There is provided a method of eliminating an offset in a spot centroid due to crosstalk. A crosstalk matrix is used to characterize crosstalk characteristics of a multi-pixel spot-centroid detector. Left-multiplication of signals outputted from the multi-pixel spot-centroid detector, which are affected by the crosstalk, by an inverse matrix of the crosstalk matrix can result in a light-intensity-distribution signal with impacts of the crosstalk substantially removed. Based on this light-intensity-distribution signal, it is possible to derive the spot centroid, with the offset in the spot centroid due to the crosstalk substantially eliminated, resulting in an improved accuracy of the spot centroid detection, as compared with conventional methods.

The satellite-earth optical communication technology adopts optical communication links between satellites and the earth by means of laser beams as a carrier. As compared with the microwave communication technology commonly used at present, the satellite-earth optical communication technology has advantages such as high communication capacity, small system size, light weight, high security, little electromagnetic interference, and broad band. Thus, many countries have put great efforts to researches on the satellite-earth optical communication technology. Among those countries, Japan firstly succeeded in a satellite-earth optical communication test based on an ETS-VI system in July 1995. The test proved the feasibility of the satellite-earth laser communications. US JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) developed an OCD (Optical Communications Demonstrator) with a data transfer rate up to 250 Mbps. The STRV2 satellite-earth laser communication project funded commonly by US BMDO (Ballistic Missile Defense Organization) and Space and Missile Defense Command planned to establish an optical communication link, with a distance of 2000 km and a data transfer rate of 1 Gpbs, between a LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite and a stationary ground station. AREMIS, a GEO satellite developed by ESA (European Space Agency), was launched in 2000, and has an optical link which can implement communications between this satellite and a ground station located on Canary Island.
The ATP (Acquisition, Tracking, Pointing) technology is a key one to be improved in the field of the satellite-earth optical communications. An ATP system is composed of a tilt tracker, a control unit and a drive unit. In operation of the system, the tilt tracker is able to provide an amount of tilt in a wavefront of a target to the control unit in real time. The control unit calculates an amount of voltage to be loaded to the drive unit based on the tilt amount of the wavefront. The drive unit can rotate by a certain angle in a certain direction due to the voltage, so that an entrance pupil of the system can be aligned with the object in moving. (See Jiangtao XIA, Design of an Optical Collimation and Automatic Tracking System, Electronics Optics & Control, 2009, 16(5), 74-77.)
In an ATP system for the satellite-earth optical communications, optical transmission must pass through the atmosphere which is a random channel. Due to low-order aberrations caused by atmospheric turbulence and also the movement of the satellite, a light spot arriving at the system may present a wide range of random jitters (see Xiaofeng LI & Yu HU, "Effect of Background Light and Atmospheric Turbulence to Spots Received in Space-to-Ground Laser Communications," Wireless Optical Communications, 2004(10), 22-24). Further, in the satellite-earth optical communications, laser signals from the satellite have limited transmitting power due to loading capacity limitations of space crafts, and will have most energy thereof scattered and absorbed by the atmosphere after a long travel in the atmosphere (see Shuhua LIU, "Solution Designs, Analyses on Key Techniques, and Channel Simulations in Space-to-Ground Communications System," a dissertation for Master Degree in University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 2002). To ensure a fluent satellite-earth optical communication link, the tilt tracker in the ATP system, which provides the tilt amount in the wavefront of the target, must meet requirements, such as a wide dynamic range, a high detection precision, a high sensitivity, a high frame frequency, and the like.
The tilt tracker generally comprises an imaging lens, a photoelectric converter, and a wavefront tilt handling device. An optical signal from the target is converged by the imaging lens to be projected onto a photosensitive surface of the photoelectric converter to form a target spot. When the target has the tilt amount of its wavefront changed, the target spot moves on the photosensitive surface of the photoelectric converter. As a result, a distribution of optical energy on the photosensitive surface is changed. At this time, the wavefront tilt handling device can calculate the position of a centroid of the target spot based on an electric signal outputted from the photoelectric converter, and thus derive the tilt amount in the wavefront of the target. Currently, the photoelectric converter is generally implemented by a CCD camera, a CMOS camera, or a multi-anode PMT. However, the CCD camera is limited in applications of high frame frequency detections due to its disadvantages such as low readout frame frequency, and the CMOS camera is limited in applications of weak light detections due to its disadvantages such as large noise and low photosensitivity. The multi-anode PMT is composed of multiple PMTs (PhotoMultiplier Tubes) integrated into a single package based on a certain spatial design, with signals outputted at different pins corresponding to different spatial locations of optical cathodes. Thus, the multi-anode PMT can function as a multi-pixel spot-centroid detector.
However, due to manufacture processes, there is no shield provided at anodes of the multi-anode PMT. As a result, when the multi-anode PMT operates in a photon counting state, generation of a photoelectric pulse at one pixel is accompanied by generation of a smaller electrical pulse at another pixel, due to inter-electrode capacitance coupling. If the smaller pulse caused by such crosstalk becomes greater than a threshold level, it will be deemed by a backend circuit as a photoelectric pulse, resulting in a dummy photon count. The dummy photon count significantly impacts the accuracy of the outputted signals and thus the accuracy of the spot-centroid detection.
In order to ensure the requirements on the tilt tracker in the ATP system adopted in the satellite-earth optical communications, such as high detection precision, high sensitivity, high frame frequency, and the like, it becomes an important research object to provide a solution to reduce the impacts of the inter-pixel crosstalk in the multi-pixel spot-centroid detector on the spot-centroid detection accuracy.

Method of eliminating offset in spot centroid due to crosstalk

The Institute of Optics and Electronics, The Chinese Academy of Sciences


A method of controlling a storage device includes detecting a cumulative usage condition associated with the storage device, comparing the cumulative usage condition to a usage value, and adjusting the operation of the storage device based on the comparison. Another method of controlling a storage device includes detecting an operating condition associated with the storage device, comparing the operating condition to a warranty condition, and limiting the operation of the storage device to read-only operation based on the comparison.

With the continued expansion of the Internet and the advent of cloud computing, there is an increased demand for storage devices. Large data centers are storing ever-increasing volumes of data. As such, demand for storage devices, such as hard drives or solid-state storage is increasing. However, for manufacturers of such storage devices, large volume users can represent increased risk and liability associated with warranty issues.
Operating a large data center is costly. Temperature control utilizes air cooling fans that consume power, generate noise, and require long term reliability. Vibration control utilizes rigid structural supports to prevent crosstalk between drives, as well as interaction with moving parts such as cooling fans. Shock control utilizes special mounting configurations and rack installation procedures, plus hardware such as rubber bumpers. Power supplies should to be clean and well centered at the target (5V/12V) with low ripple and no large transient spikes. When data centers encounter cost pressures, the temptation arises to limit cost, particularly, by reducing the use of the costly supporting gear described above. A storage device manufacturer, whose reputation depends on the reliability of a product running in an environment that is controlled by customers, interests collide when these cost issues lead to cost cutting by customers. In addition, the usage of a storage device in a large data center can be more demanding than usage of a storage device by a conventional residential or office user. The extensive use of a storage device by the data center can lead to early failure of the storage device.
On the other hand, portable mobile devices may provide worse environmental conditions than large data centers. Specific issues include overheating from inadequate airflow cooling caused by overcrowding in limited available space and shock exposures due to extensive handling that is expected in portable mobile devices. Elevated exposure to power-save features in drives may also have reliability consequences. As such, a poor design or use of cheap parts by laptop manufacturers, for example, can cause problems for the storage device. Each of these customer controlled issues can raise warranty issues and liabilities to be addressed by the manufacturer.
As such, manufacturers are seeking more flexibility in addressing warranty issues and storage device performance, particularly in demanding environments, such as large data centers.

System and method for controlling a storage device


Compounds for treating abuse of nicotinic receptor agonists, addiction to psychostimulant drugs, addiction to opiates, addiction to alcohol, addiction to tobacco products, addiction to nicotine, schizophrenia and related diseases, depression and related conditions, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and colitis. The compounds competitively inhibit central nervous system acting nicotinic receptor agonists and act at the putative α3β2* and α4β2 neuronal nicotinic receptors in the central nervous system.

Formula (I) below shows the structure of S-(−)-nicotine (NIC), which activates neuronal nicotinic receptors evoking release of dopamine (DA) from presynaptic terminals in the central nervous system (CNS). NIC is a legal substance of dependence that produces many of its effects on the CNS, some of which may be considered to be beneficial e.g., mood elevation, arousal and learning and memory enhancement. NIC produces its effect by binding to a family of ligand-gated ion channels, stimulation by acetylcholine (ACh) or NIC causes the ion channel to open, and cations to flux with a resulting rapid (in millisec) depolarization of the target cell.
Over the last 12 years, there has been a substantial increase in studies on brain nicotinic receptors. Adult peripheral nicotinic muscle receptors are composed of four subunit domains: 2α, β, γ and δ. Traditional peripheral nicotinic receptor antagonists are shown in formula (II) and (III), i.e. decylmethonium (DEC) (muscle), hexamethonium (HEX) (ganglionic), and d-tubocurarine (d-Tc) (muscle). These compounds have also shown the ability to weakly inhibit neuronal nicotinic receptors.
Neuronal nicotinic receptors are composed of only two subunits, α and β and are believed to assemble with the general stoichiometry of 2α and 3β. Nine subtypes of the α subunit (α2 to α10) and three subtypes of the β unit (β2 to β4) are found in CNS. The most common nicotinic receptor species in the brain is composed of two α4 and three β2 subunits, i.e., α4β2. These subunits display different, but overlapping, patterns of expression in the brain.
For the most part, the actual subunit compositions and stoichiometries of nicotinic receptors in the brain remain to be elucidated. Thus, neuronal nicotinic receptor subtype diversity originates from differences in the amino acid sequence at the subunit level and from the multiple combinations of assemblies of subunits, which can form functional receptor proteins.
In spite of the extensive diversity in neuronal nicotinic receptor messenger RNA expression, only a limited number of tools are available to study the pharmacology of native receptors. Radioligands are used in many such studies. [3H]NIC appears to label the same sites in the brain as [3H]ACh. It has been estimated that over 90% of [3H]NIC binding in the brain is due to association with the heteromeric receptor that is composed of α4 and β2 subunits. Also abundant in the CNS, are the receptors labeled by [3Hmethyllycaconitine (MLA), which has high affinity for the α7 homomeric nicotinic receptor subtype. Additionally, nicotinic receptor subtypes can be studied using functional assays such as NIC-evoked [3H]dopamine (DA) release from rat striatal slices. Nicotinic receptors are located on the cell body and terminals of the nigrostiatal pathway. NIC facilitates DA release from striatal nerve terminals. Studies strongly suggest that the [3H]DA release assay is useful to probe α3β2* nicotinic receptor subtypes.
Structural and functional diversity of CNS nicotinic receptors has stimulated a great deal of interest in developing novel, subtype-selective agonists. Some of these agonists are currently being evaluated in clinical trials for cognitive enhancement and neuroprotective effects potentially beneficial for disease states such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. Surprisingly, little attention has been focused on developing subtype-selective antagonists for neuronal nicotinic receptors. Potential uses of nicotinic receptor anatagonists are for the treatment of psychostimulant abuse, smoking cessation, and schizophrenia.
A class of pyridino N-substituted nicotine analogs having formula (IV) below are known antagonists that have affinity in the [3H]NIC binding assay and demonstrate the ability to inhibit NIC-evoked [3H]DA release. The abbreviated nomenclature is given in parentheses.
These compounds are useful in the treatment of nicotine abuse, smoking cessation therapy, as an antidote for nicotine intoxication, treatment of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. These compounds and their method of use were the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,365, issued Nov. 25, 1997. The content of this patent is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention disclosed herein is directed to a series of efficacious and subtype-selective nicotinic antagonists at nicotinic receptors in the CNS. These compounds comprise alkenyl alkynyl, branched and cyclic pyridine-N substituted NIC analogs.

Chain-modified pyridino-N substituted nicotine compounds for use in the treatment of CNS pathologies

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


A roller carrying mechanism and photographic processing device is presented where pressing rollers 82, 84 are shiftable between a press-contact position at which the pressing rollers 82, 84 are rotated as follows while sandwiching the photographic paper 2 between the driving rollers 81, 83 and a press-contact releasing position at which the pressing rollers 82, 84 are disposed away from the driving rollers 81,83. Since a belt 98 having a circular cross section is extended between the pulleys 96, 97, even when only one of two pressing rollers 82, 84 is at the press-contact position and is rotated in an interlocking manner with one pressing roller. Accordingly, an impact which is applied to the photographic paper 2 when the pressing roller 84 is brought into contact with the photographic paper 2 can be made small.

The present invention relates to a roller carrying mechanism which includes two sets of carrying roller units each having a drive roller and a pressing roller and a photographic processing device which incorporates the roller carrying mechanism therein.
Recently, in a digital mini laboratory (photographic processing device), an exposure method which uses an photo print head as an exposure head has been adopted. In performing the exposure using such an exposure method, the photo print head whose exposure range is extended in the main scanning direction is fixed, and a photographic paper is carried in the sub scanning direction which intersects the main scanning direction of the photo print head at a right angle by a first exposure carrying roller unit and a second exposure carrying roller unit each of which includes an exposure driving roller and an exposure pressing roller which are arranged at both sides (upstream side and downstream side in the photographic paper carrying direction) of the photo print head, whereby line exposure is sequentially performed thus completing the surface exposure of an image as a whole.
In such a roller carrying mechanism for photographic paper, the photographic paper during the exposure is transferred to the second exposure carrying roller unit from the first exposure carrying roller unit. For example, in a roller carrying mechanism as described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 15768/1997, until a photographic paper reaches a first exposure carrying roller unit, a first exposure pressing roller maintains a state in which the first exposure pressing roller is brought into pressure contact with a first exposure driving roller due to a spring force to take a standby posture for receiving the photographic paper. When the photographic paper enters, the first exposure pressing roller is displaced due to the entering force of the photographic paper against the spring force and the photographic paper is directly carried to the second exposure carrying roller unit under the clamped and pressed state. In the same manner, before the photographic paper reaches the second exposure carrying roller unit, a second exposure pressing roller also maintains a state in which the second exposure pressing roller is brought into contact with a second exposure driving roller due to a spring force as a standby posture for receiving the photographic paper. Accordingly, when the photographic paper is transferred from the first exposure carrying roller unit to the second exposure carrying roller unit, the second exposure pressing roller is displaced due to the entering pressure of the photographic paper against the spring force and is directly carried in the state that the photographic paper is clamped and pressed.
In the above-mentioned roller carrying mechanism, depending on a distance between the exposure position and the second exposure carrying roller unit, there is a case in which a leading end of the photographic paper during exposure enters the second exposure carrying roller unit. In such a case, the carrying speed of the photographic paper is largely fluctuated due to an impact applied to the photographic paper at the time of clamping the photographic paper with the second exposure carrying roller unit and hence, there arises a problem that the exposure irregularity is generated on the photographic paper so that the image quality is degraded.
In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a roller carrying mechanism which can suppress the degradation of image quality derived from the clamping of an image holding medium with a second carrying roller unit during exposure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a photographic processing device which incorporates such a roller carrying mechanism therein.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, a roller carrying mechanism of the present invention is comprised of a first carrying roller unit which includes a first driving roller, a first pressing roller which is shiftable between a press-contact position at which the first pressing roller clamps an image holding medium between the first pressing roller and the first driving roller and is capable of performing a follower rotation and a press-contact releasing position at which the first pressing roller is released from the first driving roller, and a first pressing roller supporting shaft for supporting the first pressing roller, the first carrying roller unit being arranged at the upstream side of an image processing position, a second carrying roller unit which includes a second driving roller, a second pressing roller which is shiftable between a press-contact position at which the second pressing roller clamps the image holding medium between the second pressing roller and the second driving roller and is capable of performing a follower rotation and a press-contact releasing position at which the second pressing roller is released from the second driving roller, and a second pressing roller supporting shaft for supporting the second pressing roller, the second carrying roller unit being arranged at the downstream side of the image processing position, and a shaft coupling unit which couples the first pressing roller supporting shaft and the second pressing roller supporting shaft such that both pressing rollers are rotated in the same direction even when only one of the first pressing roller and the second pressing roller is held at the press-contact position.
According to the present invention, since the second pressing roller is shiftable between the press-contact position and the press-contact releasing position, by shifting the second pressing roller from the press-contact releasing position to the press-contact position after a leading end of an image holding medium passes between the second pressing roller and the second driving roller, an impact which is given to the image holding medium can be reduced so that the fluctuation of the carrying speed of the image holding medium can be made relatively small.
Further, since the first pressing roller supporting shaft and the second pressing roller supporting shaft are coupled to each other by means of the shaft coupling unit, by making the first pressing roller assume the press-contact position, it is possible to make the second pressing roller rotated in the carrying direction of the image holding medium. Accordingly, by making the first pressing roller assume the press-contact position at the time of shifting the second pressing roller from the press-contact releasing position to the press-contact position, it is possible to bring the image holding medium carried from the first carrying roller unit side into contact with the second pressing roller rotated in the carrying direction of the image holding medium. Eventually, an impact that the image holding medium receives from the second pressing roller can be made extremely small so that the carrying speed of the image holding medium is hardly fluctuated. Accordingly, drawbacks such as the exposure irregularity on the image holding medium and the reading irregularity on the image holding medium are hardly generated thus enhancing the image quality.
Further, since the first pressing roller is shiftable between the press-contact position and the press-contact releasing position, by shifting the first pressing roller from the press-contact position to the press-contact releasing position before a rear end of the image holding medium passes between the first pressing roller and the first driving roller, an impact applied to the image holding medium at the time of discharging the image holding medium from the first carrying roller unit can be reduced so that the fluctuation of the carrying speed of the image holding medium can be made relatively small.
In the present invention, the roller carrying mechanism may adopt the shaft coupling unit which includes a first pulley which is supported on the above-mentioned first pressing roller supporting shaft, a second pulley which is supported on the above-mentioned second pressing roller supporting shaft and a belt which is extended between the above-mentioned first pulley and the above-mentioned second pulley.
According to such a constitution, since the first and second pressing rollers are connected by means of the belt, compared to a case in which the pressing rollers are connected to each other by simply bringing these rollers into contact with each other, the rotation between these two pressing rollers can be surely transmitted.
Further, the roller carrying mechanism of the present invention may be further comprising a first one-way clutch which is disposed in a transmission system arranged between the above-mentioned belt and the above-mentioned second pressing roller and makes the above-mentioned second pressing roller perform idling with respect to the belt in the carrying direction of the above-mentioned image holding medium. Here, it is preferable that, a surface speed of the above-mentioned second pressing roller which is rotatably driven by way of the above-mentioned belt when only the above-mentioned first pressing roller assures the press-contact position is set smaller than a surface speed of the above-mentioned first pressing roller.
In the above-mentioned constitution which connects two pressing rollers using the belt, when the carrying speed is different between the first carrying roller unit and the second carrying roller unit due to the irregularity of machining accuracy of parts, an undesired force is applied to respective parts or the image holding medium due to the difference in the carrying speed between both carrying roller units and this brings about the degradation of the image quality. Accordingly, in the present constitution, the roller carrying mechanism is provided with the first one-way clutch which absorbs the difference in carrying speed between two carrying roller units derived from the irregularity of machining accuracy of parts and, at the same time, to ensure the reliable functioning of the one-way clutch, the surface speed of the second pressing roller which is rotatably driven by way of the belt when only the first pressing roller assumes the press-contact position is set smaller than the surface speed of the first pressing roller. That is, due to such a constitution, even when the carrying speed of the first carrying roller unit is greater than the carrying speed of the second carrying roller unit in the state that both of the first and second pressing rollers assume the press-contact position, the difference in the carrying speed between both units can be absorbed by the one-way clutch and hence, the undesired force is hardly applied to respective parts.
Further, when the image holding medium which is carried to the second carrying roller unit from the first carrying roller unit is brought into contact with the second pressing roller in the state that the first and second pressing rollers assume the press-contact position, the first one-way clutch functions so as to allow the second pressing roller to perform idling with respect to the belt whereby there is no fear that a large impact is applied to the image holding medium due to the contact of the image holding medium with the second pressing roller. Accordingly, drawbacks such as the exposure irregularity on the image holding medium and the image reading irregularity on the image holding medium can be hardly generated thus further enhancing the image quality.
The roller carrying mechanism of the present invention may preferably be further comprising a second one-way clutch which is disposed in a transmission system arranged between the above-mentioned belt and the above-mentioned first pressing roller and makes the above-mentioned first pressing roller perform idling with respect to the above-mentioned belt in the direction opposite to the carrying direction of the above-mentioned image holding medium.
In case that the roller carrying mechanism of the present invention adopts the constitution which uses the previously-mentioned first one-way clutch, when the state of the first and second rollers is changed from the state in which both of the first and second pressing rollers are at the press-contact position to the state in which only the second pressing roller is at the press-contact position, the angular velocity of the first pressing roller becomes faster than the angular velocity of the second pressing roller. Accordingly, when a portion of the image holding medium in the vicinity of a rear end thereof is brought into contact with the first pressing roller, there is a possibility that the image holding medium is pushed to the downstream side and hence, the carrying speed of the image holding medium is fluctuated. To the contrary, according to this constitution, even when the state of the first and second pressing rollers is changed from the state in which both of the first and second pressing rollers are at the press-contact position to the state in which only the second pressing roller is at the press-contact position, the second one-way clutch functions so that there is no possibility that the angular velocity of the first pressing roller becomes faster than the angular velocity of the second pressing roller. Accordingly, even when the portion of the image holding medium in the vicinity of the rear end thereof is brought into contact with the first pressing roller, there is no possibility that the image holding medium is pushed to the downstream side and hence, the carrying speed of the image holding medium is not fluctuated. Accordingly, drawbacks such as the exposure irregularity on the image holding medium and the image reading irregularity on the image holding medium can be hardly generated thus further enhancing the image quality.
In the roller carrying mechanism of the present invention, the diameter of the above-mentioned second pulley may be larger than the diameter of the above-mentioned first pulley. Due to such a constitution, the constitution in which the surface speed of the second pressing roller rotatably driven by way of the belt when only the first pressing roller is at the press-contact position is set smaller than the surface speed of the first pressing roller can be easily realized by adjusting the diameters of the first and second pulleys.
Further, the present invention is also applicable to a photographic processing device which incorporates any one of the above-mentioned roller carrying mechanisms. Due to such a photographic processing device, the exposure irregularity on a photographic paper as the image holding medium is hardly generated and hence, it is possible to output a print of high quality.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Roller carrying mechanism and photographic processing device


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a silicon germanium layer and a N-channel transistor and a P-channel transistor over the silicon germanium layer. A beta ratio of the N-channel transistor to the P-channel transistor is about 1.8 to about 2.2. A semiconductor device is also disclosed.

Over the last few decades, the semiconductor industry has undergone a revolution by the use of semiconductor technology to fabricate small, highly integrated electronic devices, and the most common semiconductor technology presently used is silicon-based. A large variety of semiconductor devices have been manufactured having various applications in numerous disciplines. One silicon-based semiconductor device is a metal-oxide-semiconductor(MOS) transistor. The MOS transistor is one of the basic building blocks of most modern electronic circuits. Importantly, these electronic circuits realize improved performance and lower costs, as the performance of the MOS transistor is increased and as manufacturing costs are reduced.
A typical MOS device includes a bulk semiconductor substrate on which a gate electrode is disposed. The gate electrode, which acts as a conductor, receives an input signal to control operation of the device. Source and drain regions are typically formed in regions of the substrate adjacent the gate electrodes by doping the regions with a dopant of a desired conductivity. The conductivity of the doped region depends on the type of impurity used to dope the region. The typical MOS device is symmetrical, in that the source and drain are interchangeable. Whether a region acts as a source or drain typically depends on the respective applied voltages and the type of device being made. The collective term source/drain region is used herein to generally describe an active region used for the formation of either a source or drain.
As an alternative to forming a MOS device directly on a bulk semiconductor substrate, the MOS device can be formed on a strained-silicon layer. The process for forming strained-silicon involves depositing a layer of silicon germanium (SiGe) on the bulk semiconductor substrate. A thin layer of silicon is subsequently deposited on the SiGe layer. The distance between atoms in a SiGe crystal lattice is greater than the distance between atoms in an ordinary silicon crystal lattice. However, there is a natural tendency of atoms inside different types of crystals to align with one another where one crystal is formed on another crystal. As such, when a crystal lattice of silicon is formed on top of a layer of SiGe, the atoms in the silicon crystal lattice tend to stretch or "strain" to align with the atoms in the SiGe lattice. A resulting advantage of such a feature is that the strained silicon experiences less resistance to electron flow and produces gains of up to 80% in speed as compared to ordinary crystalline silicon.
MOS devices using a strained-silicon structure typically fall in one of two groups depending on the type of dopants used to form the source, drain and channel regions. The two groups are often referred to as n-channel and p-channel devices. The type of channel is identified based on the conductivity type of the channel which is developed under the transverse electric field. In an N-channel MOS (NMOS) device, for example, the conductivity of the channel under a transverse electric field is of the conductivity type associated with n-type impurities (e.g., arsenic or phosphorous). Conversely, the channel of a P-channel MOS (PMOS) device under the transverse electric field is associated with p-type impurities (e.g., boron).
One consideration when manufacturing NMOS and PMOS strained-silicon transistors is the beta ratio (i.e., N/P ratio, drive current ratio) of the transistors. A beta ratio of approximately 3.0 is commonly used to maintain cell stability. However, it has been found that in MOS devices based on SiGe, the drive current of the N-channel transistor increases with respect to the drive current of the P-channel transistor, such that the N-channel transistor runs hotter than the P-channel transistor. A desired drive current ratio between N-channel and P-channel transistors can therefore not be maintained. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved method of forming devices on a strained-silicon structure that allows for optimum performance by controlling the beta ratio or drive current ratio of the N-channel transistor with respect to the P-channel transistor.


An electronic apparatus such as a tape recorder includes a main body, an input and/or output block, and an attach/detach mechanism. The main body has a first terminal section. The input and/or output block has a second terminal section to be connected to the first terminal section and is detachably mounted on the main body. When the first terminal section is connected to the second terminal section, the input and/or output block is supplied with a signal from the main body through the first and the second terminal sections. The attach/detach mechanism detachably attaches the input and/or output block on the main body. The attach/detach mechanism has at least one engagement section provided on one of the main body and the input and/or output block, an engagable section provided on the other of the main body and the input and/or output block, so as to be engaged with the engagement section, and an urging mechanism for urging the engagement section to be engaged with the engagable section. The input and/or output block is mounted on the main body, the engagement section is operated to shift against the urging force of the urging mechanism and then shifted by the urging force of the urging mechanism so that the engagable section is engaged with the tip portion of the engagement section so that the input and/or output block is temporarily attached to the main body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and an apparatus having a recording function onto a recording medium, and particularly to an electronic apparatus and an apparatus having a recording function to a recording medium which apparatuses have a detachable mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For example, among recording and/or reproduction apparatuses for recording and/or reproduction of a recording medium such as a tape cassette, there is a small-size recording and/or reproduction apparatus which is convenient for carrying. Such a recording and/or reproduction apparatus may be provided with a loud speaker apparatus besides the recording and/or reproduction mechanism. When recording and/or reproducing a tape cassette in this recording and/or reproduction apparatus, in a recording/reproduction block where a tape cassette is mounted and recording and/or reproduction is carried out, a magnetic head and pinch roller advance into the cassette through a plurality of openings provided in the front side of the cassette so that a magnetic tape is pushed by the pinch roller to a capstan so as to travel and recording/reproduction is carried out by the magnetic head. When reproducing audio data recorded on a magnetic tape, the recording and/or reproduction apparatus outputs from a loud speaker a sound based on the audio data reproduced, or if an earphone is connected to an earphone jack provided in the apparatus, the sound is outputted from the earphone.
In a small-size recording an/or reproduction apparatus, an earphone is normally used for reproducing audio data and no reproduction is carried out through a loud speaker apparatus. When recording a sound in the recording and/or reproduction apparatus, the recording is carried out through a microphone block provided in the apparatus itself without using a loud speaker apparatus. Consequently, in order to further make smaller the recording and/or reproduction apparatus for improving its portability, it can be considered to make detachable this loud speaker apparatus which is not used often.

Electronic apparatus having a main body and a detachable input /or output block


A method for obtaining weather related information for a portion of the Earth's atmosphere between a mobile platform traversing over a predetermined surface portion of the Earth, and at least one satellite from a satellite constellation. The method involves modifying at least one satellite from the constellation of satellites to include time and location information in wireless signals that are transmitted in real time by the one satellite. The mobile platform receives the wireless signals from the one satellite. An occultation system carried on the mobile platform analyzes the time and position information, in addition to location information pertaining to a real time location of the mobile platform, and to derive real time atmospheric weather related information for a geographic area between the mobile platform and the one satellite.

Various attempts have been made to remotely measure atmospheric variables used for weather prediction (e.g. temperature, humidity, and pressure) in inaccessible areas, such as over the Earth's oceans, using an aircraft. Previously developed systems make use of occultation and scattering of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), for example signals using GPS, Glonass, and Europe's planned Galileo. The signals are used to calculate atmospheric water vapor content, temperature profiles, and ocean wave height and direction. The GNSS occultation method, while viable, in some instances may be limited in precision by the weakness of typical GNSS signals. GNSS occultation may also be limited in coverage by the relatively small number of GNSS satellites and their slow apparent motion across the sky.
One particularly important issue that must be dealt with when using GNSS satellites for weather predicting purposes is the sparse coverage afforded by GNSS occultation. Occultation measurements generally require that a GNSS satellite appear within a few angular degrees of the observer's horizon. If the satellite is too low, it may be occluded by the Earth. If it is too high, the signal's path through the atmosphere may not traverse the troposphere on its way to an aircraft flying at a cruise altitude. This can make the data obtained nearly useless for weather prediction.
The times when a GNSS satellite is near the Earth's horizon for any given aircraft are quite infrequent, and typically once an hour or so. Given that a jet aircraft typically covers about 1000 kilometers in an hour when travelling at a cruise altitude, the distance between occultation measurements is so large that they may give relatively little value for weather models.
A second important aspect is the relative weakness of GNSS signals. GNSS satellites are power-limited, so the strength of their signals is designed to be just barely adequate for a receiver to detect and track them under normal operating conditions. For navigation, "normal operating conditions" means the satellite is relatively high above the horizon and the receiver has up to a minute to achieve good synchronization to the signal. Thus, the signal is just strong enough to reach a typical mobile receiver after traversing a few miles of atmosphere. For meteorological measurements, however, the satellite should be near the horizon, so the signal would typically traverse hundreds of miles of atmosphere before arriving at the mobile receiver. In addition, for cases where the satellite is rising rather than setting, the receiver must synchronize to the signal in less than about a minute so that the receiver can make occultation measurements while the satellite is close to the horizon. With the low power signals of GNSSs, this requires large antennas and expensive receivers to be employed on an aircraft. These limitations would not be desirable for a weather predicting system that will be deployed using dozens, or possibly hundreds, of aircraft.
Still other ways of gathering water vapor data over the oceans, however, have all been subject to various limitations. Radiosondes may be sent out over the ocean, but these can be expensive to gather the frequency of data required. Currently, the National Weather Service (NWS) obtains information on the water vapor distribution from satellite information and from twice daily radiosonde launches at 93 sites around the continental U.S. (Coster, et al) The radiosonde network is expensive to operate. In addition to the expense, the balloons carrying the sonde packages take about an hour to reach the tropopause. Therefore, the atmospheric data obtained is not available for some time. Because there are not many radiosonde balloons available, the horizontal spatial density is too low, and time between launches too high, to observe rapid changes of the water vapor with time and position.
Marine vessels with suitable instrumentation may also be used in an attempt to collect atmospheric information. However, this method does not provide sufficient frequency of data and the vessels can be expensive to operate.
There presently is a NASA-funded program called "TAMDAR" that uses in-situ temperature, wind, and humidity measurements obtained by aircraft. This significantly improves weather forecasts over land areas where aircraft frequently ascend and descend through the troposphere. However, it has essentially no value over oceans. Over oceans the aircraft operate at cruise altitude, and thus well above the tropospheric phenomena that influence weather.
Satellite measurements over the oceans may reveal cloud formations and some limited data about temperature and humidity, but typically lack the vertical resolution needed for good forecasts.
Networks of GNSS receivers on land are typically unable to gather data for most of the Earth's surface, i.e. over the oceans. Poor tropospheric coverage over the oceans can lead to unreliable weather forecasts for the western United States, Western Europe, Australia, and occasionally Japan. Remote measurements of the troposphere using GNSS occultation from aircraft could improve this situation, but these measurements would still suffer from limited coverage and poor signal strength as discussed above.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

System and method for using iridium satellite signals for meteorological measurements


A system which utilizes a bar code having an instruction field whose data specifies an action to be performed and also having a reference field whose data relates to the data in the instruction field. The system reads the instruction and reference fields of the bar code and processess the read data. This processing may determine from the instruction field data that the action or actions to be taken are to be taken on data other than that in the reference field of the bar code. It also may determine from the data in the instruction field that an action to be taken on the data in the reference field is other than an action identified in the instruction field of the bar code. Based on these determinations, the system continues the processing using the appropriate action and data.. A unique bar is also used in the system. This bar code, between its start and stop fields, has a separator field whose width is greater than that of any of the individual bar code characters.

This invention relates to information, transactional and other like system and service applications and, in particular, to system and service applications in which bar codes are used.
There are a variety of systems in use today in which bar codes serve as a way of inputting identification information to the system. Thus, for example, in store checkout systems, bar codes placed on the products being sold are scanned to identify the products. This identification information is then passed to a host processor which determines the prices of the scanned products and reports them to an electronic cash register at the store check out.
Another type of system in which bar codes are used for identification purposes is the lottery communication system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,853. In the system of this patent, bar codes are used to identify lottery ticket numbers, invoices numbers, telephone numbers and the like in connection with services provided to a lottery agent. The identified numbers developed by the agent scanning the bar codes are communicated over an interactive telephone network which connects the agent to a host processor. The host processor provides services such as ticket validation, ordering of materials and invoice confirmation.
In the '853 system, voice prompts are provided over a telephone to the lottery agent who can respond by scanning the bar code of any needed numbers. The electrical signals which result from scanning the bar code are then converted into dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals and/or dial pulse signals by execution of an application program which is accessed by a processor at the bar code reader. These signals are then transmitted over the telephone system to the host processor. When a bar code used to identify a telephone number is scanned, the telephone number is retrieved and supplied to an auto dialer which dials the number in DTMF tones or dial pulses.
The '853 patent further mentions that by accessing keys on a bar code interface, data such as a stored telephone number can be retrieved. The retrieved data can then converted to DTMF tones or dial pulses for transmission over the telephone network.
Another system which uses bar codes for identification purposes and for function command purposes is the home ordering system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,482. In this system, orders can be placed from the home over the direct dial telephone network. The orders are placed from printed materials such as catalogues, newspaper inserts or the like advertising materials which carry an item identification bar code adjacent the description of each item. This bar code when scanned is fed to a processing device at the user's location. The user's processing device stores the identification data contained in the scanned bar code along with transactional information of the corresponding merchant.
The user's processing device in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,482 system is operated by the user depressing switches to invoke desired actions (e.g., send, select) or to provide desired responses (e.g., yes, no, etc.) in response to prompts on a display. These prompts are generated at the user's processing device based on signals developed locally at the device or based on signals developed at a merchant's host processor. The latter processor communicates with the user's processing device over the direct dial telephone network via a modem. The user's processing device responds to the button actuation by performing certain activities associated therewith. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,482 also states that the switches of the user's processing device may be replaced by a plurality of bar code indicia such that each set or group of such indicia corresponds to a function to be enabled by the replaced switch.
In order to make purchases from different merchants using the U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,482 system, cartridges storing transactional information of the different merchants are provided. As an alternative to using different storage cartridges, the patent states that a fixed memory containing all the data for the different merchants can be used. In this case, one or more bar codes can serve to identify the different merchants and, if desired, to provide data associated with the merchants.
A further system which utilizes bar codes for identifying and extracting data is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,475. In the system of this patent, information associated with a food order is stored based upon an order identification number. The latter number is then placed on an order label via encoding the number on a bar code. By then scanning the bar code, the order number is retrieved and the stored information associated with the order number can then be read out. The patent teaches that this information can be read out verbally or electronically into a hand held data unit.
Bar codes are also used in the synthesized voice generating system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,167. In this system, a bar code carries phonetic information, rhythm information and particular processing information associated with a word which is to be verbally reproduced. By scanning the bar code, this information can be retrieved and used to reproduce the word. The patent teaches developing learning devices in the form of books in which bar codes are placed adjacent words whose pronunciation is to be learned.
While all of the above systems teach the use of bar codes in informational and transactional types of service applications and systems, individual bar codes have been used in these systems for either article identification purposes or function identification purposes. This limited use of the bar codes has limited the versatility of the systems.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide bar codes and an associated system in which a bar code can serve more than a single purpose.

Bar code use in information, transactional and other system and service applications


A method for controlling a powertrain comprising a transmission coupled to an engine and an electric machine adapted to selectively transmit mechanical power to an output member via selective application of a plurality of hydraulically actuated torque transfer clutches includes filling one of the hydraulic clutches to a reference fill volume expected to create a touching state in the clutch, wherein the filling is accomplished through control of a pressure control solenoid, monitoring an actual fill time of the hydraulic clutch, monitoring a flow utilized in the filling, determining a measured fill volume based upon the actual fill time and the flow, calculating a fill volume error based upon the measured fill volume and the reference fill volume, and adjusting the reference fill volume based upon the fill volume error.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Known powertrain architectures include torque-generative devices, including internal combustion engines and electric machines, which transmit torque through a transmission device to an output member. One exemplary powertrain includes a two-mode, compound-split, electro-mechanical transmission which utilizes an input member for receiving motive torque from a prime mover power source, preferably an internal combustion engine, and an output member. The output member can be operatively connected to a driveline for a motor vehicle for transmitting tractive torque thereto. Electric machines, operative as motors or generators, generate a torque input to the transmission, independently of a torque input from the internal combustion engine. The electric machines may transform vehicle kinetic energy, transmitted through the vehicle driveline, to electrical energy that is storable in an electrical energy storage device. A control system monitors various inputs from the vehicle and the operator and provides operational control of the powertrain, including controlling transmission operating state and gear shifting, controlling the torque-generative devices, and regulating the electrical power interchange among the electrical energy storage device and the electric machines to manage outputs of the transmission, including torque and rotational speed. A hydraulic control system is known to provide pressurized hydraulic oil for a number of functions throughout the powertrain.
Operation of the above devices within a hybrid powertrain vehicle require management of numerous torque bearing shafts or devices representing connections to the above mentioned engine, electrical machines, and driveline. Input torque from the engine and input torque from the electric machine or electric machines can be applied individually or cooperatively to provide output torque. Various control schemes and operational connections between the various aforementioned components of the hybrid drive system are known, and the control system must be able to engage to and disengage the various components from the transmission in order to perform the functions of the hybrid powertrain system. Engagement and disengagement are known to be accomplished within the transmission by employing selectively operable clutches.
Clutches are devices well known in the art for engaging and disengaging shafts including the management of rotational velocity and torque differences between the shafts. Clutches are known in a variety of designs and control methods. One known type of clutch is a mechanical clutch operating by separating or joining two connective surfaces, for instance, clutch plates, operating, when joined, to apply frictional torque to each other. One control method for operating such a mechanical clutch includes applying the hydraulic control system implementing fluidic pressures transmitted through hydraulic lines to exert or release clamping force between the two connective surfaces. Operated thusly, the clutch is not operated in a binary manner, but rather is capable of a range of engagement states, from fully disengaged, to synchronized but not engaged, to engaged but with only minimal clamping force, to engaged with some maximum clamping force. The clamping force available to be applied to the clutch determines how much reactive torque the clutch can transmit before the clutch slips.
The hydraulic control system, as described above, utilizes lines charged with hydraulic oil at some hydraulic line pressure ('PLINE') to selectively activate clutches within the transmission. Hydraulic switches or pressure control solenoids ('PCS') are used to selectively apply pressure within a hydraulic control system. A PCS can be electrically controlled, for instance with a magnetically actuated solenoid device, well known in the art. Alternatively, a PCS can be hydraulically controlled, for example, actuated by a command fill pressure and a return spring. Features within the PCS selectively channel or block hydraulic oil from passing therethrough depending upon the actuation state of the PCS. In a blocked state, a PCS is known to include an exhaust path, allowing any trapped hydraulic oil to escape, thereby de-energizing the connected hydraulic circuit in order to complete the actuation cycle.
A hydraulically actuated clutch operates by receiving pressurized hydraulic oil into a clutch volume chamber. An engagement of a clutch, accomplished through a clutch fill event, is known to be accomplished as rapidly as possible, with some minimum hydraulic pressure being maintained to assure rapid flow of the hydraulic oil into the clutch volume. However, rapid engagement of a clutch can cause a perceptible bump in the vehicle and cause shortened life of the component involved. A shock absorbing device can be utilized to dampen the force of the rapid fill of the clutch volume chamber upon the clutch. For example, a wave plate including a spring feature can be used between the cylinder piston and the clutch to absorb rapid increases in hydraulic pressure.
Hydraulic oil in the clutch volume chamber exerts pressure upon features within the volume chamber. A piston or similar structure is known to be utilized to transform this hydraulic pressure into an articulation, for example a translating motion or compressing force. In an exemplary hydraulically actuated clutch, pressurized hydraulic oil is used to fill a clutch volume chamber and thereby displace a clutch piston in order to selectively apply a compression force to the connective surfaces of the clutch. A restoring force, for example as provided by a return spring, is known to be used to counter the compressive force of the hydraulic oil. As described above, clutches are known to be engaged through a range of engagement states. An exemplary clutch with all hydraulic pressure removed can be in an unlocked state. An exemplary clutch with maximum hydraulic pressure can be in a locked state. An exemplary clutch with some partial hydraulic force applied, wherein the force of the hydraulic oil and the force of a return spring are substantially equal, the clutch can be in a touching state, with the plates in contact but with little or no clamping force applied.
Based upon the designed geometry of the clutch volume chamber, a design fill or stroke volume can be estimated describing a volume of hydraulic oil within the clutch that should create a touching state. However, it will be appreciated that errors in accumulated volume estimates and manufacturing or wear-based variability will create deviation in an actual stroke volume or fill volume as compared to the design fill volume. A clutch operation strategy utilizing an expected fill volume including a significant error to achieve a touching state can result in clutch slip if the clutch is underfilled and drivability issues if the clutch is overfilled. An ability to accurately command a touching state utilizing a corrected expected fill volume would be beneficial to efficient synchronous clutch operation.

Method and apparatus to control clutch stroke volume in an electro-mechanical transmission


A method of realizing an shear wave propagation velocity anisotropy characterization within a display for a wellbore region including, obtaining a shear wave propagation velocity anisotropy intensity, and a shear wave propagation velocity anisotropy azimuth. A directional line segment is determined to represent the anisotropy for each of a plurality of measured depth points along the wellbore, and plotted on the display as a plurality of directional line segments to produce a 1-dimensional anisotropy characterization plot.

Sonic logs are commonly acquired wellbores drilled in the oil and gas industry. They may be used to determine geological stress directions, the orientations of micro-fractures, and to calibrate seismic wave propagation velocity models used in seismic imaging. The velocity of propagation of sonic, and seismic, waves may vary as a function of position within the earth, and also as a function of propagation direction, and polarization angle orientation. The variation of propagation velocity with respect to propagation direction, and polarization angle is called anisotropy, and rocks which exhibit variation of propagation velocity with respect to propagation direction, and polarization angle are called anisotropic.
FIG. 1 show the varieties of wave propagation that occur in elastic materials such as rocks. FIG. 1A shows compressional waves (102) whose direction of particle motion, "polarization," (104A) aligns, or nearly aligns, with the direction of wave propagation (106A). FIGS. 1B and 1C show shear waves (108A, 108B). Shear waves have polarizations (104B, 104C) which are orthogonal, or nearly orthogonal, to their direction of propagation (106B, 106C). Unlike compressional waves, there may be two shear waves propagating in the same direction with polarization orthogonal to one another. Both compressional and shear waves may exhibit anisotropy.

Method for characterizing azimuthal anisotropy using cross-dipole sonic data


In an information processing apparatus having a function for exploiting higher performance than a single server module by constituting an SMP by combining a plurality of server modules, a user is inhibited from illegally constituting an SMP construction that exceeds license information. When a partition is constituted by a construction against the SMP license information, a slot number representing the number of server modules belonging to a partition and mounted to a chassis and the number of server modules in the same partition are checked and the SMP construction is inhibited when they do not fall within the range of the slot number and the number of server modules in the license information.

This invention relates to a blade server type information processing apparatus and more particularly to an information processing apparatus having SMP (Symmetric Multi Processor) license information.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,317 as a prior art reference discloses a multi-partition computer system which includes a plurality of cell boards each having a processor and in which a service processor connected to the cell boards manages the construction of partitions constituted by the cell boards. A system that prepares in advance spare resources and uses them whenever necessary on the basis of the concept of "Capacity On Demand" is also available. This system mounts beforehand extra-processors in view of future expansion of functions and performances so that the system can be as such utilized without stopping its operation by merely inputting a command when the expansion of the system becomes necessary. Another system manages not only the processors but also cells inclusive of memories and is able to quickly operate spare cells when the resources become insufficient.

Information processing apparatus having SMP license information


A lubricant composition includes a mixture of grease and wax formed into a block which is solid at atmospheric pressure and temperatures up to 150° F., and which transforms into a semi-solid under mechanical loading. The mixture is formed with 5-25% of melted wax. The block may be coated to form a shell to remain solid at elevated temperatures. The block may include other additives. The grease block is suitable for use in various applications, including on a 5th wheel trailer hitch plate.

Grease and other lubricants are often used between two surfaces to minimize friction and wear and prolong the life of the surfaces. For example, a fifth wheel trailer pulled by a truck or a tractor having mating hitch plates will require lubrication between the hitch plates (known as a fifth wheel, for short). Conventional lubricants, such as grease, are difficult and messy to handle. The grease may be applied by a grease gun or from a jar or other container using a rag, brush or other tool. These greases are sticky, difficult to clean off hands, clothing and other objects, and thus require care in handling.
Solid and semi-solid lubricants are known. The terms "semi-solid lubricants" and "semi-solid greases" or simply "greases" will be used substantially interchangeably. Semi-solid lubricants possess certain highly beneficial properties that are suitable for the lubrication needs of what can be described as "sliding surface joint systems". Owing to the crucial functional and environmental design requirements of many of these types of joints, the ability of a semi-solid lubricant to retain its semi-solid form for long periods of time is essential to the longevity of such sliding surface joints.
One of the drawbacks of semi-solid lubricants however is the potential difficulty of applying the lubricant to the intended surfaces. One of the key functional features of greases is that they possess a high level of "tackiness" or "stickiness". While such a feature is indispensable in the ability of the grease to successfully lubricate the sliding surfaces, it at the same time can create a considerable challenge to the operator to properly apply the grease. One especially difficult challenge can be to properly apply grease at low ambient temperatures wherein the grease may exhibit high viscosity.
An example of this juxtaposition of beneficial lubrication properties versus difficulty of application is the lubrication of fifth wheels of commercial and recreational vehicles. A comprehensive review of the challenges of fifth wheel lubrication is described by Jenssen in WO2018065361A1. In brief, the history of prior art encompasses:                On board positive feed lubrication systems which deliver grease under pressure to the fifth wheel surface;        Elimination of the need for utilization of the grease itself via use of a polymeric-based "wear plate" with low friction and long life capabilities; and        Manual methods of grease application with may include the encasement of the semi-solid grease in some type of flexible container or bag. In such case, the containing device is placed onto the fifth wheel surface and is designed to "burst" and release the grease between the fifth wheel surface and the surface of the trailer when the load of the trailer is applied to the fifth wheel.
Spiers patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,263 teaches of the use of encasement of a semi-solid grease within a thin walled "packet" which will burst and release its contents when the trailer surface and the vehicle fifth wheel surface come together. The commercial embodiment of the Spiers patent is used routinely by operators for fifth wheel grease servicing. While the U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,263 patent discloses that the encasement device can be made from a bio-degradable material, and that the encasement device might itself be beneficial as a lubricant, actual practice in the marketplace has been to use a plastic material for encasement that does not lend itself to bio-degradation. At some point, the plastic encasement device works its way out of the fifth wheel sliding joint while the truck and trailer are in use. As such, current practice of this commercial product represents a source of litter on roadways.
Jenssen WO2018065361A1 essentially expands on Spiers U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,263 by proposing in a particular embodiment that a number of "packets" be formed together into a "chain of packets". Such a chain of packets allows the operator to apply grease to the fifth wheel surface 1) as a single unit and 2) in a manner that better fits the overall surface shape of the fifth wheel.
Both of these prior art approaches suffer from several drawbacks:
1) the encasing material not only is unbeneficial to the lubrication function of the grease; but likely may interfere with the ability of the fifth wheel joint to be lubricated properly; and
2) the encasing material finds its way out of the fifth wheel joint during in-use service of the vehicle and as a consequence becomes a source of roadway litter, which is highly undesirable.
Thus, there is a need for an improved fifth wheel lubricant solution.
Accordingly, the present invention has the following objectives and beneficial features:
1) prior to application to the sliding surfaces, the lubricant is in a completely firm, solid form that the operator can hold in his hand; that is, the lubricant form is completely "non tacky" or "non sticky;"
2) such solid form of the lubricant is completely "clean" and leaves no residue on the operator's hand; that is, the operator does not have to wear any type of glove when applying the lubricant;
3) such solid form of the lubricant is rigid enough to allow long term safe storage within the cab of the vehicle or otherwise stored on the vehicle;
4) owing to high ambient temperatures that are experienced by such vehicles, the proposed lubricant keeps its solid form under long periods of exposure to such high temperatures;
5) the solid form of the lubricant is very convenient for the operator to apply to the fifth wheel surface; and readily attaches or adheres to the fifth wheel surface;
6) use of the proposed lubricant does not require any type of encasing material, or any type of packaging material of any type, thus eliminating littering of roadways with the spent material;
7) after the proposed solid lubricant has been affixed to the fifth wheel surface, and the weight of the corresponding trailer surface has been applied, the solid lubricant transforms to a semi-solid form which resembles exactly that of a conventional semi-solid grease;
8) then, the semi-solid form of the lubricant continues to perform its function for long periods of time as a fifth wheel lubricant identically to a conventional semi-solid grease composition;
9) in a preferred embodiment of the lubricant, all of the components creating the lubricant are from bio-renewable sources; and
10) in a preferred embodiment of the lubricant, all of the components of the lubricant are readily biodegradable and thus represent the least possible harm to the environment.

Lubricant transformable from solid to semi-solid


Disclosed herein are systems and method for gradually updating software object instances on a plurality of computer nodes. In an exemplary aspect, in response to receiving a notification from a software object instance, a system may register the software object instance at an update server. The system may store and deploy a plurality of links, wherein each deployed link uniquely corresponds to a registered software object instance. The system may then associate two or more subsets of the plurality of links with two or more update locations, in accordance with an update policy. The system may place an update to the software object instance at the two or more update locations in accordance with an update policy. In response to receiving an update request via a link from a computing node, the system may further redirect the update request to an update location associated with the link.

Most software developers periodically release updates for their products where they fix known issues and introduce new functionality. But besides new features and fixes, these updates may contain undesirable effects such as new bugs and performance degradation. Though most updates are tested thoroughly before publishing, developers cannot guarantee that the updates are free of problems and accordingly do not want all their customers to update to a new version. Instead, they prefer to distribute updates gradually.
Although there exist ad-hoc solutions with manual selection of users who get updates immediately, existing solutions for gradual updates delivery are too generic and do not take into account specific attributes of complex software systems—in particular, hyper-converged systems that unite ordinary machines into clusters with distributed storage and virtual environments running on top of it.

Systems and methods for gradually updating a software object on a plurality of computer nodes


A multi-layered high-density recording medium and an optical power adjusting method therefor. A multi-layered high-density recording medium includes multiple recording layers each of which contains optical power related information for all layers. An optical power adjusting method reading first optical power related information for all layers from a multi-layered optical disk placed in a disk player, storing the read information in another storage device, and making a current optical power apparatus to a moved layer without necessarily having to access the multi-layered optical disk by referring to the stored optical power related information when moving to another layer during record or reproduction.

Recently, the standardization for Blu-ray Rewritable (referred to as BD-RE hereinafter), which is a new high-density rewritable optical disk, capable of recording high-quality video and audio data for a long time, is in rapid progress. BD-RE related products will be available on the market when the standardization is completed.
The data recording layer of a single-layered BD-RE disk is located at a distance of 0.1 mm from the disk surface in the direction normal to an objective lens 11 contained in an optical pickup, as illustrated in FIG. 1.
For recording/reproducing data on/from the recording layer of the BD-RE, the laser power of a laser diode (LD) 13 contained in the optical pickup is adjusted according to the operation mode, which will be described in detail below.
FIG. 2 shows a table of disk information recorded in the lead-in area of a conventional single-layered BD-RE. The lead-in area comprises a pre-recorded area and a rewritable area and the pre-recorded area includes a PIC (Permanent Information & Control) data zone.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, information such as the disk information ID, the disk structure, a maximum DC read power and a maximum high-frequency modulated read power for adjusting read power is recorded in the PIC data zone.
Also, write power settings at a normal recording velocity, write power settings at a maximum recording velocity, and write power settings at a minimum recording velocity for adjusting write power are recorded in the PIC data zone.
An optical disk apparatus in which the BD-RE having the information shown in FIG. 2 is placed adjusts the amount of the current that flows through the LD contained in the optical pickup optimal to the present operation mode by referring to the disk information stored in the PIC data zone before beginning to reproduce data recorded on the recording layer of the BD-RE or to record data on the recording layer of the ED-RE.
On the other hand, dual-layered BD-RE disks having a storage capacity twice as much as that of a single-layered BD-RE disk have been proposed. A dual-layered BD-RE has two recording layers, Layer 1 and Layer 2, located at a prescribed distance (d2) away from each other, as illustrated in FIG. 3.
The optical power of the LD 13 needs to be adjusted appropriately for recording data on a selected layer or reproducing data from a layer in the same way as the case for a single-layered disk. If optical power related information only for either of the layers is recorded or an identical optical power is employed for both layers, the recording/reproducing performance is likely to be deteriorated on one of the two layers. For example, suppose that an optical read power set appropriately for Layer 1 is used to read data recorded on Layer 2. A portion of the laser beam reflected by Layer 2 is reflected again by Layer 1 located below. Also, a portion of the laser beam created by the LD 13 is reflected by Layer 1 before reaching Layer 2, which results in an optical loss. For these reasons, the data recorded on Layer 2 may not be read successfully, though data reproduction from Layer 1 is successful.
As a result, it is required to maintain optical power related information for each of the recording layers separately. Optical power related data for Layer 1 is recorded in the lead-in area of Layer 1 and optical power related data for Layer 2 is recorded in the lead-out area of Layer 2. When jumping from Layer 1 to Layer 2 in the middle of a reproducing/reading operation on Layer 1, the reproducing/reading operation on Layer 2 cannot start immediately after the jump. Rather, there is a delay until the optical power related information recorded on the lead-out area of Layer 2 is accessed.

Multi-layered high-density recording medium and optical power adjusting method therefor


A vent for relieving pressure from within a storage tank at a predetermined tank pressure through an opening in the tank including a mounting member for connecting the vent in sealed engagement with the opening and for providing a valve opening and associated valve seat, a poppet member for closing the valve seat at tank pressures less than the predetermined tank pressure and for opening the valve seat at tank pressures equal to and greater than the predetermined tank pressure to enable venting of the tank pressure to atmosphere, and an adjusting member for altering the predetermined tank pressure at which the poppet member opens.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pressure relief vents for storage tanks, and more particularly, to a relief vent for a fluid storage tank which includes an internal poppet that regulates pressure flow through the vent and can be adjusted to vary the pressure at which the vent opens to release pressure within the tank to atmosphere and prevents venting for a short period of time during sudden or rapid surge pressure conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Storage tanks for retaining liquids, particularly flammable or corrosive liquids, typically are provided with pressure relief vents or valves which limit the internal pressure within the tank to a predetermined value for safety. When the pressure inside the tank rises, such relief valves automatically open at a predetermined pressure value to relieve the excess pressure within the tank by venting to atmosphere. When the pressure inside of the tank is reduced below the predetermined pressure value, the relief vent or valve automatically closes and maintains pressure within the tank below the predetermined value.
During storage, use and transportation of such tanks, overturns of the tank frequently occur, such as a tank falling over or a tank rolling over in an accident. Overturns produce a very sudden liquid surge which in turn develops internal pressures within the tank which are of an extremely high value and have relatively short duration. For example, for some liquids, an overturn can create a sudden liquid surge lasting as little as two milliseconds which can develop internal pressures on the order of fifty pounds per square inch which can persist within the tank for approximately fifty milliseconds.
Surge pressures in a typical storage tank and relief vent or valve can lead to a release of large quantities of liquid from the tank by either blowing the relief vent itself or a hatch, such as a manhole cover, off the tank. Alternatively, if the relief valve assembly and other hatches hold, significant quantities of liquid may be sprayed out of the venting relief valve which can create a gaseous fog in the vicinity of the tank.
Relief valves which address such surge problems are illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,763,688 and 5,048,553, both of said patents being owned by the assignee of the present application. Both of these patents include a snubber surge valve assembly for a relief valve which impedes the rate at which pressure can build within the relief valve upon sudden pressure rise, such as an overturn situation, to increase the time before which the relief valve can vent to atmosphere. Neither of those patents, however, disclose a vent or valve which can be adjusted before or after installation to change the pressure at which the vent or valve will release.
It therefore would be desirable to provide a relief vent for a storage tank which operates to vent to atmosphere at a predetermined pressure, momentarily prevents opening of the vent upon overturn but permits venting after a short period of time and which can be adjusted before or after assembly to the tank to vary the pressure at which the relief valve opens.

Adjustable emergency relief vent with surge protection


Motion of a deformable region within an object is tracked using phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging measurements by defining the region with a plurality of vertices, obtaining magnetic resonance signals representative of at least one velocity component from each of the vertices at a plurality of time frames, and tracking motion of the region based on movement of the plurality of vertices. The region can be two-dimensional such as a polygon and ellipse or three-dimensional such as a polyhedron. The deformation can be homogeneous or non-homogeneous in which case the velocity component is defined as a polynomial of at least second order.

This invention relates generally to nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and more particularly the invention relates to motion analysis and imaging of an organ such as the heart or a system such as the musculoskeletal system using phase contrast MRI maps of tissue velocity in the organ.
MRI methods that produce images whose intensity is proportional to velocity generally belong to the class called phase contrast MRI. Phase contrast principles have been combined with the cine imaging methods to enable the production of images that portray the distribution of velocities at multiple points in the cardiac cycle. See, Pelc et al., Magnetic Resonance Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 4, 1991, pp. 229-254.
Pelc, U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,525, discloses apparatus and a method for analyzing the motion of specific regions using phase contrast cine data. Basically, the phase contrast MRI technique provides maps of vector velocity in the object through the motion cycle. In the technique described in the '525 patent, the operator selects a region to be tracked by identifying its location in the first frame of the cine image set. The velocity in the region in the first frame is used to calculate its expected location in the second frame. The vector velocity in the second frame at the new location as portrayed in the cine set is used to calculate the position in the third frame, and so on. This tracking can be performed in three dimensions and promises to yield important information about cardiac motion noninvasively. Higher order integration methods can be used to improve the motion estimate.
The '525 patent explains how the motion of a small region can be calculated by integrating the measured velocity data. Copending Pelc application Ser. No. 07/865,437, filed Apr. 9, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,625 explains that if the motion is known to be periodic, this a priori information can be used to advantage. Specifically, the region must return to its starting location at the end of the cycle. This knowledge can be used to improve the stability of the computed motion by iteratively finding the velocity offset that, when subtracted from all the measured velocities, minimizes the discrepancy between the starting and ending positions of the region (i.e., a forced closure). Copending Pelc et al. application Ser. No. 07/921,804, filed Jul. 28, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,626 exploits the that knowledge the motion is periodic in a different manner. Because of the cyclical nature of the motion, integration of the velocity field can be performed not only forward in time but also backward in time. In the backward integration, one computes, for each frame, the location from which the object has come. In this way, two trajectories (forward and backward) are computed. The '804 application shows that there is a preferred manner in which the two can be combined to produce a single estimated trajectory which has lower noise and decreased sensitivity to added velocity errors. Thus, the preferred algorithm for tracking the motion of a region uses forward and backward integration, computation of a combined trajectory, and iterative forced closure.
The '525 patent includes the concept of tracking a deformable region. In this approach, the region is allowed to translate, rotate and deform as it moves through the cycle. Allowing the region to deform is important since much of the information about the functioning of a muscle is obtained in this portion of the analysis, the strain tensor. As explained in the patent, whereas rigid translation is determined by the average velocity in the region at each point in time in the cycle, the information about rotation and deformation (strain) is contained in the spatial derivatives of the velocity field. To calculate rigid motion, one integrates the velocity field. To calculate rotation and strain as functions of time, one integrates the spatial gradients of the velocity field. The concepts of forced closure and bidirectional integration can be used within an algorithm that integrates rotation and deformation.
As is further explained in the '525 patent, one must maintain a consistent coordinate system if the strain information is to integrated properly. Thus, suppose that early in the cycle a region shortens in one direction. This direction, for example, may have something to do with the direction of muscle fibers within the region. Further, suppose that the region also rotates early in the cycle, and later in the cycle, continues to shorten in the direction of the fibers. The direction of shortening has rotated in the laboratory frame but not with respect to the fibers, the relevant frame of reference. Thus, the integration must be performed with respect to a consistent frame of reference. In the '525 patent, this is done by rotating the incremental strain tensor in each frame by the negative of the rotation up to that frame. Integration of the strain tensor is done on the rotated incremental strains.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for tracking of deformable regions by phase contrast MRI which is simpler to implement than the prior art.

Method and apparatus for tracking of deformable regions by phase contrast MRI

Board of Trustees of the LeLand Stanford Junior University


Among other things, a user interface device has a sensor configured to detect, at a wrist of a human, nerve or other tissue electrical signals associated with an intended contraction of a muscle to cause a rapid motion of a finger. An output provides information representative of the nerve or other tissue electrical signals associated with the intended contraction of the muscle to an interpreter of the information.

This description relates to user interface control of responsive devices.
A typical user interface (UI) enables interaction between a human and a responsive device by interpreting inputs from the human to generate outputs for the responsive device, by interpreting inputs from the responsive device to generate outputs for the human, or both. For example, one kind of user interface device is a keyboard that receives human keypresses (the inputs from the human) and interprets them to generate key codes as outputs for responsive devices like computers. Another example of a user interface device is a computer mouse with haptic feedback that receives signals indicating an alert from a computer (the responsive device), such as the arrival of an incoming message (the inputs from the responsive device), and interprets the signals to generate vibrations as outputs for the human.

User interface control of responsive devices


An illustrative embodiment of a method is disclosed for assessing image quality of a down hole formation image, the method comprising collecting acquisition system data from a plurality of sensors down hole; applying a set of rules to the acquisition system data to obtain an acquisition quality indicator; and presenting the acquisition quality indicator at a surface location. A system is disclosed for performing the method.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to formation logging.
2. Background of the Related Art
Oil well logging has been known for many years and provides an oil and gas well driller with information about the particular earth formation being drilled. In conventional oil well logging, after a well has been drilled, a probe known as a sonde is lowered into the borehole and used to determine some characteristic of the formations which the well has traversed. The probe is typically a hermetically sealed steel cylinder which hangs at the end of a long cable which gives mechanical support to the sonde and provides power to instrumentation inside the sonde. The cable also provides communication channels for sending information in the form of data up to the surface. Thus, it is possible to measure some parameter of the earth's formations as a function of depth, that is, while the sonde is being pulled uphole through the borehole. Such "wireline" measurements are normally done in real time (however, these measurements are taken long after the actual drilling of the borehole has taken place).
A wireline sonde usually transmits energy into the formation surrounding the borehole as well acting as a suitable receiver for detecting the same energy returning from the formation to provide acquisition of a parameter of interest. As is well known in this art, these parameters of interest include but are not limited to electrical resistivity, acoustic energy, or nuclear measurements which directly or indirectly give information on subsurface densities, reflectances, boundaries, fluids and lithologies among many others.
Wireline formation evaluation tools (such as gamma ray density tools) have many drawbacks and disadvantages including loss of drilling time, the expense and delay involved in tripping the drillstring so as to enable the wireline tool to be lowered into the borehole and both the build up of a substantial mud cake and invasion of the formation by the drilling fluids during the time period between drilling and taking measurements. An improvement over these prior art techniques is the art of measurement-while-drilling (MWD) in which many of the characteristics of the formation are determined substantially contemporaneously with the drilling of the borehole.
Measurement-while-drilling (MWD) either partly or totally eliminates the necessity of interrupting the drilling operation to remove the drillstring from the hole in order to make the necessary measurements obtainable by wireline techniques. In addition to the ability to log the characteristics of the formation through which the drill bit is passing, this information on a real time basis provides substantial safety and logistical advantages over wireline techniques for the drilling operation. One potential problem with MWD logging tools is that the measurements are typically made while the tool is rotating. Since the measurements are made shortly after the drill bit has drilled the borehole, washouts are less of a problem than in wireline logging. Nevertheless, there can be some variations in the spacing between the logging tool and the borehole wall ("standoff") with azimuth. Nuclear measurements are particularly degraded by large standoffs due to the scattering produced by borehole fluids between the tool and the formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,893 to Minette, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, teaches a method for analyzing data from a MWD formation evaluation logging tool which compensates for rotation of the logging tool (along with the rest of the drillstring) during measurement periods. The density measurement is combined with the measurement from a borehole caliper, preferably an acoustic caliper. The acoustic caliper continuously measures the standoff as the tool is rotating around the borehole. If the caliper is aligned with the density source and detectors, this gives a determination of the standoff in front of the detectors at any given time. This information is used to separate the density data into a number of bins based on the amount of standoff. After a pre-set time interval, the density measurement can then be made. The first step in this process is for short space (SS) and long space (LS) densities to be calculated from the data in each bin. Then, these density measurements are combined in a manner that minimizes the total error in the density calculation. This correction is applied using the "spine and ribs" algorithm to give a corrected density.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,837 to Kurkoski, fully incorporated by reference herein, discloses a LWD density sensor that includes a gamma ray source and at least two NaI detectors spaced apart from the source for determining measurements indicative of the formation density. A magnetometer on the drill collar measures the relative azimuth of the NaI detectors. An acoustic caliper is used for making standoff measurements of the NaI detectors. Measurements made by the detectors are partitioned into spatial bins defined by standoff and azimuth. Within each azimuthal sector, the density measurements are compensated for standoff to provide a single density measurement for the sector. The azimuthal sectors are combined in such a way as to provide a compensated azimuthal geosteering density. The method of the invention may also be used with neutron porosity logging devices.
MWD instruments, in some cases, include a provision for sending at least some of the subsurface images and measurements acquired to recording equipment at the earth's surface at the time the measurements are made using a telemetry system (i.e. MWD telemetry). One such telemetry system modulates the pressure of a drilling fluid pumped through the drilling assembly to drill the wellbore. The fluid pressure modulation telemetry systems known in the art, however, are limited to transmitting data at a rate of at most only a few bits per second. Because the volume of data measured by the typical image-generating well logging instrument is relatively large, at present, borehole images after an MWD instrument is removed from the wellbore and the contents of an internal storage device, or memory, are retrieved, or in lower resolution while drilling. The images are available in real time and thus real time quality control is provided in an illustrative embodiment.
Many types of well logging instruments have been adapted to make measurements which can be converted into a visual representation or "image" of the wall of a wellbore drilled through earth formations. Typical instruments for developing images of parameters of interest measurements include density measuring devices, electrical resistivity measuring devices, gamma images and acoustic reflectance/travel time measuring devices. These instruments measure a property of the earth formations proximate to the wall of the wellbore, or a related property, with respect to azimuthal direction, about a substantial portion of the circumference of the wellbore. The values of the property measured are correlated to both their depth position in the wellbore and to their azimuthal position with respect to some selected reference, such as geographic north or the gravitationally uppermost side of the wellbore. A visual representation is then developed by presenting the values, with respect to their depths and azimuthal orientations, for instance, using a color or gray tone which corresponds to the value of the measured property.

System and method for real-time quality control for downhole logging devices