A fixed caliper brake wherein, the material rigidity is reduced at appropriate locations on the brake housing and of the brake linings in order to create partial systems at the brake which can vibrate in a damped manner. With respect to weight, these steps are undertaken extensively in a neutral manner and they reduce the vibrations of the entire brake assembly resulting in a reduction in braking noises.

A fixed caliper brake of this type is disclosed in DE 41 31 130 A1 (offenlegungsschrift). With this fixed caliper brake, the two brake linings are arranged on both sides of the brake disk inside a shaft within the brake housing in such a way that they can be removed radially and, with the aid of hydraulic operating devices present on both sides of the brake disk, can be pressed against the brake disk. The brake linings are axially guided by means of a holding pin and, for the transfer of the peripheral forces during the braking process, they rest tangentially on axially extending, protruding lining supports inside the housing. The disadvantage with such brakes lies in that they produce a considerable amount of noise during braking. This noise production is due to the generation of vibrations in the entire brake arrangement due to fluctuations in the frictional force between the brake lining and the brake disk. In particular, the compact and rigid construction of fixed caliper brakes enhances the transfer of vibrations and may not be able to sufficiently counteract the noise production. Consequently, in the past, steps have been taken for counteracting brake noises of various types. For example, damping layers or metal sheets are frequently applied to the reverse side of the brake linings which, however, incurs additional costs.
In EP 0 163 030 B1, additional brake linings are disclosed which may be used, for example, in a fixed caliper brake of this type and which have through-holes in the lining's backing plate which are filled with the friction lining substance. However, these through-holes do not so much serve for the reduction of noise but, rather, for preventing the friction lining from being cut by the backing plate.
Furthermore, from the documents DE 37 36 126 C2 and DE 40 36 401 A1, antivibration substances are known which are mounted at the brake housing, influence the vibratory behavior of the entire brake arrangement and are used to reduce the generation of noise. However, here, it is necessary to tolerate the resulting increase in the overall dimension of the brake.
The objective of the invention lies in a reduction of the noise development in connection with fixed caliper brakes by means of specific steps taken at the brake housing as well as at the brake lining, which influence the vibratory behavior of the entire brake arrangement without the need for further structural components or the addition of more weight to the brake.
In principle, the invention consists in that the rigidity of the material is specifically reduced at suitable locations at the brake housing or also at the brake linings in order to create partial systems at the brake which can vibrate in a damped manner, reduce the total vibration of the fixed caliper brake and check the noise development.
Preferably, the tangential support of the brake linings is constructed inside the brake housing in such a way as to permit vibrations since these brake linings are directly affected by the generation of vibrations. For this purpose, one embodiment of the invention provides an axially extending peg as a lining support which can vibrate radially as well as tangentially.
In another embodiment of the fixed caliper brake, the axially extending support of the lining has on the side facing the hydraulic operating device a radially extending groove, which reduces the rigidity of the housing in the axial direction.
In addition to the steps taken at the brake housing, above all, the rigidity of the lining's backing plate is reduced by the provision of through-holes. These through-holes are located near or directly at the tangential front face of the backing plate and are filled either with a friction lining substance or with another material with good damping properties. The remaining radial flanges of the lining's backing plate, together with the filled-in through-holes, form tangentially effective, damped vibration systems which, during braking, transfer the generated vibrations in greatly damped form.
In addition to the friction lining substance, as a filler material for the through-holes, preferably inlaid synthetic parts are provided which, in one variation, are introduced directly at the tangential front surface of the backing plate of the lining into the respective through-holes, i.e., precisely at the point that is resting against the lining support while forming an integral part of the housing. This results in the most considerable damping effects.
In a further development of the fixed caliper brake, at least one vibration damper is provided at the brake housing, forming a one-piece connection with the brake housing. This vibration damper is able to vibrate with respect to the brake housing and, in this way, is capable of reducing the total vibration of the fixed caliper brake. The connection of the vibration damper takes place directly during casting of the brake housing with the aid of a flange having a small cross-section or being cast on in crude form followed by shaping of the cast housing through a cutting process.

Fixed-yoke brake with appropriate brake pads


In the so-called sky-shot in which reading is performed with a platen cover (32) open, an output signal of a read image is compared with a white reference value generated from a white reference member (40). Only if a value greater than or equal to the white reference value exists in the output signal of the read image, a reading operation to be performed with a light source unit in an image sensor unit (33) turned off during an original (34) reading operation is added to each scan line reading operation.

A platen glass (original reading surface) of an image reading apparatus of a copying machine and the like is conventionally provided with an openable and closeable platen cover that covers an original placed on the platen glass.
Typically, a thin original is read with the platen cover closed to cut off outside light whereas a thick original such as a book is read with a platen cover open in a so-called sky-shot. In the sky-shot, outside light cannot be cut off by the platen cover and the effect of outside light incident on the platen glass cause a problem that a wrong original range is read and the size of the original is not correctly recognized.
In order to address the problem, Patent Document 1, for example, proposes an image reading apparatus which includes control unit for, each time a scan line is to be read, turning off a light source and causing an image reading section to read outside light information entering a platen with a cover open and with an original placed on the platen, then turning on the light source and causing the image reading section to read an image of the original, and image processing circuit for eliminating the effect of outside light detected from the read image of the original on the basis of the outside light information.
Although the method for detecting the size of the original described in Patent Document 1 can detect the size of the original, the detection method requires, every time a scan line is read, turning off the light source and causing the image reading section to read outside light information entering the platen and then turning on the light source and causing the image reading section to read the image of the original. Accordingly, the method requires a long scanning time.
The present invention has been made in light of these circumstances and an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus and others which accurately detect the size of an original to read the original while eliminating the effect of outside light incident on a platen glass in a sky-shot, and reduce the time for detecting the size of the original and increase the efficiency.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-28413

Image reading apparatus, image formation apparatus, image reading method, image formation method, program for causing image reading method to be executed, and program for causing image formation method to be executed


The present invention provides novel techniques for controlling the balance between energy usage and biofuels dehydration between a distillation process unit and molecular sieves with model predictive control technology. In particular, the present techniques are presented in the context of biofuel production, wherein control of the balance between energy usage and water removal in biofuel production may be optimized. However, the present techniques may also be applied to any other suitable applications, such as liquor processing, where energy may be used to remove water from the liquor.

The present invention relates generally to control systems, and more particularly to model predictive control employing novel techniques for optimizing energy usage and water removal in a distillation process system and a molecular sieve operation.
Many processing applications, such as biofuel production, include sub-processes where energy may be used to remove water from a product, such as biofuel, to meet the moisture specification of the final product. Multiple sub-processes may be used to remove water from the product. However, these sub-processes may be characterized by varying rates of energy usage as well as varying rates of biofuels dehydration. Therefore, balancing biofuels dehydration through multiple sub-processes, such as distillation towers and molecular sieves, is a dynamic process control challenge. A main issue in the control of such systems may be dehydrating the biofuels product to the commercial specification of moisture allowable in the product through multiple sub-processes at the minimal energy requirement. However, due to interdependencies between the sub-processes, as well as particular characteristics of each sub-process, such as equipment constraints or the availability of processing energy in each sub-process, controlling the balance between energy usage and water removal may be more complex than simply maximizing the use of the "most efficient" sub-processes.

Energy optimizer for dehydrating biofuels through distillation towers and molecular sieves


A method for correcting over-corrected memory cells in a flash EPROM. The flash EPROM includes an array of memory cells (25), where each of the cells includes a gate 18, a floating gate (16), a source (12), a drain (14), and a substrate (10). The method includes bulk erasing each of cells in the array of cells (step 40), which results in a plurality of over-erased cells. The over-erased cells are then corrected (step 42), which results in a plurality of over-corrected cells. The over-corrected cells are identified (step 44) and selectively erased (step 46), such that a uniform threshold voltage distribution (54) is provided for the cells in the flash EPROM.

Nonvolatile programmable memories operate similar to read only memories with the attribute that they may be programmed at least once. An erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) is one type of nonvolatile programmable memory. Typically, the contents of an EPROM are programmed during manufacture, but the user is free to reprogram the contents at a later time.
An EPROM memory cell comprises a single transistor, that when read, is either on "1", or off "0". A transistor is read by applying a small positive electrical charge to the transistor that equals or surpasses the voltage required to read the cell, which is called the threshold voltage V.sub.t. If the transistor is on, then the charge will cause electrons to flow through the transistor, which generates a current representing a 1 bit. If the transistor is off, then no current is generated by the transistor in response to the positive electrical charge, which represents a 0 bit.
Each EPROM transistor includes a structure called a floating-gate. The charge of the floating gate is dependent upon the number of electrons contained in the floating gate. During the programming of an EPROM, the charge of the floating gate for each cell can be altered to control whether each transistor is on or off.
During a procedure called erasing, electrons are pulled out of the floating gate of each cell in the flash EPROM array to neutralize the charge of the floating gate. When a cell is subsequently read, the positive electrical charge applied to the cell is unaffected by the neutrally charged floating gate and current is generated by the cell. Therefore, in the erase state, a cell is "1" or on.
Flash EPROMs suffers a disadvantage compared to EPROMs. EPROMs have the same physical structure as flash EPROM, but are erased differently. An EPROM is erased by exposure to ultraviolet light, which pulls the electrons out of the floating gate. This neutralizes every floating gate in the EPROM so that they have a zero charge.
A flash EPROM, in contrast, is erased by applying an electrical bias to the cells. The bias, however, can deplete the floating gate of electrons, which causes the charge on the floating gate to change from negative to positive, rather than staying neutral. This is referred to as an over-erased cell. When a cell has been electrically erased to depletion mode, its threshold voltage is lowered to the point where the transistor is on even when a zero volts bias is applied to the transistor. In some cases the threshold voltage may even become negative.
Conventional methods to correct the over erased cell are either inadequate in several respects or introduce further problems. One such problem is the over-correction of erased cells in which normally erased cells are changed from "1" (erased) to "0" or on. Over-correction also increases the threshold voltage of cells, which widens the threshold voltage distribution of the flash EPROM and makes the flash EPROM more difficult to read and program.
Accordingly, what is needed is a correction method that provides a flash EPROM that has a uniform threshold voltage distribution during programming.

Correction method leading to a uniform threshold voltage distribution for a flash eprom


A bidirectional control arrangement for a vehicle comprising a seesaw type pedal including a forward drive depress pad and a backward drive depress pad for controlling a hydrostatic stepless transmission. A down-toe motion of an operator's foot applied to the forward drive depress pad controls the transmission for accelerating the vehicle forward, while a down-toe motion thereof applied to the backward drive depress pad controls the transmission to accelerate the vehicle backward. The forward and backward drive depress pads are spaced apart longitudinally of the vehicle and offset from each other transversely of the vehicle.

The present invention relates to a bidirectional control arrangement for a working vehicle having a hydrostatic stepless transmission which provides a plurality of speeds for backward drive as well as forward drive across a neutral position, and particularly to a bidirectional control arrangement including a seesaw type change speed pedal.
This type of bidirectional control arrangement is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication Kokai No. 60-146729. In the disclosed arrangement, the hydrostatic stepless transmission provides an increasingly high forward speed when a down-toe motion is applied to the change speed pedal, and an increasingly high backward speed when a down heel motion is applied to the pedal.
The change speed pedal includes a forward drive depress pad and a backward drive depress pad at longitudinally opposite ends thereof. A down-toe motion is applied to the pedal by a foot placed on the forward drive depress pad, while a down-heel motion is applied to the backward drive depress pad.
Generally, it is difficult to effect delicate speed controls with the heel, and therefore the backward drive depress pad may also be applied with a down-toe motion. In other words, it is conceivable to provide a change speed pedal having an increased length so that the forward and backward drive depress pedals are spaced apart by an increased distance. However, the foot must be moved over an extensive range for depressing the pedal for forward drive and backward drive. This results in the disadvantages of low operating efficiency and of requiring a large space in the fore and aft direction for accommodating the elongated change speed pedal.

Bidirectional control arrangement for vehicle


A method of detecting the type of optical disc inserted in an optical disc player including the steps of:

The invention relates to an optical disc player and to a method of detecting different types of optical disc inserted into the player.
Various types of optical discs are known which have been developed according to different standards for the recording and/or replay of data. This data may represent audio or video signals or may be pure data. High reflectivity discs, which may typically be CD Audio, CDROM, DVD, or CD recordable, often referred to as write once read many (WORM), generally produce a reflected signal which is of relatively large amplitude. Re-recordable discs, which may typically be CD-RW or CDRAM, however, generally have a lower reflectivity and consequently the reflected signal will have a lower amplitude. As a result, in order to optimise the decoding of the data on the discs it is desirable to provide different parameters for the detection circuits within the player for the different types of disc.
Generally optical disc players are set to focus on a high reflectivity disc and if focus is not found, that is the reflected signal does not reach a preset threshold level, then the player parameters are changed on the assumption that a low reflectivity disc is present. An attempt is then made to focus using parameters appropriate to a low reflectivity disc. If focus is still not found an indication is given that no playable disc is present. This procedure has been published in EP-A-0789354 and is satisfactory provided that the player does not focus on a low reflectivity disc when using parameters appropriate for high reflectivity discs. Initial focussing is generally attempted when the disc is stationary in the player. It has been discovered that under these comparatively ideal conditions some nominally low reflectivity discs may allow focus to be achieved since the detected reflected signal may marginally exceed the threshold value set. When, however, the disc is rotated there is then insufficient noise margin to allow the data to be reliably read from the disc particularly when jumps from one radial position to another are performed. In addition the rotation of the disc is controlled by a digital phase locked loop (DPLL) working on the data read from the disc and if the data is not read correctly the DPLL may lose phase or frequency lock resulting in the spinning out of control.
In this specification non-recordable discs include high reflectivity WORM type discs in addition to those which are preformed and unable to record any data.
It is an object of the invention to enable the provision of an optical disc player that is able to discriminate more reliably between different types of disc so that it can more reliably read data from different types of disc.
The invention provides a method of detecting the type of optical disc inserted in an optical disc player comprising the steps of;
i) attempting to focus a laser read head on the disc using a first set of player parameters appropriate for a first type of disc,
ii) if focus is obtained
a) reading data from the disc and determining whether a sub-code representative of a second type of disc is present,
b) if so changing the first set of player parameters to a second set of player parameters appropriate to a second type of disc,
c) if not playing or indicating the presence of the first type of disc,
iii) if focus is not obtained changing the first set of player parameters to said second set of player parameters,
iv) if focus is then found playing or indicating the presence of the second type of disc.
By attempting to read data which is only present on re-recordable discs, hereinafter referred to as read-write discs it can be ensured that read-write discs are read using player parameters appropriate to lower reflectivity discs regardless of whether the player was able to initially focus on the disc using the parameters appropriate for high reflectivity non-recordable discs. This has the advantage that read-write discs of comparatively high reflectivity, but not as high as non-recordable discs, can be reliably identified and the player optimised for their playback rather than attempting to use the wrong set of parameters merely because focus was originally found. An alternative solution would have been to increase the threshold required for obtaining focussing of high reflectivity non-recordable discs but this would have the disadvantage of possible failure to focus on lower reflectivity non-recordable discs.
Step ii) a) may be performed by reading a table of contents and determining whether mode 5 sub-code is present in the Q sub-code channel. Read-write discs conforming with part 3 of the Orange Book Standard contain a mode 5 sub-code and in this way relatively high reflectivity read-write discs on which the player may be able to focus when the disc is stationary but where it may lose focus when the disc is spinning or when the read head jumps from one position to another across a plurality of tracks can be identified. The appropriate measures can then be taken to alter the player parameters to more reliably maintain focus and read the data
The method may further comprise when focus is found in step iv) the steps of;
vi) reading data from the disc, and
vii) determining whether mode 5 sub-code is present before indicating the presence of the second type of disc.
In this way it can be ensured that it is a recordable disc being played rather than a low reflectivity non-recordable disc.
If focus is not found in step iv) then the method may further comprise the step of;
v) indicating that no playable disc is present.
The player parameters may comprise the gain of an amplifier forming part of a data tracking loop and/or a sensitivity control for processing individual diode outputs from the read head.
The invention further provides an optical disc player capable of detecting the type of disc loaded in the player comprising means for setting a first set of player parameters appropriate for playing discs of a first type, means for focussing the read head on the disc, means for reading data from the disc, means for processing the data and detecting the presence of a sub-code representative of a second type of disc, means for setting a second set of player parameters appropriate for playing a disc of a second type if the sub-code is present, and means for setting the second set of parameters if focus is not found using said first set of parameters.
The optical disc player may further comprise means for indicating that no readable disc is present if focus is not obtained using either the first or second set of parameters.
The sub code representative of the second type of disc may be a mode 5 sub-code in the Q sub-code channel. Such sub-codes are always present in CD-RW discs conforming with part 3 of the Orange Book Standard and serve as a means of detecting the presence of such discs regardless of whether their reflectivity is sufficiently high that the player can focus on them using parameters optimised for high reflectivity CD Audio or CDROM discs.
The gain of a high frequency amplifier which amplifies the sum of the diode outputs from the read head may be increased for low reflectivity read-write discs. Alternatively or in addition the sensitivity of an analogue to digital converter block to which individual diode outputs are applied may be increased for low reflectivity recordable discs.

Abstract: i) attempting to focus a laser read head on the disc using a first set of player parameters appropriate for a first type of disc;

Abstract: ii) if focus is obtained:

Abstract: a) reading data from the disc and determining whether a sub-code representative of a second type of disc is present;

Abstract: b) if so changing the first set of player parameters to a second set of player parameters appropriate to a second type of disc;

Abstract: c) if not playing or indicating the presence of the first type of disc;

Abstract: iii) if focus is not obtained changing the first set of player parameters to the second set of player parameters;


A micro heat pipe, formed in a semiconductor substrate, carries heat from a region of heat flux in the substrate to a region of lower heat flux. The micro heat pipe is formed by cutting a groove into the substrate opposite a site where devices have been formed or are to be formed. Vapor deposited layers are then formed on the substrate to define the micro heat pipe. A fraction of the pipe is filled with a coolant or other working fluid and the pipe is sealed. A micro heat pipe may also be formed by etching a channel down into the substrate, oxidizing the surfaces of the channel, charging the channel with a cooling medium to fill a fraction of the channel and sealing the end of the channel. In operation, the working fluid evaporates in the region of high heat flux and condenses in the region of lower heat flux resulting in the transfer or redistribution of the fluid's heat of vaporization.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of and a structure for cooling integrated circuit devices. More particularly, it relates to micro heat pipes formed in an integrated circuit chip, a method of cooling integrated circuits using micro heat pipes, and a method of forming the micro heat pipes.
2. Prior Art
As the size of electronic components decreases and the concomitant component density increases, integrated circuits tend to form local regions on the semiconductor device that produce relatively large amounts of heat. These hot spots can degrade device performance and can lead to device failure. It would therefore be advantageous to conduct this heat from regions of a semiconductor chip generating relatively large amounts of heat to regions of the chip producing relatively small amounts of heat. In this way, the heat generated in an integrated circuit is spread more evenly throughout the chip.
Cotter described very small, micro heat pipes for cooling microelectronic devices. Cotter, T. P., 1984, "Principals and Prospects of Micro Heat Pipes," Proc. 5th Int'l Heat Pipe Conf., Tsukuba, Japan, pp.328-335. He defined a micro heat pipe as "one so small that the mean curvature of the vapor-liquid interface is necessarily comparable in magnitude to the reciprocal of the hydraulic radius of the total flow channel." In practical terms, a micro heat pipe is a wickless, non-circular channel with a diameter of 10-500 micrometers and a length of about 10-20 millimeters.
Cotter proposed micro heat pipes for cooling the volumetric heating produced in a parallel-processing microelectronic component. The evaporator portion of the heat pipe would be an integral part of the device. Heat would be removed from within the device by an array of micro heat pipes.
Cotter derived an approximate theoretical result for the maximum heat transport capability, q.sub.m of a micro heat pipe. For a micro heat pipe with an equilateral triangular shape with sides 0.2 mm, length 10 mm, and an optimum amount of methanol as the working fluid, Cotter predicted a q.sub.m of 0.03 watts. He reasoned that, when used in a solid in an array of parallel pipes (about 10% by volume), these micro heat pipes could provide a few tens of watts per cubic centimeter of cooling.
Besides the difficulties of manufacturing, cleaning and filling these micro heat pipes (Cotter believed that existing micro-mechanical technology as of 1984 could overcome these problems), the micro heat pipe is very sensitive to percent fill of the working fluid. The liquid-vapor interface changes continually along the pipe, and care must be exercised to ensure proper wetted conditions without flooding the micro channels.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a micro heat pipe that is relatively easy to construct. It would also be advantageous to provide a controllable method of charging a micro heat pipe with a cooling medium.


A digital image processor includes an input buffer for storing raster-scanned data. A slice-buffer memory is coupled to the input buffer to store a portion of a vertical slice of said raster-scanned data. The vertical slice is processed by a vertical slice processor having an input coupled to the slice-buffer memory. The vertical slice processor reassembles the vertical slices into processed raster-scanned data in an output buffer that is coupled to the output of the vertical slice processor. The digital image processor preferably utilizes multiple sequential processing stages and processes the raster-scanned data along the horizontal axis of the vertical slices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to video processing and, more particularly, to techniques for vertical processing of horizontally scanned video images.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an illustration of a rectangular picture area 10 with a horizontal full row scanning sequence. The rectangular picture area 10 is divided into a number of rows of data 12 which are scanned from left to right, with rows being traversed from the top of the image to the bottom. Video data is generally produced in this type of horizontal raster-scanned format. Video data is also provided in this fashion from a wide variety of data sources (e.g., broadcast, video tape, video disc) and used in the same sequence for display purposes (e.g., television, computer monitors, LCD displays).
FIG. 2 is a diagram of a prior art video processor 14, which processes video data before displaying or storing the data. The video processor 14 typically receives data 16 in a raster-scan format. The video processor 14 must deliver the processed video data 18 in the same or similar format. Examples of common types of processing include image size reduction/enlargement (or xe2x80x9cscalingxe2x80x9d), filtering to remove high frequencies, filtering to enhance detail in the image, or format conversion from one video data type to another (e.g., deinterlacing).
Many types of processing only utilize data from horizontally adjacent pixel locations. This naturally fits with the existing data ordering of the raster-scanned format and is relatively economical to implement. In addition, the row ordering of the video data naturally aligns with the current dynamic random access memory (DRAM) row/column chip organization which provides significantly reduced access times for in-row (or horizontal) accesses.
However, when video data must be processed in the vertical direction, particularly when multiple vertically adjacent pixel locations are simultaneously needed for processing, the raster-scanned format no longer provides the data needed in the correct or appropriate order. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a horizontal raster-scanned video image 20 divided into a number of scan lines 22 and pixels 24. In order to vertically process the data, multiple pixels are needed which come from different scan lines 22.
Since the pixel data is presented in a horizontally ordered sequence, multiple lines of video data must be available in order to have simultaneous access to multiple vertically aligned pixels. This requires storing or buffering of those multiple lines in order to make the data available for processing. In the past, this has either not been done at all due to implementation cost reasons, or has been done by using multiple on-chip line memories to store a number of horizontal lines of pixel data. If nothing is done, the result is nonexistent or poor quality processing due to lack of vertical pixel data being available.
The main problem with using on-chip line memories for vertical processing of horizontal raster-scanned video is that they are extremely large, thus requiring a significant increase in die area (and therefore chip cost). This is particularly true if a large number of line memories are needed for high-quality processing. A single line memory for the ITU-R BT.601 standard digital video formats typically contains 720 16-bit pixels, or 11520 memory bits.
Because multiple line memories are needed for quality vertical processing, and since some video processing implementations require multiple serial processing stages, each with its own set of line memories, the required amount of on-chip memory can be very large in many different scenarios. For instance, with 6 line memories per processing stage, and with 3 serial processing stages the number of required memory bits would be over 200 kbits.
External memories have not been often utilized due to the fact that accessing vertically adjacent data results in the crossing of DRAM row (or page) boundaries, with the attendant severe reduction in available memory bandwidth. The implementation cost issue is compounded by the fact that high quality processing typically requires more data, i.e., better vertical processing requires a larger number of simultaneously available vertically aligned pixels.
On-chip memory requirements of this order significantly reduce the available implementation options (e.g., prototyping with field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or most gate-arrays is not viable) and increase the chip die area and cost. While these expensive line memories for vertical video processing cannot be eliminated completely, any reduction of the memory requirements would be valuable.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to have a method that provides for high quality vertical processing of horizontally scanned video while minimizing cost and reducing the number of full line memories required.
The present invention fills these needs by providing an efficient and economical method and apparatus for high quality vertical video processing utilizing off-chip commodity memory and an alternative scan sequence for vertical processing. It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device or a method. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a digital image processor is provided. The digital image processor includes an input buffer for storing raster-scanned data. A slice-buffer memory is coupled to the input buffer to store a portion of a vertical slice of said raster-scanned data. The vertical slice is processed by a vertical slice processor having an input coupled to the slice-buffer memory. The vertical slice processor reassembles the vertical slices into processed raster-scanned data in an output buffer that is coupled to the output of the vertical slice processor. The digital image processor preferably utilizes multiple sequential processing stages and processes the raster-scanned data along the horizontal axis of the vertical slices.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of processing image data is provided. The method includes buffering a block of raster-scanned data in an input buffer. Vertical slices of the raster-scanned data are sequentially retrieved and processed, forming processed vertical slices. The processed vertical slices are then stored in an output buffer to form a processed block of raster-scanned data. The vertical slices are preferably comprised of a slice core and at least one pair of wings, which overlap the slice core of horizontally adjacent vertical slices. The width of the processed block of raster-scanned data is preferably equal to the width of the slice core.
An advantage of the present invention is that the on-chip memory requirements for high quality vertical processing are significantly reduced. By dividing the rectangular video field or frame into smaller portions, the memory requirements of the system can be reduced by an order of magnitude. Therefore, the image processing chip is not limited by the constraints of having only a small number of on-chip line memories. In addition, by not having to use the line memories, costs are dramatically reduced.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.

Method and apparatus for reducing on-chip memory in vertical video processing


A 1-bit token ring arbitration architecture where a plurality of chips which require access to a shared bus are coupled together in a ring is described. Each chip receives an arbitration in signal from the preceding member of the ring which is used to receive the token. Each chip transmits an arbitration out signal to the following member of the ring to send the token to the following member. In the preferred embodiment, the token appears as a 1 cycle active low pulse. An error signal notifies all the bus participants that a ring error has been detected. Preferably, the number of cycles the error signal is held active, the more severe the error. A request of bus (ROB) signal notifies the chip holding the token that another bus member needs to use the bus. The ROB signal allows the current holder of the token to maintain control of the bus if it has further processing on the bus as long as no other bus member needs the bus. A Token Hold Timer may be included in a ring member which defines how long the member can hold on to the token after receiving notification on the ROB line that another bus participant wants the bus.

This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for arbitrating control of a bus shared by a plurality of processors. More particularly, it relates to a token ring arbitration scheme which uses a 1-bit token to arbitrate between individual chips on the same adapter card.
It is well known in the art to share a data processing resource such as a data bus between a plurality of processors using arbitration to determine which processor has access to the resource at a given time. When arbitration is performed at the card level between a number of VLSI chips, a request/grant, e.g., an Intel 80186/8289 processor or multi-drop, e.g., MicroChannel (.TM.) arbitration or similar scheme is typically used.
While both of these architectures are well adapted for certain situations, they do have several disadvantages. Both of these methods require that either one of the bus members or another processor with logic external to all bus members be designated as the centralized point where the arbitration and error functions for the bus are accomplished. Additional logic external to each processor is also required, particularly to avoid monopolization of the bus by a single processor.
The expansion of the bus to accommodate more processors increases the amount of external arbitration control logic. Also, as the number of bus participants increases, so do the number of I/O channels dedicated to bus arbitration. For example, using the request/grant scheme, the arbitration controller's I/O count increases by two for each additional bus member. Likewise, the number of I/O signals required for the multi-drop arbitration depends on the number of members.
Where the number and type of bus participants are known, it is possible to accommodate the demands of these prior art arbitration techniques. However, when a new processor is being designed for a bus with an indeterminate number and type of bus participants, it would be advantageous to be able to dedicate a fixed, ideally low number of I/O signals to bus arbitration. Further, as the type of bus participants are unknown, it would also be desirable to limit the amount of control that any one processor can exert on the bus or fellow bus participants.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method drives a panel and a plasma display unit, wherein one field includes a plurality of subfields, each having an addressing period for producing an address discharge selectively in the discharge cells, and a sustaining period for producing a sustain discharge by applying a number of sustaining pulses corresponding to a weight of brightness in a discharge cell where the address discharge has been produced. Additionally, a sustaining pulse generator circuit includes a power recovery section for controlling the rising or the falling of the sustaining pulse by producing resonance between an inter-electrode capacitance of a display electrode pair and an inductor, and a clamping section for clamping a voltage of the sustaining pulse at a predetermined potential, wherein the power recovery section is used to set twice a time of the rising of the sustaining pulse to be equal to or longer than a duration of the sustaining pulse.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of driving plasma display panels used for wall-mounted televisions and large-scale monitors. The invention also relates to plasma display units.
2. Background Art
A typical AC surface-discharge type panel known as plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as "panel") comprises a large number of discharge cells formed between a front plate and a rear plate arranged in a confronting manner. The front plate comprises a plurality of display electrode pairs, each consisting of a combination of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode formed in parallel to each other on a front glass substrate, and a dielectric layer and a protective layer overlaid to cover the display electrode pairs. The rear plate comprises a plurality of parallel-oriented data electrodes, a dielectric layer covering the data electrodes, and a plurality of barrier ribs in parallel to the data electrodes, formed one after another on a rear glass substrate. In addition, phosphor layers are formed over the dielectric layer as well as side surfaces of the barrier ribs. The front plate and the rear plate are placed in a confronting arrangement so that the display electrode pairs and the data electrodes crisscross with respect to each other with a space between them, and the plates are then sealed hermetically. The interior, or the discharge space, is filled with discharge gases including, for instance, xenon gas of 5% in a ratio of partial pressure. Discharge cells are thus formed in areas where the display electrode pairs and the data electrodes confront each other. In the panel of the above structure, gas-discharges inside the individual discharge cells generate ultraviolet rays, which in turn excite the individual phosphors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) colors to cause luminous emission and display color images.
As a method of driving the panel, it is a general practice to use the subfield method, which is to divide a period of one field into a plurality of subfields, and combine selected subfields to be lighted to display gradation. Each subfield consists of a priming period, an addressing period and a sustaining period, wherein a priming discharge is produced during the priming period to create a wall charge necessary for the subsequent addressing operation on the individual electrode. During the addressing period, an address discharge is produced to create a wall charge selectively in a discharge cell to be lighted for display. During the sustaining period, sustaining pulses are applied alternately to the display electrode pair consisting of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode to produce a sustain discharge in the discharge cell where the address discharge was produced to cause luminous emission of the phosphor layer of the corresponding discharge cell for display of an image.
A variety of energy saving techniques have been proposed for plasma display units of this kind to reduce power consumption. In view of the fact that each of the display electrode pairs is regarded as a capacitive load having an inter-electrode capacitance between the electrode pair, there is disclosed a so-called power recovery circuit as one of the techniques to reduce power consumption especially during the sustaining period, wherein a resonance circuit formed of an inductor component is used to produce an L-C resonance between the inductor and the inter-electrode capacitance, recover electric charge accumulated in the inter-electrode capacitance into a power recovery capacitor, and reuse the recovered electric charge to drive the display electrode pairs (refer to patent document 1, for example).
Also disclosed is a new way of driving in the subfield method, which uses a gradually changing voltage waveform to produce a priming discharge, and reduces luminous emission not relevant to the display of gradation to a maximum extent possible to improve the contrast ratio by producing the priming discharge selectively in certain discharge cells where sustain discharges was made (refer to patent document 2, for example).
There is a tendency in recent years toward increase in power consumption of panels due to introduction of a variety of techniques to enhance high brightness in addition to increase in resolution as well as a strong inclination toward larger screens, all of which demand further reduction of power consumption.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication, No. H07-109542    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication, No. 2000-242224

Method of driving plasma display panel and plasma display unit


A digital phase detector composed of: a digitally controllable signal delay device having a signal input, a signal output and a control input, the delay device being operative for conducting a signal from the signal input to the signal output with a time delay having a duration determined by a control signal supplied to the control input, the signal input being connected to receive either an input signal or a digital local clock signal; a phase relation detector connected to receive a first input signal from the signal output of the signal delay device and a second input signal constituted by the one of the input signal and the digital local clock signal which is not received by the signal input of the signal delay device, for periodically comparing the phases of the first and second input signals and for producing a binary output signal composed of a succession of signal segments, each segment having a first value when the first input signal is leading the second input signal in phase and a second value when the first input signal is lagging the second input signal in phase; and a digital modulator connected for receiving the binary output signal from the phase relation detector and producing a digital output representative of the magnitude of the phase difference between the input signal and the digital local clock signal based on the values of successive signal segments of the binary output signal produced by the phase relation detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of frequency stability measurement, and particularly to a method and apparatus for performing relative time interval error measurements for a multiplicity of inputs under microprocessor control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many microprocessor-based systems produce, during operation, a plurality of periodic signals, such as clock signals, which all have the same frequency but differ in phase from one another at different points in the system. In order for the system to operate properly, it is necessary to derive information about the difference in phase between one or more pairs of these periodic signals.
A number of techniques for directly measuring the stability of frequency sources and for deriving related numerical values for further processing have already been proposed and are in use. For example, methods are disclosed in: D. A. Howe, D. W. Allen and J. A. Barnes, "Properties of Signal Sources and Measurement Methods", National Institute of Standards and Technology Technical Note 1337, Characterization of Clocks and Oscillators, Washington, D.C., 1990, U.S. Government Printing Office, pp. TN-14 to TN-47. These methods include a beat frequency method, a dual mixer time difference method, a tight phase-lock loop method and a time difference method. All of these methods have the common characteristic that they utilize a conditioning circuit followed by a frequency counter or a time interval counter. The conditioning circuit serves to magnify phase differences between two periodic signals which are being compared and to square the edges of the periodic signals before delivery to the counter.
Frequency counters and time interval counters are similar devices. A time interval counter consists of a digital counter whose clock is driven by a free-running oscillator, together with a logic unit which begins counting in response to a signal state change at one input and halts counting in response to a signal change on another input. A frequency counter contains logic to start and stop counting in response to state changes in a signal applied to a single input. The resolution of each type of counter is limited to the period of the free-running clock, unless other conditioning takes place before inputs are supplied to the counter. Free-running clocks are usually limited to a frequency of several tens of megahertz for ease of implementation, although for dedicated equipment with special frequency multiplication circuitry, the free-running clock can run at a frequency close to 100 megahertz. Such dedicated equipment is described, for example, in Stanford Research Systems, Inc. Model SR620 Universal Time Interval Counter Operating Manual and Programming Reference, Revision 2.0, 1989, pp. 81-91. This limits the single-shot resolution of practical time interval counters used with a micro-processor in embedded frequency control applications to a few tens of nanoseconds, which is two coarse a resolution for precision frequency and time interval measurement.
The conditioning circuits employed for systems operating according to the beat frequency, dual mixer time difference and tight phase lock loop methods consist of analog filters, voltage-controlled oscillators and low-noise mixers. These circuits typically consist of a large number of discrete components, some of which are relatively expensive and bulky, and require several different power supply voltages. For systems operating according to the time difference method, the clock frequency is divided to very low frequency levels before presentation to the counter. This can create cycle ambiguity and significant dead time between measurements. These factors make it difficult to create a compact circuit which measures the relative time interval error of many different input signals with a high degree of precision.

Digital phase detector employing a digitally controllable delay line


An endoscopic loop including an applying instrument comprises a pre-knotted loop of surgical suture material and a hollow shaft in the interior space of which the free thread portion runs. The free thread portion extends at least up to the proximal end of the shaft. In the interior space an actuating mechanism is mounted, the proximal end of which essentially extends up to the proximal end of the shaft. At the distal end of the actuating means a knife is attached which cuts the free thread portion upon actuation of the device.

Pre-knotted loops for surgical purposes consist of suture material and have a slidable knot. They are used in order to ligate freely graspable stumps of a hollow organ or of a bundle of vessels. During endoscopic operations surgical instruments are introduced into the body through trocar sleeves. For such applications an endoscopic loop has proved useful. Such a loop comprises a suture thread formed into a loop having a slidable knot. The free thread portion is guided through an opening provided at the distal face of a thin hollow tube and extends in the interior space of the tube up to its proximal end. There, the loop is fixed to a cap or other kind of handle.
In order to apply the endoscopic loop, first it must be inserted into an auxiliary sleeve which covers the folded loop (including the knot) at its distal portion. After introducing the auxiliary sleeve through the trocar into the abdominal cavity, the auxiliary sleeve is retracted so that the loop becomes accessible. An endoscopic forceps grasps the loop and lays it about the stump. Afterwards the loop is pulled tight by moving the cap or handle in the proximal direction. During this procedure the knot abuts the opening in the distal face of the tube. Finally, the free thread portion is cut using a cutting instrument introduced through another trocar sleeve.
A disadvantage in the application of the known endoscopic loop is that the cutting step is time consuming. Moreover, the surgeon has to be very careful in order to cut just the thread and not to hurt the patient.

Endoscopic loop including an applying instrument


A flexible hose assembly for conveying gas comprising an inner tube member having a reinforcing spring coil that selectively functions as an electric heater engaging the inner surface and an outer flexible tube member having its head and outlet ends closed upon those of the inner member. A second reinforcing spring coil surrounds the outer surface of the outer member such that a dead air space or insulating chamber is formed between the two flexible tubes. Superior insulation, flexibility, energy consumption, weight and strength characteristics are achieved. A temperature responsive electrical device can be mounted near the outlet end of the inside wall of the inner tube with leads extending through the hose exiting the head end for connection to a controller for controlling an external heating or cooling system or for controlling electric power applied to the inner spring coil for directly heating the flowing gas for delivering temperature controlled heated gas to the end user system. The air in the chamber can be less than one atmosphere to enhance the insulating function.

Flexible hoses are well known for conveying gas in a wide variety of applications, both military and civilian.
One standard approach includes providing a flexible tube with insulating material surrounding the same to provide strength and to reduce heat transfer between the flowing gas and the ambient. A disadvantage with this standard design is that often the insulation detracts from the flexibility of the system, adds to weight, and may not contribute significantly to longitudinal tensile and compression strengths of the system.
An attempted standard improvement comprises adding a spring coil to increase strength parameters and perhaps reduce the thickness requirement of the insulation layer depending upon the particular application of the hose assembly.
Where the application requires temperature control, standard hoses are normally coupled to a system that includes a thermocouple device and a controller for sensing the gas temperature before it enters the head end of the hose and applying electric power to the heating elements located before such head end. These systems are somewhat unreliable particularly where the delivery hose branches to a number of users of the gas supply or where the length of hose enables significant exchange between ambient and the flowing gas or where the ambient temperature can vary over a significant range.
One such application where these problems arise is in air supply hoses to crew members of tanks and other military vehicles.
These and other problems are avoided with the hose assembly according to the present invention.

Flexible gas hose assembly with concentric helical tube members having reinforcement spring coils


A disposable safe vein transfusion puncture needle comprising a needle head (4), a needle base (3), a needle sheath sleeved on the needle head (4), and a hose (6) communicated with the needle base (3), and further comprising a plurality of slidable components (1, 2) and a plurality of limiting mechanisms (11, 12, 13, 21, 31, 32), wherein the needle base (3) is in a tubular shape, with one end stationary and communicated with the needle head (4) and the other end connected to the hose (6); each of the slidable components (1, 2) is in a tubular shape and has two open ends, the plurality of slidable components (1, 2) are sleeved on one another, the innermost slidable component (1) is movably sleeved onto the needle base (3), and a sum of lengths of the plurality of slidable components (1, 2) in a moving direction is longer than the length of the needle head (4); the limiting mechanisms (11, 12, 13, 21, 31, 32) are disposed on the plurality of slidable components (1, 2) as well as on the needle base (3). By providing a plurality of slidable components (1, 2) sleeved on the needle base (3) in a layered manner, the operating portion length of the disposable safe vein transfusion puncture needle is made shorter, and by unfolding the slidable components (1, 2) layer by layer so as to shield the needle head (4) during use and after use, the safety level is increased and the pain suffered by the patient is alleviated.

Currently, commonly used disposable intravenous needles need to be sleeved with a needle sheath before use, so as to protect the needle head from being bent or bumped. During use, when the needle sheath is removed, a risk of puncture wound is easily caused. But the real danger is at the disposing stage after a transfusion is completed, when the needle has been pulled out from inside a body of a patient that has received transfusion, for discard disposal of the needle, the needle is put into a special disposal box or covered with a needle sheath, and as a result, a risk of puncture wound is easily caused, which might leads to serious consequences such as infection suffered by the medical staff.
In order to deal with such defect, some intravenous needle utilizes a technical means of retractable needle, wherein, after a transfusion is completed, by using an elastic force of a structure such as a spring, the needle head retracts into a protection sheath for protecting the needle head. As such, although the needle head is effectively protected and the medical staff is prevented from being wounded by puncture, however, a great deal of pain is suffered by the patient because of the mechanical motion of the retraction of the needle head.
On the other hand, when the retractable needle retracts, because the retractable mechanical structure thereof usually has gaps which might nip the skin of the patient, more pain might be suffered by the patient.

Disposable safe vein transfusion puncture needle


An elevated walkway support system comprising a plurality of horizontal support members supporting said walkway above a foundation, the horizontal support members adapted for attachment at first ends thereof to one or more associated supports; and a plurality of adjustable length braces extending between second ends of respective ones of the horizontal support members and the foundation at a location closer to the first ends than the second ends in a horizontal direction.

This invention relates to an adaptable and adjustable structural support system for use in walkway and/or stairway constructions, with or without associated external piping supports.
In present plant construction practice, walkways, stairways and external piping supports are separately designed and installed to meet specific plant requirements, in further combination with associated piers and/or foundations utilized to support base components of the walkways and stairways.
The present invention seeks to eliminate the need for the special design, manufacture, shipping and installation of separate support systems for walkways, stairways, external piping and the like. The present invention also reduces the number of piers and/or foundations typically required to support such structures. The present invention also eliminates the current problem of interference between independent walkways and nearby piping supports. Piping supports are brackets or hangers used to support pipes of all kinds, extending generally along a walkway.
Thus, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a low-cost, manufacturing/installation-efficient system which integrates walkway and/or stairway supports and including piping supports where appropriate, and which provides flexibility by allowing adjustment for otherwise unpredictable variations in the main unit or plant foundation.
To this end, and in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a telescoping, pivotally mountable brace is provided which may be used with the main centerline foundation to augment unit mounted, cantilevered supports. An easily mountable extension for the cantilevered supports is also provided for use as a piping support.
More specifically, in a first exemplary embodiment the present invention provides a structural support system for a horizontally oriented walkway extending in a longitudinal direction and otherwise supported by a plurality of transversely extending supports, axially spaced along the length of the walkway. Such walkways are typically elevated relative to a factory/plant floor or foundation and, of course, it will be appreciated that the height above the floor of foundation can vary almost infinitely between different plants. In accordance with this first exemplary embodiment of the invention, an essentially universal support brace is provided which is adapted to extend between a foundation support at one end and a transverse walkway support at the other. Specifically, the support brace comprises a pair of telescoping tubular members which may be pivotally secured at either end to brackets secured to the foundation and the transverse walkway support. This arrangement allows the tubular support brace to accommodate any number of dimensional changes relating to the height of the walkway above a foundation or floor (within, of course, limits determined by the expanded length of the tubular support). After installation, the interface between the tubular members as well as the pivotal mounting at either end of the brace may be welded to increase the overall rigidity and strength of the support while precluding any axial or pivotal movement of the brace relative to the foundation and/or the transverse walkway supports.
In this first exemplary embodiment, extensions may be provided for any appropriate number of the transverse walkway supports for mounting external piping support hangers which enable the piping to extend along but below the walkway so that the piping is easily accessible but does not interfere with the walkway and/or any of the supports or support braces utilized in conjunction therewith.
In a second exemplary embodiment of the invention, the above described support brace is utilized at a location where a stairway is provided for reaching the walkway from the ground or foundation level. In this instance, a triangular support arrangement is created by means of one tubular support brace extending from the foundation to one end of the transverse walkway support; the stairway stringer plate which extends from the upper end of the support brace and same end of the transverse walkway support to the foundation; and a second tubular support brace (similar to the first, but with a greater length) extending horizontally between the bottom end of the first support brace and the bottom end of the stairway stringer. Since the first and second support braces are adjustable in length, they may be advantageously utilized in any number of situations where walkways and stairways are combined, and as already noted, will accommodate walkways located at different heights above the foundation which not only determines the length requirement of the first brace, but which will also bear on the length requirement for the second, horizontal support brace.
Thus, the present invention provides simple, low cost support structures which are adaptable to any number of walkway and/or walkway/stairway arrangements, eliminating the need for custom designed support structures otherwise necessary for each application.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.


A process, system and apparatus for changing the concentration in an anesthesia apparatus with a fresh gas metering unit (14) and a pressure sensor (17) in the breathing circuit, with a volume displacement device (1) in the inspiration branch and a PEEP/PMAX valve (7) in the expiration branch. The fresh gas metering unit (14), the pressure sensor (17), the volume displacement unit (1) and the PEEP/PMAX valve (7) are connected to an evaluating and control unit (15). To bring about a rapid change in the concentration of the anesthetic or fresh gas supplied in the breathing circuit without additional design effort on the anesthesia apparatus the volume displacement device (1) is rinsed, either under the control of the fresh gas supply or under the control of the speed at which the volume displacement device (1) is returned. The rinsing takes place simultaneously with the regular respiration operation of the anesthesia apparatus, which may take place in a volume-controlled or pressure-controlled manner.

The present invention pertains to a process for changing the concentration in an anesthesia apparatus with a breathing circuit with an inspiration branch and an expiration branch, with a fresh gas metering unit and a pressure sensor in the breathing circuit, with a volume displacement means in the inspiration branch and a PEEP/PMAX valve in the expiration branch, wherein the fresh gas metering unit, the pressure sensor, the volume displacement means and the PEEP/PMAX valve are connected to an evaluating and control unit.
Anesthesia apparatus which have a volume displacement means as the breathing gas delivery unit for the tidal volume to be applied in the patient have the problem that especially at low respiratory minute volumes, i.e., at low volume displacements per minute, called RMV for short, a change in the anesthetic or fresh gas concentration reaches the patient only very slowly. The cause of this is that the anesthetic or fresh gas fed in newly is not distributed immediately uniformly in the entire breathing circuit of the anesthesia apparatus but gas segments with the new concentration, consisting of anesthetic, fresh gas and a certain percentage of expired gas, move to the patient gradually through the inspiration branch of the breathing circuit with the inspiration stroke. The gas segments with the new concentration are moving toward the patient at a speed proportional to the respiratory minute volume. If very small tidal volumes are to be applied, which occurs, e.g., in the case of neonatal respiration, and also in the case of long tubes, it may take several minutes before the change in concentration in the breathing circuit can be detected at the mouthpiece leading to the patient.
This process cannot be expedited by increasing the fresh gas supply, which will hereinafter also increase fresh gas containing an anesthetic, because anesthesia apparatus with volume displacement means usually operate uncoupled from the fresh gas. If the fresh gas supply is increased, the portion of the fresh gas supply exceeding the respiratory minute volume is discharged unused via the anesthetic gas discharge without a rapid change in concentration taking place at the mouthpiece leading to the patient.
DE 40 04 034 C2 describes an anesthesia respirator with a ventilator as a breathing gas delivery unit, with which a changed set point of an anesthetic gas component can be preset in a time-optimized manner. The control circuit for the system parameters of the breathing circuit is disconnected for a defined period of time, during which the breathing circuit can be flooded with the gaseous anesthetic to be changed. The control circuit is closed again only when a concentration value close to the new set point to be set is reached, as a result of which the controller influences the metering unit of the anesthetic gas in question for setting the new set point.
The drawback of the prior-art anesthesia respirator is that a complicated control circuit is necessary, by means of which a changed anesthetic gas concentration can be brought about in the breathing circuit.
The object of the present invention is to provide a process with which a rapid change in the concentration of the anesthetic or fresh gas being fed can be brought about in the breathing circuit of an anesthesia apparatus without additional design effort.
According to the invention, a process is provided for changing the concentration in an anesthesia apparatus with a breathing circuit. An inspiration branch and an expiration branch are provided with a fresh gas metering unit and a pressure sensor in the breathing circuit, with a volume displacement device in the inspiration branch and a PEEP/PMAX valve in the expiration branch. The fresh gas metering unit, the pressure sensor, the volume displacement device and the PEEP/PMAX valve are connected to an evaluating and control unit. The volume displacement device is completely returned, and the fresh gas supply by the fresh gas metering unit is at the same time increased via the evaluating and control unit such that the volume displacement device is completely filled with the fresh gas fed in. The volume displacement device is moved forward completely, and a set pressure preset on the PEEP/PMAX value is not exceeded in the breathing circuit.
According to another aspect if the invention, a process is provided for changing the concentration in an anesthesia apparatus with a breathing circuit. An inspiration branch and an expiration branch are provided with a fresh gas metering unit and a pressure sensor in the breathing circuit, with a volume displacement device in the inspiration branch and a PEEP/PMAX valve in the expiration branch. The fresh gas metering unit, the pressure sensor, the volume displacement device and the PEEP/PMAX valve are connected to an evaluating and control unit. The fresh gas supply from the fresh gas metering unit is set at the maximum amount that can be metered, and the volume displacement device, controlled by the evaluating and control unit, is returned at the same time at such a speed that the total amount of fresh gas fed by the fresh gas metering unit is taken up by the volume displacement device. The volume displacement device is moved completely forward, and a pressure preset on the PEEP/PMAX valve is not exceeded in the breathing circuit.
One advantage of the process according to the present invention is that a change in concentration reaches the patient very rapidly i.e., within one to three respiration cycles, doing so due to a rinsing operation during the regular operation of the anesthesia apparatus to which the patient is connected.
As an alternative, the rinsing of a volume displacement unit, which displaces the tidal volume to be applied to the patient, can be performed by complete filling with fresh gas either under the control of the fresh gas supply or under the control of the speed, at which speed the volume displacement device is returned for the fresh gas filling. The fresh gas supply and the speed of return are coordinated with one another in both cases such that the volume displacement device is filled completely with fresh gas, and the smallest possible amount of fresh gas is lost unused via the anesthetic gas discharge.
Besides the volume displacement device, the absorber can be rinsed as well. Depending on whether and how the volume displacement device is located in the inspiration branch of the breathing circuit or in another area of the breathing circuit, it must be subsequently rinsed after the rinsing of the volume displacement device, or it can be rinsed already simultaneously in the second case, as a result of which the entire process is shortened in time.
Moreover, the process according to the present invention can be used in a versatile manner, namely, for both pressure-controlled respiration and volume-controlled respiration, and only an additional process step is to be performed first in the latter case, namely, the end inspiratory pressure is measured in the breathing circuit and the measured value is stored in order to preset in the last step a maximum pressure below which the volume displacement device is moved forward. The possibility of use covers volume displacement device which displace the volume in their front range of displacement and in their rear range of displacement alike.
Further details of the present invention will be explained on the basis of the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

Process for changing the concentration in an anesthesia apparatus


Technologies including computer implemented methods and systems are described herein for providing instantiation of virtual machines from backups. Systems and methods disclosed herein do not require restoring the complete contents of a virtual machine from a backup prior to using the virtual machine. Systems and methods presented herein allow creating and running a virtual machine directly from a virtual machine backup. Virtual machines created and maintained by the virtual machine instantiation system may be, in turn, used for backup consistency testing, disaster recovery testing, or granular item-level restore.

The present invention generally relates to computer implemented methods and systems for providing instantiation of virtual machines from backups.
Many business information technology workloads are virtualized in the present and this is an ongoing trend. Backing up virtualized data and applications is a common practice. There exist many software and hardware solutions for backing up and restoring virtual machines. One key part of a backup solution is the restore system that allows for the retrieval of data from backup in the event of a disaster.
As might be expected, users of a backup solution often want to be sure of the consistency of their backups. Conventionally, such consistency can be confirmed by making a production virtual machine restore, e.g. by creating a new virtual machine and copying the backup to the new virtual machine. However, such a restore typically requires the entire set of virtual machine data from the backup to be copied to the restore location before the consistency of the backup can be verified.
A need exists for improvement in backup verification. This need and other needs are addressed by one or more aspects of the present invention.

Systems and methods for instantiation of virtual machines from backups