A method of restoring register mapper states for an out-of-order microprocessor. A processor maps a logical register to a physical register in a map table in response to a first instruction. Instruction sequencing logic records a second speculatively executed instruction as a most recently dispatched instruction in the map table when the second instruction maps the same logical register of the first instruction. The instruction sequencing logic sets an evictor instruction tag (ITAG) of the first instruction in the map table when the second instruction maps a same logical register of the first instruction. The instruction sequencing logic detects mispredicted speculative instructions, determines which instructions in the map table were dispatched prior to the mispredicted speculative instructions, and restores the map table to a state prior to the mispredicted speculative instructions by utilizing the evictor ITAG to restore one or more A bits in the map table data structure.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems and in particular to microprocessors. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and system for restoring register mapper states for an out-of-order microprocessor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional microprocessors utilize on-chip cache memory to increase memory access rates. Cache memory includes one or more levels of dedicated high-speed memory for storing recently accessed instructions and data. Cache memory technology is based on the premise that microprocessors frequently re-execute the same instructions and/or execute different instructions using recently accessed data. An instruction that depends on one or more preceding instructions to load required data into working operand registers cannot execute until all of the required data has been retrieved from cache or main memory. Furthermore, execution units cannot predict how long it may take to load data into the working operand registers. Older microprocessors handled this uncertainty by delaying execution until the required data is fetched (i.e., by "stalling" the execution pipeline).
Conventional microprocessors utilize speculative instruction execution to address pipeline stalls by enabling a second instruction that is data-dependent on a first instruction to enter an execution pipeline before the first instruction has passed completely through the execution pipeline. In microprocessors that utilize speculative instruction execution, there is a delay between the decision to issue an instruction and the actual execution of the instruction. Thus, in the case of load instructions, there may be a significant delay between the issue of a load instruction and the corresponding data fetch from cache memory. A consumer load instruction, dependent on a delayed instruction, may be issued before confirmation by the cache system that the required load data is available in the cache. When the required load data is not found in the cache, dependent consumer load instructions can execute and access incorrect data.
In order to maintain correctness, microprocessors flush incorrectly executed speculative instructions and their results. Conventional microprocessors detect and correct such misspeculation by tracking instruction dependencies using large physical register mappers, taking "snapshots" of the entire mapper before every instruction dispatch, and rolling back the snapshots to the one taken just before the instruction(s) that caused the exception. The register mappers enable dependency chains to be established based on the snapshots. However these register mapper snapshots are complex and typically consume large amounts of area and power, since many snapshots are usually needed. To enable recovery from cache flushes, microprocessors can also save a previous physical register state for each instruction group and for each physical register type, but this also requires a large amount of memory area and slows the process of register state recovery.

Method and system for restoring register mapper states for an out-of-order microprocessor

International Business Machines Corporation


A system and method for configuring a software defined radio is disclosed. In an embodiment, a smart card and smart card reader are used to access layered information pre-programmed into a software defined radio. The smartcard reader extracts configuration information from the smart card and the configuration information is used to configure the software defined radio. The configuration may include, communication protocols, modulation/demodulation techniques, digital processing protocols, coding/decoding techniques, security authorization; operational protocols, and other information. Individual users may be given different levels of access depending on, among other things, the user's service requirements, mission requirements, security clearance, and/or authorization level. The disclosed systems and methods significantly reduce the amount of time and training required for personnel to establish communications using a software defined radio.

Software-Defined Radio ("SDR") is a rapidly evolving technology that is receiving enormous recognition and generating widespread interest in the telecommunication industry. Over the last few years, analog radio systems are being replaced by digital radio systems for various radio applications in military, civilian and commercial spaces. In addition, programmable hardware modules are increasingly being used in digital radio systems at different functional levels. One goal of SDR is to take advantage of these programmable hardware modules to build an open-architecture based radio system software protocol.
SDR technology facilitates implementation of some of the functional modules in a radio system such as modulation/demodulation, signal generation, coding and link-layer protocols in software. This enables reconfigurable software radio systems where dynamic selection of parameters for each of the above-mentioned functional modules is possible. A complete hardware based radio system has limited utility since parameters for each of the functional modules are fixed. A radio system built using SDR technology extends the utility of the system for a wide range of applications that use, for example, different link-layer protocols and modulation/demodulation techniques.
The commercial wireless communication industry is currently facing problems due to, for instance, the constant evolution of link-layer protocol standards (2.5 G, 3 G and 4 G), the existence of incompatible wireless network technologies in different countries which inhibits the deployment of global roaming facilities, and in rolling out new services and/or features to the vast number of legacy subscriber radios which may not be 100% compatible with each other.
SDR solves these problems by implementing the radio functionality as software modules running on a generic hardware platform. Further, multiple software modules implementing different standards can be stored in the radio system. The system can take on different "personalities" depending on the software module being used. Additionally, the software modules that implement new services and/or features can be downloaded over the air onto the radios. These examples of the flexibility offered by SDR systems is indicative of the capabilities of SDR systems in dealing with problems due to the existing plethora of radio standards and issues related to deployment of new services and/or features.
The U.S. military also has a significant radio interoperability problem. The story is often told of army troops calling in air support to Grenada using their personal calling cards and using Fort Bragg as an intermediary to communicate.
Interoperability problems are also an obstacle in international joint operations (military and/or civilian), where each nation typically has its own radio systems and standards. Recent emphasis on peacekeeping, disaster relief, homeland security and other non-combat military operations has exacerbated the problem. In these roles, military units must communicate with public safety agencies, humanitarian organizations, and the civilian population. A single SDR device with the ability to support multiple waveforms significantly reduces the number of devices needed in the field. For military users, who must maintain, transport, supply power to, and manage each device under challenging operational conditions, the benefit of a streamlined system is substantial.
SDR also promises to reduce military radio development and acquisition cost. Without SDR, new device development requires investing anew in the implementation of each supported communication standard. With SDR, the bulk of implementation knowledge for a communication standard is captured in portable software, which can be reused at low cost in new or different platforms. This software reuse holds the potential to revolutionize radio procurement economics by significantly increasing competition among platform vendors, leading to reduced per-unit costs.
Public safety agencies in the United States and other countries also struggle with interoperability problems when collaborating with other public safety agencies.
In major emergency situations, from floods to plane crashes, a large number of local, state and federal agencies respond to the scene each having a radio that may not be compatible with the radio used by another responding agency. The incompatible radios, ranging from legacy analog FM systems, to digital trunked radios and even commercial cell phones, leave the agencies unable to efficiently communicate with each other. Decentralized purchasing decisions typically lead to the situation where different agencies within different municipalities acquire the radio systems that best meet that particular agency's needs without the though of interoperability problems with other agencies with whom interaction is foreseeable. As a result of this acquisition process, the voice and data communications systems of different agencies cannot interoperate and their databases cannot share information.
In a mutual aid scenario, multiple agencies must work together and communicate with little opportunity for prior planning, frequently outside the range of fixed communications infrastructure and in difficult terrain. It is unknown when and where the response will be necessary, and who will be involved. Ensuring interoperability in this context requires an extremely flexible and rapidly deployable solution.
SDRs provide software control for a variety of modulation techniques, wide-band or narrow-band operation, communications security functions, and waveform requirements of current and evolving standards over a broad frequency range. SDR software modules may operate on a generic hardware platform consisting of digital signal processing and general purpose microprocessors used to implement radio functions such as generation of a transmitted signal at the transmitter and tuning/detection of a received radio signal at the receiver.
SDR can be used to implement military, commercial and civilian radio applications as described above. A wide range of radio applications including, but not limited to, AM, AMSSB, FM, PSK, QPSK, FSK, AMPS, GSM, Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, Radar, WCDMA, GPRS, TDMA, QAM, FDMA, TDD, CDMA, etc. can be implemented using SDR technology.
The radio functions of SDR may be implemented as software modules. Multiple software modules that implement different standards can co-exist in the radio equipment and radios. An appropriate software module can be chosen to operate depending on, for example, network requirements. This enables in establishing multi-mode radios and equipment resulting in ubiquitous connectivity irrespective of the underlying network technology used.
SDR technology supports over the air upload of software modules to subscriber radios. This enables network operators as well as radio manufacturers to perform mass customization of radios by uploading appropriate software modules thereby resulting in faster deployment of new services and/or features.
One of the key features of SDR is its reconfigurability. SDR allows for the co-existence of multiple software modules implementing different standards on the same system allowing dynamic configuration of the system by selecting the appropriate software module to be run. This dynamic configuration is possible both in radios as well as infrastructure equipment. This ability to reconfigure facilitates implementation of future proof, multi-service, multi-mode, multi-band, multi-standard terminals and infrastructure equipment.
SDR enables implementation of air interface standards as software modules and multiple instances of such modules that implement different standards can co-exist in infrastructure equipment and radios. This capability is key in realizing global roaming facility.
The potential benefits of SDR are manifold. Up to now, the configuration and reconfiguration required to achieve these benefits of the SDR have involved time intensive effort. Trained personnel have been required to manually configure or select the software modules to enable operation of the SDR.
Currently, military communications systems require significant operator intervention during the setup and configuration prior to and during operations. This encumbers the dynamic reconfiguration potential of SDRs. An object of the present disclosure is the use of a smart card system to access layered information already programmed into the system. Another object is to significantly decrease the amount of time and personnel training required for establishing communications, thus enabling SDRs to better realize their full potential utility.
These and many other objects and advantages of the disclosed subject matter will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

System and method for configuring a software radio


Methods and systems are described herein for providing configuration and access control of a card reader using a secure channel between the card reader and a remote computing device. The card reader transmits a request for service to the remote computing device via a cloud-based communications network. The remote computing device receives the request for service via the cloud-based communications network and generates service instructions based on the received request for service. The remote computing device transmits the service instructions to the card reader via the cloud-based communications network. The card reader receives the service instructions from the remote computing device via the cloud-based communications network and configures operational settings based on the received service instructions.

Traditionally, card readers are associated with an access point to a system or building. In a physical access control system, card readers are commonly located at a door and each person who is authorized to enter the premises carries an access card that interacts with the readers. The access card can contain a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip which stores a code number in its memory. The code number can be a single value or stored in multiple fields that correspond to, e.g., a serial number and a facility code to designate a building or series of buildings. The ASIC or RFID chip within the card is connected to an antenna, and the card is able to communicate to the reader using an inductive coupling, commonly referred to as RFID.
The reader typically sends out an interrogating signal at 125 KHz to 134 KHz, known as Low Frequency (LF). Other frequencies are also used; for example, another frequency band known as HF operates at the singular frequency of 13.56 Mhz. The card is presented to the reader (e.g., by being placed in proximity to the reader), and the reader reads a message from the card. The reader is programmed to strip the message of its overhead structure, and reformat the message in a standardized data stream which the reader sends to a control panel. For example, the standardized format can be the so-called Wiegand code. The control panel may or may not recognize the card as belonging to the population of authorized entrants. If the card is recognized as authorized, the panel takes appropriate action to open the door which generally involves setting a relay that sends an electric current to activate a device at the door (e.g., a magnetic strike or lock).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 100 comprising a card access control reader 103 connected to a control panel 101, as illustrated in the art. The reader 103 is connected to the control panel 101 via connection 102 (e.g., Wiegand interface). A card 104 is presented to the reader 103 (e.g., by passing the card in close proximity to the reader, or touching the card to the reader) using an RFID signal 105, and the reader 103 receives a message from the card 104.
Traditionally, card readers are programmed to be responsive to one type of card. Furthermore, the reader generally accepts a card only if the reader has been programmed to understand or acknowledge certain predetermined data formats coming from the card. Types of data formats include, but are not limited to, Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Phase Shift Keying (PSK). The length of the messages can be different, ranging typically from 24 bits to 64 bits. The means by which the card indicates the beginning and end of a message also includes many different types, for example, Manchester encoding cessation or embedding of a string of ones or zeroes to mark the data field boundaries. Also, within the data fields once they are decoded, it is typical to have facility code and serial numbers in field lengths that are different for different situations.
The reader does not usually make the final decision as to whether a card is valid or not. If the card is of the correct format, the reader sends the now-decoded data stream via a message to a control panel which may be connected to a number of readers. The data stream is typically of the aforementioned Wiegand type, which is a self-clocking three wire protocol used in many access control systems, or utilizes serial communication with RS-232 or RS-485 based protocols. The control panel includes or is coupled to a database that consists of a list of authorized card numbers as well as facility codes. When the panel sees a card that is authorized, the panel operates a relay connected to one or more electromechanical devices on the door, such as a magnetic strike, and the door is allowed to open.
Although the card reader at the door is not typically responsible to make the final decision about the validity of a card, it is advantageous in certain circumstances for the reader to contain a list of disenrolled or invalid cards (also called a revocation list) or to check proper data integrity and formatting, so that the reader itself decides not to send to the control panel a code that was previously taken off the allowed list or is not properly read.
The reader is typically equipped with a light-emitting diode (LED) and a sounding device (e.g., a beeper). The LED and beeper devices can be programmed to behave in different ways depending on the reader's ultimate action.
During its life, a card reader may require maintenance such as:                Changing the data format of cards that should be acceptable to the reader;        Configuring the LED to light up or blink when a card is read, is accepted, or configuring the LED not to light up at all;        Configuring the beeper to beep when a card is read, is accepted, or configuring the beeper not to beep at all;        Running diagnostic routines such as: verifying that the power supplies are within limits, the tamper switch has not been disturbed, or other similar routines; and        Loading a list of cards previously accepted but now invalid or disenrolled from the access control system.
Typically, card reader maintenance requires a technician to visit the location of the reader and perform certain manual tasks to the reader. Such maintenance increases the costs associated with the system and adds time to complete the maintenance process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A content distribution system has a DNS server which is configured to provide DNS responses in response to DNS requests, and a device which interconnects between a client and the DNS server. The device includes an interface which communicates with the client, and a controller coupled to the interface. The controller can intercept a first DNS request en route from the client to the DNS server, and provide a second DNS request to the DNS server through the interface in response to interception of the first DNS request. The second DNS request selectively includes a client identifier which identifies the client, and not including the client identifier which identifies the client, based on a selection decision. The controller can further convey a DNS response from the DNS server to the client through the interface. The DNS response includes a content server identifier which identifies a content server.

A conventional content delivery network (CDN) includes, among other things, a set of content servers and a set of CDN request handlers. The content servers typically store and provide content to clients on behalf of the hosted domains (e.g., provides web content to computers running browser applications in response to HTTP requests). The CDN request handlers, which are commonly referred to as content routers, typically provide Internet addresses to enable the clients to properly identify particular content servers within the CDN. Further details of how content routers provide such Internet addresses will now be provided.
Generally, when a CDN client (i.e., a web browser) wishes to obtain content from a hosted domain, the client begins by sending a Domain Name System (DNS) request for the desired domain name to a DNS proxy server. The DNS proxy server (perhaps through other DNS proxy servers) communicates with content router on behalf of the client in order to obtain an IP address of a content delivery site of the hosted domain. In particular, the DNS proxy server sends, to the content router, a DNS request containing the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the DNS proxy server but not containing the IP address of the client. The content router typically responds to the DNS request by selecting and returning the IP address of a content delivery site that is closest to the DNS proxy server. Accordingly, in this conventional approach, when clients are near the DNS proxy server from a network perspective, the content router selects content delivery sites which are close to the clients.

Methods and apparatus for providing domain name service based on a client identifier


In an optical device comprising a substrate and a package for receiving the substrate on a bottom surface of the package, a block is fixed to an upper surface of the substrate by a low melting-point glass or a solder. The block is made of a welding material and welded to a predetermined part on a wall surface of the package. The substrate has at least one photoelectric element or optical waveguide on the upper surface. An optical fiber is fixed to the package and optically coupled to the photoelectric element or the optical waveguide through a first perforation of the package. The block may be welded to the wall surface of the package made of a welding material. The substrate may have an internal surface which defines a second perforation exposing a predetermined area of the bottom surface. The block is brought into contact with the second internal surface and the predetermined area and welded to the predetermined area.

This invention relates to an optical device which comprises a substrate, the package for receiving the substrate, and an optical fiber fixed to the package.
A conventional optical device is disclosed by Yasuhisa Tanisawa et al in a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 881,187 filed on May 11, 1992 and assigned to the instant assignee. In the manner which will later be described more in detail, the conventional optical device comprises a substrate, a package, and an optical fiber. The package has a bottom surface and a wall surface which define in cooperation an installation space for receiving the substrate with the substrate brought into contact with the bottom surface. The substrate is attached to the bottom surface by a resin binder. The package has a first internal surface which defines a first perforation.
A plurality of photoelectric elements are formed on the substrate. A plurality of optical elements, such as a lens and an optical filter, are mounted on the substrate. The optical fiber is coupled to the optical elements and the photoelectric elements through the first perforation of the package.
Inasmuch as a thermal expansion coefficient of the resin binder is large, a position of the substrate displaces in response to a change of temperature. As a result, positions of the photoelectric elements and the optical elements change in response to the change of temperature.
Inasmuch as a time of cure of the resin binder is several tens of minutes to several hours, it is impossible to quickly manufacture the conventional optical device.
Inasmuch as a gas is produced from the resin binder, the gas tarnishes the photoelectric elements and the optical elements.

Optical device capable of reliably fixing a substrate to a package


A Pdia4 inhibitor for use in preventing, alleviating and/or treating diabetes and/or diabetes-related complications in a subject in need thereof is disclosed, wherein the Pdia4 inhibitor does not comprise cytopiloyene. A Pdia4 inhibitor and one other anti-diabetic agent for use in combination therapy in preventing, alleviating, treating diabetes and diabetes-related complications, and/or reversing diabetes in a subject in need thereof is also disclosed, wherein the Pdia4 inhibitors for use in combination therapy may comprise cytopiloyene. Also disclosed are methods for diagnosing, treating and monitoring diabetes, and methods of screening for a Pdia4 inhibitor and/or an anti-diabetic agent.

Current anti-diabetic agents, including insulin sensitizers, insulin releasers, α-glucosidase inhibitor, incretin-based drugs (GLP-1 analogues and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors), SGLT2 inhibitors and others have been developed to control glucose homeostasis via different mechanisms. However, the above therapeutics can only improve Type 2 diabetes (T2D) symptoms but fails to reverse the disorder. Evidence from human and animal studies suggests that T2D is characterized by reduced functional β-cell mass that cannot adapt insulin secretion to compensate for escalating insulin resistance driving T2D development (FIG. 1). Preclinical and clinical data showed that the β-cell function and mass continued declining, leading to T2D progression. Accumulating data suggest that this decline could be stabilized, delayed and even reversed especially at the early stages of diabetes, raising the possibility that preserving functional mass is essential for preventing and curing T2D. However, no anti-diabetic drugs have clinically been proven effective for preserving β-cell mass and function though TZDs and GLP-1 analogues were reported to prevent β-cell atrophy in preclinical animals.
The family of protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) play role in mammalian development and diseases. There are 9 PDI members containing 1 to 3 CGHC active sites in human. Among the 9 human PDIs, Pdia-4 is the only PDI member with 3 CGHC motifs. Nothing is known about the gene function of Pdia-4 in cell growth and viability in pancreatic β cells, let alone its role in diabetes.

Pdia4 protein as a target for diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of diabetes


An array of pixels in a liquid crystal silicon light valve are fabricated with a minimum of surface topology by forming raised dielectric spacer walls on an underlying array support surface prior to the deposition of the metal pixel electrode layer. Deposition of the metal pixel electrode layer, followed by chemical-mechanical polishing to stop on the top of the spacer walls, produces an electrode surface that is flush with the tops of the dielectric spacer walls. This resulting planarity in the surface of the pixel cell array minimizes surface topology exhibited by the array, maximizing reflectance of the light valve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light valves, and in particular, to light valves utilizing self-aligned thin liquid crystal pixel cells having metal electrodes that are electronically isolated from one another by dielectric spacer walls flush with the electrode surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent in high-density projection display devices. These display devices typically include a light source which passes light through a light valve.
One of the methods for producing colors in a liquid crystal display is to sequentially project light having a wavelength corresponding to a primary color onto a single light valve. Color sequential light valves create a spectrum of color within the range of the human perception by switching between a set of discrete primary colors. Typically, red, green, and blue are the primary tri-stimulus colors used to create the remaining colors of the spectrum.
Specifically, during projection of each primary color, the light intensity is modulated such that combination of the intensities of the primary colors in sequence produces the desired color. The frequency of switching between the primary wavelengths by the light valve should be sufficiently rapid to render discrete primary states indistinguishable to the human eye. Two factors dictate the minimum frequency necessary for switching.
The first factor is the ability of the human eye to detect the discrete primary colors (e.g., red, green, blue). At slower than ideal switching speeds, the human eye will detect a flicker and the primaries may not blend.
The second factor determining the frequency of switching is the video refresh rate. During display of video images, the individual frames must be refreshed at frequencies undetectable to the human eye.
The net frequency of switching demanded by the combination of sequential color blending and video refreshing is beyond the capabilities of light valves that utilize thick (>1 .mu.m) liquid crystal (LC) transducers. However, thin (<1 .mu.m) liquid crystal transducers have been successfully fabricated. These thin LC transducers demonstrate adequate color sequential blending at video refresh rates. One example of such a thin LC transducer pixel cell structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,067, to Colgan et al.
In general, the conventional thin LC transducer pixel cells possess enhanced responsiveness due to the decreased volume of liquid crystal material between the top and bottom plates. A smaller volume enables the liquid crystal to shift orientation more quickly and in response to a lower applied voltage.
FIG. 1A shows a top view of a conventional thin LC transducer pixel cell. FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the thin liquid crystal transducer along line A-A' of FIG. 1A.
Thin LC transducer pixel cell 100 comprises a layer of liquid crystal (LC) material 102 sandwiched between a top plate 104 and a bottom plate 106. Top plate 104 is a translucent material, typically glass. Bottom plate 106 is a reflective pixel electrode layer.
Pixel electrode layer 106 is delineated into individual pixel electrodes 130 by intervening trenches 118. Pixel electrode layer 106 lies on top of an upper intermetal dielectric layer 112 that is one component of an interconnect scheme. The interconnect overlies a capacitor structure formed within an underlying silicon substrate (not shown). Upper intermetal dielectric layer 112 electrically insulates pixel electrode 130 from lower metallization layer 114. The underlying capacitor structure is in electrical communication with pixel electrode 130 through metal-filled via 116.
FIGS. 2AA-2DB illustrate the conventional process for forming a thin LC transducer pixel cell. For purposes of convention, all FIG. 2.sub.-- A illustrate a top view of the pixel cell, all FIG. 2.sub.-- B illustrate a cross-sectional view of the pixel cell along line A-A' of the FIG. 2.sub.-- A.
FIGS. 2AA-2AB illustrate the starting point for the conventional process for fabricating a thin LC transducer pixel cell. Starting structure 200 is created by forming an upper intermetal dielectric layer 212 over a lower interconnect metallization layer 214. A central portion of upper intermetal dielectric layer 212 is then etched to form via 216. A liner (not shown) typically composed of a Ti/TiN layer combination, is then formed on the walls of via 216, and via 216 is filled with metal (typically CVD Tungsten). Excess metal is then removed from the surface of upper dielectric layer 212, typically by a combination of etching and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP).
FIGS. 2BA-2BB illustrate formation of the metal pixel electrode in accordance with the conventional process. Metal pixel electrode layer 206 is formed over the entire surface of the pixel cell.
FIGS. 2CA-2CB illustrate patterning of a photoresist mask 207 over pixel electrode layer 206. FIGS. 2DA-2DB show the etching of regions of pixel electrode layer 206 unmasked by photoresist 207, to form a plurality of intersecting trenches 218, followed by stripping of photoresist mask 207. Intersecting trenches 218 in turn define a plurality of discrete pixel cell electrodes 230.
Fabrication of the thin LC transducer pixel cell is completed by forming an alignment surface (not shown) for the LC material positioned on top of the pixel electrode. Forming this alignment surface is a two step process. First, a dielectric film (typically polyimide) is deposited on top of the pixel electrode. Second, the dielectric film is scored by a rubbing wheel, which traverses the surface of the pixel cell and gouges the alignment surface in a uniform direction. Liquid crystal material is then placed within the cell, and a top glass plate is secured to the tops of the support pillars.
The conventional fabrication process described above in FIGS. 2AB-2DB is adequate to produce functional thin LC transducer pixel cells. However, the conventional process flow suffers from a number of serious disadvantages.
One problem with the process described above is that it creates significant pixel surface topology that can result in optical degradation.
Liquid crystal material overlying the pixel electrode has the propensity to align and/or tilt with the grooves caused by any topology present on the surface of the pixel cell. LC alignment is a critical system attribute. The alignment of the twisted nematic LC dictates which polarization of incident light will pass through the LC's volume. In the context of a complete system, this alignment of the LC material defines either the black or white extreme of the light valve's gray scale. As a result, non-uniformity in alignment due to the presence of surface topology will translate into a poorly constructed display.
In FIGS. 1A-1B, the pixel array includes a plurality of discrete pixel electrodes that are electronically isolated from one another by a series of intersecting trenches having side walls and a trench bottom. These surface topology features can interact with the overlying LC material, causing it to misalign. This misalignment can cause unwanted distortion of the image formed using the light valve.
In addition, surface topology of the pixel cell can also interact directly with incident light, causing reflection that is not harmonious with that of the main body of the pixel electrode. The interaction of light with the pixel topography is due to the isolation edges of the pixel. For example, in the pixel array shown in FIGS. 1A-1B light will scatter from the sidewalls and bottom of the trenches present at the pixel edges. This unwanted scattering reduces the specular reflection of the pixel, and increases optical cross-talk between pixels.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a process of forming a thin LC transducer pixel cell that creates a minimum of surface topology on the pixel cell surface while maintaining electrical isolation between pixel electrodes.
A second problem associated with the conventional method of fabricating light valves is etching of the metal pixel electrode layer to form discrete pixel electrodes. This etch step degrades the reflectance of the pixel electrode. When the metal pixel electrode layer is freshly deposited, it is extremely smooth and exhibits high reflectance desirable for optimum performance. However, etching the metal pixel electrode layer to form the trenches isolating individual pixel electrodes can roughen and/or oxidize the surface of the pixel electrode layer, lowering its reflectance.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a process of forming a thin LC transducer pixel cell that avoids etching or otherwise roughening the surface of the pixel electrode.

Polished self-aligned pixel for a liquid crystal silicon light valve


Techniques are disclosed for pushing configuration changes of a distributed virtual switch from a management server to a plurality of host servers underlying the distributed virtual switch. The approach includes sending, in parallel, by the management server, a message to each of the plurality of host servers. The message specifies a final configuration state for one or more virtual ports emulated via virtualization layers of the host servers. The approach further includes determining, by each of the plurality of host servers, port state configuration changes to make to the virtual ports to achieve the final configuration state, and reconfiguring, by each of the plurality of host servers, their respective virtual ports, to match the final configuration state.

Computer virtualization is a technique that involves encapsulating a computing machine platform into a virtual machine (VM) that is executed under the control of virtualization software running on a single hardware computing platform (also referred to herein as "host server" or "host"). A group of hardware computing platforms may be organized as a cluster to provide resources for VMs. In a data center, it is common to see hundreds, even thousands, of VMs running on multiple clusters of host servers.
An administrator may use virtualization management software to manage virtual machine configurations and computing resource allocations. Because of the large number of VMs managed within some data centers, and sometimes, across multiple data centers, some of the administrator's tasks are automated. For example, software techniques, such as adaptive resource scheduling and adaptive power management, have been developed to assist the administrator in balancing workloads across host servers and powering host servers on and off as needed.
One feature of the virtualized computing environment controlled by the virtualization management software is virtual networking. VMs can be created with software-based virtual network adapters that are logically connected to physical network adapters installed in the host computer. The virtual network adapters are connected to the physical network adapters through software-based virtual switches. One way to manage virtual network connections in data centers with a large number of VMs running on multiple host servers (i.e., host servers) is via a "distributed virtual switch" (DVSwitch) described in US 2009/0292858, incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. DVSwitches permit users to manage virtual switches on multiple host servers as if the ports of those virtual switches belonged to a single switch. Further, DVSwitches persist port runtime states across host servers.
DVSwitches have components residing in both host servers hosting VMs and a management server running virtual management software. Communication between the host servers and the management server can become a bottleneck as the scale of the DVSwitch increases, either in terms of the number of virtual ports in the DVSwitch or in terms of the number of host servers that joined the DVSwitch. In particular, switch configuration changes in the DVSwitch management plane may need to be propagated to a large number of host servers, which impacts the latency of operations. The volume of port runtime data being transmitted between the large number of host servers and the management server and processed by the management server may also negatively affect the performance of the management server and/or the network. That is, increases in the number of host servers, and virtual ports, result in a proportionately large amount of port configuration and runtime state data that must be sent over the network from the management server to the host servers, and vice versa.

Distributed virtual switch configuration and state management


In an approach for modifying a user interface for a user of an application, a processor receives a plurality of actions for a user of an application. A processor generates a unique identifier for each action of the plurality of actions. A processor generates a unique string of the generated unique identifiers for each action of the plurality of actions. A processor determines that a portion of a pattern of the unique string matches, within a predetermined threshold, a portion of a pattern of a history of usage of a set of users of the application. A processor modifies a user interface of the application, for the user, based on the portion of the pattern of the matched unique string, within the predetermined threshold, the portion of the pattern of the history of usage.

The present invention relates generally to the field of application functionality, and more particularly to modifying the user interface of a user using an application based on usage patterns of other users using the same application.
Application software (i.e., an application) is a set of computer programs designed to permit a user to perform a group of coordinated functions, tasks, or activities. Application software is dependent on system software to execute. Examples of an application include, but are not limited to: a word processor, a spreadsheet design and management system, a console game, or a library management system.
In information technology (IT), functionality is the sum or any aspect of what a product, such as a software application or computing device, can do for a user. A product's functionality may be used by marketers to identify product features and enables a user to have a set of capabilities in reference to the product. Functionality may be easy to use or may be very complex.

Modifying application functionality based on usage patterns of other users


An apparatus that provides for the safe and efficient alias analysis for programs written in programming languages which use pointers combines a representation generator with a partitioned based alias analyzer and provides safe alias solutions using partitions to consumers of alias solutions. The source code of the program to be analyzed enters a parser of the representation generator and an abstract syntax tree representation of the syntactic structure of the source program is derived Next, a control flow graph (CFG) builder within the representation generator derives the program's control flow graph for the abstract syntax tree. The control flow graph is then used by the partition based alias analyzer which is divided into three phases; phase one--type one alias effects, phase two--type two alias effects and phase three--function pointer effects, to produce safe alias solutions using partitions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to alias analyzers and more particularly to safe and efficient alias analyzers for programs written in programming languages that use pointers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computer languages require a mechanism to name memory locations. For example, variable declarations associate the variable identifier with a memory location. In most modern computer languages, multiple names can be assigned to the same memory location; such names are called aliases. Languages like C, C++, Fortran 90 and Ada have special variables called pointers. A pointer is a variable which, instead of storing data, stores the addresses of another memory location.
There are two important unary (one-input) operators associated with pointers. The first is the address operator (&) which given a variable yields the memory location of that variable. The second is the dereference operator (*), The meaning of dereferencing variable x (e.g., *x ) depends on whether *x is being written (e.g., the left-hand-side of an assignment statement) or read (e.g., the right-hand-side of an assignment). In the former case, *x is the location stored in x, and in the latter case *x yields the value stored in the location stored in x.
For example, consider:
p=&v; PA0 v=5; PA0 *p=5; PA0 z=v; PA0 z=*p; PA0 Wei80}--W. E. Weihl, Interprocedural Data Flow Analysis in the Presence of Pointers, Procedure Variables and Label Variables, Master's thesis, M.I.T., June 1980. PA0 Cou86!--D. S. Coutant, Retargetable High-level Alias Analysis, In Conference Record of the Thirteenth Annual ACM Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, pages 110-118, January 1986. PA0 Deu92!--A. Deutsch, A Storeless Model Of Aliasing And Its Abstractions Using Finite Representations Of Right-regular Equivalence Relations, In Proceedings of the IEEE 1992 Conference on Computer Languages, pages 2-13, April 1992. PA0 LR92!--W. Landi and B. G. Ryder, A Safe Approximation Algorithm For Interprocedural Pointer Aliasing, In Proceedings of the SIGPLAN '92 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, pages 235-248 June 1992 PA0 CBC93!--Jong-Deok Choi, Michael Burke, and Paul Carini, Efficient Flow-sensitive Interprocedural Computation Of Pointer-induced Aliases And Side Effects, In Conference Record of the Twentieth Annual ACM Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, pages 232-245, January 1993. PA0 BCCH94!--Michael Burke, Paul Carini, J-D. Choi, and M. Hind, Flow-insensitive Interprocedural Alias Analysis In The Presence Of Pointers, In Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Languages and Compilers for Parallel Computing, pages 234-250. Springer-Verlag, August 1994. PA0 DEU94!--A. Deutsch, Interprocedural May-alias Analysis For Pointers: Beyond K-limiting, In Proceedings of the SIGPLAN '94 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, pages 230-241, 1994. PA0 EGH94!--M. Emami, R. Ghiya, and L. J. Hendren, Context-Sensitive Interprocedural Points-to Analysis In The Presence Of Function Pointers, In Proceedings of the SIGPLAN '94 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, pages 242-257, June 1994, Published as SIGPLAN Notices, 29(6) PA0 Ruf95a!--E. Ruf, Context-insensitive Alias Analysis Reconsidered, In Proceedings of the SIGPLAN '95 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, pages 13-22, June 1995. PA0 WL95!--R. Wilson and M. Lam, Efficient Context-sensitive Pointer Analysis For C Programs, In Proceedings of the SIGPLAN '95 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, pages 1-12, June 1995. PA0 Ste96!--B. Steensgaard, Points-to Analysis in Almost Linear Time, In Conference Record of the 23rd Annual ACM Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, pages 32-41, January 1996.
______________________________________ Symbol Table variable memory location ______________________________________ p 1000 v 1050 z 1100 ______________________________________
The assignment p=&v puts 1050 into location 1000 and the name *p is aliased to v. At this point, the names *p and v both refer to location 1050; thus using *p is identical to using v. Thus, v=5 and *p=5 both store 5 in location 1050, and both z=v and z=*p write 5 (the value stored at location 1050) into location 1100 (named z). Variables are different than names like *p, as a variable names the same location for the entire execution of the program but *p max name different locations at different points during the execution: Often a variable is used as the location which the variable names (e.g., location v is used to mean location 1050).
It is also possible to associate names with locations that do not exist when the program is compiled. This is done through dynamic memory allocation. For example, the C statement p=malloc(sizeof(int)) assigns to p some location to which integers can be written. Throughout this description, C syntax; C and pointers are used which are described in C: A Reference Manual by Harbison, S. P. and Steele, G. L. Jr., Prentice Hall, 1984.
The present state of the art in alias analyzers for programs using pointers is a plethora of techniques that work nicely on small programs but can not currently handle realistic size programs. These techniques fall into three general classes: techniques which find an alias solution for each statement, techniques which find an alias solution for each subroutine, and techniques which find one alias solution for the entire program. All of these techniques use pairs of "names" to represent the alias solution. However, in some cases these pairs are alias pairs (e.g., <a,b> represents that a and b are aliased) and in others they are points-to pairs (e.g., <c,d> represents that c points to d and thus *c and d are aliased). In some cases, points-to pairs are expressed as a function that maps a name to the set of names it can point-to. The exact definition of "names" varies from method to method as well as which names are considered by the analyzer. Finally, existing techniques vary significantly in how they account for interprocedural realizable paths. That is, they vary on how they transfer aliases between calling and called subroutines.
The extant techniques of the prior art are summarized in Table 1 below:
______________________________________ published empirical results one alias alias or largest solution points-to program time to technique per pairs size analyze ______________________________________ Wei80! program alias 3,315 18s.sup.a Cou86! program points-to unspecified Deu92! statement alias no implementation reported LR92! statement alias 6,792 44s CBC93, statement points-to no implementation BCCH94! statement reported Deu94! statement alias no implementation reported EGH94! statement points-to 2,279 no timings Ruf95! statement points-to 6,771 no timings WL95! statement points-to 4,663 16s Ste96! program points-to 75,000 16s ______________________________________ .sup.a) Wei80! does not contain any empircal results. However, LR92! ha empirical results for Weihl's analyzer.

Partition based alias analyzer for pointers


An electrostatic chuck includes; a base made of ceramics, in which an electrode generating electrostatic attractive force is embedded; a cooling member which contains metal; a bonding material which bonds the base and the cooling member to each other; a gas providing passage which penetrates the base, the bonding material, and the cooling member; and an engagement member and a bolt member, which are fixing members mechanically fixing the base and the cooling member to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrostatic chuck for use in manufacturing a semiconductor device and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, in processing steps such as exposure, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and etching in manufacture of a semiconductor device and a liquid crystal device, an electrostatic chuck which attracts and holds a semiconductor substrate and a glass substrate has been used (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-93894).
The electrostatic chuck is constructed by bonding, for example, a base made of ceramics and a cooling member made of aluminum to each other by using an organic bonding material such as silicone resin and acrylic resin. When the organic bonding material is heated up to a temperature of 100° C. or more, bonding force thereof is reduced to a large extent.
Here, the ceramics and the aluminum are different from each other in thermal expansion coefficient, and accordingly, when the electrostatic chuck is heated up, stresses occur on a bonded interface between the base and the boding material, and on a bonded interface between the cooling member and the bonding material.
Meanwhile, a processing temperature in the etching and the like has heretofore been 100° C. or less as a mainstream; however, the processing temperature has reached 100 to 200° C. recently, and development of an electrostatic chuck usable in such a temperature range has been implemented.
However, the conventional electrostatic chuck described above is constructed by the bonding using the organic bonding material, and accordingly, when the electrostatic chuck is used at a temperature as high as 100° C. or more, there has been a possibility that exfoliation occurs in such a bonded portion of the base and the cooling member (specifically, the bonded interface between the base and the bonding material, and the bonded interface between the bonding material and the cooling member), and that gas tightness in the bonded interfaces described above is thus reduced. As a result, there has been a possibility that gas to be provided onto a substrate mounting surface of a surface of the base through a gas providing passage passes through the above-described bonded interfaces, and leaks to an outside of the electrostatic chuck (that is, into a chamber).
Note that a method is also conceivable, which performs the bonding by using a sheet of metal such as aluminum in place of the organic bonding material. However, in this case, it has been necessary to fabricate the cooling member by a material (for example, an Al—SiC composite material) whose thermal expansion coefficient is adjusted very approximately to the thermal expansion coefficient of the ceramics, causing a problem that cost is increased to an extremely large extent.


A quality of blue light projected on a screen is detected. A ratio of the detected quantity of the light to a whole quantity is calculated. The calculated ratio is compared with a reference ratio, and a deviation of the calculated ratio from the reference ratio is corrected so as to provide a white balance.

The present invention relates to a white balance control circuit for a projection television receiver, and more particularly to a white balance control circuit for automatically controlling balance of color when quantities of light of the three primary colors decrease with time.
In recent years, in order to provide a wider screen for a television receiver, it has become common to employ a projection television system.
A rear projection system which is one of the systems of the projection television is shown in FIG. 5. A picture tube 1 produces a pictorial image which is expanded by a lens 2. The image is reflected on opposing reflecting mirrors 3 and 4 and reproduced on a light-transmissible screen 5.
FIG. 6 shows another projection television receiver where the image is reproduced on a reflecting screen 6 from the front thereof.
There are other types of projection system such as a refraction system shown in FIG. 7 and a reflection system shown in FIG. 8 dependent on the type of picture tubes 1. In the refraction system, the lens 2 is provided in front of a fluorescent screen of the picture tube 1. The lens 2 expands and reproduces the image on the reflecting screen 6.
To the contrary, in the reflection system, a picture tube 8 has a fluorescent screen 9 and a reflecting mirror 10 provided in the tube 8. The image reflected on the reflecting mirror 10 is expanded through a Schmidt lens 11 and reproduced on the reflecting screen 6.
In accordance with the rear projection system shown in FIG. 5, since the picture tube 1 and the lens 2 can be disposed adjacent the screen 6, the television receiver can be reduced in size. The light-transmissible screen 5 is made of a material having a high light transmittance, such as a Fresnel lens and a lenticular sheet.
In the projection color television receiver, there are three picture tubes 1 (8) for red (R), green (G) and blue (B). White balance is obtained by adjusting ratio of light between the tubes into red light of 30%, green light of 59%, and blue light of 11%. However, the fluorescent screen 7 (9) of the picture tube has a low luminous efficacy particularly for blue. Accordingly, in order to maintain the balance with the other colors, current i supplied to the blue picture tube is increased. Thus the joule heat caused by the current i heats the screen of the blue picture tube, thereby quickly deteriorating it.
Hence, as the screen of the blue picture tube deteriorates with time, the luminous efficacy of the blue light is further decreased. As a result, the quantities of red and green lights relatively increases. The picture on the screen 6 will thus gradually assume a yellowish color. The color can be corrected by manipulating a dial for controlling the color balance. However, the adjusting operation is complicated.


A portable automatic syringe device having a configuration including a separable rotating shaft adapted to provide a drive force to a piston included in the automatic syringe device so that the rotating shaft can be separated, along with the piston, from a housing of the syringe device upon re-filling a syringe of the syringe device with a liquid medicine. A coupling member is coupled between the rotating shaft and power transmission means. The coupling member has a reduction gear engaging with an output gear of the power transmission means, and a cross groove. A horizontal engaging pin is fixed to a lower end of the rotating shaft in such a fashion that it is engaged in the cross groove when the rotating shaft is positioned in position in the syringe device, thereby causing the rotating shaft to be coupled to the coupling member. An injection needle unit is also provided which includes an "L" shaped injection needle member provided with a curved portion capable of absorbing impact, thereby preventing a breakage of the injection needle member. The injection needle unit also includes a sensor for sensing an abnormal blood sugar level generated due to an abnormal injection of a liquid medicine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable automatic syringe device enabling an injection of liquid medicine for a prolonged time and an injection needle unit thereof, and more particularly to a portable automatic syringe device having a configuration including a separable rotating shaft adapted to provide a drive force to a piston included in the automatic syringe device so that the rotating shaft can be separated, along with the piston, from a housing of the syringe device upon re-filling a syringe of the syringe device with a liquid medicine, and set in position in the housing after the re-filling of the liquid medicine. The present invention also relates to an injection needle unit including an injection needle member provided with a curved portion capable of absorbing impact. The present invention further relates to an injection needle unit including an injection needle member provided with a glucose sensor, and a portable automatic syringe device using the injection needle member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic syringe devices, which enable an injection of liquid medicine for a prolonged time, are well known. Typically, known automatic syringe devices have a configuration in which a push means for pushing a syringe piston is coupled to a housing receiving an injection syringe. For example, such automatic syringe devices are disclosed in and U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,889. The syringe device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. Sho. 52-3292 has inconvenience in carrying it because it has an injector mounted outside a basic case, thereby requiring a double case structure. In order to solve such a disadvantage, an automatic syringe device requiring no double case structure has been proposed, as in the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,889. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a control circuit and a structure of the automatic syringe device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,889, respectively. Referring to FIG. 1, the output of an oscillator Al is coupled to a timer A2 which is, in turn, coupled at its output to a digital comparator A3. The digital comparator A3 also receives an output from a fixed number switch A4. The output of the digital comparator A3 is connected to a counter A6 and an R/S flip-flop A9. Another oscillator A5 is also provided which has an output coupled to counters A6 and A13, and AND gates A10 and A11. The flip-flop A9 is reset by an output from a digital comparator A7. Another R/S flip-flop A16 is also provided which is reset by an output from a digital comparator A14 coupled to the counter A13. A control unit A17 is also coupled to the counter A13. The control unit A17 serves to activate the counter A13 in accordance with an operation of a manual infusion switch A12. The control unit A17 applies its output to the counters A13 and A16. The output from the control unit A17 is also sent to a counter A21. The output of the counter A21 is coupled to a digital comparator A22 which is, in turn, coupled to a step motor driver A19 for driving a step motor A20. The output of the flip-flop A16 is coupled to one input of the AND gate A11, which is also coupled at the other input thereof to the oscillator A5. The output of the AND gate A11 is coupled to one input of an OR gate A18. Fixed number switches A15 and A25 are connected to the digital comparators A14 and A22, respectively. Each of the fixed number switches A4, A8, A15, and A25 has five protruding insert bars and serves to provide a reference value for an associated one of the digital comparators A3, A7, A14, and A22. A light source A24 and a photo sensor A23 are coupled to the counter A21 in order to provide sensing results thereof to the counter A21, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the arrangements of the light source A24 and photo sensor A23 are illustrated. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light source A24 and photo sensor A23 are arranged in such a fashion that they face each other while being vertically spaced from each other. A gear plate, which is included in a gear mechanism G. is interposed between the light source A24 and photo sensor A23. The gear plate has a plurality of through holes A26 uniformly spaced from one another in a circumferential direction, as shown in FIG. 3. The gear plate is fixedly fitted around a gear shaft A27 having a screw portion. A piston plate A28 is threadedly coupled to the gear shaft A27 in the form of a nut in such a fashion that it slides along the screw portion of the gear shaft A27 when the gear shaft A27 rotates. The rotation of the gear shaft A is carried out by a drive force from the motor A20 transmitted via the gear mechanism G. The driving of the motor A20 is controlled by the operations of the counter A21, digital comparator A22, switch A25, and motor drive A19. A11 the above mentioned elements of the syringe device are received in a housing. In particular, the light source A24 and photo sensor A23 are fixedly mounted at an upper portion of the housing by means of a bracket fixed to the housing. In this syringe device, a liquid medicine, such as insulin, contained in a syringe I is outwardly injected through an injection needle N connected to the syringe I, by a slide movement of the piston plate A28. In such a syringe device, however, the housing and syringe I thereof are exposed to ambient air. As a result, moisture and water are likely to penetrate into the syringe device. For this reason, there is inconvenience in that if the user desires to take a shower while the syringe is in place, then the housing should be contained in a separate sealing case.
In order to solve such a problem, a sealable syringe device has been proposed by the applicant. Such a sealable syringe device is illustrated in FIG. 4 which is a front view. Referring to FIG. 4, the syringe device includes a cover 10 sealably coupled to the upper end of a housing 10, and a bottom cover 40 sealably coupled to the lower end of the housing 10. A connector 2, to which a feeding tube is integrally connected, is threadedly coupled to the cover 10. The connector 2 communicates with a syringe 21 received in the housing 10. A piston 22 is slidably fitted in the syringe 21. A liquid medicine to be syringed is contained in the syringe 21. A power transmission means 30 is mounted on the bottom surface of the housing 20. The power transmission means 30 has a rotating shaft 31 to which a disc type push means 50 is threadedly coupled. The disc type push means 50 moves vertically by a rotation of the rotating shaft 31, thereby vertically moving the piston 22.
Referring to FIG. 5, which is a plan view of FIG. 4, the cover 10, to which the connector 2 connected with the feeding tube 1 is connected, is arranged on the left portion of the upper surface of the housing 20. A battery cover 24 is arranged on the right portion of the upper surface of the housing 20.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A--A of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the cover 10 is centrally provided with a threaded hole 11 in which the connector 2 is threadedly fitted at its lower end. The cover 10 is also provided at its lower end with a bolt portion 12 threadedly fitted in the upper end of the housing 20. A packing 13 is fitted around the bolt portion 12 of the cover 10 between the lower end of the cover 10 and the upper end of the housing 20. A syringe receiving chamber 23 is defined in the interior of the housing 20. The push means 50 is fitted in the lower end of the housing 20 in such a fashion that it slides vertically in the housing 20. The housing 20 is also formed at its inner surface with a vertical push means guide groove 25 adapted to guide a vertical movement of the push means 50 and vertical piston guide grooves 27 adapted to guide a vertical movement of the piston 22.
FIG. 7 shows a detailed configuration of the push means 50 threadedly coupled to the rotating shaft 31 of the power transmission means 30, along with a detailed configuration of the power transmission means 30. As shown in FIG. 7, the push means 50 includes a lower disc 54 threadedly coupled to the rotating shaft 31 in such a fashion that it slides vertically along the rotating shaft 31. The lower disc 54 is provided at its periphery with a guide protrusion 51 engaged in the guide groove 25 of the housing 20 and adapted to guide the vertical movement of the lower disc 54. The push means 50 also includes an upper disc 55 integrally formed with the lower disc 54. The upper disc 55 is provided at its periphery with an engagement means 52. The upper disc 55 is fitted in a sleeve plate 26 fixed to the lower end of the piston 22 in such, a manner that its engagement means 52 engages with a mating engagement means formed on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve plate 26. The sleeve plate 26 is also provided at its outer peripheral surface with protrusions engaging with the guide grooves 27 respectively. The power transmission means 30 includes a reduction mechanism 33 for transmitting the rotating force of a motor (not shown) to the rotating shaft 31 in a speed-reduced manner.
In order to use the syringe device having the above mentioned configuration, the piston 22, which is in a state separated from the housing 20, is first fitted in the syringe 21 which is also in a state separated from the housing 20, in such a manner that it is completely inserted into the syringe 21. In this state, a disposable injection needle (not shown) is fitted onto the tip 21-1 of the syringe 21. Thereafter, the injection needle is penetrated into the interior of a phial through the plug of the phial. In this state, the piston 22 is pulled to suck a liquid medicine (for example, insulin) contained in the phial into the syringe 21.
The piston 22, which is in a state fitted in the syringe 21 containing the liquid medicine, is then inserted into the syringe receiving chamber 23 of the housing 20 in such a manner that it is seated on the push means 50. Subsequently, the cover 10 is threadedly coupled to the upper end of the housing 23. The connector 2 is then threadedly fastened to the cover 10. As the connector 2 is threadedly fastened to the cover 10, it is fitted onto the syringe tip 21-1. Thus, the syringe 21 is maintained in a sealed state in the housing 20. When the motor (not shown) drives under the above condition, the push means 50 moves upwardly, thereby upwardly pushing the piston 22. As a result, the liquid medicine contained in the syringe 21 is outwardly injected from the syringe 21. At this time, the upward movement of the push means 50 is accurately carried out because its guide protrusion 51 engages with the guide groove 25. Since the engagement means 52 of the push means 50 engages with the mating engagement means of the sleeve plate 26 integrally formed with the lower end of the piston 22, the upward movement of the piston 22 is also accurately carried out.
In such a syringe device, it is necessary to set the initial height or vertical position of the lower disc 54 of the push means 50 every time the syringe 21 filled with a liquid medicine is inserted into the housing 20, in order to allow the piston 22 to be accurately seated on the upper disc 55 of the push means 50. However, it is difficult to accurately set a desired initial vertical position of the lower disc 54.
Meanwhile, FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a conventional injection needle unit used for portable automatic syringe devices enabling a prolonged injection of a liquid medicine. As shown in FIG. 9, the injection needle unit includes a feeding tube 1, a "-" shaped straight injection needle member (called a "straight butterfly-shaped injection needle") 3 connected to one end of the feeding tube 1, and a connector 2 connected to the other end of the feeding tube 1.
In order to use such an injection needle unit, the user himself slantly penetrates the injection needle member 3 into the subcutaneous tissue while observing the penetration of the injection needle member 3 with the naked eye. The reason why the user observes the penetration of the injection needle member 3 with the naked eye is because the injection needle member 3 has a straight shape. However, such an observation is very uncomfortable.
Furthermore, when the straight butterfly-shaped injection needle member 3 penetrates the subcutaneous tissue of the user on a slanted angle, its tip may be easily blocked by the subcutaneous tissue because the subcutaneous tissue is a multilayer tissue. As a result, the above mentioned conventional injection needle unit has a drawback in that it is difficult to smoothly inject the liquid medicine, namely, insulin.
The straight butterfly-shaped injection needle member 3 is also likely to move in the subcutaneous tissue of the user because it penetrates the subcutaneous tissue of the user on a slanted angle. In this case, the subcutaneous tissue may be damaged. In severe cases, blood may flow out of the subcutaneous tissue. The user may also feel a severe pain.
As mentioned above, the conventional injection needle unit has a drawback in that it is difficult to smoothly inject insulin because the injection needle member 3, which penetrates the subcutaneous tissue of the user on a slanted angle, may be easily blocked at its tip by the subcutaneous tissue. To this end, the feeding tube of such a conventional injection needle unit inevitably has an increased diameter. However, such a feeding tube having an increased diameter results in a possibility of an excessive insulin injection. In addition, this may result in wastage of expensive insulin. For instance, where it is desired to inject insulin into the user using an automatic syringe device equipped with the above mentioned injection needle unit, it is necessary to completely vent air existing in the feeding tube 1 and injection needle member 3 before penetrating the injection needle member 3 into the subcutaneous tissue of the user. To this end, insulin, which is contained in the syringe device, is outwardly discharged through the feeding tube 1 and injection needle member 3, thereby venting air. In this case, a large amount of insulin is wasted where the conventional injection needle unit having the diameter-increased feeding tube is used.
The use of such a diameter-increased feeding tube also results in an increase in the manufacturing costs.
In the case of the injection needle unit illustrated in FIG. 9, its connector 2 is simply fitted onto a connector portion 20-5 of the syringe device housing 20. For this reason, the connector 2 may be incidentally separated from the connector portion 20-5 of the housing 20.
In order to solve this problem, an injection needle unit has been proposed which has a configuration capable of preventing a separation of its connector. Such an injection needle unit is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the injection needle unit includes a feeding tube 1, an injection needle member 3 connected to one end of the feeding tube 1, and a connector 2 connected to the other end of the feeding tube 1.
In the case of the injection needle unit shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the injection needle member 3 has an "L" shaped injection needle 3-11. This injection needle 3-11 has a first portion, namely, a horizontal portion, fitted in a connecting rib 3-12 integrally formed with one end of the feeding tube 1, and a second portion, namely, a vertical portion, provided with a needle tip. The injection needle 3-11 is provided with a curved portion 3-13 at its horizontal portion fitted in the connecting rib 3-12, as shown in FIG. 11. A depressing member 3-14 is integrally formed with the connecting rib 3-12 in such a fashion that the injection needle 3-11 protrudes perpendicularly from the depressing member 3-14. The depressing member 3-14 is depressed against the skin of the user upon penetrating the injection needle member 3 into the subcutaneous tissue. A bacterial infection prevention member 3-14-1, which is made of a disinfected nonwoven fabric, is attached to the surface of the depressing member 3-14 which comes into contact with the skin of the user upon penetrating the injection needle unit 3 into the subcutaneous tissue. The feeding tube 1 of FIGS. 10 and 11 has a reduced diameter and an increased length, as compared- to that of FIG. 9. The connector 2, which is connected to the other end of the feeding tube 1, has a male thread 2-15. The connector 2 is protected by a protection cap 2-17 which has a female thread. 2-16 threadedly coupled to the male thread 2-15 of the connector 2. In use, the connector 2 is threadedly coupled to a connector portion 20-5 of a housing 20 included in an automatic insulin syringe device. The connector portion 20-5 of the housing 20 has a female thread 20-5a threadedly coupled to the male thread 2-15 of the connector 2. In FIG. 10, the reference numeral "3-18" denotes a needle protection cap.
Where it is desired to inject insulin contained in the automatic insulin syringe device using the above mentioned injection needle unit, the protection cap 2-17 is first separated from the connector 2, which is, in turn, threadedly coupled to the connector portion 20-5 of the housing 20. Thereafter, the needle protection cap 3-18 is separated from the injection needle 3-11. The user then penetrates the injection needle 3-11 into the subcutaneous tissue while depressing the depressing member 3-14 against the skin by fingers. At this time, the injection needle 3-11 penetrates vertically into the subcutaneous tissue of the user because it has an "L" shape. Accordingly, the user can carry out the penetration of the injection needle 3-11 instantaneously without any observation with the naked eye. Therefore, the user feels little pain upon penetrating the injection-needle 3-11 into the subcutaneous tissue. By virtue of such a configuration of the injection needle unit 3, the automatic insulin syringe device can be conveniently used, as shown in FIG. 13. Since the injection needle 3-11 penetrates vertically into the subcutaneous tissue of the user by virtue of its "L" shape, there is no phenomenon that the injection needle 3-11 is blocked at its tip by the subcutaneous tissue of the user. Thus, the injection of insulin is smoothly carried out. Accordingly, the feeding tube can have a reduced diameter and an increased length. Since the feeding tube 1 has a reduced diameter, it is possible to minimize the wastage of insulin occurring upon venting air existing in the feeding tube 1 and injection needle 3-11 and to reduce the manufacturing costs. Since the feeding tube 1 also has an increased length, it is possible to extend the range of the position of the injection needle 3-11 on the body of the user. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve convenience in use. Since the bacterial infection prevention member 3-14-1, which is made of a disinfected nonwoven fabric, is attached to the depressing member 3-14, it is possible to prevent the depressing member 3-14 from coming into direct contact with the skin of the user upon penetrating the injection needle unit 3 into the subcutaneous tissue. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the user from being infected.
Since the injection needle 3-11 penetrates vertically into the subcutaneous tissue of the user by virtue of its "L" shape, as mentioned above, it hardly moves in the subcutaneous tissue, even when an external force is applied thereto. Accordingly, there is no damage of the subcutaneous tissue. Of course, there is no phenomenon that the blood flows out of the subcutaneous tissue. The user also does not feel any pain.
In the case of the injection needle unit mentioned above, the needle protection cap 3-18 is used which has a configuration as shown in FIG. 14. The needle protection cap 3-18 has a needle tip receiving hole including a smaller diameter portion 3-18-1 with the same diameter as the injection needle 3-11 and a larger diameter portion 3-18-2 with a diameter larger than the diameter of the injection needle 3-11. Since the needle protection cap 3-18 has such a configuration, there is a problem in that it is difficult to separate the needle protection cap 3-18 from the injection needle 3-11 because of the small diameter of the diameter portion 3-18-1. As a result, the injection needle 3-11 may be damaged. Since the smaller diameter portion 3-18-1 has a small diameter, a capillarity phenomenon may occur between the inner surface of the needle protection cap 3-18 and the outer surface of the injection needle 3-11 when the liquid medicine is outwardly discharged from the injection needle 3-11 to vent air,existing in the feeding tube l and injection needle 3-11. In this case, a part of the discharged liquid medicine is absorbed in the bacterial infection prevention member 3-14-1, thereby causing the user to be uncomfortable. The injection needle 3-11 has a sharp bent portion 3-11-1 between the vertical and horizontal portions thereof due to its "L"-shaped structure. This sharp bent portion 3-11-1 of the injection needle 3-11 may be subjected to excessive stress when the user moves excessively during injection. For instance, when the needle tip of the injection needle 3-11 moves from a position indicated by the solid line of FIG. 15 to a position indicated by the phantom line of FIG. 15 as the user exercises or conducts hard work, or due to other reasons, the sharp bent portion 3-11-1 of the injection needle 3-11 may be subjected to excessive stress. In this case, the injection needle 3-11 may be broken. For this reason, the reliability of the above mentioned injection needle unit is degraded.

Portable automatic syringe device and injection needle unit thereof


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A user equipment (UE) may be configured with one or more parameters to support blockage detection for beamformed communication. The UE may receive a set of reference signals via a receive beam of a beam pair. The UE may detect a condition associated with a measured signal quality of a reference signal of the set of reference signals relative to a filtered signal quality of the set of reference signals. The condition may, in some examples, correspond to a drop of the measured signal quality at least a threshold amount below the filtered signal quality for at least a threshold duration of time. The UE may delete one or more signal quality values from a measurement database of the UE based on detecting the condition. The one or more signal quality values may be associated with the beam pair.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
In some wireless communications systems, a UE and a base station may communicate using beamforming techniques. The UE may receive reference signals from the base station using one or more beam pairs, which may include a base station beam and a UE beam used to transmit and receive the reference signals. The UE may measure a signal quality of the reference signals for each beam pair and apply a filter to two or more raw signal quality measurements. The UE may select a UE beam, a beam pair, or both to use for subsequent communications based on the filtered signal quality measurements for each beam pair.

Blockage detection for wireless communications


An acceleration and compression method for a deep convolutional neural network based on quantization of a parameter provided by the present application comprises: quantizing the parameter of the deep convolutional neural network to obtain a plurality of subcode books and respective corresponding index values of the plurality of subcode books; acquiring an output feature map of the deep convolutional neural network according to the plurality of subcode books and respective corresponding index values of the plurality of subcode books. The present application may implement the acceleration and compression for a deep convolutional neural network.

In recent years, a huge breakthrough has been achieved for deep convolutional neural networks in variety of fields, such as computer vision, voice processing, machine learning, and so forth, which remarkably improves the performance of machine algorithms in a plurality of tasks, such as image classification, target detection, voice recognition, and so forth, and is widely applied in industries such as internet, video surveillance, etc.
A training process of a deep convolutional neural network is learning and adjusting network parameters based on a large-scale dataset which contains manually annotated information. In general, a high capacity, high complexity deep convolutional network may learn the network parameters more comprehensively, so as to achieve better performance metrics. However, with the increase of network layers and number of parameters, the operational overhead and storage overhead will both grow considerably, hence for the time being, the training and testing of a convolutional neural network may mostly be performed on a high-performance computing cluster only.
On the other hand, the technology of mobile internet has made an enormous progress in recent years, and has been applied more and more extensively in real life. In an application scenario of mobile internet, the operational ability and storage ability of a device used by a user, such as a cell phone or a tablet, are quite limited. Although a deep convolutional neural network may be trained on a computing cluster, in an application scenario of mobile platform, the testing process of a network model still needs to be performed on a mobile device, which poses two challenges: how to decrease the testing time for a convolutional neural network, and how to compress the storage overhead of a network model.
Direct to the problem of acceleration and compression for a convolutional neural network, a number of effective algorithms have been presented. These algorithms decompose a certain layer in the network into a combination of a number of layers with lower complexity, so as to achieve the goal of reducing the cost of operation or storage. However, these algorithms fail to take the acceleration and compression for a convolutional neural network into account as well, and only perform tests on a few layers of the network, the effect of acceleration and compression for the entire network model still needs further research.

Deep convolutional neural network acceleration and compression method based on parameter quantification

INSTITUTE OF AUTOMATION CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


An engine compartment structure for introducing cool air into an air intake port without providing a baffle plate is constructed such that air discharged by cooling fans is directed away from the air intake port. A rotational direction of a second cooling fan of a pair of cooling fans can be opposite to the first cooling fan. The first cooling fan is closer to the air intake port than the second cooling fan. Air volume discharged by the first cooling fan can also be larger than that of the second cooling fan. Furthermore, rotational directions of the pair of cooling fans can be selected such that the air discharged by the cooling fans is directed toward a space at the rear side of the opposite headlamp, and each air volume discharged by the respective cooling fan set differently.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an engine compartment structure of a vehicle for introducing cool air into an intake air system of the engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, supply of a large amount of air to engine combustion chambers for higher power performance is required from automotive engines. However, intake air in an engine is heated in the engine compartment and the temperature of the air rises before the air is sucked into the combustion chambers. When the temperature of the intake air introduced into the chambers rises, the air density is reduced, the weight of the intake air is reduced, and the air filling efficiency of the chambers is also reduced. Thus, the engine power is reduced and engine knocking occurs.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional engine compartment structure of a vehicle for introducing cool air into an intake air system of the engine. In FIG. 12, an air intake port 2 of a combustion engine I is located behind a first headlamp 3 in the engine compartment. A pair of cooling fans 5 and 5a are mounted on a rear side of a radiator 4 at substantially the same height, and the cooling fans rotate counterclockwise, as seen from the engine side. The cooling fans 5 and 5a shown at the bottom of FIG. 12 are depicted as if they were viewed through a radiator 4 when they were seen from the front of a vehicle, and arrows indicate rotational directions of the cooling fans 5 and 5a mounted on the radiator 4, for ease of understanding. The number of revolutions per minute and the blade length for each of the cooling fans 5 and 5a are the same. The intake air flowing into the air intake port 2 is sucked into combustion chambers of the engine 1 via an intake duct 6, an air cleaner 7, an intake pipe 8, a surge tank 9 and an intake manifold 10, in that order. A transmission 11 is provided on the right side of the engine 1 as seen from the front of the vehicle. Above the transmission 11, there is a space, as the height of the transmission 11 is lower than that of the engine block 1. The radiator 4 is covered with an under cover 12. Fresh air FA flows into the engine compartment from outside after passing through a space behind a second headlamp 3a located opposite to the first headlamp 3 and the air intake port. However, after passing through the radiator cooling fans 5 and 5a heated air HA turns around toward the air intake port 2, and raises the temperature of the intake air. This results in reduced air filling efficiency in the combustion chambers of the engine.
In order to solve the above problem, a structure that restricts temperature increases of air introduced into an intake air system of an engine is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-1634. According to the invention, the temperature of the air introduced into the intake air system from outside via an air intake port and an intake duct decreases, so that the air filling efficiency to the combustion chambers of the engine can be improved. To accomplish this, a baffle plate is provided in the structure in such a way as to extend a fan shroud of a radiator toward the rear of a car body and to intentionally open the air intake port of the intake duct toward the opposite side of the radiator, thereby preventing heated back wind passing through the radiator cooling fans from being introduced into the intake air system of the engine.
However, according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-1634, a baffle plate must be provided. Therefore, additional expense for the baffle plate and for the man hours for assembling the baffle plate are required.

Vehicle engine compartment structure and method for introducing cool intake air


A breath sampling device including a housing having a fluid inlet positioned at a fluid inlet end, a fluid outlet positioned at a fluid outlet end, a fluid channel extending between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, and a sensor fluidly coupled to the fluid channel. The sensor is structurally configured to detect a presence of a target gas in a gas sample and a filter assembly fluidly coupled to the fluid channel and positioned between the fluid inlet and the sensor. The filter assembly is structurally configured to absorb heat, water vapor, or a combination thereof.

Sensors including electrochemical cells are used for detection of certain gases, for example, toxic gases and gases in a person's breath. In some sensors, high temperatures and high relative humidity may reduce the accuracy of sensor measurements.
Accordingly, breath sampling devices are desired that mitigate the effects of temperature and relative humidity of a gas sample before the gas sample enters a sensor configured to measure the gas sample.

Breath sampling devices and methods of breath sampling using sensors


A system and method for handling a wind turbine tower section generally includes a fixture that supports an end of the tower section in a substantially horizontal orientation. The fixture includes a plurality of adaptor holes. A corresponding number of inserts are positioned within the adaptor holes. Each of the inserts include at least one bolt hole aligned with a bolt hole in a flange of the tower section when positioned in the corresponding adaptor hole. This allows the fixture to be secured to the tower section by bolting the inserts to the flange. The fixture can then be used as a storage foot, a lifting point, a lashing point to a truck, railcar, or vessel, or in other ways to handle the tower section.

Wind turbines have long been used to convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy that drives a generator, thereby producing electricity. Over time, there has been a significant increase in the overall size of these machines because of the desire to capture more of the wind's available energy. Nevertheless, there remain sites better suited for smaller wind turbines due to their wind conditions, local restrictions, or other limiting factors. A great variety of wind turbine sizes now exist as a result, which makes handling their components very challenging particularly in terms of transportation and storage.
For example, many wind turbine towers are assembled from annular sections of rolled steel. The sections are welded together at a factory to form cylindrical or conical tubes. The tubular sections are then transported to the intended wind turbine site and joined together by flange connections provided on their ends. The size of these components varies depending on the size of the particular tower being built and their location within that tower. Diameters, for example, may range from approximately 2 to 5 meters. Additionally, the intended sites are often located far away from the tower factories, meaning that the tower sections are often handled several times before reaching the sites. The handling could be unloading from a transportation vehicle to storage (or vice-versa), the transfer from one form of transportation to another (e.g., land to sea), etc.
WO 2007/093854 discloses one solution to address these challenges. The solution involves a tower stacking system having a fixture ("foot") that can be mounted to an end of a tower section at a manufacturing site. The fixture can remain fixed to the tower section until the intended site of the wind turbine, facilitating the various handling steps along the way. To accommodate different sizes of tower sections, the fixture incorporates sloped surfaces to guide the tower section towards the fixture's center when placed thereon. A central locking element can be moved vertically to match up with the resting place of the tower flange relative to the sloped surfaces. Locking elements on each side of the central locking element are also adjustable to match up with the tower flange. Eventually the locking elements are each secured to the tower flange.
The locking elements in the '854 application are shown as disc-like elements whose movements are guided by slots in the fixture. Each can be bolted to the tower section when a hole through them is aligned with a bolt hole in the flange of the tower section. But the '854 application also mentions the possibility of using clamps to connect to the tower section. Indeed, WO 2010/012280 discloses one embodiment of this principle. The locking elements in that application are movable clamps that grip the tower flange.
Although this type of solution has proven satisfactory for some purposes, wind turbine manufactures are still seeking new ways to address the above-mentioned challenges to further improve handling and reduce costs.

System and method for handling wind turbine tower sections