The security system for a protected object comprises a first wireless module, a central controller, and a remote authorization server. The first wireless module and the central controller are disposed in the protected object. The first wireless module transmits an authorization request with an authorization ID (identification) of the protected object, and receives an authorization response. The central controller is coupled to the first wireless module, and allows the protected object to operate in accordance with the authorization response. The remote authorization server, responsive to the authorization request, generates the authorization response from an authorization record thereof in accordance with the authorization ID, and transmits the authorization response.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to security systems, and more specifically to a security system obtaining authorization of a protected object with a wireless module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, people deposit their valuables in a specific place such as home, offices, and safe deposit boxes to keep the valuables from theft, or use locking devices or chains to fix valuables. However, theft attempts can damage the locking devices or chains. With improvement in technology, authentication devices, such as fingerprint authentication devices, chip locks and RFID (radio frequency identification) devices, built into technical products such as mobiles, PCs, digital cameras identify users. However, complicated authentication device are more susceptible to malfunction. Thus, solutions are usually prepared in case the authentication devices do not work properly, increasing risk of theft.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The present invention concerns a stretching apparatus that is useful to apply controlled, gradual muscular stretching, and is particularly useful for controlled stretching of the hamstring muscle.

The terms "hamstring," "hamstrings" or "hamstring muscle" are generally used to refer to the three large muscles constituting the back of the upper leg. The hamstrings serve to flex the knee joint and extend the hip. Everyday activities as well as most athletic activities involve the repetitive contraction of the hamstring muscle. The hamstring muscle tightens as a result, and requires effective stretching to retain its full range of motion. In the absence of such stretching, the tight hamstrings will have a deleterious effect on the person's skeletal alignment, typically resulting in lower back and knee pain, as well as problems with posture.
Stretching any muscle is best done at a slow rate. Attempting to quickly stretch the muscle will rouse the muscle's inherent tendency to contract when pulled, thereby resisting the sought-after lengthening of the muscle.


An on-genital erection device for inducing and maintaining the human sexuality are proposed. The on-genital erection device includes an essentially cylindrical elastomeric sleeve surrounding the pre-erection penis. The elastomeric sleeve includes self-sealing air-ports for engaging with an air pump thus forming an expandable and suctioning air tight enclosure of the penis causing its erection. The elastomeric wall can be made of a laminate of at least two layers Li, i=1, 2, . . , M. Each Li includes a surface relief pattern forming a surface relief pattern set that in turn defines a plurality of air paths PTj wherein at least one air path PTk is communicatively connected with the penis surface. Thus, after the plurality of air paths PTj get engaged through their respective air-ports with an external multi-port air pumping device, the desired expandable and suctioning enclosure is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of entertainment devices. More particularity, the present invention is directed to an entertainment device and associated system for the inducement and pleasure enhancement of human sexuality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many entertainment devices have long existed for the inducement and pleasure enhancement of human sexuality. One class of devices for inducing and enhancing the human sexuality are numerous ingestive drugs, generally called aphrodisiacs, for chemically causing a human sexual biological arousal during a following time period hence a corresponding genital erection for coitus. An example is the popular erectile dysfunction therapeutical drug Viagra™, also known under the generic name sildenafil citrate, produced by the Pfizer Inc. While easy to use and clinically proven effective, these ingestive drugs in many cases can cause undesirable side effects and the associated health risk can be especially troublesome if they were of a long termed nature. Another class of devices for the same purpose are pure physical devices directed at physically stimulating the human genitals without any ingestive chemicals hence more preferable from the perspective of fewer side effects. However, ease of use can be an issue here. As an example, a vacuum suction device in the form of a hand-pumped bell jar has been used for many years. The bell jar has a tapered tubular rubber mouth piece for insertion of a pre-erection penis. The bell jar interior is then hand-pumped to a negative pressure −ΔP below the ambient causing a partial vacuum therein thus forcefully suctioning the inserted penis to full expansion and erection before a following coitus. However, the now fully expanded and erected penis tends to get stuck in the now undersized mouth piece and becomes awkward to remove there from hence causing a distracting anxiety. Furthermore, even if the removal of the erected penis can be made easy, no longer will there be a guaranteed maintenance of erection during a following coitus activity hence potentially resulting in a still unsatisfactory performance. This can be especially troublesome for those biologically lack of power to maintain a full erection throughout the coitus. Therefore, for the class of pure physical devices, there has been a need of ease of use plus the capability of maintaining full erection throughout and possibly even after coitus considering the generally different time-response curves between male and female.

On-genital erection device and system for coital use


A storage device which includes a user area of a memory cell array; a buffer area configured to temporarily store compressed data to be written into the user area; and compressed data management logic configured to control the user area and the buffer area such that compressed data stored in the buffer area is written into the user area. The compressed data management logic manages compressed data to be written into the user area by an ECC block unit rather than by a page-size unit.

1. Technical Field
The inventive concepts described herein relate to a storage device, and more particularly, relate to a nonvolatile memory device and an operating method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices used storage devices includes volatile memories such as a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRRAM), and the like and nonvolatile memories such as an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), a phase-change RAM (PRAM), a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), a flash memory, and the like. The volatile memories lose their stored contents at power-off, while the nonvolatile memories retain contents stored therein even at power-off.
In recent years, the number and type of consumer electronic devices using nonvolatile memory has increased. For example, an MP3 player, a digital camera, a cellular phone, a camcorder, a flash card, and a solid state disk (SSD) may use a nonvolatile memory as a data storage device. A flash memory is a nonvolatile memory and, may support a function of electrically erasing cell data in a block. This enables the flash memory to be widely used as a storage device in place of a hard disk drive.
As the storage capacity required by the user increases, a technique of using the storage space of a flash memory efficiently is desirable.

Storage device and nonvolatile memory device and operating method thereof


A high rate multi-stage bubble separation process is developed for: (a) initially generating coarse gas bubbles with diameters greater than 80 microns in turbulent hydraulic condition to mix an influent water with chemicals, enzymes, microorganisms, or combinations thereof, to produce chemical flocs, biological flocs or both, and to strip volatile contaminants from water; (b) subsequently terminating coarse gas bubbles and generating extremely fine gas bubbles with diameters smaller than 80 microns in laminar hydraulic condition to float suspended, oily and surface-active contaminants together with said chemical flocs and said biological flocs from water, to settle heavy contaminants from water, and to produce a clarified effluent water, a floating scum, and a sludge; (c) terminating the fine gas bubbles and discharging the clarified effluent water; (d) discharging the floating scum and the sludge upon demand; and (e) optionally collecting and treating an emitted gas stream resulting from said coarse gas bubbles and said fine gas bubbles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bubble separation and an apparatus thereof comprising: (a) a coarse e bubble chamber for generation of coarse gas bubbles with diameters much greater than 80 microns (generally greater than 250 microns) for complete mixing and gas stripping, and (b) a fine bubble chamber for subsequently generation of fine gas bubbles with diameters much smaller than 80 microns, in turn, for flotation clarification of suspended and surface active matters in a water stream. The present invention also relates to chemical treatment, biological treatment, electrolysis, and air emission control. Both continuous bubble separation system and batch bubble separation system are developed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various adsorptive bubble separation processes including dissolved air flotation, vacuum flotation, dispersed air flotation, electroflotation, biological flotation, etc. have been attempted by environmental engineers for water and waste water treatment, with various degrees of success.
Dissolved air flotation is an innovative adsorptive bubble separation process, in which extremely fine air bubbles (with diameters less than 80 microns) are required for separation of mainly insoluble suspended solids from an original liquid phase into a thickened scum phase on the liquid surface. The ratio of air volume to liquid volume is only about 1 to 3 percent. In operation, the gas , such as air, is initially dissolved into water under high pressure, thereby producing a pressurized water. By reduction of pressure in stages, the supersaturated dissolved gas in the pressurized water is subsequently released into a water stream under one atmospheric pressure for production of extremely fine gas bubbles.
Diffused air flotation, dispersed air flotation, froth flotation, and foam separation are all conventional adsorptive bubble separation processes, in which coarse air bubbles (with a diameter much greater than 250 microns) are generated under nearly atmospheric pressure in a liquid-gas mixing vessel. A swarm of coarse air bubbles amounting to 400 percent of the liquid's volumetric flow creates turbulence in the liquid stream, and also provides a large air-to-liquid interface area that allows soluble surface active substances to be adsorbed on the air bubbles, and be separated from the original liquid phase, thereby forming a foam or froth phase on the liquid surface.
A vacuum flotation clarifier needs an enclosure over the top, and is connected to a vacuum pump. Under vacuum (i.e. negative pressure) condition inside said enclosure, the gases originally in soluble form in a water stream held by said vacuum flotation clarifier now become extremely fine gas bubbles with diameters smaller than 80 microns. At present, vacuum flotation clarification is not practiced by environmental engineers for water purification or groundwater decontamination due to poor designs and high costs of old vacuum floatation installations.
Electroflotation is another innovative adsorptive bubble separation process in which an anode electrode and a cathode electrode are used as a pair for generation of fine gas bubbles (with diameters smaller than 80 microns) in a water stream held by an electroflotation clarifier in the presence of electrolytes (i.e. ionic minerals) in water.
Biological flotation's theory and principles are presented by Lawrence K. Wang in his report "Theory and Applications of Flotation Processes" (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va., U.S.A.; Report No. PB86-194198/AS; November 1985). Under anaerobic conditions and in the presence of anaerobic and facultative microorganisms and nitrate ions, extremely fine nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas bubbles are produced biologically to facilitate flotation separation of suspended solids from a water stream held by a biological flotation clarifier.
Various dissolved air flotation clarifies and related apparatuses have been developed by Milos Krofta (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3307701; 4022696; 4184967; 4377485; 4626345; and 4931175), Joseph N. Parlette (U.S. Pat. No. 3820659), Jimmie A. Chittenden (U.S. Pat. No. 4216085), Leonard S. Love et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4303517), and Lawrence K. Wang et al (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5049320; 5068031; 5069783; and 5084165).
Several dispersed air flotation, diffused air flotation, froth flotation, gas stripping, and related apparatuses have been developed by Milos Krofta (U.S. Pat. No. 4157952, Donald E. Zipperian (U.S. Pat. No. 4735709), Jan D. Miller et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4838434), and Lawrence K. Wang et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5122165).
A few electroflotation clarifiers and related theory and principles have been developed by Milos Krofta (U.S. Pat. No. 4673494) and Lawrence K. Wang (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va., U.S.A., Report No. PB86-194198/AS, November 1985).
It has been a standard practice for environmental engineers to construct separate water treatment units to remove dissolved, colloidal, suspended, volatile, and living contaminants. The use of separate water treatment units for removal of various contaminants separately is technically feasible, but often economically unfeasible.
Still, such individual water treatment units are not flexible for operation. An ideal adsorptive bubble separation unit shall be able to be operated under several operational modes (such as dispersed air flotation, dissolved air flotation, electroflotation, and vacuum flotation), using various gases (such as air, oxygen, nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, ozone, chlorine, etc.).
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved adsorptive bubble separation apparatus using various operational modes and various gas bubbles for flotation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combined coarse and fine gas bubbles separation process system and apparatus having a number of unique design features and using gas bubbles with various sizes for improving water treatment efficiently and cost savings. Said combined coarse and fine gas bubble separation process system includes the steps of influent water feeding, water flow measuring, coarse gas bubbling, chemical/microorganism feeding, fine gas bubbling, gas collection and purification, floated scum collection and discharge, settle sludge collection and discharge, and effluent water discharge.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a combined dispersed, dissolved, vacuum and electrolytic bubble separation apparatus for eliminating the need of many separate treatment units or devices, such as: (a) separate dispersed air flotation unit; (b) separate dissolved air flotation unit; (c) separate gas stripping unit; (d) separate vacuum flotation unit; (e) separate electroflotation unit; and (f) separate air emission control unit for adsorptive bubble separation of contaminants from water. While the aforementioned conventional treatment units or devices may be eliminated for cost savings, one or more of them may be adopted to the present invention as a standby when desired or when duplicate units are required by the monitoring agencies.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a combined coarse and fine bubble separation apparatus having a coarse bubble chamber for generation of coarse gas bubbles with diameters much greater than 80 microns (generally greater than 250 microns) in turn, for complete mixing and gas stripping, and having a fine bubble chamber for generation of fine gas bubbles with diameters small than 80 microns, in turn, for flotation clarification of suspended matter in a water stream. The built-in air emission control means within the apparatus is for more efficient environmental protection and cost savings.
The major differences between the present invention and the state-of-the-art process methods are described below.
The state-of-the-art process methods described by Roger T. Becker (U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,997, issued on Oct. 10, 1989), Marian Szatkowski and Wilfred L. Freyberger (U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,272, issued on Apr. 12, 1988) and John H. Hoge and John H. Hubbard (U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,837, issued on May 20, 1980) all relate to the use of visible coarse air bubbles of various sizes for agitating a liquid stream, in turn for removing oil (U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,997), froth (U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,272) and foam (U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,837) from liquid streams. The method of the present invention, however, relates to the use of visible coarse gas bubbles (much greater than 80 microns in diameter; air or non-air gases) for agitating/mixing/stripping a water stream under turbulent environment created by said coarse gas bubbles, and subsequently the use of extremely fine gas bubbles (much smaller than 80 microns in diameter; air or non-air) for quietly floating contaminants under a non-turbulent environment, creating (but not disturbing) a floating scum layer and a subnatant as a clarified effluent water.
Specifically in the system and method invented by Becker (U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,997), a batch of contaminated oil-coolant mixture is first filtered for removing solids, and then agitated by coarse air bubbles generated by a nozzle diffusion means for removing said oil from said mixture. The method of the present invention does not have a filtration step, does use coarse gas (air or non-air gas) generated by a jet gas diffusion means, a diaphragm diffusion means, an induced gas diffusion means, a porous tube diffusion means, a porous plate diffusion means, a nozzle diffusion means, a mechanical diffusion means, or combinations thereof, for agitation in a Coarse bubbling step, but also uses extremely fine gas bubbles (air or non-air; smaller than 80 microns in diameter) generated by a dissolved gas flotation means, an electroflotation means, a vacuum flotation means, or combination thereof, for quiet flotation without agitation in a Fine Bubbling step.
The froth flotation process method invented by Szatkowski et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,272) is for separation of the floatable phase from the non-floatable phase of a slurry of particulate material in a froth flotation machine comprising a tank, an upper outlet port for discharge of the floatable phase, and a mechanism for delivering coarse air bubbles (in an arrange of 100-500 microns in bubble size in accordance with FIGS. 3-4 of Szatkowski's patent) to the slurry in the tank to form a froth for said froth flotation process. Both small size air bubbles and large size air bubbles to be used by Szatkowski's method are classified as visible coarse air bubbles (greater than 80 microns). The Fine Bubbling step of the present invention relates to a dissolved flotation process method, an electroflotation process method, a vacuum flotation process method, or combination thereof, which utilize(s) extremely fine gas bubbles smaller than 80 microns in diameter. Production of froth is not required for flotation in the present invention.
The process invented by Hoge et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,837; FIG. 10; Column 4, lines 14-68) is again for removal of discrete particulates from liquids by foam flotation (or froth flotation) using coarse air bubbles and recycling a foam liquid, instead of by dissolved air flotation using fine air bubbles and not recycling a foam liquid as in the case of the present invention.
A Japanese patent, No. 61-227894, issued to T. Nishida on Oct. 9, 1986 discloses several batch type vessels for aeration, precipitation and discharging of a received contaminated water at specific timing and control so that at least one treating vessel is in a discharging step. Nishida's invention emphasized its advantage that a flow rate adjustment of either a basin or a sludge collecting device is unnecessary. Again only coarse air bubbles are used in Nishida's aeration vessels. The present invention, however, discloses a combined coarse and fine bubble separation system in which fine bubbles with diameters smaller than 80 microns can only be generated by one of modern dissolved gas flotation means invented by Lawrence K. Wang, Lubomyr Kurylko and Mu Hao S. Wang (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,049,320 and 5,167,806), Milos Krofta (U.S. Pat Nos. 4,022,696, 4,377,485, 4,626,345, and 4,931,175), etc., one of modern electroflotation means invented by Lawrence K. Wang, Lubomyr Kurylko, and Mu Hao S. Wang (this invention), Laurence R. Goodman (U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,014), Eric Paul Austin (U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,409), Ronald C. Mehl (U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,891) etc., or one of vacuum flotation means invented by Lawrence K. Wang, Lubomyr Kurylko and Mu Hao S. wang (this invention), or other commercially available fine bubble generation means.

Combined coarse and fine bubble separation system

International Environmental Systems, Inc., USA


A pressure relief door for an enclosed vessel such as a combustion chamber for an incinerator. The door is pivotally attached to the combustion chamber and is movable between a closed position wherein it confronts and seals a vent duct attached to the chamber and an open position wherein said vent duct is unsealed to permit excessive pressure to be relieved from the chamber. A liquid holding trough is attached around the perimeter of the duct and is adapted to retain therein a liquid at a predetermined level. A seal member is attached around the perimeter of the door and is adapted to extend into the liquid to achieve an airtight seal between the door and duct when the door is in a closed position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pressure relief apparatus and, more particularly, is directed to pressure relief doors for combustion vessels.
2. Description of the Invention Background
A variety of industrial systems exist wherein a pressurized liquid or gaseous medium is contained therein. For example, industrial boiler systems used to create steam for heating facilities must accommodate water and steam at varying temperatures and pressures. The pressure within those systems can, at times and for a variety of reasons, reach a magnitude wherein it must be reduced to prevent equipment damage and/or injury to personnel. Thus, a variety of valves and pressure relief apparatuses have been developed to permit the pressure to be relieved from the system when it reaches a potentially harmful magnitude.
Another industrial system that must be equipped with pressure relief apparatus is the combustion chamber that is used in connection with a number of different heating apparatuses such as furnaces and incinerators. Because those combustion chambers are typically used to burn a variety of different materials, some of which may be explosive in nature, it is possible for explosions to occasionally occur within the chamber. Such explosions cause a rapid increase of pressure within the chamber such that, if the excessive pressure is not relieved therefrom, the chamber could rupture and possibly injure personnel that are in the general vicinity of the incinerator. It is for that reason that the National Fire Protection Association (the "NFPA") requires incinerators to be equipped with apparatus adapted to quickly and safely relieve excessive combustion chamber pressures resulting from explosions occurring therein. In particular, NFPA regulations require the unit's primary combustion chamber to be equipped with a vent opening that provides at least one square foot of relief area per one hundred cubic feet of combustion chamber volume.
In incineration applications, in order to achieve proper temperature control within the combustion chamber to thereby ensure complete combustion of the material and to prevent the smoke and volatile gases that are created during the combustion process from leaking into the atmosphere, the combustion chamber must be maintained in an airtight condition. As such, in addition to being able to quickly and safely relieve excessive pressure from the combustion chamber, pressure relief apparatus used in connection with incinerators must also be capable of maintaining the airtight integrity of the combustion chamber under normal incineration pressures.
To address such concerns and requirements, a variety of explosion relief doors have been developed for use in connection with heating units and incinerator combustion chambers. For example, Weyenberg et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,816 discloses an explosion relief door that is hingably attached to the combustion chamber such that it can swing open in response to an increase of pressure within the chamber. After the pressure has been relieved from the chamber, the door, by virtue of gravity, returns to a closed position. That apparatus, however, fails to provide means for maintaining an airtight seal between the door and the chamber when the door is in the closed position.
Another pressure relief door arrangement is taught in Ayers U.S. Pat. No. 2,623,482. The pressure relief door disclosed therein is adapted to cover a vent opening provided in the heating unit. The door is pivotally received on the lower portion of the opening and is equipped with a counterweight portion that serves to maintain the door in a closed position. An excessive amount of pressure within the unit will cause the door to pivot to an open position and thus relieve the pressure therefrom. After the excessive pressure has been relieved from the unit, the counterweight causes the door to pivot to a closed position. That pressure relief door is also not equipped with sealing apparatus that is capable of achieving an airtight seal between the door and the unit when the door is in a closed position.
To address such air leakage concerns, some incinerator pressure relief doors have been equipped with gasket seals that serve to provide an airtight seal between the door and the chamber when the door is in the closed position. However, as those gaskets begin to wear, air is permitted to enter into or pass out of the combustion chamber thus making it difficult to control the temperature therein.
Other incinerators are provided with pressure relief through their ash removal apparatus. In particular, some incinerators are equipped with a liquid filled trough at one end that is adapted to collect ash material therein. The end of the incineration chamber extends into and below the surface of the liquid to create a barrier to prevent air flow into or out of the incineration chamber. As the ash accumulates in the trough, it can be removed therefrom without disturbing the incineration process. In addition, trough arrangement also provides a means for relieving excessive pressures from within the combustion chamber. For example, a rapid increase in pressure caused by an explosion within the chamber will cause the displacement of the liquid and thereby permit the excessive pressure to exit the chamber. That arrangement, however, is not necessary for incinerators wherein frequent ash removal is not required.
Other sealing apparatuses and arrangements have been developed for achieving a seal between a door and a combustion chamber or heating unit. For example, the seal arrangement disclosed in Van Ackeren U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,045 applies a vacuum between the door and the oven to channel away any gas that may leak from the oven. Conversely, Beck U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,411 discloses a furnace door seal wherein a sealing gas is introduced between the confronting surfaces of the door and the oven to establish a gas barrier to prevent the combustion gases from leaking into the atmosphere. Both of those sealing arrangements, however, could have an adverse affect upon the stability of the pressure within the heating unit by either adding foreign gas into the unit or withdrawing combustion gas from the unit which could be hazardous.
Yet another sealing arrangement is disclosed in Schulte U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,479. The sealing arrangement includes a door body having an inner peripheral face that is arranged to confront a door frame provided around an opening in the oven. When in a closed position, the door body faces the door frame and is spaced therefrom to provide a channel for receiving a fluid sealing medium such as loam or coking duff that is injected therein. However, each time the door is opened, the sealant material must be cleaned from the door frame so that new material may be injected into the channel after the door has been closed. Therefore, this sealing arrangement would be ill-suited for incinerator applications wherein it is desirable for the relief door to quickly re-achieve an airtight seal between the door and the combustion chamber after an excessive amount of pressure has been relieved therefrom.
Thus, there is a need for a pressure relief apparatus that is capable of quickly relieving excessive amounts of pressure from an enclosed vessel such as a combustion chamber for an incinerator and that is also equipped with sealing apparatus that is capable of quickly re-achieving and maintaining the airtight integrity of the vessel after the excessive pressure has been relived therefrom.


A memory device is adapted to be connected in a daisy chain with a memory controller and one or more other memory devices. The memory device includes at least one data input port and at least one data output port for communicating data along the daisy-chain between the memory devices and the memory controller. The memory device is adapted to selectively enable/disable at least one of the data input or data output ports in response to whether a command received from the memory controller is intended for the memory device, or for one of the other memory devices.

1. Field
This invention relates, in general, to a memory device, and more particularly a memory device adapted to be connected in a daisy chain and having a data input port and output port that can be selectively enabled, and a memory module and memory system including the same.
2. Description
In general, a memory system includes a memory controller and a plurality of memory module connected to the memory controller. As memory systems having a higher density are demanded, an increasing number of memory modules are employed. Although a memory system with higher density can be obtained by using more memory modules, the capacitive loading of each of the signal lines between the memory controller and memory modules increases. This, in turn, limits the operating speed of the memory system. For this reason, the number of memory devices connected to one data signal line is limited, for example, to eight devices in a memory system employing synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) to four devices in a memory system employing double data rate (DDR) SDRAM, and to two devices in a memory system employing DDR2/3 SDRAM.
To solve the foregoing problem, a memory system employing a point-to-point (PTP) connection between a memory controller and a memory module has been adopted in memory system architectures. This arrangement is also sometimes referred to as a "daisy chain." Also, in this PTP arrangement, to increase the density of memory system the memory devices on one memory module employ a stacking package technology including lower memory device 132-1 and upper memory device 134-1 and each memory device is connected by the PTP arrangement.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary memory system 100 having a daisy chain structure. Memory system 100 includes a memory controller 110 and a memory module 120. Memory module 120 includes a plurality of memory groups 130-1˜130-n. In turn, each memory group 130-i includes a primary memory device 132-i and a secondary memory device 134-I which are connected together in a daisy chain or PTP arrangement.
Memory controller 110 includes first output ports (Tx1˜Txn) to output commands, addresses, and write data (C/A/WD) to memory module 120, and first input ports (Rx1˜Rxn) to input read data from memory module 120.
In the memory system 100: C/A/WD indicates merged signal lines for command and addresses and write data for write operations; RD indicates read data lines for read operations; Rx_p indicates an input port of primary memory device 132-i; Rx_s indicates an input port of secondary memory device 134-i; Tx_p indicates an output port of primary memory device 132-I for sending command and addresses and write data; Tx_rdp indicates an output port of primary memory device 132-i for outputting read data; Rx_rdp indicates an input port of primary memory device 132-i; Rx_rds indicates an input port of secondary memory device 134-i for receiving read data; and Tx_rds indicates an output port of secondary memory device 134-i for outputting read data. The input ports Rx_rdp of primary memory devices 132-1˜N are all disabled based upon the memory devices' connection as primary memory devices, rather than secondary memory devices, in the configuration of memory system 100.
Operationally, a read operation of memory system 100 will be explained with reference to FIG. 1A. Consider a case where data is being read out of a primary memory device 132-i to memory controller 110. In that case, read data of the memory device 132-i is transferred to memory controller 110 through the Tx_rdp port of primary memory device 132-i, the Rx_rds port of secondary memory device 134-i, and the Tx_rds port of secondary memory device 134-i, sequentially in that order.
Now, for a read data operation, the Rx_rds port and Tx_rds port of secondary memory device 134-i are always enabled or activated. That is, because secondary memory device 134-i doesn't know when a read operation for primary memory device 132-i occurs and when it will receive the read data from primary memory device 132-i and repeat the read data to memory controller 110, the circuits comprising the Rx_rds port and Tx_rds port of secondary memory device 134-i should always be in an operating condition.
Accordingly, power consumption in memory system 100 is larger than necessary and therefore wasted
FIG. 1B is a block diagram of another exemplary memory system 150 having a daisy chain structure.
Memory system 150 is configured the same as memory system 100 of FIG. 1A, except for the following differences.
While the signal line for commands, addresses, and write data (C/A/WD) is merged in memory system, 100 of FIG. 1A, the signal lines for commands and addresses (C/A) and the signal lines for write data (WD) are separated from each other in memory system 150 of FIG. 1B.
Therefore, in memory system 150 of FIG. 1B, the input ports Rx_rdp of the primary memory devices 132-1˜N are all enabled to receive write data from memory controller 110. Also in a write operation for writing data to secondary memory device 134-i, primary memory device 132-i repeats the write data from memory controller 110 to secondary memory device 134-i through the output port Tx_rdp of primary memory device 132-i.
That is, the input port Rx_rdp and the output port Tx_rdp of the primary memory device 132-i are always enabled or activated to repeat write data to secondary memory device 134-i because primary memory device 132-i doesn't know when it will have to repeat the write data and output the write data to secondary memory device 134-i.
Accordingly, power consumption in memory system 150 is larger than necessary and therefore wasted.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a memory device capable of selectively enabling/disabling an input port and/or an output port depending upon whether the port is needed for a current operation being performed in a memory system in which the memory device operates. It would also be advantageous to provide a memory module including a plurality of such memory devices. It would further be advantageous to provide a memory system including a plurality such a memory module including such a plurality of memory devices.
In one aspect of the invention, a memory device is adapted to be connected in a daisy chain with a memory controller and one or more other memory devices. The memory device comprises: a plurality of memory cells; a data input port adapted to receive read data; a data output port adapted to output the read data; a command/address input port adapted to receive a command and address packet; a decoder adapted to receive and decode the command and address packet and to output one or more detection signals, wherein when the command and address packet includes a read command, the one or more detection signals indicate whether the read command is intended for memory cells of the memory device, or for another memory device in the daisy chain; and a port controller adapted to selectively enable and disable at least one of the data input port and the data output port in response to at least one of the one or more detection signals from the decoder.
In another aspect of the invention, a memory module comprises a plurality of memory devices connected in a daisy chain. Each memory device comprises: a plurality of memory cells; a data input port adapted to receive read data; a data output port adapted to output the read data; a command/address input port adapted to receive a command and address packet; a decoder adapted to receive and decode the command and address packet and to output one or more detection signals, wherein when the command and address packet includes a read command the one or more detection signals indicate whether the read command is intended for memory cells of the memory device, or for one of the other memory device(s) in the daisy chain; and a port controller adapted to selectively enable and disable at least one of the data input port and the data output port in response to at least one of the one or more detection signals from the decoder.
In a further aspect of the invention, a memory system includes: a memory controller; and at least one memory module. Each memory module includes a plurality of memory devices connected in a daisy chain with the memory controller. Each memory device comprises: a plurality of memory cells; a data input port adapted to receive read data; a data output port adapted to output read data; a command/address input port adapted to receive a command and address packet; a decoder adapted to receive and decode the command and address packet and to output one or more detection signals, wherein when the command and address packet includes a read data command the one or more detection signals indicate whether the read data command is intended for memory cells of the memory device, or for one of the other memory device(s) in the daisy chain; and a port controller adapted to selectively enable and disable at least one of the data input port and the data output port in response to at least one detection signal from the decoder.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a memory device is adapted to be connected in a daisy chain with a memory controller and one or more other memory devices. The memory device includes at least one data input port and at least one data output port for communicating data along the daisy-chain between the memory devices and the memory controller. The memory device is adapted to selectively enable/disable at least one of the data input or data output ports in response to whether a command received from the memory controller is intended for the memory device, or for one of the other memory devices.
In still another aspect of the invention, a memory system includes: a memory controller; and at least one memory module. Each memory module includes a plurality of memory devices connected in a daisy chain with the memory controller. Each memory device includes at least one data input port and at least one data output port for communicating data along the daisy-chain between the memory devices and the memory controller, the memory device being adapted to selectively enable/disable at least one of the data input or data output ports in response to whether a command received from the memory controller is intended for the memory device, or for one of the other memory devices.
In a still further aspect of the invention, a memory device is adapted to be connected in a daisy chain with a memory controller and one or more other memory devices. The memory device comprises: a plurality of memory cells; a data input port adapted to receive read data; a data output port adapted to output read data; a command/address input port adapted to receive a command and address packet; a decoder adapted to receive and decode the command and address packet and to output a self read detection signal and a repeat read detection signal, wherein when the command and address packet includes a read command intended for memory cells of the memory device, then the self read detection signal is activated and the repeat read detection signal is inactivated, and when the command and address packet includes a read command intended for another memory device in the daisy chain which is connected to pass the read data to the memory controller through the memory device, then the self read detection signal is inactivated and the repeat read detection signal is activated; and a port controller adapted to selectively enable and disable at least one of the data input port and the data output port in response to at least one of the self read detection signal and the repeat read detection signal.
In an even further aspect of the invention, a memory device is adapted to be connected in a daisy chain with a memory controller and one or more other memory devices. The memory device comprises: a plurality of memory cells; a data input port adapted to receive write data; a data output port adapted to output the write data; a command/address input port adapted to receive a command and address packet; a decoder adapted to receive and decode the command and address packet and to output one or more detection signals, wherein when the command and address packet includes a write command the one or more detection signals indicate whether the write command is intended for memory cells of the memory device, or for one of the other memory device(s) in the daisy chain; and a port controller adapted to selectively enable and disable at least one of the data input port and the data output port in response to at least one detection signal from the decoder.

Memory device having data input and output ports and memory module and memory system including the same


A heat sink comprises a plurality of stacked fins being combined. Each fin comprises a plate body with two pairs of locking structures formed symmetrically on two opposite edges of the plate body. Each locking structure comprises an interval part extending integratedly from the plate body, a bearing part depending from the interval part, a lateral position portion and a detaining portion extend continuously from the bearing part. A tab is formed on each detaining portion. The fins are combined in such a manner that the bearing part of each fin bears against an adjacent fin; the plate body of each fin is sandwiched between the bearing part and the detaining portion of each locking structure of an adjacent fin, and between the lateral position portions of a pair of locking structures of the adjacent fin, the tabs of each fin bear against the corresponding interval parts of the adjacent fin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a heat sink for removing heat from electronic components and particularly to a heat sink comprising a plurality of interlocked fins.
2. Prior Art
With the continuing development of electronics technology, new electronic components can perform more and more functions. Heat generated by modern electronic components has increased commensurately. Measures must be taken to efficiently remove the heat from the electronic components. Typically, a heat sink having great heat conductivity is mounted on the electronic component to remove heat therefrom.
A conventional heat sink comprises a base plate in thermal contact with the electronic component, and a plurality of fins mounted on the base plate. The fins each have an L-shaped profile. When the heat sink is subjected to accidental force, the fins are liable to be crushed together. To overcome this problem, heat sinks having C-shaped fins have been devised. FIG. 5 illustrates a conventional C-shaped fins heat sink comprising a plurality of metal plates 11a, each of which is formed in a same shape and size by means of conventional mechanical pressing. Each metal plate 11a comprises a main body 12a with an upper flange and a lower flange 13a arranged in a parallel manner. The metal plates 11a are connected with a surface of a thermal conductive metal substrate 20a. To position the metal plates 11a, protruding portions 14a and corresponding recess portions 15a are provided on each upper and lower flanges 13a. The metal plates 11a are stacked in position by engaging the protruding portions 14a of a metal plate 11a with the corresponding recess portions 15a of an adjacent metal plates 11a. However, such a positioning mechanism provides poor combination. Sometimes, metal plates 11a fall off due to collision.
The above-mentioned heat sink has not a firm joint between two adjacent metal plates. The combined fins group is incompetent to resist outside force and is prone to deform. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved heat sink that has good reliability.


A magnetic recording tape comprising a nonmagnetic support and a magnetic layer containing ferromagnetic powder and a binder, wherein the nonmagnetic support has an intrinsic viscosity of from 0.40 to 0.60 dl/g and a number average molecular weight of from 12,000 to 24,000, and a distance between an apex of a maximum convexity and a valley of a maximum concavity of the nonmagnetic support on a cross section of an edge of the tape made by cutting the tape in a transverse direction is 2 μm or less in the transverse direction.

In the field of magnetic recording, realization of digital recording that is little in the deterioration of records is progressing superseding conventional analog recording. In addition to higher image quality and sound quality, miniaturization and saving of space are also required of the recording and reproducing apparatus used for digital recording and the magnetic recording medium. In general, much signal recording is required in digital recording as compared with analog recording, so that further higher recording density is required of the magnetic recording medium for digital recording.
An MR head that works with MR (magneto-resistance) as the principle of operation have got to be used in recent years. Several times of reproduction output can be obtained with the MR head as compared with the induction type magnetic head. Further, noises generated from instruments, e.g., impedance noises, are greatly reduced, therefore, it becomes possible to realize good recording and reproduction by lowering the noises coming from magnetic recording media themselves, and high density recording characteristics can be drastically improved. For this purpose, further fining of ferromagnetic powder particles and smoothing of the magnetic layer surface are required of the magnetic recording media for suppressing the noises of the media themselves.
For achieving high density recording, further shortening of the wavelengths of recording signals and narrowing of the recording track are necessary, so that further fining of ferromagnetic powder particles, increasing of packing density and smoothing of the magnetic layer surface are also required from these points of view. Further, in a magnetic tape, thinning of a magnetic recording medium is also required for increasing the volume density.
A magnetic recording medium has generally a constitution comprising a nonmagnetic support having provided thereon a magnetic layer, or a nonmagnetic support having thereon a nonmagnetic layer and a magnetic layer on the nonmagnetic layer.
For the thinning of a magnetic recording medium with the increase of recording density, not only a magnetic layer but also a nonmagnetic support and a nonmagnetic layer are required to be thin. However, mere thinning is accompanied by the reduction of running durability due to thinning of a nonmagnetic support, the surface state of the nonmagnetic support greatly influences the magnetic layer due to thinning of the magnetic layer and the nonmagnetic layer, and the surface smoothness of the magnetic layer is disturbed, e.g., spines occur by reflecting the surface state of the nonmagnetic support, which results in the reduction of output, and the generation of dropout and noise. In particular, in a magnetic tape for use in a linear recording system, a tape runs almost in parallel to a head to touch the head, so that the dropout is liable to occur due to the spines on the surface of the magnetic layer.
On the other hand, for obtaining the smoothness of the surface of a magnetic layer, it is an effective means to smooth the surface of a nonmagnetic support, and further fining of additives, such as fillers, to be added to a nonmagnetic support and further reduction of the addition amounts are effective for that purpose. However, the strength of the nonmagnetic support lowers by changing the filler size and addition amount, and durability, particularly the durability of the tape edge, is deteriorated. Further, in the case of a magnetic tape, if unevenness remains on a tape edge (in particular, the edge of a support part) by cutting in a slit process, the convex part is shaved by running system in the drive and shavings accumulate on a head, which results in the reduction of SN ratio. Further, the convex part also becomes an obstacle in winding up of a tape. The unevenness of a tape edge occurs when the strength of a support is too high and the support is cut as if it is torn, so that it is necessary to correct the strength of a support.
Accordingly, in advancing the increment of recording density of a magnetic recording medium, the compatibility of the improvement of electromagnetic characteristics by surface smoothness and durability is desired.
A magnetic recording medium is so far proposed in which the strength of the nonmagnetic support is ensured by correcting the molecular weight and the viscosity of the polyethylene naphthalate used as the nonmagnetic support and the Young's modulus of the nonmagnetic support, and particularly the assurance of running durability is contrived by preventing the protuberance of the tape edge (refer to, e.g., JP-A-7-6351 (The term "JP-A" as used herein refers to an "unexamined published Japanese patent application".) and JP-A-8-45060).


A liquid filled cooling fin generally comprising two, roughly rectangular, opposing fin walls separated by a relatively thin liquid space or chamber. The opposing walls are sealed at both ends along the depth of the fin and at one of the two edges along the height of the fin. The second, open edge of the fin is attached along the height of the fin in a liquid tight seal to a tank in which a transformer or other heat generating device to be cooled is submerged in a cooling fluid. The tank is provided with holes or other fluid passages so that cooling fluid can circulate between the tank and the fin. Cooling fluid is heated in the tank by the transformer and flows from the tank to the cooling fins, where it is then cooled by transferring heat through the fin walls to ambient air. The cooled cooling fluid then circulates back to the tank, completing a circulation pattern which is continuously repeated in operation.

The present invention relates to cooling fins for dissipating heat from cooling fluid used with electrical transformers and other devices and more particularly to a liquid filled cooling fin with reinforcing ribs formed into the fin surfaces to increase the pressure withstand capability of the fin without requiring mechanical attachment of opposing fin walls over the cooling surfaces of the fin.
Electric transformers and other devices, which in the course of normal operation generate potentially harmful heat, are typically located within a tank filled with a cooling fluid in which the transformer is submerged and which transfers heat away from the transformer. To increase the heat dissipation from the tank, it may be provided with additional heat transfer surface, such as a radiator, heat exchanger, or cooling fins for transferring heat from the cooling fluid to ambient air. Cooling fins generally consist of two, roughly rectangular, opposing fin walls separated by a relatively thin liquid space. The walls are sealed together at both ends along the depth of the fin and at one of the two edges (the "nose" of the fin) along the height of the fin. The second, open edge of the fin, generally known as the fin "root" or base, is attached along the height of the fin in a liquid tight seal to the transformer tank. The tank is provided with holes or other fluid passages so that cooling fluid can circulate between the tank and the fin.
The cooling fins are liquid filled and may vary in size and structural configuration depending on the amount of heat produced by the transformer, the ambient temperature, and cooling fluid characteristics. Cooling fluid is heated in the tank by the transformer and flows from the tank to the cooling fins, where it is then cooled by transferring heat through the fin walls to ambient air. The cooled cooling fluid then circulates back to the tank, completing a circulation pattern which is continuously repeated in operation.
As the cooling fluid is heated, its pressure increases. The pressure inside the transformer tank and the cooling fins therefore increases as the cooling fluid temperature increases. It is thus important to transformer operability that the fins be capable of withstanding the cooling fluid pressure. For a given tank size, larger liquid filled fins are used to increase the heat dissipation. A deficiency of prior art fins is that as fin size increases, the cooling fluid pressure at which the fin deforms decreases. For example, It is known from practice and experimentation that plain wall liquid filled cooling fins 54 inches high and 10 inches deep begin to permanently deform at cooling fluid pressures between 7 psig and 10 psig. Thus it has been the case that fins larger than approximately 54 inches high and 10 inches deep cannot be successfully employed because they exhibit unacceptably high deformation at fluid pressures of approximately 7 psig. The pressure withstand capability of liquid filled cooling fins thus limits the maximum height and depth of a fin that can be used on a transformer tank.
A deficiency of prior art attempts to increase fin size and heat dissipation capacity is that such attempts have generally resulted in fins that are more complicated in design and construction in order to withstand the cooling fluid pressure. For example, fins including extensive troughs or dimples typically require a considerable number of spot welds between opposing fin walls, and are consequently more expensive to manufacture than plain wall fins.
The primary mode of fin deformation is by increase in the fin thickness, "ballooning" the opposing walls of the fin outward. The fin experiences two modes of failure from deformation due to pressure loading. The first mode is permanent deformation of the fin walls such that the fin walls do not return to their originally manufactured shape and size after removal of the pressure load. The second mode is catastrophic failure, in which the fin deforms sufficiently to cause excess loading of welded connections and weld failure, typically at the ends of the fin. A liquid filled cooling fin which could be increased in size while maintaining satisfactory pressure withstand capability would therefore be welcomed in the field.
Attempts to overcome the deficiencies of prior art fins have included mechanical fastening of the two opposing fin walls at locations between the fin ends and between the fin nose and root. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,674 discloses reinforcing the fin panel by spot welding the opposing walls of the fin together in the presence of formed dimples or troughs. This mechanical fastening requires matching indentations in the opposing fin walls that are to be fastened together. Mechanically fastened fins are more costly, more difficult to form and manufacture, and can result in the formation of weak points and leaks in the fin walls. Further, fabricating extensive troughs or dimples in the fin wall can distort the fin, leading to a poor fit to the transformer tank.
The pressure withstand capability of large fins may also be increased by manufacturing fins of heavier gage or higher strength materials. These approaches result in higher material costs as well as higher fabrication costs. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.

Liquid filled cooling fin with reinforcing ribs


A method and system for provisioning access data in a second application on a mobile device using a first application on the mobile device. Authentication data may be input into the first application, and an authentication code may be requested from a remote server. The authentication code may include access data to be provisioned, in encrypted form. After the authentication code is received by the first application in the mobile device, it can pass the authentication code to a second application that initiates an access data provisioning process.

Mobile phones can utilize access data to obtain access to a resource or a location. For example, a mobile phone may include data which is passed to an access device to allow the user of the mobile phone to access a room in a building. In another example, the mobile phone may have access data such as account data which may allow the user of the mobile phone to access an account to obtain a good.
In many cases, a resource provider may provision the mobile phone with the access data. For example, a building operator system may provision a mobile phone with data that allows a user of the mobile phone to access a building. In another example, a bank may provision the mobile phone with access data that allows the user of the mobile phone to access an account at the bank. In this particular situation, the resource provider can verify that the user of the mobile phone is in fact an authentic user. As a result, the transmission of access data to the mobile phone is relatively secure.
In some cases, mobile devices may contain applications which may perform multiple functions and/or may perform functions for more than one resource provider. In one example, a single application on a mobile phone that is to perform multiple functions or perform services for many resource providers may not be directly related to the resource providers associated with those functions or services. There can be a trust issue in this situation, since the resource provider may not have control over the single application. For example, if the access data that the service provider provides is highly sensitive, the service provider may not have full control over any security features of the single mobile application. Further, if the user requests that a resource provider provide access data to the user's mobile phone, the user may also not have trust that the data in the single mobile application is secure.
Also, in today's world, many different entities need to cooperate in order to provision access data onto a mobile device. For example, in order to provision a mobile phone with access data to conduct transactions at a point of sale, cooperation may be needed between the handset manufacturer, a digital wallet provider, a bank, a mobile network operator, and a service provider that sends the access data to the mobile device. Because so many parties are involved in the access data provisioning process, sensitive authentication data and access data might be passed between the various entities and might therefore be exposed to man in the middle attacks or hacking. It is also difficult to ensure that sensitive access data and other confidential information of the user is adequately protected as the provisioning process occurs.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to methods and systems of improving data security. Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems, individually and collectively.

Method and system for provisioning access data to mobile device


A method and apparatus for using a flat panel detector to determine bone mineral density are provided. The apparatus includes a dual energy X-ray emitter, a flat panel detector for receiving X-rays sent from the X-ray emitter, and may optionally include an image corrector, adapted to emit corrected image information. The apparatus also includes a basis material decomposer that includes a calibration database, the decomposer being adapted to create a bone image and a soft tissue image. The apparatus further includes a bone mineral density calculator that is adapted to compute bone mineral density from the first image, and a display for displaying at least the computed bone mineral density. A method for using a flat panel detector to detect multiple disease states is also provided. The method includes emitting X-rays from a dual energy X-ray source through an area of a patient's body sought to be imaged and receiving X-rays with a flat panel detector. The method also includes generating multiple images, using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, to detect for a first disease state and a second disease state and analyzing the images for the first and second disease states. The first disease state includes lung cancer, breast cancer, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, bone fracture or an abnormally sized or shaped organ and the second disease state comprises osteoporosis.

Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to the detection of osteoporosis and more particularly relates to the detection of bone mineral density using a flat panel detector.
Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeleton in which the amount of calcium present in the bones slowly decreases to the point where the bones become brittle and prone to fracture. In other words, the bone loses density. Osteoporosis is diagnosed when bone density has decreased to the point where fractures occur even under mild stress, also referred to as the fracture threshold.
In the United States alone, ten million people have osteoporosis and eighteen million more have low bone mass (80% of whom are women), a condition which indicates an increased risk of developing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is responsible for one-and-one-half million fractures annually. As a result, statistics indicate that one of every two women over age fifty will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. As a reference, a woman's risk of an osteoporosis-related fracture is equal to her combined risk of acquiring breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. The most common sites of fractures are the hip, spine, wrist and ribs. Perhaps the most devastating of these fractures is the hip fracture. On average, 24% of hip fractures in patients 50 and over lead to death within one year. Osteoporotic fractures such as these cost an estimated $18 billion annually.
Unfortunately, bone density loss occurs without symptoms. Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements can be used to detect osteoporosis before fracture, determine the probability of a future fracture, determine the rate of bone loss, and monitor the efficacy of treatment. Additionally, effective treatments currently exist, thus highlighting the desirability for early detection of the disease. Nonetheless, due to the lack of symptoms, osteoporosis is underdiagnosed and frequently goes undetected.
Due to the frequency of osteoporotic fractures, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) currently recommends broad categories of women to receive bone mineral density testing: all women ages 65 and older, postmenopausal women having any of the risk factors for osteoporotic fracture (low body weight, history of fracture, Asian or Caucasian, cigarette smoking, estrogen deficiency, early menopause, low calcium intake, alcoholism, recurrent falls, and inadequate physical activity), and all postmenopausal women who have already had a fracture. Additionally, many women with these same risk factors are recommended to have mammography tests. It may also be desirable to test women with these same risk factors for lung cancer, pneumonia, or a bone fracture.
There are two basic methods to measure the density of bone. These methods involve passing either X-rays or ultrasound waves through the bone being assessed, and measuring the effect that the bone has on these rays or waves. Within the field of X-rays, the measurement may utilize the principals of either radiogrammetry (i.e., standard X-ray techniques) or absorptiometry. In this context, radiogrammetry (or radiography) involves the use of registration on film of the differential absorption of X-ray beams passing through a specimen. Absorptiometry refers to a chemical analysis of gases, liquids or solids to measure densities, porosities as well as coating, plating and insulation thickness. In the context of osteoporosis, absorptiometry is use to measure bone densities. There are two types of absorptiometry, single energy X-ray absorptiometry ("SXA") and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry ("DXA"). Single energy X-ray absorptiometry involves the use of X-rays at a single wavelength to measure bone mineral content (in the detection of osteoporosis). Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry involves the use of X-rays at two wavelengths to measure bone mineral content (in the detection of osteoporosis). DXA is used when SXA is not feasible, i.e., in areas with variable soft tissue and composition such as the spine or hip.
Two types of BMD tests used in diagnosing osteoporosis that utilize X-rays are peripheral BMD on the wrist or heel (radiogrammetry using a pencil beam or a fan beam), and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry on the hip, spine or femur. For example, osteoporosis tests and lung cancer tests are currently performed in separate units and/or stations (in separate rooms or areas): the osteoporosis test using a pencil beam or fan beam on the heel or wrist, and the lung cancer test using a standard radiography unit. While the scanning time for X-rays is generally short (on the order of less than one second), the setup time for each of these tests can take ten minutes or more.
Due to the overlap in symptoms, ages and gender in people who have osteoporosis and/or other disease states (e.g., breast cancer, lung cancer and pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, bone fracture or an abnormally sized or shaped organ), there is a particular need for a dual-purpose screening method capable of detecting both osteoporosis (or BMD) and at least one other disease state.

Method and apparatus to determine bone mineral density utilizing a flat panel detector

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


Compensation for process direction photoreceptor motion in a Raster Output Scan system is provided by moving the cylinder lens located between the laser source and a rotating spot scanning mechanism, e.g., a polygon. The cylinder lens is moved in the process direction in response to error signals generated by a SOS detector and timing marks on the photoreceptor drum surface, or an encoder on the drum shaft. The lens movement is obtained by sending motion error signals to a piezoelectric actuator which increases in length to impart the desired motion to the cylinder lens.

This invention relates generally to a raster output scanning system for producing a high intensity imaging beam which scans across a movable photoconductive member to record electrostatic latent images thereon, and, more particularly, to an apparatus for providing controlled registration of the beam in the process direction movement of the photoconductive member.
In recent years, laser printers have been increasingly utilized to produce output copies from input video data representing original image Information. The printer uses a raster output scanner (ROS) to expose the charged portions of the photoconductive member to record the electrostatic latent image thereon. Generally, a raster output scanner has a laser for generating a collimated beam of monochromatic radiation. The laser beam is modulated in conformance with the image information. The modulated beam is reflected through a lens onto a scanning element, typically a rotating polygon having mirrored facets. The light beam is reflected from a facet and thereafter focused to a "spot" on the photosensitive member. The rotation of the polygon causes the spot to scan linearly across the photoconductive member in a fast scan (i.e., line scan) direction. Meanwhile, the photoconductive member is advanced relatively more slowly than the rate of the fast scan in a slow scan direction which is orthogonal to the fast scan direction. In this way, the beam scans the recording medium in a raster scanning pattern. The light beam is intensity-modulated in accordance with an input image serial data stream at a rate such that individual picture elements ("pixels") of the image represented by the data stream are exposed on the photosensitive medium to form a latent image, which is then transferred to an appropriate image receiving medium such as paper.
Data in each of the fast and slow scan directions is generally sampled. The sampling rate of the slow scan direction data equates to 300 lines per inch or more In many printing apparatus. It has been shown that errors in the slow scan direction of as small as 1% of the nominal line spacing may be perceived in a half tone or continuous tone image. This implies a need for a high degree of control in positioning the spot in the slow scan direction on the image plane, especially in such applications as multiple beam and multiple ROS color printers where a plurality of spots are written onto a single photoreceptor. Furthermore, high resolution printing, on the order of 600 spots per inch or higher, demands very accurate spot positioning.
Errors of the spot position in the slow scan direction arise from many sources, including polygon and/or photosensitive member motion flaws, facet and/or image plane (e.g., photosensitive medium) surface defects, etc. These errors are most commonly addressed by passive or active in-line optics. Some prior art examples are disclosed in:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,837 to DiStefano et al. discloses an optical scanning apparatus with dynamic scan path control wherein a scan path is altered by two different prisms, which are positioned before a polygon in the scan path. The two prisms alter the scan path in both a horizontal and a vertical direction. The two prisms are controlled by error signals generated by a grating. A phase error resulting from a comparison of the grating signals with a system clock is shown in FIG. 5. See Col. 5, lines 41-66.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,094 to Yoshimoto et al. discloses a method of focus adjustment of a picture scanning and recording system wherein a projection lens is moved automatically in a direction normal to a recording drum to correct for drum variations caused by machining or environmental conditions, such as temperature. A rotary encoder generates pulses which are representative of the recording drum's rotation. The pulses are used by a motor to move a mirror assembly closer to or farther away from the drum. An image sensor, within the light path, detects when the beam is out of focus and adjusts it. See Col. 2, lines 31-64.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,096 to Starkweather discloses a basic polygon ROS structure having runout and/or facet errors (both scanning errors in the slow scan direction) by locating a cylindrical lens in the optical path, either pre- or post- polygon, which focuses the beam in the slow scan direction onto the desired focal plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,019 to Ohara et al. discloses a light scanning recording device wherein a recording medium's speed is determined by counting pulses generated by a reference clock signal. The pulses, which are inversely related to scanning speed, are fed back to control the speed of the recording medium. Another feed back signal is used to control polygon speed. See Col. 3, lines 43-55.
Also, relevant disclosures are contained in U.S. patent applications assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Each of the contents of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
Each of these various prior art schemes have disadvantages or shortcomings. For example, the use of high quality optics requires not only high quality optical elements, but also tight control in the positioning of those optics, in order to obtain the requisite very precise mechanical control sufficient to adjust spot position 0.02 mm or less, required in many cases. In order to achieve this level of spot position control with the acousto-optic modulators, an acoustic wave must be established and maintained with great precision. These acousto-optic modulators are relatively quite expensive, and require an associated accurate high frequency signal generator and related electronics to produce and maintain the acoustic waves. Further, those systems which incorporate feedback circuits to move rotating mirrors or translating roof mirrors are generally too slow to correct for motion quality errors because these relatively bulky mirror components are difficult to move precisely and quickly.
According to the present invention, the ROS system includes a cylinder lens in the prepolygon optics to focus the beam in the slow scan direction onto the polygon facets. The cylinder lens, a relatively light optical component in the prepolygon optical path, is adapted to be moved in the plane parallel to the process direction plane, so as to correct the location of the scanned beams at the photoreceptor. The correction Is enabled by providing a phase error feedback circuit for generating error signals which are sent to a pizeo-electric actuator to provide high frequency control in the process direction of the position of the cylinder lens. The invention is especially intended to provide compensation for photoreceptor motion (vibration) errors in the range of approximately 0-150 hz.
More particularly the present invention relates to a light scanning apparatus comprising:
means for generating a laser beam,
means for modulating the amplitude of the beam in accordance with input video data,
a multi-faceted reflector polygon positioned in the beam path,
means for rotating the polygon, the beam being reflected from successive facets of the polygon and sweeping along a scan path to provide successive scan lines along the surface of the photoreceptor moving in the process direction, the improvement comprising a cylinder lens located between said laser generating means and said polygon, said cylinder lens focusing the output of said laser in the process direction, and
means for moving said cylinder lens in a plane parallel to the process direction to correct for scan line image motion quality errors occurring at the photoreceptor in the process direction.

Raster output scanner with process direction spot position control


A stamp unit capable of opening an ink pack position between a grip member and a holder member for supplying ink to the stamp material easily in one step. To supply ink to the stamp material, the grip member is pressed downwardly with the ink pack located in the holder member. The ink pack in the holder member is pressed between a thick paper plate and a cutting rib to be opened. Ink from an ink pack flows downwardly through ink holes to be supplied to the stamp material. When the ink runs low, it can be replenished by the simple process of replacing the ink pack.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stamp unit having a holder member which is disposed slidably in an axial direction within a skirt member and holds a stamp material at the lower end portion, and a grip member which is disposed on the upper portion of the holder member and moves the holder member downwardly and, more specifically, to a stamp unit which has an ink pack filled with ink within the holder member and opens the ink pack by the grip member and the holder member, and can supply ink to the stamp material, and also to a method for supplying ink to a stamp unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, several types of stamp units have been proposed. To focus on the method for producing a stamp plate used on such a stamp unit, stamp units will be classified into the following two groups. A type of stamp unit, for example, is disclosed in Japanese unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. HEI-7-149031, HEI-7-257001. Such a type of stamp unit has a grip portion, a stamp portion and a skirt member, the grip portion and the stamp portion are connected so that the stamp portion can be moved in an axial direction within the skirt member. A stamp material is installed covering the lower surface of an ink impregnated body. The stamp material comprises a thermal porous sheet having a porous substrate adhered to a thermoplastic film.
In the case of producing a stamp plate capable of printing characters and the like from the stamp material using such a stamp unit, the stamp unit is set to a stamp producing apparatus having a thermal head, then the thermal porous sheet of the stamp material is perforated according to the desired characters by controlled heating of the thermal head, thereby the stamp plate is produced. After that, when printing characters and the like, if the grip portion is pressed downward under the condition that the stamp unit is disposed on the desired position of the printing sheet, ink impregnated by the ink impregnated body attaches to the printing sheet through holes formed on the thermal porous sheet. Thereby, characters and the like can be printed.
Another type of stamp unit is described in European unexamined Patent-Application Publication No. EP 0 798 114 A2, having a grip portion and a holder portion. The holder portion is connected to the grip portion. A stamp surface producing material is provided on the lower surface of the holder portion.
The stamp surface forming material of such a stamp unit comprises a porous resin layer. The porous resin layer is melted and solidified by being heated. So as to process this stamp surface producing material, the stamp surface is exposed by a heating unit, such as a xenon tube or a laser light source, according to desired characters or image data. Thereby, the part of the stamp surface, which is exposed, that which does not include characters or image data, is melted and solidified. On the other hand, the other part of the stamp surface forming material forming the characters or image data, which has neither melted nor solidified, remains as it is. Thereby, the stamp plate is produced of the stamp surface forming material. When printing characters and the like, the grip portion is pressed downward when the stamp unit is properly positioned. Thereby, ink impregnated in the stamp surface forming material is exuded from nonmelted-solidified portion and adheres to the printing sheet printing the characters and the like.
In the first type of stamp unit, ink is impregnated into the ink impregnated body in advance. If characters cannot be printed because of a lack of ink after repeated printing, the stamp unit is disposed of. In this type, the ink impregnated body can be supplied ink only once because of the difficulty of impregnating ink, after use, into the ink impregnated body.
To easily re-impregnate ink, the ink storing portion for storing ink at the stamp portion must be formed separately. The stamp structure must have a capability to supply ink into the storing portion from outside of the stamp unit. As mentioned above, forming the ink storing portion and the ink supply structure complicate the structure of the stamp portion and the cost increases.
Further, in case of printing characters using the second type of stamp unit, it is necessary that ink be impregnated into the nonmelted-solidified portion of the stamp surface forming material by applying ink from outside on the stamp surface of the stamp surface forming material. Using such a method for spreading and impregnating ink means the process of impregnating ink into the stamp surface forming material must be performed very often. Because such a process is very complicated, printing characters cannot be done efficiently.

Stamp unit with ink pack filled with ink


A method and system of profiling applications that use virtual memory. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods comprising executing a traced program on a target system (the traced program comprising a plurality of tasks, each task using a different virtual to physical memory mapping), obtaining values indicative of a plurality of states of virtual to physical memory mapping used by a memory management unit associated with a processor of a target system, and displaying an indication of a proportion of an execution time the processor of the target system dedicated to each of a plurality of tasks during the execution time.

In order to look for errors in software programs (an activity referred to as "debugging"), some software development tools provide the ability to record the sequence of operations that a processor performed while executing a program. This is referred to as tracing the execution of the program, and the information that is captured is referred to as trace data. The trace data may comprise data such as the sequence of addresses executed by the processor, values of various processor registers at each executed instruction, and information in log files written by the traced program. The addresses of executed instructions are later correlated to the actual programs so that the opcodes executed at each instruction may be displayed for the user. In systems using virtual memory addressing, however, different tasks execute from the same set of virtual memory addresses making correlating the actual programs to the addresses of the executed instructions difficult.

Method and system of profiling applications that use virtual memory


The method of treating a human female menopausal condition, the steps that include determining need for increasing estrogen level in the blood, from a lower level associated with reduced ovarian estrogen production, the determining including measuring vaginal moisture or urethral fluid pH level, at repeated time intervals over a series of days. A test for FSH level in the blood, during those days, may be made for detection of high level FSH in conjunction with high pH level at the vagina to establish need for estrogen therapy, on a confirmatory basis.

This invention relates generally to factors involved in determining estrogen or estradiol administration to human females who are menopausal; and more particularly to a simple and effective diagnostic method and means to effect such determination such as need for changes in dosage of estrogen or estradiol.
There is need for improvements in methods to determine whether or not a human menopausal female should be administered higher or lower levels of estrogen or estradiol. Such need can arise for example in evaluation and diagnosis of female sexual dysfunction (FSD). It appears that lack of estrogen may lead to sexual dysfunction primarily by causing vaginal atrophy and dyspareunia. Another example of need is for treatment of postmenopausal fracture, as in the case of osteoporosis. The present invention addresses such need or needs.
There is also need for a low-cost, diagnostic procedure useful to determine, or screen for, menopausal condition or status, in women, and to provide and monitor a remedy for that condition.
In addition, when FSH level in the blood is monitored, there is need for a simple confirmatory or supplementary test, for estrogen need.

Detection of menopause status and treatment thereof


A gradient coil (1) to generate switched magnetic field gradients in an nuclear spin resonance (NMR) device consisting of one or several current paths (a, b) following windings and being arranged on the surface of a geometric body is characterized in that at least two electrical current paths (a, b) are provided for, running geometrically essentially parallel to each other and being electrically connected in parallel, which current paths cross n times per winding, wherein n is an integer with n.ltoreq.8, preferably n=1 or n=2. In this way, eddy current generation by current re-distributions on the gradient coil conductor strips and thereby a time-dependent distortion of the generated magnetic field gradient inside the volume of interest of the NMR apparatus is considerably reduced.

The invention concerns a gradient coil to generate switched magnetic field gradients in a nuclear spin resonance (NMR) device consisting of one or more current paths following windings and being arranged on the surface of a geometric body.
Such a gradient coil is for example known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,135.
An essential component of NMR systems, being generally employed for tomography, in part, however, also for spectroscopy, is a system of usually three gradient coils each consisting of several partial coils, which gradient coils are independently of each other supplied with currents of different strengths. These gradient coils serve the purpose to superimpose constant magnetic field gradients with adjustable strengths onto the homogeneous magnetic field B.sub.0 of the NMR device which is directed along a z axis, whereby the direction of one of these gradients (dB.sub.z /dz) is in general parallel to the direction of the homogeneous main field B.sub.0z (z gradient=axial gradient) and the directions of the two other gradients (dB.sub.z /dx, dB.sub.z /dy) are directed orthogonal thereto and to each other and perpendicular to the direction of the main field (x and y gradients=transverse gradients). The spatial region where the magnetic field of these gradient coils varies approximately linearly can be used for volume selective NMR methods (imaging, volume selective spectroscopy) if this region is not further limited by inhomogeneities of the main field.
The gradient coils may for example be realized as x, y and z coils on cylinder surfaces for conventional tomography magnets or as gradient coils for gradient accelerated NMR spectroscopy. Apart from this, planar gradient plates for magnets with pole pieces are also known in NMR tomography. With respect to the geometric design of gradient coils, we refer to the entire contents of commonnly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/560,874 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,567, where the spatial construction of gradient coils is described in detail.
In the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,135, a particularly favorable gradient coil system is described, where, for predetermined boundary conditions, on the one hand the inductance L and, apart from this, also further technically relevant parameters of the magnet coil device can be optimized independently of each other, like for example current density distributions, shielding effects, etc.. However, a disadvantage of such a gradient coil device is the effect that for fast gradient switching with such a streamline shaped gradient coil eddy-current-like current distributions on the broad conductor strips are generated distorting the magnetic field of the gradient coil across the volume of interest of the NMR apparatus as a function of time.
It is therefore the purpose of the present invention to improve a gradient coil of the above mentioned kind in such a way that eddy current generation by current redistributions on the conductor strips of the gradient coil and thereby a time-dependent distortion of the magnetic field gradient generated across the volume of interest are considerably reduced.


Thin glue layers bridge a Non-IP network and the Internet Web. Existing services in both networks are used directly wherever feasible, thereby achieving simplicity and efficiency. A Non-IP-specific application can use a Non-IP API to access Internet services, and an IP-based Internet browser can use commands encoded in HTTP, XML, Java, or proprietary formats to access Non-IP services and to control Non-IP devices. In this manner, changes are not required to the Internet browser. The glue layers translate between the IP protocol and Non-IP API, but also allow commands and responses to tunnel between end applications in the Internet and the Non-IP network without interpretation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of consumer electronics, and in particular to a bridge that facilitates the coupling of a non-IP-compliant network, such as HAVi, and the Internet Web.
2. Description of Related Art
A Home Audio/Video Interoperability (HAVi) network is an example of a network that allows all manner of digital consumer electronics and home appliances that comply with the HAVi specification to communicate with each other. HAVi is a digital audio/video networking initiative that provides a home networking software specification for seamless interoperability among home entertainment products. As its name implies, the HAVi specification is specifically designed for the interoperability of audio/video (AV) devices. It includes, for example, specific Functional Component Modules (FCMs) for controlling tuners, VCRs, cameras, AV discs, and so on. The HAVi specification defines middleware that manages multi-directional AV streams, event schedules, and registries, while providing Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for creating new generations of software applications. Other home and office automation network technologies include Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), the Universal Serial Bus (USB), HomeRF Lite, and the Bluetooth standard, each involving substantial contributions from Philips Electronics, the OSGI/Jini technology of Sun Microsystems, Inc., and others.
Preferably, functions on a device within a network system may be controlled from another device within the system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,536, "TASK-DRIVEN DISTRIBUTED MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER SYSTEM", issued 28 Sep. 1999 for Paul Chambers and Saurabh Srivastava, assigned to Philips Electronics North America, and incorporated by reference herein, discloses a control system wherein controllers act upon respective software representations of each consumer device on a network. By encapsulating the variable complexity of tasks within a software representation, the control can be made as simple or as sophisticated as needed to bring the capabilities up to a common level, and applications can uniformly manipulate devices that embody very different levels of sophistication and complexity.
Each of the various networks generally offers particular advantages for the types of devices that they are intended to support, and therefore it is likely that more than one network may be present in a home or office environment. Most network architectures allow for some interaction between networks, the interaction is generally limited to providing access to an alternative network. The HAVi specification, for example, allows for a Web proxy FCM1 that offers sharable access to the Internet, as illustrated by the system 100 of FIG. 1. As defined in the HAVi specification, a client 110 locates a Web proxy FCM 140 on the HAVi network 130, and communicates with the FCM 140 via the message passing scheme 120 of the HAVi protocol. The Web proxy FCM 140 provides the following Web services: Open, Close, Send, Receive, and Get Capability. The client 110 calls the Open service to open a connection to the Internet 170 via the TCP/IP 150 and Internet access 160 modules. This service includes, for example, allocating buffers for sending and receiving information, dialing a modem connection, accessing a service provider, and so on. Thereafter, the client 110 calls the Send service to send messages to specified Web servers 180 on the Internet 170, and the FCM 140 uses the Receive service to send messages from the Internet 170 to the client 110. The Close service closes the Internet access for a particular client 110. The Get Capability service permits the Web client 110 to discover the protocols (HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.) supported by the Web proxy FCM 140. 1. "The HAVi Specification: Specification of the Home Audio/Video Interoperability (HAVi) Architecture", by Sony, Philips, Hitachi, Sharp, Matsushita, Thomson, Toshiba, and Grundig, Version 1.0, 18 Jan. 2000, Section 6.11 "Web Proxy FCM", pages 362–370.
Other networking protocols generally include foreign-network access capability, with more or less the same level of interoperability between networks as provided by the HAVi Web proxy FCM. The notable exceptions are UPnP and OSGI, which employ an IP (Internet Protocol) network protocol, and provides a significant level of integration among UPnP devices and Web services and capabilities. For ease of reference, the term IP network is used herein to define a network and associated software/middleware that is compliant with the Internet Protocol (IP), and the term Non-IP network is used herein to define a network and associated software/middleware that is not necessarily compliant with the IP. In like manner, IP devices or objects are herein devices or objects that are compliant with IP, and Non-IP devices or objects are devices or objects that are not necessarily compliant with IP.
Although the HAVi, and other Non-IP network specifications, allows a client, such as a set-top-box, to access to the Internet, they do not, per se, provide a 'bridge' between the networks that enables mutual access of services between a Non-IP network and the Internet Web. Conventionally, a mutual access of services between the Non-IP network and an IP network generally requires a modification of objects on one or both of the networks to achieve this integration. A suggested approach, for example, to allow a web-browser to control devices on a HAVi network is the use of a "Local" addressing type in lieu of a Universal Resource Locator (URL) addressing type at the Web proxy FCM. When this local address is used, a web-browser fetches and displays a HTML-based user interface (UI) that controls the HAVi device. This solution, however, requires that the web-browser be modified to support this HAVi-specific "local" keyword. This solution also limits the use of this control to "local" web-browsers, thereby precluding remote control via an Internet link.

Architecture of a bridge between a non-IP network and the web


A method of inferring flow in a production string includes, monitoring pressure along a perforated production string, and inferring flow from the monitored pressure.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to maintaining efficiency during the recovery of hydrocarbons from wellbores in earth formations. Efficient hydrocarbon recovery can be detrimentally affected by voids in gravel packs and collapses in open boreholes. Voids and collapses cause variations in flow rates, resulting in locally high flow rates that can erode sections of perforated production completion components, for example. Additionally, such locally high flow rates can cause debris to swirl and impinge upon walls of the production string and the borehole causing erosion and other damage thereto. Detecting and locating voids and collapses can allow an operator to alter production strategies to prevent such damage and is therefore desirable.