Provided is a machine body capable of preventing thermal decomposition of a liquid reducing agent in a reducing agent injector. The machine body includes an exhaust gas treatment device that reduces nitrogen oxides in exhaust gas of an engine provided within a machine room, and a reducing agent supplier that supplies the liquid reducing agent to the exhaust gas treatment device. The exhaust gas treatment device includes a reducing agent injector that injects the liquid reducing agent supplied from the reducing agent supplier, and a cooling fan that is installed in the vicinity of the reducing agent injector so as to face the reducing agent injector. The cooling fan performs cooling by blowing cooling wind of external air, which is taken in from the outside of the engine room, against the reducing agent injector and its upstream side.

Although urea water is used as a liquid reducing agent for reducing nitrogen oxides in exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, when the thermal decomposition temperature of this urea water is about 150° C. and the freezing temperature of the urea water is −11° C. in a urea concentration of 32.5% (trade name: AdBlue), in the related art, this urea water is often arranged in the vicinity of a heat source so as to warm a reducing agent tank for anti-freezing. For example, in terms of vehicle layout, the reducing agent tank may be arranged at a side of a high-temperature object, such as an engine.
A reducing agent injector is installed in the vicinity of an exhaust pipe, such as a muffler, from the feature of an exhaust gas treatment device, and consequently, the temperature of the reducing agent injector itself also becomes high.
In traveling vehicles, such as a truck, the reducing agent injector, the muffler, or the like, is cooled by wind during traveling. However, in machineries that perform stationary work, such as a hydraulic shovel, an engine room is easily filled with heat, and the temperature of the engine room becomes high easily.
When the reducing agent tank is arranged in a place like machine rooms, such as an engine room, of which the temperature becomes extremely high, the thermal decomposition temperature of the urea water is approached and consequently, there is a concern about degradation of performance. If the reducing agent supplied to a fuel injection device is not managed at a suitable temperature, there is a concern that the liquid reducing agent may reach its thermal decomposition temperature before being injected into the exhaust gas treatment device. In areas where the temperature of outside air is high, the need for cooling the liquid reducing agent increases further.
In the related art, in a machine body of a machinery, such as a hydraulic shovel, a tank housing space is provided inside a counter weight adjacent to an engine room, a tank housing room partitioned off from a weight adjusting material within the counter weight by a partitioning member is formed within this tank housing space so as to be openable and closable by a door, the reducing agent tank is fixed within this tank housing room, a communication opening portion that allows the tank housing room and the outside to communicate with each other is provided with a movable louver that opens and closes a communication opening portion, a fan is provided to control the movable louver according to the temperature within the reducing agent tank or the like or to discharge the air within the tank housing room to the outside or introduce outside air into the tank housing room, and the fan is controlled according to the temperature within the reducing agent tank or the like (for example, refer to PTL 1).


A ring oscillator comprising three or more delay cells, each of which comprises a plurality of differential input leads and a differential output lead, wherein each of the plurality of differential input leads comprises one or more inverters, wherein the three or more delay cells are inter-connected forming a plurality of loop paths, wherein each loop path connects the differential output lead of each delay cell to a corresponding differential input lead of another delay cell, wherein each loop path provides an inverter strength determined by a number of inverters in a corresponding differential input lead of each delay cell, wherein the plurality of loop paths are configured to generate an oscillating signal with an operating frequency, and wherein the operating frequency is tunable by digitally adjusting one or more inverter strengths in one or more of the plurality of loop paths.

A ring oscillator may comprise multiple delay stages or cells configured to generate a self-sustaining oscillating signal with an operating frequency. An injection locked oscillator (ILO) is one type of ring oscillator that tracks its operating frequency to an input reference clock. ILOs can be used for various purposes such as frequency multiplication, frequency division, and clock generation. An ILO may have a high input tracking bandwidth, which helps rejecting a bias noise while providing a low-noise and multi-phase clock. The multi-phase clock may be needed by phase rotators in a digital clock and data recovery (CDR) device, e.g., to sample and track received data.
In modern devices, to fit various applications, ring oscillators may be designed to cover a wide frequency tuning range (e.g., from 2 gigahertz (GHz) to 7.5 GHz or higher). One challenge in the design of such ring oscillators is to cover a wide frequency range with sufficient amplitude and low phase noise, while minimizing power and area overhead.

Reconfigurable multi-path injection locked oscillator


A semiconductor memory having a memory cell for storing a bit of data and a pull-down transistor for coupling the source of the memory cell to ground in order to read the memory cell. The pull-down transistor is comprised of a polysilicon gate coupled to a control means for switching the transistor ON/OFF; a drain diffusion region coupled to the source of the memory cell; and a source diffusion region coupled to ground. The source diffusion region is physically located closer to the memory cell than the drain diffusion region. Two P.sup.+ substrate taps are implemented--one on each side of the pull-down transistor. An N.sup.+ diffusion bar is coupled to V.sub.SS. The N.sup.+ diffusion bar and the adjacent P.sup.+ substrate tap are interleaved in a row and are coupled to metal layers by vias and contacts.

Computer memories typically can be divided into two main categories: volatile and nonvolatile. Volatile memories retain their data only so long as power is applied. Nonvolatile memories retain their data after power is removed.
One type of prior nonvolatile semiconductor memory is the flash electrically erasable programmable read-only memory ("flash EEPROM"). A flash EEPROM is typically comprised of banks of memory cells. The memory cells can be programmed by a user to store data in the form of digital bits (i.e., 0s and 1s), wherein an individual memory cell stores one bit of data.
Once programmed, the flash EEPROM retains its data until erased. After erasure, the flash EEPROM can be reprogrammed with new data. The same flash EEPROM is typically capable of being cycled (i.e., erased and reprogrammed) thousands of times.
A memory cell is typically erased by applying 12 volts to the source of the transistor comprising the memory cell while simultaneously grounding its floating gate. Upon completion of the erasure operation, an erase verication operation is performed to verify that all memory cells have been properly erased. During the erase verification procedure, the source needs to be grounded. A separate switching transistor is often used to effectively ground the source for performing an erase verification.
Serious complications can arise, however, because of the parasitic capacitance typically inherent in a memory cell. One problem is that when a cell is being erased, the parasitic capacitance is charged with 12 volts. Later, when the source is grounded, the 12 volts stored in the parasitic capacitance is discharged through the switching transistor. Given a large number of memory cells that need to be verified, the cumulative effect of each of the parasitic capacitances typically results in a relatively large amount of current (i.e., a current spike) being discharged through the switching transistor. Putting this amount of current through the switching transistor can cause it to break down and "snap back." The snap back condition typically dumps a large charge into the transistor's substrate, which can cause peripheral circuits to latch-up.
Another concern is that the metal line grounding the source of the switching transistor typically has parasitic resistance. Because the metal line is required to sink a large amount of current, the parasitic resistance typically tends to pull the source node high. As described above, the source node should be set at zero volts for erase verification.
Yet another disadvantage with typical prior art flash EEPROM layouts is that the drain of the switching transistor is placed nearest to the memory cell array. Typically, a flash array ring is interposed between the memory cell array and the switching transistor to isolate the memory cell array. Because the flash array ring is typically comprised of an N.sup.++ doped region and the switching transistor's drain is comprised of an N.sup.+ doped region, standard design rules specify that these two regions should be separated by a relatively large P doped area, such as the P-substrate. A large gap between these two regions contributes to increasing the overall die size of the flash EEPROM. A large die size is undesirable because fewer dies can be made from a given silicon wafer. This directly translates into higher production costs for manufacturing each flash EEPROM.

Protected erase voltage discharge transistor in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory


A dental tool for use with an ultrasonic transducer, the tool comprises a substantially elongate tool defined by a shaft having a proximal end with a coupling attachment at the proximal end for attachment to an ultrasonic transducer, and a distal end having a tip configured for performing a dental procedure, and a fluid passage extending from the proximal end to a port configured and positioned to direct fluid onto the tip.

In the last four to five years microdentistry began to develop. Microdentistry is the performing of dental surgery and procedures with very small tools under a microscope. As an example, in the preparation of root canals, it has been found that the tool must be very small in order to work in the small canal areas. Such small tools must also be very strong and touch and able to withstand and/or easily dissipate and/or resist heat.
In recent years ultrasonic tools have been developed which many dental surgeons have begun to use for many operations on teeth, bones, and soft tissue including dislodging and removal of dental material. These ultrasonic tools have been found to be particularly useful for microdentistry and particularly for use in root canals. Tools for this purpose must be small, hard, durable and heat resistant in order to satisfactorily perform their function. They must also be flushed with a fluid such as water to dissipate heat and flush away debris.
Recent years have seen greater use of ultrasonically powered instruments for the preparation of root canals. Examples of ultrasonically powered instruments of this type for the preparation of root canals are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,254, issued Apr. 26, 1977 to Malmin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,617 issued Mar. 10, 1992 to Carr and PCT Publication WO 86/05967. With the exception of the first mentioned patent, all tools are formed with a shaft tapered to a point. More recent examples of improved tools are disclosed in the applicant's recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,765, issued Nov. 17, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,570 issued Nov. 12, 1998 to Hickok.
Most dental tools and work areas are cooled with a continuous stream of water during use. Cooling in this manner is not always possible, particularly when working in certain small confined areas such as root canals, and in most instances this form of cooling is inconvenient.
In the past, fluid such as water has been supplied to the cutting tool by means of either a separate water supply such as a wand or the like, or a supply through or from the adjacent power unit. The tools normally used with ultrasonic generators are typically very small and must be hard and durable to withstand the high energy delivered by the ultrasonic generator. Due to the size and the materials from which the tools are made, it has not been possible to provide a through the tool fluid supply to the tool and word area.
One example of an earlier dental tool having a fluid supply to the tip is U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,335 dated Dec. 20, 1975, The patent discloses a metal or plastic transmission member which has a water feed to be used as a dental prophylaxis unit for removing deposits from tooth and gingival surfaces. However, this tool is not suitable for microdentistry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,196 discloses a fluid supply unit for dental instruments wherein an instrument is shown with flow through tip. This tool is not disclosed as suitable for microdentistry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,119 discloses a dental tool having fluid supply port in the hub of the tool. These tools of the prior art cannot be made sufficiently small to function as a microdentistry tool and provide the fluid port in the shaft of the tool at the working tip.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved ultrasonic dental tool formed of a suitable strong, flexible and durable heat resistant material with suitable fluid port for microdentistry.
Another drawback to these tools is that they are attached and detached from the hand piece of the ultrasonic generator by means of a threaded connection requiring a wrench or other special tool. This is particularly inconvenient because several different shape tools are frequently required during any particular operation.
Therefore, there is also a need for an improved ultrasonic dental tool having a quick attach connector for microdentistry.

Microendodontics ultrasonic surgical dental tool having water port and method of making same


The present disclosure provides a method and a device for recognizing a text segmentation position. The method includes: receiving a continuous voice message inputted by a user, and recognizing the continuous voice message to generate a text message corresponding to the continuous voice message; analyzing the text message to determine an interval position, and sequentially inserting a sentence end and sentence begin sign at each interval position; calculating a segmentation value corresponding to the sentence end and sentence begin sign inserted at a present interval position according to a preset algorithm; and determining whether the segmentation value is greater than a preset threshold, and determining the present interval position as a segmentation position when the segmentation value is greater than the preset threshold.

Artificial intelligence (AI for short) is a new technical science studying and developing theories, methods, techniques and application systems for simulating, extending and expanding human intelligence. The artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science, which attempts to know the essence of intelligence and to produce a new intelligent machine capable of acting in a same way as human intelligence. The researches in this field refer to robots, speech recognition, image recognition, natural language processing, expert systems, etc. An important aspect of artificial intelligence is speech recognition technology.
In the related art, when continuous voice inputted by the user is recognized, a segmentation position in the input voice message is recognized according to the pause time of the user, and then a corresponding punctuation set in the segmentation position. However, user's speech speed and input scene may vary. Therefore, there are omissions or errors in recognizing segmentation position only based on the pause time of voice input, and accuracy of segmentation position recognition is reduced.

Method and device for recognizing text segmentation position

BAIDU ONLINE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.


A lithium secondary battery, wherein there is a pre-lithiated negative electrode such that a total irreversible capacity of a positive electrode is greater than a total irreversible capacity of the negative electrode while satisfying 150< (negative electrode discharge capacity/lithium secondary battery discharge capacity)×100<300, and a relative potential of the negative electrode with respect to lithium metal in an operating voltage range of the lithium secondary battery is in a range of −0.1 V to 0.7 V. Such a lithium secondary battery is capable of maintaining a capacity retention of 60% or more even after 500 cycles or more while achieving an energy density per volume of 800 Wh/L or more.

The demand for batteries as an energy source has significantly increased as technology development and demand with respect to mobile devices have recently increased, and, as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and an electric vehicle (EV) have received attention as future cars, a variety of research on batteries capable of meeting various needs have been carried out accordingly. Particularly, as a power source for such devices, research into lithium secondary batteries having excellent lifetime and cycle characteristics as well as high energy density has been actively conducted.
In this regard, a carbon-based compound capable of reversibly intercalating and deintercalating lithium ions while maintaining structural and electrical properties has been mainly used as a negative electrode active material of a negative electrode of a conventional lithium secondary battery, but the improvement in energy density per volume of the conventional battery material has arguably reached its limit.
The energy density is ensured through high densification and thinning of subsidiary material, but the current limit is at most 750 Wh/L per volume, and further thinning is difficult in terms of process. Particularly, since a chemical potential of the carbon-based compound during the intercalation and deintercalation of lithium ions is similar to that of lithium metal, lithium precipitation due to overpotential occurs even at a slightly higher charge current. Since the lithium precipitation is further accelerated as charge and discharge are repeated, it causes a short circuit due to dendrites as well as a reduction in capacity. Thus, it may have a great impact on safety, and it is vulnerable to safety, for example, when an amount of lithium greater than an amount of lithium receivable from the negative electrode is charged by overcharge of the battery, the temperature increases to cause an exothermic reaction which leads to ignition and explosion of the battery.
Accordingly, various negative electrode materials, for example, a silicon-based material, such as pure-Si, SiOx, and a composite of SiC or the like, a tin (Sn)-based material, an oxide-based material, and lithium metal, have recently been studied to dramatically improve the energy density. However, silicon, one of the most promising next-generation negative electrode materials, has very high capacity, but battery degradation due to high volume expansion is considered to be the most important issue.
Therefore, there is a need for a lithium secondary battery which may address such an issue and may simultaneously improve ultra-high energy density and life performance.

Long-life and ultra-high energy density lithium secondary battery


A sound feeling device (1) having a case main body (4) which is constituted of, at least, a case (3) having a bottom (3x) in contact with the body when the device (1) is used and a partition plate (5) which is mounted with a loudspeaker (6), and, together with the case (3), defines a sound producing space. The bottom (3x) vibrates upon receiving sounds from the loudspeaker (6), and is curved at least, at the part which is in contact with the body when used, along the shape of the body.

A body-acoustic device converts electric sound signals, which are transmitted from a business-use game machine, a home-use game machine or any other acoustic unit, into mechanical vibrations for transmission to the body of a user. The body-acoustic device has a structure such that a speaker for emitting sound as a vibration source is elastically supported in an internal space of a container body by means of a partitioning plate. The partitioning plate divides the internal space of the container body into two airtight chambers, and the speaker is received in an opening formed in the partitioning plate. Due to the emission of sound from the speaker, air vibrations attributable to the sound pressure are generated in the internal space of the container body and transmitted to the user's body through an outer wall of the container body.
As a specific example of such body-acoustic device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-316582 discloses a basic structure wherein the interior of a closed container is divided into two airtight chambers by a partition wall fitted with a speaker. The outer periphery of the partition wall is attached to the closed container by means of a buffer made of rubber or polyurethane for absorbing vibrations. Such a structure enables the partition wall to serve as a vibrating plate which is integrally vibrated with the cone paper of the speaker. Moreover, the appropriate vibration absorbing effect of the buffer prevents generation of uncomfortable echo noises.
If the partition wall is directly secured to the closed container without the buffer, distortion and split of the speaker sound cause uncomfortable echo noises and deteriorate the clearness of sound. Due to the preserve of the foregoing buffer, the uncomfortable noises can be appropriately absorbed so that the clearness of sound improves.
In the above-mentioned body-acoustic device, a through-hole is formed in the partition wall which permits the air vibrations generated in one of the airtight chambers due to the speaker sound pressure to be propagated to the other airtight chamber. Therefore, generated air vibrations are not immediately attenuated, and satisfactory air vibrations are generated in the overall internal space of the container. Moreover, the sound throttling effect attained when the air vibrations are allowed to pass through the through-hole further raises the sound pressure. Thus, the vibrations generated in the entire outer wall of the closed container are intensified.
In practical use of the body-acoustic device of the foregoing type, some means is employed to hold an outer wall portion of the body-acoustic device into contact with an appropriate portion of the user's body, and the vibrations generated due to the sound of the speaker are transmitted to the appropriate portion of the body. In a known example, the body-acoustic device is attached to a seat back so that the user's back is brought into contact with the seat back, that is, the body-acoustic device when the user is seated.
In recent years, a rucksack type body-acoustic device has been put into trial use or practical use, the body-acoustic device is fitted in the vicinity of the user's back for carrying on the back.
The closed container of the body-acoustic device disclosed in the above-described publication is cylindrical and has a flat bottom wall for contact with the human body. Therefore, if the body-acoustic device is fitted to the human body, only a portion of the bottom wall is brought into contact with the body.
Specifically, a contact portion such as the back or waist of the human body, with which the body-acoustic device is brought into contact, is undulated; macroscopically viewed, the back and the waist are warped with a certain curvature. If the bottom wall is flat, it cannot be brought into uniform contact with the back or the waist. In this case, there arises a problem that the vibrations generated in the outer wall of the closed container cannot be efficiently transmitted. Particularly, when an attempt is made to transmit viblations over a wide region of the human body, the vibrations are actually transmitted partially even if the area of the flat bottom wall is enlarged. Therefore, the efficiency in transmitting vibrations further deteriorates.
Since the body-acoustic device disclosed in the above publication requires the buffer to absorb uncomfortable noises, the number of elements increases and the assembling operation becomes complicated to result in a decrease of the working efficiency. In particular, the buffer disclosed as described above is an annular member having an annular groove formed in the inner surface thereof and arranged to receive the outer periphery of the foregoing insulating wall; and the outer periphery is secured to the inner surface of the closed contained by adhesive agent or the like. Therefore, an operation for causing the buffer to hold the insulating wall and that for allowing the buffer to adhere to the closed container are required. Each of the operations are excessively complicated operations while taking a long time. Thus, a critical problem arises when mass production is performed.
If the foregoing structure is employed, frequent vibrations of the insulating wall causes the adhesion portions of the buffer to be separated or the insulating wall unintentionally is separated from the annular groove of the buffer. Thus, a problem of the durability arises and use for a long time cannot be realized.
Each of the foregoing body-acoustic device encounters a difficulty in bringing the body-acoustic device into reliably contact with the appropriate portion of the body. What is worse, any positive contrivance is not employed. Therefore, there arises a problem in that if appropriate vibrations are generated in the body-acoustic device, the vibrations cannot efficiently be transmitted to the use.
In particular, since the foregoing rucksack structure usually comprises the fastening belts made of cloth or leather, the body-acoustic device is pushed downwards attributable to the deadweight thereof and thus the vertical pressure does not applied to the back of the user. In this case, the back cannot reliably receive the transmitted vibrations.
Moreover, since the back of the body has concave and convex portions and, in particular, the portion in the vicinity of the shoulder blades considerably project over the other portions, the outer wall of the body-acoustic device is brought into contact with the portions including the shoulder blades when the user has the body-acoustic device on the back, thus causing the outer wall to be slightly separated from the other portions. As a result, the vibrations are concentrically and partially transmitted to the portion including the shoulder blades and therefore uniform and reliable transmission of the vibrations is inhibited.
Since the body-acoustic device disclosed as described above has the structure such that the surface portion of the container body, that is, the surface wall portion opposite to the portion which is brought into contact with the body is formed by a single wall, there arises a problem in that sound emitted from the speaker leaks to the outside through the surface wall portion. This problem causes uncomfortable noise to be generated and the atmosphere condition to deteriorate.
In a case where the foregoing body-acoustic device is connected to a game machine for business use or a game machine for home use, sound obtained in response to a signal supplied from a game progression control means of the body of the game machine is, without any process, transmitted to the speaker in the body-acoustic device as an operation signal. The method of transmitting the signal for operating the speaker involves signals in all frequency regions from low frequencies to high frequencies to be transmitted to the speaker.
As a result, for example, sound in the high frequency region is uncomfortable sound in the body-acoustic device and bodily comfortable vibrations cannot be generated. When unnecessary sounds of the foregoing type are mixed with necessary sounds and they are emitted from the speaker, a user is given an unpleasant feeling. Also this causes noise to be generated and environment to deteriorate.
On the other hand, in recent years, as a game which is played by using a game machine for business use or a game machine for home use, games of a type in which a character or the like which is moved in accordance with the input operation of a player and thus the player joins the progression of the game have been put into practical uses, as well as games, the progression of which is determined or controlled by the player regardless of characters in the game.
The games of the foregoing type permitting the player to join the progression has a structure such that an input means comprising a joy stick lever, depression switches and the like is attached to the game machine and the player operates the input means while looking an image output means, such as CRT or LCD, provided or connected to the game machine to control the behavior of an image of a virtual human being corresponding to the player during the progression of the game.
The specific contents of games of the foregoing type include a variety of fields, such as games relating to sports, such as a combative sport, adventures, races and treasure hunting which have been suggested and put into practical use. During a process of the foregoing game, various sounds are emitted from a sound output means, such as a speaker, provided or connected to the game machine.
The game of the type permitting a player to join the game and each of the foregoing game machine to be used is mainly structured such that sound is emitted from the speaker provided exclusively for the game machine in a case where, for example, the situation of the image of the virtual human being corresponding to the player has been changed during the play of the game. Therefore, the sound emitted from the speaker can be heard by another person as well as the payer in a game of a type in which the victory or defeat is decided. If a state intended to be kept secret from another player exists, the secret state cannot be maintained.
As a result, the contents of the game is fully disclosed and therefore satisfactory thrill cannot be provided. Moreover, a process in which a player plays the game while making the situation secret in accordance with information which is recognized by only the player cannot be employed because of the sound emission. Thus, there arises a problem in that the game cannot be manufactured freely and the contents are limited.
Although the game of the foregoing type is structured to use only voice and effect sound to provide reality and power for the player, the foregoing contrivance poorly provides the atmosphere by only the auditory sense and the visual sense for the player. Further improved reality and satisfactory power cannot be obtained and there arises a problem in that provided entertainment and pleasure are unsatisfactory.
On the other hand, as type of a play put into practical use in recent years, a shooting game is known in which a plurality of players each having a light beam gun simulate shooting outdoor to decide victory or defeat in accordance with a decided rule such that, for example, the player exhibiting a larger number of hits is made to be a victor.
A playing apparatus or a playing device for use in a game of the foregoing usually comprises a light beam gun including a light emission portion and a target device to which a light receiving portion is attached. The target device is attached to, for example, the breast of each player. Other players each having the light beam gun by the hand aim and emit light to the target device. In accordance with whether the light beam is received by the light receiving portion of the target device, whether the player is hit is determined.
Hitherto, a structure has been arranged such that electronic sound is produced when the light beam emitted from the light beam gun hits the target of the enemy. Moreover, when the number of hits of the light beams for one player reaches a predetermined time, louder electronic sound or different type electronic sound is produced to inform the player to be the defeated.
Another structure is adapted to the foregoing playing apparatus in which the player has spectacles having a display portion to display the number of hits in the spectacles or the like to enable each player to recognize the hit. Another method is employed in which the display portion of the spectacles is used to display a fact that the muzzle of the light beam gun aims the light receiving portion of the target device, that is, one player is aimed by another player.
The playing apparatus for use in the conventional simulative shooting game is simply structured such that sound is emitted when a light beam hits the target device. Thus, a problem arises in that the power for the player is unsatisfactory. Moreover, there arises a problem in that the requirement for providing improved reality cannot be satisfied.
If the structure in which the number of hits of the target device or the state where the player is aimed by another player is displayed on the spectacles is employed, a complicated and time taking operation for fitting the spectacles is required. Moreover, the spectacles are obstructive for the player who acts during the game.
A body-acoustic device has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-266797 in order to cause voice in a very low-pitched sound region, which has been considered difficult to be reproduced by a usual speaker, to be directly sensed by the body of the player. In the disclosure above, an electric acoustic signal is converted into mechanical vibrations so as to be transmitted to the sense of a human being.
A body-acoustic device of the foregoing type is arranged to be included in a chair or fitted to the body. In, for example, a video game apparatus, an effect of empathy for providing a feeling of identification with the hero of the game for the player is expected.
In a case where the conventional body-acoustic device is employed in, for example, a game apparatus, a confused feeling is given to the player attributable to the bipolar separation of the sound and acoustic sound. Thus, the effect of empathy becomes unsatisfactory, and in an extreme case, uncomfortable feeling is provided. That is, the essential portion of the game is performed on the display screen of a display apparatus disposed in front of the player. In many cases, a speaker is integrally provided for the display apparatus or a speaker is disposed adjacent to the display apparatus. Therefore, also an acoustic image produced by the speaker is located on a plane. On the other hand, since the body-acoustic device directly transmit vibrations to the body of a human being, a sound generating point exists adjacent to the player. Therefore, the position of the acoustic image of the speaker and the acoustic image of the body-acoustic device are deviated from each other, the sound which is vibrations of air generated by the speaker and the acoustic sound, which is mechanical vibrations generated by the body-acoustic device are separated from each other.
If the player has a headphone, the acoustic image emitted by the speaker can be located near the body-acoustic device. However, the foregoing method causes all of acoustic images to be located near the body-acoustic device. Therefore, an arbitrary portion of the acoustic images cannot freely be controlled so as to be located near the body-acoustic device.

Body-acoustic device, playing apparatus and its control method, light-beam utilizing playing apparatus, and acoustic apparatus


A resource management system including a plurality of computer systems and providing services through operations of task applications by combining the plurality of the computer systems, which comprises: a storage which is included in at least one of the computer systems for storing information for identifying the computer systems which execute the task applications, respectively, and resource utilization rate information which includes utilization rates of resources configuring the respective computer systems; and an effected range investigation unit which is included in at least one of the computer systems and obtains utilization rates of additional resources required by a task application from the resource utilization rate information when the effected range investigation unit obtains information that the task application requires the additional resources of the computer systems; and sums utilization rates of resources configuring newly configured computer systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resource management of an information processing system, and more particularly to a resource management system and a resource management method which provide countermeasures for continuously operating the information processing system when the system is involved in an overload or troubles, by utilizing a technology for virtualizing the information processing system through objectizing and a policy control technology for managing operation of the information processing system.
2. Description of Relevant Art
In recent years, most of operation services in, for example, companies are performed by using an information processing system. Therefore, high reliabilities and high flexibilities are required in the system.
When a trouble such as an expected overload, accident, and abnormality happens in the information processing system, a quick and correct action is required for minimizing an economical loss due to, for example, stopping operation services, and falling of credit of such a customer who uses the information processing system.
Therefore, a policy control processing technology has been developed for diagnosing a trouble condition and providing a countermeasure for avoiding the trouble when the trouble happens in the information processing system.
In general, as a policy control processing, if a trouble happens an alternative computer is assigned; in a case of overload, an additional computer is dynamically added (processing of this practical counteraction is defined as a policy action).
Here, as a verification method for verifying whether or not a computer system assigned to an alternative is usable, a method for verifying whether or not the computer is already in some trouble has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-330899 and US 2004/0213153A1. In addition, in the patent literatures No. 2003-330899 and US 2004/0213153A1, a method for assigning an overload processing to a shared computer system has been also proposed.
Meanwhile, as operation services by the information processing system according to the present invention, for example, a payroll calculation and sales management in a company are listed up. However, the present invention is not limited to these, but includes various kinds of processing and functions achieved by using the information processing system. For example, a processing and function for providing services of a Web information delivery, an advance sale for tickets, an online sale, and the like; or services themselves are included in the task service.
There exist various kinds of information processing systems which are utilized in, for example, a company due to different architectures supplied by each vendor. In addition, it is preferable to use resources as efficiently as possible. Further, operation services provided by the information processing system may not be configured with a single resource, but may be configured with a combination of a plurality of resources in many cases, for complying with a complex utilization configuration due to a large scale, high performance, and high reliability service.
In the aforementioned patent literatures No. 2003-330899 and US 2004/0213153A1, since operation services with a single configuration and a single resource are handled, it is difficult to apply the systems of the above literatures to a case where an information processing system is configured with multi-layers and a plurality of resources, and a case to handle operation services (for example, Web system, batch system, DB: Data Base, and ledger sheet output) which have various kinds of processing.

System and method for managing resources


A measurement control method in a mobile communication system is provided. The mobile communication system includes a first base station and a second base station which perform communications with a user apparatus by using inter-base-station carrier aggregation. The measurement control method includes a measurement instruction step of determining, by the second base station, a parameter used for measurement configuration information for the user apparatus and transmitting measurement instruction information including the parameters to the first base station; and a measurement configuration information providing step of generating, by the first base station which has received the measurement instruction information, the measurement configuration information in which the parameter included in the measurement instruction information is set, and transmitting the measurement configuration information to the user apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for providing measurement configuration information for a user apparatus UE in a mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an LTE system, carrier aggregation (hereinafter, referred to as CA) has been introduced. CA enables communications by using a plurality of component carriers (hereinafter, referred to as CC) at the same time. As illustrated in FIG. 1, in CA up to LTE Rel-10, it is possible to realize high throughput by performing simultaneous communications by using multiple CCs under the same base station eNB.
On the other hand, in LTE Rel-12, the above operation is further enhanced and dual connectivity (DC) is proposed in which simultaneous communications are performed to realize high throughput by using CCs under different base stations eNBs (Non Patent Document 1). In other words, in dual connectivity, a UE performs communications by simultaneously using radio resources of two physically different base stations eNBs.
Dual connectivity is a kind of CA, and is also referred to as Inter eNB CA (inter-base-station carrier aggregation). In DC, a master-eNB (MeNB) and a secondary-eNB (SeNB) are introduced. An example of dual connectivity is illustrated in FIG. 2. In an example of FIG. 2, a MeNB communicates with the user apparatus UE via CC #1, a SeNB communicates with the user apparatus UE via CC #2, and thus, dual connectivity is realized.
In dual connectivity, (one or multiple) cells under the MeNB are referred to as a master cell group (MCG), and (one or multiple) cells under the SeNB are referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG).

Measurement control method and base station


The present invention relates to a heating device for use in vehicles, particularly to a device for heating a fluid, for example air, water, or liquid coolant. The device is particularly designed for vehicles the main propulsion system of which is not a combustion engine and which therefore lack residual heat from the engine. The present invention is characterized by the use of a chassis with a planar configuration and an inner chamber in fluid communication with an inlet port and an outlet port and a heating plate. The chassis comprises at least one window and the heating plate has a heating region closing the window of the chassis for heating the fluid housed in the inner chamber.

One of the fields of the art undergoing the most intensive development today is the field of heating systems in vehicles, for example in commercial vehicles or private passenger cars. Vehicles with internal combustion engines usually generate enough residual heat to be utilized in heating a fluid, for example air, in order to heat the cabin. However, hybrid or electric vehicles do not have enough residual heat to be utilized and alternative solutions must be used.
Electrical fluid heating systems are used in hybrid and electric vehicles for controlling the temperature of the cabin, for defrosting, or for conditioning batteries, which are highly sensitive to extreme temperatures. These systems are powered by batteries of the vehicle and generally comprise one or more electrical resistors generating heat by the Joule effect. The heat thereby generated is transmitted to a fluid with which it is in thermal contact, for example water, liquid coolant, or air.
In some air conditioning or heating systems known in the field of the art, electrical resistors are in direct contact with the fluid which is often electrically conductive.
In these examples, the resistors are inserted into the chamber through which the fluid to be heated circulates, and a large number of sealing gaskets that withstand the high temperatures of the resistors and the action of the fluid must be used. These gaskets must also assure leak-tightness when they are subjected to straining due to thermal expansion, since the resistors reach high temperatures with respect to the body holding it and can undergo significant expansions.
According to other examples of the state of the art, the resistors are housed in cavities giving rise to protuberances inside the chambers through which the fluid to be heated circulates. In these cases, the resistors are separated from the fluid to be heated establishing a barrier to the passage of heat, and there are large pressure drops in the flows of the heated fluid as it is forced to go through the protuberances.
As identified in all these cases, the systems must be leak-tight and prevent fluid leakages which damage the heating system or other elements of the vehicle. Among the most common solutions is the use of sealing gaskets which assure that the heat-generating elements and the fluid circuit are duly isolated in order to prevent both fluid losses and the risk of short-circuits.
To assure the functionality thereof, the sealing gaskets must be elastically deformable and adaptable to the shape of the gasket of the area to be isolated. In the particular case of heating systems, the gaskets must also withstand the high temperatures reached during the operation of the device. Even if the sealing gaskets fulfill the preceding conditions, leakages may occur as a result of material deterioration either due to heat, vibrations, or aging of the gasket material. Furthermore, the processes for manufacturing devices with a large number of sealing gaskets are demanding in terms of manpower, machinery, and material, resulting in a significant increase in the cost of the heating device. If the devices are intended for use in a vehicle, they must also be lightweight, resistant to vibrations and impacts, and protected from dirt, dust, and other environmental agents, in addition to withstanding the action of the fluid circulating through the inside thereof.
In general, a device having these features is difficult and expensive to manufacture, with the risk of fluid loss due to gasket failure not being eliminated, and with the obtained devices suffering significant pressure drops. However, the present invention allows overcoming the preceding problems in a simple and cost-effective manner by means of a device according to the claim.


The image forming apparatus according to the present invention detects the amount of remaining toner by using (i) the result of calculation carried out by a toner supply amount calculation section based on an accumulated rotational time measurement section in a region where the amount of remaining toner is not less than a predetermined amount and toner supply is stabilized, (ii) the result of calculation carried out by a pixel count section in a region where the amount of remaining toner gets small and the amount of toner supply gets uneven, and (iii) the result of ATC carried out by a toner density control section. As a result, it is possible to exactly detect the amount of remaining toner without providing a special remaining toner detection device.

In an image forming apparatus for forming images by use of toner, such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, it is necessary to grasp the amount of remaining toner for convenience of maintenance such as toner supply.
However, in a case where an image forming apparatus is provided with a remaining toner detection device, the cost inevitably increases. Therefore, there has been used a technique in which the amount of remaining toner is detected by use of existing members.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent
Publication No. 221944/1998 (Tokukai 10-221944; published on Aug. 21, 1998) discloses a technique in which: when two-component developer is used, the amount of remaining toner is detected based on the result of Auto Toner Control (ATC).
ATC is a method for controlling toner density of developer so that the toner density is constant based on magnetic permeability of the developer. Two-component developer is constituted of (i) carrier made of iron powder and the like and (ii) toner with predetermined density (e.g. 4 to 5%). As such, when toner in the developer is used and the ratio of carrier increases, the magnetic permeability of the developer increases. Therefore, by detecting the magnetic permeability of the developer, it is possible to grasp the ratio of toner in the developer.
Examples of ATC include (i) a technique in which: when magnetic permeability rises and exceeds an upper limit (corresponding to a lower limit of toner density), a supply motor is rotated for a predetermined time (alternatively, predetermined number of rotations) and toner is supplied from a toner supply source such as a toner bottle, and (ii) a technique in which: a lower limit of magnetic permeability (corresponding to an upper limit of toner density) is previously set and when the magnetic permeability rises and exceeds an upper limit, a supply motor is rotated until the magnetic permeability falls to the lower limit, thereby supplying toner from the toner supply source.
In either technique, as the amount of remaining toner in the toner supply source drops, the effect of drop appears in ATC. The result of ATC allows detection of the amount of remaining toner. Namely, in the technique (i), the amount of toner supply per a predetermined time for rotating the supply motor is reduced, so that toner supply is frequently repeated, which makes it possible to detect that the amount of remaining toner is small. Further, in the technique (ii), the amount of toner supply per a predetermined time for rotating the supply motor is reduced, so that the time for toner supply (time taken for the magnetic permeability to fall to the lower limit) becomes long, which makes it possible to detect that the amount of remaining toner is small.
Thereafter, when the supply motor is rotated for a predetermined time (e.g. 3 seconds) but the magnetic permeability does not have the former value, namely, when the toner density does not increase, toner empty (toner run out, toner end) is detected.
Further, examples of a conventional technique for detecting the amount of consumed toner or remaining toner by use of existing members other than ATC are as follows.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 163553/2004 (Tokukai 2004-163553; published on Jun. 10, 2004) discloses a technique in which: the number of formed printing dots is counted, the counted number is multiplied by a predetermined weight coefficient, thus multiplied number is accumulated and, based on thus accumulated number, the amount of toner consumption is obtained. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 163553/2004 discloses that the weight coefficient is modified according to the history of toner use.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 163554/2004 (Tokukai 2004-163554; published on Jun. 10, 2004) discloses a technique in which the amount of remaining toner is obtained in such a manner that (i) the number of printing dots is counted based on image signals and the amount of toner consumption is calculated based on the counted number, and (ii) in an operation mode such as a density control mode which includes formation of a patchwork image, the amount of toner consumption is calculated according to a pattern of the patchwork image.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 333419/1998 (Tokukaihei 10-333419; published on Dec. 18, 1998) discloses a technique in which: a toner supply function for converting a video count value of an image in to a time for toner supply is corrected while being weighted by a video count value of an image under formation, and thus the amount of toner supply is corrected so as to correspond to the amount of toner consumption.
However, the conventional techniques for detecting the amount of remaining toner by use of existing members have the following problems to be solved.
For example, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 221944/1998 for detecting the amount of remaining toner by carrying out ATC, it is impossible to chronologically detect the amount of remaining toner from a time when the toner is fully contained to a time when the toner runs out. Hence there is not an enough time for a user to prepare toner to be subsequently used, so that the operation rate of the image forming apparatus drops.
Namely, in ATC, it is not until the amount of remaining toner is much reduced that toner supply is frequently repeated or that it takes much time to supply toner per each supply. When the amount of remaining toner is much reduced, the number of printable sheets is only 50 to 100 (the number depends on the size of a sheet and a printing ratio). As a result, though a user is informed that the amount of remaining toner is small at a time when such state is detected, it is much likely that the toner runs out before next toner is prepared, resulting in that the image forming apparatus is stopped.
On the other hand, in the techniques not using ATC, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 163553/2004, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 163554/2004, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 333419/1998, the amount of toner to be used is exactly calculated based on image signals or patterns of patchwork images, and is regarded as the amount of toner consumption. Therefore, by obtaining the amount of remaining toner based on thus obtained amount of toner consumption, it is possible to detect that the amount of remaining toner is small before ATC does so that the detection result is informed to the user.
However, the actual amount of toner on a photoconductor is not constant because of the environment or variations in devices. Therefore, even though the amount of remaining toner is more exactly detected based on weighting or the like, it is difficult to determine whether toner runs out or not based only on the result of weighting.
Therefore, even though the user is informed that the amount of remaining toner is small under a condition that enough sheets are provided so as to be printed, toner may run out before a predetermined number of sheets are printed or toner may be judged to run out while the toner still remains.

Image forming apparatus and method for detecting amount of remaining toner


A wiper blade (18a) has a rubber holder (22) for holding a blade rubber (21). This rubber holder (22) has a connection block (24) coupled to a wiper arm and two sub-holders (25) fixed on both sides of the connection block (24), and the sub-holders (25) each has two rod-shaped spring members (27) curved with curvature radii smaller than that of a front glass and 11 holder pieces (26) fixed to these rod-shaped spring members (27) in a longitudinal direction at a predetermined interval. Further, this rubber holder (22) is formed so that the two sub-holders (25) are coupled to each other via the connection block (24) in the longitudinal direction.

In a vehicle such as an automobile, a wiper apparatus is provided to ensure a visual field of a driver by wiping attached matters such as rain, snow, bugs, or droplets from preceding cars, which have been adhered on a windshield glass such as a front glass. The wiper apparatus generally has a wiper arm swung by an electric motor and a wiper blade attached to a tip portion of the wiper arm, wherein a wiping operation is conducted by the wider blade reciprocating on the windshield.
As the wiper blade used in such a wiper apparatus, there has been known the wiper blade in which the blade rubber directly contacting with the front glass is directly attached to a flat leaf spring member formed of an elastic member such as a steel plate, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-340249. In this case, the flat leaf spring member is formed to curve at a curvature radius smaller than that of the front glass, so that the flat leaf spring member is elastically deformed by a pressing force applied from the wiper arm to disperse the pressing force in a longitudinal direction of the blade rubber.
In such a wiper blade, however, the flat leaf spring member is formed with a longitudinal dimension equal to that of the blade rubber and into a curved shape, so that when the wiper blade with a blade length of, for example, 700 mm or so is manufactured, the flat leaf spring member becomes lengthy accordingly. Therefore, it is feared that: when the flat leaf spring members are carried into a work site, their returnable boxes grow in size; due to decreasing of the packed number of them or the like, efficiency in physical distribution aspects is lowered; and when the flat leaf spring members are processed, they are deformed due to interference with a die or molding machine in some cases. That is, handling them has not been easy.
Furthermore, the windshield glasses provided to the vehicles often have different curvatures depending on types of the vehicles due to their design or the like. In contrast, since a distribution pressure of the blade rubber to the windshield glass is determined based on a characteristic of the flat leaf spring member in such a wiper blade, the wiper blade using the flat leaf spring member with a predetermined characteristic can generate a distribution pressure effective on only a windshield glass with a specific curvature. Accordingly, since the wiper blade using an exclusive flat leaf spring member is set for each vehicle type, it becomes necessary to prepare various kinds of flat leaf spring members different in characteristic, so that manufacturing the wiper blades different in characteristic has become complicated.
An object of the present invention is to facilitate the manufacturing of the wiper blade.
Another object of the present invention is to make it easy to manufacture the wiper blades different in characteristic.


In a process according to the invention and an apparatus according to the invention for the coating or modification of a surface a flow of a first gaseous phase or of a first aerosol comprising one or more precursor compounds is guided along a heated filament so that the precursor compounds are converted into reactive compounds. Alternatively, non-activated particles are guided along a heated filament so that these are activated and are then combined with a gaseous phase or an aerosol comprising a plurality of precursor compounds, so that the precursor compounds are thereby converted into reactive compounds. The reactive compounds formed according to at least one of the two aforementioned steps are guided onto a substrate that is exposed to atmospheric pressure, so that a layer is deposited on the substrate or its surface is modified.

The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for the coating or modification of surfaces.
Gaseous phase layer depositions or also CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) processes are known for the coating of surfaces with layers as thin as possible in the range from 0.5 nm to 50 μm, in order to alter for example the corrosion resistance of the material to be coated or the adhesive properties of the surface. In gaseous phase layer deposition a gaseous phase is excited in a regulated manner, physico-chemical processes occur within the gaseous phase, and as a result thin layers are formed on substrates. The temperatures in these processes are as a rule between 200 and 2000° C. Depending on the nature of the energy source one speaks of thermal, plasma-activated, photon-activated or laser-activated gaseous phase layer depositions. The gaseous components are normally led together with a carrier gas at pressures between 10 mbar and 1 bar through a reaction chamber, in which the physico-chemical processes take place and in which the solid-state components that are thereby formed are deposited as a thin layer on substrates. The volatile byproducts are removed together with the carrier gas.
In gaseous phase layer depositions, in which so-called cold plasmas are used as the energy source, the process is carried out at low pressures that lie significantly below the atmospheric pressure of about 1 bar.
From DE 102 36 430 a thermal process for low-temperature gaseous phase deposition is known, in which the coating process takes place within a reaction chamber. The reaction chamber is connected to a pump that serves to regulate the pressure and to remove byproducts and excess gases from the reaction chamber.
In addition processes are also known in which a so-called thermal plasma is used for the coating. In these processes, which are also termed plasma spraying processes, the operation may be carried out under atmospheric pressure, which means that a special pressure chamber is therefore not necessary. In the plasma spraying process a gas is heated in an arc discharge of high output, namely 5 to 100 kW, to a high temperature of 400 to 10,000 K in order to accelerate metal or ceramics particles to velocities of above 100 m/sec, which are introduced into the discharge and form molten droplets in the hot gaseous stream. The hot molten droplets solidify when they strike the surface to be coated and form there the desired layer. The layer thickness in plasma spraying processes is between 100 μm and a few mm.
From DE 199 55 880 a process is known for the plasma-activated deposition of layers in so-called barrier or corona discharges at atmospheric pressure. In this case a corona discharge is ignited between one or more electrodes and the substrate, which must be metallically conductive. The coating is thereby deposited on the surface of the substrate. Reference should also be made to DE 195 15 069 and DE 195 05 449.
From Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 21, No. 4, 1982, L183 to L185 a gaseous phase deposition of diamond particles is known, in which the activation of a methane-hydrogen mixture necessary for the deposition is produced by means of a hot filament. The deposition for the coating takes place in a reduced pressure chamber, in which the pressure during the coating is between about 1/100 and 1/10 bar and the flow rate is ca. 10 ml/min. The reduced pressure chamber is also heated by a furnace situated outside the chamber. In WO 00/47795 a gaseous phase deposition with the aid of a hot filament in a reaction chamber is likewise described; the substrate is in this case subjected to a pressure of about 40 Torr. Reference should also be made to EP 0637639, U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,206, EP 0561511, U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,038 and JP 2092895.
From DE 198 07 086 a process is known for coating surfaces of a substrate, in which a first gaseous phase is brought into the plasma state by means of an electrical field and forms a plasma jet. A second gaseous phase that contains one or more precursors, an aerosol and/or a pulverulent solid is then introduced into this plasma jet, and particle species suitable for the layer deposition are formed by physico-chemical reactions between the plasma-activated gaseous phase and the admixed gaseous phase. These particle species are transported for the layer deposition by the plasma jet to the substrate to be coated and form a layer on the latter. The process can be carried out under atmospheric pressure. High voltage electrodes are necessary in order to generate the electrical field that is required to convert the gaseous phase into the plasma state. The voltage for generating the electrical field is for example 12 kV and has a sinusoidal frequency of 20 kHz.
The coating processes known from the prior art—insofar as they are at all suitable for forming thin layers—are disadvantageous insofar as a high investment in apparatus is necessary to carry out the processes. The majority of the aforementioned processes, and more especially the hot-filament processes, require a pressure-tight reaction chamber. This means that a corresponding pumping technique is required in order to be able to adjust the necessary pressure conditions in the reaction chamber. In addition investment costs are involved in receivers and containers. A further disadvantage arising from the need for a reaction chamber is that the substrate whose surface is to be coated has to be arranged in the reaction chamber. This in turn means that such a process must in principle be carried out discontinuously if substrate batches are to be coated one after the other. There is also the fact that the size of the reaction chamber must match the size of the substrate. The high expenditure on apparatus also means that the execution of the process is very labour-intensive unless a cost-intensive automation is carried out in a complex coating plant.
Although the process that is described in DE 198 07 086 does not require a closed reaction chamber, nevertheless here too the expenditure on apparatus is still high. In particular, the generation of an electrical field requires the provision of a high voltage source. Apart from the high voltage source that according to the aforementioned printed specification has to be provided as generator, suitable high voltage electrodes also have to be provided. In order to achieve a strong electrical field a high voltage must exist between the electrodes, which should be as close together as possible. The formation of an undesirably hot discharge or arc discharge between the electrodes, which can lead to the destruction of the electrodes and substrate, can be avoided if the flow of the gaseous phase that is to be converted into the plasma state is matched to the time-variable voltage at the electrodes. In this connection a dielectric or a plurality of dielectrics may in addition also be provided between the electrodes and the plasma.
The provision of the electrical field is thus complicated and difficult. The production of the apparatus, especially in the region of the electrodes, requires a high degree of accuracy. In addition there is the fact that in the implementation of the process the electrical voltage for generating the electrical field must be accurately matched to the gaseous stream guided between them. It must also be borne in mind that the use of high voltage is likewise governed by special safety requirements, which necessitate appropriate safety measures.

Process and apparatus for the coating or modification of surfaces

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V.


In an electronic assembly whose components or circuit components are combined into at least two sub-assemblies or function units, one or more of the sub-assemblies or function units are disposed on a first substrate comprising a first substrate material. The first substrate is in its turn disposed with one or more further sub-assemblies or function units on a second substrate comprising a second substrate material.

Circuits of electronic assemblies, for example electronic control devices, generally have as their sub-assemblies or function units an input stage, a digitally operating control section, and an output/power stage. Rigid or flexible plastic PCBs, ceramic substrates and leadframes are used as substrate carriers for the components and for the electrical connection lines between the components.
The costs for the substrate carrier necessary for construction of the circuit depend on the complexity of the carrier: substrate carriers wired on one plane only and with standardized circuit path widths and spacings are superior, as regards cost, to substrate carriers wired on several planes, containing substrate through-holes, and being non-standardized as regards width and spacing of the circuit paths. The cost factor is becoming increasingly influential the more the selected substrate technology approaches its technological boundaries. This generally occurs when the design of the circuit is heavily affected by space restrictions.
Particularly in those cases in which construction of the above digital control section requires the interconnection of several digital ICs with a large number of pins, either a large amount of space or a sophisticated technology is required on the substrate carrier purely for the circuit path connection--quite apart from the disproportionately high space requirement of the housings used in relation to the semiconductor chip proper.

Electronic assembly with first and second substrates


An approach for providing efficient network data transfer service is provided. In one embodiment, a first database server receives, from a second database server, a first request to access a first storage subsystem. Here, the second database server cannot access first data in the first storage subsystem without another database server transmitting the first data to the second database server. In response, the first database server provides the second database server a first set of access primitives. Using the first set of access primitives, the second database server may access data stored in the first storage subsystem that may be otherwise not accessible. As a result, the first database server receives, from the second database server, a first data access request to access first data stored in the first storage subsystem.

Some organizations may install database servers in several locations that are geographically diverse from each other. For example, a corporation may set up two database servers in two locations (such as New York City and Los Angeles) so that they operate in an autonomous and load-balanced way in a normal situation, but, in case a disaster (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or terrorist attacks) causes one server to fail, the other server can quickly take over and keep critical functions and services, some of which might have been previously supported by the failed server, uninterrupted. Typically, under such a multi-location scheme, a database server at a location has its own storage subsystem; direct access to such a storage subsystem is not shared with database servers at other locations; and only logical access to data stored in the storage subsystem is allowed to the database servers at the other locations. To provide logical access to data stored in the storage subsystem, copies of files or tables may be provided by the database server that owns the storage subsystem to the database servers in the other locations using file transfer protocols.
In addition to being highly inefficient, these techniques dictate uses of disparate methods to access local and remote data, respectively. As a result, a database server must use disparate calls, APIs and logic flows in handling accesses to the local data and remote data, thereby resulting in much programmatic complexity.
Under some other techniques, a local data storage device may be explicitly exported by its hosting operating system to a remote node that hosts a remote database server. For example, a hard disk that is directly attached to a hosting UNIX system may be explicitly exported by the hosting UNIX system. A remote node that has an appropriate communication link with the hosting UNIX system may mount the exported hard disk on the remote node, using an NFS protocol, thereby enabling remote access to the exported hard disk. However, there may be no direct link between a system that hosts local data storage devices and a remote node. For example, where a Network Attached Storage (NAS) system is used, a local database server that controls direct access to the NAS system may not be the same system as the NAS system itself. The NAS system that hosts the data storage devices may not have any communication link with the remote database server that enables the NFS protocol. Or, for any such reasons as site security, the NAS system may not be configured for exporting through external protocols such as the NFS protocol to any other database servers except the one directly attached.
Therefore, a better mechanism, which would better support network data transfer in distributed database systems, is needed.


A method and system for estimating a cost of using a tree index to process a query that includes at least one interval restriction is provided. The cost of using an index to process a select query is estimated by (1) classifying intervals covered by the index as either true, false, or mixed intervals, based on the selection criteria, (2) estimating the cost of using the index based on the size of the true and mixed intervals, and (3) improving the cost estimate based on the average ratio of the parent and child node cardinalities taken down one or more sampling paths of the index. Use of a pseudo-ranked B-tree is generally preferred over a fully ranked tree due to the relatively low update costs of a pseudo-ranked B-tree. The index cost estimations are used to pick a select query execution plan that has the smallest cost, in terms of disk I/O operations, from numerous possible execution plans.

Relational databases store information in indexed tables. A user retrieves information from the tables by entering input that is converted to queries by a database application. The database application submits the queries to a database server. In response to a query, the database server accesses the tables specified in the query to determine which information within the tables satisfies the queries. The information that satisfies the queries is then retrieved by the database server and transmitted to the database application and ultimately to the user.
For any given database application, the queries must conform to the rules of a particular query language. Most query languages provide users with a variety of ways to specify information to be retrieved. For example, in the Structured Query Language (SQL), the following query requests the retrieval of the information contained in all rows of a table "t1": EQU SELECT * FROM t1
The user may constrain the query to retrieve a smaller amount of information by adding a WHERE clause, as in the following query: EQU SELECT * FROM t1 EQU WHERE c1=2 AND c2>5 AND c3=8
The WHERE clause imposes a constraint that each row of table t1 must meet to satisfy the query. In this case, the WHERE clause has three predicates, c1=2, c2 >5, and c3=8. These predicates mean that all the retrieved rows of table t1 must have a value equal to two in column c1, a value greater than five in column c2, and a value equal to eight in column c3, respectively.
Without special processing, a database server would have to fetch every row of a table and inspect every column named in the WHERE clause to perform the query. However, such an approach impairs the overall database system performance because many disk blocks would have to be read. As a result, many database systems provide indexes to increase the speed of the data retrieval process. A database index is similar to a normal index found at the end of a book, in that both kinds of indexes comprise an ordered list of information accompanied with the location of the information. Values from one or more columns of a table are stored in an index, maintained separately from the actual database table.
Referring to FIG. 1A, it illustrates a portion of a table 100 and a portion of a B-tree 108 associated with table 100. Table 100 has a plurality of rows 105A-105D, and a plurality of columns 102A-102N. Each table in a database system also has an internal column, or pseudocolumn, referred to as rowid. A table's rowid pseudocolumn is not displayed when the table's structure is listed. However, it is retrievable by a query and can be used to uniquely identify a row in the table. Rowid column 103 has rowid entries that correspond to the rows 105A-105D. Column 102N of table 100 stores names.
A B-tree consists of a set of nodes connected in a hierarchical arrangement. A B-tree contains two types of nodes: branch nodes and leaf nodes. Leaf nodes reside at the lowest level of the hierarchy and contain values from the actual column to which the index corresponds. For example, B-tree 108 is an index for column 102N of table 100. Node 134 of B-tree 108 is a leaf node that contains values from column 102N. Along with the values, leaf nodes store the rowid of the rows that contain the values. For example, in addition to the names Issacs, leaf node 134 contains the rowid 4876 that corresponds to the row 105A of table 100 that contains the name Issacs in column 102N.
All the nodes in B-tree 108 that are not leaf nodes are branch nodes. Branch nodes contain data that indicates a interval of values. In the illustrated B-Tree 108, nodes 110, 112, 114, 116, 120, 122, 124, 132 and 136 are branch nodes, and therefore correspond to intervals of values. The interval of values identified in each branch node is such that all nodes that reside below a given branch node correspond to values that fall within the interval of values represented by the branch node. For example, node 114 is a branch node that corresponds to names in the alphabetic interval from Franklin to Miner. Consequently, nodes 120, 122, 124, 132, 134, and 136 which all reside below node 114 in the hierarchy, correspond to values that fall within the interval of Franklin to Miner. Reference numerals 118, 126, 128, 130, 138 and 140 represent connections to other portions of B-Tree 108 that are not shown.
To search for a value within an indexed column, a database system traverses the B-tree associated with the column. The steps for traversing a B-tree are illustrated in FIG. 1B. Referring to FIG. 1B, at step 150 the highest node in the B-tree hierarchy is established as the current node. For the purposes of illustration, it shall be assumed that a search is being performed for the name "Iverson" in column 102N. Therefore, the highest node of the B-Tree that corresponds to column 102N (node 110) shall be established as the current node at step 150. The value for which a search is being performed shall be referred to hereafter as the "target value". In the present example, "Iverson" is the target value.
At step 152, it is determined whether the target value falls within the interval associated with the highest node. In the illustrated example, the target name "Iverson" falls within the interval "Abbey" to "Zachary" associated with the highest node 110. Therefore control passes to step 158. If the target value did not fall within the interval associated with the highest node, then the target value does not reside in the column associated with the B-Tree 108 and control would pass to step 154.
At step 158, the nodes that reside directly below the current node are inspected to determine the next current node. The next current node is the node below the current node that represents the interval in which the target value resides. In the present example, nodes 112, 114 and 116 reside below the current node 110. Node 114 corresponds to the interval "Franklin" to "Miner", in which the target name "Iverson" resides. Therefore, node 114 is established as the new current node.
At step 160, it is determined whether the current node is a leaf node. In the present example, node 114 is not a leaf node so control passes back to step 158.
At step 158, nodes 120, 122, and 124 which reside directly below the current node 114 are inspected. Node 122 is selected as the next current node because the target name "Iverson" resides within the interval "Hamilton" to "Jones" associated with node 122. At step 160 it is determined that the current node 122 is not a leaf node so control passes back to step 158. At step 158, nodes 132, 134, and 136 are inspected, and node 134 is selected as the next current node because the target name "Iverson" falls within the interval of names contained within node 134.
At step 160, it is determined that the current node 134 is a leaf node and control passes to step 162. At step 162, it is determined whether the current leaf node 134 contains the target value. In the present example, the name "Iverson" is contained in leaf node 134, so control passes to step 156. If the current leaf node does not contain the target value, control passes to step 154 where a signal indicating that the value was not found is generated.
At step 156, a signal is generated indicating that the target value was found within the index, and the rowid associated with the value is also returned. In the illustrated example, the rowid associated with the name "Iverson" is 10005.
For any given query, there may be many indexes which may be used to process the query. For example, assume that a database server receives query: EQU SELECT * FROM t1 EQU WHERE c1=2 AND c2>5 AND c3=8
Assume further that the server has an index built on column c1, an index built on column c2, an index built on column c3, an index built on columns c1,c2 and an index built on columns c3,c4. The database server could select any set of zero or more of these indexes to process the query. However, the efficiency of the query processing may vary greatly based on which indexes are selected.
For example, if all values in column c2 are less than 5, then using an index built on c2 to process the query would generate a significant amount of overhead without any reduction in the number of rows that must be inspected. On the other hand, there may be only one row that contains the value 8 in column c3. Consequently, use of the index built on column c3 will greatly reduce the number of rows that need to be inspected.
Just as the benefit achieved by using a set of indexes will vary based on the set of indexes selected, so will the cost of using the indexes. Each index node visited during the use of an index generally corresponds to an I/O operation. Therefore, the cost of using an index may be measured as the number of index nodes visited during the use of the index plus the number of I/O operations required to retrieve the rows associated with the rowids returned by the index. In the worst case scenario, each data segment that must be retrieved from the database is stored on a separate page, requiring one I/O operation per data segment. Assume this worst case scenario, the cost of using an index may be computed by the formula: EQU Cost=rowids+leaves+height
where
"Cost" is the cost of using the index; PA1 "rowids" is the number of rowids that will be returned by the index based on the search criteria; PA1 "leaves" is the number of leaf nodes that will be visited during the use of the index; and PA1 "height" is the height of the tree.
Referring to FIG. 2, it illustrates a tree index 200 built on a column "col" of a table "t" (not shown). Assume that a database server receives the query: EQU Select * from t
Where col>"bb"
And col<"ga".
Assume also that the database server uses index 200 to process the query. Initially, the database server traverses the index 200 based on the lower bound value "bb". During the traversal, the database server retrieves the root node 202 and follows a link to node 204. Node 204 is retrieved, and the database server follows a link from node 204 to arrive at leaf node 206.
Leaf node 206 is retrieved and inspected to determine that index entry 212 satisfies the search criteria. The database server follows a link from leaf node 206 to the subsequent leaf node 208. Leaf node 208 is retrieved and inspected to determine that entries 214, 216 and 218 satisfy the search criteria. The database server then follows a link from leaf node 208 to the subsequent leaf node 210.
Leaf node 210 is retrieved and inspected to determine that entry 220 satisfies the search criteria, but that other entries in the leaf node 210 are beyond the end boundary of the search criteria. Because the end boundary of the only interval in the search criteria has been reached, the traversal of index 200 is completed. The database server then retrieves the rows indicated by the entries 212-220 that satisfied the criteria.
In the above example, "rowids" is equal to five, since five rowids are returned by the index, "leaves" is equal to three, since three leaf nodes 206, 208 and 210 were retrieved during the index traversal, and "height" is equal to two, since two branch nodes 202 and 204 were retrieved before arriving at a leaf node. Consequently, the total cost of using index 200 in the present example is nine (5+3 +2).
The cost of using an index to process a particular query may accurately be calculated as the index is used to process the query. However, it is desirable to know the cost of using an index before using an index in order to determine whether the index should in fact be used. To assist the database server in the selection of indexes to process a query, techniques have been developed for estimating the cost of using an index to process a particular query.
Of the various components that comprise the cost of using an index, the most difficult component to estimate without actually processing a query is the number of rowids that will be returned based on the search criteria. The "leaves" component of the cost may be estimated by dividing the number of rowids that satisfy the search criteria by the average number of rowids entries in a leaf node. The "height" component of the cost is relatively easy to determine.
One approach to estimating how many rowids will be returned by an index in response to a particular query requires the storage and maintenance of statistical data for each index. The statistical data may include, for example, table cardinalities, index cardinalities, frequencies of distinct attribute values, lowest/highest attribute values, etc. The statistical information for an index is examined in light of interval restrictions specified in a query to determine an estimate of the number of rowids that will satisfy the query. Unfortunately, the statistical data must be refreshed with each or nearly each data update. The overhead associated with maintaining accurate statistical data can often outweigh the benefits achieved by using more efficient indexes to process a query.
Another approach to estimating how many entries of an index will satisfy a particular query uses histograms. Specifically, information about data distribution of index keys and table attributes is collected periodically in the form of histograms or maintained dynamically as approximate distribution functions. Unfortunately, intervals specified in a query are often small and fall far below the histogram/function granularity. In addition, data distribution, after Boolean restrictions are applied, cannot be modeled at all by such "restriction-independent" estimators.
Based on the foregoing, it is clearly desirable to provide a mechanism for determining which indexes should be used to most efficiently process a query. It is further desirable to provide a mechanism for estimating the cost of using an index that does not require an excessive amount of overhead. It is further desirable to provide a relatively low-overhead mechanism for estimating the number of rowids that will be returned by an index in response to interval criteria specified in a query.

Performance-related estimation using pseudo-ranked trees


The routing of data received from a first network device into a second network device, each having a link aggregation engine, includes detecting whether or not the data has already undergone a link aggregation operation in the first device or upstream, based on markers present in the data, and then selecting an output link from all the output links of the second device participating in link aggregation if the data has not already undergone link aggregation, or selecting the output link from all the output links of the second device participating in link aggregation except for the output link towards the first device if the data has already undergone link aggregation, and transmitting the data on the output link selected.

Link aggregation (also called "Bonding") is a technique used in computer networks such as Ethernet networks, for routing IPv4 ("Internet Protocol version 4") or IPv6 ("Internet Protocol version 6") packets, for example. It can be defined as the aggregation of several network interfaces into a logical interface so as to increase bandwidth and bring redundancy for a connection between two determined equipments. For example, it can be used to increase the throughput of a TCP ("Transmission Control Protocol") connection in a wide area network or WAN ("Wide Area Network", as opposed to the local area network or LAN).
In IP ("Internet Protocol") networks, it is most often set up between the ports of Ethernet switches in the Internet network, or between Ethernet cards of Linux, Unix or Windows computers. In this context, it enables several network ports to be gathered and used as a single one. It addresses two problems in networks, namely bandwidth limitation between two equipments, on the one hand, and the absence of link redundancy, on the other hand. Link aggregation indeed enables the throughput to be increased beyond limits of a single link, and possibly it ensures that the other ports take over if a link fails. However, aggregation is a general concept which can be implemented in each of the three lower layers of the OSI ("Open Systems Interconnection") model.
Within the context of the present invention, aggregation of different links enables the throughput of a "residential gateway" to be increased by simultaneously using the capabilities of a plurality of DSL ("Digital Subscriber Line") links, respectively associated with a plurality of residential gateways and via which each residential gateway can communicate with the Internet. Aggregation uses other links established between the residential gateways. Typically, DSL links to the Internet are established through an Ethernet interface of the residential gateway, and a link with another residential gateway is for example established through a Wi-Fi interface (IEEE 802.11 or ISO/CEI 8802-11 standards), although these examples are not exclusive.
By "residential gateway" or CPE ("Customer-Premises Equipment"), it is meant a terminal hardware equipment which is located at the premises of a customer (individual or company), and which is connected on the one hand to an LAN local loop and on the other hand to the infrastructure of an Internet access provider (IAP) in a point of presence or POP. It is the customer side terminal device which is used to connect to the Internet network. This equipment is also commonly called a "set top box".

Data routing in a customer-premises equipment using link aggregation


A system for enabling a viewable personal area network (PAN) identification (ID) over an wireless network. The system includes a coordinator configured to assign a PAN ID to an available PAN, a device configured to transmit and/or receive data using 802.15.4 protocol or equivalent, and at least one processor. The at least one processor is programmed to receive a request from the device to scan for an available wireless network, receive the assigned PAN ID based on the request, determine whether the PAN ID is a viewable PAN ID, and provide the PAN ID based on the determination.

The field of the invention relates generally to computers, and more particularly to embodiments of a system and method for enabling a viewable personal area network (PAN) identification (ID) over a wireless personal area network.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15 working group has set wireless personal area network (WPAN) as the standard of the short-distance wireless network, and has four task groups: IEEE 802.15.1 is well known as "BLUETOOTH®"; IEEE 802.15.3 and IEEE 802.15.3a establish protocols for high-rate WPANs; and IEEE 802.15.4, commonly known as ZIGBEE® (hereinafter "ZIGBEE") communication, establishes protocols for low-rate WPANs, which typically operate at speeds at or below 250 kbps.
Conventionally, ZIGBEE communication is performed in a relatively narrow range. Accordingly it can be used to establish a particular type of PAN that is different from a traditional local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). However, unlike IEEE 802.11 that is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) communication, the 15.4 networks (e.g., ZIGBEE enabled networks) do not have PAN Ids that humans can read and understand. Consequently, such PAN Ids are not "viewable".
Currently, when an end-device (e.g., a terminal) that is capable of performing ZIGBEE communication is located in an area where it can gain access to one or more ZIGBEE networks, the end-device itself selects and gains access to a particular ZIGBEE network from among multiple ZIGBEE networks. However, unlike 802.11 networks (e.g., WiFi), 802.15.4 networks, such as ZIGBEE, do not enable viewable PAN IDs. ZIGBEE devices are either preconfigured with a non-viewable PAN ID or each ZIGBEE device can discover nearby networks and automatically select a non-viewable PAN ID to join.
In addition, 802.15.4 networks are currently machine-to-machine networks, and thus, traditional 802.15.4 networks are not able to present a PAN ID in viewable form or even enable a user to select a PAN ID from a list of available PAN IDs since user involvement is minimized or even eliminated due to the machine-to-machine nature of conventional 802.15.4 network systems. Thus, when a PAN ID is identified, conventional 802.15.4 network systems automatically render PAN IDs to be non-viewable. Such non-viewable PAN IDs are generally 16 byte hexadecimal identifications. Such hexadecimal ids do not equate to American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), Universal Character Set Transformation Format 8-bit (UTF-8), or any other viewable data format.

System and method for enabling a viewable PAN ID over a wireless personal area network