A retriever for retrieving objects, including an elongated arm; a container on one end of the arm having an opening providing access to an interior of the container; and an actuator on the other end of the arm. Operation of the actuator causes movement of a scraper plate between an open position and a closed position. When in the open position, the scraper plate is spaced from the opening. When in the closed position, the scraper plate contacts the container at the opening. If an object is located in the space between the scraper plate and the opening, then movement of the scraper plate between the open and closed positions pushes the object into the interior of the container. The object can then slide through a channel along the arm, and be retrieved by a user from an opening in the channel near the trigger.

Retrievers and grabbers are operated by a user to assist in grasping objects from a location that is difficult to reach, such as from the ground. Such grabbers usually include an extension arm, a one or more movable fingers on a working end of the extension arm for grabbing an object, and a trigger on the other end of the extension arm that is operated by the user to move the fingers so as to grab the object from the location where it is found, usually the ground or floor.
These grabbers are limited in several respects. First, the fingers on the grabber can pick up objects only of a certain size and only of a certain shape. That is, the fingers cannot pick up very small objects, and cannot pick up two-dimensional objects, such as small pieces of paper. As such, the grabbers are limited to grasping objects having a three-dimensional shape and a size large enough to be grasped by the fingers of the grabber.
Second, the grabbers also do not easily deliver the grasped object directly to a user's hand. Instead, after the object is grasped, the grabber has to be turned around while the user is squeezing the trigger with one hand, and then the object has to be released into the user's other hand; or the object has to be released on to a table and then retrieved by the user. These and other deficiencies limit the use of these grabbers and make them difficult to use.


A clumping animal litter utilizing the interparticle interaction of a swelling clay, such as sodium bentonite, in combination with a non-swelling clay material. Preferably, sixty percent (60%) by weight, or less, composition of sodium bentonite is used after the judicious selection of particle size distribution such that the mean particle size of the non-swelling clay material is greater than the mean particle size of the sodium bentonite. In addition, an organic clumping agent, such as a pregelatinized corn starch can be combined with the sodium bentonite/clay mixture to enhance clumping properties.

In the past, much time, effort, and other valuable resources, have been expended in the development of animal litter, particularly for household pets, and especially cats. A material most widely utilized in animal litter is generally clay.
Clay particles provide small animals with dry, sanitary, dustless and relatively odorless litter. Clay materials are sorptive minerals characterized by low bulk density and layered lattice crystal structures. These minerals are derived from condensed forms of silicic acid, H.sub.4 SiO.sub.4, where each silicon atom is surrounded by four oxygen atoms inducing a tetrahedral structure. Chains or two-dimensional sheets are formed when the tetrahedral structures are linked together by the sharing of common oxygen atoms. Clay materials are composed of such silica tetrahedral sheets with a central alumina octahedral sheet.
Through formational mismatching and distortion between the tetrahedral layers and impurities, diverse morphological and chemical properties are conferred to the clay. The absorption of water is one such phenomenon. Clumps of wetted litter permit easy and selective removal of odor-producing animal wastes for convenient disposal without having to replace the entire litter bed.
The irregular series of layers with corresponding interstitial space comprise pores. It is those spaces and pores which give clay its capacity to absorb and store water.
Another material that has found wide acceptance, particularly in clumping litter, is a swelling clay such as sodium (Na) bentonite. However, until the present invention, important nuances of sodium bentonite were either disregarded, unappreciated, or unforeseen by those skilled in the particular art.
Interparticle interaction enables sodium bentonite to clump. In order to clump properly the particles of sodium bentonite must be allowed to interact with one another. To insure such interaction is capable of taking place those skilled in the art have used weight percentages of sodium bentonite well in excess of 60 percent. This is, in part, because animal litter developers have in the past used blends of sodium bentonite and a non-clumping clay material in weight-to-weight ratios. However, a good clumping performance with a composition containing sixty-percent (60%) by weight or less of sodium bentonite heretofore was not readily attainable.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 33,983 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,111 to Hughes, each describe a method and composition for absorbing animal dross using at least about 65 percent by weight of water-swellable bentonite clay, based on the total amount of litter used.
Other clumping agents used in the prior art include polysaccharides, water-soluble gums, dry particulate cellulosic ethers and water-absorbent polymers. These additives require careful handling during manufacture, multiple processing steps and are costly. Further, in such animal litter, the dry particulate cellulosic ethers or the water-absorbent polymers tend to segregate from the particulate clay during handling and shipping because of differences in specific gravity.
Some prior attempts also have been made to overcome the shortcomings of swelling clays by utilizing non-swelling clay and starch as a binder, but such litters were slow clumping. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,189 to Aylen et al., describes a sorbent, non-swelling clay mixed with 0.2 to 2 percent pregelatinized, cationic starch binder but adhesion of the wetted agglomerates was fairly light and required a day or so to become fairly firm. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,107 to Buschur describes a sorbent, non-swelling clay litter composition utilizing 8 to 14 percent wheat starch paste as a liquid-activated adhesive binding agent which required several hours for the wetted clumps to harden fully. The inability to rapidly remove wetted clumps of animal waste to reduce or eliminate malodors associated therewith from the litter is undesirable.
The clumping effect of the present invention, as previously stated, is related to the interparticle interaction of the sodium bentonite material, particularly with the introduction of moisture.
Montmorillomite is the principal clay mineral of bentonite rock which originates from volcanic ash. Van Olphen, H., An Introduction to Clay Colloid Chemistry, 2nd ed., Wiley-Interscience Publication (1977); p.67. The ion rich composition of the wet material reduces the repulsion forces between the particles allowing the attractive forces--predominantly van der Waals forces, which are not affected by the ion concentration--to dominate. The result is, of course, clumping of the composition with the introduction of water. To increase the clumping effect, it was believed, would necessarily require an increase in the sodium bentonite amount which could interact. It has now been found that that is not necessarily the case.


A circuit board includes at least one trace having at least one heat spreader disposed thereon, the heater spreader being formed of a solidified paste, such as a paste that includes a mixture of binder particles and filler particles, or a solder paste. As an example, the heater spreader may be configured to increase a cross-sectional area of a portion of the trace, thereby improving heat flow along that portion of the trace. Alternatively, the heater spreader may be configured to increase the surface area of the trace, thereby increasing heat dissipation from the circuit board. As another example, the heat spreader may be disposed between the trace and a semiconductor device and thereby function as a heat sink for the device.

1.Field of the Invention
This invention relates to circuit board heat dissipation and more specifically, relates to the use of solder paste to spread and dissipate heat on a circuit board.
2.Description of the Art
A substantial issue facing circuit board designers is the ability to efficiently dissipate/remove the heat generated by the circuit board devices to the surrounding area. For example, with respect to power circuits, the more efficiently the heat is removed, the more power that can be dissipated for a given rise in device junction temperature. One method designers currently use to remove the heat generated by devices is to dump the heat into the circuit board on which the devices are mounted and to thereafter use the larger surface area of the circuit board to dissipate the heat to the surrounding area. Nonetheless, this method of heat dissipation has several limitations.
First, as is readily understood, as the size of a circuit board increases, the exposed surface area of the circuit board also increases, thereby allowing for greater heat dissipation to the surrounding area. Accordingly, a circuit board is often sized to obtain adequate heat dissipation for the devices mounted thereon. However, at times, cost and space restrictions may prevent a circuit board from being adequately sized to obtain the necessary heat dissipation, even through only a small amount of additional surface area may be needed. In these cases, additional heatsinking and/or forced-air cooling may be required, both of which can be costly.
A second limitation with using a circuit board to dissipate heat is that the heat may not spread evenly across the circuit board, thereby causing the heat to not efficiently dissipate and resulting in the formation of hot spots on the board around hot devices. In order to prevent the formation of hot spots and to spread heat away from hot devices and across the circuit board, the copper weight of the top, bottom, and/or intermediate copper traces of the circuit board may be increased or the width of the copper traces on the surface of the circuit board may be increased. In general, each of these methods increases the cross-sectional area of the traces, thereby improving the ability of the traces to conduct heat away from the devices. In many cases, however, it is not possible to increase the weight and/or width of the traces.
For example, the motherboards found in notebook computers typically use only one-ounce copper traces on the surface of the boards. However, one-ounce copper traces are not sufficient for spreading heat away from power devices, for example. Accordingly, thick copper traces are required in the areas surrounding the power devices. However, increasing the copper weight of the traces around the power devices also means increasing the copper weight of the traces across the whole motherboard, even in areas where increased-weight traces may not be needed. Accordingly, this method adds additional cost, which may be prohibitive.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mechanism that allows for improved heat spreading along a circuit board and away from hot devices and that allows for improved heat dissipation from the circuit board to the surrounding area.

Use of solder paste for heat dissipation


The disclosure provides systems and methods for fastening wall and ceiling panels, such as drywall sheets, to framing members. The back side of the panels comprise a first touch fastening component of a touch or hook and loop fastening system configured to removably couple with a second touch fastening component of the fastening system. The second touch fastening component is provided on an outer surface of framing members that are configured to physically support the panels. The second touch fastening component may be coupled to a framing member, or may formed integral by the framing member. Some framing members may comprise a stud/joist, a c-channel, a fixed furring strip or an adjustable furring. The disclosed systems and methods may form walls, ceiling, partitions and the like.

Drywall (also known as plasterboard, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, or gypsum panel) and other panelized wall/ceiling coverings (e.g., thin sheet form) are a common building materials used as facing for interior walls or ceilings in most modern housing and commercial construction. Drywall and like panels are typically connected to wall or ceiling studs by using nails and/or screws and/or adhesives. A common occurrence with drywall and like panels is referred to as "screw pops" or "nail pops." This is a dimpling on the surface of the panel caused because a screw or nail has been worked free or because the nail or screw has been put in too deeply and through the panel, causing the panel to bow outward. This is also an indication that the panel is not being supported by the screws or nails. To mitigate dimpling, adhesives or tapes are used to connect the panel to the studs prior to putting in screws or nails. However, while using adhesives or tapes mitigates the problem, dimpling is not eliminated because often uneven surfaces result in the adhesive or tape not bonding properly.
Another issue with using screws or nails and adhesives or tapes to attach wall/ceiling covering panels to support structure (e.g., headers, footers, studs, etc.) is extreme temperatures, such as in the north-eastern part of the United States. Drywall and like panels may be installed on building surfaces that have temperatures that with ranges from below 10° F. to above 110° F. Use of adhesives and nails or screws limit the ability of materials to expand or contract with temperature changes, causing panel warping or connectivity loss, and also "screw pops."
Additives or material layers may be put into drywall and like panels to add water resistance or fire resistance. Sound dampening is usually achieved by using multiple layers of panels. It is also difficult to achieve water resistance, sound dampening, and fire resistance without using multiple layers of panels.
When it comes to replacement of installed drywall and like panels, the panels/sheets are generally ripped away, with the panels being broken during removal. It is common that a significant amount of residue is left on the support framing/members (along with the nails or screws). This residue typically must to be removed before new drywall/panels are installed. Also common is that the adhesive and screw or nail combination may damage the support framing when the drywall/panels are removed, requiring that the support framing be replaced.
Thus, a need exists to prevent dimpling of drywall or like wall/ceiling panels, and to have quicker, stronger, easier and/or less damaging wall/ceiling drywall/panel removal. A need also exists to include safety and ergonomic features to walls and ceilings constructed with drywall or like wall/ceiling panels, and the processes of constructing them.

Wall panel fastening systems and methods


A compound having the structure

WO09103875 describes diazeniumdiolate dihydro indole derivatives of a specified formula for treating hypertension and cardiovascular disease. WO07144512 describes diazeniumdiolate tetrazole-biphenyl derivatives of a specified formula for treating hypertension and cardiovascular disease. US 2005137191 describes nitrate ester compounds, e.g., 1,2-dichloro-4-(2-methyl-butyldisulfanyl)-benzene, useful for preventing or mitigating tissue and/or cellular damage associated with aging, septic shock, ulcers, gastritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. US 2005065194 describes use of an endothelial gene differentiation receptor modulator such as 1-(2-ethoxyphenyl)-3-(hydroxyphenylamino)-pyrrolidine-2,5-dione, to modulate receptor-mediated biological activity such as cell proliferation stimulated by lysophosphatidic acid leading to ovarian cancer and other forms of cancer, and to treat conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, ischemia, and atherosclerosis. WO 9746521 describes aliphatic nitrate esters useful for treating neurological conditions, especially Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease.
The present invention relates to novel diazeniumdiolate cyclohexyl derivatives, useful as antihypertensive agents.

Abstract: A compound having the structure

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein    R6 is hydrogen, —OH, —C1-6alkyl, —OC1-6alkyl, aryl, or halogen,            or together with R7, forms an oxo group,        or together with R7 and the atom to which they are attached, form a 5-7-membered carbocycle ring or a 5-7-membered heterocyclic ring having 1, 2, or 3 heteroatoms,        wherein alkyl and aryl are unsubstituted or independently mono-, di-, or tri-substituted with R14;            R7 is hydrogen, C1-6alkyl, —CF3, aryl, —O-aryl, —O—C1-6alkyl, —C(O)OC1-6alkyl, —C(R15R16)OH, a 5-7-membered heteroaryl having 1, 2, 3 or 4 nitrogen atoms, or halogen,            or together with R6, forms an oxo group,        or together with R6 and the atom to which they are attached, form a 5-7-membered carbocycle ring or a 5-7-membered heterocyclic ring having 1, 2, or 3 heteroatoms        wherein alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl are unsubstituted or independently mono-, di- or tri-substituted with R14;            R12 is hydrogen, C1-6alkyl, or —(CH2)1-2OH,            or together with R13 and the nitrogen atom to which they are attached, form a 4- to 7-membered heterocyclic ring containing one nitrogen atom and 0 or 1 oxygen atoms, wherein said ring is unsubstituted or independently mono-, di- or tri-substituted with halogen or —C1-6alkyl;            R13 is —C1-6alkyl or —(CH2)1-2OH,            or together with R12 and the nitrogen atom to which they are attached, form a 4- to 7-membered heterocyclic ring containing one nitrogen atom and 0 or 1 oxygen atoms, wherein said ring is unsubstituted or independently mono-, di- or tri-substituted with halogen or —C1-6alkyl.


Uniformity of vapor deposited coatings on semiconductor wafers is improved by employing an apparatus having a gas distributor head below a susceptor onto which the wafer is placed, the gas distributor head directing a fan of cooling gas at the rear side of the susceptor. The ratio of the diameter of the cooled section of the susceptor to the diameter D of the wafer is preferably from 0.1 to 0.4.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer by means of vapor deposition, and to a method that uses the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
US2004/0144323 A1 discloses an apparatus for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer, comprising an upper and a lower cover composed of transparent material and a side wall, which together define a reactor chamber. The reactor chamber is divided by a susceptor into an upper reactor chamber and a lower reactor chamber. The susceptor supports a semiconductor wafer to be coated and itself rests on arms of a supporting frame that forms the upper end of a shaft that rotates the susceptor and the semiconductor wafer. Upper and lower lamp banks heat the susceptor and the semiconductor wafer. A deposition gas is guided parallel to the surface of the semiconductor wafer through the upper reactor chamber and thermally decomposed in the process, wherein deposition products deposit to form a layer as uniformly thick as possible on the surface of the front side of the semiconductor wafer. At the same time, a purge gas is guided through the lower reactor chamber in order to prevent deposition gas or decomposition products thereof from passing to the rear side of the susceptor and to the rear side of the semiconductor wafer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,674 discloses that purge gas can be guided through the shaft and through a gap existing between the shaft and a tube surrounding it, in order to prevent deposition gas from passing into the region below the susceptor.
Depositing a uniformly thick layer on a semiconductor wafer poses problems, however. Even after optimization of crucial process parameters such as the electrical power of the lamp banks and the volumetric flow rate of deposition gas and purge gas, it is ascertained after analysis of a coated semiconductor wafer that the layer thickness is somewhat greater in the center of the semiconductor wafer than in the edge region of the semiconductor wafer.

Device for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer by means of vapour deposition


The aspects of the disclosed embodiments include clustering a set of discrete user interface states into groups; presenting the groups on a display of a device; and enabling selection of any state within a presented group, wherein selection of a state returns the user interface to the selected state.

1. Field
The aspects of the disclosed embodiments generally relate to user interfaces and more particularly to task control and management in a multitasking environment.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
In current systems, user multitasking is enabled by the use of multiple user-controlled windows. In a windowing system, the user handles the multitasking by opening and closing windows and applications. The burden of window management is left to the user, which is often unacceptable, especially in mobile environments. It would be advantageous to be able to perform multiple tasks in parallel without the need for the typical desktop paradigms of windows and applications or application bars.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Task history user interface using a clustering algorithm


The present invention has as an object thereof to efficiently execute a plurality of I/O commands in a secondary storage device. The tags of the I/O commands which are issued from a data processing device to a secondary storage device comprise the tag A part and the tag B part. The same value is attached as the tag A part to a group of I/O commands which are to be executed in a continuous manner. Values of the tag B parts are provided in order to distinguish I/O commands having the same value of the tag A part. In the secondary storage device, when an I/O command is received from the data processing device, when it is shown by the tag B part that the I/O command is the first command in an I/O command group, or alternatively, when an I/O command having the same tag A part value is not stored in the queue, the I/O command received is added to the final end of the queue. On the other hand, when an I/O command having the same tag A part value is stored in the queue, the I/O command received is inserted after the I/O command group having the same tag A part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing system, a device, a secondary storage device, and a recording medium storing a program, and in particular, relates to the scheduling of input and output commands issued in a secondary storage device from the data processing device.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-165542, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Background Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Data exchange from an initiator comprising a host computer to a target comprising a secondary storage device is conducted by means of I/O (Input/Output) commands. There are I/O command execution methods in the initiator in which, after one I/O command has ended, the next I/O command is issued; however, for example, in the standard called SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)-2, prior to the completion of one I/O command, the next I/O command may be issued.
FIG. 9 shows the format of I/O commands in a first conventional example in the case in which a plurality of I/O commands are made simultaneously issuable. As shown in the figure, each of the I/O commands 801-808 incorporate a target number (T_ID), an initiator number (I_ID), a command code, an address, a transmission length, and in addition, tags 809-816, which serve to distinguish the I/O commands.
The tags 809-816 within the I/O commands 801-808 are attached in the initiator which issues the I/O commands by means of the method shown in the flowchart in FIG. 10.
When read/write requests are made by application programs on the initiator, then a determination is made in the initiator as to whether there are I/O commands which are to be simultaneously issued with respect to the same target (this indicates that the I/O commands are issued and the execution thereof is not yet completed) (step S701).
Here, when a determination has been made that there are I/O commands which are to be simultaneously issued, then the initiator attaches, to an I/O command which is to be issued in response to a read/write request, a tag having a number obtained by adding xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d to the value of the tag of the I/O command which was immediately previously issued with respect to the same target (step S702). On the other hand, when a determination has been made that there are no I/O commands which are to be simultaneously issued, a value of xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d is attached to the I/O command to be issued as a tag (step S703).
Then, when a tag is attached in this manner, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is ended, and the initiator creates and issues the I/O commands having the format shown in FIG. 9 in accordance with the tags attached. Here, when the reading and writing unit of the data in the target is 16 KB, when a 64 KB read request is made by the application program on the initiator, as shown in FIG. 11, in the device driver which issues the I/O commands, four 16 KB read I/O commands having the tags xe2x80x9c00xe2x80x9d-xe2x80x9c03xe2x80x9d attached thereto are issued.
Further, Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 8-272688 discloses a cache memory device which simply stores hierarchical items and cache tags in a single cache array structure.
Furthermore, as a second conventional example, in the case in which a plurality of I/O commands are made simultaneously issuable, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 9-190293 is known. In this technology, attention is drawn to the fact that, among the I/O commands issued by the initiator, there are commands having a high degree of urgency and those having a low degree of urgency, and the initiator attaches to each I/O command a xe2x80x9csurplus timexe2x80x9d which functions as a time gap until the execution of the I/O command which is issued.
Next, in the target in which these I/O commands have been received, a xe2x80x9cdeadline surplus time (point in time)xe2x80x9d obtained by adding the xe2x80x9csurplus timexe2x80x9d in the I/O command to the present point in time calculated by a timer within the target is calculated, and the I/O commands are issued in order from those having the earliest deadline surplus time.
However, in recent years, structures have been adopted in which the disk devices which serve as the targets of a number of initiators are held in common using interfaces such as Fibre Channels or the like. When such a structure is employed, in the first conventional example described above, even if a series of I/O commands (hereinbelow referred to as an I/O command group) are issued by a single initiator in order to read out a continuous region of a disk, the I/O commands which arrive from a plurality of initiators become confused in the target, and this creates a problem in that wasteful seek operations are generated.
In other words, as shown in FIG. 12, when three I/O commands (indicated in the figure by the cross-hatched rectangles, the white rectangles, and the black rectangles) arrive essentially simultaneously at a disk device 1004 which serves as a target from three hosts 1001-1003 which serve as initiators via interface 1005, the I/O commands which arrive are stored in a queue in a form in which the I/O commands arriving from hosts 1001-1003 are mixed up, as shown in the lower right of FIG. 12. In such a case, even if the I/O commands for accessing a continuous region of a disk are issued by hosts 1001-1003, the order of processing thereof in disk device 1004 becomes confused. For this reason, problems are present in that wasteful seek operations are generated, and the execution efficiency of the I/O commands becomes extremely poor.
In order to avoid such problems, the method shown in FIG. 13, termed xe2x80x9celevator seekingxe2x80x9d, is known. Here, when a head 1105 moving in the direction indicated by the arrow is above a region 1102 of disk 1101, and a series of I/O commands for accessing the continuous regions 1102, 1103, and 1104 arrive in response to a single read/write request in an application program, then the regions 1103, 1104, and 1102 on disk 1101 are accessed. Here, when regions 1103 or 1104 are accessed, if a command for accessing a region to the inside of region 1104 arrives, then this region is accessed first, and this is undesirable. Accordingly, a considerable amount of time is required until region 1102 is accessed, and the transmission of the completion of the read/write to the application program becomes significantly delayed.
Furthermore, in the second conventional example described above, even if the same xe2x80x9csurplus timexe2x80x9d is attached to each I/O command within an I/O command group in the initiator, xe2x80x9cdeadline surplus timesxe2x80x9d are attached in the target in accordance with the time at which each I/O command was actually received. For example, even if I/O command groups for accessing respective continuous regions are issued from initiators having the same initiator number, and these are received by the target in the order shown in the upper table of FIG. 14, when the xe2x80x9cdeadline surplus timesxe2x80x9d are attached as shown in the figure, the target executes the I/O commands in the order shown in the lower table of FIG. 14. For this reason, the order of access of the regions on the disk becomes confused, wasteful seek operations are generated, and the execution efficiency of the I/O commands becomes extremely poor.
The present invention was created in order to solve the problems present in the conventional technology described above, and has as an object thereof to provide a data processing system, a device, a secondary storage device, and a recording medium for recording programs which are capable of efficiently executing a plurality of input and output commands.
In order to attain the above object, a data processing system in accordance with a first view of the present invention is provided with a data processing device which issues input and output commands, and a secondary storage device which is connected to the data processing device via signal lines and which conducts data exchange with the data processing device in accordance with the input and output commands.
The data processing device is provided with: a first tag attachment device for attaching a first tag which is identical with respect to a series of input and output commands for accessing a continuous region of the secondary storage device, among the input and output commands to be issued in response to input and output requests from a host, and which differs from input and other output commands simultaneously executed, a second tag attachment device for attaching a second tag for identifying respective input and output commands to which the same first tag is attached by means of the first tag attachment device, an input and output command generating device for generating input and output commands having first and second tags attached thereto by the first and second tag attachment device, and an input and output command transmitting device for transmitting input and output commands generated by the input and output command generating device to the secondary storage device via the signal lines.
The secondary storage device is provided with: an input and output command receiving device for receiving input and output commands transmitted by the input and output command transmitting device, via the signal lines, an input and output command storage device for storing input and output commands received by the input and output command receiving device, an input and output command arrangement device for arranging input and output commands in accordance with the first and second tags attached to the input and output commands and storing these in the input and output command storage device, and an input and output command executing device for executing, in order, input and output commands arranged by the input and output command arrangement device and stored in the input and output command storage device.
In accordance with the data processing system described above, the tags added to the input and output commands are separated into first tags and second tags, and moreover, the same first tag is attached to a series of input and output commands corresponding to a single input and output request. Accordingly, in the secondary storage device, the input and output commands are arranged so that the commands having the same first tag are continuous, and furthermore, the series of input and output commands are arranged in order by means of the second tags, and thereby, it is possible for the input and output command execution device to efficiently execute the input and output commands.
In the data processing system described above, what is meant by input and output commands is not necessarily commands in which both input and output are present, so that for example, an input command from a read-only memory device would be included.
In order to attain the above object, in the data processing system described above, the data processing device may be further provided with a surplus time appending device for appending surplus time until the execution of the input and output command to each input and output command generated by the input and output command generating device. In such a case, the secondary storage device may be further provided with a timing device for timing points in time, and a deadline surplus time generating device for generating, based on surplus time appended to each input and output command received by the input and output command receiving device and points in time measured by the timing device, a deadline surplus time which serves as the execution deadline for each input and output command, by means of the input and output command executing device, and the input and output command arrangement device may furthermore be set to arrange the input and output commands in accordance with the deadline surplus time generated by the deadline surplus time generating device and to store these in the input and output command storage device.
By means of this, a series of input and output commands corresponding to a single input and output request can be efficiently executed in a continuous manner, and it is also possible to exercise deadline control in units of series of input and output commands.
In the data processing system above, a plurality of the data processing devices may exist. In such a case, the first tag attachment device of each data processing device attaches a first tag containing identification data for identifying the plurality of data processing devices.
In order to attain the above object, a data processing device in accordance with a second view of the present invention comprises a data processing device constructed so as to be connectable via signal lines with a secondary storage device and executing input and output commands in order in accordance with tags attached thereto, wherein are provided: a first tag attachment device for attaching a first tag which is identical with respect to a series of input and output commands for accessing a continuous region of the secondary storage device, among the input and output commands to be issued in response to input and output requests from a host, and which differs from input and other output commands simultaneously executed, a second tag attachment device for attaching a second tag for identifying respective input and output commands to which the same first tag is attached by means of the first tag attachment device, an input and output command generating device for generating input and output commands having first and second tags attached thereto by the first and second tag attachment device, and an input and output command transmitting device for transmitting input and output commands generated by the input and output command generating device to the secondary storage device via the signal lines.
In accordance with the data processing device described above, the tags attached to the input and output commands are separated into first tags and second tags, and moreover, the same first tag is attached to a series of input and output commands corresponding to a single input and output request. Accordingly, in the secondary storage device which is connected with the data processing device described above, by managing the input and output commands in accordance with the first and second tags attached by the data processing device described above, it is possible to efficiently execute the input and output commands.
In the data processing device described above, the first tag attachment device may be such as to attach a first tag containing identification data for identification with respect to other data processing devices.
In the data processing device described above, the second tag attachment device may be such as to attach a second tag having a value corresponding to the order of issue of the input and output commands by means of an input and output command issue device.
In order to attain the above object, a secondary storage device in accordance with a third view of the present invention is provided with: an input and output command receiving device for receiving input and output commands having attached thereto a first tag which is identical with respect to a series of input and output commands accessing a continuous region and which differ from other input and output commands simultaneously executed, and second tags for identification of input and output commands having identical first tags, an input and output command storage device for respective input and output commands received by the input and output command receiving device, an input and output command arrangement device for arranging the input and output commands in accordance with the first and second tags attached to the input and output commands, and storing these in the input and output command storage device, and an input and output command execution device for executing, in order, input and output commands arranged by the input and output command arrangement device and stored in the input and output command storage device.
In the secondary storage device described above, for example, by arranging the input and output commands so that the commands having the same first tag are continuous, and then by further arranging a series of input and output commands in order of the second tags, the input and output command execution device can efficiently execute the input and output commands.
In the secondary storage device described above, the input and output command arrangement device may be provided with a device for determining whether an input and output command having the same first tag as an input and output command received by the input and output command receiving device is stored in the input and output command storage device, and a device for storing the input and output command received by the input and output command receiving device together with input and output commands having the same first tag previously stored in the input and output command storage device, when a determination has been made that an input and output command having the same first tag is stored.
In the secondary storage device described above, for example, the second tags appended to the input and output commands may have values corresponding to an order of issue of the input and output commands by means of an input and output command issue device. In such a case, the input and output command arrangement device may be provided with: a device for determining whether the input and output command is the first among a series of input and output commands to which the same first input and output command is appended, in accordance with the second tags, and a device for, when the device described above determines that this is a first input and output command, storing the input and output command received by the input and output command receiving device at the final end of the input and output commands stored in the input and output command storage device.
In the secondary storage device described above, surplus time until input and output commands received by the input and output command receiving device are executed may be added to the input and output commands. In such a case, the secondary storage device may be further provided with a timing device for timing points in time, and a deadline surplus time generating device for generating, based on surplus time appended to each input and output command received by the input and output command receiving device and points in time measured by the timing device, a deadline surplus time which serves as the execution deadline for each input and output command, by means of the input and output command executing device, and the input and output command arrangement device furthermore may be such as to arrange the input and output commands in accordance with the deadline surplus time generated by the deadline surplus time generating device and to store these in the input and output command storage device.
In the case of such a structure, the deadline surplus time generating device may be provided with a device for determining whether an input and output command having the same first tag as each input and output command received by the input and output command receiving device is stored in the input and output command storage device, and a device for, when the device described above determines that an input and output command having the same tag is stored, generating a deadline surplus time having the same tag stored in the input and output command storage device, as the deadline surplus time of each input and output command.
By means of this, it is possible to efficiently and continuously execute a series of input and output commands corresponding to a single input and output request, and it is possible to conduct deadline control using as units series of input and output commands.
In order to attain the above object, a computer-readable recording medium in accordance with a fourth view of the present invention records a program which realizes: a first tag attachment step for attaching a first tag which differs from other simultaneously executed input and output commands and which is identical with respect to a series of input and output commands which access a continuous region of a secondary storage device and are input and output commands which are to be issued in response to input and output requests from a host, and a second tag attachment step for attaching a second tag for identifying respective Input and output commands to which the same first tag is attached in the first tag attachment step.

Data processing system for improved input/output command processing


Test control point insertion and x-bounding for Logic Built-In Self-Test (LBIST) using observation circuitry. In some embodiments, LBIST circuitry may include a plurality of test control circuits coupled to a scan chain of a Circuit Under Test (CUT), and a plurality of observation circuits coupled to the test control circuits, each of the plurality of observation circuits including one or more latch devices configured to drive a respective one of the plurality of test control circuits. In other embodiments, a method of testing an integrated circuit may include issuing an instruction that a plurality of observation circuits and a plurality of input/output (I/O) control circuits within the integrated circuit enter a test mode, and providing, one or more test patterns to a selected one or more of a plurality of scan chains within the integrated circuit and to each of the plurality of observation circuits.

The term "Built-in Self-Test" or "BIST" refers to systems and techniques used by a machine or device to test itself. Generally speaking, a goal of a BIST mechanism is to reduce a manufacturer's use of external test equipment in order to determine whether a device works properly. In some cases, a BIST mechanism may also give the manufacturer the ability to test portions of a device that are not otherwise accessible from its exterior. In this context, a "Logic BIST" or "LBIST" is a form of BIST in which hardware and/or software is built into an Integrated Circuit or "IC", thus enabling the IC to test its own operation without relying upon other devices.
To test one or more portions of an IC (referred to as a "Circuit Under Test" or "CUT"), an LBIST controller may introduce a pattern of values into a scan chain (a series of flip-flops or latches) within a given portion during a shifting operation, and then it may observe the results of the propagation during a capture operation. If the captured results reveal an expected "signature," the CUT is determined to be operating properly. Otherwise, the CUT may be deemed defective and corrective action may be taken.
To perform some of these operations, an LBIST controller may access certain points internal to the CUT in order to inject portions of the test pattern at those points; which are also known as "test control points." Additionally or alternatively, the LBIST controller may set inputs to the CUT within the IC to predetermined, known values, in a process referred to as "x-bounding." Traditionally, each test control and x-bounding point has included its own dedicated flip-flop, latch, register, and/or multiplexer.

Test control point insertion and X-bounding for logic built-in self-test (LBIST) using observation circuitry


An apparatus directing x-rays along a predetermined axis includes an x-ray optic having one or more nested x-ray reflector rings positioned relative to a source generating broad spectrum x-rays so that generated x-rays moving away from the predetermined axis are collected by the reflector incident at or close to a Bragg angle to thereby reflect the collected x-rays into a conically parallel beam. A first diffractor is positioned relative to the x-ray optic to receive incident thereon the conically parallel beam, the first diffractor selected from a truncated cone and a cylinder and diffracting the conically parallel beam toward the predetermined axis. A second diffractor is positioned relative to the first diffractor and having a geometry effective to receive incident thereon and redirect the conically parallel beam along the predetermined axis as a collimated beam of substantially parallel x-rays.

Pollution control requirements have pushed allowable levels of contaminants such as Sulfur in fuels (coal, diesel, gasoline, etc.) to such low levels that they are becoming difficult to measure. One previous technique, X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) is capable of measuring levels as low as 10 ppm in Diesel fuel but lower levels become difficult. This difficulty is the result of getting sufficient x-ray flux from the primary excitation beam onto the target, getting the desirable energy of x-rays onto the target, and getting sufficient characteristic x-rays out of the target and into a detector.
Accordingly, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer may be thought of as having two main component elements: 1) an X-ray generator which may emit a broad spectrum of X-rays and 2) an X-ray detector, comprising one or more optics which gather the emitted X-rays, perhaps selects rays of a desired energy spectrum and directs them through a window leading to the detector. The presently disclosed invention first relates to the X-ray generator component of the spectrometer. The invention also relates to the detector portion of the spectrometer.
Moreover, in x-ray analysis it is often desirable to produce a small spot with a high flux of nearly mono-energetic x-rays. Most current systems are inefficient at this because they collect a very small portion of the emitted x-rays. The x-ray optical system disclosed here would collect a very large solid angle of the emitted x-rays, monochromatize them and then concentrate them to a small spot.
Additionally, in X-ray micro-analysis, Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy (WDS) is used whenever high energy resolution or high count rates are needed for the sample being analysed. Unfortunately, many WDS systems suffer from low count rates because the diffractor collects a small solid angle of the emitted x-rays. It is sometimes possible to move the diffractor closer to collect a larger solid angle but this causes poor resolution. Sometimes, special optics can be used to collect a large solid angle but previous optics have had small collection angles for energies above 1000 eV. The x-ray optical system disclosed could be used for a new type of WDS using the unusual x-ray optics that collect a large solid angle with high efficiency.

Apparatus employing conically parallel beam of X-rays


A universal low cost radio frequency identification (RFID) tag for use with data storage discs includes an RFID chip, e.g., 2.45 GHz mu-RFID chip, coupled to a linear dipole antenna. The antenna length is reduced in length from the expected length for an optimally tuned antenna corresponding to the operating radio frequency of the RFID chip in a free space environment. The antenna is placed in the tag such as to substantially overlap disc hub area and not extend into data area. The combination of the shortened linear dipole antenna and metallization on the disc to which the tag is applied effectively form a complex antenna operational in the RFID chip's frequency range. The RFID tag works on CDs and DVDs with and without substantially metallized hub areas. The RFID tag is less 0.3 mm thick and may include: ring shape, adhesive material, spacing material achieving uniform thickness, a counterbalance provision.

Radio Frequency identification (RFID) tags are increasingly being used to track multiple objects throughout a specified system. For example, RFID tags are being used on warehouse pallets to track the location of goods in a warehouse or verify the authenticity of tickets at a venue.
An RFID tag is often implemented as a tiny integrated chip (IC) (hereinafter "mu-chip") attached to an antenna. The IC stores a small amount of data, such as an. ID number, and the antenna is used to communicate with a reader. For example, one particular existing Hitachi mu-chip stores 128 bits of read-only data and communicates using a frequency of 2.45 GHz. Tags can be either active, which means they contain a battery, or passive. In the case of passive tags an external source, e.g., the tag reader, provides the power needed for communication. In many applications, direct line of sight is not necessary to read a tag; tag reading can be accomplished provided the RF signal is strong enough to go between the tag and reader. With some readers and tags it is also possible to read multiple tags simultaneously. RFID tags are designed to work at specific radio frequencies depending upon the physical characteristics of the antenna. Higher frequencies enable faster communication and typically larger read ranges. Lower frequencies often work better in the vicinity of metals or liquids. In general, the most suitable tag design depends on the specific application.
RFID tags can be very small which enables a number of different applications. For example, a Hitachi mu-chip can be applied to paper currency to combat counterfeit bills. This is possible because of the small size of the mu-chip; some embodiments of a mu-chip transponder measure 0.4 mm square and 0.15 mm thick.
One example of an existing RFID tag is a Hitachi mu-chip coupled to an antenna. Hitachi's mu-chip aids upwards communication from real-world objects to virtual ones. The RFID mu-chip 100, as shown in functional circuit blocks in FIG. 1, is 0.06-mm thick and 0.4-mm long on each side. The RFID mu-chip 100 includes an analog circuit 102 and a digital circuit 104. The analog circuit 102 includes a power rectifier module 106, a power-on reset module 108, and a clock extraction module 110. The digital circuit 104 includes a 10-bit counter 112, a decoder 114, and a 128-bit ROM 116. The analog circuit 102 is coupled to the digital circuit 104. The analog circuit 102 is also coupled to antenna terminals 118 and 120. By applying suitable packaging techniques, manufacturers can embed mu-chips in micro-objects. The 2.45 GHz band frequency, used for radio communication signaling between the mu-chip and a sensor, similar to that used by Bluetooth technology, enables use of a small sensor device.
The current mu-chip function is to return the 128-bit identification data stored in 128 bit ROM 116 upon receiving the radio wave from an external sensor. This data is the same length as IPv6 addresses. The mu-chip's characteristics give it an advantage in certain applications over other approaches to identifying and tracking products.
The mu-chip is similar to the bar code in that both give identification numbers to objects. One major difference is that mu-chips can be attached to smaller objects than a bar code can be attached to, because a bar code has a larger surface area than a mu-chip. Therefore, the mu-chip enables handling of objects efficiently in a wider range of applications than the bar code. Furthermore, copying mu-chips is much more difficult than copying bar codes. Thus, mu-chips can handle objects more securely than bar codes, preventing the forgery of security papers and providing counterfeit protection for branded products.
Current mu-chips retain 128-bit ID information in ROM 116, which is written only once at manufacturing time. The 128-bit ID information in ROM 116 cannot be modified after shipment.
FIG. 2 shows an example of the basic structure of mu-chip operations in a block diagram 200. Diagram 200 illustrates mu-chip 202 embedded in product 204. Mu-chip 202 may be mu-chip 100 of FIG. 1. The mu-chip 202 includes an amplifier 206 and a ROM 208 including system/application data and an ID code. An antenna 210 is also embedded in the product 204, and the antenna 210 is coupled to the mu-chip 202.
One counter-measure is to embed a mu-chip into security papers or brand name products and verify authenticity with a sensor reading. In this case, a tag reader including a transmitter and a read sensor 212, transmits signals to the mu-chip 202, e.g., using a 2.45 GHz microwave carrier, which is used to power on and activate the mu-chip 202. This results in the mu-chip 202 transmitting its stored 128-bit ID information via antenna 210. The sensor 212 receives and reads the return data, recovering the 128-bit ID information which has been sent via microwaves 214. With the antenna 210, the mu-chip is readable by the sensor 212 within a 30-cm range, instead of proximate range for reading a mu-chip 202 that is applicable when antenna 210 is not used. The output from the sensor 212 is sent to terminal 216. The output from terminal 216 is then sent to a server 218 which processes the data. The server 218 is part of a control center 220. In both cases, the security audit mechanism implemented in a server 218 checks for any abnormality by analyzing network-transmitted records. The system signals an alarm when it detects an alleged counterfeit chip, identification numbers transmitted at the same time from different locations, or any other predefined abnormality.
One design uses a built-in 100-pf capacitor formed by the gate oxide of the MOS transistor as a power supply, eliminating the need for batteries. The minimum operating voltage of the chip's digital chips is 0.5V. This chip has attached to it a thin-film external antenna. The chip terminals (118, 120) are connected to the antenna by an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). This type of structure results in a 0.15 mm thin transponder. The maximum communication distance between the mu-chip and a reader is expected to be 300 mm at a reader power of 300 m W. The RFID tag includes the mu-chip circuit and antenna.
The mu-chip 100 is one example of a RFID circuit, and other types of chip circuits and antennas are also available.
One potential application for RFID tags is for use with discs including Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) and/or Compact Discs (CDs). Previously, attaching RFID tags to Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) and Compact Discs (CDs) has been attempted. The term disc is intended to be used here interchangeably with the term disk which is also used sometimes. The physical characteristics of DVDs and CDs have precluded previous attempts to find a solution which works with a wide variety of such discs in a cost effective manner. The area of the disc which could be used to contain a RFID tag is limited because most of the disc surface needs to be accessible to the disc reader mechanism in order for the disc to function. In fact, the only consistently available space on almost all disc designs on which to put an RFID tag is the hub area, e.g., the 40 mm diameter hub present in many disc designs. Since the hub area is reserved for the clamping mechanism, it is universally available regardless of the specific disc type and whether the data surface is only on one side or is on two sides.
The data area of DVD's and CD's comprises a thin sputtered metallization film to permit reading by the laser mechanism. Historically, this metallization covered the entire data area, but did not extend beyond it. Specifically, the hub area at the center of the disc, that contains no data, had typically not been metallized. The metallization formed an annulus from the outside of the hub to the outside of the disc, even though the printing on single-sided discs may have extended across the entire surface. These types of discs, with no metallization in the hub area, provide less obstacles to RFID tagging than discs with metallization on the hub.
Recently DVD manufacturers have begun creating discs where the metallization extends into the hub area, almost to the center hole. Essentially the metallization is an annulus with a smaller inner diameter and the same outer diameter as regular DVD's. One reason for the increased metallization is for aesthetic purposes. These classes of discs can be described as metallized hub discs, and an increasing number of movie studio titles are delivered on these discs. Some CDs may also use a metallized hub.
FIG. 3 shows an example of a metallized hub disc 300. Disc 300 may be a DVD or CD Disc. Disc 300 includes a metallized sputtering data area 302 forming an outer ring, a metallized sputtering hub area 304 forming an intermediate ring, and a clear inner rim 306 forming an inner ring. FIG. 4 shows an example of a disc 400 with a non-metallized hub. Disc 400 may be a DVD or CD Disc. Disc 400 includes a metallized sputtering data area 402 forming an outer ring, a hub area 404 with no metallized sputtering forming an intermediate ring, and a clear inner rim 406 forming an inner ring.
A technical problem with metallized hub discs for RFID tagging is that the metallization extends into the hub area where if the RFID label is attached, the metallization effectively prevents the tag from operating. Tags that might work well, from a communications standpoint, on non-metallized hub discs do not function on the metallized hub disc variety, making universal application very difficult.
It would be advantageous if RFID tags could be developed that can inexpensively and/or reliably overcome the functional inoperability associated with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags when attached to discs that have metallization sputtering in the disc hub area, e.g., to within 4 mm of the center hole of the disc. It would also be beneficial to have RFID tags that could be universally used on a wide range of disc types, e.g., CDs, DVDs, one sided, two sided, with and without metallized hub area and future formats.
RFID tag use and problems pertinent to disc applications will be further discussed. DVD and CD item level disc inventory applications abound. Public and private libraries and disc rental enterprises could benefit from RFID tags. A potential benefit over other inventory and tracking methods such as bar codes is that RFID tags facilitate non-line of site tag reading capability, e.g., speeding processing of a disc. In addition by tagging individual discs with RFID tags, rather than tagging disc carriers such as jewel cases, as is typically the practice with bar codes applied to disc carriers, the reliability of the tracking is improved. These benefits of RFID disc tagging can also provide cost reductions, e.g., as manual labor operations are reduced and time associated with correcting errors such as a mismatched bar coded sleeve with a disc is reduced. Most current applications of RFID to optical discs involve tagging the disc carrier. Discrepancies can be expected when the carrier and the disc title inside the carrier are inconsistent, either by accident or fraud. Tagging the disc itself is the one solution to passively and positively identify a disc.
Thus, it should be appreciated that there is a need to be able to universally and reliably tag and read most or all DVDs and CDs that have both metallized and non-metallized hub areas at a price point that is generally valuable to the end user community from both the tag and the tag tracking application deployment perspectives. Typically, large scale inventories of discs will include discs of both hub types. It is also possible that clear and metallized hub discs may be used interchangeably on an identical disc title during different manufacturing batches. A key market driver to the adoption of an RFID tag to discs is likely to be that the RFID tag be capable of universal application to most or all possible existing and future discs and the universal RFID tag function acceptably on most or all possible existing discs.
A universal tag design would afford production scale efficiencies that tend to bring large volume tag unit manufacturing costs down. The universal tag design facilitates ease of deployment of the tags on discs because one design fits most or all disc types. In such a design implementation of a RFID tag, no special segregation of discs or special processing by type of disc would required during the application of tags to the discs since such an RFID tag would be functionally operational with discs containing either metallized or non-metallized hubs.
Some prior technology issues and problems will now be discussed. CDs and DVDs are typically made of polycarbonate plastic with a layer of aluminum sputtering. This metallic layer electromagnetically couples to the RFID antenna and affects radio frequency transmissions, often reducing and sometimes completely impairing tag interrogation effectiveness and read reliability. Prior technologies at lower radio frequencies are not effective at overcoming read reliability difficulties associated with discs possessing a metallized hub.
13.56 MHz RFID tags are less susceptible to the interference interaction of the metal in the disc than are lower radio frequency RFID tags, but these tags are not immune to this interference problem. One known example is a specialized booster antenna label that works in conjunction with a circular coil 13.56 MHz RFID tag placed in the disc's clear hub. The booster label amplifies the RF signal of the hub tag by means of an auxiliary RF antenna that is placed over the disc's outer edge. The clear plastic overlay therefore covers the entire surface of the disc adding weight and cost. The booster disc labeling system may not work with metallized hub tags and is priced at a high level relative to the disc price. This price point is only effective in tracking the most valuable of disc inventories, and this technology is not usable with double-sided discs.
915 MHz RFID tags can be designed to effectively function on clear hub discs. However, this tag's functioning would be impaired on metallized hub discs. The hub metallization will interfere with the tag's performance by adversely interacting with the RFID antenna. If 915 MHz tags are used with metallized hub discs, additional design solutions will likely be needed adding cost, weight and/or thickness to the resulting tag design. Therefore, designing a single 915 MHz tag that is readable with both a metallized hub and clear hub disc is expected to be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Various prior technologies utilizing tags designed for the 2.45 GHz frequency are rather costly. In addition, many 2.45 GHz tags are produced on heavy chip board stock and are too thick and heavy to apply to discs.
The existing solutions use rather large and thick-sized integrated chip (IC) chips which negatively affect the production cost of the RFID tag. The thicker IC chip may fail or disconnect from its antenna if positioned under or close to a disc drive internal clamping mechanism. Discs need to spin at very high speeds. Additional unbalanced weight on a disc can negatively affect the viability of a tag's use on a disc. Unbalanced weight will induce wobble on the spinning disc. Accordingly, any appreciable additional weight could affect the functioning of a disc drive. Standards for disc characteristics are very specific. Motors and other parts inside disc drives are built around these standards. The addition of an RFID tag on a disc changes the physical characteristics of the disc which may negatively affect some makes of drives, particularly if the tag is heavy. Lastly, overall tag thickness can adversely affect performance of the disc drive clamping mechanisms if the thick tag is placed in the disc hub area. Insecurely clamping a disc could result in an inability to read the disc or damage to the clamping mechanism, the disc, the RFID tag or the optical drive.
In view of the above, there is a need for new RFID tag designs which could be used to tag discs. It would be advantageous if such a new RFID disc tag was universally applicable to both CDs and DVDs, one and two sided, with and without metallized hub. It would also be beneficial if such a new RFID disc tag could be read from either side of the disc. Since physical characteristics of an RFID tag to be applied to a disc are a significant consideration, it would be useful if a new RFID disc tag incorporated features directed at addressing at least some these design goals: minimalization of tag weight, minimalization of tag thickness, minimalization of tag size, control of weight imbalance, damage resistance to hub clamping pressure.
Since cost is also a significant consideration in a deployment system, it would be beneficial if a new RFID disc tag could be usable with existing tag reader system equipment currently available. To benefit from the cost advantages of large scale production, it would be beneficial if a new RFID disc tag, or at least a portion of the tag, was similar to a currently produced widely used RFID tag.

Radio frequency identification tags for digital storage discs


An inputted digital signal of a first format (DV video signal) is restored to a variable-length code by having its framing cancelled by a de-framing section 11, then decoded by a variable-length decoding (VLD) section 12, inversely quantized by an inverse quantizing (IQ) section 13, and inversely weighted by an inverse weighting (IW) section 14. Then, required resolution conversion in the orthogonal transform domain (frequency domain) is carried out on the inversely weighted video signal by a resolution converting section 16. After that, the video signal having the resolution converted is weighted by a weighting (W) section 18, then quantized by a quantizing (Q) section 19, coded by variable-length coding by a variable-length coding (VLC) section 20, and outputted as a digital signal of a second format (MPEG video signal).

Conventionally, discrete cosine transform (DCT), which is a kind of orthogonal transform coding, has been used as a coding system for efficiently compression-coding still picture data and dynamic picture data. In handling such digital signals on which orthogonal transform has been carried out, it is sometimes necessary to change the resolution or transform base.
For example, in the case where a first orthogonally transformed digital signal having a resolution of 720×480 pixels as an example of home digital video format is to be converted to a second orthogonally transformed digital signal having a resolution of 360×240 pixels of a so-called MPEG1 format, inverse orthogonal transform is carried out on the first signal to restore a signal on the spatial domain, and then transform processing such as interpolation and thinning is carried out to perform orthogonal transform again, thus converting the first signal to the second signal.
In this manner, it is often the case that the orthogonally transformed digital signal is inversely transformed once to restore the original signal, then processed by required transform operations, and then orthogonally transformed again.
FIG. 28 shows an exemplary structure of a conventional digital signal processing device for carrying out resolution conversion as described above with respect to digital signals on which DCT has been carried out.
In this conventional digital signal conversion device, a video signal (hereinafter referred to as DV video signal) of a so-called "DV format", which one format of home digital video signals, is inputted as a digital signal of a first format, and a video signal (hereinafter referred to as MPEG video signal) of a format in conformity to the so-called MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard is outputted as a digital signal of a second format.
A de-framing section 51 is adapted for cancelling framing of the DV video signal. In this de-framing-section 51, the DV video signal framed in accordance with the so-called DV format is restored to a variable-length code.
A variable-length decoding (VLD) section 52 carries out variable-length decoding of the video signal restored to the variable-length code by the de-framing section 51. The compressed data in the DV format is compressed at a fixed rate so that its data quantity is reduced to approximately ⅕ of that of the original signal, and is coded by variable-length coding so as to improve the data compression efficiency. The variable-length decoding section 52 carries out decoding corresponding to such variable-length coding.
An inverse quantizing (IQ) section 53 inversely quantizes the video signal decoded by the variable-length decoding section 52.
An inverse weighting (IW) section 54 carries out inverse weighting, which is the reverse operation of weighting carried out on the video signal inversely quantized by the inverse quantizing section 53.
The weighting operation is to reduce the value of DCT coefficient for higher frequency components of the video signal by utilizing such a characteristic that the human visual sense is not very acute to a distortion on the high-frequency side. Thus, the number of high-frequency coefficients having a value of 0 is increased and the variable-length coding efficiency can be improved. As a result, the quantity of arithmetic operation of the DCT transform can be reduced in some cases.
An inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) section 55 carries out inverse DCT (inverse discrete cosine transform) of the video signal which is inversely weighted by the inverse weighting section 54, and thus restores the DCT coefficient to data of the spatial domain, that is, pixel data.
Then, a resolution converting section 56 carries out required resolution conversion with respect to the video signal restored to the pixel data by the inverse discrete cosine transform section 55.
A discrete cosine transform (DCT) section 57 carries out discrete cosine transform (DCT) of the video signal which is resolution-converted by the resolution converting section 56, and thus converts the video signal to an orthogonal transform coefficient (DCT coefficient) again.
A weighting (W) section 58 carries out weighting of the video signal which is resolution-converted and converted to the DCT coefficient. This weighting is the same as described above.
A quantizing (Q) section 59 quantizes the video signal weighted by the weighting section 58.
Then, a variable-length coding (VLC) section 60 carries out variable-length coding of the video signal quantized by the quantizing section 59 and outputs the resultant signal as an MPEG video signal.
The above-described "MPEG" is an abbreviation of the Moving Picture Experts Group of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 (International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission, Joint Technical Committee I/Sub Committee 29). There are an ISO11172 standard as the MPEG1 standard and an ISO13818 standard as the MPEG2 standard. Among these international standards, ISO11172-1 and ISO13818-1 are standardized in the multimedia multiplexing section, and ISO11172-2 and ISO13818-2 are standardized in the video section, while ISO11172-3 and ISO13818-3 are standardized in the audio section.
In accordance with ISO11172-2 or ISO13818-2 as the picture compression coding standard, an image signal is compression-coded on the picture (frame or field) basis by using the correlation of pictures in the time or spatial direction, and the use of the correlation in the spatial direction is realized by using DCT coding.
In addition, this orthogonal transform such as DCT is broadly employed for various types of picture information compression coding such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group).
In general, orthogonal transform enables compression coding with high compression efficiency and excellent reproducibility by converting an original signal of the time domain or spatial domain to an orthogonally transformed domain such as the frequency domain.
The above-described "DV format" is adapted for compressing the data quantity of digital video signals to approximately ⅕ for component recording onto a magnetic tape. The DV format is used for home digital video devices and some of digital video devices for professional use. This DV format realizes efficient compression of video signals by combining discrete cosine transform (DCT) and variable-length coding (VLC).
Meanwhile, a large quantity of calculation is generally required for orthogonal transform such as discrete cosine transform (DCT) and inverse orthogonal transform. Therefore, there arises a problem that resolution conversion of video signals as described above cannot be carried out efficiently. Also, since errors are accumulated by increase in the quantity of calculation, there arises a problem of deterioration in signals.

Information processing apparatus and method, and program storage medium


A vaccum-breaking valve comprising: a tubular body (10) mounted through one of the walls (P) of the cabinet (G) and having inner (11) and outer (12) ends, a valve seat (15) defining a fluid communication between the inside and the outside of cabinet (G); and a seal constantly biased towards a closed position, blocking said fluid communication and dispalceable towards an open valve position. The seal comprises a slide (20), which is axially and slicingly mounted through the valve seat (15) and has a surrounding sealing ring (25), which is seated against the valve seat (15) when the slide (20) is displaced to the closed seal position, the slide (20) being provided with at least one air passage (24) interconnecting the upstream and downstream sides of the valve seat (15) when the slide (20) is in the open seal position.

In refrigeration appliances, such as vertical freezers and refrigerators combined with a freezing compartment which have, inside a cabinet G, at least one compartment, which is hermetically closed with good sealing and thermically insulated and inside which the temperature is lower than the temperature of the surrounding external environment, there is observed an undesired effect which tends to make difficult the immediate reopening of the door of said refrigeration appliance after it has been opened and closed.
This phenomenon is due to the decrease in the pressure of the air mass admitted to the inside of the refrigerated compartment upon the opening of the door, which is inherent to the decrease in temperature of said air mass after the closing of the door, producing an unbalance between the internal pressure, which is lower, and the external pressure, which is higher.
As a result, a strong vacuum is produced inside the cabinet, resulting in a force on the door acting to keep it closed, and consequently making difficult the immediate reopening thereof. At present, it is recommended that the user wait a few minutes before reopening the door.
In order to overcome this problem and allow users to reopen the cabinet door immediately after its closing and with less effort, a device known as vacuum-breaking valve is used, whose function is to promote the equalization of the internal and external pressures. This valve is comprised of a generally cylindrical and rectilinear tubular body, which crosses one of the walls of the cabinet G of the refrigeration appliance, in order to promote a fluid communication between the inside and the outside thereof and to allow, in certain occasions (notably when the internal pressure is lower than the external pressure), the external air to enter the cabinet, thus increasing the internal pressure until it becomes close to the external pressure, represented by the atmospheric pressure. The tubular body is open on its inner side and has on its outer side a sealing system consisting of a movable seal, which is activated by gravity and is movable between a sealing position when in rest, seated on a valve seat and promoting the sealing of the air passage, and a spaced position, when it is maintained suspended and spaced from the valve seat, due to the difference between the external and internal pressures of the cabinet, thus enabling the air flow to the inside thereof.
The tubular body of the valve may be formed of a thermically conductive material, having its outer end arranged in order to define a heat collector to collect thermal radiation coming from a heat source available in the refrigeration appliance and which can be defined by the compressor. This construction allows the tubular body of the valve to be kept warm enough to prevent ice formation therein, due to the condensation of the air that enters when the valve is open, without interfering with the cooling inside the cabinet. This construction is described in the patent application BR PI0001249-1, of the same applicant.
While operating adequately, mainly when the tubular body of the valve is built of a material with good thermal conductivity and is kept slightly heated, the constructive arrangement of the seal suggested in the prior art uses the force of gravity to keep the seal, in the form of a sphere, seated on the valve seat, sealing the fluid communication between the inside and the outside of the cabinet.
Due to the fact that the seal is gravitationally and vertically displaced between a closed position, seated on the valve seat, and an open position, elevated in relation to the valve seat by action of the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet ends of the tubular body, it should be built in order to be light enough to be suspended by the "vacuum" formed inside the cabinet, particularly when the user starts the movement of reopening the door immediately after a closing thereof.
The construction of the usual spherical seal with a light spherical body is relatively costly and complex, besides allowing surface irregularities, such as barbs, to be formed on the spherical body of the seal. The low weight of these seals and the presence of surface irregularities thereon makes little efficient the closing of the valve seat only by the gravitational seating of a very light and small sphere against the sealing seat of the valve. On the other hand, the use of a heavier seal would make impracticable its upward displacement by pressure difference.
Therefore, in these known solutions, the construction of the seal is determined by the weight limitations, which weight should also be determined so that the valve only opens when the user starts a door reopening, in order to avoid that the presence of the pressure difference after each closing of the door causes the opening of the valve and the admission of external humid air inside the cabinet, even without an immediate reopening of the door. The adequate operation of the valve thus depends on the weight of the seal and the precision of its finishing, even if the limit weight is insufficient to promote an efficient sealing in the closed valve condition.
An inadequate sealing of the valve seat allows the occurrence of a flow of external humid air to the inside of the cabinet any time the internal pressure thereof is lower than the external pressure, causing undue ice formation inside the refrigerated compartment.

Vacuum-breaking valve for a refrigerated compartment


A composition including one or more bacteria of the order Anaeroplasmatales for use as a medicament in methods of treatment or prevention of an inflammatory disorder of the digestive system. Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to methods employing Anaeroplasma in the treatment or prevention of an inflammatory disorder of the digestive system. Preferably, the inflammatory disorders of the digestive system are inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). Furthermore, it is preferable that the composition of the present invention causes increased TGF-β and/or IgA production in the intestine or other component of the digestive tract compared to subjects who have not received administration of the composition.

IgA is an essential component of the mucosal barrier, protecting it from colitogenic bacteria (1), which are known to cause inflammation of the digestive tract. The production of intestinal IgA as such is controlled by microbiota, as germ-free mice have little intestinal IgA unless they are repopulated with microbiota (2, 3). So far, it has not been clear which bacteria direct production of IgA, as opposed to immunoglobulins of other isotypes, and which cellular and molecular mechanisms are responsible for this. Class switching to IgA occurs predominantly in B lymphocytes in Peyer's patches (PP) (4), and is dependent on T follicular helper (Tfh) cells expressing TGF-beta (5, 6). TGF-beta induces IgA switch transcripts (7, 8), an essential prerequisite for IgA antibody class switch recombination (9).
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine. Crohn's disease (CD) and/or ulcerative colitis (UC) represent the two most important inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). They are characterized by chronic, relapsing tissue-destroying inflammatory processes in the digestive system. To date, etiology and pathogenesis of CD as well as UC are unclear. While inflammation in UC predominantly appears in the mucosa and submucosa of colon and rectum, CD is characterized by wall-penetrating, granulomatous inflammatory processes of the entire gastrointestinal tract. It is thought that colitogenic bacteria are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders of the digestive system, such as inflammatory bowel disease and specifically Crohn's disease (CD) and/or ulcerative colitis (UC). However, no effective therapies for inflammatory disorders of the digestive system are available. Therefore, new therapies are urgently needed.
Olbjørn et al. ("Microbial Characterization of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Stratification into Disease Severity Groups", Gastroenterology, W.B. Saunders Co, US; 22 Apr. 2017) have reported that the microbiota profiles of pediatric IBD patients differ significantly from the profiles of non-IBD patients.
In the context of developing new therapeutic approaches for colitis, it has been suggested in US 2017/246214 A1 to use compositions comprising bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract, such as bacteria of the phylum Tenericutes. Similarly, US 2015/093360 A1 describes the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases by administering therapeutic compositions containing non-pathogenic, germination-competent bacterial spores obtained from fecal material, wherein the compositions may contain bacterial spores of the class Mollicutes. However, the relevant prior art refers to a great variety of bacteria that may be used for the treatment of colitis without differentiating between the specific effects and benefits of the individual phyla, classes, orders, families, genera or species of bacteria that may be used.
On the other hand, Roediger et al. (A role for intestinal mycoplasmas in the aetiology of Crohn's disease?", Journal of applied microbiology, 1 Jan. 2002, pages 377-381) suggest a role of Mycoplasma in the aetiology of Crohn's disease without providing clear evidence for this hypothesis. This disclosure suggests that arguments exist against a positive effect of Mycoplasma in the treatment of gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders.

Anaeroplasmatales for use in the treatment or prevention of an inflammatory disorder of the digestive system


A method and apparatus is used to allow big-endian data and little-endian data to be read from memory in a dynamic manner. A multiplexer controller (18) is provided size bits and two low order address bits A0 and A1 as control signals from a CPU (16). A0 is used by the controller (18) to distinguish between little-endian reads and big-endian reads for both 16-bit halfword accesses and 32-bit word accesses. Using the control signals from the CPU (16), the controller (18) provides ten control signals to a multiplexer 20. One of signals A-D are enabled for byte accesses, one of signals E'-G' are enabled for big-endian halfword or word accesses, and one of the signals E"-G" are enabled for little-endian halfword or word accesses. The multiplexor switches the external data from big-endian or little-endian to a common CPU-internal format while also aligning data reads for byte and halfword accesses in response to the ten control signals.

Microprocessors read and write binary values to and from memory in order to read data and execute computer software. Throughout the last several years of microprocessor design, two primary memory formats have been used to store binary information in external or internal memory. Processors using different formats have typically been incompatible with one another. One commonly-used data storage format is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is referred to as a big-endian format. A second commonly-used format is illustrated in FIG. 2 and is referred to as a little-endian format.
In FIG. 1, four byte memory locations are illustrated. The four memory locations may be used to store four bytes of information referred to as byte 0, byte 1, byte 2, and byte 3. In another form, the four storage locations in FIG. 1 may be used to store a halfword 0 and a halfword 1. Each halfword is a 16-bit value that comprises two bytes. In addition, the four storage locations in FIG. 1 may be used to store a word of data which is a 32-bit value. Therefore, the storage locations in FIG. 1 allow byte, halfword, and word storage of data. In another lingual convention used primarily for 16-bit bus machines, halfwords are referred to as 16-bit "words" and the 32-bit word in FIG. 1 is referred to as a "longword."
Byte storage does not vary significantly between a big-endian format and a little-endian format. Big-endian and little-endian, however, differ extensively when halfwords and words are stored. Referring to FIG. 1, halfword 0 is stored in two byte locations referred to as byte 0 and byte 1. Byte 0 is a most significant portion of the halfword and byte 1 is a least significant portion of the halfword. Byte 0 stores the value 12 in hexadecimal and byte 1 0 stores the value 34 in hexadecimal. Therefore, halfword 0 will be read from FIG. 1 as being a hexadecimal value 1234. In a similar manner, halfword 2 will be read from memory, having a most significant byte 56 and a least significant byte 78 so that halfword 1 stores the hexadecimal value 5678.
In FIG. 1, the byte 0 will have an address value less than byte 1, byte 1 will have an address value less than byte 2, and byte 2 will have an address value less than byte 3. For example, if byte 0 was located in memory such that byte 0 has an address of 50 hexadecimal, byte 1 will have an address of 51 hexadecimal, byte 2 will have an address of 52 hexadecimal, and byte 3 will have an address of 53 hexadecimal. Therefore, for example, byte 3 is referred to as residing in a higher address space than bytes 0, 1 or 2. Therefore, when reading halfwords or words from memory, most significant bytes in the big-endian format are stored in low address space whereas least significant byte portions are stored in a higher address space than the most significant bit portions.
When a 32-bit word is stored in FIG. 1, the value read will be 12345678 hexadecimal due to the fact that Byte 0 is a most significant byte and Byte 3 is a least significant byte.
FIG. 2 illustrates the little-endian data format. Halfword 0 of FIG. 2 will be read from memory as having a value of 5678. This is because, when using little-endian data storage format, most significant bytes are stored in a higher address space than least significant bytes. This little-endian format is the reverse of the big-endian format. Therefore, halfword 1 will be read as a value 1234. If a 32-bit word value referred to as word 0 is read from memory in FIG. 2, this word will have a hexadecimal value of 12345678.
In summary, if a 32-bit word is read from FIG. 1, that 32-bit value would be hexadecimal 12345678. Also, if a 32-bit word is read from FIG. 2 using the little-endian format, the hexadecimal value 12345678 is read. However, as one can easily see from FIGS. 1 and 2, even though both reads result in the same value, the individual bytes of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are reversed when compared to each other. This inherent reversal of byte order between the big-endian format and the little-endian format results in problems when a microprocessor must read both a big-endian format and a little-endian format.
One way in which the prior art has tried to read both the big-endian and the little-endian formats in memory has been to provide a special status bit internal to a CPU which identifies which type of data format is being accessed with each read instruction. This bit must be toggled every time the format of the data in memory changes. Using this technique, if a CPU is required to read a big-endian data value followed by a little-endian data value, these two reads would require at least four instructions. A first instruction that is a write instruction would be used to set the internal status bit to a value which allowed big-endian reads. A second instruction that is a read instruction would perform the big-endian read. A third instruction that is a write instruction would be used to change the internal status bit to indicate a little-endian read. Finally, a fourth instruction that is a read instruction would be used to actually read the little-endian data from memory.
Therefore, at least four instructions are needed to read two conflicting data formats stored consecutively in memory when using this status bit methodology.
In another form, a first opcode may be used to perform little endian operations and a second opcode may be used to perform big endian operations. This method involves more complicated instruction decode circuitry and is limiting since a programmer may not know which type of data is being accessed. In addition, code written for one data-type cannot be easily switched to another database.
A new method for reading both big-endian and little-endian formats from memory is needed in order to improve the performance of CPUs which are required to access both the big-endian format and the little-endian format .

Method and data processing system for dynamically accessing both big-endian and little-endian storage schemes


A method and apparatus for forming a multiple semiconductor die assembly (200, 300, 400) having a thin profile are presented. The semiconductor die assembly (200, 300, 400) comprises a plurality of die packages (100), with each die package (100) including a lead frame (10) having a plurality of leads (11) each having a down set portion (101) extending from (14). A semiconductor die (30) is disposed in a central region (12) of the lead frame (10) and is electrically connected (11). An encapsulant (50) is disposed in the central region (12) and covers to the semiconductor die (30) and a portion (11). The first surface (14) of the leads (11) and a first surface (34) of the semiconductor die (30) are substanial exposed from the encapsulant (50). The first surface (34) of the semiconductor die (30) and the down set portions (101) form a cavity (102). The semiconductor die packages (200, 300, 400) are stacked such that at least a portion of the encapsulant (50) is disposed in the cavity of a next higher semiconductor die package (200, 300, 400) in the stack.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacture and, more particularly, to the packaging of a multiple semiconductor die assembly.
2. Description of Prior Art
Portable electronic devices such as, for example, radiotelephones, pagers and personal electronic assistants (PDAs), are becoming increasingly complex, while also being provided in increasingly smaller and lighter form factors. Semiconductor chips or dice such as, for example a microprocessor die and a memory die, are used within the portable electronic devices. Typically, a die is provided in a ceramic or plastic packaging that provides support, protection, dissipates heat for the die and provides a lead system for power and signal distribution.
There is a desire in the semiconductor packaging industry to minimize the profile (thickness) of semiconductor packages to facilitate advances in mobile, wireless, and medical applications. Current demands are for packages having profiles in the sub-millimeter level. A need for increased processing power and speed has also created a demand to increase the number of dies that can be fit into a given area (i.e., to increase die density) and to decrease the length of the electrical path between dies.
One solution to the demand for increased die density and decreased path length is known as a multi-chip module (CM), in which a number of dies are stacked inside a single molded package. Within the package, the dies are separated by insulating layers/interposers with wire-bond and/or flip die connections used to electrically connect the dies to a common lead frame. This solution, however, has its drawbacks. For example, a package with stacked dies introduces complexity in the assembly of the package due at least in part to the increased number of electrical connections and the need for an insulative layer/interposer to be disposed between the dies. If any defects occur during the assembly of the package, the entire package, including both chips, is unsalvageable.
One example of an MCM package is U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,278, issued Sep. 17, 2002, to Vincent DiCaprio et al. DiCaprio et al. describe a package including a substrate having a central aperture. DiCaprio et al. further describe one or more semiconductor dice disposed within the aperture to provide a thin profile.
As is appreciated by those in the art, there are higher costs associated with reworking a failure in packages including multiple dies as opposed to reworking a failed, single die package. To minimize rework cost, semiconductor manufacturing employs a Known Good Die (KGD) rule. Generally speaking, the KGD rule refers to a die level product provided by a semiconductor die manufacturer that carries with it a certain level of guaranteed reliability and, as a result, a higher price per die. The rule of thumb in MCM manufacturing is that if more than five dice of any given type, or devices with more than 200 bonds, are included in a single package, they should be KGD. This rule evolved from industry's experience with the high cost of rework at the die level compared to the cost of replacing failed, packaged parts at the board level. Cost impacts are likewise more severe when the user encounters a failed MCM, as opposed to the cost of replacing an individually packaged integrated circuit (IC).
Accordingly, the inventors realized that a need exists for semiconductor packages having higher die densities (e.g., more than one die in a package), a thin profile and which balance rework costs with the cost of procuring guaranteed KGD.

Advanced Interconnect Technologies Limited


The present invention relates to an inflow control device for controlling the flow of fluid into a tubular deployed in a wellbore comprising coupling between joints of tubulars. The inflow control device is mounted transversely through the coupling in any inflow can control devices the initial condition fluid flow between the exterior and interior of the tubular is prevented. As sufficient pressure is exerted upon the inflow control device from the interior of the tubular the inflow control device is actuated to allow fluid flow between the interior and exterior the tubular. A nozzle in the inflow control device allows fluid to pass at a preset rate. The present invention furthermore relates to a method of assembling an inflow control device according to the invention and to a completion system comprising an inflow control device according to the invention

When producing an oil or gas well is desirable to control the fluid flow into or out of the production tubular, for example, to balance inflow or outflow of fluids along the length of the well. For instance, some horizontal wells have issues with a heel and toe effect, where differences in pressure or the amount of the various fluids that are present at a particular location can lead to premature gas or water breakthrough significantly reducing the production from the reservoir. Inflow control devices have been positioned in the completion string at the heel of the well to stimulate inflow at the toe and balance fluid inflow along the length of the well. In another example, different zones of the formation accessed by the well can produce at different rates. Inflow control devices may be placed in the completion string to reduce production from high producing zones, and thus stimulate production from low or non-producing zones.