an adhesive joint. The wing covers start before a front spar connection for receiving a wing tip and end after a rear spar connection by forming the wing box for securing wing flaps.
Wing covers and wing spars have numerous thickness gradations in view of reaching minimum weight while meeting sophisticated strength requirements and maintainability requirements, like controllability or repairability. In particular for large transport airplanes, the spars are frequently integrally milled from an aluminum blank, whereas for smaller airplanes, the spars are frequently produced in differential style.
Hereafter, with reference to FIG. 1, an airplane wing 100 according to the state of the art is described.
The airplane wing 100 comprises an upper wing cover 101 and a lower wing cover 102, wherein the upper wing cover 101 is spanned with respect to the lower wing cover 102 by means of a wing spar 103. The wing spar 103 comprises a top chord 104, a bottom chord 105 and a middle web 106 arranged therebetween. The top chord 104 is connected to the upper wing cover 101 by means of a threaded joint 107. The bottom chord 105 is connected to the lower wing cover 102 by means of another threaded joint 108. The wing spar 103 is a wing spar with rib connection. As an alternative to the threaded joint 107, 108, a riveted joint can also be provided.
The connecting technique known from the state of the art for connecting the wing spar to the wing covers has considerable disadvantages. A short incipient crack durability results from high load transmission from the spar chords into the wing covers in case of wing bending or wing torsion. The single to three row rivet joints or threaded joints, which extend in wing span direction, generate high production costs, which are further increased through required durability increasing measures (e.g. plastic expansion of bores before insertion of the connecting elements).
Frequently, the chords of the spars are the components having the lowest durability, with possible cracks in general growing perpendicularly to the spar direction. Locating this crack configuration through external visual controls is frequently impossible, so that internal cost-intensive wing controls are necessary for damages to be detected in good time. Once the spar chord is broken, in many cases the required design loads (limit loads) can no longer be transmitted.
The riveted or threaded joint between wing spar and wing covers requires doubling and weight disadvantages resulting therefrom.

Airplane wing, method for manufacturing an airplane wing and use of a welding process for welding a wing spar


An extract composition derived from the peel of a banana and the method for producing the extract composition. An aqueous solvent is combined with the peel of a banana. If the banana is unripe, a base is also added. The mixture is homogenized and allowed to react at least until a black supernatant appears. The entire slurry is filtered. The resulting extract is used alone or combined with a cream or ointment. Medicinal benefits of the extract include relief from pain, swelling, itching, bruising, wrinkles, and sunburn.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to extraction methods, and more specifically to methods for extracting compounds from bananas.
2. The Relevant Technology
The common banana, scientifically known as Musa sapientum, is a tropical fruit grown in the western hemisphere. Primarily viewed as a food source, the banana has fleshy inside portion surrounded by an outer, typically yellow, peel. The fleshy inside portion, or pulp, is edible when raw, and the peel is usually discarded. When ripe, bananas have a deep yellow rind spotted with brown, and a creamy pulp which is easily digested. Bananas are rich in carbohydrates and contain relatively large amount of vitamins A, B and C and the minerals potassium and phosphorous.
The banana has value in addition to being a food source. The fruit producing tree contains fiber which is used in the production of paper and twine. The peel and pulp have also been utilized to obtain banana essences, which are solutions of aromatic components, essentially free of sugars and solid constituents. Banana essences have been obtained by homogenizing the pulp of a ripened banana, or by an extensive separation and extraction process of the peel.
Some cultures believe that the banana peel provides pain relief, especially from headache pain. However, experts in the field have maintained that there is nothing that is absorbed through the skin from a banana peel that has any effect on a headache. The experts argue that any relief experienced is probably a placebo effect.

Banana peel extract composition and method for extraction


The present invention relates to treatment of visceral pain of gastrointestinal origin, functional bowel disorders and irritable bowel syndrome comprising electrical stimulation of the spinal cord using one or more commercially available and implantable spinal cord stimulation leads for a time period sufficient to suppress or extinguish the pain or symptoms associated with visceral pain of gastrointestinal origin, functional bowel disorders or irritable bowel syndrome.

This invention relates generally to techniques for providing treatment therapy to neural tissue to relieve visceral pain, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of visceral pain of gastrointestinal origin, functional bowel disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.
Functional bowel disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, are common abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract that are associated with severe and chronic abdominal pain. It has been estimated that a minimum of 10-20% of the United States population experience several of the symptoms of functional bowel disorders. Moreover, greater than 30% of patients that recover from an acute infectious gastroenteritis also exhibit irritable bowel syndrome symptomatology. Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome include abdominal cramping with pain that is concurrent with abnormal bowel habits in terms of frequency and appearance.
Treatments for functional bowel disorders generally, and irritable bowel syndrome specifically, include modification of diet, psychological therapy, stress management, exercise, antidepressant and antianxiety medications, antidiarrheals, bile acid binding agents, anticholinergics, some experimental medications, and other pharmacological and non-pharmocological treatments. These treatments have only limited success and effectiveness and some have undesirable side effects.
Electrical stimulation of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord (spinal cord stimulation; SCS) has been employed for years to treat chronic severe pain. Currently the applications for spinal cord stimulation include both chronic neuropathic and ischemic pain. The mechanism by which electrical stimulation via an electrode placed on the dorsal surface of the spinal cord provides pain relief is poorly understood but may involve both spinal and supraspinal neural circuits.
The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome may be due, at least in part, to disturbed intestinal motility, primarily characterized by hypercontractility. Nevertheless, symptoms cannot be explained entirely by changes in motility alone and they may also arise from complex feedback and feed-forward interactions between supraspinal circuits, the spinal cord and the periphery.
Abnormal (or heightened) visceral sensory perception is a more recent mechanism that has been proposed to account for many of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. The concept of abnormal pain perception in irritable bowel syndrome is supported by the observation that gastrointestinal distention in patients with irritable bowel syndrome evokes pain at lower distention pressures compared to asymptomatic control subjects. It may be that the development of gastrointestinal sensitization initiates the process of abdominal pain and concomitant abnormal gastrointestinal function seen in irritable bowel syndrome patients.
Visceral allodynia (nonpainful response perceived as painful) and hyperalgesia (heightened response to a painful stimulus) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome has been postulated to develop as a result of an acute irritating event followed by development of hypersensitivity of undamaged tissues. The increased sensitivity could occur as the result of central and/or peripheral mechanisms. A manifestation of these changes is that responses to colorectal distention are accentuated in animals with visceral hypersensitivity. For example, colonic inflammation with mustard oil has been found to increase the background activity in lumbosacral postsynaptic dorsal column neurons and potentiated the evoked responses to colorectal distention.
In response to sensitization, innocuous colorectal distentions evoke a visceromotor behavioral response, which resemble those induced by nociceptive stimuli in non-sensitized rats. This suggests that alterations in neuronal activity within the spinal cord may be involved in processing information from the colon, and that induced abnormalities in spinal neuronal processing may lead to the development of visceral hypersensitivity. Furthermore, recent animal studies have shown that nociceptive distention of the colon produces an increase in cFos expression (a gene marker indicating enhanced neuronal excitability) in the lumbosacral spinal cord suggesting enhanced neuronal excitability. Pharmacotherapy of similar symptoms encountered in man often fails, and spinal cord stimulation besides its beneficial effects on various types of pain also has proven effective in suppressing hyperexcitable somatosensory reflexes in spasticity.
Despite studies and postulates, however, chronic visceral pain of gastrointestinal origin is poorly understood and lacks an effective therapy. Thus, there is a need for improved treatment for visceral pain of gastrointestinal origin, functional bowel disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.

Spinal cord stimulation as treatment for functional bowel disorders

Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research


A connector for connecting electrical conduit to nonmetallic electrical enclosures includes a connector body, a locking ring, and a conduit nut rotatably mounted on the connector body. The connector body has a first threaded end threadedly connected to the enclosure and a second end rotatably coupled to the conduit nut. The second end has an outwardly extending radial flange which mates with an inwardly extending radial flange on the conduit nut to rotatably couple the conduit nut to the body, without limiting rotational movement of the conduit nut on the body. The conduit nut has internal threads to mate with the male threads of an electrical conduit. The assembly allows an electrical conduit to be connected securely to the enclosure by tightening the conduit nut onto the conduit without transferring torsional stress to the non-metallic enclosure. The locking ring is threadedly coupled to the connector body and can be rotated to lock the conduit nut in place.

Non-metallic enclosures are well known in the electrical industry. These non-metallic enclosures have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive to produce, light weight, and easy to install. In addition, non-metallic enclosures provide an insulating housing for the electrical components contained therein. Typically, non-metallic enclosures are provided with a machined hub extending through the wall of the enclosure for the entry of wiring and other circuitry. The hub further provides a mechanism for coupling the enclosure to a conduit carrying electrical wiring and provides a moisture resistant connection between the conduit and the enclosure. The hub is usually factory installed on the electrical enclosure. The hub generally comprises a male threaded end for threadedly coupling the hub to the enclosure. The enclosure is then installed at the work site and coupled to the conduit.
The conduit in many electrical applications includes a threaded end for coupling the conduit to the electrical enclosure. Accordingly, the hub which has been factory installed in the enclosure includes an internally threaded portion for coupling the conduit to the enclosure. The electrical connection is made by threading the conduit into the hub and the enclosure, followed by feeding electrical wires and circuitry through the hub and conduit. To obtain a weatherproof seal between the conduit and the hub, sufficient torque must be applied to the conduit to tighten the conduit to the hub. In tightening the conduit, torque is transferred directly through the solid hub to the enclosure. This transfer of torque to the enclosure often results in the hub being sheared off the enclosure, resulting in a loose and non-weather tight seal between the hub and the enclosure.
In the past, efforts have been made to prevent or minimize damage to the enclosure caused by over tightening the conduit on the hub. One such method has been to increase the thickness of the enclosure to sufficiently strengthen the wall to withstand the torque being transferred to the enclosure. This method has not been altogether satisfactory and has still resulted in failure of the coupling between the hub and the enclosure. In addition, thickening the enclosure increases the weight of the enclosure and increases manufacturing costs. Other devices which have been produced to prevent failure of the enclosure caused by over tightening the conduit on the hub include the use of a solid hub which is attached to the non-metallic enclosure. The solid hub includes a threaded portion which extends through a hole in the enclosure wall and is secured to the enclosure by a threaded backing ring applied from within the enclosure. The threaded ring is tightened on the threaded portion of the hub against the wall of the enclosure to tighten the hub onto the enclosure and produce a weather-tight seal. The solid hub further includes an internally threaded portion for coupling with a threaded conduit. As the conduit is threaded into the hub and tightened, the hub assembly will rotate before the enclosure is damaged. This type of device, however, has not been entirely satisfactory in preventing damage to the enclosure. In addition, the hub is more difficult to install and secure to the enclosure. The ring may further loosen as the hub rotates when the conduit is screwed into the hub.
Other efforts to minimize damage to the enclosure include the use of a separate union connecting to the hub and to the threaded conduit. The union, however, must also be connected to the hub and can result in damage to the enclosure. In addition, the use of a union increases manufacturing and installation costs.

Conduit connector for non-metallic enclosures


An OCM monitors a plurality of SW ports each receiving an optical signal by switching the SW ports. The OCM includes a PD, a control circuit, and an arithmetic circuit. The PD detects an optical power level on wavelengths spaced at predetermined intervals in each of the SW ports to be monitored. The control circuit determines, in each of the SW ports, whether arithmetic processing using a waveform estimated from the optical power level is executed, depending on presence or absence of a change in the optical power level detected by the PD. The arithmetic circuit performs the arithmetic processing by using the waveform when the control circuit determines execution of the arithmetic processing.

Increased complexity of networks in optical transmission systems today has brought an increasing need for functionality (colorless, directionless, and contentionless [CDC] functionality) that enables any terminal to transmit an optical signal on any wavelength channel in any path regardless of the source of the optical signal. In implementing such functionality, performances (such as an optical power level, the number of wavelength channels, and a state of wavelength channels) on all the transmission paths are monitored with optical channel monitors (OCMs) so that stable transmission quality is secured in the optical transmission systems. In related optical transmission systems, different OCMs are installed in respective transmission paths for the purpose of monitoring. With an increase in the number of transmission paths to be monitored, it will be difficult to install OCMs in all the transmission paths because installation costs will increase. Technologies, therefore, have been developed in which one OCM monitors a plurality of transmission paths by sequentially switching ports using an optical switch. Related technologies are described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-105222 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-197043, for example.
When monitoring a transmission path, the OCM monitors presence or absence of signals of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and calculates, for example, the central wavelength and optical power level. It usually takes approximately 250 ms for the OCM to complete the calculation for all the wavelength bandwidths (channels) in use. Thus, as the number of transmission paths (ports) to be monitored increases, waiting time (monitor polling time) before the start of monitoring at each port increases. The OCM is not capable of detecting events (such as change in the number of wavelength channels, switching of transmission paths, and signal stop) immediately if such events occur during the waiting time. Consequently, it takes more time before proceeding to the next control processing, thereby degrading the transmission quality of optical signals in some cases.

Port monitoring device and port monitoring method


An improved film trap for a motion picture projector. The film trap includes a runner assembly having first and second runner elements each having a reduced thickness. The reduced thickness of the first and second runner elements enables the first and second runner elements to contact a first side of the filmstrip such that only a portion of the filmstrip which includes the sprocket holes is contacted by the first and second runner elements. The film trap further includes first and second pressure bands having a reduced thickness substantially equivalent to the first and second runner elements thickness. The first and second pressure bands urge the filmstrip against the first and second runner elements by contacting a second side of the filmstrip such that only a portion of the filmstrip which includes the sprocket holes is contacted by the first and second pressure bands. In addition, the film trap includes a pair of tension shoes having a top surface including at least one relief notch and which is coated with a relatively low friction material such as TEFLON.TM.. The reduced thicknesses and the relief notch reduce the contact area between the filmstrip and the first and second runner elements, first and second pressure bands and the tension shoes. The reduction in contact area in conjunction with the TEFLON.TM. coating on the tension shoes reduces the amount of surface damage on the filmstrip incurred by advancing the filmstrip through the film trap. Consequently, the number of times that the filmstrip may be processed through the film trap is substantially increased before replacement of the filmstrip because of surface damage sufficient to hinder reading of the soundtrack by sound reproducing equipment.

A motion picture filmstrip generally includes a series of pictures and at least one soundtrack. Such filmstrips are typically used in conjunction with a motion picture projector to provide an optical effect wherein the pictures appear as a continuous picture having objects that are in motion. Typically, the motion pictures are projected on a screen. Many projectors further include means for reproducing the soundtrack in a synchronized manner with the picture projection. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,949 entitled THREADING AND SYNCHRONIZATION FOR SOUND MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR which issued to Nupnau on Mar. 1, 1977 and assigned to Bell & Howell Co. Therein is disclosed an automatic threading and image-sound synchronization system. In this system, the correct image frame to sound spacing of a filmstrip is established during threading of the projector by using a fixed loop accumulator and existing projector components.
Many techniques have been utilized to provide a soundtrack for a motion picture. One technique uses a magnetic medium similar to that used for magnetic recording tape. A soundtrack is then formed by applying the magnetic medium onto a motion picture filmstrip. However, this technique has disadvantages. A disadvantage is that the recording medium does not adhere well to the filmstrip. This results in a relatively short film life. In addition, the recording medium typically used is abrasive, which erodes and degrades the magnetic playback head, thus rendering it inoperable.
Another technique includes the formation of an analog optical sound recording on the filmstrip. One such recording is known as a variable area recording. This type of recording provides a soundtrack having optically translucent or opaque areas whose width varies according to the instantaneous amplitude of the sound. During movie projection, the soundtrack is illuminated from behind by a lamp and is viewed in front through a slit by a photocell. As the filmstrip advances, the photocell receives an amount of light that varies in accordance with the varying width of the varying translucent or opaque areas of the soundtrack. The photocell produces a corresponding voltage which is then utilized to reproduce the sound. In another type of optical recording, a soundtrack is configured such that it conforms to a curve that is empirically derived to provide the best compromise between signal to noise ratio, dynamic range and frequency response. This type of soundtrack is known in the art as the "Academy" soundtrack.
Digital optical recordings have also been used to provide a soundtrack. Generally, such recordings are formed by converting analog sound signals to digital sound signals. A filmstrip is then exposed to light which is modulated in accordance with the digital sound signals to form a digital soundtrack on the filmstrip. Digital soundtracks have many advantages. One advantage is increased resistance to audible degradation due to surface scratches or contaminants on the filmstrip that are caused by repeated use. In addition, digital soundtracks substantially reduce the amount of hiss and noise associated with analog soundtracks. As such, an increasing number of motion pictures include a digital optical soundtrack.
However, many movie theaters do not have projectors that are equipped to reproduce a digital optical soundtrack. Consequently, it is desirable to provide a motion picture having a standard analog optical soundtrack and a digital optical soundtrack. This would insure compatibility with theaters having projectors with either analog or digital sound reproduction systems. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,781 entitled MULTI-CHANNEL SOUND AND DATA SYSTEM which issued on Dec. 22, 1981 to Mosely. This patent discloses a multi purpose sound/data system for motion picture film. As described therein, this system is capable of recording and reproducing digital and/or analog data such that there is no interference between different information channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,280 entitled DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDING/PLAYBACK SYSTEM FOR MOTION PICTURE FILM which issued to Clark on Jul. 15, 1986 describes a configuration for a filmstrip having digital and analog soundtracks. In this configuration, the filmstrip includes a three channel digital soundtrack extending along the length of filmstrip between the right sprocket holes and the picture frames. In addition, the film strip includes two conventional variable area soundtracks positioned between the left sprocket holes and the picture frames.
The filmstrip further includes a digital optical soundtrack which is formed in sublayers underneath the outside surfaces of the filmstrip. This soundtrack is formed on a portion of the filmstrip which includes an area between each of the righthand sprocket holes. The soundtrack further includes an area between each of the lefthand sprocket holes. In addition, the digital optical soundtrack may extend from the right edge to the righthand sprocket holes and/or the left edge to the lefthand sprocket holes. As such, the filmstrip is compatible with movie theaters having analog and digital sound reproduction systems. Another application having subject matter related thereto is PCT Application WO 92/14239, entitled STORAGE MEDIUM AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RECOVERING INFORMATION FROM SUCH MEDIUM BY OVERSAMPLING, published Aug. 20, 1992.
Conventional projectors include a sound head for reading a soundtrack and reproducing sound in accordance with the soundtrack. In addition, such projectors include a drive sprocket and guide rollers positioned between a filmstrip supply reel and a take-up reel. The drive sprocket includes teeth which coact with drive sprocket holes in the filmstrip to advance the filmstrip past an aperture plate. Such projectors further include tension shoes for maintaining the filmstrip in contact with the drive sprocket. Additionally, projectors include a film trap having a pair of raised runners and pressure bands. The runners and pressure bands provide controlled movement of the filmstrip as the filmstrip is advanced past the aperture plate. Each edge of the filmstrip is placed in contact with each of the runners, pressure bands and tension shoes. Consequently, over a period of time the outside surfaces of both edges of the filmstrip become scratched or damaged as the filmstrip is advanced against the runners, pressure bands and tension shoes. These damaged surfaces may prevent a substantial portion of an optical soundtrack located in sublayers within the edges of the filmstrip from being read correctly by the sound head of the projector. This is a disadvantage since the soundtrack cannot be reproduced clearly or accurately by the sound head. By way of example, it has been determined that a filmstrip having a digital optical soundtrack located on each edge of the filmstrip is rendered unusable after the filmstrip is processed a maximum of approximately ten cycles through a conventional film trap. This amount is substantially less than the amount of cycles that the filmstrip may be processed before replacement if only the analog soundtrack of the filmstrip is used to reproduce sound. As such, use of the digital soundtrack to reproduce sound necessitates relatively early replacement of the motion picture and undesirably increases cost.
Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a film trap which substantially reduces the amount of surface wear on each edge of a filmstrip. It is a further object to increase the number of cycles through which a motion picture filmstrip may be processed before replacement when using a digital optical soundtrack located within each edge of the filmstrip.

Film trap for a motion picture projector


A system receives a request to deploy a virtual machine on a node from a plurality of nodes running a plurality of virtual machines in a cloud computing system. The system selects one of the plurality of nodes having a hard disk drive (HDD) input output operations per second (IOPS) value less than an observed HDD IOPS value for the plurality of nodes running the plurality of virtual machines. The system receives a predicted HDD IOPS value for the virtual machine and determines a new HDD IOPS value for the selected node based on the HDD IOPS value for the selected node and the predicted HDD IOPS value for the virtual machine. The system instantiates the virtual machine on the selected node when the new HDD IOPS value for the selected node is less than or equal to the observed HDD IOPS value for the plurality of nodes.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Providers of cloud computing systems (e.g., Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and so on) invest heavily in cloud infrastructure. Effectively utilizing and monetizing the cloud infrastructure can be a difficult task. For example, the average CPU utilization of the cloud infrastructure can be very low (e.g., less than 10%). The yearly monetary cost associated with each 1% of under-utilization of the cloud infrastructure can be significant. The cost can grow as the cloud infrastructure gets updated with newer hardware and other resources while still being underutilized.

Resource management for virtual machines in cloud computing systems


The desk comprises a top plate and legs which are assembled so as to be able to be disassembled. The desk requires a reduced number of parts to connect the top plate and the legs, so that the labor required for assembly and disassembly may be reduced. To this end the top plate has sufficient rigidity, and each of the legs is provided with an upwardly facing surface adapted to be brought into contact with the under surface of the top plate and at the top end thereof with an arm extending along the front edge of the top plate. The top plate and the legs are connected by tapered engaging means and claw-type engaging means. The tapered engaging means comprises a concavely tapered surface formed in the front edge of the top plate and a convexly tapered surface formed on the arm of each leg, so that the two surfaces are brought into close contact with each other by sliding the leg relative to the top plate toward the user's side. The claw-type engaging means comprises bent claws formed on the upper surface of each leg and claw-receiving holes formed in the under surface of the top plate, so that the claws may be brought into engagement in the holes by sliding the leg relative to the top plate toward the user's side. Upon engagement of the engaging means, the above-mentioned arm is securely fixed to the front edge of the top plate by a fastener.

In prior art desks of this type it is customary to connect right and left legs by cross members, on which a top plate is placed and fixed to them.
In other words, in the prior art desks legs and various types of cross members are combined to form a rigid body, on which a top plate is mounted.
In the prior art the top plate is so designed as to be reinforced by cross members, so that it is apt to be curved or warped unless it is fixed to the cross members at many positions. In addition, unless both the legs are securely fixed to the cross members, it is difficult to give to the body a sufficient degree of rigidity to support the top plate.
Therefore, in the prior art desks, it is customary to use bolts to connect the legs to each other or the top plate to the cross members, so that much time and labor are required for assembly or disassembly.
In offices or the like places many desks of the same standard or design are often connected side by side. To this end it is customary to simply connect the top plates or legs of adjacent desks by using metal fittings. This arrangement leads to a problem that the legs of the connected adjoining desks stand side by side and become so bulky as to reduce usability, with many of the component parts being used redundantly and with a difficulty of making the top plates flush with each other.
In addition to the above inconvenience, in modern offices various office machines are installed which are provided with much wiring. In the previously mentioned conventional desks wires or cables are exposed on the top plate and hang down onto the floor to extend thereon. This is not only unsightly but also obstructive to persons walking on the floor, and if the wires on the floor are trod on or hooked by feet, they are likely to be cut or broken.
The object of the invention is to solve the above problem once and for all.