In an access processing system in an information processor, the information processor includes: an access device (10, 11) for generating an access request signal; an accessed device (13) provided with a memory means (30) that is accessed by the access device (10, 11); and an address bus (14) that has the access device and accessed device connected with the information processor at least by the address bus (14).. The access processing system is processed such that, if an access request is produced, when the access request signal does not require all bits in the address bus (14), an unused bit in the address bus (14) is loaded with write data to deliver it to the accessed device (13).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an access processing system in an information processor and more particularly, to an access processing system that can mitigate competition between data buses in the course of accessing a memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the increased popularity of information processing equipment such as computers, there has been a demand for a reduction in cost and increased operating speeds.
In general, such information processors are constituted such that a central processing unit (abbreviated CPU) and its peripheral equipment such as a memory device, an input/output device or the like are connected mutually by a bus. When a CPU provides an access to the peripheral, the transfer of data is realized by delivering/receiving an address, data or a command (access mode) via a bus. Therefore, a more effective utilization of the buses is desired to improve system performance.
In the prior art, when an explicit write access is carried out with regard to a storage key device, since an address must be held until a write operation of write data to a predetermined address of the storage key device has been completed, it is disadvantageous that a monitoring of the address cannot be carried out in the meantime and the delivery of the new address must be inhibited. Further, when a prior read access is created and the delivery of write data is suspended, an access of another CPU must be inhibited, and even if there is no suspension of the delivery of write data, since an access operation is inhibited for a specified time and it is necessary to have a CPU that requires access to a system storage device, the system's performance deteriorates.

Access processing system in information processor


A separating element for separating liquid from a gas flow is arranged in a separating container of a liquid separator. The separating container has a housing with a container opening and a cover closing off the container opening. The sealing element has a collar arranged between housing and cover and supported on an upper area of the housing facing the cover. A sealing element is provided that has sealing surfaces arranged between the upper area of the housing and the cover such that the separating container is sealed relative to ambient pressure. The sealing element has a holding element monolithically formed with the sealing element and captively securing the sealing element on the collar. The sealing surfaces and the holding element are designed such that a function of sealing the separating container and a function of holding the sealing element on the collar are separate from each other.

The invention concerns a separating element for separating at least one liquid from a gas flow, wherein the separating element can be arranged in a separating container of a liquid separator, wherein the separating container comprises a container opening, a housing, and a cover embodied for closing off the container opening. The separating element has a monolithically embodied collar that can be arranged between the housing of the separating container and the cover of the separating container and is designed to be supported on an upper area of the housing which is facing the cover. The separating element has a sealing element that has a sealing surface designed for sealing the separating container wherein the sealing surface can be arranged between the upper area of the housing and the cover such that the separating container is sealed relative to the ambient pressure. The sealing element is captively secured on the collar, wherein holding of the sealing element on the collar is realized by means of at least one holding element that is monolithically formed with the sealing element.
Liquid separators or fluid separators are used in motor vehicles and industrial motors, for example, as integral oil separating containers in screw compressors. The separating element is arranged in a separating container that comprises two parts, i.e., a cover, and the housing. For exchanging the separating element, the cover can be detached from the housing. In the operating state, cover and housing are seal-tightly connected to each other by means of a seal.
The compressed air generation that takes place, for example, in screw compressors requires due to the operating principle a separation of the operating fluid oil from an oil/compressed air flow. For a reliable material separation in these processes, ensuring the spatial separation of the retentate side from the filtrate side is in particular of great importance, in addition to the proper selection of the filter material. For this reason, it is particularly important to mount the separating element in the separating container in a seal-tight way.
In prescribed servicing intervals, the separating element and the seal must be exchanged. In order to ensure that an unused properly arranged seal is used, the publications EP 2 099 544 B1 and DE 10 2007 046 209 A1 disclose a liquid separator with a folded filter medium and a seal that is captively secured on the collar of the separating element. However, it is disadvantageous that the seal which is disclosed in the publications EP 2 099 544 B1 and DE 10 2007 046 209 A1 is joined non-detachably with the collar of the separating element.
The publication EP 2 481 460 A1 discloses a filter element for filtration of fuel with a T-shaped seal that is attached by means of securing knobs. This seal is fastened on a two-part seal support of the filter element. The collar of the filter element must therefore be of a two-part configuration for fastening the seal.
In FIG. 2 of the publication DE 2001 11 003 U1, the seal is fastened on the collar of the separating element by means of an integrated fastening ring. The fastening ring is non-detachably fastened on the collar. The seal can be detachably attached by means of holding knobs on the fastening ring. This construction is however relatively complex.
In FIG. 8 of the publication DE 2001 11 003 U1 as well as in the publications U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,563 and WO 2011/088290 A2 it is disclosed that the seal is attached by means of a formed portion in U-shape on the collar of the separating element. The configuration in U-shape requires however a comparatively large amount of sealing material.

Separating element for separating liquids from a gas flow


A computerized method for predicting/completing the addressee field in an electronic mail system, in which user-related history information, including the user's sent and/or received mail, is analyzed, using text mining and/or data mining techniques, for associating the most probable addressee for a given e-mail letter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer technology, and in particular to a computerized method for predicting the addressee field in an electronic mail system, in which history information associated with the user's sent mail is analyzed for the purpose of associating the most probable addressee for a given e-mail letter.
2. Description of the Related Art
When using electronic mail (e-mail), a user normally must use the addressee's complete electronic address, referred to herein as a TCP-IP address. The user is typically required to use the TCP-IP address in a correct form, because this address is used to route the mail to the intended target mail server. Usually, there is an IP-address of the mail server encoded within the TCP-IP address. The TCP-IP address further includes user-specific ID-information (e.g., the name or nickname of the addressee) so as to distinguish one particular addressee from among a plurality of users registered with the target mail server.
Usually, the TCP-IP-address information itself is not actually entered by the user, but instead, a more readable character string is used. For example, the character string that comprises the TCP-IP address can be converted by the personal e-mail client program into the complete name of a respective person, e.g., "David Miller" might be used and displayed to the user instead of the TCP-IP address "firstname.lastname@example.com".
This additional information concerning location, organization and/or country is usually added to the user name to make it unique. Sometimes, even a number may be added to the name to generate a unique mail system address.
State of the art e-mail client programs installed at the user's PC do not propose or predict an addressee term, i.e. the addressee's e-mail address, when a new mail is created. Once, however, the user begins to enter some characters into the addressee field in the 'new message' window of his e-mail client, some programs will attempt to complete the name based on this initial entry of characters. This is true, for example, for newer versions of Microsoft™ Outlook Express™. A similar procedure is used in Microsoft™ Internet Explorer, Version 6 and many other programs, which append the rest of a stored character string to the initial string entered by a user. A disadvantage of this automatic string-completion is that it requires an initial user action to identify a significant subset of addressees, which are selected from a personal address book stored locally at the user PC, and/or stored in a centralized form at the e-mail server in an intranet or LAN of an enterprise.
If the user creating a new e-mail does not enter anything into the addressee field, prior art techniques disadvantageously do not make any proposal with regard to whom the mail could be addressed, even if the header/subject line is already filled-in by the user, and/or the text of the mail already comprises a considerable number of pages.
If some initial entry, e.g., at least one character, is present in the addressee field, a prior art e-mail program, for example the e-mail client in Lotus Notes™, Release 5, performs the above-mentioned address prediction based on stored addresses at the mail server of an Intranet, but to do that, the user's PC must be connected to the LAN, or to the Intranet, respectively. If the user's PC is cut off from such network, only the locally stored address book may be used for addressee term proposals.
Thus, where access to the complete list of electronic mail addressees is available, i.e., in a "closed world" scenario, where basically all mail addresses are known and can be listed or accessed, a prior art e-mail client may do one of the following solutions when confronted with an incomplete or ambiguous mail address entry:                1. it may reject such incomplete or ambiguous mail address;        2. it may replace an incomplete, but unique name in the mail address field on demand or automatically by the complete, unique mail address, or        3. it may map an incomplete and ambiguous mail address to a complete unique mail address and make a respective proposal, in the event that more than one complete, unique mail address matches. In prior art systems, usually some heuristic methods are used to rank the list of candidates and then the top-candidate is used as the best replacement for the incomplete and ambiguous mail address. These heuristic methods comprise, for example, a comparison of dates of stored e-mail correspondence, or the number of e-mails sent to each respective candidate, whereby the candidate who has the most contacts is proposed as the most likely recipient. Thus, some meta data stored in the history of the user is evaluated in prior art method in order to give the best possible addressee prediction.
Such predictive methods, however, result in unsatisfactory proposals which, in many cases, are nonsensical and may result in misrouted electronic mail.

Using a prediction algorithm on the addressee field in electronic mail systems

International Business Machines Corporation


The present disclosure relates to a motion estimation method, a chip, an electronic device, and a storage medium. The present disclosure is beneficial to improving the accuracy of motion estimation.

A video frame rate is a measure of the number of frames played by a display device in one second, and in general, human eyes feel more realistic and smooth in a video at a frame rate of 60 frames per second. In practical application, when video resources of a low frame rate are played on a display device, human eyes can feel jitter and blur. To solve the video jitter and blur effect caused by the low frame rate, the subjective visual effect of the video image can be improved by the video frame rate increasing technique. If we simply use a simple frame repetition or a method of averaging adjacent frames to increase the frame rate, the problem of video jitter and blur cannot be solved.
The main techniques for video frame rate conversion are motion estimation (ME) and motion compensation (MC). Among them, the basic idea of motion estimation is that each frame of the image sequence is divided into a plurality of macroblocks that do not overlap each other, and the amount of displacement of all pixels in the macroblock is considered to be the same, and then for the most similar block in the reference frame with the current block is found for each macroblock, i.e., the matching block, according to a certain matching criterion in a given specific search range, the relative displacement of the matching block and the current block is the motion vector, and the process of obtaining the motion vector is called motion estimation. Motion compensation refers to predicting and compensating for a local image of the current interpolated frame using a motion vector calculated by the motion estimation method.
One currently widely used motion estimation algorithm is a three-dimensional (3D) recursive search algorithm, namely a block matching method that employs a three-dimensional recursive search to estimate the motion of an image. In the block matching approach of three-dimensional recursive search, the motion vector for the current block is a correction of the small range of temporal, spatial-predicted motion vectors. The motion vector of the current block is also the candidate vector of space domain and time domain of the next block and the neighboring block in the next row.

Motion estimation method, chip, electronic device, and storage medium


A differential low noise amplifier (LNA) is operable in a selectable one of two modes. The LNA includes a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor and a fourth transistor. In the first mode (PDC mode), the four transistors are configured to operate as a post-distortion cancellation (PDC) LNA. The third and fourth transistors operate as cancel transistors that improve linearity, but reduce LNA gain somewhat. In the second mode (high gain mode), the third and fourth transistors are configured so that amplified versions of the LNA input signal that they output are added to amplified versions of the LNA input signal that are output by the first and second main transistors, resulting in increased gain. Multiplexing circuits are provided within the LNA so that the LNA is configurable into a selectable one of the two modes by controlling a digital mode control signal supplied to the LNA.

The disclosed embodiments relate to low noise amplifiers (LNAs).
2. Background Information
The first amplification stage in a radio receiver such as a receiver of a cellular telephone is generally an amplifier circuit called a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA). Measures of LNA operational performance include the noise factor (F) of the LNA and the linearity of the LNA.
The receiver of a cellular telephone includes what is referred to as a receive chain. The receive chain involves a LNA, that outputs a signal to a mixer. The mixer in turn outputs a signal to a baseband filter. The noise factor (F) of the overall receive chain to a first approximation is equal to the noise factor of the LNA plus a quantity, where the quantity is the noise factor of the following stages (the mixer and the baseband filter) divided by the gain of the LNA. Increasing the gain of the LNA therefore decreases the noise factor of the overall receive chain. In a cellular telephone application, there typically are noise factor requirements imposed on the overall receiver. Accordingly, the LNA in a cellular telephone has to have adequate gain to meet noise factor requirements of the overall receiver.
An amplifier, such as the LNA, exhibits an amount of non-linearity. If an ideal sinusoidal input signal of the pure single frequency were supplied to the input of a linear amplifier, then the amplifier would output an amplified version of the input signal. The output signal would have only a single frequency, and this frequency will be the frequency of the input signal. If, however, the same sinusoidal input signal were supplied to the input of an amplifier that exhibits an amount of non-linearity, then the amplifier would output an amplified version of the input signal at the frequency of the input signal, but the amplifier would also output one or more other signals of other frequencies. These other signals are referred to as "distortion". In a practical receiver, these distortion components are often far away from the frequency of the desired signal and can therefore be filtered out of the receiver output signal. If, however, there is another noise signal (referred to here as a jammer) that is received along with the desired signal into the input of the amplifier, then a complex type of distortion sometimes referred to as cross-modulation distortion can occur. Because this cross-modulation distortion may be close in frequency of the frequency of the desired signal, it is difficult or impossible to filter the cross-modulation distortion out of the receiver output signal. If the cross-modulation distortion components cannot be removed from the output signal by filtering, then the amplifier is made to be more linear so that the magnitude of the cross-modulation distortion components is an acceptable amount.
This requirement to have good linearity may, however, only be imposed when the receiver is operating in the presence of a jammer. If it is known that there is no jammer present, then the linearity requirement on the amplifier can be relaxed without the receiver output signal having an unacceptably large amount of distortion because there will be no cross-modulation generated. For example, in some radio communication protocols, the transmitter may be transmitting at the same time that the receiver is receiving. The frequencies of the transmitted signals are close in frequency to the frequencies of the signals being received. Due to the physical proximity of the transmitter and receiver in the cellular telephone handset, and due to the power of the transmitted signal, some of the transmitted signal may leak back into the receiver and constitute a jammer. This particular jammer is, however, only present when the transmitter is transmitting. When the transmitter is not transmitting, the cross-modulation distortion problem is less severe or absent and the linearity requirements on the receiver can be relaxed. In many LNA topologies, the linearity of the amplifier can be increased by increasing the bias current flowing through the LNA. Similarly, the linearity of the amplifier can be reduced by reducing the bias current flowing through the LNA.
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a circuit diagram of one particular differential LNA 1 that utilizes the Post-Distortion Cancellation technique (sometimes referred to as the Active Post-Distortion technique). This technique involves the use of four field effect transistors (FETs) 2-5 biased in the saturation region. FETs 2 and 3 are referred to as the main FETs. FETs 4 and 5 are referred to as the cancel FETs. The left-hand pair of main FET 2 and cancel FET 4 operates as follows. Main FET 2 amplifies an input signal received on input lead 6. An amplified version of the input signal is generated onto node 6. Because main FET 2 is configured as a common source amplifier, the amplified signal has a phase shift of approximately 180 degrees with respect to the input signal on input lead 5. Distortion components are also present in the signal on node 6 along with the desired amplified version of the input signal. The phase-shifted signal on node 6 is applied to the gate input of cancel FET 4. Cancel FET 4 is also biased in the saturation region, but it is designed to be a lousy amplifier in that it generates comparatively more of the distortion components in comparison to amplified desired signal than does main FET 2. Due to the way cancel FET 4 receives its input signal, the phase of the input signal supplied to cancel FET 4 is 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the of the input signal supplied to main FET 2. Accordingly, the desired amplified signal as output from cancel FET 4 is 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the desired amplified signal as output from main FET 2, and the phase of the distortion as output from cancel FET 4 is also 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the distortion as output from main FET 2. The signals output from main FET 2 and cancel FET 4 are summed on a merging node 7. If the magnitude of the distortion output by cancel FET 4 is set to be equal in magnitude to the distortion output by main FET 2, then the distortion signals will cancel each other on node 7. At the same time, some of the desired signal output by main FET 2 will be cancelled by the desired signal output by cancel FET 4, but due to the fact that cancel FET 4 is a lousy amplifier some of the desired signal as output from main FET 2 will remain on node 7. This remaining desired signal is the signal output from the PDC LNA. The other complementary pair of main and cancel FETs 3 and 5 works in a similar fashion. Unfortunately, the cancellation of some of the desired signal on the merging nodes 7 and 8 reduces the gain of the PDC LNA.
The PDC LNA of FIG. 1 has a high linearity mode and a low linearity mode. In the high linearity mode, a bias circuit increases the bias voltage on the gates of main FETs 2 and 3. This increases the DC bias current in the LNA and improves linearity. In the low linearity mode, the bias circuit decreases the bias voltage on the gates of main FETs 2 and 3, thereby degrading linearity somewhat but advantageously reducing power consumption. For further details on the active post-distortion cancellation LNA, see: 1) Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0229154, published Oct. 4, 2007, and 2) Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0030076, published Feb. 8, 2007. The input capacitance of the LNA of FIG. 1 is advantageously low because the gate of only one transistor is coupled to each of the input leads 5 and 9. Unfortunately, PDC LNA 1 has less than optimal gain performance due to the cancel transistors canceling some of the desired signals as output by the main transistors.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of another differential LNA 10 that utilizes a variant of the Derivative Super-position (DS) technique referred by here as the Cross-Coupled Modified Derivative Super-position technique (CCMDS). In this circuit, the main FETs 11-14 are biased in the saturation region, but cancel transistors 15 and 16 are biased in the sub-threshold region. When the transconductance equation that describes the output current of a FET amplifier whose FET is biased in the saturation region is compared to the transconductance equation for a FET amplifier whose FET is biased in the sub-threshold region, it is recognized that the signs of the third order coefficients of the transconductance equations of the two transistors are opposite one another. The signs of the first order coefficients, however, are not opposite one another. In the circuit of FIG. 2, this means that biasing a transistor in the sub-threshold region results in a shift in the phase of the third order distortion it outputs as compared to a transistor biased in the saturation region, whereas the phase of the desired signal as output by the sub-threshold biased transistor is not phase shifted as compared to the transistor biased in the saturation region. The current output by cancel FET 15 is supplied onto merging node 17 such that the phase of the desired signal as output by cancel FET 15 is in phase with the desired signal as output by main FET 11. Because the phase of the third order distortion components as output by cancel FET 15 are 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the amplified desired signal as output by cancel FET 15, the third order distortion components as output by cancel FET 15 are 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the third order distortion components as output by main FET 11. If the magnitudes of the third order distortion components in the cancel and main signal paths are set appropriately, then the third order distortion components on merging node 17 will cancel each other. Advantageously, because the phase of the amplified versions of the desired signal as output by the main and cancel FETs are in phase with respect to one another, both the main FET 11 and the cancel FET 15 work together to amplify the desired signal. The CCMDS LNA of FIG. 2 therefore has improved gain characteristics as compared to the post-distortion LNA of FIG. 1.
The CCMDS LNA of FIG. 2 is operable in two modes. A bias circuit controls the DC bias voltage on the gates of the main FETs 11-14. It controls the gate biases such that either transistors 11 and 12 are operating as the main FETs, or such that transistors 13 and 14 are operating as the main FETs. In a high linearity mode, transistors 11 and 12 are employed as the main FETs and transistors 13 and 14 are disabled. The capacitors 19 and 20 capacitively couple the receiver inputs 21 and 22 to the gates of the main transistors 11 and 12, respectively, and operate as capacitive voltage dividers. The input signal received on the inputs 21 and 22 is therefore attenuated so less of the jammer is supplied onto the gates of main FETs 11 and 12. The main FETs 11 and 12 are biased with a higher bias current so that the strong jammer signal will not cause large signal swings in the amplifier and generate more distortion.
In a low linearity mode, transistors 13 and 14 are employed as the main FETs and transistors 11 and 12 are disabled. Capacitors 19 and 20 are not in the signal path. Because there is no strong jammer present to cause the large signal swings in the amplifier that generate more distortion, main FETs 13 and 14 can be biased at lower bias currents in the low linearity mode than main FETs 11 and 12 are biased in the high linearity mode.
Although the CCMDS LNA of FIG. 2 does not suffer the gain degradation of the PDC LNA of FIG. 1 due to the first order transconductance signal components of the cancel path canceling some of the first order transconductance signal component output by the main transistor, the CCMDS LNA of FIG. 2 has other drawbacks. One drawback is that, in addition to the gate of a main transistor being coupled to an input lead, there is an additional capacitor that is coupled to the input lead. This extra capacitor that is coupled to the input lead increases the input capacitance of LNA. To interface the LNA to an antenna, an impedance matching network involving an inductor is typically employed. Increasing the input capacitance of the LNA requires that this inductor in the impedance matching network be larger as well. This is undesirable because providing the larger inductor involves increasing the parasitic resistance of the inductor and thus resulting in noise factor degradation.
A second drawback is that the merging nodes 17 and 18 where the cancel and main signals are combined are the output nodes of the LNA of FIG. 2. As the receiver operates, if the impedance of the circuitry that the LNA drives (for example, the mixer in a receive chain) changes, then this impedance change affects cancellation of the third order distortion between the main and cancel paths. This is undesirable.

LNA having a post-distortion mode and a high-gain mode


Changes in the value of the control element assembly position signal (26,28) are monitored over a preselected time period, and a determination is made whether these changes conform to a regular, predetermined pattern (S.sub.1), characteristic of normal control element assembly motion. If any change deviates (S.sub.2,S.sub.3) from the pattern by more than a permissible tolerance, a position invalidity signal is generated.

The present invention relates to control systems for nuclear power plants, and in particular, to control systems which respond to signals indicative of the position of control rods in the reactor core.
In a typical pressurized water nuclear power reactor, a plurality of control element assemblies are supported on the nuclear reactor vessel with associated drive mechanisms for moving the control element assemblies into and out of the reactor core, for the purpose of controlling the gross power level, or the power distribution in the core. Typically, each control element assembly (CEA) has a shaft which is driven by a plurality of electromagnetic coils having latches which engage grooves on the shaft, whereby the shaft may be moved in stepwise fashion. The shaft terminates in a web or similar structure, which supports a plurality of individual control elements or rods sized to pass through openings within or between fuel assemblies which define the reactor core.
A particular nuclear reactor may have dozens of CEA's, which are typically grouped or ganged in sets of four or eight, so as to move in unison when actuated by respective drive mechanisms. Moreover, these groups may be programmed to move in an overlapping sequence, with some of the groups not actuable for normal operational power control, but rather held in reserve only in the event of a reactor trip, whereby all CEA's are disengaged from the drive mechanisms, thereby dropping under the force of gravity into the reactor core to shut down the reactor power as quickly as possible.
The generation of a reactor trip signal typically occurs in a safety control system having an algorithm which takes into account the position of the CEA's in the reactor core, in combination with many other operational variables, to assure that if the operation of the installation is expected to pass through the boundary of the permissible operating envelope, the reactor will trip.
The insertion position and movement of each CEA is typically sensed by a reed switch configuration, each having a position output signal that is sent to the safety control system. The signal is used within the safety control system as part of a calculation to determine if the reactor should be tripped. Spurious changes in a CEA position signal, not caused by actual CEA movement, can cause unnecessary trips of the reactor. Inasmuch as the trip shuts down all power generating capacity from the affected reactor, the disruption to plant operation is self-evident. At a more subtle level, however, spurious CEA position signals, can result in the safety control system determining that the reactor is operating near a boundary of its operating envelope (i.e., with low safety margin), thereby unnecessarily restricting the operator from implementing the most cost-effective system configuration or power maneuvering.


Catheters for delivering drugs or other agents within a lumen, such as an artery or vein, are disclosed. In one embodiment, a catheter comprises an outer shaft with a lumen extending longitudinally therethrough. An inner shaft is slidably received within the outer shaft. A distal portion of the shaft comprises a plurality of grooved delivery members having a non-deployed position wherein the delivery members lie within and are compressed by the outer shaft, and a deployed position wherein the delivery members extend beyond the outer shaft. In the deployed position, the delivery members flare outward at an angle, beyond the diameter of the outer shaft to bear against a site of interest, which can be a thrombus or a vessel wall, for example. Drugs or other agents can be conveyed to the delivery members through a space between the inner and outer shafts. In another embodiment, distal portions of the grooved delivery members are coupled to an inner shaft at a first location and proximal portions of the grooved delivery members are coupled to an outer shaft at a second location. Movement of the inner and outer shafts with respect to each other to bring the first and second locations together causes the delivery members to buckle outward, deploying the members. Methods of drug delivery are also disclosed.

It is often necessary to deliver drugs to a particular site within a body. For example, catheters are used to deliver drugs or other agents to lumens or vessels within the cardiovascular system, the urethra, bladder, prostate, rectum and central nervous system, such as the spinal cord.
Thrombosis, the formation of a clot or thrombus in the cardiovascular system from the constituents of blood, is a potentially life threatening condition. Thrombosis can develop in any part of the cardiovascular system, but is most common in veins, particularly the deep veins in the leg. Thrombosis can result from a variety of causes including poor circulation, trauma, prolonged bed rest, or hip surgery, for example. In the arteries, thrombosis can be caused by arteriosclerosis. Thrombosis can develop in cerebral vessels, as well.
If a portion of the thrombus separates and is transported through the cardiovascular system, it can cause an embolism, or blockage of a blood vessel. A thrombus in a deep vein in the leg can cause a pulmonary embolism. A thrombus in a coronary artery can cause myocardial infarcation. Similarly, a thrombus in a cerebral artery can cause cerebral infarction.
During the early development of thrombosis, up to about seven days, the thrombus is soft and can be treated by a variety of techniques. Drug delivery catheters have been used to provide thrombolytic drugs or agents such as urokinase, streptokinase and recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator (rTPA), directly onto and into a thrombus. The FasTracker infusion catheter from Target Therapeutics.RTM., for example, comprises a catheter shaft with a drug delivery lumen extending through the shaft. A drug delivery port is located at the distal end of the shaft. To dissolve a thrombus, the FasTracker can be advanced through the thrombus and then withdrawn back through the thrombus as a thrombolytic drug or agent is delivered into the thrombus. This process can be repeated several times. Such a catheter has several disadvantages. For example, it can be difficult to center within the thrombus. In addition, as the thrombus dissolves, the catheter could be drawn to one portion of the vessel by gravity, preventing even delivery of drug to other portions of the thrombus. A catheter which could apply thrombolytic agents evenly to all portions of a thrombus would be advantageous.
In alternative treatments, a pulse spray of a lytic agent, such as urokinase, has been directed onto soft thrombi to mechanically break up and dissolve them. High pressure water has also been directed onto the thrombus to destroy it. The thrombus can also be broken by a laser or a drill. The broken or dislodged portions of the thrombus may be aspirated through a catheter so that they cannot migrate and obstruct other vessels of the cardiovascular system. Results have been mixed, with some treatments damaging tissue, causing another thrombotic or stenotic process. A surgical procedure may be required to remove the thrombus, as well.
It has been found that the application of lytic agents to a clot under pressure provides improved results over diffusion. Blinc, A., et al., "Dependence of Blood Clot Lysis on the Mode of Transport of Urokinase into the Clot--A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study In Vitro," Thrombosis and Haemostosis, 65(5) 549-552 (1991). U.S. Ser. No. 08/534,856, filed on Sep. 27, 1995, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses driving a drug or other agent through the thrombus by pressure, withdrawing and filtering the thrombic material and delivered drug, and recycling the drug.
In other cardiovascular applications, various types of agents are being investigated for use in preventing restenosis of an artery after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Heparin, an anticoagulant and inhibitor of arterial smooth muscle proliferation, is one such drug. Dexamethasone may also prevent smooth muscle proliferation. Other drugs and agents are being investigated for efficacy, as well. Such drugs can be delivered before or after the angioplasty procedure. The delivery of lytic agents such as urokinase, streptokinase and recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator (rTPA) to dissolve plaque in arteries and veins is also being investigated.
Because of blood flow through the artery, drugs delivered to the site of an angioplasty procedure, for example, can be rapidly dissipated and removed from the delivery site before they can be absorbed in sufficient quantities to become effective. Catheters have therefore been developed to directly deliver drugs to the desired site and maintain them there. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,244 to Wolinsky et al., discloses a catheter with a flexible balloon having a plurality of minute openings. The balloon can be inflated by heparin. As the walls of the balloon contacts the arterial wall, the heparin exits the balloon, directly on the walls. The balloon can block the perfusion of blood distal to the delivery site, depriving tissue of needed blood. This limits the amount of time available for drug delivery. The inflation of the balloon can also damage the arterial wall, promoting restenosis. In addition, since the balloon is inflated by the heparin, heparin can leak out before the arterial wall is contacted, wasting the drug. The balloon also needs to be deflated prior to removal or to allow blood flow. The pressure required to deflate the balloon could draw blood into the balloon, preventing further use of the catheter until the blood has been removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,436, also to Wolinsky, discloses a drug delivery catheter comprising a pair of occlusion balloons for securing the catheter in position and isolating a region of the artery which has been opened by PTCA, and a drug delivery conduit for delivering heparin under pressure into the region isolated by the occlusion balloons. The pressure of the heparin forces the heparin to coat and penetrate the arterial tissue. This configuration presents the similar perfusion problems to those discussed above. The heparin, therefore, is only delivered for 5-60 seconds, which may be inadequate for sufficient absorption.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,178 to Kaplan et al., discloses a catheter with drug delivery ribs which are brought into contact with the walls of the body lumen by an inflatable balloon. A series of ports in the catheter shaft can be provided proximal to the balloon to allow for perfusion of blood through the catheter shaft. As above, inflation of the balloon can damage the wall of the lumen.
One commercially available drug delivery product is the DISPATCH.TM. from Scimed. The DISPATCH.TM. includes an inflatable polyurethane coil which provides a path for blood to flow and defines regions proximate the wall of the vessel into which drug is delivered. While apparently allowing for significant perfusion, the device is complex and therefore difficult to use and manufacture. The inflatable coil can also prevent portions of the artery from being exposed to the drug and block perfusion to side branch arteries.
It is known that the velocity of fluid flow through a tube varies across the axial cross-section of the tube. The velocity is maximum at the center of the tube and approaches zero at the walls. In an artery or a vein, blood flow is very slow in the region proximate the walls. If drugs or other agents could be effectively delivered proximate the walls, the blood flow can atraumatically carry the delivered drug or agent over the site of interest. The delivered drug or agent would also not dissipate as rapidly as drug delivered to the center of the vessel. Less drug could then need to be delivered, shortening procedures and decreasing their cost.
U.S. Ser. Nos. 08/483,201, and 08/488,216, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,853 filed on Jun. 7, 1995 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, disclose drug delivery catheters with self-expanding drug delivery portions comprising a plurality of resilient members. A shaft, sleeve or other restraining means compresses the drug delivery portion until the drug delivery portion is proximate the site of interest. The restraining means is then retracted or removed, allowing the drug delivery portion to expand radially to bear against the wall of the vessel. Drugs or other agents can then be delivered through lumens in each member.
Drugs and other agents are delivered to lumens, vessels and cavities in other portions of the body, such as the urethra, bladder, prostate, rectum, bile duct, pancreatic duct and central nervous system, such as along the spinal column, to treat a variety of conditions, as well.

Catheters and methods for guiding drugs and other agents to an intended site by deployable grooves


An exercise device (10) has a handlebar (30) with handgrips (32) for gripping by a user (U). An adjustment plate member (26) is mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot (28) on a fixed support plate member (18). A seat (58) supports the weight of the user U to resist to the rotation of the adjustment plate (26). A generally horizontal exercise movement is performed by pulling on the handlebar (30) and simultaneously pushing on foot pedals (70) on a foot frame (68) secured to the adjustment plate member (26). The horizontal exercise movement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be easily converted to a vertical exercise movement shown in FIG. 3 at the discretion of the user (U) by changing the motion exerted against the handlebar (30) by the user (U). An adjustment lever (100) may be adjusted along adjustment plate (26) to vary the force exerted by the weight of the user (U) on seat (58) against adjustment plate member (26) through a force applying link (63), pivot (112), inner adjustment levers (110), and shaft (106) carried by the adjustment plate member (26). The adjustment lever (100) also is used to convert the device from pulling type exercises to pushing type exercises and vice versa.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an exercise device. In particular, it relates to an exercise device of the type permitting the user to selectively perform multiple exercise movements. Still more particularly, the invention relates to an exercise device which (1) simulates a horizontal pulling or rowing type exercise or alternatively a horizontal pushing or pressing forward type exercise; (2) simulates a vertical pull down type exercise or alternatively a vertically pressing upward type exercise and (3) allows motions intermediate horizontal or vertical type directions, either in a pressing mode or a pulling mode.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, exercise devices or machines have been provided in which a user sits on a seat while pushing foot pedals and pulling on handgrip members at the same time. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,642,288 to J. D. Bell, 2,924,456 to H. J. Miller, and 4,300,760 to Bobroff. Resistance to the exercise movement of pushing against leg actuated foot pedals and/or pulling on arm actuated handlebars is provided by the weight of the user on the seat. The seat with the user thereon is raised by the user pulling on the arm actuated means and pushing on the leg actuated means simultaneously in an exercise movement. Weight of the user resists upward movement of the seat. These patents permit only a single rowing type exercise movement in a horizontal direction, but they do not provide a mechanism for a horizontal pressing forward type exercise movement or vertical pull down or pressing up type exercise movement at the discretion of the user. Also, no adjustment means is provided to vary the force exerted by the weight of the user against the leg actuated foot pedals and the arm actuated handlebars.
A machine sold under the trademark Cardioglide shows a similar type horizontal pulling exercise device in which the force resistance means is a hydraulic cylinder that restricts the movement of the seal. The hydraulic resistance is adjustable by rotation of a knob, which, in turn, adjusts to the size of a fluid orifice in the cylinder.
A machine sold under the trademark CSA-E-Force has an alternative handlebar position in which a user can perform a n upper body horizontal pushing action, but the user must remove and then reinsert the handlebar in the alternative position. The device allows only horizontal movement and has no resistance adjustment.
Several exercise gym machines allow upper body movement in multiple directions. Examples of such machines are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,542,899 to Hendricks, 4,629,185 to Amann, 4,728,099 to Pitre, 4,949,951 to Deola, 4,986,538 to Ish, and 4,353,547 to Jenkenson. Such multi-direction exercise machines are either very complex and expensive or are very limited in their motions. Also, none provide any means for allowing coordinated movements of the upper body with the lower body.
There is a need for an exercise machine that allows a wide variety of movements yet is simple and inexpensive to produce and further provides other features described as follows.
3. Identification of Objects of the Invention
In view of the limitations of the prior art machines;
A primary object of the invention is to provide an exercise machine that allows a wide variety of exercise movements, yet is simple and inexpensive to produce.
Another object of the invention is to provide a machine as above that takes up very little floor space.
Another object of the invention is to provide a machine as above for allowing coordinated movement of a variety of upper body movements with simultaneous lower body exercise.
Another object of the invention is to provide a machine as above in which resistance to the various exercise movements is derived at least in part from the bodyweight of the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a machine as above in which the machine may easily be converted from a pull type machine to a press type machine.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which alternative horizontal only or vertical only exercise movements are allowed with selection of such movements by the user merely by changing the direction of force of the upper limbs while exercising.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine as above in which upper body exercise may be at any direction from horizontal to vertical with selection of such movements by the user merely by changing the direction of force of upper limbs while exercising.


A quick adjustment boot securement device for a snowboard is provided including a base coupled to the top of the snowboard. A boot binding housing is included with a bore that is adapted to rotatably receive the base therein. Next provided is a boot binding assembly including a floating clamp having a U-shaped configuration. The boot binding assembly further includes a clamping mechanism for engaging the clamp with the base thereby precluding rotation of the boot binding housing with respect to the snowboard.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick adjustment boot securement device for a snowboard and more particularly pertains to allowing quick and convenient rotation of a boot binding mechanism on a snowboard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of rotatable boot binding mechanisms is known in the prior art. More specifically, rotatable boot binding mechanisms heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of allowing rotation of a boot binder with respect to a snowboard are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,216 to Ratzek; U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,068 to Donovan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,116 to Hill; U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,807 to Fauvet; U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,017 to Ott; and U.S. Patent Des. 357,296 to Sims.
In this respect, the quick adjustment boot securement device for a snowboard according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of allowing quick rotation of a boot binding mechanism on a snowboard.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved quick adjustment boot securement device for a snowboard which can be used for allowing quick rotation of a boot binding mechanism on a snowboard. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Quick adjustment boot securement device for a snowboard


Disclosed are systems and methods for improving interactions with and between computers in content providing, searching and/or hosting systems supported by or configured with devices, servers and/or platforms. The disclosed systems and methods provide a novel framework that automatically generates and dynamically updates a multi-displayed dashboard of consistent instances on separate devices and/or network locations. The disclosed framework produces and displays an interactive dashboard including electronic tiles representing data of multiple processes and operations. The framework includes functionality for uniformly maintaining the display characteristics, such as the look and feel of the dashboard and the tiles included therein, across platforms of different devices, operating environments and/or display capabilities.

As more data get logged into databases, cloud servers, operational historians and/or any other type of software-based and hardware supported local and/or network configured data store(s), customers, and the systems and services associated therewith, are looking for computerized mechanisms for managing, understanding and displaying the data.
Conventional mechanisms are failing, as they are leading to loss of data, increased bottlenecking and inefficiency in data reception and presentation, and an overall lack of organization in the way the data is protected, provided and displayed to users.
Moreover, different types of content such as text, audio, video or combinations thereof are provided to the users via, for example, their personal computing devices, smart phones, tablets, smart phones, and the like. These different types of devices host or implement different types of platforms via different hardware configurations that provide entirely different operating environments and/or display capabilities. This in turn has resulted in the development of various proprietary and platform-agnostic content formats.

Computerized system and method for generating and dynamically updating a dashboard of multiple processes and operations across platforms


A sun visor can be opened from a non-used position to an anti-glare position. The visor can be pivoted from a first anti-glare position in front of the windscreen to a second anti-glare position in front of a lateral window of the vehicle. The visor body is guided by a guide device in such a way that in each anti-glare position the same face of the body faces the vehicle interior. The visor body is guided both by a guide rail that is mounted on the roof liner and by an articulated arm that is rotatably mounted on the sun visor body for pivoting from the first anti-glare position to the second. The visor body can also be hinged for pivoting from the first anti-glare position to the second by a pair of articulated arms forming a four-bar mechanism with substantially vertical axes of rotation relative to the roof liner.

Patent specification DE 38 29 976 C1 discloses a sun visor of the generic type which typically comprises a sun visor body which can be opened out both downward from a horizontal non-used position and from an anti-glare position in front of the windshield to a position in front of the side window of the vehicle by an L-shaped bearing bracket mounted rotatably in a pillow block, on the one hand, and in the sun visor body, on the other hand. In such known sun visors, the flat side of the sun visor body which faces outward in the first frontal anti-glare position faces the vehicle interior in the second, lateral anti-glare position.
This generally customary design is disadvantageous insofar as accessories, such as for example mirrors, retaining devices for parking tickets or the like, which are provided on a flat side of the sun visor body are accessible to the occupants only in one anti-glare position, usually the frontal position.

Sun visor for the interior of a motor vehicle

Johnson Controls Interiors GmbH & Co. KG


Single feed point matching systems for radiotelephones include a retractable antenna and a stationary ferrule contact which are configured to define a coaxial capacitor therebetween when the antenna is in the extended position.

Many radiotelephones employ retractable antennas, i.e., antennas which are extendable and retractable out of the radiotelephone housing. The retractable antennas are electrically connected to a signal processing circuit positioned on an internally disposed printed circuit board. In order to optimally operate, the signal processing circuit and the antenna should be interconnected such that the respective impedances are substantially "matched", i.e., electrically tuned to filter out or compensate for undesired antenna impedance components to provide a 50 Ohm impedance at the circuit feed. Unfortunately, complicating such a matching system, a retractable antenna by its very nature has dynamic components, i.e., components which move or translate with respect to the housing and the printed circuit board and as such does not generally have a single impedance value. Instead, the retractable antenna typically generates largely different impedance values when in an extended versus a retracted position. Therefore, it is preferred that the impedance matching system alters the antenna's impedance to properly match the terminal's impedance both when the antenna is retracted and extended.
The physical configuration of the matching network is further complicated by the miniaturization of the radiotelephone and the internally disposed printed circuit board. Many of the more popular handheld telephones are undergoing miniaturization. Indeed, many of the contemporary models are only 11-12 centimeters in length. Because the printed circuit board is disposed inside the radiotelephone, its size is also shrinking, corresponding to the miniaturization of the portable radiotelephone. Unfortunately, as the printed circuit board decreases in size, the amount of space which is available to support desired operational and performance parameters of the radiotelephone is generally correspondingly reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to utilize efficiently and effectively the limited space in the radiotelephone and on the printed circuit board.
This miniaturization can also create complex mechanical and electrical connections with other components such as the outwardly extending retractable antenna which must generally interconnect with the housing for mechanical support, and, as discussed above, to an impedance matching system operably associated with the printed circuit board in order for the signal to be processed.
As is well known to those of skill in the art, retractable antennas typically include desired matching circuits, one associated with the extended position and one with the retracted position. In the extended position, the antenna typically operates with a half-wave (.lambda./2) load. In this situation, the associated impedance may rise as high as 600 Ohms. In contrast, in the retracted position, the antenna rod generally operates with a quarter-wave (.lambda./4) load with an impedance typically near 50 Ohms. Therefore, when the antenna is in the extended position an L-C matching circuit may be needed or desired to match out the additional impedance.
In the past, conventional portable radiotelephones have used a variety of antenna connections to switch matching system into the circuit corresponding to the position of the antenna in order to the electrically connect the system with the antenna and the printed circuit board or signal processor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,937 to Tsunekawa et al. proposes downwardly spaced-apart contacts or terminals on the printed circuit board in the radiotelephone housing which act to engage with or short out the associated matching network. Unfortunately and disadvantageously, this type of switching connection can employ a number of discrete switching components such as wiping contacts with multiple signal feed points and additionally may use an undesirable amount of space on the printed circuit board.
One alternative is described in a co-pending patent application, Ser. #08/858,982, filed May 20, 1997, entitled "Radiotelephones with Antenna Matching Switching System Configurations" by Gerard J. Hayes and Howard E. Holshouser. This system employs transversely spaced-apart circuit and antenna contacts to reduce the amount of space on the printed circuit board needed to operate the matching system. An additional alternative is described in a co-pending application, Ser. #08/841,193, filed Apr. 29, 1997, entitled "Radiotelephones with Integrated Antenna Matching Systems" by Howard E. Holshouser. Each of these references is hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.


An actuator for a valve lift control device linearly moves a control shaft to change a valve lift in accordance with an axial position of the control shaft. A first and a second rotation cam integrally rotate around a common rotation axis by transmission of torque, so that a direct acting follower, which includes a first and a contact members, linearly moves with a control shaft. The first and a second rotation cams are respectively in contact with the first and the second contact members via a first and a second contact points. The first contact point is located on the opposite side of the second contact point with respect to the rotation axis. A sum of a first rotation cam lift of the first rotation cam and a second rotation cam lift of the second rotation cam is substantially constant in a predetermined rotation angular range of the first rotation cam and the second rotation cam.

According to U.S. 2004/0083997A1 (JP-A-2004-150332), a conventional valve lift control device axially moves a control shaft to change a valve lift in accordance with the axial position of the control shaft. In this structure, a rotation cam and a contact member, which are in contact with each other, are used as an actuator that axially moves the control shaft. Torque is transmitted to a rotation cam, so that the rotation cam is driven. The contact member, which is a direct acting follower, links with the control shaft.
In this structure, the contact member is in contact with the rotation cam. Accordingly, when reactive force applied from a valve onto the control shaft becomes excessively small, and when the rotation cam rotates to the side, in which a cam lift decreases, the contact member may depart from the rotation cam. When the contact member departs from the rotation cam, the valve lift cannot be controlled, and an engine performance becomes unstable.

Actuator for valve lift control device having cam mechanism


A read-out circuit for or in a ROM memory, comprises an input, a comparator circuit, a threshold setting, and a control signal generator for driving the threshold setting generator. A read signal can be coupled into the input. The read signal, depending on the information contained in the read signal, comprises a high signal level relative to a reference potential or a low signal level relative to a reference potential. The comparator circuit compares the read signal with a settable threshold, the threshold setting circuit is designed for setting the threshold of the comparator circuit relative to the high and low signal levels, and the control signal generator generates a control signal similar to the read signal.

The invention relates to a read-out circuit for or in a ROM memory, to a ROM memory and also to a method for reading the ROM memory.
Semiconductor memories are used for storing information in digital systems. Said memories are subdivided into different classes according to the type of information storage and different possibilities for writing the information to the semiconductor memory and reading it out again. Thus, a distinction is made between volatile and non-volatile memories, the non-volatile memories or else read-only memories including for example ROM memory (Read Only Memory) and the class of volatile memories including for example static and dynamic memories for example SRAM memory (Static Random Access Memory) or DRAM memory (Dynamic Random Access Memory).
The invention and also the problem area on which it is based are described below with reference to non-volatile semiconductor memories formed as ROM memories, but without restricting the invention thereto.
FIG. 1 of the drawings schematically shows an excerpt from a ROM memory—known internally to the applicant—with a sense amplifier for elucidating the general problem area. The ROM memory contains one or a plurality of memory cell arrays 1. Each of said memory cell arrays 1 contains a multiplicity of individual memory cells 2 arranged in matrix-type fashion in the respective memory cell array 1. A respective memory cell 2 contains a memory transistor that is formed as an n-channel field effect transistor—referred to hereinafter as NFET for short—and is designed to store a logic (digital) information item, for example a logic "1" (high level) or a logic "0" (low level). A supply potential VDD is applied to the gate terminals of the memory transistors 2 via word lines 4, by way of example, while an earth potential VSS is applied to the source terminals of the memory transistors 2 via respective connecting lines 5. In order to read a memory cell 2, the drain terminal thereof is connected to a bit line 3 to which a sense amplifier 6 is connected.
In this case, the sense amplifier 6 is formed as a simple inverter 6. A bit line multiplexer 7 having a plurality of selection transistors 8 is furthermore arranged between the input of the inverter 6 and the respective bit lines 3. The selection transistors 8 are designed to select a respective bit line 3 and connect it to the inverter 6. If a word line 4 is simultaneously activated, for example by application of a supply potential VDD, then the information stored in the memory cell 2 can be fed to the input of the inverter 6 via the respective selection transistor 8.
The read signal output of the memory cells 2 on to the respective bit line 3 during read-out is relatively weak in modern semiconductor memories, in particular on account of increasing miniaturization. The read signal must therefore be amplified by the sense amplifier 6.
In standby operation of a ROM memory, the latter ideally should have no power consumption. On account of parasitic leakage currents, which may have various causes, a ROM memory typically has a non-negligible power consumption in standby operation as well. The influence of the parasitic leakage currents is increasing further and further in particular on account of the increasingly smaller feature sizes and also on account of the gate oxide becoming ever thinner. Said parasitic leakage currents should be avoided as far as possible, particularly if the ROM memory is intended to be used for a mobile application in which the available power is limited and therefore constitutes a critical criterion. For these reasons, memory architectures designed for reducing the leakage currents are used inter alia in modern ROM memories.
A further problem consists in the fact that in a ROM memory typically different components are used within the memory cell array and the sense amplifier. In this case, variations in the choice of the different components can lead to the sense amplifier threshold varying to a greater or lesser extent. In particular, the case may occur, for example, in which the information representing a logic "1" on the one hand, and the information representing a logic "0" on the other hand, approximate to one another to an ever greater extent, which can be attributed for example to coupling effects of adjacent memory cells or their leads, process and technological variations and the like. Such coupling effects arise for example, when the respective bit lines are very long and the read signals passed on said bit lines are thereby influenced by adjacent lines and memory cell components. Moreover, a corruption of the information read out may also arise as a result of the threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor itself. This may consequently lead, if appropriate, to an erroneous read-out of the information stored in the memory.
The problem area mentioned above will be explained below with reference to the voltage-time diagrams in FIGS. 1a and 1b. FIG. 1a shows the case in which a logic "0" is to be read (Read 0), from a memory cell designated by reference symbol 2′ in FIG. 1, whereas in the case of FIG. 1b a logic "1" (Read 1) is intended to be read out from another memory cell 2″. In FIG. 1, in this case, the potentials on the corresponding word lines 4 are designated by WL0-WL3, the different potentials on the supply lines 5 are designated by VVDD0-VVDD3 and the potentials on the bit lines 3 are designated by BL0-BL3.
For a read operation for reading out a "0", the ideal potential BL2 on a bit line is 0 volts. On account of the above mentioned coupling effects, however, an additional positive potential occurs on the bit line 3 if a supply line 5 and hence a corresponding memory cell 2 are switched on. On account of this so-called "cross-coupling" effect of the bit line 3 to adjacent lines of adjacent memory cells, at the beginning of the activation of the supply line 2, the potential BL2 on the corresponding bit line 3 is concomitantly pulled up somewhat and subsequently falls again somewhat (see FIG. 1a). An additional rise in the potential on the bit line 3 results on account of leakage currents of memory cells which are connected to the same bit line 3 but are not activated via the corresponding word line 4. These phenomena just mentioned are all the more serious, the greater the length with which the corresponding bit line 3 is formed. As illustrated in FIG. 1a, the potential BL2′ (upper BL2 curve) for a comparatively long line is significantly higher than the corresponding potential BL2 of a correspondingly shorter bit line (lower BL2 curve).
In the case of a read operation for a logic "1", the ideal potential BL0 on the bit line 3 corresponds to the maximum supply potential VDD. The actual value of the potential BL0 on the bit line is significantly lower, however. This is due, inter alia, to the fact that a voltage is dropped across the channel of the corresponding NFET of the memory cell whose information is currently being read out. Moreover, the potential of the read signal also depends on the length of the bit line 3 in the same way. Consequently, for long bit lines 3, the corresponding bit line potential BL0 (BL0 lower curve in FIG. 1b) is significantly lower than the supply potential VDD (see FIG. 1b).
The decision threshold employed by the sense amplifier for the definition of a logic "0" and a logic "1" ideally amounts to half the supply voltage VDD. As can be discerned in FIGS. 1a and 1b, however, the switching threshold actually greatly depends on the construction of the ROM memory used, and in this case in particular on the length of its bit lines and the type and number of the components used. Moreover, said switching threshold also depends on process and technological variations during production.
What is problematic about the inverter used as a sense amplifier in FIG. 1, however, is that its threshold is fixedly predetermined and therefore cannot be adapted to the variation of the switching threshold just mentioned. However, since the bit line potentials BL0-BL3 for a "0" and "1", as shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, approximate to one another depending on the parameters just mentioned, incorrect decisions may occur if appropriate, in the sense amplifier, that is to say that a logic "1" is identified as logic "0" and vice versa. In particular, this applies to the beginning of a read operation in which, for a read operation for a "0" at the start of the read-out, the bit line potential BL2 follows the potential VVDD2 on the supply line 5 somewhat. This means that the information stored in the corresponding memory cells can no longer be read out unambiguously, which should be avoided.

Read-out circuit for or in a ROM memory; ROM memory and method for reading the ROM memory


A plastic housing composition for embedding semiconductor devices in a plastic housing includes a multicomponent plastic material, where at least one component is distributed in the plastic material in drop-shaped and/or spherical units. The drop-shaped and/or spherical units are surrounded by dimensionally stable sheaths made from a plastic sheath material. The multicomponent plastic further includes a reactive curing system that cures when the plastic sheaths are torn open. The dimensionally stable plastic sheath material is deformation-sensitive, so that the sheaths tear open under mechanical deformation loading, which initiates and/or accelerates the curing process.

A multicomponent plastic in which at least one component is arranged in a manner distributed in spherical form in the volume of the remaining components and is enclosed by a dimensionally stable sheath or capsule is described in German Patent Application No. DE 10 2004 044 603.2. However, the multicomponent plastic used therein is not used as a plastic housing composition, but rather as an underfill material in the region of surface-mountable external contacts and in the form of solder balls which are intended to be applied to a customized circuit board. The curing agent of the two-component plastic for the underfill material is accommodated in capsules, the sheath of which has a thermoplastic which is intended to release the curing agent only when at least the solder temperature for soldering the surface-mountable external contacts onto the customized circuit board has been attained.
The use of such a two-component plastic having a curing agent enclosed in a thermoplastic sheath as a plastic housing composition has the disadvantage that at least the softening temperature of the thermoplastic of the capsule has to be reached for release of the curing agent.
For a plastic housing composition, there is the disadvantage that, after the emergence of the curing agent at the softening temperature of the capsules and the curing of the plastic housing composition to form a plastic housing, the plastic housing composition is then hot and, consequently, the plastic housing has to be cooled to room temperature. Due to the high coefficient of thermal expansion, the plastic housing shrinks and brings about warping, for example, of a circuit substrate on which a semiconductor chip is mounted. Such warping can render the semiconductor housings that are to be formed unusable if the warping exceeds permissible tolerances. In particular, if a plurality of semiconductor houses are intended to be formed simultaneously on a panel, the extreme shrinkage of a plastic housing composition preheated in this manner is problematic for further processing, in particular singulation to form individual housings of the panel due to the incipient warping.
Therefore, there is a need to create a plastic housing composition which exhibits a reduction of a shrinkage effect and hence of warping of semiconductor devices.

Plastic housing composition for embedding semiconductor devices in a plastic housing and use of the plastic housing composition


A three-dimensional television camera system based on a spatial depth signal and receiver system therefor is disclosed wherein a video depth signal is generated in spatial synchronization with the raster scan of a TV camera viewing a scene. The video depth signal is generated by taking the ratio of the outputs of a pair of spaced apart sensors receiving a reflected laser beam of a laser projector situated between the sensors. The laser projector, sensors, and TV camera are in close proximity to each other. A portion of the energy receiving photocell of each sensor is blocked by a parallax barrier so that a proportion of the reflected laser beam energy is detected and that receipt of energy is angle dependent. By such construction, the depth difference of two points proximate each other is sensed. A continuous video depth signal is outputted in synchrony with the TV camera video signal to the receiver system. The described receiver system employs two TV cathode ray tubes to be viewed stereoscopically, i.e., one for each eye. On CRT operates as in a convention television receiver receiving the TV camera video signal and the other CRT receives the same video signal except the horizontal sweep component is modified by the video depth signal. By such instrumentality, a scene is viewed in three dimensions much like the sell known stereoscope.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is three dimensional television, their camera systems and their receiver or monitor systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certainly the most common example of three dimensional image perception is the example of a person's vision. When viewing an object, a person's eyes usually are situated at the same vertical height but separated horizontally by 2 1/2 inches or so. As each eye sees the same scene, the perspective each eye sees of the scene is slightly different. For example, the left eye, because of its spaced-apart position from the right eye, will see just slightly more or less around a corner or curved surface than the right eye. If the scene viewed by the eyes is broken up into many very small dots of viewing perception, the left retina will receive some dots which are horizontally displaced from dots received by the right eye due to depth difference and due to the fact that the left eye is spaced apart from the right eye. However, no "advantage" is gained vertically since there is no vertical displacement between the eyes and the same vertical component is seen by both eyes. The person's brain receives the images from each eye and, bu processes not yet understood, compares and combines the images to give a 3-dimensional sense to the scene viewed by the person.
It is thus clear that the lessons of the eye may be applied to television camera and receiver systems by utilizing two closely spaced television cameras viewing the same scene whereupon the video signal output of each camera is directed to a pair of television receivers. The scene viewed by each camera is repeated on the cathode ray tube of a respective receiver. Then, if a party were to view the two receivers steroscopically, i.e., where a person's left eye could only view the CRT of the television receiver receiving the output of the left television camera and the right eye viewing only the CRT of the television system receiving the output of the right television camera, the eyes would then see on the television CRTs exactly what they would see if they were viewing the scene themselves. The person's brain would interpret the two displays to reveal its 3-dimensional aspects. Map makers employ similar techniques when they view photographs taken from adjacent cameras (or from a single camera which is moving in a straight-line motion) through a stereoscope to determine height information of the ground or perhaps more commonly, to draw elevation contour lines on maps.
Now there has been much effort in the field of reproducing scenes on television receiver CRTs that take on the appearance of 3-dimension. For example, Drewlo, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,959, describes a 3- dimensional cathode ray tube display wherein two television cameras view the scene from different points. The output electronic video signals from the two cameras are mixed and then transmitted via a broadcast antenna. The resultant composite signal is received by a sole video receiver which separates the electronic signals of the two cameras. Then, in a time division multiplex, each signal is applied in time to the electron gun at the rear of the cathode ray tube. In an alternate embodiment, the cathode ray tube incorporates a pair of electron guns, one for each of the signals from the cameras. When one electron gun is utilized, and utilizing time multiplexing, one camera's output is shown on the TV screen and the displayed image directed via a prism surface to the viewer's left eye. Subsequently, the second camera display is routed through a separate prism to the viewer's right eye. Thus with the two gun approach, each gun is so oriented as to display the scene on separate portions of the cathode ray tube such that each portion is viewed by different eyes. Such is accomplished by constructing the cathode ray tube display surface as a linear Fresnel lens. Because the viewer is receiving independent video screens related to their eyes, the result is the perception of depth.
In other 3- dimensional display apparatus disclosed in United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2,206,763, a cathode ray tube is viewed through a lens, such as a lenticular array, followed by a spatial light modulator such as a liquid crystal display. Different views of the scene are provided on the cathode ray tube in a time-multiplex manner. By such apparatus, different views and directions from which they are visible correspond to different views of the scene and thus the appearance of 3-dimensions is given.
Still other devices, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,860 to Hattori, utilize a Fresnel lens in front of a cathode ray tube display as the substantial part of 3-dimensional viewing. Utilizing Fresnel lens or lenticular lens between the cathode ray tube display and the viewer is a popular scheme in attempting to present 3-D viewing of a television CRT.
However, from the very fact that past attempts of 3-dimensional television have not been widely adopted, it is obvious that the systems heretofore proposed both by the inventors recited above and other systems which abound have not met with great public acceptance.
Accordingly, it is obvious that there is need for a 3-dimensional television camera and receiver system which overcomes problems inherent with the above systems, and in addition is easy to implement and relatively inexpensive.

Three dimensional television camera system based on a spatial depth signal and receiver system therefor


A system and method of quickly determining the parameters of an ion beam are disclosed. An ion beam, having a width and height dimension, is made up of a number of individual beamlets. By using a plurality of detectors, deployed over the entire beam, it is possible to quickly determine the mean angle of the beam at various locations. This information can then be used to adjust the beamline components. The detector allows a small portion of the beam to enter through a narrow slit. Varying voltages are applied to a set of electrostatic deflection plates, which enable rapid determination of the incoming beam angle. By positioning a plurality of these detectors along one or both dimensions of an ion beam, a profile of the beam can be quickly generated. This profile can then be used to adjust the various beam line components so as to improve the spread of the ion beam. This adjustment can either be made manually, or via an automated controller.

Ion implanters are commonly used in the production of semiconductor wafers. An ion source is used to create a beam of positively charged ions, which is then directed toward the workpiece. As the ions strike the workpiece, they change the properties of the workpiece in the area of impact. This change allows that particular region of the workpiece to be properly "doped". The configuration of doped regions defines the functionality of the workpiece, and through the use of conductive interconnects, these workpieces can be transformed into complex circuits.
In many applications, the ion beam is directed so as to strike the workpiece in a direction normal to the plane of the workpiece. FIG. 1 shows a representative orientation of workpiece 100 in three dimensions, X, Y and Z. In many applications, the ion beam (not shown) is directed toward the workpiece 100 in a direction substantially parallel to the Z axis. In this manner, the ion beam is substantially perpendicular to the workpiece in both the X and Y axes. The ion beam can be thought of as a set of ion beamlets, each beamlet comprising a single line in the XZ plane. While it is important that the entire beam is substantially perpendicular to the workpiece, it is equally important that each of the individual beamlets is also perpendicular to the workpiece in both the X and Y axes. FIG. 2a shows an ion beam 200 which is made up of a plurality of beamlets 210. Although only several are shown for purposes of illustration, the ion beam can be comprised of an arbitrary number of beamlets. In this Figure, all of the beamlets 210 are parallel to one another. In contrast, FIG. 2b shows an ion beam 250, which is also substantially perpendicular to the workpiece. However, its component ion beamlets 270 are not parallel to one another, and consequently some of these beamlets are not perpendicular to the workpiece.
Since an ion beam is a three dimensional entity, parallelism exists in several dimensions. For example, ion beamlets can be parallel across the X dimension (i.e. the XZ plane). In this dimension, deviations in the Y dimension are not considered. Similarly, ion beamlets can be parallel across the Y dimension (i.e. YZ plane), where deviations in the X dimension are not considered. It should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the ion beamlets of an ion beam can display parallelism in one dimension (i.e. width) without displaying parallelism in the orthogonal dimension (i.e. height).
As geometries continue to shrink, it is critical to be able to measure the orientation of the ion beam, and to control the beam so as to maximize the degree of parallelism. In measuring an ion beam, there are several important parameters. The first is the divergence of the ion beam. As used in this disclosure, the term "divergence" is defined as the mean angle of incident of the ion beam onto the workpiece. This is determined to be the mean of the individual ion beamlet's angles of incidence. The second parameter is "spread", which is defined as the range of these mean angles. These parameters help define the ion beam. For example, FIG. 3 shows an ion beam having a divergence of 10° and a spread of 0°. This low spread value indicates that the individual ion beamlet have a high degree of parallelism. The divergence value indicates that the ion beam is striking the workpiece at an 80° angle, rather than perpendicularly. FIG. 4 shows an ion beam having a divergence of 0° and a spread of 10°. In this case, the ion beam on average strikes the beam perpendicularly, but the angles of incidence of the individual beamlets differ by 10°. Thus, although the ion beam as an entity is perpendicular to the workpiece, the individual beamlets differ greatly in angular direction. For example, the outermost beamlets in FIG. 4 vary in incidence angle by 10°. It should be noted that it is much easier to compensate for variations in divergence in the ion implantation system than angular spread. In many applications, the workpiece is simply rotated about the Y axis so that the desired mean incident angle is obtained. Angular spread is corrected by adjustments to the beamline components. For example, the mass analysis magnet, the scanner, the correction magnet, D2 focus, the rods and poles, D1 and D2 suppression, and the various quadrupole coils can all be adjusted to vary, and minimize the angular spread of the ion beam.
To perform these adjustments, it is imperative to be able to measure very accurately the incidence angle of the ion beam. Numerous patents disclose apparatus and methods of determining these parameters for an ion beam. Unfortunately, many of the techniques currently used are time consuming and relatively inaccurate. The time required to measure the ion beam negatively impacts the time to calibrate the beam. This hurts the overall system utilization. The inaccuracy of the measuring devices reduces the ability to perfectly control the ion beam as well.
It would be greatly beneficial to be able to measure these ion beam characteristics to within +/−0.1°. It would also be very advantageous if these measurements could be made quickly, so that real time tuning for minimum angle spread is possible.

Horizontal and vertical beam angle measurement technique

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.


A system and method are provided for tolerating data line faults in a packet communications network. The method comprises: serially transmitting information packets from at least one traffic manager (TM); at a switch fabric, accepting information packets at a plurality of ingress ports, the information packets addressing destination port card egress ports; selectively connecting port card ingress ports to port card egress ports; serially supplying information packets from a plurality of port card egress ports; sensing a connection fault between the switch fabric and the TM; and, in response to sensing the fault, reselecting connections between the switch fabric port card ports and the TM. Some aspects comprise: an ingress memory subsystem (iMS) receiving cells on an ingress port exceeding an error threshold. Then, reselecting connections between the port card ports and the TM includes the iMS sending a message to the iTM identifying the faulty ingress connection.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to packet communications switching and, more particularly, to a system and method for tolerating data line faults in a packets communications network connected to a switch fabric.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is industry demand for integrated circuits (ICs) switching systems that can be easily scaled for Network Access, the Network Edge, or a Core Switch Router, at the high end. SCSA (Signal Computing System Architecture) defines a switch fabric to be the facility for connecting any two (or more) transmitting or receiving Service Providers.
FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of a general switch fabric system (prior art). Traffic enters the system on the ingress side (the left side of the figure). Traffic exits the system on the egress side (the right side of the figure). The port card ingress and egress structures are sometimes subdivided into channels and subchannels. The packet headers specify a required destination port card, channel, and subchannel. The system must synchronously route each ingress packet to the correct egress destination.
Packets are converted into frames by ingress traffic managers (iTMs). A frame is a logical unit of data, which is often a small piece of a much larger data set such as a file or image. The iTMs feed the ingress side of the fabric. The switch fabric might convert the frame format to a "native" format, and then on egress, convert the data back into the TM frame format before sending the data to the egress traffic managers (eTMs). If the frames are fixed size (for example: 53 bytes, 64 bytes, or 80 bytes), the frames are often called cells.
Protocol Specific vs. Protocol Agnostic
A switch fabric can be protocol specific or protocol agnostic. An example of a protocol specific switch fabric would be a system designed and optimized specifically for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) traffic. Another example would be a switch that handles only TCP/IP traffic. The obvious disadvantage of a switch fabric hardwired to handle a specific protocol is lack of flexibility. Service providers want to sell services to a variety of customers in various industries. Protocols vary from industry to industry.
Even within one protocol type, there can be protocol upgrades. For example, TCP/IP, the machine language of Internet routers, now runs primarily "IPv4." This protocol, successful as it has been, has a lack of available addresses, poor security features, and no "quality of service" (QoS) provisions. The next generation Internet protocol is "IPv6." It provides solutions to these limitations.
A protocol agnostic switch fabric works equally well with all protocol types, however, the traffic manager must be responsible for recognizing specific protocol types. The disadvantage of a protocol agnostic switch fabric is that it may be more complicated, and perhaps slower than a switch fabric dedicated to a particular protocol.
Packet Striping vs. Single Link per Packet
The simplest way for a traffic manager to transmit a packet into a switch fabric is to transmit the packet serially along one line. Striping is a way of achieving higher bandwidth by transmitting a single packet across multiple ingress/egress lines. For example, a TM can transmit a packet into a switch fabric eight times as fast if the packet is sliced into eight pieces (stripes) by the TM, and conveyed into the fabric along 8 parallel lines simultaneously. The fabric captures the packet in memory, routes it to the required egress destination, and slices the packet into 8 parallel lines before transmitting the packet to the egress TM.
The upside to packet striping is the potential for lower latency. There are several negative aspects of packet striping:
if one of the links is damaged (1 of 8 in the example above), the entire channel is out of service, degrading fault tolerance; and,
the interface between the TM and switch fabric is more complicated. Circuitry must be used to slice the packet into stripes and reassemble it into packets.
Single-Cell Packet vs. Multi-Cell Packets
Many switch fabrics now deployed and passing revenue traffic, especially in wide area networks (WANs), use asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) packets. ATM packets are single-cell packets, with a fixed cell size of 53 bytes, 48 bytes of which is the information payload. The ATM specification evolved in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was then believed that variable length (multi-cell) packets would be too difficult to implement at rates needed for wire-speed traffic. The single-cell solution was a compromise that would work for voice data, video data, multimedia data, email data, file data, etc. With a fixed frame size, switch designs are simplified and ultimately faster.
However, files are better sent in large frames. Voice switching performs better with small bursts of data, corresponding to analog-to-digital converter time slots. Large frames and concomitant switching latencies can render a switch useless for most 2-way voice applications. Voice communications require low latency (time delay). Since ATM had to work for all network data, the small payload (voice) requirements prevailed at the expense of the large frame applications.
For large frames or packets it is much more efficient to establish a path from an ingress port card to the required egress destination, and then leave this path undisturbed until the packet is completed. With single cell packets, the ingress port card must bid for, accept grants, and then schedule each cell of a multi-cell packet.
There are also Frame Relay switch fabrics. Frame Relay is a single-cell protocol, albeit with frame size ranging from 6 to 4096 bytes. Such switch fabrics have been deployed and passing revenue traffic since the early 1990s. These switch fabrics have generally not been used for voice data because of the large latency. Only highly compressed voice traffic works well over frame relay. Voice-over-frame relay was added as an afterthought by network engineers. Frame relay excels at data communications such as local area network internetworking (LAN-to-LAN). Such communications are very high speed and bursty, with non-critical latency constraints.
Cut-Through vs. Store-and-Forward
The conventional method of switch fabric packet routing is called Store-and-Forward. In this method, the switch fabric accepts an input packet and buffers the packet on the ingress side of the fabric, making sure the packet was received intact, knowing the exact number of cells in the packet. The problem with the store-and-forward method is the added latency of buffering the packet. In Cut-through Packet Routing (CPR), a switch fabric is able to send the incoming packet cells to the correct egress port as soon as the destination address is known.
Memory-Based vs. Arbitrated Crossbar
A switch fabric can use memory-based crossbars or arbitrated crossbars. A memory-based crossbar is sometimes called a "shared memory switch." Ingress packets flow from the port cards into a huge memory bank, which serve as the switch. From the memory bank, the destination address is determined from egress port destination information in the cell headers. The problem with these switch fabrics is that they become prohibitively expensive and large from all the required high-speed memory. Such fabrics cannot be used to reach terabit total switching speeds with technology available today.
It would be advantageous if a switch fabric could use arbitrated crossbars to reduce the need for high-speed memory.
It would be advantageous if a switch fabric could use Cut-through packet routing to reduce latency.
It would be advantageous if a switch fabric could handle multi-cell packets, so as to switch larger-sized packets with a reduced latency.
It would be advantageous if a switch fabric could use a single-link for each packet, to improve the system fault tolerance and simplify the interface to a TM.
It would be advantageous if the above-mentioned switch fabric could operate protocol agnostic.
It would be advantageous if the above-mentioned switch fabric could tolerate data link faults to interfacing ingress and egress TMs.

System and method for tolerating data link faults in communications with a switch fabric


A system and method are provided to control hydronic systems having a plurality of sources, including at least one of an on-demand source, a semi-on-demand source, and an intermittent source that are fluidly or thermally coupled to a plurality of load zones. The hydronic system device obtains performance measurements for system components to provide system metrics, including failure diagnostics, energy capture, and usage optimization. The hydronic system device may also calculate British Thermal Units produced and used by the plurality of sources and loads to calculate incentives, including renewable energy credits.

Some homes and businesses employ zoned radiant heating systems or hydronic heating systems to heat living spaces, pools, spas, walkways and driveways. Hydronic heating systems distribute heated fluid through a series of heat exchanging pipes that are positioned throughout the heating zone. Conventional hydronic systems use on-demand sources, such as boilers and chillers, to thermally adjust fluids that circulate throughout the system.
Hydronic heating systems placed in living spaces may include radiant floor pipes and baseboard mounted or free-standing radiators that transfer heat from a plurality of boilers to the target heating zones. A controller is provided to receive heating request signals from heating zone thermostats. The controller communicates with aquastats, an injection system, fluid circulators and fluid valves to supply heated fluid from the boiler to the selected heating zones. While conventional hydronic heating systems may be coupled to solar heating systems to supplement the boiler heating capacity, existing controllers are not configured to optimize and/or store energy supplied from the solar heating systems. Various other drawbacks exist with these systems and other known systems in the prior art.

System and method for controlling hydronic systems having multiple sources and multiple loads